A tech startup in Africa known as controvert media has implemented the use of artificial intelligence robots to automatically write and post news articles on the internet. Artificial Intelligence robots are known by software developers in order to take on repetitive tasks that would ordinarily be carried out by people. Some of the content produced has been appearing on soccer24.co.zw which is a popular football blog in Zimbabwe.

Other websites that have used this new application is Pindula.com which is a Southern Afrocentric profiles and news website. This new way of creating content works in a very intriguing way where the AFCON bot creates a basic yet useful reports on final match scores, scoring players and other information about the matches.

Using artificial intelligence , Godwin Chiparaushe, expressed the startup’s elation regarding the milestone. “We’re excited about this achievement. Our journalists get to focus on the more complicated aspects of the game, and the more opinion-driven content that we provide our readers,” he expressed. “There are just things that bots can’t do as well as humans. For example, a bot can’t tell the heavy emotions around a near miss by a losing team, and/or the despair expressed by the coach as a country nears their exit from a tournament. The bot is freeing our journalists to do this kind of content which our readers really appreciate,” Mr. Chiparaushe added.

Speaking about the introduction of the artificial intelligence bot, Controvert Media CEO William Chui highlighted that contrary to the belief that that artificial intelligence apps will push people out of jobs – an opinion held by many – the AI apps will actually create job opportunities.

“Yes, other jobs will disappear in the future, but new jobs will be created as well,” Mr. Chui emphasised. Think about it; in 1999, all the jobs brought about by the internet today didn’t exist at all then. Jobs like ‘social media manager’, ‘blogger’ or ‘mobile app developer’, or the possibility to do animation for a film studio in Hollywood while you’re in Zimbabwe, were beyond our imagination.

“Back then, people had jobs at post offices where they’d sell stamps, and the postman would deliver letters. If anything, internet technology has brought about more jobs. Artificial Intelligence will certainly have the same effect of creating more jobs,” Mr. Chui concluded.

Mr. Chiparaushe articulated that deploying the bot was not without its challenges. With only basic data available for the matches at the tournament, the data just wasn’t comprehensive. This created a challenge for the startup’s engineering team, as the bot depends on adequate data.

“Data is a big challenge in Africa, and we had challenges working with the data available. We are currently working on technologies to make it easier to gather this data ourselves,” Mr. Chiparaushe affirmed. Even for a tournament as big as AFCON, data is surprisingly limited compared to other international tournaments and leagues.

This new method will produce news faster and more accurate.

Entertainment providers can prove to be expensive and subscribing for a lot of different services can set you back a large amount of money. Luckily, a new subscription-based entertainment provider is looking to change that.

Playster offers a wide array of content, which includes the likes of music, books, audiobooks, movies  and games, all combined into one simple app that’s easy to use and boasts convenience as its main quality. While all other streaming services, like Netflix, Spotify, Scribd and Hulu, offer just one type of media to their users, Playster is hoping to save you money and make streaming more convenient by offering access to all media types for one low price — just $24.95 per month.

This low price tag offers unlimited access to Playster’s entire catalog and, bearing in mind that the first 30 days are completely free,  it is surely worth giving the service a try.

Playster’s subscription content can be accessed from any device. All you need is a good internet connection to endlessly stream music, read books or watch movies. You can even save content to your device if you want to make use of it later on while offline. Playster offers custom apps for both Android and iOS and the subscription starts at just $3.95 per month for the movie package.

There are millions of titles to choose from, all neatly sorted into categories that make browsing effortless. The streaming experience is great from what we’ve tested and include content such as documentaries, books designed for children and all of today’s biggest singles and albums.

No matter if you are a young adult, fiction, thriller, romance or comedy book fan, Playster has something for you. Its selection of books is fantastic and everything is smartly sorted and highlighted in the library. The library also features a wide selection of audiobooks for you to listen to while you are on the go.

