West Africa technology news

10 Sep

Google’s latest video calling app launches globally (IT News Africa)

September 10, 2016
By Dr. Dennie Beach

Google has unveiled its latest video calling app, which has been dubbed by the company as “Duo.” According to Google, the app has gone live globally and is available on either Android or iOS devices.

Google revealed that Duo works off your phone number and provides simple one to one video calling to bring you face to face with everyone you care about, without needing to sign up for a Google account.

By Staff Writer (IT News Africa)

Google’s latest video calling app launches globally.

The app’s Knock Knock feature gives a preview of incoming calls from your contacts, so you can see what’s up before you answer the call (this feature can be switched off, and only works on iOS if the app is already open on the user’s phone).

Duo works on wifi and cellular networks, and will hand over a call from one to the other – so if you’re on a call and move out of wifi range, it’ll move onto the cellular network, or vice versa, with no intervention from you, the company revealed.

According to Google it has optimised Duo to connect faster than other video apps, and to ensure it stays in sync, even on slower networks like 2G. All calls are encrypted end to end, making them secure from start to finish.

10 Jun

Technology News, West Africa economic news, West Africa technology news

Accra, Ghana becomes next smart African city to offer Uber (IT News Africa)

June 10, 2016
By Dr. Dennie Beach

Accra has been named as the next city to join Uber’s network in Africa. The economically vibrant hub is the first city in Ghana to receive the service. With a thriving urban population, Accra’s 2.27 million people will have access to efficient transport through the ride-sharing platform. Uber is excited to explore the potential of this dynamic city.

By Staff Writer (IT News Africa)

Alon Lits, General Manager for Uber Sub-Saharan Africa says, “Accra is bustling, connected city that Uber is proud to be launching in. It’s rapid growth and multiple ethnic communities make it an exciting place to introduce our service.”

“At Uber, we bring the world closer together by connecting global citizens to transport in a growing number of cities. We see Accra as a natural fit, because its people are willing to embrace innovation and technology and love products that are cool, exclusive and offer a new experience. We are able to deliver just that, safely, reliably and affordably.”

Uber recently launched it’s service in Uganda in the city of Kampala.

Read More at IT News Africa

10 Jun

East Africa technology news, North Africa technology news, Technology News, West Africa technology news

Dell, CSIR unveil ‘fastest supercomputer in Africa’ (WebAfrica)

June 10, 2016
By Dr. Dennie Beach

South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has unveiled a petaflops (PFLOPs) machine which they claim is the fastest computer on the African continent due to its speed of roughly one petaflops (1000 teraflops). Flops are units for measuring of computer’s processing speed.

By Matshelane Mamabolo

“This is a supercomputer with processing speed capable of a thousand-trillion floating point operations per second. Floating point operations or flops are used in computing to calculate extremely large numbers,”revealed the CSIR in its presentation of the computer which features over 40 000 cores making it 15 times faster than the previous system.

The petaflops machine has been named Lengau which is a Setswana name for Cheetah.

Dr Thomas Auf der Heyde, Deputy Director-General: Research Development and Support at the Department of Science and Technology says high-performance computing plays an important role growing the economy.

“For our country to grow at the required rate, as set out in the National Development Plan, it needs to change gear by building capacity in the production and dissemination knowledge. The CHPC represents a deliberate move by this country to invest in modernising our research and development. High-performance computing and advanced data technologies are powerful tools in enhancing the competitiveness of regions and nations,”

The system used to in create the supercomputer has a smaller footprint than previous systems. The Dell HPC system is comprised of 1,039 Dell PowerEdge servers, based on Intel Xeon processors totalling 19 racks of compute nodes and storage. It has a total Dell Storage capacity of five petabytes, and uses Dell Networking ethernet switches and Mellanox EDR InfiniBand with a maximum interconnect speed of 56 GB/s.

