Author: Akin Naphtal

The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MOCD) has commenced the Training of Trainers (ToT) component of Girls in ICT (GIICT) flagship project for 100 Teachers in the Savannah Region The ToT is a critical activity that contributes to the sustainance of the knowledge acquired and availability of the knowledge in all schools that the teachers belong. The training which began on the 11th of April and scheduled to end on 15th April 2023, is to equip the teachers with digital skills to enable them to train 1000 selected Girls from 7 (Seven ) districts. Training will be held in 50…

During its formative years, blockchain technology became synonymous with the advent of cryptocurrency. Today, its use cases have transcended the world of finance, expanding into sectors such as retail. In Africa, its application in payment technology has demonstrated blockchain’s ability to revolutionise several touchpoints from supply chain to final sale. These developments herald good news for the rapidly developing continent. This was one of the key points to emerge from a recent address in South Africa by international blockchain visionary and technology expert, Don Tapscott. His talk formed part of a recent business series facilitated by the Blockchain Research Institute…

Microsoft has announced that its OpenAI’s DALL-E-powered AI image generator is now available on desktops for Edge users around the world.The company introduced the feature to the new Bing and Edge preview in March 2023.This feature will help the users to create images which do not exist yet, right from the Microsoft Edge sidebar, the company stated.”If you’ve ever found yourself in need of a very specific vision for a social post or even a PowerPoint, Image Creator can help you find exactly what you need,” Microsoft said in a blog post.To use the feature, users need to simply navigate…

The Federal Government of Nigeria and Google have implemented new restrictions on digital loan apps available on the Play Store platform, aimed at safeguarding users from predatory lending practices. The new policy, which comes into effect on May 31, also applies to other countries.This move comes just a few days after the Federal Government of Nigeria licensed 117 digital loan apps to serve Nigerians. Google will prohibit apps from accessing sensitive user data such as photos, videos, contacts, precise location data, and call logs. In a statement released, Google explained that the new policy was aimed at addressing issues of…

Apple has announced it will be opening its first retail store in Mumbai, India in the near future, according to a short notice on the company’s website. The store, which will be situated at the Jio World Drive mall and span 22,000 square feet, follows a previous announcement made by CEO Tim Cook in 2020 that the company would be opening its inaugural Indian store in 2021. However, due to the pandemic, this was delayed and rescheduled for the first quarter of 2023.India has become an important market for Apple. It previously launched an online retail store in the world’s…

Kenya will today unveil its first operational satellite: April 10, 2023. The Taifa-1 will launch aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. According to the report, the satellite, entirely designed and developed by Kenyan engineers, is expected to provide critical data on agriculture, food security, and other areas to support the country’s budding space economy. The launch is a significant milestone for Kenya’s space program, and the country’s defence ministry and Kenya Space Agency have described it as an essential achievement for the nation. The satellite parts were manufactured and tested in collaboration with…

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that ten autonomous taxis will be launched to serve the public in Jumeirah by the end of 2023. RTA plans to deploy more driverless taxis in Jumeirah in 2024 until gradually deploying 4,000 taxis in Dubai by 2030. Khaled Al Awadhi, Director of Transportation Systems, Public Transport Agency at RTA, confirmed this news. These driverless taxis can accommodate three passengers in the back seat and no passenger is allowed to sit in the front. The fares are expected to be similar to limo taxis, which are 30% higher than the fares for…

American Express Saudi Arabia has partnered with the Ehsan Platform, a digital charity and social welfare solution developed by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), to add it to its Membership Rewards catalog under the donation section. The Ehsan Platform is a data and AI-driven solution that maximizes the impact and sustainability of various charitable and developmental projects and services. READ ALSO:Global IT Spending on Slow Decline Due to Weakening Economy, says IDC Committee urges NITA-U to reduce cost of internet to enhance business activities in Uganda Shuttlers raises an additional $4 million in equity funding to accelerate…

International Data Corporation (IDC), a market research firm, has released a new report stating that global information technology (IT) spending is on a slow decline due to the weakening economy. IDC has projected a growth rate of 4.4% to $3.25 trillion for 2023, down from the previous forecast of 4.5%. This is the fifth consecutive month that IDC has lowered its 2023 forecast for global IT spending. IDC Vice President Stephen Minton stated that since the fourth quarter of 2021, there have been clear and measurable signs of a moderate pullback in some areas of IT spending. However, Minton emphasized…

The Committee on Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) and National Guidance in Uganda has called on the National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) to reduce the cost of internet. Members of the committee said the high cost of internet offered by the authority is making it difficult to do business during their meeting with NITA-U officials on Wednesday, 05 April 2023. According to Hon. Moses Magogo, the Chairperson of the Committee, internet is one of the biggest drivers of socio-economic transformation and its inaccessibility affects all sectors of the economy. He also noted that private players are providing cheaper internet…