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Samsung: Here Is how Folding smartphones are made

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It must be acknowledged that the Korean company’s initial Galaxy Z Fold launch was not a healthy undertaking. The latter cleaned the plasters using a gadget with a highly delicate design that would have caused issues for the first purchasers.

Samsung has the chance to enhance the manufacturing of its smartphones with each new generation, particularly in terms of the hinge that supports the flexible display or the tightness of its products.

Samsung now guarantees that its folding smartphones, including the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, can resist at least 200,000 openings and closings without harm.

To back up its promises and reassure prospective customers, Samsung has recently posted a brief, under two-minute YouTube video that shows us how its newest folding smartphones are made and, in particular, the testing techniques the company came up with to ensure the durability of its goods.

The process is automated, and many controls are applied to the phones as they leave the manufacturing lines. We may see, for instance, a test of the touch screen or wireless charging as well as a test of the different volume or ignition buttons.

 Before products are packaged and transported to different places of sale across the globe, these techniques are often used in the industry to find faulty products. The video also demonstrates the equipment repeatedly folding and unfolding cellphones to assess their durability and spot even the smallest design flaws.

A final water resistance test is conducted on fully available smartphones with water jets projected onto the screen and the active devices fully submerged in water. The most current Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 are already available here in Kenya and the whole world

Google Duo becomes Google Meet and returns to android smartphones

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The Mountain View company has now launched an update that reactivates the symbol of the instant messaging service, Google Duo, which was scheduled to make way for Google Meet.

Despite Google’s claims to streamline the services it provides to its consumers, Google Duo has come back from the dead.

Google said in the summer that Google Duo, its consumer video conferencing app, and Google Meet, its other video calling service, which is more geared toward businesses, will combine.

A few weeks after its introduction, Google Duo was replaced by Google Meet via an upgrade. However, some users have noticed that in addition to the Google Meet symbol, the Google Duo icon has returned on their Android application launcher for a few days.

We may have thought of a bug, but no. Google has acknowledged that the icon’s reappearance was deliberate. The business claims that by using this trick, consumers may quickly access their preferred application even if they are unaware of the company’s complicated intentions and search for Google Duo in their search box.

While you wait for the expected September effective merging of the two programs, which should ultimately end with Google Duo, you will see the identical Google Meet application regardless of whether you choose Google Meet or Google Duo.

Then, to make things simpler for consumers, Google will seek to combine all of the Google Meet capabilities into a single application.

Best laptops to buy in  2022(For professionals and Students)

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More than ever, the portable PC is taking over as the primary computing device in our homes, erasing the stationary tower and enabling a wider range of applications. There are several categories and traits, but the editorial team will help you locate the computer that suits your needs and budget.

Apple MacBook Air M2

There are indeed certain shortcomings in the MacBook Air M2, but thankfully they do not diminish how lovely the laptop is to use. Exceptionally effective, Apple’s new notebook outperforms competitors without a heat dissipation system, gains from a bigger, brighter screen, and relies on a dazzling keyboard and trackpad pair. Naturally, Apple is also concerned with the aesthetics of its product, which has just undergone a full makeover and is ranked highly among long-lasting gadgets.

Huawei MateBook 16S

Huawei provides us with a very decent 16-inch laptop with the MateBook 16S, which has a more competitive starting price than the immediate competitors from Dell or HP. Despite some disagreement, the device provides a compelling display quality thanks to a large screen with smooth borders, highly reliable performance despite the lack of an extra dedicated graphics card, and excellent build quality.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED

The Zenbook 14 OLED is unquestionably a wise purchase in the market for high-end ultraportables. With this new model, ASUS provides us with a machine built with significant consideration, able to fully use the Core i7-power 1260P’s without overheating and keeping a high level of autonomy (10 to 11 hours). A stunning OLED panel is also available that combines a 16:10 dimension perfect for office automation with a comfortable 90 Hz frequency for regular usage.

Legion 5 Pro by Lenovo

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro exhibits several features, but its autonomy is a fairly undesirable flaw for a gaming laptop (designed to be plugged in most of the time). It sports one of the nicest chassis we’ve seen in recent months, a model dissipation system, and substantial performance. The machine is finished off with a stunning QHD+ screen in a 16:10 format that easily beats what the competition has to offer in terms of both a purely visual experience and ease of everyday usage.

Galaxy Book 2 Pro from Samsung

There is no denying the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360’s superiority as a convertible ultraportable. The gadget, which uses all of Samsung’s design and finishing expertise, may rely on its elegance and compactness to entice lovers of mobility. We can also credit it for having a wonderful touch OLED display, on which we can make as many notes as we want with the free S Pen Stylus. The performance of its Intel Alder Lake-P CPU helps to complete the picture of an ultraportable that soars but whose varnish, regrettably, breaks in a few places.

Cameroonian digital solutions startup, Taaply, secures $500k from US investors

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Taaply, a Cameroonian digital solution startup,  has secured a $500k funding round from US investors to enable the company release a new app and upgrade its website to enhance services.

Launched in 2021, Taaply, Inc. aims to provide digital solutions to help Africa reduce carbon emissions. The startup has recently developed a brand-new app, as well as new website features and interesting products, to enable consumers further in digitalizing and managing their social and professional connections, as well as revolutionizing the customer data-sharing experience

Commenting on the new and improved website features, Taaply noted that the products would help customers further digitalize and manage their social and professional connections while effectively revolutionizing the customers data sharing experience

The recent funding, app and website updates and improvements will enable Taaply to effectively compete for the growth opportunities in the healthcare and health insurance markets, the startup said. 

Taaply is currently active within several countries in Africa, Europe and North America, and plans to expand beyond its currently marketed products.

Ecobank Group Launches 2022 Edition of its Fintech Challenge with US$50,000 Prize Money up for Grabs

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Ecobank Group ,a Pan-African banking group has launched the fifth edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge and encourages African Fintech entrepreneurs to enter the competition.

Fintechs that are aligned with the Bank’s strategic objectives stand a chance to win an overall cash prize of US$50,000 for the top winner and the opportunity to partner and scale their solutions across Ecobank’s 33 African markets.

Ade Ayeyemi, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group, said “Ecobank believes that the only way to transform financial services in Africa is for Pan-African banks like Ecobank to continually support and collaborate with innovative Fintechs and start-ups. We invite and welcome Africa’s best Fintechs to work with us through the 2022 Challenge.”

The Ecobank Fintech Challenge was designed in partnership with international advisory firm, Konfidants and is supported by partners across Africa and globally. So far 46 Fellows have been admitted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship programme since it was launched in 2017.

Fintech companies and developers originating from any of Africa’s 54 countries, as well as global Africa-centered Fintechs, are eligible to enter the Fintech Challenge .

Ten finalists will be inducted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship after the finals and awards ceremony which will take place in October 2022.

In addition, all Fellows will qualify to explore the following opportunities with the Bank and its partners:

Multinational products roll out: an opportunity to pursue integration with Ecobank and potentially launch products in all or part of Ecobank’s pan-African 33-country ecosystem.

Service provider partnerships:  Ecobank may select some Fintechs as pan-African service partners within the Bank’s ecosystem.

Access to Ecobank’s Pan-African Banking Sandbox: Fellows will be given access to Ecobank’s APIs to test and improve their products for the pan-African market.

Priority Access to Ecobank’s Venture Capital partners for funding exploration.

