A selection of tech news from Nigeria and Africa at large.
Skit Makers Digital Tax | Visa Africa Investment | MIT Senseable Lab | New Android Malware | Qualcomm Innovation Platform
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Digital Tax: Bloggers, Skit Makers to Get FG Approval For Online Adverts – Legit News
Through the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), the Federal government of Nigeria has asked skit makers, social media influencers, and bloggers to seek its approval before advertising any product or service online. In a public notice on Monday, December 12, 2022, ARCON said that the new directive is in line with the Nigerian Code of Advertising Practice provisions and the ARCON Act.
Violators to face sanctions The body said that anyone caught violating the Act would face sanctions and be prosecuted in court. According to reports, ARCON stated that enforcing the Act became important following complaints regarding unregulated advertisements, adverts and marketing communications works of the skit makers, comedians, influencers content creators/producers, bloggers, and vloggers, among others in the digital space.
ARCON said this in a statement signed by the Director-General, Olalekan Fadolapo. According to the statement, most of the advertisements by skit makers, influencers and others are unethical with bogus claims and misinformation and a violation of the Code of Advertising Practice.
Visa to invest $1 billion in Africa to accelerate digital transformation – Nairamatrics.
Visa has announced plans to invest $1 billion in Africa over the next 5 years to accelerate digital transformation on the continent.
Visa Chairman and CEO Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. unveiled the plan during the US-Africa business forum organised in collaboration with US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
Kelly said the investments will further scale Visa’s operations in Africa and deepen collaboration with strategic partners including governments, financial institutions, mobile network operators, fintech, and merchants.
The investments are also expected to focus on strengthening the payment ecosystem through innovations and technologies, supporting the digitization of economies, and investing in upskilling, talent development, and capacity building.
Past investments: While noting that Visa has been investing in Africa for several decades to grow a truly local business, Kelly said the company’s commitment to the continent remains unwavering. Read more here
Sanwo-Olu to launch MIT’s Senseable Lagos Lab at Isimi Lagos Tech Valley – The Guardian
LandWey Investment Limited, one of Nigeria’s foremost real estate firms, is still on its mission of building future cities. In line with its commitment to combine technology and nature in its New Town Development projects, LandWey in collaboration with the world-renowned university, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT and the Lagos State Government, is set to launch the Senseable Lagos Lab in Isimi Lagos Tech Valley.
The world-class facility will be launched with a ground breaking ceremony at its designated location within Isimi Lagos, Epe, on Thursday 15th of December presided by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The launch ceremony is part of the line-up of activities for the Lagos Future City Week organised by LandWey in partnership with the Lagos State Government, and the Lagos State SDG & Investment MIT’s research initiative, Senseable City Labs, aims to radicalise the way we study and understand cities globally. Through design and science, the lab hopes to develop and deploy tools to anticipate and monitor changes in urban cities just like Lagos, Nigeria. With over 121 awards and 33,216 citations associated with the lab, its launch in Lagos is set to produce discoveries that will help to achieve national sustainable development. Read more here
NCC warns Nigerians as new malware attacks over 300,000 Android devices – Nairamatrics
The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has warned Nigerians to be wary of a new Malware called “Schoolyard Bully.” According to the Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT), the malware that steals Facebook account credentials has infected over 300,000 Android devices globally. In its latest advisory, the NCC-CSIRT reminded Nigerian mobile users to only download applications from official sites and application stores.
Further recommendations: The NCC-CSIRT advisory in this regard further recommended that users double-check each application and uncheck boxes that request extra third-party downloads when installing apps downloaded from the Google Play Store and to use anti-malware applications to routinely scan their devices for malware.
It added that researchers from mobile security firm, Zimperium, found several apps that transmit the “Schoolyard Bully” malware while disguising themselves as reading and educational apps with a variety of books and topics for their victims to study. Read more here
Qualcomm Announces Africa Innovation Platform – IT News Africa
Qualcomm Incorporated today announced the launch of the Africa Innovation Platform, a suite of mentorship, education, and training programs created to support the development of Africa’s emerging technology ecosystem. The platform will provide resources and support for local universities, small-to-medium sized startups, and grant participants, exposing them to Qualcomm Technologies Inc.’s engineers and its state-of-the-art capabilities suite for mobile platforms and technologies, including 4G, 5G, IoT, AI, and machine learning.
“The Africa Innovation Platform will stimulate innovation around product development, inspire learning, fuel research, and increase awareness around the value of intellectual property throughout the continent,” said Enrico Salvatori, Senior Vice President & President, Europe/Middle East and Africa, Qualcomm Europe, Inc. “At its core, Qualcomm is an R&D engine, and we are proud this program will simultaneously inspire the next generation of inventors, while also fueling the broader technology ecosystem.” Read more here