Jim Ganthier, vice president and general manager, Engineered Solutions, HPC and Cloud at Dell says they are proud to collaborate with South Africa’s CSIR to delivery the fastest HPC system in Africa.

“The Lengau system will provide access and open doors to help drive new research, new innovations and new national economic benefits. While Lengau benefits from the latest technology advancements, from performance to density to energy efficiency, the most important benefit is that Lengau will enable new opportunities and avenues in research, the ability to help spur private sector growth in South Africa and, ultimately, help enable human potential.”

Other advantages of Lengau, according to the CSIR, are that it will provide increased access to computer resources for users who previously had limited or no access to such resources, improve performance of large-scale simulations that were impossible in the past, opening completely new avenues of research, and providing greater capacity to build the private sector/non-academic user base of its CHPC (Centre for High Performance Computing) for improved national economic benefit.

Embracing Science, With Robotic Arms, in Senegal (NYT Africa)

May 29, 2016
By Dr. Dennie Beach

DAKAR, Senegal — One robot slammed into some blocks and nearly fell to the floor. Another sideswiped a wall. Yet another spun in dizzying circles.

By DIONNE SEARCEY

So when the robot built by students from an allgirls school finally navigated the twists of the maze — flawlessly rounding every corner and touching every required flag — the crowd went nuts.

The girls were among students from 25 schools who gathered in Dakar to compete in the second annual PanAfrican Robotics Competition.

For five days, in a city where horse and cart are still a fixture on the many unpaved roads, boys and girls from sixth grade to high school hunched over laptops and tablets at a camp, entering code to guide their small blue robots through a labyrinth meant to test their skills in a competition on the final day.

The event was organized by Sidy Ndao, a Senegaleseborn engineering professor at the University of NebraskaLincoln, who is on a mission to help further science, technology, engineering and math education, known as STEM skills, in West Africa.

In America, the need for more STEM education has become a stump

speech delivered by many economists and business leaders. They stress that improving these skills will help the United States create more jobs, compete better globally and increase its economic growth.

The same is true for Senegal and across West Africa, Dr. Ndao said, where incorporating STEM education can help set a course to improve everything from sanitation systems to agriculture and can create jobs in a place with soaring unemployment.

“There’s a lot of work to be done here,” said Dr. Ndao, 33.

It is not that schools in the region don’t emphasize math and science already. The allgirls school at the competition, the Mariama Bâ de Gorée School, is known as one of the best math schools in Senegal. Though some schools outside Dakar, the capital, do not even have electricity, many private schools in the city have computer labs, math and science clubs and offer more technology courses than in the past.

But Dr. Ndao said the schools sometimes emphasized rote memorization rather than focusing on contextual learning. Students do not connect theories they learn with practical experiences, he argued.

“We have kids brought in from math and science schools, and when they see an airplane flying, they think it’s magic,” Dr. Ndao said. “But if you give them any math problem, they can solve it.”

Dr. Ndao went to school in Senegal until his teenage years, struggling through elementary school. But something clicked in junior high, and he decided math was his thing.

Dr. Ndao’s parents wanted a better education for him, so he went to New York, where he lived with a relative and enrolled in high school. Dr. Ndao said he had quickly risen to the top of his high school class there, and received a scholarship to City College of New York, where he studied mechanical engineering.

But there was a catch, he said: He was in the United States illegally. “People wanted to hire me, but I didn’t have any papers,” he said.

Dr. Ndao is an author of a paper titled “NearField Heat Transfer Enabled Nanothermomechanical Memory and Logic Devices.” But when he first got out of college, he went to work sweeping the aisles of a 99cent store in the Bronx.

Eventually, he entered a master’s degree program at City College, then went on to complete doctorate and postdoctoral work at New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His documentation issue was resolved when he married an American citizen, he said, adding that he has a green card now.

At the University of Nebraska, Dr. Ndao, a fan of nanotechnology, has focused on very small things and how they transfer heat. He is researching how heat, instead of electricity, can be used for computations in space exploration.