Dr. Tomisin Fashina, Operations and Technology Executive, Ecobank Group said, “The uniqueness of the Challenge is that it welcomes both early stage and mature start-up Fintechs alike and seeks to align them with different kinds of partnership opportunities within Ecobank that match their differing levels of maturity.”

WhatsApp Marketing

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Today there square measure an oversized range of the WhatsApp shoppers all over. Through WhatsApp, one will hit numberless shoppers all right away. It’s Associate in Nursing exceptionally good stage from that the info will be sent with none downside… Whether or not or not it’s a non-public venture or large business, the WhatsApp promoting will be priceless to any live of the organization.

What is WhatsApp CRM?

WhatsApp CRM Integration permits you to send an inventory, pictures, area, records, sounds, recordings, and considerably more to likely clients as well as clients in light of their most recent correspondence with your group. These are an extraordinary method for dropping them down the business channel and increment your possibilities of change.

In Email promoting, there square measure a number of prospects that the message may get in the spam organizer. The principal good thing about WhatsApp promoting is that your message is sent on the versatile of the consumer squarely. This can expand the chance of the shoppers are becoming modified over into the consumer. This can expand the deals of the organizations massively.

The WhatsApp likewise permits the shoppers to effectively provide a quick answer, this may guarantee that you just can fulfill all of the queries of the shoppers and find that necessary certainty the shoppers. WhatsApp likewise permits the organizations to send some of the tempting image, recordings and vivified advertisement stuff which may draw the thought of the likelihood and energize them a lot of to get your item.

You can create arrangements for Associate in nursing tempting restricted time mission to supply completely different markdown plans, coupons, and gifts and lay out your image character on the lookout. The majority WhatsApp supply can allow you to send the message to a vast range of shoppers while not a moment’s delay. WhatsApp Sender is a mass sending instrument for WhatsApp. It functions as a WhatsApp Marketing Tool to send notices/messages on WhatsApp. You can send customized messages, connections to clients on WhatsApp. The WhatsApp can for the foremost half assist with inflicting the shoppers to attract along with your image and assemble the whole character.

The WhatsApp may if truth be told allow you to possess gatherings and gathering conversations along with your excellent shoppers. This can guarantee a lot of consumer association in your item. The WhatsApp will likewise assist with causation new alarms and occasions for your organizations. It will be sky-high instructed for the employment of the WhatsApp promoting strategy, as this can value you list sweat and money contrasted with completely different technique for showcasing. During this manner, WhatsApp advertising is that the best device to talk with general society, whole advancement and hit greatest

Why select WhatsApp for your advertising Campaign?

You can send huge live of messages limitless. It’s accessible for all telephone stages together with iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Nokia, Blackberry, and Symbian. Everyone is utilizing it since you do not have to visit a web site to fill in subtleties or affirm your character to utilize it. It merely desires your versatile range and you’re finished!

It seems to be that WhatsApp most actually includes a portion of it’s within system to actually consider the genuineness of the business. On these lines, to induce that “Confirmed” standing, you wish to send no extraordinary solicitation to WhatsApp or need not got to send any report except if mentioned to you. WhatsApp can have its legitimate checking instrument for the Business account.a

As the main social group for your WhatsApp Business record are distinctive in regard to the WhatsApp individual range, you need to have 2 distinct numbers for each one in every of the record. Within the event that you just do not have an added range for the business account, then, at that time, you’ll merely involve your own range for the business account. For this example, the individual profile is stirred to the business profile.

The advertising branches of any organization square measure faithfully on the chase when showcasing and square measure ceaselessly making an attempt numerous things for the selling functions. The WhatsApp is presently being loosely concerned by the organizations for the showcasing reason and convey the message at a faster rate. The WhatsApp promoting is one in every of the very simple approaches to promoting for the organizations. During this manner, here the advertisers got to contemplate the new element of WhatsApp with regard to the business accounts. The advertisers got to contemplate this part because the WhatsApp promoting programming, which can improve on their showcasing strategy.

The advertisers need to observe of that they need to begin a business account on WhatsApp and find it confirmed befittingly. WhatsApp is a very useful technique for connecting with a vast range of crowds, thus it acts noticeably sort of a mass WhatsApp shipper programming. The adman needs to use this impressive part of WhatsApp.

  • WAPlus – A Free WhatsApp CRM Tool

WAPlus is the most remarkable WA sender extension that gives an enormous number of WhatsApp instruments and WhatsApp CRM highlights on the WhatsApp organization, including discussion the board, WA network shippers, limitless message shippers, auto answer, speedy answer, add notes to talks, updates, really look at WhatsApp status from there, the sky is the limit. Arrive at the most clients at all measure of time with WAPlus. Twofold your exchange rate for the time being!

  • WAPlus Sender – Free WA Auto Sender for Bulk Message – WAPlus

WA Sender is the best WhatsApp promoting programming and mechanization instrument to send WhatsApp messages without saving numbers. With WA Sender, you can send mass WhatsApp messages to every one of your contacts, incorporating those not saved in your location book, with only a single tick.

Modern Dating Approaches: Let Me Introduce Myself in International Chat Rooms

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Many ladies are interested in dating foreign men, and male users of online solutions don’t have any less desire for that. Participating in such relationships isn’t as simple as it seems, but it is surely worth it. It is a magnificent chance to create a unique family with cross-cultural traditions and experience exceptional surprises with your partner. The right use of international chat rooms will surely contribute to the quality of these interactions. Stay tuned to get more details about international dating and its characteristics.

Is International Dating Popular?

Without a doubt, globalization processes have a huge impact on how ready this or that nation is to start dating or even get married to a representative of another nation. The statistical data is especially motivating when it comes to serious and committed relationships between spouses of varied cultural and political backgrounds. Thanks to international chat rooms, in particular, it has become easier to get to know and stay in touch with such individuals. For instance, foreign-born residents of North Carolina, the USA, increased the number of international marriages by almost six percent in the period from 1990 to 2011.

With the help of statistical facts and expectations below, you will be able to see what is going on in the international dating market in more detail.

The number of users of online dating services and international chat roomsThis parameter is forecasted to be more than two hundred seventy thousand million users by 2024. To compare, the rate of casual dating from this perspective is expected to be around seventy million users in two years. Only in the USA, the number of specialized services with advanced matchmaking tools is forecasted to be more than six million in 2024.
How profitable the online dating market isThe matchmaking sector of the international market for online dating websites generated the biggest income in 2021, with a worth of almost three and a half billion US dollars. In the future, it is expected to grow even more.
General statistics about men and women in datingGentlemen often have six romances before getting married, while ladies typically have five. Female daters participate in fewer dates than male users usually do. On the contrary, it takes more time for men to make their final decision about dating their partner.

International Chat Rooms and Their Rules for Beginners

People frequently believe that chat rooms are all the same. In practice, you should be aware of little nuances that make each space for communication so unique and non-trivial. Talking to a potential partner, individuals might be blindsided by their beliefs and expectations, which prevent them from seeing what the person on the other side of the screen is.

