China’s Huawei was banned from doing business with the US earlier this year as the firm was swept into a trade war between the US and China, which has seen punitive tariffs slapped on billions of dollars worth of two-way trade.
The company was blacklisted by the US because of mistrusts that it provides a backdoor for Chinese intelligence services, although this is something Huawei denies. The decision limited Huawei’s access to important components and to the Android operating system as well as Google applications.
On Friday, citing two sources, Reuters reported that the U.S. Commerce Department was set to issue another 90-day grace period to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd that permits the Chinese firm to buy supplies from US companies so that it can service existing customers.
The “temporary general license” will renew a reprieve set to expire today. This agreement will reportedly let Huawei both maintain current telecom networks and supply software updates for phones. Simply meaning that your P30 Pro should still be up to date months after the ban took effect, or even stay current throughout 2019.
Thereafter, earlier on Sunday, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said the Commerce Department would extend the Huawei licensing process for three months as a gesture of “good faith” amid broader trade negotiations with China.
“We’re giving a break to our own companies for three months,” Kudlow told NBC’s Meet the Press program.
Although on Sunday evening, the US president said:
“Huawei is a company we may not do business with at all.”
“At this moment it looks much more like we’re not going to do business,” Trump told reporters on Sunday as he boarded Air Force One in New Jersey.
“I don’t want to do business at all because it is a national security threat and I really believe that the media has covered it a little bit differently than that,” he said.
Even as his administration weighs whether to extend a grace period for the company, he added that there were small parts of Huawei’s business that could be exempted from a broader ban, but would be “very complicated”.
By saying he does “not want to do business at all” with the Chinese telecoms company, Donald Trump has cast doubt on any reprieve for US companies selling to Huawei.
Putting into consideration that Trump did not say whether his administration would extend the “temporary general license” as he spoke on Sunday. This appears to contradict the commerce department official over whether the trade extension will be granted.
Huawei previously got a 90-day reprieve last May which expires this August 19; today. This allows Huawei to continue operations and work with other US companies until the reprieve ends. After that, US companies who still want to work Huawei would have to process a permit to do so.
However, an extension of the reprieve on Huawei would be a victory for the business community, which has pushed hard for more flexibility with regards to the Chinese company. This reprieve could make or break Huawei’s grip on the US market.
Boeing’s Coding Summer School is set to hold in Nairobi this October, making it the first African city to host the international bootcamp aiming to equip future programmers with critical 21st-century coding skills.
The Coding Summer School, is supported by Boeing and run by ThinkYoung, a Brussels-based think tank that focuses on empowering the youth.
Open to kids between 11 years and 16 years, the Nairobi edition, set to take place between 10th October and 14th October, follows successful editions in Belgium and the Netherlands.
“There are millions of vacant jobs in the IT field, some of which pay as much as $7,000 for internship positions, yet there are high levels of unemployment. This boot camp is meant to give students top-notch skills that meet the global demand for skilled labour in the tech industry and thereby give young people opportunities for gainful employment,” said Andrea Gerosa, Founder of ThinkYoung.
This year, in the 7th edition of the school, ThinkYoung is welcoming more than 60 participants and is aiming for 70 per cent of students will be girls, challenging the myth that coding and IT are skills that only interest boys
Students will learn about creating mobile apps, developing a small blog in HTML5, and converting HTML-based games into mobile apps. Kids will work with our partners DroneSix on Micro Drones and Robotics.
Over the past years, the CS has hosted more than 500 students from over 25 countries.
The CS provides students with a unique experience of a school characterised by innovative approaches in a non-formal educational setting, addressing the real needs of both the youth of today and the skills required by the labour market.
It provides an amazing insight into the world of coding and technology. The Coding School will cover a number of different areas, including using HTML to create a blog, mobile app and a video game. Additional activities include working on robotics and micro drones. All interested parties can apply to the program here.
Little, the Safaricom-backed ride-hailing firm with operations in Kenya and various other markets across Africa has partnered with a regional low-cost carrier, Jambojet, in a move to market its platform to travelers in Kenya with hopes of growing its customer base.
Little will offer a $1.5 discount (Kshs.150) on cab rides to its customers for three months to and from airports in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu. The initiative is aimed at providing Jambojet customers affordable and convenient travel but also aims at helping Little cut out the competition especially from venture-backed Uber and Bolt.
The firm is also running the campaign on the foldable tray tables on the airline’s De Havilland Dash 8 Q400 aircrafts.
“This is an exciting partnership that will offer Jambojet customers more convenience and affordability to and from the airport, which is what we live for at Little” said Mr Anoke Chisom, Head of Global Expansion at Little.
The ride-hailing firm is also taking up ad space in the regional airline to reach a targeted captive audience traveling across East Africa with hopes that the Little brand will stick to their hearts to influence their transport decisions when they alight the airline.
“Our inflight advertising platform offers brands an effective way to reach consumers who are increasingly difficult to influence through traditional media like television, billboards and newspapers.” said Jambojet Chief Executive officer Mr. Allan Kilavuka, “We are continuously looking for ways of enriching our customers travel experience and our partnership with Little offers us an opportunity to do that.”
Earlier this month, we shared with you that Facebook is adding its name to Instagram and WhatsApp, and would soon call them “Instagram from Facebook” and “WhatsApp from Facebook”. For WhatsApp, this change seems to be coming very soon as it’s latest beta update reportedly adds the ‘WhatsApp from Facebook’ tag to the app.
WhatsApp from Facebook
Earlier this year, The Information was first to report on the news of Facebook including its name on WhatsApp and Instagram, and Facebook confirmed it later. A Facebook spokesperson said, “We want to be clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook.”
According to a report by MS Poweruser, the ‘WhatsApp from Facebook’ tag is visible under Settings and is a clear indication of Facebook marking its territory.
On top of that, just a week ago, Facebook started adding its name to some screens on Instagram, one of the first links it has given users to its ownership of the popular platform. Although Facebook has kept the app separate, the company hasn’t given up on the dream of a unified platform.
WhatsApp from Facebook and Instagram from Facebook
This move comes as Facebook, which is the world’s largest social media company, faces extensive scrutiny from regulators around the world for more transparency over data privacy practices and how or who it shares user information with.
Facebook purchased Instagram back in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, and each is now used by more than 1 billion people.
Instagram has become primarily important in adding to Facebook’s revenue considering that the app largely stayed out of its parent’s privacy scandals. Not forgetting that it also pulls in younger consumers at a much faster rate, thus attracting more advertisers.
The ‘WhatsApp from Facebook’ tag comes less than a week after the Facebook-owned platform started rolling out a feature called “Fingerprint lock” for its Android beta users. This would let people use fingerprint to open WhatsApp.
As much as the feature lets users open WhatsApp, users will still be able to answer calls even when WhatsApp is locked.
WABetaInfo reported that you need to update your WhatsApp version to the 2.19.221 Android beta first for the Fingerprint lock feature to be enabled.
To enable it, open WhatsApp “Settings” and then go to “Account” and then to the “Privacy” section where one can spot the “Fingerprint Lock”.
“The previous update might get the feature as well, but WhatsApp is always used to enable features in recent updates (that might contain bug fixes and improvements for the feature), so you should install the 2.19.221 update as above mentioned,” said the report.
Nowadays it is not a big deal whether medium or small-sized businesses move to the cloud, but they have to migrate properly with associated applications. How to perform the migration is more important to analyze the servers of current on-premise and they should understand running applications. Microsoft Azure is considered as the top contender that provides security, scalability, and redundancy to grow the IT infrastructure of a business. The cloud solutions of Azure are from a single server to farm servers in multiple regions and slowly scaling up to requirements of performance at a specific time. There is no need to spend extra capital in memory, hardware-servers, and storage. It leads to the popularity of web-based applications with their clients.
Here we have 3 ways to impact the overall small and medium-sized businesses by Microsoft Azure cloud.
Scalability & Redundancy
Security & Compliance
Disaster Recovery
Scalability & Redundancy:
By using Microsoft Azure the user allows to scale up or down the required resources in a subscription of Azure client without investing in additional resource capacity which leads to perfect growth in small businesses. If the user wants new functionality, then he should select what need from the Azure’s menu, then it should deploy very quickly.
The process of scalability is a more automated Azure app service, it depends on the total number of visitors to the particular website. It happens when user traffic is lesser than the non-profit experiences or an association. A website or web-based application built under Azure app service which can automatically in horizontal (by adding load-balanced servers) or vertically (by adding resources to the server). It because to handle the extra traffic in heavy times without investing the resources additionally. Whenever the hosting requires the user has to pay for the additional resources instead of paying in the entire year. It leads to valuable capability for experiencing website traffic a few times in a year. This is very easy for NOC, wallet of business and managed service teams to adjust accordingly.
Scalability improves business performance running with 24/7 minimum downtime. This is how Azure excels in the options of redundancy. By using Azure traffic manager and different Azure regions the user can handle the required failover options and traffic routing. The robust client hosting can be built by cloud architects in the cloud of Azure for the applications and websites which need to operate at continues uptime and peak performance. The redundancy and scalability options of Azure can provide the agility and stability of infrastructure that is needed to capitalize on the business to the next level.
But understanding when and how to transition to Azure is crucial before making a decision. It’s critical to consider several factors if you just bought new hardware, your staff skillset doesn’t include Azure, you have strict security requirements, or your leadership team is uncomfortable in migrating to the cloud. Professional IT consulting and managed IT services can help run your security concerns, the system costing model, etc. In that way, you can scale your business using Azure more confidently.
Security & Compliance:
Hacks and Breaches making the headlines that result in occurring regular basis at few enterprises such as Best Buy, Equifax, and Target. Security is one of the prior concerns to seek the data of intellectual property and data of customers whether it is an NGO, trade association or government contractor.
The daily treats from different vectors make very important to have genuine tools to detect and monitor the cloud environment. The solution can be provided through Azure Security Center in helping to detect, prevent, and respond with control over the critical Azure resources and it’s visibility. NOC teams are used to verify the configuration and proper security. Those NOC teams are allowed by Azure Security Center. It can also help in identifying the resource immediate attention.
Other than security, compliance also plays a major role when the cloud service is selected by a business. This is true for health-related organizations and credit unions, it is because of the sensitive nature, it leads to the upper hand of Azure with its coverage of comprehensive compliance. The more certifications can be held than the other cloud service providers. The US government agencies trust Azure like their government contractors. These cloud services can be delivered only in Azure regions that can handle government information. There is no other small business that can match the investment of Microsoft other than Azure cloud. Small-medium businesses can tap into robust security.