Playster really did a great job when in terms of its music library too, as it includes artists from all major labels, as well as timeless classics and independent artists. Not only does it offer a lot of amazing artists to discover, but it also has a neat feature that recommends playlists based on your current mood. Playster will do all the work for you and offer up a bunch of songs related to what mood you are in.

Not only does this service come with innovative features, but it also offers such a wide variety of content that it is sure to entertain even the most pretentious of users.

We highly recommend subscribing to this service, bearing in mind that you’ll receive a 30-day free trial to kick things off. During this time, you’ll have full access to the platform and you’ll be able to judge for yourself if this service is right for you.

Based on everything they’ve accomplished so far, it’s only a matter of time before Playster dethrones some of today’s most popular streaming services.

Cisco released the 2017 Annual Cyber security Report (ACR) during the Cisco Connect East Africa 2017. According to the Cisco®2017 ACR, over one-third of organizations that experienced a breach in 2016 reported substantial customer, opportunity and revenue loss of more than 20 percent. 90 percent of these organizations are improving threat defense technologies and processes after attacks by separating IT and security functions (38 percent), increasing security awareness training for employees (38 percent), and implementing risk mitigation techniques (37 percent).

The report surveyed nearly 3,000 chief security officers (CSOs) and security operations leaders from 13 countries in the Security Capabilities Benchmark Study, part of the Cisco ACR.

Now in its 10^th year, the global report highlights challenges and opportunities for security teams to defend against the relentless evolution of cyber crime and shifting attack modes. CSOs cite budget constraints, poor compatibility of systems, and a lack of trained talent as the biggest barriers to advancing their security postures.

Leaders also reveal that their security departments are increasingly complex environments with 65 percent of organizations using from six to more than 50 security products, increasing the potential for security effectiveness gaps.To exploit these gaps, ACR data shows criminals leading a resurgence of “classic” attack vectors, such as adware and email spam, the latter at levels not seen since 2010. Spam accounts for nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of email with eight to ten percent cited as malicious. Global spam volume is rising, often spread by large and thriving botnets.

Measuring effectiveness of security practices in the face of these attacks is critical. Cisco tracks progress in reducing “time to detection” (TTD), the window of time between a compromise and the detection of a threat. Faster time to detection is critical to constrain attackers’ operational space and minimize damage from intrusions. Cisco has successfully lowered the TTD from a median of 14 hours in early 2016 to as low as six hours in the last half of the year.

The 2017 ACR reported that just 56 percent of security alerts are investigated and less than half of legitimate alerts re-mediated. Defenders, while confident in their tools, battle complexity and manpower challenges, leaving gaps of time and space for attackers to utilize to their advantage. Cisco advises these steps to prevent, detect, and mitigate threats and minimize risk:

• Make security a business priority: Executive leadership must own and evangelize security and fund it as a priority.
• Measure operational discipline: Review security practices, patch, and control access points to network systems, applications, functions, and data.
• Test security effectiveness: Establish clear metrics. Use them to validate and improve security practices.
• Adopt an integrated defense approach: Make integration and automation high on the list of assessment criteria to increase visibility, streamline interchangeability, and reduce the time to detect and stop attacks. Security teams then can focus on investigating and resolving true threats.

Apple set a new quarterly shipment record in Q4 2016, contributing to total smartwatch shipments exceeding 9 million units. This global market figure was largely driven by Apple’s 6 million shipments, representing year-on-year growth of 12%. It was the Apple Watch’s best quarter despite being significantly handicapped by supply constraints, even though Apple simultaneously expanded its supply chain. According to Canalys estimates, the Apple Watch generated more than US$2.6 billion in revenue for Apple in Q4 2016, making up nearly 80% of total smartwatch revenue.

“Apart from the hardware and software improvements of the new models, Apple succeeded mainly due to its streamlined marketing and re-aligned pricing, which helped it address a wider audience,” said Analyst Jason Low.