If you don’t want to be gossipped about and ensure your online presence isn’t avoided, it would be great to consider the following:

  • Chats on international dating sites aren’t similar to group chats at work. You can’t add more folks to the dialog and have fun together — it is the opposite story. When you aren’t in any committed relationships, you are welcome to interact with several ladies at once, but you have to remain respectful and careful about what and when to write in international chat rooms. Careless individuals often face trouble because they don’t remember what their partners tell them. In turn, their prestige keeps on breaking the bottom again and again. It is essential to involve yourself in as many activities simultaneously as you can afford without decreasing their quality. The number might vary, but having a few chats at the same time is surely enough.
  • Regardless of how busy you are, sending a message to your partner and trying to reply on time won’t be extremely difficult. International chat rooms are commonly overcrowded. And if the person doesn’t get enough attention, they will simply go away and start communicating with others. If this interaction is pleasant and joyful, don’t take it for granted. Your effort has a crucial influence on how hooked up both partners will be.
  • Individuals worry that their interactions would be ruined by linguistic hurdles. Modern translation systems actually work well and make it easier for reps of other customs and beliefs to communicate. Maintain your writings on the topic, especially if you “employ” a medium such as the English language. It won’t cost more to have them reviewed and edited — there are numerous online tools available for free that will improve your stylistics and grammar online. Detail-oriented partners seem attractive and definitely gain more attention, compared to careless individuals. Even if there are hilarious or awkward messages you might send, making mistakes over and over again won’t be a good sign in the long run. Thanks to in-built functions like autocorrect, it will be easier to keep the best quality of your text messages in international chat rooms. The way you express your thoughts shows off your intelligence, so it shouldn’t be underestimated.

Benefits of International Chat Rooms

Matchmaking abroad can be exactly what you are searching for if you have already drifted away from the native marriage market in your area or if you simply desire to broaden your perspectives and meet different kinds of folks. Here are a few significant benefits of giving your preference to international chat rooms:

  • With advanced sites, there is no downtime — you are welcome to chat with individuals literally 24/7.
  • Customer support also works around the clock to ensure the site’s users are completely satisfied and don’t have any issues dealing with the target platform.
  • International chat rooms are designed to simplify communication between representatives of different cultures, so in-built translation tools and alternative means are presented in the majority of cases.

Wrap It Up

All in all, international chat rooms promise you to broaden your horizons and find your love online, despite how many kilometers separate you. Is it true to life? Multiple research and statistics are quite positive about the efficiency of international dating websites and applications. Whether you prefer desktop programs like Sofiadate or mobile interfaces, the fact that you can stay in touch with your special one anywhere and anytime isn’t busted.

How Storefresh, a Students start-up in Kenya is  helping farmers cut losses and  access financing

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Charles Oyamo , a third-year Bachelor of Arts in Development Communication student at The University of  Nairobi  with friends founded Stofresh,an online marketplace to enable farmers get access to cold storage,  digital payments, and facilitate marketing.

According to Charles,he  grew up seeing farmers in his Kamreri village, Migori  face challenges such as  lack of cold storage facilities, digital payment solutions as well as markets.

He said,“My grandmother relied on her two-acre farm to grow sweet potatoes and kales which she planted and harvested at the same time as most of her neighbours,”

Thus farmers flooded the market with produce and inevitably prices were lower as the products were sold  to middlemen.

The idea behind Stofresh came up during a conversation between  Charles Oyamo and his  other friends, all students at University of Nairobi .Kairu Karega,Jecinta Sydney Mwangi ,Iyvie Hellen Mboya  and Benaiah Wepundi joined  to move Stofresh from  an idea into a startup working with over 30 farmers.

The team observed that a lot of trade in the agriculture sector is informal and cash based, thus farmers lack a way to track their sales which would enable them access financing.

Initially the idea was to build a marketplace that would give farmers  access to cold storage facilities and extend the shelf life of their fresh produce.

But the company  has since included value-add services such as digital payments, food distributors and retailers, and enabled farmers to purchase farming inputs in installments

According to Oyamo, by  digitising payments, they are derisking investments into the agriculture space for financial service providers as farmers and traders can now make transactions seamlessly and track their spending.

Today the platform has invested nearly Sh1 million in the enterprise through support from the Swiss Embassy, German Development Agency (GiZ) as well as personal savings.

 Farmers are already making transactions on the platform and they are also building a save-to-but feature that allows farmers get quality inputs at affordable payment terms.

Since its launch 3 months ago,37 farmers  have already enrolled even as a public pilot has been planned in the fourth quarter of this year.

“For our private beta, we are working with farmers from Kitale and scouting for Kisii, and Meru counties.”

Although farmers on the platform are not being charged,the platform charges commission from traders who buy produce from farmers through the platform.

Mr Oyamo says, “Since our primary business is facilitating this trade, we are keeping our price as low as possible and making money on trade volumes.”

The company is currently working  with Safal Groups’ Bouchard International and the firm is also in supplier conversations with two food distribution start-ups.

The company plans to  expand across Kenya within the next 12 months and venture into the Southern parts of Tanzania and the Eastern parts of DRC.”

 AfriTech adds Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank as partner for Cohort 3 of Africa Startup Initiative Accelerator Program

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The Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) , an impact investor that supports sustainable private sector growth in frontier markets, has partnered with leading pan-African tech accelerator, Startupbootcamp (SBC) AfriTech , for the third installment of the Africa Startup Initiative  Accelerator Program which is designed to scout skill and scale early-stage tech startups in Africa.

Africa’s vibrant startup ecosystem requires support from multiple fronts to grow exponentially and sustainably. The continent is characterized by impressive growth rates and by the end of July 2022, the continent had recorded an estimated 370 deals valued at more than 3 billion dollars. The contribution of ecosystem enablers such as Startupbootcamp Afritech is one of the most important factors enabling startups to scale and innovate. Supporting enablers is also an essential part of the development process.

Speaking on this, Ventures Program Manager Marieke Roestenberg said, “As part of our entrepreneurial ecosystem building efforts, FMO was keen to support Startupbootcamp AfriTech in expanding their operations into more middle-tier markets. This partnership provides an opportunity to bring more world-class acceleration to entrepreneurs striving to build businesses that create jobs and better livelihoods for their families and communities.”

Through the Ventures Program  and MASSIF , the financial inclusion fund FMO manages on behalf of the Dutch government. FMO invests in inclusive business models and partners with intermediaries to provide the expertise that improves business operations and also supports a more vibrant start-up environment. The partnership with SBC Afritech illustrates FMO’s commitment to empowering Africa’s tech ecosystem.

FMO joins partners such as DER/FJ, AWS, and Google in supporting the ASIP Accelerator program which aims to support the next generation of early-stage African tech startups disrupting key industry verticals that include FinTech, InsureTech, AgriTech, Climate-tech, eCommerce, Digital Health, and CleanTech. Inspired by FMO, SBC AfriTech has also added mobility, micro leasing, and digitizing the informal economy as key focus areas.

“Particularly when it comes to our regional focus, the alignment we share with FMO is a key reason why this partnership is so important. With their assistance, we continue our mandate to empower founders with disruptive solutions,” says SBC Afritech co-founder Philip Kiracofe

Once selected, participants will spend 3 months undergoing intensive coaching through expert-led masterclasses covering scaling fundamentals -from the business model canvas, and lean methodology, to fundraising. The program will take place in Senegal, culminating in a hybrid Demo Day where startup founders pitch their disruptive solutions to a broad audience of media, investors, corporate partners, and industry stakeholders.

Startups will also have access to SBC’s tailored coaching tool, the Accelerator Squared platform which has a complete library of content, group workshops, 1:1 mentoring, collaborative sessions with Entrepreneurs in Residence, and invite-only discussion forums with founders from around the globe. This is in addition to customized support from experienced mentors and dedicated Entrepreneurs-In-Residence (EIRs). The 10 startups in the program will also receive benefits valued at more than $750,000, including credits from AWS, Google Cloud Services, and a cash investment of $18,000.