Disaster Recovery:
The recovering ability is an important element of small-medium businesses when disaster strikes. Severe weather conditions like floods, hurricanes, and fires that strike regularly. Then, it is a question for you “How to protect the IT infrastructure?”.
Previously, the solutions for disaster recovery are costly and time taking processes. Nowadays, it becomes very easy with ASR (Azure Site Recovery) service. The data and on-premise servers become very easy with ASR.
Conclusion:
By using these 3 ways the business through Microsoft Azure will get improve whether it is small-sized or medium-sized businesses. Scalability and redundancy are very much useful in allowing quick scale-up and can provide the capacity of additional resources. The security and compliance are very much useful in detecting and preventing the control over the critical Azure resources. Disaster recovery plays an important role in SMBs. It responds quickly when a disaster strikes.
Author Bio: Anji Velagana, a graduate in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Jawaharlal Technological University, Kakinada. He is currently working for MindMajix Technologies as a content strategist.
How you create a cool appearance with a decent bag
In 2019 you go for a decent bag. Decent? YES! But now it comes: you don’t carry the bag on you underarm (to sophisticated). You carry your most beautiful bag the casual way. An elegant outfit asks for it.
How? By using your hands. You don’t carry it on the handles of the bag. It has to look like you just grabbed the bag form the table. It’s a fast world, you know! Show it!
Cowboysbag is the musthave
The Cowboysbag is the musthave for the fashionable man en woman these days. There are decent bags in their collection that can be carried that way. Like the Cowboysbag Chicago. Elegant and the one for a casual look.
And there is the laptop bag Edgemore. In beautiful dark blue. Fits to every outfit and can be carried the way we recommended.
White bags are a bit… white
It is announced that the white colored bag is on! We have our doubts. A white bag is an eyecather, but if you want to use your bag daily, we recommend a leather one in elephant grey. That is more comfortable. Cowboysbag offers you great ones in this grey colour!
If you still want to make that statement you go for the fancy Bristol Yellow Cowboysbag handtas. Wow! There is also a Fleet Yellow one. Great example of fashion, decency and extravagance. For the daring ones.
Choose the bag that fits your mood
Who goes for it? You know that even the cheapest outfit can be upgraded by the right bag. Really! And woman are known for their bag-passion. So if you have the named Yellow Cowboysbag, you can also extend your collection by buying a more moderated bag like a leather colored Cowboysbag handbag. No problem at all. You just choose the bag that fits your mood in the morning.
Do you know that also a big bag is hot this year? A really big one. The Cowboysbag Nairobi Snake is good example. There is really room for everything in this bag and it looks amazing! An elegant bag with a cool appearance! You can also wear it cross-body.
So now it comes to choosing your Cowboysbag. Difficult? Not if you take the time to search online. There’s a great collection at THEBAGSTORE. Just take al look and go for the one or ones that you like the most.
Carry the right bag with flair
A ‘almost’ white one, a yellow screaming copy or a moderated leather one in brown hues. There is so much choice! For man and woman. And remember: the cheapest outfit can be fashionable by carrying the right one. The right bag. And carry it with flair. You know how!
Huawei is developing its own mapping service called Map Kit, China Daily reports, and this may be an alternative to Google Maps. A catch to it though is that the service is not exactly meant for consumers. Alternatively, the idea is to give developers tools to build new applications based on its mapping capabilities.
This news comes shortly after unveiling its potential Android replacement, HarmonyOS, and now Huawei seems to be working on a Google Maps alternative with plans to unveil it in October.
The service will connect to local mapping services covering 150 countries and regions, and support 40 different languages, said the report by China Daily. Other rumored features include real-time traffic conditions, sophisticated navigation capabilities, and augmented reality mapping.
Yandex commonly referred to as the ‘Russian Google‘ and Booking.com parent Booking Holdings are reported to already be on board for Map Kit.
Since President Trump blacklisted Huawei back in May, its ability to access Google’s services was threatened with the fact that Google banned the company from using its Android OS.
Since then, Huawei has been looking into options to decrease its reliance on Google and its services. We can all agree that HarmonyOS and Map Kit can be viewed as a direct response to these circumstances, as Huawei could be barred from using Google apps on new Android phones in the event of a more permanent ban. The firm would also encounter difficulties in using Google services on a HarmonyOS device, meaning an in-house solution is a warranted decision.
Huawei’s HarmonyOS which was announced last week was one step towards independence for the Chinese tech giant, and now Map Kit may be another step further.
Another obvious reason why Huawei is developing its own mapping system is that a bunch of apps these days depend on location-based services. A recent estimate given by Huawei cloud services boss Zhang Pingan, revealed that nearly 50 percent of apps need mapping capabilities to run properly.
However, Map Kit will not be the only Google Maps alternative around as we’ve also got Bing Maps, HERE WeGo, and Apple Maps.
British Airways will give its first-class passengers from London’s Heathrow airport to New York’s JFK airport a new way to pass time with VR in-flight entertainment. British Airways said in a statement on Wednesday that through the end of the year, passengers flying in may get to try out virtual reality headsets.
To do this, British Airways is using SkyLights’ specialist VR viewer, AlloSky, and passengers on those flights can watch “films, documentaries, and travel programs in 2D, 3D or 360-degree formats.”
“Virtual reality has the power to revolutionize in-flight entertainment,” Sajida Ismail, head of in-flight product for British Airways, said in a statement.
The AlloSky hardware can present 3D views even when the viewer is lying flat and is much closer to a simple phone-based VR headset other than something like Oculus Quest.
AlloSky VR headset
The kit closely resembles a pair of goggles that weigh in at 250g and are powered by Qualcomm offering 1080p resolution per eye, which is below what you might expect of consumer VR headsets.
They support basic three degrees of freedom (3DOF) head-tracking, allowing you to watch a range of 360-degree content along with traditional and 3D films.
British Airways will have options as far as programming is concerned. The VR headsets will offer visual entertainment in 2D, 3D, or 360° formats.
360-degree movies shown on the platform include Baobab’s Asteroids! and Breaking Fourth’s Bro Bots. The airline will also provide more therapeutic programs like guided meditation and sound therapy for those with a fear of flying.
However, the BA first-class passengers should expect around two and a half hours of use from the kit before having to reach for the USB cable. So you might just squeeze one film out of it.
This marks the first time British Airways is bringing virtual reality onto its aircraft’s in-flight entertainment. Although earlier this year, the airline also used SkyLights’ hardware at its Heathrow Terminal 5 ticket counters to show passengers the experience of its first-class travel in an effort to encourage upgrades.
Technically VR technology is mostly associated with games but its real-world applications are much more widespread than that. From the likes of Audi’s VR dealership experience to benefits in healthcare and simulation in military scenarios. And now Airlines are looking to improve the travel experience of passengers with it.
However, British Airways isn’t a pioneer for this sought of thing, a few other airlines have tried offering VR for passengers. Last year, Alaska Airlines also began a partnership with SkyLights to offer in-flight headsets, and Air France, Lufthansa, and Qantas have all tried out virtual reality programs.
Though it’s worth mentioning that BA is the first UK airline to use in-flight VR, considering that it’s a massive name in the air travel biz, in-flight VR could soon become an onboard norm.
“Virtual reality has the power to revolutionize in-flight entertainment and we’re really excited to trial these new glasses as they should create a unique and memorable journey for our First customers,” said Sajida Ismail, BA’s Head of Inflight Product.
For the BA 117 flight to complete its journey from London Heathrow to New York JFK, it usually takes around 8 hours. As much as virtual reality can greatly help to pass this time for many, those who suffer from motion sickness might beg to differ.
As for why VR is only in first-class, a BA spokesperson commented: “We are currently evaluating the use of virtual reality as another form of inflight entertainment. During this trial stage, we are keeping our sample sizes small, this lends itself well to our First cabin. As always, we’ll evaluate customer feedback throughout. We hope they will love it.”
Social media has given creatives and people at large the opportunity to make money online.
Influencers are people who are known for one particular thing, it could either be beauty, fashion, tech or anything else. For some time now most people did not understand how “influencing” would work. However, most people are now appreciating that you can actually make money online. The Ugandan government has noted this and has now taken a step further to commercialize IG accounts.
Ugandans will now have to‘register’ their activities for ‘monitoring’ by the state, the country’s communication said. This will also be done as an attempt to regulate social media influencers and their work. Influencers include politicians, musicians and other creatives. The standard fee will be $20 which is KSh 2,000.
Although the Ugandan government claims that this new move is in attempt to regulate content, most Ugandans disagree. Recently, university lecturer and activist Stella Nyanzi was jailed for 18-months on cyber harassment charges stemming from a Facebook post criticizing Museveni, who has ruled the country for the past three and a half decades. It is rather obvious that the Ugandan government will be moderating social media and locking people up when they seem to oppose the President with their opinions or statements. What do you think?
Nigeria’s Mofoluke Ayoola, who started RedViolet Company as a traditional interior design company, in 2010, is set to launch Furnisee, an IKEA-style DIY home furnishing solution in the UK.
Ayoola, who runs RedViolet Company in Nigeria and Ghana says her firm has over the years evolved and become an ecommerce company providing access to furniture and furnishing accessories despite the challenges.
In Nigeria and Ghana, Red Violet Company sells individual pieces, curated looks, takes orders for custom design services. Ayoola hopes that launching her new home furnishing startup in the UK market will greatly change the home furnishing sector in the market and meet the growing need for African-themed furniture and interior design solutions.
“We are creating an app for the UK market and not moving the RedViolet Company here,” said Ayoola who has been named among top five iconic women leading innovative companies in Nigeria. Ayoola saw the transition of her traditional interior design business into a DIY ecommerce company in the face of recession. She hopes her experiences during that time will help her unveil her new home furnishing app in the UK in the coming months.
Though many think entrepreneurship is an easy ride, Ayoola or Mo believes entrepreneurs are saddled with the responsibility of designing and creating solutions that meet the needs of their target audience.
The process is often filled with twists and turns, leading to sometimes, expected and also unexpected realities, if you are nurturing the idea of getting to the entrepreneurial world or have a startup idea, Mo has listed tips from her experience with various business ideas and her journey through her RedViolet Company.
TechMoran caught up with Mo as she’s fondly called and discussed the firm’s plans, her experiences so far and the journey ahead.
What inspired you to launch this business?
