A selection of tech news from Nigeria and Africa at large.
AI Solution Jobs | Orange Digital Center | Spleet Proptech | Google African Cloud | Equiano subsea Internet cable
________________________________________________________________________________________
IT company explores technology to solve problems, create jobs – The eagle Online
An Information Technology (IT) Company, ONPASSIVE is set to establish an Artificial Intelligence driven ecosystem aimed at creating jobs and solving problems.
A founding member of the firm, Mojeed Adetunji told newsmen Saturday during the company’s Nigeria Meet and Greet programme held in Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the IT company, powered by Artificial Intelligence(AI) and Machine Learning(ML), had in the past four years been creating new generation of Digital Software Applications.
The company has its Head Office in Florida, U.S. the technological hub in Hyderabad, India with global offices in Singapore and Dubai.
According to Adetunji, the ONPASSIVE was an extraordinary company with unlimited target in job creation and problem-solving skills. As such, with the ONPASSIVE, unemployment is bound to be reduced including other things whilst boosting the state of the Nigeria economy. Read more here.
Orange and German Development Cooperation Innaugrated “Orange Digital Center” in Monrovia – TechAfrica News
Orange and the German Development Cooperation are inaugurating an “Orange Digital Center” at Monrovia, a digital ecosystem entirely dedicated to the development of digital skills and innovation, attended by the highest political and administrative authorities from Liberia, Representatives of Germany in Liberia, members of Orange Liberia board and Representatives of Orange Middle East and Africa.
Following in the footsteps of Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mali, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Madagascar, Morocco, it is in Liberia, that this 11th Orange Digital Center is inaugurated.
Spread over 715 sq. m, it brings together four strategic programs of the Orange group, namely; a coding school, a solidarity FabLab – one of the Orange Foundation’s digital manufacturing workshops, and an Orange Fab start-up accelerator, supported by Orange Ventures Africa, the investment fund.
All of the programs are provided free-of charge and open to everyone. They range from digital training for young people, 90% of which are practical, guidance for project bearers, start-up acceleration, and investment in these. Read more here.
Nigerian startup Spleet raises $2.6 million to scale up its proptech solution – Techloy
Spleet provides residential rent management and rent financing solution to tenants.
Nigerian proptech startup, Spleet has raised $2.6 million in a pre-seed round led by Los Angeles–based early-stage VC firm MaC Venture Capital.
Founded in 2018 by Akintola Adesanmi and Dolapo Adebayo, the company started out as a marketplace for tenants to connect with landlords and pay monthly rents, but after some iterations, it pivoted into an embedded finance solution. Now, Spleet provides a residential rent management and rent financing solution to tenants.
Spleet’s rent financing solution, dubbed Rent Now, Pay Later, allows renters to access no-collateral loans up to ₦3 million (~$6,000) with an interest of about 3.5% monthly to finance rent payments.
Since inception, Spleet has processed over $3.5 million in rent and onboarded over 35 individual and corporate landlords; the latter lists multiple housing units at once. Spleet has also housed over 1,000 tenants, and while that might seem small, the CEO pointed out that their average lifetime value is 26 months.
The proptech startup plans to strengthen its presence in the Nigerian rental market over the next 12 to 18 months, before expanding to other markets, particularly Kenya in East Africa. Read more here.
Google to launch its first African Cloud region in South Africa – Techpoint Africa
At the second Google for Africa event today, October 5, 2022, Google announced plans to launch its first African Cloud region in South Africa. The new Cloud Region will assist users, developers, enterprises, and educational institutions move more data and tools online, enhance customer access options, and create employment throughout Africa.
Besides, the Google keyboard, Gboard, now supports voice typing in nine additional African languages: isiNdebele, isiXhosa, Kinyarwanda, Northern Sotho, Swati, Sesotho, Tswana, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga. Google Translate also supports 24 more languages.
South Africa now joins Google’s global network of 35 cloud regions and 106 zones.
Users can access several services, including cloud storage, computing engines, and key management systems, from specific geographic locations using Google Cloud regions.
According to Google, the African customers are already using its Cloud to address their most pressing business problems and take advantage of modern technology. Read more here.
Google’s Equiano submarine cable begins operation in Nigeria by December – The Guardian
Technology firm, Google, has informed that its 12,000km Equiano subsea Internet cable, which landed in Nigeria in April, will become operational by December.
Google said Equiano is now running through Togo, Nigeria, Namibia and South Africa, and is expected to deliver faster, lower cost Internet to the continent by connecting St. Helena, Togo, Nigeria, Namibia and South Africa with Europe.
The American firm disclosed this, yesterday, at the second Google for Africa event, where it said over 20 per cent of the $1 billion announced, last year, to be spent on the region in the next five years, has been deployed adequately.
The firm noted that a recent economic impact assessment conducted by Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics found that by 2025, the cable would accelerate economic growth with GDPs of Nigeria rising by $10.1 billion, South Africa $7 billion and $260 million in Namibia.
The firm is hoping to collaborate with governments, policymakers, NGOs, telcos, business leaders, creators and media, so that it can help accelerate Africa’s digital transformation. Read more here.