Over the last 5 years, 50 African startups have completed the SBC Afritech Accelerator. 90% of the alumni are still operating and scaling, and collectively, SBC portfolio companies have raised more than $110 million in follow-on funding. This track record makes SBC one of the most successful early-stage programs on the continent and for investors, the fund has performed among the top 5% of Silicon Valley VC funds.

Applications for Cohort 3 will open on SBCAfriTech.com at the end of August. SBC AfriTech will host FastTrack scouting events in more than 10 countries around the continent, including Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.

Google is more interested in your data than Apple

A recent StockApps report reveals tech companies’ appetite for their users’ data. This is hardly a secret; Apple is the thriftiest firm, whereas Google is the most voracious.

The Californian Giant eats up 39 distinct sorts of personal information each user, according to the StockApps survey. Amazon gets 23, and Twitter receives 24. In contrast, with 14 and 12 different types of data, respectively, Facebook and Apple have a greater appetite for content.

You’ll have noted that even though Microsoft isn’t mentioned here, we are talking about GAFAM in the headline. Let’s say instead that Google is the “GAFAT” member that is the most greedy. The apple brand’s ideology is related to the last spot on the podium. The statement “Respect for privacy is a fundamental right, and it is one of Apple’s core values” is used to introduce the company’s privacy policies.

 The report’s author claims that Apple can only access the data required to administer user accounts. As for Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg’s social network is said to store mainly the information entered by the users themselves.

The publication reminds us that Google’s business model depends greatly on advertising revenue. As a result, the firm has every interest in capturing a large number of data, sometimes without your consent, to set up its targeted advertisements.

Tesla’s most affordable Model Y Standard Range SUV launches In Europe

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Tesla has officially started offering the Model Y crossover in the Standard Range rear-wheel-drive (RWD) version in Europe.

The Long Range AWD model is now the least expensive Model Y in the United States, starting at $65,990. The Model Y Performance is $4,000 more expensive. These models have EPA-estimated ranges of 330 and 303 miles, respectively.

The Standard Range variant was added to Tesla’s online configurator in Europe as part of an update, and is now available in a number of European nations. This is the “entry-level” Model Y, with a WLTP range of 455 kilometers (283 miles). For comparison, the Model Y Long Range in Europe has a range of 533 kilometers (331 miles).

The Model Y Standard Range RWD has the same 217 km/h top speed as the Model Y Long Range in Europe, according to Electrek. However, it’s acceleration is lower, sprinting from zero to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds.

According to reports, the Standard Range starts at €50,000 in the Netherlands, a €16,000 reduction over the Long Range version. The pricing includes VAT of around €8,850, which means the car’s true price is €41,150. In case you’re wondering, the Long Range starts at €56,990 in Germany, while the top-tier Performance Version costs €65,990.

California becomes first state to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars

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California, USA’s most populous region makes history by becoming the first state to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles.

The California Air Resources Board issued the rule forcing automakers to speed up manufacturing of greener vehicles. By 2040, the decision will result in a 50% reduction in pollution from cars and light trucks. At least 15 states, including New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, have based earlier clean-car legislation on California’s vehicle standards.

After 2035, the policy will not prohibit people from driving gas cars or purchasing and selling them on the used market. The law will also allow automakers to sell up to 20% plug-in hybrids, which have gas engines, by 2035.

The policy requires 35% of total new vehicle sales to be powered by batteries or hydrogen by 2026, 68% by 2030 and 100% by 2035. 

Clean Cars 4 All comes as a new program introduced by the legislation. It will offer up to $9,500 to low-income drivers who scrap their old vehicles and buy new, low- or zero-emissions automobiles. In addition, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project will provide $7,500 to income-qualified drivers. Finally, there’s Clean Vehicle Assistance Program which provides low-income automobile buyers with special financing and up to $5,000 in down payment assistance.

California has lofty goals to be powered entirely by renewable energy by 2045. It seems likely that other states will join California in the EV revolution.

Kenya’s  healthtech AfyaRekod Launches its Universal Patient Portal  in the United Kingdom

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 AfyaRekod ,a kenyan healthtech  start up has launched its Universal Patient Portal  in the United Kingdom and through partnerships with doctors, various medical organisations and NGOs in the UK, is ready  to change the face of patient care across the country.

AfyaRekod is a block-chain driven fully automated Universal Patient Portal that is transforming the face of patient care across Africa and the World. Through a secure central platform (www.myrekod.com) patients and the medical professionals treating them have real-time access to all their health data and medical history. This ensures effective ongoing medical management, and critical, timely information in an emergency.

“With the present overhaul of patients and healthcare management system facing the NHS,  AfyaRekod’s digital health innovation platform is a timely support channel in bridging  the healthcare management and delivery gap. AfyaRekod Universal Patient Portal, is a ready solution provider, offering a mobile Universal record access for patients and healthcare providers, with further benefits of strengthening research to achieve sustainable health care system and treatment. The platform offers you  control of your health wealth” says Michael Ekpechue AfyaRekod UK Head.

The brainchild of CEO John Kamara, AfyaRekod was founded in 2019 as an Adanian Lab start-up with seed funding from Mac Venture Capital and Next Chymia. With first-hand knowledge of how the lack of medical records can lead to tragedy, Kamara saw the need for an AI platform that would track health data.

 AfyaRekod was built with the aim of bridging the gap between health care and treatment, anywhere, anytime for patients, medical professionals, providers and organisations.

The subscription-driven Universal Patient Portal is a consolidated and mobile data health passport that allows patients consistent access to their health-records, as well as access to a marketplace of various health services within the ecosystem in real-time. 

Through the AfyaRekod Universal Patient Portal Patients can securely manage their health records, including prescriptions and hospital visit summaries over multiple devices in any region. Furthermore the platform offers a decentralised, multilingual and intelligent telehealth solution, health resources, symptom trackers, reminders and notifications, any patient can use these tools, it is especially useful for patients with chronic illness, Though parents, pregnant women, and patients with hereditary diseases.

The AfyaRekod platform extends to include doctors, offering a digital clinic with a B2B platform, tele-pharmacy tool and e-prescription platform.  For providers, the platform has multiple functionalities including hospital management, patient management, knowledge management and inventory management, as well as an AI driven reporting tool, that allows organisations to make strategic decisions, Prediction and early identification using data analytics. NGO’s and other related organizations can register and manage their target groups on the platform.

In building their UK footprint, AfyaRekod has recently partnered with Medi-Science, UK. Both companies share the common goal of developing technology that provides working solutions to people across the globe. Medi-Science UK had identified similar critical gaps in healthcare and the partnership will allow both companies to grow their market reach and expand the development of their solutions.

The pandemic pressed the fast-forward button, bringing an urgency into health data accessibility and analytics. This is a global problem that has been successfully addressed by a patient-centred health care innovation such as AfyaRekod.  In Kenya alone AfyaRekod has over 150,000 users and has recently launched in Nigeria, Uganda and South Africa.

Medical records are a vital tool in managing health, notifying healthcare professionals of medications, chronic illness, past problems and procedures and ultimately allowing them to determine the most accurate course of treatment. Misdiagnosis is serious and can lead to a delay in treatment of the real condition. An IOM report released in 2015 indicated that around 12 million instances of patient misdiagnosis occur annually in the USA, a country with a well-developed healthcare sector. Misdiagnosis is preventable, but only if health records are accurate and mobile.

