Thursday, November 28African Digital Business Magazine

Tech

How cloud technology can boost economic development in Africa
Tech

How cloud technology can boost economic development in Africa

Cloud technology could be a major enabler of economic development on the African continent – but some stubborn barriers need to be cleared first, says Andrew Cruise, Managing Director of vendor neutral cloud infrastructure provider, Routed. The African continent represents 60 percent of the world’s arable lands and 30 percent of the earth’s mineral reserves – making it a rich continent in many ways. Yet it contributes only 2 percent of the world’s research output and lags behind in several key technological sectors. For the continent to achieve its potential and escape the unsustainable colonial development model of resource extraction, investment in digital competencies is crucial. In certain areas, the continent is faring reasonably well in this regard. Mobile penetration, for example, ...
CX is the key to staying ahead of the competition
South Africa News, Tech

CX is the key to staying ahead of the competition

Immersion Group's new head of experience design, Ismail Dawjee, believes that the company's recent rebranding efforts will help it become a leading player in the experience industry by setting a new standard for how all experience disciplines work together. According to Dawjee, this unified approach will maximize profitability and growth potential for the company. Immersion Group's recent CEM Africa Summit in Cape Town was a key launching point for its new brand identity. The response from attendees was positive and showed great promise for the company's future. He believes that experience design should be used as a way to gain a competitive advantage, and that by integrating different disciplines into the experience design process, organisations will see a significant impact. Forward-...
South Africa News, Tech

The Most Common Facebook Marketplace Scams—And How to Avoid Them

Carey van Vlaanderen, CEO of ESET South Africa shares critical safety tips when buying or selling on Facebook Marketplace and how to tell if you’re being scammed. Last year, Facebook Marketplace passed one billion global users. With this, it has become a giant in the consumer-to-consumer commerce space, allowing individual Facebook users to buy and sell seamlessly. Online retail in South Africa has more than doubled in just two years and with 29.5 million-strong Facebook users, more than half of the country’s population has a Facebook account. Dominating the online classifieds Marketplace has become so popular in South Africa that similar platforms are struggling to compete. Previously-popular OLX has closed its doors, while Gumtree still hangs on by a thread. Facebook Marketplace has o...
Events, South Africa News, Tech

Africa’s Largest B2B AI Focused Trade Event Celebrates 5th Anniversary & Announces Johannesburg Programme

AI Expo Africa, the largest business-focused Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Intelligent Automation (IA) trade event in Africa and celebrates its 5th Anniversary Edition on 19-20 September in the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa. Uniting 100s of buyers, suppliers, investors, innovators, SMMEs and global tech brands in the region, AI Expo Africa focuses on real-world applications you can deploy today. The business audience is comprised of Enterprise decision-makers, Tier 1 / 2 deployment & service providers, start-ups, educators, government, NGOs and ecosystem builders. AI Expo Africa 2022 will feature the following elements 10,000 sq Foot Expo Hall 63 vendors & 2 showcase pavilions 4 Track speaking programme 4 Plenary Keynotes plus 3-panel ...
Hybrid work: How to create a digital transformation strategy that actually works
South Africa News, Tech

Hybrid work: How to create a digital transformation strategy that actually works

The working world has changed drastically. Today, survey after survey shows workers want a hybrid work model. But what does the future workplace look like and how can organisations create a digital transformation journey that fits the new paradigm? Marilyn Moodley, Country Leader for South Africa and WECA (West, East, Central Africa) at digital transformation specialist SoftwareONE, says the working landscape has changed forever. “While the idea of a digital workplace has been taking shape for several years, the start of the pandemic accelerated the trend where we witnessed over three years’ worth of digital transformation in just three months. Organisations across the globe are trying to fine-tune their hybrid work environment. Doing so often requires a faster transition to a digital wor...
Agriculture, Kenya News, Tech

Cross-sector innovation presents solutions to combat Kenya’s long-standing False Codling Moth challenge