At the time I started, originally in 2007 under a different brand name, Debra’s Creations, there was a gap in the market at the time, interior design was strictly for the rich, the aim of the company was to curate affordable home furnishing solutions to the huge middle class market that was unattended to.
Before then, I worked a couple of years as an Accounting Information Technology Consultant and as an Accounts Manager, but the accounting career didn’t cut it for me. I wanted to do something that would constantly challenge me, secondly, my mum had a household store which may have pushed my interests toward small scale home furnishing solutions, as I had written a list of 9 things, I considered doing outside my budding accounting career.
Tell us more about yourself?
I am known as Foluke, Folu, Mo and to some Mofoluke, My name is Mofoluke Ayoola, I was born in Lagos to an average family, I have three sisters, and I am the first. We were raised traditional style, my dad and mum were both disciplinarians, both entrepreneurs even though my mum had an administrative career till her 50s, but she always had one or two businesses on the side while she maintained a day job. My dad was in the Advertising space, suffice to say I was raised amidst entrepreneurs. My early education was in Lagos and university in Ekiti State, I am from Ilesha in Osun, and I currently rounding up a masters in London. Let’s say I have a strong spiritual orientation, I am highly introverted, I love nature, I am the 80s and 90s music fan (Old skool). I keep a few close inner circle friends. I like my peace and I work hard at protecting it. I am pretty open-minded, despite being esoteric. I love to learn, I love the idea of travel (I need to do more though), good food and fine things, and I work hard to afford them, when I can. Intelligent conversations fascinate me, I am inclined to the sapiosexuality orientation.
What challenges have you faced so far in running your business? And how are you solving them?
Nothing unusual, I am sure anyone with a business, will share the same plight; even though it may be more amplified in Nigeria, for obvious reasons.
Poor economic climate (Solution in bullet points)
We leverage technology to serve a more diverse market, as a result of a constantly degrading economy.
Access to funds and high lending rates
We got creative in the types of funds we take, lending rates in Nigeria are not for small businesses, to be honest, I wonder who makes this much profit businesses need to make to be able to accommodate such ridiculously high interest rates. We got creative in the way we source funds, unfortunately even friends are family have a ridiculous expectation of the return rate they expect. The way I have approached this is self-funding, access to grands, and low interest rates opportunities, for example 5-10% over 5years, which is reasonable.
Human capital resources
This is one that has hit me badly over the years and now, I think, we have come to terms with the fact that, it is part of the culture and the process, to be honest it impedes growth, when the quality of human power is relatively low and the employee turnover is low, then we consider how to fill the gap, constant training was a core to our strategy in RedViolet Company, but, that isn’t a guarantee employee will stay, in fact, I know from experience it makes them better fit for these organisations that would not have considered them beforehand. We invest in our people, we eventually proposed, the shift work patterns that let our people study while we actively supported their education, this improved our employee turnover rate.
Low technology adoption
We made the move online in 2016, and we realised even our culture in Nigeria has impeded growth, this is because we really don’t like to read as a people. Most customers would put a call through before they place an order online.
A typical customer assumes good customer service is agreeing to do what suits them always even when it doesn’t suit our service policy, changing this orientation and maintaining a good relationship is usually a challenge, we therefore put in place solutions and options even within our policies to encourage flexibility.
Insecurities
Some of the issues we have encountered are insecurities within the space, we put in extra care when deliveries are being done, we recently halted the payment on delivery for this reason, we are careful to make sure our staff are not attacked for carrying cash, like the Jumia delivery case, since then, there have been many more cases reported. However, we constantly iterate our policies to accommodate both our team members safety and our customer’s interests.
High overhead costs
The drop in crude oil prices in 2014, to 2015 had negative impact on the economy, in other to remain in business we developed the idea of moving our store online, this was in a bid to cut our high overhead costs and diversify our product offering and market reach. We successfully migrated the business in 2016, however, this came with a different kind of overhead cost, which is the cost of technical expertise. We initially paid high to get less done and we have had to refine most of our solution offerings overtime. But I will still maintain it is, however, still more economical to sell online, as most of our costs now centres around digital marketing and warehousing which is inevitable. The cost of cost of acquisition per customer is high within the domain space. But the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.
To survive in one sentence, keep your expenses in check, focus on what is pertinent to your next milestone, adopt agile methods, it will help you manage your solutions in more sustainable approach.
What are your various packages and how does each work?
Individual items can be purchased on our website (furniture pieces and home furnishing pieces). We also have RedViolet Company curated looks, in a product and section called “Shop-the-look”. Lastly we offer clients the opportunity to customise their looks by asking us for a tailored service.
What are your numbers in Nigeria and do you have any local or regional expansion plans?
Yes, we do have plans, we are currently overhauling and redesigning our model and offerings to customers, like I said earlier our aim is to user-centred approaches to develop solutions that meets the needs our users. Other plans we have include new market penetration. Currently, we are currently working on an application that helps DIY users with their styling project. This idea is however, targeted at the UK market, having analysed our market here in Africa, and concluding is not ready for such innovations and also considering the small addressable market size.
Who is your competition and how unique are you from them?
Generalist e-commerce companies they stock more general products but have furniture and accessories as one of their product line. A few brick and mortar furniture stores, international markets such as Wayfair and Amazon have African’s shopping from them and importing into Africa. One of our core advantages is leveraging our domain expertise in the furniture and styling space to offer tailored solutions to our customers, we offer free professional consultation services to our shoppers, this in turn equips them to make the right purchasing decisions.
How do you think you will take on your competitors who are said to have raised millions of dollars for expansion?
Customer centred approaches, while we continue to raise ours. We grew our customer base at the early start from referrals and word of mouth, today we are leveraging digital marketing, we still in the business of taking our customer’s pain away and offering them good value for their money’s worth. Others are we are also looking at other funding options at the moment and also to bring investors will we work on our next steps.
Have you raised any funds yet or are a firm believer in bootstrapping?
Definitely, I firmly believe in bootstrapping, that was the only way we could have gotten started, it is very effective in our domain space especially when we were only project oriented. However, I won’t fully say bootstrapping is the only way, it can be limiting at growth stage, it is important to weight other terms of funding before going for it. We are currently opening up to investors soon, but we aren’t early stage, we are scaling is the reason, so hopefully can agree on terms that makes us take the dive.
What future opportunities are you preparing yourself for as your competition launches new products?
We have a keen eye for customer oriented solutions more than our competitors at the moment and also where the market stands at the moment and where it is headed, we definitely will be adopt more frequent changes but our focus right now is the market as represented by our customers.
How do you acquire customers to your network?
Referrals, digital campaigns, exhibitions.
How do you do deliver and what have been your problems with the current mechanisms of delivery?
High cost of delivery, lack of insurance from some of our logistics partners, poor handling from most logistics partners, sometimes to minimise our risks, we manage some of our local logistics inhouse.
What do you think needs to be done to improve e-commerce and logistics in Africa?
I have an article that has addressed this, there is quite a lot of buyer’s scepticism within the space to the detriment of the growth of the sector which is why a typical buyer wants to pick up their phone to call customer service to get information clearly stated on these websites, before making a purchase, a couple of fixes;
Open the borders across African countries, it doesn’t make sense at all, cost of shipping from the UK and China is less than cost of shipping across Nigeria and to other African countries. Our first order from Ghana didn’t sail as a result of this, it was a furniture set and the shipping cost was double the product cost.
Creating a body that protects consumer’s right as much as the buyer right. If people knew they had an opportunity for rebate, there would be less trust issues.
Logistics and insurance should be part and parcel of service delivery within the logistics space. Imagine paying so much to send an item and to find out something messed it up in transit, there is a loss regardless of who bears it, reliable insurance must be at the core of logistic solutions and it must be affordable.
Return policies is a bit tricky, we’ve had customers say this is how it is done internationally. At RedViolet Company we understand having products back after a week or 2 with our customers wasn’t feasible, despite the fact that the solution works in some developed countries. We devised what we call scheduled deliveries, which allows our customers to make a decision as to keeping the item or returning it at the point of receiving it, protecting both the consumers and the buyer; and we at RedViolet Company promise a full refund of the cost of the product.
Buyers MUST read, product descriptions, terms and conditions, this information could help you make decisions to patronise the buyer or not. If a customer isn’t comfortable with the company’s terms and conditions of service, it’s okay to not do business with them rather expect an organisation to change a policy, at RedViolet Company, we weight the interest of our customers as much as ours, and at every point in time, we review these policies when its pertinent . Lastly if an online company DOES NOT properly describe what they are selling to you, please move on.
Mo
Most tech start-ups have their IT headquarters in Europe due to a perceived limited IT talent in Africa. Is this true and what do you think needs to be done to address this skills gap problems on the continent?
You are absolutely correct; most tech start-ups are moving to Europe and the reasons are;
Low technology adoption still hits us hard here
The small addressable market size
Lack of community support for tech start-ups and all start-up in general
Brain drain currently being experience across Africa
I would say all these challenges still borders around socio-economic challenges ravaging Africa for decades, however, a good place to start to create more ecosystems within Africa, encourage digital talents to stay back and also improve support to start-ups.
I have witnessed first-hand fantastic support in the start-up space in Europe, even with immigrants.
Why are two wheelers so important to transport and ecommerce in Nigeria or across Africa?
Gridlocks are ravaging most of the popular cities in Nigeria, road wheelers will assist in curbing the effect of gridlock on late deliveries, unfortunately only a fraction of our product line can be delivered with two wheelers. However, if the safety of two wheelers are guaranteed, this mode of transportation, it will definitely impact the ecommerce industry in cost and timeline.
What are your future plans say in two or three years?
I will summarise that in a single sentence not to give away too much too early;
New market penetrations, possible change in business model and product offering.
What advice will you give anyone going into the start-up space in Africa now?
Do your market analysis, evaluate if your solution a good fit for the market. Involve your intended end-users early enough, engage in continuous learning. Consider having a mentor, make sure you have a support system, network, and remember the journey is not a walk in the park, whenever you feel alone, talk to like minded people, all entrepreneurs deal with these things. For me, there’s being a God factor, a fantastic family support, my team members, my mentors and customers that believed we could.
NilePay, recently partnered with Zain South Sudan to launch NilePay Mobile Money in a move to eliminate significant barriers that have hindered consumers in the country from taking full advantage of global eCommerce.