Egypt’s Zeew raises $630,000 Seed to grow its team  

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Egypt-based e-commerce SaaS startup Zeew, has raised a $630,000 Seed round from Plug and Play, Poland Prize and a group of angel investors, bringing the total funds it has raised in the past couple of years to $1 million.

Founded by Mohamed Ghaith in 2017, Zeew lets companies launch their on-demand delivery businesses, enabling them to track and control their operations through its customisable, hyperlocal SaaS solution.

 Currently, Zeew is present across 100 countries, with merchants in different verticals including logistics, food and grocery, restaurants, pharmacy, etc.

The startup plans to use the newly acquired funding to grow its team to serve more customers worldwide.  

The enterprise software as a service (SaaS) sector is one of the rising stars of the Egyptian startup ecosystem, with more companies scaling up and piquing investor interest.

James Webb finds CO2 in the atmosphere of an exoplanet

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Since the James Webb Telescope discovered carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, it has been the focus of study, and NASA formally released the information on August 25 of last year.

Simply put, this chemical molecule has never before been detected in this specific fashion outside of our solar system. Even in 2008, when James Webb’s predecessor, the Hubble Telescope, made a comparable finding in the atmosphere of an exoplanet designated HD 189733b, this had not been definitively validated until that point.

The exoplanet WASP-39b was discovered in 2011, and the Hubble and Spitzer telescopes found water molecules in its atmosphere in 2018. This exoplanet has a surface temperature of around 900 degrees Celsius, and its atmosphere would contain almost three times as much water as Saturn’s. Even though WASP-39b is approximately 1.3 times the size of Jupiter, it only has a fourth of its mass.

The scientific publication Nature will publish James Webb’s findings of the exoplanet WASP-39b on August 29, 2022. One of the pieces of equipment on board the telescope, the near-infrared spectrograph, might be used to find CO2.

The telescope’s sensitivity allowed for a thorough investigation of the atmosphere and the identification of light fluctuations that indicated the existence of molecules like carbon dioxide. On this exoplanet, there isn’t much to suggest a tranquil existence, however.

 The high levels of carbon dioxide are not necessarily suitable for forming a climate that supports life because of the high average temperature. In any event, James Webb has made a fantastic discovery by allowing this.

 Huawei opens application for the 2022 edition of the Huawei Global App Innovation Contest

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Under the theme ‘Together we Innovate’, Huawei, a leading tech company has opened application for the 2022 edition of the Huawei Global App Innovation Contest (Apps UP). The competition aims to strengthen the skills of regional app developers and drive collaboration to build a connected app ecosystem.

How does the competition work?

Apps UP runs through the summer, ending in December 2022, with exciting milestones all along the way. Developers participating must register or sign in to the HUAWEI DEVELOPERS website with a valid HUAWEI ID to submit their work in ZIP or RAR format not exceeding 200 MB.

Contestants can enter individually or as part of a team of up to three members across eight categories. To qualify, participants must combine their app with HMS open capabilities or services via the team leader’s account. Developers need to integrate at least 1 HMS open capability Kit or service and must ensure that the app runs seamlessly on HMS devices.

Following a combination of public voting and a review by judges who are industry leaders from each region, the winners will be declared in December 2022.

Why participate?

According to a report commissioned by Mastercard, the Middle East and Africa region is proving to be a rich ground for app development. Apps UP enables developers from diverse backgrounds to learn about the HMS core capabilities and join an esteemed ecosystem of mobile application developers. Providing solutions to multiple industries, HMS Core continues to build innovative experiences and multi-terminal, cross-OS, full-scene innovative and open capabilities. The total number of registered Huawei developers worldwide reached 5.4 million in 2021; by March 2022, over 203,000 applications have been integrated with HMS Core worldwide.

On top of the cash prizes, developers will have access to development tools and workshops, support and mentorship from Huawei experts, and the opportunity for winning apps to be featured on AppGallery, one of the top three app marketplaces worldwide with over 730 million Huawei mobile device users.

The categories and prizes

Apps UP 2022 features a cash prize pool of US$230,000 for developers in the Middle East and Africa, with individual prize amounts ranging from US$5,000 to US$15,000.  The categories include Best HMS Innovation Award, Best App, Best Game, Best Social Impact App, All-Scenario Coverage Award, Tech Women’s Award, Student Innovation Award, and the newly introduced Best Arabic App. Teams with at least one female developer who is a key team member or leader are eligible to apply for the Tech Women’s Award.

About Apps UP 2021

The 2021 edition of the Huawei Global App Innovation Contest (Apps UP) boasted over 10,000 submissions from approximately 10,000 developers from more than 170 countries with a global prize pool of US$1 million. Last year, WashyWash, Handyman Calculator, and Coresthetics were crowned with the Best App Award in the region. Real Car Race Game 3D: Fun New Car Games 2020, LittleAstro, and Scary Teacher 3D won the Best Game Award, while Blind Assistant, Limit, and Emergency Buddy conquered the Best Social Impact App Award.  

Developers can enter multiple categories and submit more than one app to boost their winning chances. To register and learn more about the Huawei Global App Innovation Contest (Apps UP), please email appsup.mea@huawei.com or visit the official Apps UP 2022 MEA page

  B2B marketplace for MSMEs Solv Kenya launches a Supply Chain Financing partnership

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 Solv Kenya, a digital Business to Business (B2B) marketplace for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) backed by Standard Chartered, has announced a Supply Chain Financing (SCF) partnership, three months after commencing their service piloting.

In its first quarter of beta-testing in Kenya, Solv Kenya has co-created the invoice financing program in partnership with eight multinational manufacturing and trading companies, three financial partners and over 700 MSMEs. The partners include EABL, BAT, Nestle among others.

MSMEs will profit from the partnership by leveraging their relationships with Suppliers, who will expose its pool of MSMEs to Solv Kenya’s network of financial institutions and give them access to financing at favorable rates. Ksh 45 million in financing has so far been disbursed to MSMEs.

“We are proud to revolutionize, simplify, and accelerate growth for micro, small, and medium businesses in Kenya using technology and data,” said Sheila Kimani Omukuba, CEO of Solv Kenya. This program will not only address MSMEs growth challenges but give them options for accessing competitive pricing, more customers for manufacturers and traders and new markets for financial institutions under a pure-play B2B e-commerce marketplace model.”

Incubated by SC Ventures, Standard Chartered Group’s innovation, ventures, and fintech investments unit, the innovation was first launched in India owing to its 63 million MSMEs and inclusive trade ecosystem. This year, the service was made available in Kenya, where the MSME ecosystem accounts for 80% of all businesses, 30% of Kenya’s GDP, and 15 million jobs.

Solv will expand the marketplace to the rest of Africa within the year – targeting to facilitate MSMEs with digitised operations; Buy now Pay Later (BNPL) programs and credit facilities from multiple lenders, access to quality products from verified suppliers at competitive prices, reliable on-ground logistics support and insurance.

Lack of capital is one of the biggest barriers to MSME growth in Kenya, which prevents MSMEs from realizing their true potential to produce goods and services, pay taxes and create jobs. The World Bank estimates that there is a Sh.33trillion financing deficit for MSMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Algerian Startup Fund to invest $411 million in local startups

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The Algerian Startup Fund (ASF) has signed an agreement with the country’s General Directorate of the Treasury to launch a new fund with a target corpus of AD 58 billion ($411 million) to invest in local startups across the country’s 58 regional provinces.

The Algeria Startup Fund (ASF) was established by the President of the Republic of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune in October 2020 during the first edition of “ALGERIA DISRUPT”. It currently sits at a total of AD 1.2 billion.