Xiaomi also enjoyed a record quarter of its own for basic band shipments, reaching 5.5 million Mi Bands. “New batches of Mi Band 2s were shipped in time for the Singles’ Day shopping festival in China”, according to Analyst Jason Low. “Building on the success of its first-generation Mi Band, Xiaomi quickly expanded the availability of the Mi Band 2 across Asia Pacific and Central and Eastern Europe. India, Poland and Russia were key markets where the device was introduced alongside the company’s Mi and Redmi smartphones through direct and third-party online channels.”

In the coming quarters, Samsung is expected to push shipments of its Gear S3 Classic and Frontier. Also, Android Wear shipment volumes will bounce back significantly, as new products that were postponed due to the delay of Android Wear 2.0 will soon be launched. Apple’s smartwatch lead will increasingly be challenged by the rebounding competition.

Canalys defines smartwatches as multi-purpose devices that serve as accessories to smart devices, are designed to be worn on the body and not carried, run an operating system and can run third-party computing applications. Basic bands are devices serving a specific set of purposes that act as accessories to smart devices, are designed to be worn on the body and not carried, and cannot run third-party computing applications. Bands are wearables designed to be wrapped around the body, including watches, and do not include activity trackers in the form of clips.

According to a recent GeoPoll rapid survey that was  carried out among youth in five Sub-Sahara African countries there has been an increased dependency on technology for young people between the ages of 18-35. From the African millennial series, Africa has the highest population in the world with 200 million people aged between the ages of 15-24. The current trend indicates that this figure will double by 2045, according to the 2012 Afican Economic outlook report by experts from the African Development Bank.

Millennials across the world are defined by their uptake of technology. Affinity to technology by millennials world-wide and specifically so in the west is a study that is currently ongoing and continues to be a fascinating undertaking especially in regards to the African Millennials.

Despite lack of access to smartphones and reliable internet connectivity, the level of uptake and penetration in Africa has hit major milestones in the last 5 years.  According to a report published by GSMA on Africa’s mobile economy in 2016, smartphone adoption in Africa has doubled in two years. Among Sub-Sahara African countries, South Africa has the highest number of smartphone subscribers at 34% followed by Nigeria, Senegal and Kenya.

African millennials are increasingly using download sites to access video entertainment and social media sites as tools for communication and a source of news and information. Mobile data continues to be the most used means through which African millennials access the internet. Social network platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and twitter have become an integral part of everyday life with over 60% using social media as their primary source of information. Television comes a distant 2^nd at 25% with newspapers being the least important source 6%.

The second screen phenomenon though not highly prevalent among African Millennials, is one that might change with time. 57% of African Millennials say they sometimes use their smartphone while watching TV, 35% said they are always on their phone. This can be attributed to data costs which are still relatively high in many African countries compared to the rest of the world as well as changing preference among this group on choice of entertainment.

The use of social media platforms such as has become second nature to African Millennials’ lives; WhatsApp and Facebook rank among the platforms with the most usage. 56% have created and are most active on WhatsApp  , while 31% are active on Facebook. Not only do African millennials spend more time on their smartphones than on any other gadget on a daily basis, but they are also more likely to be on WhatsApp chatting. A majority (46%) are actively engaged daily in at least 1-3 WhatsApp groups.

Part of this study was to determine whether or not Sub-Sahara African millennials are addicted to their phones with typical signs of addiction being how often they use their phones, if they took their phones with them to the bathroom, where they placed their phones while sleeping, and if they walk around with a power bank. Whilst this survey does not serve as a psychiatric evaluation, 81% said they place their phone next to their bed while sleeping, 48% carry their phones with them to the washroom and 31% walk around with a power bank in case their phone runs out of battery power.

African Millennials are vanguards of a future Africa and technology is becoming an integral part of it all. As younger millennials continue to make their impact felt in almost every sector, a mobile first approach is crucial for any company that seeks to reach this culture rich group of image conscious, educated and opinionated individuals.s

Airtel Kenya, a leading telecommunications service provider has extended its support for digital literacy in rural and urban communities across Kenya by offering more routers and 3G connectivity to ensure free internet connection services to the Intel Mobile Caravan under the She Will Connect program.