“NilePay Mobile Service’s partnership with Zain South Sudan
is part of the company’s long-term strategy to enable eCommerce and digitize
financial services across the country,” said Darius Mobe, Director, NilePay
Mobile Money
Most people in South Sudan’s capital have been relying on
unlicensed mobile operators to transfer money through platforms created by MTN
Uganda and Kenya’s M-PESA.
“We are excıted to have partnered with NilePay PLC to brıng
the mobile wallet services to the South Sudan market, which makes it more
convenient and secure for users to withdraw and deposit money to their accounts
while participating in the digital economy.” says Eng. Magdi Taha, CEO, Zain
South Sudan
2 billion people lack access to basic financial services
Worldwide, almost 700 million people have registered mobile money accounts, transacting an average of $1 billion a day. Yet another 2 billion people lack access to basic financial services, meaning they miss out on the advantages that mobile money provides.
Mobile money has enabled Africa to leapfrog to a position
where it is alongside if not ahead of the developed world in terms of Fintech.
South Sudan’s 8-year-old economy is ready to hop on the bandwagon as the
interoperability of mobile money services movement grows.
NilePay Mobile Money, named after the famous River Nile that straddles the Republic of South Sudan intends to offer the active 2 million mobile users a versatile and secure mobile payment solution, that is easy to scale and provides a seamless customer experience.
Zain’s many mobile money partners
NilePay PLC is a South Sudanese Company headquartered in Juba, South Sudan. The firm is joining firms such as eServGlobal which entered into a 3 year agreement with Zain Mobile to provide mobile money service to its customers.
eServGlobal and Zain were to offer a complete mobile money platform, providing services such electronic top-up, mobile wallets, mobile banking, online payments, salary disbursements, peer-to-peer money transfer, micro finance, airtime top-up, bill payment and payment at a merchant.
Zain partnered with Bank of Khartoum to launch a mobile financial service called ‘Hassa’. Hassa was an easy, instant and secure service that allows all Zain customers in the country to complete a wide range of financial transactions and operations, including money transfers and various other transactions, including paying bills and withdrawal of cash from Automated Teller Machines (ATM) without the requirement of opening a bank account.
Later there was “Bank it system” which might never have launched outside its office as its founder was Software Engineering student who might have given the idea up for job opportunities. Recently, m-GURUSH launched to be the country’s new mobile commerce platform.m-GURUSH is a JV between Sudan’s Trinity Technologies and Zain Telecom South Sudan.
“The m-GURUSH money mobile commerce platform presents a complete transformation from your first interaction with it, which is a simple, easy to use customer friendly access menu that makes it fast and convenient for customers and dealers to carry out transactions. The platform provides consumers with a robust offering of products that cuts across, Service Payments, Airtime top up and money transfer services.” said Mr. Joseph Arinaitwe, Trinity Technologies Vice President.
m-GURUSH promised to promote broad digitization of the economy giving its users a full suite of services that are relevant to their daily lives, encouraging them to keep their funds in digital form and building resilience to financial shocks.
m-GURUSH also promised to pursue partnerships with the SMEs, Government and humanitarian organizations to ensure ease of access to affordable financial services. We hope NilePay lives more than the rest to serve its clients in South Sudan.
“Connected customers present a tremendous opportunity that more than a dozen mobile money markets in the world are already seizing through interoperability. When digital finance is unencumbered, people are empowered. The move to introduce mobile money payments is part of our strategy to bring the benefits of electronic payments to the people of South Sudan,” added Asha Marie, Director, NilePay Mobile Money
Facebook has updated its Group privacy settings and added admin controls for group safety because it wants to make it easier for users to understand its Group privacy settings.
The social media site is doing away with the public, closed or secret settings. Alternatively, Groups will include two clear options “private” or “public.” Facebook claims this will simplify who can find a Group and see its members and posts.
Jordan Davis, product manager for Facebook Groups on the Facebook newsroom blog said, “Having two privacy settings — public and private — will help make it clearer about who can find the group and see the members and posts that are part of it. We’ve also heard that most people prefer to use the terms “public” and “private” to describe the privacy settings of groups they belong to.”
Private groups will be the ones wherein only the members will be able to see who else is in the group and what they’ve posted. Whereas in public groups, the members and their posts will be visible to all.
These new settings will grant more control for admins and members, giving admins more control tools and members the option to see the group’s history or preview its content before accepting or declining an invitation.
In an effort to monitor and detect bad content in Facebook groups, the new group settings are also part of the Safe Communities Initiative that the company started two years ago.
So how will things change for the existing groups?
A group that was formerly “secret” will now be “private” and “hidden.” Only members of the group can find this group and only they can see who is in the group and what they post.
A group that was formerly “closed” will now be “private” and “visible.” Anyone can find this group, but only members can see who is in the group and what they post.
A group that was formerly “public” will remain “public” and “visible.” It will be visible to everyone and you can search these groups and find its members.
Moreover, with the new settings, admins will be able to clearly choose whether or not the group can be found in search and other places.
Facebook Group Privacy Settings
Facebook added that by separating the privacy settings for posts and group membership from the overall discoverability of the group, it is easier for admins to understand and manage their group privacy settings, and also easier for members to know important information like who can find the group.
All the new options are now available for all admins in their Group Settings, but note that there are restrictions to if and when an admin can change the privacy setting of a group. Though, all the updates made by an admin to the group’s privacy setting will be highlighted for all group members via notifications.
This news of the group settings update also comes in the wake of recent findings that secret Facebook groups have been acting as rallying places for racist, offensive activity A very recent example of such was from earlier last month when ProPublica found a group of Border Patrol agents joking about migrant deaths. Providing more transparent group settings and enforcement of community guidelines will hopefully prevent such groups from making their mark.
The update is in line with the vision Mark Zuckerberg described at the most recent F8 developers’ conference. Where he positioned private Groups as a big part of Facebook’s strategy going forward, and this seems like a step toward that eventuality.
KCB Group has posted a 5% growth in after tax profit to KShs. 12.7 billion for the first half of 2019 ending June compared to KShs12.1 billion reported same period last year due to growth in its loan book and increased mobile channel activity.
KCB Group CEO and MD Joshua Oigara, while releasing the results on Thursday, said channel transactions done outside the branch increased to 96% of total transactions, up from 87% in 2018 driven by mobile channel.
“We had a strong second
quarter and witnessed continued growth across our businesses segments. The
investment in technology generated positive return and further helped drive
efficiency and deepen access to affordable financial services in all markets,”
said the Group CEO and MD.
The firm saw a net interest income increase by 5% to KShs. 25.4 billion, attributable to a 14% expansion of the loan book and a marginal 2% increase in the interest expense.
Fees and commissions
increased by 31% to KShs. 8.9 billion as revenues from digital channels in
particular KCB M-PESA grew significantly powered by the new platform launched
late last year. The value of loans disbursed via the service during the period
of review increased from KShs. 14.9 billion in H1 2018 to KShs. 66.7 billion in
H1 2019.
Total operating income was up 8% to KShs. 38.6 billion from KShs.35.6 billion on the back of strong non-funded income which grew 15% to KShs.13.1 billion. The Group’s balance sheet increased by 12% to KShs. 746.5 billion, with deposits up 7% to KShs. 563.2 billion supported by continued strong growth in personal and transaction accounts.
The loan book surged 14% to
KShs. 478.7 billion, reflecting the strong lending pipeline primarily driven by
the retail and corporate banking customer segment.
The ratio of non-performing
loans to total loans declined to 7.8% from 8.4%, well below the industry
average of 12.7%.
Following the results, the
Board of Directors approved a payment of an interim dividend of KShs: 1.00 per
share. Shareholders will be paid the dividend in November 2019.
Huawei has officially released its EMUI10 allowing users to connect between multiple devices as well as applications such as audio and video calls in all scenarios.
The EMUI10 Beta version will be internally tested with Huawei P30 series and other models on September 8, and EMUI10 will be available on the next generation of Mate series products.
According to Dr. Wang Chenglu, President of the Software Engineering Department at Huawei Consumer Business Group, during the Huawei Developers Congress held on August 9, in Dongguan, China, the EMUI10 is pioneering distributed technology applications for providing an all-scenario experience.
The EMUI10 comes with improved GPU Turbo technology and Link Turbo network aggregation technology that lets smartphones access multiple networks like 4G and WiFi for network speed 70% faster than using 4G alone. Other innovations like the EROFS super file system improves Android’s random read by 20%, and additionally, the Ark Compiler also smooths third-party applications by 60%.
EMUI has over 500 million daily active users (DAU), and a dark mode was
added to EMUI10.
Huawei EMUI has more than 500 million DAUs in 216 countries, and supports 77 languages since its birth in 2012. Huawei expects the number of users upgrading their phones to EMUI10 to reach 150 million.
EMUI10 brings three updates: UX design, an all-scenario ultimate
experience, and a new standard of smooth operation.
EMUI10 adds a dark mode to bring more visual comfort. The dark mode optimizes both color contrast between texts and dark backgrounds as well as the color of texts and system icons, and the end result ensures the visual consistency, comfort, and legibility.
Distributed technology transforms cross-device experiences and merges
capabilities of multiple devices onto one screen.
EMUI10 adopts revolutionary distributed technology to support HD video calls among multiple devices. Users can make audio and video calls whenever and wherever they are. If there is an incoming call, users can choose to answer using a smart speaker. Or if it is a video call, they can answer through a TV, vehicle-mounted device, or even send a real-time video feed from a drone so that friends and family can also enjoy the beautiful scenery. At work, a smartphone and computer can share screens so that data can be exchanged easily through drag-and-drop.
One-time development for multi-device deployment, providing consistent all-scenario
user experience
There are more diversified smart devices including smartphones and smart TVs, and with the popularization of application ecosystems, the number of devices and applications of a user is rapidly increasing.
EMUI provides a distributed UI programming framework and virtualizes hardware capabilities. As a result, developers can create apps for multiple devices without needing to make adaptations for the same program.
Huawei shipped 100 million units in just five months this year, and in the future, EMUI will provide more applications and synergized cross-device experiences for users.
The P30 series is the first to upgrade to the EMUI10 Beta version, and other
devices will have it soon.
Huawei P30 series will be the first to upgrade to the EMUI10 Beta version for internal testing on September 8 and will be available for the Mate 20 series later on. During the launch event, Dr. Wang Chenglu also announced that EMUI10 will be firstly launched in the next generation of the Mate series. Huawei
EMUI team looks forward to joining hands with developers and partners to offer an
all-scenario ultimate experience for users.
AIIM) recently raised $320 million from investors from Africa, Europe and Asia for big-ticket power, transport & energy projects in Africa.