The total value of these investment funds is 58 billion dinars, or one billion dinars ($7M) for each region, according to Okba Hanachi, the new director of the Algerian Startup Fund. 

Hanachi emphasised that the Startup Fund will have access to these funds “for investment in startups, with financing of up to 150 million DA per project ($1M)”

The Algeria Startup Fund (ASF) was established by the President of the Republic of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in October 2020 during the first edition of “ALGERIA DISRUPT”. 

The fund will enable entrepreneurs of innovative projects to start their businesses without the bureaucratic restrictions of conventional financing mechanisms by utilising venture capital as a new method of financing startups.

The ASF has funded several initiatives dubbed “Startup” or “Innovative Projects” since its founding and encourages the funding of companies and their startup costs, as well as the possible dangers they may encounter. The ASF’s capital stands at 1.2 billion / DA.

The startup ecosystem in Algeria has been experiencing significant activity recently, especially in light of reforms and new legal frameworks, and as a result of this agreement, the fund will be able to raise the number of investments required.

Meta opens up applications for metaverse developers in Africa

Meta has opened applications for African developers to enable them to build innovative solutions that demonstrate various use cases of the metaverse in the African continent.

The hackathon targets developers, programmers, UI/UX designers, artists, animators, storytellers, professionals and students.

Meta says, the Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Metathon will feature three major components including a training programme, an Africa-wide hackathon which will take place across 16 countries in Africa physically and open to everyone virtually, followed by an intensive Bootcamp to further develop solutions beginning August this year to April 2023.

Under the two-year $50 million Meta Global XR Fund, Meta has partnered with Imisi 3D and BlackRhino VR to launch the AR/VR Africa Metathon.

“The AR/VR Africa Metathon is an opportunity to demonstrate how artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality technologies that have been around for decades, are core to the future of the metaverse and what Africans are building in the industry,” said Phil Oduor, Meta Policy Programs Lead for Africa.

Oduor says the fund will focus on investing in programs and external research in order to build the metaverse responsibly through collaboration with industry partners, civil rights groups, governments, nonprofits and academic institutions

He added, “This is why we have partnered with Imisi 3D and BlackRhino VR, an extended reality ecosystem developer and a virtual reality production company, who represent Africa’s creative and innovative landscape, to launch this program to support African XR talent who are building innovative solutions that demonstrate the various aspects of the metaverse in Africa.”

Imisi 3D & AR/VR Africa Judith Okonkwo said the partnership will help increase access to Extended Reality (XR) in Africa, accelerating XR talent, showcasing African XR solutions and creating pathways for careers and industry.

“Six years after our first hackathon, and following subsequent events in over 28 countries across the continent, we are especially thrilled to be partnering with Meta and BlackRhino VR for the 2022 edition. This year’s AR/VR Africa Metathon brings together our AR/VR Africa pre-hackathon training, hackathon, and boot camp in one programme,” said Okonkwo.

Similarly, BlackRhino VR Co-founder and Managing Director Brian Afande said the Metathon will encourage exploration and discovery among young African creative technologists who will have the opportunity to develop Afrocentric XR use cases that will tackle some of the unique challenges they are facing in the continent.

“This type of collaboration is what Africa needs to highlight the potential of new and untapped socioeconomic opportunities created by XR Technologies,” he added.

Cape Town Stock Exchange raises $5 million to enhance the market’s ability to attract capital funding

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The Cape Town Stock Exchange (CTSE) has raised a funding round worth $5 million led by new investor Imvelo ventures.

Other participants in the round funding include Lebashe Investment Group, Gary Stroebel, Pallidus Alternative Investments, and Shaolin Investments.

When it first opened its doors in October 2021, the Cape Town Stock Exchange committed to attracting companies from all over the continent by offering listings at prices that were a third of what was being charged by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which is the largest stock exchange in Africa in terms of market capitalization.

The financial infrastructure of the CTSE is entirely digital and functions on a cloud-based platform that uses its in-house registration, which is powered by proprietary registry technology, facilitating an overall more straightforward, more cost-effective, and time-efficient trading procedure, as well as listing companies.

Speaking to TechinAfrica bout the funding, CTSE CEO Eugene Booysen stated that the exchange’s technology and financing innovation is changing the experience of raising capital and funding in the market. This process, which was previously lengthy and complicated, is now more transparent, safe, and straightforward.

 “We are appreciative of our newest investment as well as our previous investors for having faith in our company and the opportunity that lies ahead of us. He said, “this serves as further evidence of the fact that our company plays a revolutionary role in the expansion of the African economy from Cape to Cairo.”He added.

Mark Fitzjohn, head of Imvelo Ventures, said that the company is constantly looking to fast-track the growth objectives of South African entrepreneurs. Imvelo Ventures is the principal investor in the company. They highlight the capacity of the CTSE’s exchange and investment banking technology to realize that objective.

With their cloud-based technology, and end-to-end exchange architecture together with their marketplace of partners, they can quickly bring new, data-driven solutions to the market at a low cost which will make it possible for them to push the frontiers of capital and funding raise combining data and AI with new age exchange infrastructure.

Nigerian B2B e-Commerce Startup Omnibiz Secures $15 for regional expansion

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Omnibiz, a Nigerian B2B e-commerce company, has  secured a $15 million pre-Series A investment. The raise which is structured as a $5M equity and $10M debt investment deal will be utilised for regional expansion.

The investment was led by Timon Capital including participation from Ventures Platform, Lofty Inc, Chapel Hill Denham, Chandaria Capital, and Musha Ventures.

 Founder of Omnibiz Deepankar Rustagi said,”The fund was raised to begin further regional expansion, starting this month.

 Rustagi said the company wants to expand to second-tier cities in Nigeria like Ilorin, Asaba, and Akure, where retail is growing.”

He added that Omnibiz wants to become the primary B2B operating system for informal retailers in these cities by helping with last-mile delivery, procurement, working capital, inventory management, and operational tools for tracking sales, cost, prices, and profit. 

Founded in June 2019 , the company unites neighbourhood retailers, distributors, third-party logistics partners, and FMCG manufacturers on a single platform while ensuring better ROI, volume growth, and reaching a wider audience through an effective distribution network.

The company is currently present in over 12 cities in Ghana and Nigeria. Omnibiz provides retailers with a fully integrated digital platform. Retailers can purchase and restock conveniently from over 200 product brands, such as Coca-Cola and Nestle, through the Omnibiz app. 

Last August, the startup raised $3 million to aid expansion into new markets within the country. The platform, which offers a mobile app, a WhatsApp channel, and a phone number that retailers can use to stock their shops.

Omnibiz’s annual GMV of $130 million comes from these repeat retail customers. The company expects to increase the number of daily active retailers on its platform to 10,000 next year. It also projects a 4x revenue increase for these retailers who connect with over 200 brands delivered by a network of more than 70 logistics partners on Omnibiz’s platform.

Nikos Katsaounis, a partner at emerging markets VC Timon Capital, said his firm invested in Omnibiz because it believes the company is solving a much-needed problem. “The FMCG supply chain is fragmented, inefficient, and opaque. Omnibiz tackles all of these problems and addresses them with an efficient software layer that provides much-needed data on this otherwise obscure market and supply chain. Deepankar Rustagi is an excellent operating CEO.”

OPPO partner with biggest Chinese state owned automaker to offer car-smartphone integration

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Chinese automaker SAIC Motors and smartphone giant OPPO have announced a collaboration to build a user-centered, vehicle and smartphone integration solution named “ecological domain”.

