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Tech & Business
- Availability of mobile phones, internet increasing agriculture digitization.
- Smallholder farmers still lag in adapting digital solutions in farming.
- Policymakers urged to prioritize digitalization interventions for smallholder farmers.
Across Africa, a new era of agriculture is unfolding, driven by the rise of farming AI (artificial intelligence)—a powerful tool that promises to revolutionize food production and meet the demands of a growing population. Increasingly, farming Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ‘future present’ of agriculture development as rising number of smallholder farmers in Africa adopt various digital solutions to increase productivity.
In a recent research that looked into rural farmers’ experiences and attitudes toward digital tools and services in Africa, the findings show that the trend is less than promising, comparatively speaking.
“We like to look at how the adoption and application of digital services, and digital solutions directly and/or indirectly to agricultural processes and how farmers are fairing, if at all,” explains …
- Laser-powered Taara Lightbridge, an firm owned by Google, is competing with Elon Musk’s Starlink to advance access to internet services in Africa.
- Taara is targeting some 860 million people in Africa who currently go without reliable internet access.
- Taara Lightbridge offers affordable, high-speed internet that rivals satellite broadband solutions.
As Elon Musk’s satellite internet services firm Starlink grows its footprint in Africa, rival Google’s Taara Lightbridge has stepped in for a share of the growing number of consumers in the vast continent.
Taara Lightbridge is the brainchild of Alphabet, the parent company of tech giant Google and is envisioned to become “a standalone company,” as it takes on Starlink “in the race to connect underserved regions with high-speed internet.”
Taara Lightbridge uses Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) technology to beam high-speed internet through light over long distances, unlike satellite broadband that Elon Musk’s Starlink uses.
The move into Africa’s …
- At AIM Congress 2025, PAL-V will be showcasing the PAL-V Liberty, the world’s first FlyDrive vehicle.
- This vehicle combines the convenience of traditional driving with the freedom of flying, presenting a practical vision for the future of mobility.
- “We are bringing the future of mobility to reality—creating seamless, efficient, and flexible transportation,” said Robert Dingemanse, Founder and CEO of PAL-V.
AIM Congress 2025, in its 14th edition, will highlight the latest global innovations in the mobility sector under the Future Cities Portfolio, bringing together industry leaders, investors, and policymakers to explore the future of advanced transportation.
Among this year’s most prominent participants is PAL-V, showcasing the PAL-V Liberty, the world’s first FlyDrive vehicle. This revolutionary vehicle combines the convenience of traditional driving with the freedom of flying, presenting a practical vision for the future of mobility.
As transportation systems face increasing challenges, such as traffic congestion and intercity travel …
- In Kenya, mobile phone users are opting for internet calls and texting as a measure to cut on costs.
- Last year, customers spent more time on a single on-net call averaging 2.8 minutes.
- Safaricom customers spent more on off-net calls, averaging at 1.4 minutes while Airtel accounted for 33.3% of voice and 10.3% of SMS traffic in Kenya.
An increasing number of mobile phone users in Kenya prefer using internet calls and texting as a measure to cut communication costs, a 2023 report by the Communications Authority shows. This shift is steadily eroding both voice and text revenues for mobile network providers in Kenya.
The report shows that the minutes of use per month per subscription decreased to 120.4 minutes in the three months to December 2023 compared to a higher 123.4 minutes during the previous quarter.
Similarly, short messages sent per month per subscription declined marginally to 65.4 from …
- It is challenging to maximise AI’s benefits for children’s education and growth, while also ensuring their privacy, healthy development, and emotional well-being.
- From privacy concerns and the danger of over-trust to the spread of misinformation and possible psychological effects, AI challenges are many.
- Information collected from AI chatbots, when used for malicious purposes, can enable powerful manipulative tactics to spread misinformation, and polarisation.
Across Africa and the world, artificial intelligence is powering one of the most defining revolution in the history of mankind. In just under two years, Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft’s Copilot are increasingly assuming a central role in the lives of individuals, organisations and governments. AI-powered platforms are rapidly becoming a significant part of our daily lives.
For instance, with tech giants Meta integrating AI chatbots into popular social media communications platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, the technology is more …
- Mastercard Gateway is a global payment platform that offers protection from fraud and simplifies payment acceptance.
- The main forces behind this change are the speed, security, and ease of use provided by digital wallets and mobile money.
- Mobile money services like MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, and Kenya’s M-Pesa are becoming to become well-known brands.
Mastercard and Amazon Payment Services have entered a multi-year partnership to digitize payment acceptance across key markets in the Middle East and Africa.
The agreement includes Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, South Africa, and the UAE.
Through the partnership, Amazon Payment Services will integrate Mastercard Gateway, a streamlined solution for payment processing, across 40 markets in the region.
This integration will allow merchants to provide faster, more secure transactions and various payment options for customers.
The collaboration comes as digital payments continue to rise in the region. Amazon Payment Services merchants, including Amazon …
- Ransomware attacks cost the healthcare sector $2.57M, with only 22% of ransomware victims fully recovered in a week or less.
- Organizations with breached backups were twice as likely to pay the ransom to recover encrypted data.
- Insurance providers play a significant role in these ransom payments, contributing to 77% of cases and covering 19% of the total ransom amounts.
Cyber-attacks targeted towards health organisations have increased by 7 per cent in the past year to hit a four-year high since 2021. New findings titled “The State of Ransomware in Healthcare 2024,” by cybersecurity firm Sophos, reveal that healthcare is reporting a rise while other sectors posted a drop.
Of those organizations surveyed, two-thirds or 67 per cent were impacted by ransomware attacks in the past year, up from 60 per cent in 2023.
The rising rate of ransomware attacks against healthcare institutions contrasts with the declining rate of ransomware attacks …
- The UAE Society of Engineers invites innovators to participate in the third edition of the Excellence and Creative Engineering Award.
- It aims to promote the importance of national engineering work.
- The application period will remain open until November 15, 2024.
UAE Engineering Award is inviting innovators across the Middle East nation to showcase their groundbreaking ideas in the highly anticipated third edition of the competition. In a statement, the organizers said UAE’s Excellence and Creative Engineering Award is a unique opportunity to present outstanding work that reflects their commitment to quality and innovation in this field.
The UAE Society of Engineers emphasizes the importance of active participation in such initiatives, which enhance the status of the engineering sector and contribute to its development on both national and international levels.
The Excellence and Creative Engineering Award is the first of its kind in the UAE. It aims to promote the importance …
- AIM Congress 2025 will explore the latest trends and developments shaping global investment, focusing on addressing current and future challenges.
- Key segments of next year’s edition include FDI, Start-ups, global manufacturing, and digital transformation among others.
- HE Al Zeyoudi: “AIM Congress will provide a crucial platform for the international community to come together, devise innovative investment strategies, and build a framework that ensures sustainable and inclusive growth for all.”
Once again, the City of Abu Dhabi in the UAE is gearing up to host the 14th edition of AIM Congress 2025, with planners of the global showpiece projecting to host over 25,000 participants.
In an announcement Wednesday, the Organising Committee of AIM Congress says the 2025 showcase will take place from April 7-9, under the theme “Mapping the Future of Global Investment: The New Wave of a Globalized Investment Landscape – Towards a New Balanced World Structure”.
Taking place at …