Following the official launch of the Intel Mobile Caravan in September 2016, between Airtel, Intel and other partners, a three day training for trainers was organized between 7^th and 10^th February to equip the trainers on the new content, platform and schedules that will be adopted in the next phase campaign for the caravan and the BRCK KIO kits.

The training culminated in a breakfast meeting whereby the pilot phase report on the caravan and BRCK kits was shared highlighting the successes and challenges of the initial roll out project. It was reported that the pilot phase program had impacted the lives of 3200 beneficiaries in the four counties namely, Narok, Nairobi, Muranga and Machakos where the caravan toured.

Intel Mobile Caravan targets women, teachers as well as students and provides free ICT training. Airtel Kenya will provide high speed 3G connectivity to an additional 10 BRCK KIO kits that will be taken round various counties in the next phase of the campaign. The next phase campaign will target eight counties including Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, Kakamega, Narok, Embu, Nyandarua, Homabay and Tharaka Nithi.

Speaking during the event, JoyWo CEO, Mr. Abraham Samoei applauded the great success that was achieved by the Intel Mobile Caravan and the three day training for the JoyWo trainers. “I am very pleased with the great report that has been shared on the pilot phase of this initiative that is aimed at empowering women and children with ICT skills. To know that women and children are empowered with technical skills that have helped them to improve their lives is very encouraging.”

“We would also like to thank our partners Intel and Airtel for their continued support and we continue to assure you that we will endeavor to reach out to even more Kenyans in order to empower them and help them transform their lives and your support is highly appreciated.” Abraham added.

In a statement, Airtel Kenya, Managing Director, Prasanta Das Sarma pledged Airtel’s continued support in the initiative that seeks to enrich lives in the communities.“As a company we are devoted to delivering solutions that enrich the communities that we serve. As such we remain committed to this partnership with Intel and other key partners to continue offering internet connectivity for this initiative. We are delighted that this initiative has so far impacted the lives of many people by empowering them to reap the benefits and access the boundless opportunities that come with being connected to the Internet.” said Prasanta.

Airtel also continues to support the youth in education through its CSR program that offers FREE internet to schools. So far, the company has covered over 340 schools and impacted the lives of over 270,000 students all over Kenya.

Other key partners in the initiative include the Kenya Institute of Curriculum development (KICD) charged with ensuring coordination with schools and providing digital educational content, JoyWo (Joyful Women Organization) run by Mrs. Ruto in the mobilization of women in the respective communities to attend the training sessions to be held at community centres and Global Peace Foundation which is involved in developing and executing training modules for the target audiences.

Intel Corporation has been impacting the lives of women and girls through the Intel® She Will Connect program that empowers women and girls with digital literacy thus enabling them to receive better education, enhance their political participation, have a stronger voice in their communities, and increase their income by connecting to new economic opportunities. The program has so far impacted over 150, 000 women in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa through face to face training.

Samsung Electronics has announced that its 2017 QLED TV, first unveiled at CES 2017, has received verification from world-class testing and certification association, Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker (VDE), for its ability to produce 100 percent color volume.VDE provided verification for Samsung’s QLED TV based on the organization’s expertise in color volume testing. The verification is a mark of the QLED TV’s ability to provide a consistently high quality picture to viewers.

Color volume, which is the exacting standard of color expression, measures two elements of the TV with three-dimensional space – the color gamut and the brightness level. The color gamut looks at the largest amount of colors that can be displayed physically. The peak brightness represents the display’s maximum brightness level. The larger the color gamut and the higher the brightness, the bigger the color volume of the TV. The QLED TV’s expanded color volume results in more realistic, accurate and vibrant HDR images as the director or content producer intended, in both bright and dark scenes.

For example, a leaf can be perceived as different colors, from yellowish green to turquoise, depending on the brightness of the light. The Samsung QLED TV can capture even the subtlest differences in color pertaining to brightness – something that is not easily depicted in traditional 2D color space – thus deliver the most true HDR picture quality as the director intended.