SAIC Motor is the largest of the Big Four Chinese state owned car manufacturers (SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng, and Changan Automobile). In China, the automaker is extremely successful, selling 5.37 million vehicles in 2021. That is 8% of global car sales for that year, or double Ford’s total sales.

Today, OPPO and SAIC are collaborating to create a new experience for car owners in which a smart car, with the assistance of a smartphone, can improve drivers lives by communicating with the largest IoT platforms and making good use of electronic architectures and software platforms.

The two parties also agreed to establish a joint laboratory to promote research and development of related technologies and products.

Zu Sijie, SAIC’s vice president and chief engineer, commented on the developments saying, “The ‘ecological domain’ is in line with the trend of integration of IoT terminals such as intelligent vehicles and smartphones, which will help create a new user experience.”

By combining OPPO’s “Project Pantanal” and SAIC’s Z-one Galaxy, both companies hope to provide a much safer driving experience.

The “ecological domain” service will be able to run on any screen size and promises to provide consistent experience across multiple platforms.

How to Launch a YouTube Podcast

Sadly, you cannot directly upload MP3s to YouTube.

You must convert your audio files to MP4s or YouTube to MP3 because the video site needs video files. This implies that in order to post a podcast to YouTube, there must be a video component. Simple static images are acceptable, but there must be background “playing” content.

The four most well-liked methods for beginning and publishing a podcast on YouTube are:

1. Make a video out of your audio file

The most straightforward strategy is this one. Start here if you want to upload your podcast to YouTube in the shortest amount of time possible. It only requires that you turn your audio file into a video and add a static image to the background.

The background image should be made first. Consider using a free program for graphic creation like Canva or Snappa. To avoid starting from scratch, each has templates that you can use.

What ought to be shown on that graphic? The URL of your website, your name (“Hosted by”), your logo, and any other relevant information. For the greatest effects across all devices, YouTube suggests that photos be 2560x2240px in size.

Next, convert the audio file, and then include the background picture. You can add one or more images to play throughout the film and upload an audio track that lasts for 60 minutes using the tools. Additional effects like sound waves or subtitles are also an option. The MP4 file is then available for download and upload to YouTube.

2. Display on your webcam

Present your podcast into your webcam if you want to go one step further and make a real video. Since you don’t need to buy any equipment, this configuration is ideal for testing out posting a podcast to YouTube. Use the built-in webcam on your computer and connect your microphone to it.

You can record your voice using QuickTime or Zoom. Double-check your microphone settings to ensure that the tool is picking up your podcast microphone rather than the computer’s built-in one.

Either record everything in one take with minimal editing afterwards. Alternately, you might do a vlog-style edit, where you remove any minor errors and piece the entire thing together. Try Lightworks for straightforward trimming and editing, plus it offers ready-to-use audio and video effects.

3. Establish external cameras for recording

Consider setting up a camera to record your performance if you do your podcast at a desk in a neat space. Gary Vaynerchuck, a prolific podcaster, uses this method to record each of his shows.

Simple equipment is all you need for this. Even if you can achieve a high-quality recording with only your smartphone, you should probably also acquire a cheap attachable tripod to keep the video stable.

There’s no need for a complicated set behind you either. Put your camera at the recording location, and note what it captures. You can proceed after making the area in the frame presentable.

Users of this setup for podcasts frequently record entire seasons at once. That implies there won’t be any post-production editing, but it also means you have to get a terrific episode the first time. Spend more time on your podcast script and have your co-host or guest on the same page to make sure everything goes well.

4. Screenshots of you and your distant visitor

Set the software you use to do your podcast interviews remotely, such as SquadCast or Zoom, to record both the audio and the video. To publish a podcast on YouTube, you’ll end up with a split-screen video.

The majority of podcasters who employ this technique record each episode in a single take. This requires more forward planning but requires little to no tweaking in the end.

Facebook Users Complain That Celebrity Spam Is Overrunning Their Feeds

Following several reports of spam from celebrity pages, Facebook parent company Meta confirmed a problem with the business’s Feed on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Meta said:

“We’re aware that some people are having trouble with their Facebook Feed. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and we apologise for any inconvenience,” 

A Meta representative said in a revised statement that “configuration change[d] led some customers to have issues with their Facebook Feed. The representative continued by saying that the problems have been fixed.

The Feed was the subject of 81% of the complaints made to Downdetector, a tool that allows users to report difficulties and outages with websites.

Several individuals who commented on Downdetector and Twitter reported experiencing a problem where comments made by random users on celebrity accounts would show up in their own Feed. When checking the Feed early on Wednesday, CNBC noticed the problem as well.

The Facebook Feed is where the majority of the postings from the people you follow appear.

In October, users were unable to use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger for many hours. This was the most recent big incident involving Meta’s businesses. The traffic between routers in Facebook’s data centers around the world was disrupted as a result of backend updates that, according to Facebook, produced “problems.”

The industry leader in social media has not given further details regarding the latest problem.

Former Apple car project employee pleads guilty of stealing vehicle secrets

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Apple has long been rumored to be developing an electric vehicle under the guise of “Project Titan.” In federal court in San Jose, Xiaolang Zhang, a former Apple employee accused of stealing computer files containing trade secrets about Apple’s secretive car division, pleaded guilty.

Zhang faces up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to a felony charge of trade secret theft. He has accepted a deal with the US court and changed his plea to guilty. The sentencing is set for November.

Zhang was apprehended by federal agents at the San Jose airport in July 2018, where he was scheduled to fly to China. He was accused of downloading a 25-page document containing engineering schematics for an autonomous vehicle’s circuit board. He was also accused of stealing reference manuals and PDFs describing Apple prototypes.

After leaving Apple, Xiaolang Zhang was working at Xpeng Motors, a new Chinese electric vehicle company. The automaker issued a statement denying any involvement in the matter and distancing itself from his actions. According to the carmaker’s statement, once the investigation began in 2018, Xpeng cooperated and sealed his desk and office to comply with US authorities. So far, there is no record of Zhang leaking Apple secrets to Xpeng. 

Netflix Scholarship Applications for West and Central Africa Now Open

Netflix, has announced the extension of its  Netflix Creative Equity Scholarship Fund (CESF) to film and television students in the West and Central Africa region. Applications are now open for students to apply to study at institutions in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and Gabon.

Netflix’s global Netflix Creative Equity Fund , which was launched in 2021 and will be distributed to various initiatives over the next five years with the goal of building a strong, diverse pipeline of creatives around the world, includes a US$1 million scholarship fund for students from Sub-Saharan Africa.

The scholarship fund will cover tuition, housing, study materials, and living expenses at selected partner schools in Nigeria where beneficiaries have been accepted to pursue a programme of study in the television and film disciplines in the 2022 academic year. 

The Netflix CESF is set to launch across the region in the academic year beginning in 2022, and Netflix will partner with Dalberg as an implementation partner and fund administrator in the West and Central Africa region.

The fund will be available to students who have obtained admission to study in various film & TV-focused disciplines, for the 2022 academic year

The Netflix CESF is intended to provide financial aid in the form of full scholarships at partner higher educational institutions in Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and Gabon to help ambitious creatives from West and Central African countries obtain official qualifications and training. The following countries in West and Central Africa will be eligible: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte D’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

The fund will be available to students who have obtained admission to study in various film & TV-focused disciplines, for the 2022 academic year, at the following partner institutions:

Ford llayoffs 3000 employees as part of its restructuring

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Earlier this summer, there were reports that Ford may trim a number of jobs as the company looks to restructure for the future. A memo sent to employees confirms that the layoffs have now begun.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Ford will lay off approximately 3,000 people. These layoffs will result in the elimination of 2,000 internal salaried positions and an estimated 1,000 agency positions. According to a spokesperson for Ford, the layoffs will be concentrated in the company’s Ford Blue division, which oversees the automaker’s internal-combustion projects, its also the company’s largest division.

