Author: Akin Naphtal

Sierra Leonne’s president, Julius Maada Bio, has lauded the Commissioner of the National Commission for Children, Mrs. Joyce Tejan Kella, and members of the Sierra Leone Robotics Team to celebrate their success at the FIRST global robotics challenge held in Singapore. The FIRST Robotics Competition, a platform for high school students to construct industrial-size robots and engage in field games with other teams, witnessed the participation of over 190 countries. Team Robotics Sierra Leone secured the 50th position out of 191 countries. President Julius Maada Bio met with the team on their return, commending members for their performance and acknowledging…

Chinese social media platform, TikTok, has announced its plans to strengthen its efforts to fight against fake news and secret influence operations, in preparation for the European Parliament elections scheduled for June. To this end, the ByteDance-owned company has also revealed that it will launch a local language app in all 27 European Union (EU) countries to help combat misinformation. TikTok’s initiative builds upon work initiated in 2021 and accelerated last year during national elections in Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, and Spain. The platform aims to better inform European citizens about the electoral process, providing them with reliable and…

Finnish smartphone company, Nokia, has introduced “MX Workmate,” an AI-powered tool which leverages generative AI large language models (LLMs) to generate messages and provide real-time alerts and recommendations to industrial workers, including warnings about faulty machinery and suggestions to improve factory output. Nokia already supplies 4G and 5G technology for in-house communications and data connectivity from machine sensors in industrial settings, and MX Workmate builds upon those services, enhancing them with advanced AI capabilities to generate human-like text. Nokia’s Head of Enterprise Solutions Marketing, Stephane Daeuble, says the tool can provide early warnings about machine failures, recommend actions for repairs,…

The  Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the Africa Energy Technology Centre, are set to host the inaugural Africa Energy Technology Conference 12th to 14th 2024 March, at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra. Themed “Africa at the Forefront of Energy Technology and Policy Integration in a Just Energy Transition,” the conference emphasizes universal energy access and the government’s role in socio-economic development through inclusive energy policies. Distinguished speakers includes H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, Hajia Samira Bawumia, the Second Lady of Ghana, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Energy, Dr. Omar Farouk of APPO amongst…

US-based multinational retail giant, Walmart, is reportedly in talks to buy smart television manufacturer, Vizio, for over $2 billion, in an acquisition that could bolster Walmart’s advertising business and grant it control of over a fifth of the U.S. television market. Following reports from the Wall Street Journal about the ongoing deal, Vizio shares surged, closing up 24.6% on Tuesday and briefly reaching their highest level since November 2022 with a 36% surge. Equally, Walmart’s shares experienced a slight decline of about 1%. The reported offer price represents a nearly 30% increase over Vizio’s market cap of $1.54 billion at…

Amazon Prime Video subscribers have recently experienced a surprise change to their service, with Amazon excluding Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos surround sound from the subscription package for users using the ad-supported tier. This decision comes alongside Amazon’s introduction of ads into the service on 29th January. However, subscribers now have the option to regain access to these premium audiovisual features by paying an additional $2.99 per month to remove ads. The Verge reports that the revelation was made by 4KFilme, whose smart TVs from major manufacturers like Sony, LG, and Samsung suddenly began displaying content in HDR10 with…

Nigerian fintech startups Cleva and Miden have secured spots in the W24 batch of the renowned Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator accelerator, as part of 137 startups participating in the event, which commenced in January. Cleva, founded in 2023, positions itself as a platform “democratising access to USD banking for emerging markets.” The startup enables users to receive payments into their digital Cleva accounts from clients, employers, and investors worldwide. In January, Cleva announced a successful pre-seed funding round of US$1.5 million, with Y Combinator as a notable investor. The round was led by 1984 Ventures and included participation from The…

Global leader in digital payments, Visa, is hosting the first demo day of its Africa Fintech Accelerator program in Nairobi, with the event aiming to spotlight innovations from emerging fintech startups representing 18 countries across Africa. Launched in June 2023, the program is designed to support Africa’s burgeoning startup community by providing expertise, connections, technology, and investment funding. The Africa Fintech Accelerator program starting on Tuesday, 13th February, will see startups from the program’s inaugural cohort pitching their innovations to key stakeholders, including ecosystem players, funding partners, angel investors, and venture capitalists. These startups were selected from over 1,000 applicants…

‘Adventures in the Cloud World’ – aimed at children aged 6 to 12 – follows Bella and Nini’s adventures to Cloud World as they seek to better understand the internet after their Wi-Fi turns off at home. In Cloud World, they meet JB, a programmable machine that processes information, who explains how data centers work and asks for their help in the server room to find loose connections. The creativity of ‘Adventures in the Cloud World’ is a lovely way to speak to young children, about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and the endless possibilities. The book has been…

As Africa steadily embraces digital assets, Yellow Card, the continent’s largest licensed stablecoin on/off ramp, has introduced USD Coin (USDC), a digital stablecoin on the Stellar network, aiming to transform cross-border payments, remittances, and treasury management globally. USDC is a digital currency backed by US dollar reserves, ensuring that each USDC token maintains a value closely pegged to one US dollar. In essence, USDC represents a tokenised version of the US dollar, providing users with stability and confidence in its value equivalence to the traditional fiat currency. Yellow Card, renowned for its user-friendly platform and present across 20 African countries,…