The fund has invested in BBOXX New Generation Utility in Kenya and are shortlisted on the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway PPP. It’s latest raise, African infrastructure fund, AIIF3, makes the cumulative commitments to $2.2 billion over 7 funds and executed more than 56 transactions in target pan-African markets. This round will help SOLA Group expand its operations.
SOLA Group installs, owns and operates solar PV facilities, selling solar energy to corporate clients and utilities through solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) allowing businesses to pay off and maintain their own solar energy systems at no upfront costs, while enjoying the immediate benefit of cost savings.
The funding will help with SOLA’s finance options, so that its customers can avoid upfront purchase and installation costs, while continuing to enjoy the benefits of clean energy, with the knowledge that they are supporting a sustainable future.
The renewable energy fund, dubbed Orionis, will see SOLA Group build 40 MW of solar PV projects for its corporate clients as an alternative for electricity.
Build 40 MW of solar PV projects
According to Chris Haw, chairperson of the SOLA Group: “This partnership brings together three highly experienced entities whose combined skills offer consumers clean energy solutions at a time when our country desperately needs it.”
The deal includes 15 MW of solar PV Power Purchase Agreements, which will allow buyers to pay 20% less than what they for to Eskom or other providers.
Secure and cheaper power, and free up capex
PPAs or financed renewable energy projects enable industrial facilities to access secure and cheaper power, and free up capex for investment into their core business activities.
Globally, solar PV power is rapidly becoming the cheapest form of power to procure globally but because solar PV projects require large sums of capital to be constructed and launched, such funding will help firms such as Sola Group to buy their PV systems outright, own them and reduce their operating expenses.
SOLA’s PPA offering, through consolidating the finance, design, construction and operation of solar projects, allows companies to access cheaper finance than procuring it individually. Allowing small-scale, and flexible embedded generation of electricity is a key aspect to transition to a low-carbon economy, as it allows for increased penetration of renewables.
Lower tariffs and more competitive rates
“Operating at scale allows SOLA to provide lower tariffs and more competitive rates, reducing costs of financing. The model of electricity generation that incorporates both centralised and distributed electricity will improve the ability for South Africa to meet energy demand, reduce electricity costs and strengthen resilience to outages,” concluded Haw.
Since 2008 the SOLA group has led the way in the greenfield project development for large-scale solar PV farms, developing over 265 MW of solar PV projects alongside a pipeline of 750 MW worth of projects under the banner of its previous company, Aurora Power Solutions.
Huawei’s Mate X has experienced yet another delay. During a press event at Huawei’s Shenzhen headquarters today, the company told TechRadar that there is “no possibility” of the folding phone making its September launch date.
This is after it was previously delayed from the original planned June release. Huawei is said to be “certain” that the Mate X will come out at some point this year, although it is also unlikely to be released before November, according to the report.
On the bright side, this is good news for Samsung as it leaves the door open for their Samsung Galaxy Fold to be the first foldable to market. The Galaxy fold is scheduled to be launched this September if all goes well for the company after they had to repair certain parts of the device.
Unfortunately, TechRadar doesn’t give details on the cause for the delay. We might as well assume that Huawei is doing extra technical tests to avoid the kind of embarrassing false start Samsung had to encounter with the Galaxy Fold. Although, the company may also be uncertain of its status with critical partners like Arm and Google thus holding back the release.
TechRadar also reported that the next Mate X could have more screens, and it might come out as soon as next year.
The Huawei Mate X follow-up may fit more displays by swapping out the steel rear cover in the current Huawei Mate X with a glass back, and those glass surfaces could become usable and touchable displays. This sounds like quite an engineering challenge but we will wait to see how that turns out.
Considering that the company wants to get the Huawei Mate X out in time for the holiday shopping window before the Chinese Spring Festival in early 2020, its release date is likely being pushed to November and not any later.
Anyway, it’s now very clear that the Samsung Galaxy Fold will beat the Huawei Mate X to market.
My friend recently bought an iPhone on social media. She thought it was really affordable and I thought it was too good to be true. She’s all the way in Coast and her new iPhone 6s which was going for 20k was being delivered from Nairobi. I warned her that there were many fakes, but I am a skeptic and this time it served me well. A few days later, she called the business owner, he had blocked her number and blocked her on IG, he blocked me too after I commented on one of this posts and wrote “your account is fake, you don’t sell phones”. You can only imagine how many other people they have done this to, so how do you know if a business is a fake?
If you see the business owners never engage much with clients then there’s a possibility it’s a fake. Accounts that only broadcast or push out updates and content instead of having conversations and engaging with other community members are often fake
2. Provide misleading information about the destination of a link
If the account keeps sharing the same link to an item in such a short time then there’s cause for alarm.
3. They’ll ask for money before delivery
If a business owner asks for money before delivery that is most likely a fake business. Always refuse to give money before delivery, you would rather buy the product by yourself instead of ordering it online.
4. No verification badge
Okay, not all businesses have verification badges but if the company is a known company then a badge should help you. For example, Twitter displays a light blue verification badge (check-mark icon) at the top left corner of a verified account, above the profile name, Twitter handle and bio. Badges that appear on a different part of the profile, such as a user’s avatar, are not legitimate.
We are all guilty of spending a lot of time on social media.
The first thing I do when I wake up is check my Instagram, regardless of whatever time it is I will always have to check my social media. Though we appreciate the convenience social media has brought into our modern world, we rarely think of the risks and complications we may have. For starters, social media has been linked to poor mental health and why wouldn’t it? We spend more time on our phones laughing at memes rather than anything else.
New research suggests that’s not the only way social media can have a detrimental effect on the health of young people. It can also dramatically reduce the time spent on healthy activities, such as sleeping and exercising, the investigation revealed. Apparently, social media makes people forget other activities so they end up neglecting their health and other parts of life because of apps on their phone.
People tend to assume that they have a whole life because of spending time on phone and for many this has become a way of spending time alone. Researchers have urged people to reduce their time on social media and try and engage in actual physical activities such as walking or even sleeping without using the phone. The best way to do this is to ban social media in your home or life after a certain time, for example from 10pm you should put your phone away.
Now, how about you try taking a walk in the park instead of scrolling through Instagram?
TECNO T901, is the first TECNO device running on KaiOS, the mobile operating system for smart feature phones set to close the digital divide by bringing users–previously inhibited by device affordability–online for the first time.
The T901 is available in gold, black and blue and runs WhatsApp, YouTube, Google Maps.it also supports GPS, Wi-Fi, and 3G and comes equipped with the Google Assistant, allowing users to operate the device with their voice.
“With all these features, TECNO is practicing our commitment to allowing the consumers to reach beyond their current limitations and uncover a world of possibilities.” says Stephen Ha, Managing Director of TECNO Mobile.
T901 has a dual-SIM slot which can support two SIM cards and with 512MB +256MB memory for more spaces for users to save their precious memories. It boasts a 2.4-inch QVGA display with 240×320 pixels resolution, and a powerful 1900mAh battery which enables 25 days of standby time and up to 19 hours of non-stop calling.
The phone has both a front and a rear camera with built-in flash light, which enables clearer photos even at night and in other dark environments.
“Launching with TECNO is a significant milestone for both our companies,” adds Sebastien Codeville, CEO of KaiOS Technologies. “The digital divide in Africa remains large, and we’re thrilled to be working side-by-side with TECNO to eliminate it. Visit any African city and you will understand how important TECNO is on the continent, with stores on nearly every corner; we can’t wait to see the KaiOS-enabled T901 show up in all of these outlets.”
KaiOS enables a new category of affordable smart feature phones that require limited memory, while still offering a rich user experience. It supports 3G and 4G/LTE, Wi-Fi, GPS, and NFC. KaiOS-enabled phones come with popular apps and services like WhatsApp, the Google Assistant, Facebook, YouTube, and Google Maps, as well as a store for apps called the KaiStore.
Zeelo, a UK online shuttle booking service has officially launched in South Africa after a series of months of beta testing its data analytics platform and ramping up its operations in readiness for a nationwide expansion.
With £4.25m in funding, Zeelo quietly launched in Durban in South Africa in mid-2018 and reports to have signed up over 20,000 vehicles on its platform already. The firm, also reports to have partnered with a number of local operators in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban to provide commuting, event and private charter services.
According to Zeelo Co-Founder and Chief Executive Sam Ryan: “The significant gaps in public transport provision in South Africa mean increasing congestion, pollution and car parking challenges, causing frustration for travellers and headaches for cities and companies. We see a huge opportunity to provide South Africa with the transport solution it deserves”.
Ryan adds that South Africa is the perfect market for Zeelo whose aim is to provide safe, convenient and affordable shared transport options especially to South Africans who only rely on their cars.
Currently, Zeelo offers ZeeloCOMMUTE to ferry company employees to and from work; ZeeloEVENTS, which is mostly for event goers and targeted at organizers who want to transport people to and from their events while its third offering ZeeloPRIVATE is marketed to private groups who need shuttles of between 7 to 60 seats for private parties, holidays, airport transfers among others.
In South Africa, Zeelo took over the foundations of ‘The Rugga Bus’ which was founded by two Durban locals Andrew Robarts and James Champion.
In February this year, Zeelo closed a £4.25 million funding round led by ETF Partners with participation from current investors InMotion Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover’s mobility venture arm, Dynamo and angel investors including Michael Liebreich and Liam Griffin to further establish itself as the market leader in the UK and expand operations in Africa and other new regions.
South Africa was one of the targets for the 2017 London-founded firm.
“There is a paradigm shift in the world of mobility which is driven by technological evolution, changing consumer tastes and, underlying all this, climate change.” Says Patrick Sheehan of ETF Partners. “People increasingly recognise the attraction of shared mobility alternatives to private car ownership in cities. The Zeelo team identified the opportunity to provide better transportation to millions of people outside major cities and are already doing a great job of delivering these new services. We are delighted to support them on their journey.”
Zeelo co-founders Barney Williams and Sam Ryan
Zeelo is also using the investment to develop its technology, data and automation and is investing in new vehicle technologies, on-board experience and drivers in partnership with its coach operators. The company will also look to launch new verticals beyond the existing ZeeloCOMMUTE, ZeeloEVENTS and ZeeloPRIVATE verticals.
In the UK, Zeelo has worked with firms like Aston Martin for its ZeeloCOMMUTE and Manchester City FC, Wasps RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union through ZeeloEVENTS to give fans a more convenient and direct route to games.
