Opinion – Africa Tech Digest

7 Quick Tips to Get Hybrid Working Right for Your Business

29Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Health Tech, Opinion

7 Quick Tips to Get Hybrid Working Right for Your Business

In a recent report conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which included almost 209,000 participants in 190 countries, South Africa emerged as one of the countries that would embrace ‘fully remote’ work. Compared to a global average of 24%, 44% of SA respondents said they want to work fully remotely. Moreover, over half of South Africans said their preference in the future will be a job that allows them to work from home at least occasionally. As South Africa experiences its third wave of the pandemic, many companies that had been steadily re-opening their physical offices are being forced to return to remote working. Continue reading

6 ways to spice up your YouTube Shorts content

27Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Education, List & Guides, Opinion, Telecommunications, Video

6 ways to spice up your YouTube Shorts content

In August 2021, YouTube announced that it would start paying YouTube Shorts creators $10,000 monthly as a reward for creating exciting and engaging content. But they need to meet some requirements to be eligible for the Shorts Fund. If Shorts is available in your country, then you’ve passed the first eligibility test. So, what next? Well, your Shorts need to have high engagements. Depending on the number of views, creators can earn between $100 and $10,000. Furthermore, the videos need to be original; you cannot make a video on TikTok and post it on YouTube. Continue reading

When it comes to investing in African tech, sustainability matters

10Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Opinion

When it comes to investing in African tech, sustainability matters

Sustainability and African tech startups This article was written by Maya Horgan Famodu – partner & founder of Ingressive Capital – and reviewed by TechCabal’s editorial team. All views are hers and not attributable to TechCabal. Ingressive Capital is soon launching our second Africa-focused investment fund at a much larger size, and for those of us who are not going anywhere and have built lives, teams, and careers in this ecosystem, sustainability matters. What do I mean by sustainability? Although some foreign investors are happy to sign term sheets regardless of valuations, as prices are still better than their home market and African tech is unquestionably booming; those of us here for the long term need to ensure signed valuations matc...

Digital transformation depends on diversity

9Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Opinion

Digital transformation depends on diversity

Across industries, businesses are now tech and data companies. The sooner they grasp and live that, the quicker they will meet their customer needs and expectations, create more business value and grow. It is increasingly important to reimagine business and use digital technologies to create new business processes, cultures, customer experiences and opportunities. One of the myths about digital transformation is that it’s all about harnessing technology. It’s not. To succeed, digital transformation inherently requires and relies on diversity. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the result of human intelligence, enabled by its vast talents and also susceptible to its limitations. Therefore, it is imperative for organizations and teams to make diversity a priority and think about it beyon...

Are tech companies Africa’s new colonialists?

8Jul

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Opinion

Are tech companies Africa’s new colonialists?

Foreign-owned start-ups are driving an African tech revolution — and prompting old fears of exploitation Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.comT&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here. https://www.ft.com/content/4625d9b8-9c16-11e9-b8ce-8b459ed04726 In 1886, barely a year after Europe’s great powers met in Berlin to carve up the continent of Africa, Queen Victoria granted Sir George Goldie a charter for his Royal Niger Company. The charter gave Goldie, a moustachioed, waistcoated gentleman of Scottish descent, the ri...

Can Nigeria’s tech community contribute to solving the country’s energy crisis?

9Jun

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Energy, Opinion, West Africa

Can Nigeria’s tech community contribute to solving the country’s energy crisis?

Two weeks ago, I tried renewing energy credits online via my bank’s website. I got debited instantly and immediately proceeded to check if power was restored. It wasn’t and I didn’t receive a refund until a week later. Although in the past, I have successfully used the system a few times, the unreliability of the service is a problem for many. At least 30,000 electronic payment transactions fail every day, according to one Nigerian commercial bank. Nigeria is a nation where its citizens live with limited power daily. Last month, the power supply droppedfrom 4,000 megawatts to 2,039 megawatts, grossly insufficient for a nation of 180 million people. The power generated dropped due to a shortage of gas supply to power stations. If all the country’s power facilities work to the...

Media must help unite Africa’s tech startup scene, but also act as watchdog – Buckland

11Apr

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Opinion, Start-ups

Media must help unite Africa’s tech startup scene, but also act as watchdog – Buckland

While the media has a role to play in uniting the continent’s fragmented tech startup scene, it also has a duty to perform the role of a watchdog, argues Burn Media founder and publisher of Ventureburn, Matthew Buckland. In an interview that appeared today in Seedstars’ 2019 booklet distributed at the Seedstars Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland, Buckland says the role of media is to unite the ecosystem and tell a “cohesive and realistic” story about the tech startup sector. Seedstars runs one of the largest emerging markets startup competitions of its kind, which culminates in tomorrow’s annual summit, where startups from about 75 countries will this year compete to be named Seedstars Global Winner and get a chance at clinching $500 000 in equity investment. The media must both hel...

Are We Grooming Women Leaders in Africa’s Technology Ecosystem?

9Apr

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Opinion, Trends

Are We Grooming Women Leaders in Africa’s Technology Ecosystem?

Women in technology in Africa do not have the same leadership opportunities as their male counterparts. While there has been an increase in the number of women stepping into technology careers as a result of several training and mentorship initiatives, they are finding it difficult to rise through the ranks. Only three out of ten senior managers in the telecoms, media and technology industry in Africa are women, according to a 2016 report by McKinsey & Company. According to the report, women are less likely to get a promotion. Only about four in ten promotions in private businesses go to women across Africa. There are fewer women as one moves from non-management roles to senior management roles. Women across Africa are defying the odds and taking a seat at the table in the b...

The Technology Space Is Rapidly Evolving in Africa, and It’s Not All Good News

29Dec

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Cybersecurity, Opinion, Tech Policy

The Technology Space Is Rapidly Evolving in Africa, and It’s Not All Good News

The lack of technology policy and its poor implementation can lead to economic and political instability, and the effects of this are magnified in African countries with weak rule of law. One of the poorest countries in Africa is getting serious about going digital. In October, the Malawian government announced it would require businesses to offer options for digital payments in an effort to expand the digital economy and tax base. Like Malawi, many African countries now find themselves at the forefront of global conversations around how to compete in an increasingly digital economy and govern online spaces, but few are rising to the challenge of safeguarding digital rights in the process. Rapid population growth across the continent and the anticipation of millions of...