Generally, a TV’s color-rendering capabilities diminish as brightness levels go up, leading to color distortion on-screen. The Samsung QLED TV overcomes the trade-off between brightness level and color. With a peak brightness of 1,500 to 2,000nit, the QLED TV can express 100 percent color volume – a TV industry first.

Samsung’s QLED TV uses a new metal Quantum Dot material – making it possible for the TV to express a significantly improved range of color and peak brightness with much greater detail compared to conventional TVs. The new Quantum dots also allow the Samsung QLED TV to express deep blacks regardless of how light or dark the scene is, or whether the content is played in a brightly lit or dark room. Best of all, QLED delivers this level of performance no matter where the viewer is sitting, offering consistent color and quality from any viewing angle.

“The ‘100 percent color volume’ verification awarded to Samsung’s QLED TV signifies the excellence of our product and its revolutionary picture quality. As the global TV market leader for 11 consecutive years, we are thrilled to be leading the TV industry into a world of Quantum dot-powered displays featuring the best available picture quality,” said Jung Hyun Park, Vice President and Managing Director of Samsung Electronics East Africa Ltd.

Ecobank Kenya has launched Ecobank Mobile App, a convenient and instant way of banking via the mobile phone. The app integrates many functions, including Masterpass QR, a mobile payment solution designed and operated in partnership with MasterCard. Ecobank Kenya is the first bank in the country to launch the Masterpass QR.

The Ecobank Mobile App opens up huge opportunities for customers by allowing them to shop, transact and do business without cash. It is the first unified app delivered by any institution for use in 33 countries. This also lowers security risks as business owners can now handle their business without interacting with actual cash.

Sam Adjei, Ecobank Kenya’s Managing Director said: “We are proud to launch this innovative digital product in Kenya. The Ecobank Mobile App is part of Ecobank’s digital offerings. Known as Ecobank_on, the array supports our drive to digitalise banking in the country and across the continent. By leveraging the power of digital, we are enabling our customers, including our important merchant segment, to grow their businesses and live life with convenience. As the government continues to grow the nation’s economy, one of the fastest-growing in Central and Eastern Africa, Ecobank Kenya is here to support that expansion.”

Humphrey Muturi, Executive Director Commercial Banking at Ecobank Kenya, said: “The Ecobank Mobile App provides real convenience for customers. It empowers them to carry out financial transactions that could only be done previously in banking halls.”

This new Ecobank Mobile App enables customers to send and receive money instantly across 32 other African countries, other than Kenya. Customers can also use the app to open a free digital account – Ecobank Xpress Account. The beauty of this unique account is that it can be opened instantly with no references, or paperwork.

It is also the first bank in Africa to partner with Mastercard, a leader in global payments and technology, to bring its customers Masterpass QR. This new, cashless solution makes payments possible in-store and online via a mobile phone. Ecobank Kenya provides products and services through 29 branches and 65 ATMs in Kenya. With the app, customers now have the opportunity to carry out various transactions on their phone.

Six Wings to Fly graduates received admission letters to enroll in a diploma course in mechatronics at Krones Academy, a Technical and Vocational Education and Training Institute. The graduates received their letters from the German Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development, Gerd Muller, at the Academy grounds in Ruiru.

While presenting the letters to the Wings to Fly graduates, Mr. Muller urged them to engage their heart and hands to secure their livelihoods. “Young people like you have a strong brain to work theoretically and your hands to work in a practical way.”

This vocational education and training brings together the aspects of practical and theory to help in the development of a country. The Ruiru establishment is a public private partnership initiative by the German Government, KfW (German Development Bank) and DEG (German Investment and Development Co-operation). Admission of the apprentices at Krones is part of an Africa-wide programme.