Barney Williams and Sam Ryan and Dani Ruiz sold their previous startup JumpIn, a taxi booking and sharing app, to Addison Lee in 2014 while still at university.
There have been a profound change in the way people move in major cities over the last 10 years, said Ryan. Transport has become more personal, more affordable but people outside cities have been overlooked and remain completely reliant on their car.
“Our customer-centric approach delivers a transportation service with a route that’s more direct, a timetable that’s more convenient, a service that is more environmentally friendly and, fundamentally, modes of transportation that allow people to make more of their travelling time, whether for work or pleasure,” concluded Sam Ryan, Co-Founder & CEO at Zeelo.
Huawei technicians aided the Ugandan and Zambian governments spy on their political opponents, leading to their arrest, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Technicians working for Huawei aided members of the government in Uganda and Zambia spy on political opponents according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The report cites unnamed senior surveillance officers and adds that an investigation didn’t confirm a direct tie between the Chinese government or Huawei executives. However, it appeared to confirm that employees for the tech giant played a part in intercepting communications but with no evidence on whether they acted on behalf of Huawei or the Chinese government.
It also didn’t find that there was something particular about the technology in Huawei’s network that made such activities possible, according to the Journal.
The list shows encrypted messages, the use of apps like WhatsApp and Skype, and tracking opponents using cellular data.
The WSJ reports that Huawei engineers working in Uganda back in 2018 used Pegasus spyware developed by an Israeli company NSO Group to infiltrate opposition leader Bobi Wine’s WhatsApp, reportedly at the request of a Ugandan cyber-surveillance unit.
A cyber team based at the Ugandan police headquarters asked the Huawei technicians for help after failing to access the encrypted messages using the spyware, security officials told the Journal.
According to the Journal, Pegasus spyware is now being sold by a number of cyber-security firms. Although NSO Group has previously said it has a process for determining which governments it sells to, with an emphasis on selling to those fighting terrorism or crime. In the case that the spyware is being sold by other firms, it is unclear which companies are selling it, and whether they are making similar determinations.
In Zambia, the technicians helped the government access the phones and Facebook pages of a team of opposition bloggers running a pro-opposition news site.
A representative for Zambia’s ruling party confirmed with the paper that Huawei technicians have helped in the fight against news sites with opposing stances in the country, stating that whenever they want to track down perpetrators of fake news, they ask Zicta. This is the lead agency that works with Huawei to ensure that people don’t use Zambia’s telecommunications space to spread fake news.
In a written statement to the Journal, Huawei firmly denied the accusations:
“Huawei rejects completely these unfounded and inaccurate allegations against our business operations. Our internal investigation shows clearly that Huawei and its employees have not been engaged in any of the activities alleged. We have neither the contracts nor the capabilities, to do so,” it said, adding that the company’s “code of business conduct prohibits any employees from undertaking any activities that would compromise our customers or end users data or privacy or that would breach any laws.”
This is very unfortunate considering that Huawei is still facing scrutiny from the US government over fears that Huawei telecoms technology could be used by the Chinese government to spy on the US.
These new allegations could add ammunition to the U.S. government’s allegations that Huawei could be used for espionage on behalf of the Chinese government. However, Huawei has denied these claims, yet the U.S. has remained suspicious of the smartphone maker, with the Department of Justice filing criminal charges in two separate cases in January, alleging its CFO committed wire fraud and violated U.S. sanctions on Iran and that the company stole trade secrets from T-Mobile.
Nonetheless, it’s too soon to say how this might impact the US ban on Huawei technology.
Twitter has begun testing a new feature that lets you follow topics in addition to people. There will be a list of topics curated by Twitter which you’ll have to pick from, starting with sports, but it should expand to include celebrities, TV shows, and other common discussions.
On Tuesday, the company announced that it’s trying out a way for users to follow sports topics such as the New England Patriots, cricket or wrestling.
Currently, the test is limited to Android users and includes a companion test that lets you create separate lists to follow individual interests, including keywords and individual users.
Once you follow a topic, you’ll see a handful of tweets in addition to those from people you already follow. You’ll also have the option to mute topics, so you don’t see these tweets all the time, plus to avoid spoilers around TV shows or sports events.
The site is also exploring a way for you to create a separate timeline that includes certain accounts and topics you follow. The topics a user follows will be public, and it will be easy to subscribe or unsubscribe to a topic.
The intent of the new feature is to make it as easy to follow an interest as it is to follow a person on Twitter, said Sriram Krishnan from the Twitter product group.
These topics are being curated with the help of machine learning. “Twitter is about what is happening right now,” said Rob Bishop from the company’s product group. Human curation would be too slow to curate such topics, he argued. “We think that altogether this will make Twitter a more powerful interest platform,” said Wally Gurzynski, a product manager at the company.
Twitter isn’t softening on its enthusiasm to test new features. True to rumors and some news we shared with you not so long ago, Twitter is testing an option in Android to snooze notifications. You’re limited to one-, three- and 12-hour increments. However, those could do the job if your tweet has gone viral up to a point that your phone tends to blow up with mentions and DMs while you’re out on the town.
You know when someone’s phone goes off in the theater? Or in a presentation? Or at the movies? Don’t be that person.
We’re testing a way to temporarily snooze notifications on Android, just in case you go viral at an inconvenient time. pic.twitter.com/tSuEjlqWDs
“The company is also exploring other features such as a search tool for your direct messages and the ability to reorder photos after you attached them to a tweet,” reports CNET.
However, the edit button is not expected anytime soon.
None of these are guaranteed to see a widespread release, but topic following stands a better chance than most. Twitter’s continuous challenge has been to help newcomers decide who and what to follow.
OnePlus today announced that it will launch a smart TV and it’s called OnePlus TV. The Chinese phone brand is now moving on to TVs having won over smartphone users around the globe.
The smartphone maker didn’t provide any other detail regarding the device, but said it’ll follow its “burden-less” design philosophy:
OnePlus TV is an extension of the brand’s ‘Never Settle’ mindset. The OnePlus TV will feature smart capabilities coupled with the company’s ‘burden-less’ design philosophy to offer users a smooth and connected experience.
In October 2018 it announced plans to enter the smart TV market, continuing its aim to “improve the human experience through simplicity, efficiency, and intelligent functionality”.
OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau said that while the wider technology industry has advanced rapidly over the past decade TVs have been left behind, describing them as “conventional and cumbersome”.
This is definitely a natural progression for the OnePlus brand as its entry into the smart TV market allows the company to bring together its high-quality hardware and seamless user experience with a minimalistic and timeless design.
The Chinese phone brand had taken a long time for deliberation and soliciting ideas from the company’s fanbase for a suitable name, and OnePlus finally revealed the name of its long-in-the-works TV.
The competition run by the company that allowed fans to name its new device has now come to a close. 10 winners listed below were selected and they have all won a set for being picked.
Apex
Arena
Aspire
Canvas
Epic One
Epic TV
Innova
Intelly+
Nese
NS1
Notwithstanding all those suggestions, the firm decided to simply call their smart TV the ‘OnePlus TV’ saying it’s “simple yet to-the-point.” A community representative confirmed the name on the OnePlus forums, saying, “We believe there’s no other name that can best represent our value, vision, and pride than naming it with our own brand.”
OnePlus also unveiled the OnePlus TV logo, which is a OnePlus logo with the word “TV” next to it. For this, the company was “inspired by classic geometric progression, which can be seen from so many classic art forms, such as the ancient Hindu symbol, the mandala, and the famous ancient Greek temple.”
OnePlus TV Logo
“Looking closer, you can tell that we’ve used the same thickness for both logo and the letters to ensure aesthetics of ‘symmetry’ and ‘unity,'” the company explained.
A recent filing with the Bluetooth SIG, however, suggests that the OnePlus TV will run Android and use LED panels in sizes between 43 and 75 inches.
Although according to tipster Ishan Agarwal, the OnePlus TV will be using LCD panels instead of better OLED technology. This will make it possible for OnePlus to keep the price down and offer more value for money offer compared to the likes of Samsung. Its competition will be TV sets like the Hisense B7500.
OnePlus has not offered a timeline on when the TV will launch but some rumors say that the sets will launch in late September.
Although according to a tweet made by the OnePlus 7 Pro account, the TV is set to launch on September 19.
OnePlus reveals the name and logo of #OnePlusTV. ••RUMORED SPECS•• •LED HDR 4K | OLED HDR 4K •Sizes: 43",55",65" &75" •Built-In AI Features •Bluetooth 5.0 •Hub features for other smart devices •Smart Remote (RC-001A) •Markets: US | India | China •Launch Date: Sep19 pic.twitter.com/1wFIsR7hMt
This is considerably close to the rumored OnePlus 7T launch which is tipped for 15 October, although we never know, the two launches might be combined.
Just the other day, OnePlus’ rival Honor launched its VISION smart TV with a pop-up camera at Huawei‘s developer conference. In the meantime, Xiaomi has been selling smart TVs since 2013 and entered the Indian market last year with customized software that works with local cable services and set-top boxes. We’ll have to wait and see what OnePlus brings to the table to differentiate itself from the crowd.
Jack Ma’s Africa Netpreneur Prize, a prize competition for African entrepreneurs has selected 7 esteemed entrepreneurs, investors, and businesspeople from across the continent to evaluate the semi-finalists and select the top ten startup finalists for the ANPI.
The Africa Netpreneur Prize judges include Fred Swaniker, Marième Diop, Bethlehem Tilahun, Fatoumata Ba, Hasan Haider, Peter Orth and René Parker.
These 7 judges will pick the 10 startup finalists will go on to pitch Jack Ma and other influential judges for the chance to receive a share of the $1 million grand prize money to be given at finale event in Accra, Ghana this November.
According to Jason Pau, Senior Advisor for International Programs for the Jack Ma Foundation, “Our goal when selecting the roster of judges for the ANPI was to find true representatives of the diverse entrepreneurial and business landscape in Africa. The judges we have selected are true leaders in their industries, and bring vastly different backgrounds, accomplishments, and skillsets to the table.”
