Africa Tech Update
2023-09-20 07:32:34.0
Eskom Warns of Worse Loadshedding in 2024
South Africa’s electricity utility Eskom has stated that loadshedding is projected to be worse than it has ever been over the next 52-week period.
Eskom’s Week 36 system status report that the South African power utility projects that over the next 52-week period, rolling blackouts, known as load-shedding, will be much worse than it has ever been.
The report states that electricity generation capabilities will fail to meet the demand for all 52 weeks, the first time in the 15 years of load-shedding that this will happen.
The projection comes at a time when South Africa’s high-ranking officials have been promising less load-shedding in the coming months.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5512041/advertisement
2023-09-20 07:32:07.0
Justice Dept. Official will not Exit Google Advertising Case
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema declined to order a Justice Department official to stay out of the government's advertising antitrust lawsuit against Google but said the department should think about it.
Google asked the Justice Department to consider requiring Jonathan Kanter, assistant attorney general in charge of antitrust, to recuse himself because of his work for a long list of Google critics.
The government has argued that Google should be forced to sell its ad manager suite. Google has denied any wrongdoing. The Justice Department filed the advertising lawsuit in January in Arlington, Virginia, along with eight states, and nine other states joined in April.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5512041/advertisement
2023-09-20 07:31:27.0
Alibaba Plans to Invest $2 Billion In Turkey
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan it plans to invest $2 billion in Turkey.
Michael Evans, president of Alibaba, made the comments in a meeting with Erdogan, according to a statement from the company's Turkish unit. It did not specify when the investment would be made.
Evans says Alibaba has invested $1.4 billion in Turkey through its unit Trendyol, one of Turkey's best-known e-commerce platforms.
Evans shared details about new investments such as a data centre and a logistics centre in Ankara and an export operation centre at Istanbul Airport.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5512041/advertisement
2023-09-20 07:30:47.0
Tiktok fined 345 Million Euros over Children's Data in Europe
TikTok has been fined 345 million euros for breaching privacy laws regarding the processing of children's personal data in the European Union.
Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner says the Chinese-owned short-video platform breached a number of EU privacy laws between July 31, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020.
The DPC says TikTok's breaches included how in 2020 accounts for users under the age of 16 were set to "public" by default and that TikTok did not verify whether a user was actually a child user's parent or guardian when linked through the "family pairing" feature.
TikTok says it plans to further update its privacy materials to make the differences between public and private accounts clearer and that a private account will be pre-selected for new 16-17-year-old users when they register for the app from later this month.
The DPC gave TikTok three months to bring all its processing into compliance where infringements were found.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5512041/advertisement
2023-09-20 07:30:21.0
Kenyan Mobile Money Provider Safaricom to Integrate Apple Pay
Kenyan mobile money provider Safaricom is working on a partnership with Apple Inc. to integrate MPESA.
M-Pesa executed a similar move by integrating with the American payment platform PayPal, enabling customers to deposit funds from M-PESA into the American payment system.
Users had the option to transfer funds from PayPal into their M-PESA accounts.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5512041/advertisement
2023-09-13 10:44:07.0
Ethiopia Introduces Digital IDs
Ethiopia has partnered with Madras Security Printers Private Limited to produce new digital IDs, known as Fayda, for its 120 million people.
The government initiated Fayda ID enrollment last year, and since then, over 1.4 million Ethiopians have registered. Fayda IDs will incorporate biometric information, ensuring secure access to various public services and streamlined identity verification when opening new bank accounts.
Notably, the National Bank of Ethiopia, the nation’s central bank, will use Fayda as the primary ID for banking operations.
This ID system will rely on unique personal identifiers using iris and facial biometrics along with fingerprint identification.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5512041/advertisement
2023-09-13 10:40:48.0
Flutterwave’s New Product Swap to Solve Nigeria’s FX Problems
Flutterwave has launched Swap, a new product that will digitise the process of getting foreign exchange for Nigerians with the backing of the CBN.
The fintech is leveraging a partnership with Wema Bank, a commercial bank, and Kadavra BDC, a bureau de change, to provide liquidity and foreign exchange for the product.
Mr Folashodun Shonubi, the acting governor of the CBN, says that Swap could solve two major problems facing Nigeria’s foreign exchange market: the lack of collaboration between institutions and the dependence on cash.
Flutterwave will leverage its International Money Transfer Operator license from the CBN to bring in the foreign currency, Kadavra will use its BDC license to sell it, and Wema Bank will support the entire process.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5512041/advertisement
2023-09-13 10:36:25.0
Starlink limits Ukraine’s Access to Prevent Attack on Russia
Elon Musk has confirmed that he in essence scuttled a Ukrainian military strike on Russia by refusing to allow Starlink to be used in the process.
The billionaire claims the decision was made to avoid being complicit in a major act of war,but it also raises serious questions regarding the role of oligarchs in military matters.
Musk says when Ukraine made an emergency request to activate it, he refused, and the drones lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly, obviously leaving the Russian ships untouched.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5512041/advertisement
2023-09-13 10:34:15.0
Flutterwave Expands into India
Flutterwave is teaming up with India’s IndusInd Bank to launch its Send App remittance product right into the heart of India.
IndusInd Bank boasts an impressive 35 million customers. This strategic alliance is all about connecting Flutterwave which already has a firm footing in 30 African countries to the economic powerhouse that is India.
Flutterwave has been on a roll, securing a payment services license in Egypt in June and obtaining name approval for its remittance business in August.
Flutterwave edging closer to acquiring a money remittance license from the Central Bank of Kenya.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5512041/advertisement
2023-09-13 10:29:36.0
California's New Law Forces Firms to Report Diversity Metrics
California is set to pass the country’s first legislation that aims to increase diversity in venture capital.
The bill requires venture capital firms operating in California to report the diversity breakdown of the founders they fund to the state; this includes reporting on the gender and ethnic and racial background of the founders, in addition to the dollar amount given to them.
Senator Nancy Skinner, the bill’s sponsor, says that she’s very optimistic that Newsom will sign the bill.
Founder and tech activist Allison Byers, who helped ideate and draft SB 54, says bills like this have precedence in California.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5512041/advertisement
