Friday, March 29

Tag: Tech News

5 tech tools to help people with handwriting difficulties
Education, Health Tech

5 tech tools to help people with handwriting difficulties

Henry*, a 9-year-old student, was diagnosed with dysgraphia when he was seven years old. He has trouble gripping a pencil, which always leads to hand cramps and fatigue. “Henry’s handwriting was unusual and inconsistent. It was sad to see him struggle to write at home because it seemed like his teachers were punishing him by having him write in class,” Henry’s dad recalls. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), writing necessitates a complex set of motor and information processing skills which includes the ability to organise thoughts coherently and then write them down on paper.  However, dysgraphia impairs these abilities in varying degrees. Continue reading Image: Techpoint.africa
Meet Abake Adenle, who developed a unique speech recognition software for African languages
Africa

Meet Abake Adenle, who developed a unique speech recognition software for African languages

In July 2021, a Nigerian-American was recognised for her innovative work advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in voice.  The attraction came from building a voice recognition and speech synthesis software for five African languages, which was innovative. As of the time she founded the startup, the market was pretty undefined and unrefined, with no known player in the space focused on native African languages. To get an idea of how it feels to get the attention of an organisation like Women in Voice (WiV) — an international non-profit based in Seattle — and her plans for it, we had a chat, albeit briefly. I did get an idea, but I only scratched the surface. I would come to realise that what seemed like a big deal was only a bit of the life of a hard-working woman with a...
China plans to deploy digital satellite TVs in 200 Togolese villages
Africa, Telecommunications

China plans to deploy digital satellite TVs in 200 Togolese villages

The Chinese government plans to distribute digital satellite television and hardware in 200 villages across Togo, speeding up the West African country’s plans to switch to digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasting.  DTT, which will replace analog television, is a technology that improves image quality and reduces operating costs inherent in broadcasting. In October 2019, the Togolese parliament passed a law authorising the DTT migration, a process that began a few years before the regulation was approved.  The project was expected to kick off with the construction of nine digital television signal transmission sites. However, it has stalled as DTT coverage in the French-speaking country remains low, and non-existent in rural areas. On paper, the Chinese interventio...
YouTube May Soon Let You Download Videos From Your Browser
Apps

YouTube May Soon Let You Download Videos From Your Browser

YouTube is currently testing an official way to download videos on your desktop web browser saving you the hassle (and danger) of having to install sketchy 3rd party mods and having to go through 3rd party websites just to download your favourite songs. Users who want to see if they are eligible to be part of the testing phase, which runs through 19 October, should check out YouTube’s experimental features page, which lists any new features being tested that are currently available to Premium subscribers. The Verge writes that not everyone will be able to take part in the test. Continue reading Image: Speechling
Nigerian fintech HerVest wants to bring financial inclusion to more African women
Fintech, Nigeria

Nigerian fintech HerVest wants to bring financial inclusion to more African women

After years of working in marketing for a number of financial services companies, Solape Akinpelu came to a conclusion: There was an “alarmingly low adoption” by women for financial services in her home country of Nigeria and all of Africa as a whole. “I could see women living the reality around me,” Akinpelu recalls. “These women could not make sound financial decisions. Some of these women that do not even know that they could do better with their money.” She found that the problem is particularly acute for women living in rural areas, especially those working on farms. Continue reading Image: Hervest co-founder and CEO Solape Akinpelu / Hervest
Tesla backed ZOLA Electric is solving Africa’s energy shortage by digitising energy
Africa, Energy

Tesla backed ZOLA Electric is solving Africa’s energy shortage by digitising energy

Access to reliable, affordable, and constant power supply has continuously been a problem in sub-Saharan Africa for a long time, impairing economic growth. As the population in the region increases, the enormity of the problem becomes more evident.  InEnergy in Africa Challenges and Opportunitiesby Manfred Hafner and Simone Tagliapietra Lucia de Strasser, in 2018, about 600 million people out of 1.07 billion in sub-Saharan Africa did not have access to electricity. While there are efforts to increase access to electricity, population growth outpaces these efforts.  Interestingly, some parts of Africa have high connection rates. According to Afrobarometer, Egypt has a 100% connection rate, South Africa, 95%; and Nigeria, 90%. Continue reading Image: techpoint.africa
Ventures Park launches new campus in Abuja for tech enthusiasts
Africans in Tech, Education

Ventures Park launches new campus in Abuja for tech enthusiasts

In June 2016, Ventures Platform launched as an innovation hub where tech enthusiasts, freelancers, startup founders, and professionals in Nigeria could meet, network, and co-create. The 1,200-square-meter hub in Abuja also served as a residential base for technology entrepreneurs on the continent selected to go through the VP accelerator programme.  Over the past five years, Ventures Platform has changed its investment strategy from the accelerator model to become one of the leading early-stage funds in Africa while it spun off the innovation hub business, now managed by its subsidiary Ventures Park. With the recent surge in fundraising, tech activity, and uptake of remote freelance jobs in Nigeria, Ventures Park has seen its community of active users nearly double from just over 10...
Datacentrix Partners OutSystems to Expand Rapid App Development in Africa
Africa, Apps

Datacentrix Partners OutSystems to Expand Rapid App Development in Africa

Hybrid IT systems integrator and managed services provider Datacentrix has signed a partnership agreement, for both Africa and the Middle East, with the OutSystems industry-leading application development platform. “The OutSystems modern application platform was designed to accelerate the development and deployment of critical applications, while also delivering flexibility and efficiency. This allows us to assist customers in their application modernisation strategies, with a cloud engagement strategy that aligns to Datacentrix’ vision,” says Ahmed Mahomed, Datacentrix CE. OutSystems was recently named a leader in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Multiexperience Development Platforms (MXDP). Continue reading Image: Shutterstock
How to Successfully Recover from a Ransomware Attack
Cybersecurity

How to Successfully Recover from a Ransomware Attack

South Africa is an attractive target for cybercriminals for a number of reasons, and the last few years have seen a sharp rise in high-profile ransomware attacks. One of the key motivations driving this volume of attacks is the fact that data is a de facto currency and an extremely valuable commodity on the black market. While backup is a critical component of data protection, when this backup is also encrypted by malicious software, companies are often left with few options other than to pay the ransom. Therefore, an effective Cyber Recovery strategy, which enables businesses to get back up and running without having to give in to criminal demands, is the key. Continue reading Image: Kaspersky
Glovo is officially in Nigeria, redefining tech-driven on-demand delivery!
Africans in Tech, Nigeria

Glovo is officially in Nigeria, redefining tech-driven on-demand delivery!

Customers nowadays would rather order food and other items from an app and have them delivered, than walk into a neighboring restaurant or store. The concept of on-demand delivery service has redefined comfort, efficiency, and convenience for users across every consumer service, product category or just anything.  A global technology company Glovo has recently launched its multi-category on-demand delivery platform in Nigeria! This app connects users and couriers, allowing them to order any product or food item with a simple tap on their smartphone and have it delivered to them fast by a specialist Glovo rider, called a Glover. The app works in 6 unique categories where users can order items from supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants, drinks, specific package deliveries, and an inte...