Browsing: microsoft

• Artificial intelligence in Africa can potentially propel the fintech industry into a new era of financial inclusion.
• AI tools can analyse data from client discussions, producing legal documents in simple language and at a fraction of what it would typically take to draft a contract.
• Banks, for example, can make their services more affordable to their customers by rolling out AI-powered chatbots to handle routine queries while sparing them from having to travel to a bank branch.

It’s difficult to imagine a time before the widespread adoption of mobile technology in Africa – particularly where financial services are concerned. For millions of unbanked people, transactions were limited to cash, postal services or even the barter system.

Now, in much the same way as mobile payments completely disrupted the status quo, AI has the potential to propel the fintech industry into a new era of financial inclusion. And perhaps most exciting …

• Level of remote desktop protocol abuse unprecedented since launch of report in 2020.
• External remote services were the number-one way attackers initially breached networks.
• Remote Desktop Protocol is a Microsoft proprietary protocol that enables remote connections to other computers.

Cybercriminals have resorted to the use of remote desktop protocol in executing their attacks on systems according to new findings by Sophos. The Sophos Active Adversary Report for 2024 shows that cybercriminals heavily exploited remote desktop protocol (RDP) in 90 per cent of attacks, marking the highest incidence of RDP abuse since Sophos started these reports in 2021 covering data from 2020.

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a Microsoft proprietary protocol that enables remote connections to other computers,

The report further says that external remote services such as RDP were the most common vector by which attackers initially breached networks; they were the method of initial access in 65 percent of …

• Gebeya and Microsoft aim to bridge the gap between Africa’s burgeoning tech-savvy youth and the global digital economy.
• The pair is building a thriving digital workforce in Africa, capable of leading the next wave of global innovation.
• With over 10,000 developers already registered since its announcement, the initiative is rapidly gaining momentum across economies in Africa.

In an initiative that is poised to redefine Africa’s digital path, Gebeya Inc., in partnership with Microsoft, has launched the Microsoft Talent Cloud ecosystem, targeting the empowerment of 300,000 African tech talents by 2027.

This pioneering platform, which is powered by Gebeya’s Talent Cloud technology, aims to bridge the gap between Africa’s burgeoning tech-savvy youth and the global digital economy.

Through a training program in Microsoft-focused cloud and AI skills, the undertaking offers African tech professionals access to learning resources, job opportunities, and a network spanning over 30,000 Microsoft partners and customers.

Tech leap:

• 2023 Most Profitable Global Firms were dominated by players in the Energy, Finance and Technology sector. 
• Saudi Aramco, with $159.1 billion in profits dominates as the world’s most profitable energy company, capitalizing on vast oil reserves.
• Energy sector leads with a 24.56 per cent profit share, amassing $711.6 billion from 88 companies, highlighting its dominance in the global market.

A study on the 2023 Fortune 500 reveals that most profitable global companies amassed a colossal US$2.9 trillion in profit. The Most Profitable Global Firms 2023 were dominated by players in the energy, finance and technology sector.

The top 10 companies alone accounted for $689.8 billion, or 24 per cent, of this total. Each company in this elite group averages an impressive $69 billion in profit. Leading the pack are Saudi Aramco, Apple, and Microsoft, respectively, as the most profitable.

The research conducted by growandconvert.com further uncovers that the top three …

• The collaboration seeks to play a significant role in closing the tech skills gap in Africa, fostering job creation, entrepreneurship, and empowering the continent’s youth with in-demand digital skills.
• Through the partnership, Microsoft and Gebeya aim to upskill 300,000 developers across eight countries over the next three years.
• They include Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Nigeria, Egypt and Mozambique.

Microsoft and Gebeya Inc., the leading Pan-African SaaS-enabled tech talent marketplace, have partnered  to launch a new skills and jobs matching platform called Microsoft.Gebeya.com.

The collaboration seeks to play a significant role in closing the tech skills gap in Africa, fostering job creation, entrepreneurship, and empowering the continent’s youth with in-demand digital skills.

Through the partnership, Microsoft and Gebeya aim to upskill 300,000 developers across eight countries over the next three years, including Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Nigeria, Egypt and Mozambique.

Applications …

• Tech giant Microsoft plans to expand its Airband partnerships to provide high-speed internet access to people in Latin America and Africa.
• Microsoft is also targeting Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda with high-speed internet.
• Limited access to broadband means that people have fewer opportunities to develop the digital skills necessary in digital economy. 

Microsoft plans to expand its Airband partnerships to provide high-speed internet access to nearly 40 million people across Latin America and Africa.

In Africa, Microsoft Airband Initiative General Manager Vickie Robinson says firm will extend partnerships in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala will be targetd in South America. This marks significant progress in the firm’s mission to extend high-speed internet access to 250 million people globally. The deal will primarily target populations in unserved and underserved areas. Across Africa, about 100 million are set to …

• Microsoft announced plans to deliver internet access through satellite to 10 million people, half of whom will live in Africa
• Microsoft and Viasat will work together to develop and test technologies, such as fixed wireless and satellites 
• Microsoft and Viasat will offer connectivity and digital literacy to improve healthcare, education, and economic productivity. 

Microsoft has announced plans to deliver internet access through satellite to 10 million people, half of whom will live in Africa, as part of its initiative to bridge the digital divide with the developing world.

At a Summit with African leaders in Washington, DC, hosted by President Joe Biden, the tech giant said it would commence the satellite project immediately, prioritising internet connection for the first time to Egypt, Senegal and Angola.

Microsoft announced plans to extend its operations in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and provide internet connectivity in more remote parts …

The project emphasises that young people are starting businesses, which is essential to meeting our lofty employment goals.

Through a public-private partnership model, the alliance aims to assist the creation of national institutions that will scale up financial and technical support for young entrepreneurs and increase their capabilities.

The African Development Bank created the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank as a unique value proposition that integrates and anchors work to create African entrepreneurship ecosystems.

The bank will coordinate the necessary financial and non-financial parties and partners through this project to fulfil their responsibilities for supporting young entrepreneurs through mentoring, training, experience and knowledge exchange, and other means.…

In the future, Adanian Labs wants to get past the current phase, in which the flow of deals around the world is slowing down, and rise to power more start-ups and take over more markets across the continent.

In just two years, Adanian Labs has expanded out of Kenya and into Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, and Nigeria, which are some of Africa’s biggest start-up and tech hubs.

It wants to have a presence all over Africa by 2025, and it is working hard to help build 300 companies in the next five years. In the meantime, the lab plans to set up shop in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Senegal, and the Ivory Coast. It is also thinking about using a franchise model to speed up its growth.

Adanian Labs start-ups can easily expand into other markets because they can use the existing infrastructure of the venture studio as …

• The Google product development centre in Nairobi has been launched weeks after Visa set up its first innovation centre in Africa
• Google, Microsoft and Visa join Cisco and Philips in setting up innovation centres strengthening Kenya’s Silicon Savannah moniker
• Visa’s innovation studio is the first in Africa and the sixth globally

The Google product development centre in Nairobi, Kenya has launched just two weeks after Visa set up its first innovation centre for the co-creation of payment and commerce solutions with partners.

Google, Microsoft and Visa join Cisco and Philips in setting up innovation centres strengthening Kenya’s Silicon Savannah moniker and as a tech investment hub in East Africa.

The tech giant’s facility, the first of its kind on the continent, is to create products and services that will have a significant impact on the African continent and beyond.

Besides the research and development centre, Microsoft has also …