Meet the Judges
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu is a globally acclaimed serial entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of soleRebels, the world’s fastest-growing African footwear brand. Bethlehem is also the founder of premium coffee brand Garden of Coffee, which launched in July 2016. Following the success of the brand across Ethiopia, Bethlehem is now in the process of opening 100 Garden of Coffee roastery cafes across China. Bethlehem also founded Perimeter Consulting, a strategic consulting service housing Made By Ethiopia, a public-private partnership with the Footwear Distribution and Retailers of America that enables some of the world’s top brands to manufacture their footwear in Ethiopia. Most recently, Bethlehem launched GIZA digital, a payment and ecommerce platform and NoodFoods, a franchise business that uses locally sourced fruits and vegetables to create snacks. Bethlehem is recognised as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Expert Network and was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012 by The World Economic Forum. She is also a Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women and one of CNN’s Top 12 Women Entrepreneurs of The Last Century.
Fatoumata Ba
Fatoumata Ba is a technology entrepreneur and venture capital investor currently serving as the Founder and Executive Chair of Janngo and Managing Partner of Janngo Capital. Janngo builds, grows and invests in pan-African ‘tech for good’ champions and is backed by top-tier African and international strategic and financial investors; including the Mulliez Family, Clipperton Finance and African HNWI. Additionally, in Ivory Coast she served as Founder and CEO, as well as Managing Director in Nigeria and Member of the Executive Committee at the Africa level of Jumia, the leading tech unicorn in Africa now listed on the NYSE. She is passionate about leapfrogging development through technology in Africa, with a particular focus on women, SMEs, healthcare and education. She has been awarded several distinctions including The World Economic Forum ‘Young Global Leader’, Choiseul 100 Africa ‘Economic Leaders of Tomorrow’, Forbes Africa ‘30 under 30’ and the Aenne Burda Award for visionary leadership, optimism and courage alongside Marissa Mayer, Arianna Huffington and Viviane Reding. She serves on the Board of SouthBridge Investment Bank, on the Board and Investment Committee of Creadev Africa, on the Council of Women in Africa and on the Global Future Council on the New Economic Agenda of the World Economic Forum.
Marième Diop
Marième Diop currently serves as an Investment Manager at Orange Digital Ventures Africa – Orange Group’s €50 million venture capital fund dedicated to African startups. Through this role, she’s actively involved in launching and scaling investment vehicles and direct investments targeted at technology startups across Africa. Marième is passionate about supporting founder teams of early stage technology companies in building Africa’s next business champions. In 2018, Marième also founded an angel network for francophone startups called the Dakar Network Angels (DNA). Her focus over seven years has been technology and innovation and she has occupied different roles of responsibility with a team leadership role and international exposure. Marième is a Fellow of President Obama’s flagship program ‘Young African Leaders Initiative’, World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and member of the GSMA Programme Leadership Group “PLG.”
Hasan Haider
Hasan Haider is a Partner at 500 Startups, the most active Venture Capital firm in the world, based in Silicon Valley, with more than 2,000 investments in more than 50 countries and $400 million in AuM. Hasan heads up the firms practice in the MENA region, with the Arabic speaking market being a core area of focus. 500 Startups has invested in over 100 startups in the region over the course of the last 4 years, including Wuzzuf, Jamalon and fetchr. Hasan was the Co-founder and CEO of Tenmou, the first business angel’s organization in Bahrain and one of the first in the MENA region. Hasan’s work in developing angel investment in emerging markets through Tenmou has been picked up as a case study by the World Bank and is taught to Entrepreneurship Policy makers at Babson College.
Peter Orth
Peter Orth is a founder and Managing Partner of 4DX Ventures, an Africa focused venture capital fund. Prior to founding 4DX Ventures, Peter was an investor for over a decade, with work spanning global macro investing, public and private equity investing, as well as overall portfolio and risk management strategy design. Orth has held investment roles at Bridgewater Associates (Emerging Markets Research and Lead China Analyst), Adakin Capital (public and private equity investing at an NYC-based family office), and JPMorgan (investment banking). In addition, he ran strategy and business development at Mirror Labs, a venture-backed business in the Blockchain space. He graduated from Tufts University in 2007 with degrees in Quantitative Economics and International Relations.
René Parker
René Parker is the Managing Director and CEO of RLabs, a global social enterprise with a strong focus on community-driven innovation and social change. RLabs currently has activities in Africa, United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and North and South America impacting more than 10 million people across 23 countries. She has played a leading role in transforming RLabs into an award winning global social enterprise from the humble beginnings of a community project in Cape Town. She served as a board member of the Living Labs in Southern Africa (LLiSA) network where she fulfilled the portfolio of capacity building, community development and communications. She is a founding member of the Western Cape government youth development network currently focused on driving youth economic empowerment through technology, entrepreneurship and innovation. Rene is also the co-founder of RLabs Women, an organisation that aims to build technology and innovation capacity amongst women in marginalised communities. She also serves in an advisory capacity to several international universities and has done extensive work with organisations such as the Finnish Foreign Ministry, GIZ, AfriLabs, i4Policy, UNWomen, Naspers, NedBank and Accenture.
Fred Swaniker
Fred Swaniker is on a mission to bring better leadership to Africa and the world. He is the founder of the African Leadership Group — an ecosystem of organisations that collectively aims to develop three million entrepreneurial leaders for Africa by 2035. Swaniker previously worked as a McKinsey consultant in South Africa before earning an MBA from Stanford and becoming an entrepreneur. In 2019, he was recognized by TIME magazine on its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Swaniker has also been recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader; an Echoing Green Fellow; a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Global Leadership Network; a TED Fellow; and was named one of Forbes Magazine’s top ten young ‘power men’ in Africa in 2011. In addition to his MBA from Stanford, Fred has an undergraduate degree from Macalester College and honorary doctorates from Middlebury College, Macalester College, and Nelson Mandela University. Fred sits on several boards and advisory boards—including the Graca Machel Trust, AGRA and Andela. He also sits on Nestle’s Creating Shared Value Council.
LinkedIn will soon be getting a dark mode makeover for its mobile app, and all this was uncovered by renowned leaker and app researcher Jane Manchun Wong.
Wong, who is famous for leaking upcoming app features before they’re announced, fiddled with the app’s code to uncover an unfinished dark mode, which appears to be in development as only a couple of screens are available in this interface.
In reference to a screenshot she posted on Twitter, LinkedIn seems to have made good progress in revamping its UI, as most icons are now shown in white over a dark grey background. Although some elements such as icons and text are still displayed in black, revealing there’s still a little bit of tweaking to do before releasing this version to the public.
She notes that LinkedIn’s dark mode seems to be at an early stage in development, and not all elements have yet been adopted, and there’s no way to tell when the finished look will be rolled out.
“The time it takes to develop and release experimental features as this varies,” Wong said. “I am as curious about the release timeline of LinkedIn’s Dark Mode as you are!”
Therefore meaning that there’s no timeline regarding the app’s dark mode availability, as it can take a while to finish developing and testing it
Nowadays, the dark mode has become one of the most requested features, and it only makes sense that a growing number of companies are designing their apps accordingly. Such apps that LinkedIn is following in their footsteps are Google, Microsoft, and Facebook.
Android Q is expected to bring system-wide dark mode capabilities onto handsets. This would allow users to switch all dark mode enabled apps at once from within the system settings, much like in Windows 10 and macOS Mojave. As for how these apps will fully incorporate dark mode has yet to be seen.
Nigeria’s Inlaks, a 1982-established systems integrator in the Banking, Telecommunication, Oil and Gas, Power, Utilities and the Distribution sectors has launched a fintech focused “thehatch” to build and scale fintech startups in Nigeria.
The innovation lab will give local startups a level playing field through programs designed to identify, nurture and scale great innovations that have the potential to transform the financial service sector in Nigeria and globally.
thehatch will identify great ideas, nurture and develop them into viable digital businesses in recognition that creative minds and startups need support and an environment that fosters creativity to grow. According to Inlaks, thehatch will provide startups with an opportunity to learn from their peers and mentors, scale and grow and change lives in the bigger society.
Inlaks aims to be at the center of innovation in ICT and the launch of thehatch reinforces Inlaks 2.0’s vision to identify, promote, support, and encourage home-based technology entrepreneurs.
According to Olufemi Muraino, the Executive Director (Innovation and Business Transformation) at Inlaks, “I am elated at the launch of our Tech Hub as we are focused on opening up new markets while also introducing innovative information technology products into the Sub-Saharan African markets”.
“We are excited to have these new members join our ever growing family as well as extending our reach to these new countries thereby bringing us closer to the goal of having our community span across all 55 African countries. We believe that in reaching this goal, we are moving closer to an integrated and prosperous continent fostered by open collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship driven by hubs and their communities across Africa,” said Anna Ekeledo, Executive Director, AfriLabs.
Being part of AfriLabs is an epitome of belonging to an African identity and a resolve to change the destiny of Africa through nurturing entrepreneurship. Though Inlaks thehatch is yet to become a member of Afrilabs, there is a high possibility that it will take that opportunity to expand its network beyond Nigeria and across the continent.
“With thehatch, Inlaks is ready to be an anchor for worthy home-based (African) solutions to give them global relevance. We call on young techpreneurs to take a giant step towards making a huge impact on the global tech evolution trend. Our vision for thehatch is to be Africa’s most sought after center for innovative technology, human capital, and start-ups ready to transform the economic future of Africa,” said Femi Adeoti, MD Africa Operations, Inlaks.
Kobo360, a digital marketplace for long distance hauliers connecting cargo owners to vetted and reliable trucks, has raised $30 million to build a Global Logistics Operating System [G-LOS] powering trade and commerce across Africa and emerging markets.
In a statement, Obi Ozor, Co-founder and CEO of Kobo360 said, “Our Series A allows us to invest in growing our talented team that is working hard on the ground to systematically address the inefficiencies within the African logistics sector, and strengthen our already extensive network of clients and truck owners across the continent. “
Kobo360 which recently launched in Ghana and is shopping for a local address in Kenya will focus on increasing partner drivers on the platform, train them to use mobile-enabled technology, so they can convey goods seamlessly and earn more money.
“We are already seeing drivers running trips on the Kobo360 platform increase their monthly earnings by 40%, as we work together to mobilize logistics across Africa,” Ozor added.
Launched in 2017 by Nigerian entrepreneurs Obi Ozor and Ife Oyedele II, Kobo360 recently raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding round soon after being accepted into the YCombinator class of 2018. The round was led by Western Technology Investment and Nigeria’s Verod Capital Management.
A year later, Kobo360 raised a $6 million equity investment led by the IFC with participation from others including Silicon Valley investors WTI, YCombinator , and African institutional investors Cardinal Stone Partners, Chandaria Capital, and TLcom.
With all this funding Kobo360 wants to bring efficiency in the end-to-end long-haul freight operations, connecting and supporting cargo owners, truck owners & drivers, and cargo recipients to disrupt the $150 billion Africa logistics industry.
