By Halligan Agade In a bid to address vaccine inequality between rich and poor nations, a South African biotech company is spearheading a consortium backed by the World Health Organisation. Afrigen is taking on pharmaceutical giants in its quest to produce Africa’s first homegrown mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and share it with the global south. This is…
Staff Writer, ZAWYA Fintech startups in Africa surged 81% in 2021, with South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya emerging as key hubs, The Kenyan Wall Street newspaper said, citing a Mastercard report. The fintech sector accounted for 27% of the deals closed and 61% of the $2.7 billion invested across Africa last year. Fintech innovation in Africa has been…
Staff Writer, Bizcommunity.com With African innovation igniting a technology boom, trailblazers from across the continent will gather in Cape Town, South Africa, on 31 August and 1 September 2022 for another edition of Africa Tech Week, sponsored by Sentech – the continent’s sought-after technology conference, exhibition, and awards ceremony focused on promoting the Fourth Industrial Revolution…
Reuters A surgical team led by Dr Tim Forgan uses the da Vinci Xi robot to assist in removing a cancerous rectal tumour from a female patient at Tygerberg public hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. The robot, which has four ‘arms’ and is controlled in real time by Forgan via an immersive 3D consul,…
By Jerry Omondi Developing countries should place more emphasis on science and technology education to better prepare the young generation for opportunities in the digital economy, according to Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa made the comments in Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the 2022 World Economic Forum. “The future of business, of development, wealth creation,…
By XINHUA Ethiopia’s state-owned Ethio-Telecom on Monday evening launched a pre-commercial 5G services trial in the capital Addis Ababa in partnership with Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Ethiopia’s first 5G services, which was launched across six mobile stations in Addis Ababa, is said to be part of the Ethiopian government’s digital transformation aspirations. “We are pleased and…
By XINHUA Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday launched the National Mobile Broadband project which seeks to expand and improve the country’s information communication technology (ICT) services and infrastructure. The project, which is now in the third phase, is a partnership between Chinese ICT giant Huawei, and Zimbabwe’s second-largest telecommunications provider NetOne. The expansion project, which…
By XINHUA South Africa’s University of Witwatersrand (Wits) would like to collaborate with African researchers in their recently formed AI Africa Consortium to study artificial intelligence (AI) and innovation, said Vice-Chancellor and Principal Zeblon Vilakazi on Wednesday at the AI Expo Africa 2021. He invites Africa’s research community to join AI Africa Consortium, which aims to…
By Daniel Plafker On August 9, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its most damning assessment yet of the world’s progress towards avoiding the most devastating impacts of human-caused climate change. In what more than 230 scientists called a ‘code red for humanity,’ the panel warned in unambiguous terms that the failure of the planet’s…
By XINHUA Huawei on Wednesday announced that it had invested 60 million U.S. dollars in the construction of two technological training centers in Angola. Chu Xiaoxin, representative of Huawei in Angola, made the announcement after an audience with Angolan President Joao Lourenco. Chu said that the centers with capacity to accommodate 2,000 young people will help…