On his part, the Executive Chairman of Equity Group Foundation, Dr. James Mwangi, represented by Philemon Kibiru, Senior Manager for Learning and Mentor Management Programme, urged the scholars to maximize on the new opportunity granted. “Remember that your efforts in the institution you are joining will determine your entry and success in furthering your education or entry into the job market. Make full use of Krones and its facilities to further discover, develop and exploit your talents and capabilities” said Dr Mwangi.

“Given the high rates of youth unemployment, skills-based training offers the fastest way to secure jobs and to advance in a technical skills-based career path. We have partnered in designing a program with several elements to ensure successful transitions through school and into the work place,” he added.

This event came hot on the heels of the launch by Equity Group for nearly 3,000 Wings to Fly graduates of 2016 transitioning into various TVET Institutions countrywide. The programme is supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) and the German Government through its implementing agency KfW.

While some of them enrolled for 3-month certificate courses, others were admitted to longer-term diploma courses.The objective of the launch was to provide the Wings to Fly alumni (whether headed for further education, employment, or entrepreneurial opportunities) with exposure and skills.

If you have been seeking an opportunity to implement and fund your business then this may be what you need.

The 2nd edition of The African Entrepreneurship Award is back for you. This platform is powered by BMCE Bank of Africa and supports Africans that have solutions to problems such as unemployment.

The primary goal is to give all Africans a chance to make this continent better by even allowing Africans abroad to create jobs for other people. The award partners will have leading entrepreneurs, business leaders and academics from Africa, Asia, Americas and Europe.

Coupled together this great team will support African entrepreneurs through coaching, mentoring and business programs.

If you’re an interested entrepreneur then your business must match the following criteria.

• Be a citizen of an African country
• Minimum age is 18 as from October 1st, 2017
• Must be applicable in an African country
• Must include a technological component
• Business must be for profit
• Your business must be relevant to either Education, Environment or Uncharted

For more information visit this site. Application deadline is April 28th. This is a great chance to push a project or launch an idea that could grow globally, apply and see what awaits.

After 10 years of progression in the mobile money service, Vodafone finally marks the 10th anniversary of M-Pesa as the world’s leading service. It has been revealed that a record 614 million M-pesa transactions were processed last year, December 2016.

Vodafone has tremendously grown that it now offers M-pesa in 10 countries: India, Albania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Romania and Tanzania. By the end of December 2016, M-pesa had served almost 29.5 million active customers through a network of more than 287,400 agents.

National Bank has launched cashlite payment solutions suite for county governments, Ministries, Government Agencies and Departments that support their business processes and cash management to cater for their collections requirements.

Ministries have already started implementing solutions that the bank created. The solutions which have been used by other agencies and departments, county governments and Higher Learning Institutions now enable most agencies to collects KEBS levy, sugar levy, land rent, turnover tax, stamp duty and motor vehicle fees.

National Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Wilfred Musau said that “They currently collect on behalf of state agencies and our solutions are fully integrated to their ERP systems for real time updating of transactions as they happen and support in day to day reconciliation. This has been successful because of the host to host system connectivity between the bank and these agencies and counties.”

The Chief Executive said the end consumer is expecting flexibility and a wide range of choices when it comes to how they pay for goods and services. “So we work with institutions and large organizations to give them the receivables solutions that let their customers pay how they want,” he said.

So far the bank has provided a variety of options for payments including mobile money, smart cards and e-wallet and cash options. As Kenya’s demand for mobile technology grows expectations for convenient mobile and online payments are appreciated. In order to capture Higher Learning Institutions National Bank has also implemented a collections cashlite system. This will cater for a cashlite environment within the university’s premises and campuses and other value add services like student registration and other school based customization. Targeting students and lecturers, the bank has effectively developed a smart card solution that enables students to access various services such as entering/exiting campus premises (acts as an identification card), managing HELB  wallets (tuition, accommodation, upkeep), access to library services, access to cafeteria services, gym services, exam/class attendance, paying school fees, accommodation, penalties, etc.

Over the next few months the bank is embarking on re-engineering of the Self service channels for its customers to make it more efficient and attractive in terms of richness of functionality for the customers.