Having settled into a tenuretrack position in Lincoln, where he lives with his wife and five children, Dr. Ndao now wants to help West African children understand how math and science can improve their country. He persuaded the University of Nebraska to help sponsor the robotics event.

In Senegal, entrepreneurs and government officials are embracing the idea of improving STEM education. A technology hub under construction in a new city being built outside Dakar will contain training and research facilities.

Coding clubs for girls and women are popping up in the country and across the region.

But there are challenges. Internet access in expensive, and schools in some areas do not have electricity.

Dr. Ndao’s camp and competition are still a work in progress. Despite its PanAfrican title, the schools that sent students this year to the Dakar event were all from Senegal, something that Dr. Ndao hopes will change.

His event aimed to tie together the farming societies of Nebraska, known for its corn, and Senegal, known for its peanuts.

On some American farms, satellite controlled, driverless tractors are being tested to help make farmers’ work more efficient. In parts of Senegal, farmers can be seen bending over fields carved by a horsedrawn plow.

“We can change our future if we learn more about technology,” said Joanna Kengmeni, one of the students at the camp.

At the camp, students built robots from a kit, learned to program them and then created models of farms of the future that incorporated uses for their robots. One team created a robot with a fan that could cool crops in desertlike heat, or at least monitor temperatures, students said. Another team planned to use its robot for weed removal.

Another student at the camp, Arame Coumba Dieng, who was dressed in a head scarf and pink uniform, said she had taken to coding immediately.

“For me, it’s not difficult,” Ms. Dieng said. “You just need concentration.”

Ms. Dieng’s parents had religious schooling, but they did not go to a traditional school to learn math and science. So they sent her from their village to Dakar to study at the Lycée de Thiaroye. One administrator there described her as Miss Mathematics. “I love math,” she said.

Ms. Dieng said she was not sure how she would reach her goal of becoming an engineer. She needs to balance her dreams with returning to her home village after graduation to help her parents, who have trouble making enough money to survive.

Nigeria: Ntel unveils unlimited data offer (IT News Africa)

May 27, 2016
By Dr. Dennie Beach

Nigerian mobile operator Ntel has revealed a new mobile data offer for its customers. The company revealed that the latest offer will provide Nigerian consumers with unlimited data, for a period of 3 months.

By Staff Writer (IT News Africa)

Under the terms of the Smart Phone data weekly and Smart Phone data monthly offers, subscribers who pay NGN 3,000 or NGN 10,000 for either a weekly or one-month bundle will enjoy unlimited data for three months so long as they recharge.

In addition to the data offering, the company also unveiled the opening of new outlets in Abuja. The new outlets are expected to serve as SIM redemption and purchase points for Abuja residents as the company continues to spread its coverage in the capital city. This is according to TelecomPaper.

Read More at IT News Africa

25 May

East Africa health news, East Africa technology news, Health, Health & Wellness, Health news, North Africa health news, North Africa technology news, Southern Africa health news, West Africa health news, West Africa technology news

Doctor uses iPad to conduct remote surgery in Gaza (CNN Africa)

May 25, 2016
By Dr. Dennie Beach

(CNN)In countries ravaged by conflict, providing international medical expertise on the ground can be almost impossible.

By Susie East, for CNN

But a new software, called Proximie, is enabling surgeons to provide help from wherever they are in the world, all through the screen of an iPad.

“I see on my screen the surgical feed that is being captured by the camera in Gaza and I’m able to draw on my screen the incision that needs to be done,” says Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sitta, Head of Plastic Surgery at the American University of Beirut Medical Center.

“Like being in the room”

Abu-Sitta has already used the Proximie software to lead two operations in the Gaza strip from his base in Beirut. From hundreds of miles away he showed colleagues how to negotiate a blast injury and operate on a congenital anomaly affecting the hand.

Read: Would you have surgery at the hands of a robot?