“We are eliminating work, as well as reorganizing and simplifying functions throughout the business,” wrote Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Farley in a jointly written memo to employees. The memo states that Ford will provide “significant help to find new career opportunities.”

Ford plans to cut $3 billion in annual costs by 2026 in order to achieve a pretax profit margin of 10%. Ford’s pretax profit margins were around 7.3% last year.

The automaker announced its Ford Plus plan in March, which divided its business into two halves. Ford Blue will continue to focus on internal-combustion vehicles and lowering development costs, while Ford Model E looks ahead to EVs, software, and connected-car technology.  The automaker also has Ford Pro which handles the automaker’s commercial efforts.

Roam and M-KOPA partner to bring electric bikes in Africa

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Electric mobility company Roam has signed a supply arrangement deal with fintech platform M-KOPA in an agreement that will see the sell electric motorcycles on credit, a move they believe will decrease the barrier to entry for potential buyers by providing more manageable payment plans.

This is the first supply arrangement of this magnitude for electric bikes in Africa.

Roam plans to have its fleet by end of 2022 as mass deployment to begin early in the year 2023, a move the company says is significant in helping them achieve its goals of making electric vehicles available to the larger consumer base.

M-KOPA enables underbanked customers to access a wide variety of products and services without the need to provide collateral by integrating the power of digital micropayments with the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Through its unique ‘Pay-As-You-Go’ business model, M-KOPA will be able to contribute to the distribution of the motorcycles. It grants buyers immediate access to things while gradually establishing ownership of those products through flexible micro-payments. 

“We intend to deliver appealing environmental and economical solutions for markets that have not yet participated in the shift to electric vehicles. Given the expanding market size and relevance for low-income earners not only in Africa but globally, we believe that the motorcycle taxi business is one of the most influential places to begin our work. Our relationship with M-KOPA will be propelled toward realizing our joint vision of cleaner transportation. Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Roam, Mikael Grange.

The fleet of Roam electric bikes has improvements over the pilots that came before, such as better performance, greater efficiency, and a stronger design. The motorcycles are suitable not only for personal use but also for the transportation of freight and use in taxi services. In addition, they are pre-assembled with a detachable twin battery pack, reducing the time spent in downtime while also enhancing rider freedom.

The distribution of electric bikes will be streamlined thanks to our partnership with M-KOPA will streamline the distribution of the electric bikes with the possibility of expanding Roam’s market reach across Africa in regions in which M-KOPA already has a presence, beginning with Kenya. Customers will be able to save their operational expenditures by more than 70 per cent. It leads to an increase in daily income by fifty per cent arise that can radically affect the drivers’ livelihoods.

Commenting on the partnership, M-KOPA Mobility and M-KOPA Labs are managed by David Damberger, the company’s Managing Director said, “This deployment will have a revolutionary impact on the day-to-day incomes of businesspeople while simultaneously reducing the environmental footprint of commercial activity. It maintains its expansion in markets that are quickly expanding.”

“This agreement is an incredible catalyst for the adoption of electric motorcycles in developing markets, and it affirms our vision of having to release a locally designed product that outperforms the expertise of traditional fossil fuel motorcycles while maintaining a price point that is comparable to those motorcycles”. added Mikael.

‘.

Global Fintech Unlimint launches Banking as a Service API Solution

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Global fintech Unlimint, has announced the launch of its Banking as a Service (BaaS) product, Unlimint Banking and Cards (UBC), a one-stop payment accounts and card issuing and processing solution. The new offering allows companies globally to launch and embed digital payment products for their customers based in the EEA, UK, and LATAM.

 Unlimint is an award-winning global fintech offering advanced payment capabilities through an evolving financial interface to startups and businesses across the globe, operating from five continents.

Commenting on the launch of UBC, Jovi Overo, Managing Director BaaS at Unlimint, said:

“We are delighted to announce the launch of our innovative new solution UBC, Banking as a Service API Platform. With UBC’s powerful, real-time, cloud-based platform, businesses get a complete toolkit that gives them the flexibility and control they need to build new financial products quickly and efficiently.  Companies can retain their global, high-value customers and expand their services into Europe, the UK, and LATAM, providing market-leading digital payment capabilities that place them ahead of competitors. We will continue to implement new trends into our solution to offer a truly innovative global BaaS offering.”

Unlimint Banking and Cards (UBC) is a flexible, white-label solution with software and licenses for a boutique approach. It enables clients to customize and embed payment solutions directly into their own platforms without the need to build complicated payment systems, overcome regulatory obstacles or manage the complexities and difficulties of payment network membership.

The BaaS product also offers crypto to fiat conversion and over 150 APIs that enable clients to customise all elements of their programme. In addition to this, UBC provides businesses globally the ability to accelerate their geographic footprints in existing and new market verticals in Europe, UK, and LATAM.

High-growth markets, like next-generation banking, and fintechs can unlock borderless accounts and payments with UBC’s physical and virtual debit card API solutions. UBC provides an end-to-end offering that can seamlessly integrate banking and payment services via a single account: BaaS, corporate accounts, acquiring, and crypto, all under one roof.

Fintech has been growing consistently over the past few years and companies are more aware of how important it is to offer a variety of payment solutions to clients. KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech report revealed that fintech investments in 2021 recorded $210 billion USD. According to Finastra’s Banking as a Service Outlook 2022 report, almost 85 percent of respondents are already implementing or planning to implement BaaS over the next 12 to 18 months. 

Binance Launches Crypto Education Hub in Cameroon in Collaboration with Inoni Tech

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Binance , the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, has announced the launch of a crypto education hub in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in collaboration with Inoni Tech, a non-profit tech hub providing resources and trainings for young people across Francophone Africa.

 This is a first-of-its-kind crypto hub and will be a training center for in-person blockchain education sessions. Through this hub, Binance will equip crypto enthusiasts with more resources to thrive within the ecosystem as well as foster offline connections.

“Africans continue to interact with crypto in very different ways, establishing some of its most important use cases and opportunities for greater financial inclusion. Through the Binance crypto hub, we see a more on-the-ground approach as an essential step in demystifying the concepts, fostering the right understanding of the many opportunities that education, web 3.0 and blockchain ecosystem can bring to Cameroon and ultimately, Francophone Africa.” said Carine Dikambi, Francophone Africa Lead at Binance.

Located in the neighborhood of Bastos, 300 meters away from the Restaurant The Famous, the crypto hub will create a smoother, safer and more hands-on experience for Binancians and crypto beginners at large. Through regular in-person events, the center will be the focal point for the community with regards to crypto education, up-to-date crypto news and training.

Since the launch of the Binance Masterclass Education Series , Binance has educated over 600,000 Africans about cryptocurrency – some offline and others, virtually. The launch of the crypto hub takes the education efforts a step further, increasing trust and building connections.

By bringing more in-person experiences, Binance is a step closer to the goal of improving crypto literacy and adoption in the region. Additionally, regular skills training sessions will help to create new job opportunities for Cameroonians – with many able to learn new skills in order to remain employable globally.