With the funding, Kobo360 aims to add 25,000 drivers to the platform to meet the growing intra-African trade after the recent Africa Free Trade Continental Agreement. The firm will also enter 10 new countries by the end of 2020 beyond its footprint in Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Kenya.
“Kobo360’s on-demand logistics offering has generated impressive traction and we are excited to support Obi, Ife and the team as they harness technology to tackle one of Africa’s most pressing development challenges – increasing market transparency, improving reliability and unlocking efficiencies for all participants in the logistics ecosystem”. said Jules Frebault of Goldman Sachs.
Senior Partner of TLcom Capital, Omobola Johnson said, “We see this Series A round as a means to support an ambitious, laser-focused company who are using technology to actively solve problems for enterprises across the continent, and we look forward to working with them as they continue to scale and transform the African logistics sector.”
Kobo360 is also developing a suite of driver-focused products to support the over 10,000 drivers on the Kobo360 platform. It has launched KoPAY, offering access to up to $5,000 monthly working capital; KoboSAFE, access to an insurance product; and KoboCARE, access to discounted petrol, comprehensive HMO packages and an incentive-based education program for drivers’ families.
Wale Ayeni, who heads venture investing in Africa for the International Finance Corporation said Kobo360 is empowering and enhancing the capacity of the vast underserved network of “micro” fleets in Africa to serve the huge unmet long-haul freight needs of large enterprises and SMEs, delivering value to both sides.
Kagure Wamunyu
“There’s quite a lot of inefficiencies in the logistics and supply chain industry. At present, there’s a serious disconnect between moving goods from one location to another – on time, with full visibility on trip status and product security,” said Kagure Wamunyu, Kobo360’s CEO of Africa Region in a statement. “Part of the solution to this problem is thinking about it holistically and incorporating technology and big data analytics to solve inefficiencies in the supply chain and provide the needed visibility and transparency that will put businesses’ minds at rest. This is where Kobo360 come in from the logistics perspective.”
Lumkani, a South African fire detection startup has installed its early warning fire detection system in 20,000 homes across South Africa in a move expected to put a stop to accidental fires in high fire risk homes in the country.
The latest addition makes 40,000 high fire risk homes installed with the devices by the firm in the country’s informal settlements with this system.
According to the firm, within the first six months of operation, the system has already reduced the spread of fire in 16 incidents via its community-wide alert in the early phases of a fire.
The system detects fire alarm in every home within 60m of the fire rings, and sends text messages to all residents, so even those at work or elsewhere can respond.
Francois Petousis, Director of Humanitarian Projects at Lumkani in a statement said, “Lumkani has always had the dream of making communities more resilient to the devastation of shack fires. Having the opportunity to cover an additional 20,000 South African homes with our early warning system has been a big step towards realising this. Every week we hear stories of people who have heard our fire alarms ringing in a neighbourhood, or have received our SMS saying that their house is on fire which has helped them to race home to put out a small fire before it caused any damage. That is huge motivation for us to reach even more homes across our country.”
One such story is that of Nomfusi, who had a Lumkani fire detector installed in her home on the 9th of November 2018 in the Taiwan Informal Settlement, in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Her account of the fire that took place on the 7th of February 2019 is a terrifying one. Nomfusi says the Lumkani device woke her up and she secured her children through a window.
Apart from early warning technology, Lumkani has launched an insurance product with Hollard allowing people to insure their informal homes and all its contents against fire. Lumkani captures geo-location information on its app to create ‘addresses’ for informal homes, and with that, enable these properties to be insured against fire. Lumkani launched this product in September 2016.
Another recipients of Lumkani’s system, Babalwa had a fire detector installed in her home on the 15th of November 2018. On the 30th of that month, she bought Lumkani fire cover to protect her home. “A few months later, I was visiting a friend of mine and then suddenly, I received an SMS from Lumkani that my house was burning. So, I called my family members who live near me to quickly go save my things.”
She still does not know how the fire started, but because of the Lumkani alert, her family managed to save some of her belongings, and with the help of her neighbours, they put out the fire. Babalwa was then able to claim for what she lost in the fire and received a pay-out for her couch, clothing and Tupperware which had been damaged in the blaze.
“This is what Lumkani exists to do. Mobile-enabled early warning technology mitigated the spread of fire in Babalwa’s home, reducing the damage it caused, and whatever was lost was reclaimed through Lumkani’s fire cover product. This provides real protection to those who traditionally have had none,” shares Petousis.
He concludes: “Through our early warning systems in many of South Africa’s highest fire-risk areas, we have seen first-hand the impact that this simple intervention has had in preventing devastation amongst the most vulnerable communities in our country.”
There is no doubt about the fact that 4K videos, shot on GoPro are one of the most attractive, vibrant and eye-grabbing footages.
GoPro has grabbed the market when it comes to documenting various cinematic footages or life-like experiences and we have reasons in abundance to accept it.
However, when it comes to processing those 4K videos, users may have a great deal of trouble. Here we will discuss the issues usually faced by users while using common 4K video editors, and their solutions. For GoPro users, GoPro studio was the free & easy solution to edit their videos from devices. However, it had been discontinued by GoPro official in 2017.
In this article, I will introduce you VideoProc which is as easy as GoPro studio and comes with more features to meet GoPro video editing demands.
What are the difficulties that a user may face, when it comes to editing GoPro 4K videos?
There is a lot of pain one has to take, sometimes, in order to edit 4K videos. There are multiple pain points that just cannot be overlooked when you have to edit large files. The following are some of the most annoying and hard-to-deal-with issues that GoPro users have to face.
Support: When it comes to editing software, there are several of them available in the market. Even though they claim to be compatible with large 4K files and promise to be skilled with editing those files, upon installation, they rarely prove to be of any use. Most of the time, the software fails to support the 4K files at all.
Compatibility: The sole aim of the editing software is to get the file ready, as per the need of GoPro user and export them to the respective devices. However, most editing apps fail to contain large files and end up freezing or lagging at the time of editing or exporting.
Functionality: these 4K video editors often lack the functionalities that are required to effectively edit large video files. The purpose for which they are implemented in the first place, are rarely solved and the users remain unsatisfied.
How is VideoProc different from other 4K editors? Why should you choose VideoProc for editing, processing and exporting?
VideoProc, unlike the usual editors as discussed above, supports all types of 4K videos in HEVC, H.264, MKV, etc. Not only this, it does not make fake promises and back-out at the time of performance. In terms of support, compatibility, and functionality, VideoProc provides its users with effective results. It also uses level-3 hardware acceleration and various other features and functionalities which makes it completely unique editing software. The following are the benefits that tag along with VideoProc:
Full GPU acceleration: As already mentioned, VideoProc Utilizes the Level-3 hardware acceleration for its processing functionalities. It allows the program to use your GPU to its full power and capacity which thereby lets you edit 4K videos without any lagging or freezing. VideoProc effectively profiles the GPU, installed in your computer and do the needful to make it compatible with hardware-based video decoding and encoding.
Skilled in processing large files: VideoProc comes with various attractive functionalities when it comes to editing large video files. You can cut or crop, split or merge videos, without having to worry about their size. It also effectively stabilizes and de-noises the videos. You can thereafter convert the videos, shot on GoPro , to your preferred format.
Easy-to-use but advances video editing functionalities: Edit 4K videos with the advanced features that come with VideoProc. Even though you get to use powerful and versatile editing options, the interface of VideoProc is minimalist as well as clean. Therefore you get a comfortable user experience that is absolutely friendly with beginners.
Powerful video and audio conversion capabilities: one of the most pains-taking parts, when it comes to editing large video files, is its conversion. You may need to convert the original file into another format. However, most 4K editors fail to do the same due to its large size and limited formats. With VedioProc and its powerful conversion capabilities, this never becomes an issue.
In order to know more about VideoProc and get a free tutorial about its features and how you can put them to use, refer to the following video guide:
Thus, when it comes to editing large files, you can count on VideoProc with full confidence. With all the functionality it provides, along with a simple and user-friendly interface, it becomes the best choice for professionals, as well as beginners, in terms of a 4K video editor. It is your one-stop solution for processing, editing, merging, splitting and converting large video files, specially shot on GoPro. VideoProc has both Windows and Mac versions. For users, who want to get GoPro Studio for Mac replacement, VideoProc will also be a good choice.
Mettā has selected 5 startups into its third fashion product lab cohort powered by HIVOS East Africa after a rigorous multi-phase selection process.
Mettā Nairobi, in partnership with HIVOS East Africa, will bring the five fashion startups to Nairobi for its third bootcamp programme – Fashion Product Lab 3.0, an 8-week intensive program helping entrepreneurs in the fashion industry launch their brands into local & international markets and develop new & diverse product lines.
The 2019 cohort will have the opportunity to engage with high-profile speakers, experts, mentors, and a global network of support throughout the program as well as access to the Mettā space in Nairobi and the global Mettā community.
“Under the concept of ‘Inspiring Change – Unleash the Potential’, Mettā will provide an intensive bootcamp program to the fashion designers using our expertise in the local business environment and financial services. This will help them to unleash their full potential and turn innovative ideas into practical solutions.” – Maurice Otieno, General Manager Mettā Nairobi
The Fashion Product Lab 3.0 will conclude in a one-of-a-kind Fashion Runway in September 2019, where entrepreneurs will pitch their companies and showcase their collections for funding and partnerships.
The ventures include Collins Karanja with The Urban Gents Ltd or TUG, a 2019 fashion brand with the aim of bringing inclusivity, diversity, and creativity in the local fashion scene. TUG include Ready-To-Wear, Accessories and Made to Measure service.
The second brand is Naivaa Apparel by Joel Meshak. Navaa is an up and coming fashion brand that seeks to create unique urban pieces and build an identity that reflects and resonates with Nairobi Culture.
The third brand is Yvonne Asunah Kenya by Yvonne Asunnah. This fashion brand specalises in contemporary unisex designs. They predominantly work with local African prints that have a modern western twist.
The fourth brand is Chicolatta run by Dorothy Ochieng. Chicolatta is a Kenyan based fashion brand that offers quality and competitively priced womenswear, with it’s Ready-to-Wear line as well as tailored Custom-made pieces for the upward discerning clientele. Chicolatta is a minimalistic style in classic silhouettes that use both contemporary and African fabric.
Caverroh is the fifth fashion brand. The brand is by Carole Mwangura