The software means that surgeons can demonstrate — in real time — the actions needing to be taken on the front line.

The procedure uses two smart phones or tablets connected to the internet which show a live camera feed of the operation. The surgeon sees this, and then marks on their device where to make incisions.

“That drawing shows up on my colleague’s screen in Gaza and he follows my drawings by making the incisions where they appear on the screen,” says Dr. Abu-Sitta, “It really is the equivalent of being there in the room with them.”

With two thirds of the world’s population lacking access to safe surgery, the time is ripe to develop new techniques to reach more remote areas.

How 3D printing is changing the world of surgery

A helping hand

Being able to watch surgery in progress could also make it a useful training aid.

Read: Step in the operating room, wherever you are in the world

“We want to be the platform for medical students to really engage in surgery,” says Proximie co-founder Prof. Nadine Hachach-Haram. “Historically the old viewing galleries that happened in surgery where students could come in and learn and watch, they don’t exist anymore.

“Surgery is very visual. You can read it in a book if you want but it’s not the same as watching it live, so this is where our platform really fits in.”

According to Peter Kim, Vice President of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Proximie could be a positive addition to the range of other products using cameras and video for real-time sharing.

“I think the need and effort to share best practice and dissipate very siloed experiences in medicine should be supported,” says Kim. “Those involved should be applauded for their effort but if it is a product with cost attached to it, the value must be clearly articulated.”

Previously, Abu-Sitta and his staff were trying to help overseas surgeons by sending them audio recordings, photos and X-rays using the online messenger WhatsApp. But the new software is far more interactive, providing detailed images and patient information throughout the surgery.

“We wanted to push the idea that with only the minimum hardware, and minimum infrastructure you can still pull it off,” says Abu-Sitta, “With just two tablets, iPad to iPad, we’re able to perform this surgery.”

Whether it’s used for education or to conduct delicate surgeries in conflict zones, internet enabled software such as Proximie could be the future of surgery.

Alcatel brings cost-conscious mobile devices to Africa (IT News Africa)

May 22, 2016
By Dr. Dennie Beach

Alcated has brought two new cost-conscious mobile devices to the African market, the Alcatel Pop Star and the Alcatel Go Play. According to the company, the Alcatel Pop Star will be set to sell at a recommended retail price of R2299 (USD $140 dependent on exchange rate)… While the Alcatel Go Play, which is a more rugged and solid device, will also enter the market at a recommened retail price of R3499 (USD $220 dependent on exchange rate).

By Darryl Linington

Alcatel brings cost-conscious devices to Africa. (Image Source: i.ytimg.com).

At an exclusive preview for the devices Ernst Wittmann, Regional Manager Southern Africa at Alcatel stated that: “We’re excited to bring these devices to Africa in line with our new branding as well as commitment to delivering a diverse set of mobile devices that make the Internet fun, accessible and affordable to all.”

Witmann added that: “The Go Play is intended for the outgoing adventurer while the Pop Star is aimed at the trendy and funky youth of today.”

When taking a look at the devices, we found that the Alcatel Pop Star features a 5-inch HD display with IPS technology for wide viewing angles and detailed images. The Alcatel Pop Star also features 3G+ connectivity and runs on a Quad-core processor.

To add to the specs, the device also features an 8 Mega-Pixel rear camera and a 5 Mega-Pixel front camera. What’s more, the Pop Star has a QR code on the battery cover that gives users access to the Wallpaper Store app, which offers users the ability to personalise their smartphone to match one of the two interchangeable back covers, which are available in Denim and Wood.

When taking a closer look at the more rugged Alcatel Go Play, Alcatel revealed that the device is essentially dust as well as shock resistant (up to 1.5 metres). To add to the features it is also water-resistant; however, this is limited up to 1 metre and the device can be submerged for up to 30-minutes.