False Codling Moth (FCM), also known as Thaumatotibia leucotreta is currently causing havoc in various chilli farms in Kenya, eating into the farmers’ profits [1]. It has also emerged as a major constraint to the production of horticultural crops in the country and is currently the leading cause of interceptions of Capsicum and cut flowers exported to the European Union [2]. This has a huge knock-on effect on the country’s economy as it is highly dependent on the agricultural sector. In an effort to remedy the FCM challenge faced by thousands of Kenyan farmers the Innovation Exchange (iX) challenge competition, delivered by Innovate UK KTN Global Alliance Africa supported Flamingo Horticulture International, which grows chillies within the several regions in Kenya, to identify innovative ...
Influencer Patrick Parker Sheds Light on Lessons He Learned While Helping Scale Hundreds of Small Businesses
Tech

Influencer Patrick Parker Sheds Light on Lessons He Learned While Helping Scale Hundreds of Small Businesses

By Danielle Ward Patrick Parker is a widely known figure in the tech industry at present. He has worked with hundreds of businesses so far and raised many of them to peaks of success. He has also been the driver for a myriad of businesses transitioning into giant tech companies. He is still walking down the same path as it has always been part of his dreams. One of those dreams was to focus on coaching other entrepreneurs on how to build million-dollar businesses online. With ‘SaaS Partners,’ his primary tech company, Patrick has ascended to unimaginable heights of success.  “Entrepreneurship is challenging, and we all hit bumps along the way. But we must try to learn from the journey of others,” says Patrick. In his journey of more than a decade, he has learned his fair share of lessons...
Bluechip Launches in Europe following Successful pan-African Expansion
Nigeria News, Tech

Bluechip Launches in Europe following Successful pan-African Expansion

Hires industry expert Richard Lewis to spearhead the new European division Lagos, Nigeria - 8th August 2022, Bluechip Technologies, Nigeria’s leading provider of business application and data management solutions, announces its European launch following growing demand for its products and services. The strategic expansion positions the company as a new competitive entrant in the EU market offering data warehousing and analytics products as well as highly experienced senior data engineers from its Nigeria team as consultants for European firms. Leading the European expansion is Richard Lewis who will be CEO of Bluechip EU Subsidiary across Europe. Founded in Nigeria in 2008 by Kazeem Tewogbade and Olumide Soyombo, Bluechip leveraged the technical skills and reputation of Kazeem Tewogbade ...
RCS mobile marketing campaigns in Brazil and Africa by Upstream drive 37% rise in conversion rates over SMS and 137% higher click-through rates
Business, Tech

RCS mobile marketing campaigns in Brazil and Africa by Upstream drive 37% rise in conversion rates over SMS and 137% higher click-through rates

Upstream presents the power of RCS to boost multi-channel marketing campaigns at MEF RCS World and latest whitepaper ‘Unlocking multi-channel marketing with RCS’ Upstream, a global specialist in mobile marketing technology, showcased the power of Rich Communications Services (RCS) to push multi-channel marketing campaigns to new heights at MEF RCS World. Taking place at the state-of-the-art innovation centre in Google’s European Headquarters in Dublin, Upstream experts demonstrated how its RCS solutions have become indispensable for leading brands across the world, driving a rise in conversion rates of 37% over SMS and 137% higher click-through rates. “Not all users are the same, so communications shouldn’t be either. Every channel has a different dynamic and purpose, and the more channe...
South Africa News, Tech

Cyber criminals’ eye South African SMEs lack of security

Steve Flynn, Sales and Marketing Director of ESET South Africa, says South African small businesses are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks. Why? Business owners aren't taking the necessary precautions to protect their digital assets, often with dire financial consequences. Despite the significant risks, SMEs seem reluctant to take the same digital preventative measures to secure their IT infrastructure as they would to protect their office equipment or company-owned vehicles. Just as a business owner wouldn't underinsure a tangible business asset such as a factory, SMEs shouldn't leave their digital assets unlocked and in plain sight of criminals. In a business environment where every cent counts, preventative measures must be weighed against the costs of not having IT security prote...