As it is a water-resistant device, Alcatel has included an 8 Mega-Pixel rear camera for underwater photography and video recording. In addition to the rear-facing camera, the Alcatel Go Play features a 5 Mega-Pixel front facing camera. The Go Play device, according to the company, allows for 20 days of standby time, 8.5 hours of talk time and 40 hours music playback thanks to the powerful 2500 mAH battery.

Whilst giving an overview of the device, Wittmann added that: “With its sporty features and funky design, Acatel’s Go Play offers something special to the African market. We think it will be a hit with young and young-at-heart people with a playful side.”

According to Witmann, the devices are now available in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Africa’s CEOs look to innovation and technology to boost growth (IT News Africa)

May 22, 2016
By Dr. Dennie Beach

Africa remains one of the preferred frontiers for investment opportunities and doing business, according to a report released by PwC Africa. Growth and foreign direct investment has continued in Africa amid the recent global economic uncertainty.

By Staff Writer (IT News Africa)

Africa’s CEOs look to innovation and technology to boost growth. (image credit: accountancyage.com)

This is confirmed by PwC’s Africa Business Agenda survey, which shows that Africa and the emerging markets remain a vital growth opportunity for CEOs. The Africa Business Agenda compiles results from 153 CEOs and includes insights from business and public sector leaders from across Africa.

Hein Boegman, CEO for PwC Africa, says: “CEOs in Africa are ramping up their efforts to innovate and find new ways to do business on the continent in a move to stimulate growth in a challenging and uncertain global business environment.

“The global financial and economic crisis has revealed Africa’s vulnerability to a number of external economic shocks. These include the decline in commodity prices fueled by the economic slowdown in China; a marked decline in the demand for commodities; and the collapse in value of the emerging market currencies against the US-dollar in anticipation of an interest rate hike.

“Notwithstanding a multitude of challenges, many of which are cyclical, we remain confident that Africa’s prospects remain positive. Africa’s business leaders have the opportunity to pursue new business opportunities on the continent, more particularly in the light of rapid innovative and technological advances that have the potential to transform and shape industries.”

Africa’s CEOs are critically aware of these issues and the impact they may on their businesses. CEOs believe global economic growth is unlikely to improve and will stay the same in the short and mid-term; nonetheless they remain confident that there are opportunities for growth over the next 12 months (78%), and 9 out of 10 believe they can deliver growth in the next three years.

The global business environment has become increasingly complex and challenging. The report shows that CEOs in Africa share many of the same concerns with their peers globally. The top three concerns include exchange rate volatility (92%), government response to fiscal deficit and debt burden (90%) and social instability (80%).

CEOs in South Africa have similar concerns as their counterparts on the continent, with the report showing that there are uncertainties about government response to fiscal deficit and debt burden, social instability, and high unemployment or underemployment.

Across the continent, shifting demographics, rapid urbanisation, rising disposable income and technological change are all influencing growth opportunities and strategies. Africa’s CEOs rank technological advances (75%), demographic shifts (52%) and a shift in global economic power (58%) as the top three defining trends that will transform their businesses over the next five years. In addition, new advancements and breakthroughs in frontiers of R&D are opening up more opportunities for businesses.

Our survey of CEOs reveals four common priorities among Africa’s business leaders: diversification and innovation; addressing greater stakeholder expectations; effectively leveraging growth catalysts like technology, innovation and talent; and measuring and communicating shared prosperity.

Catalysts for growth
In Africa, the environment is constantly changing and the growth opportunities are unparalleled. After more than a decade of urbanisation, Africa is poised for a digital revolution. Increasingly, organisations are using technology to challenge business models and disrupt competitors in markets. Technology was seen by CEOs in the survey as the best way of assessing and delivering on customer expectations by implementing customer relationship management systems (69%), interpreting the complex and evolving needs of customers through data and analytics (56%), and improving communication and engagement by means of social media (58%).

Corporate governance has also brought IT to the fore. In South Africa, the draft King IV report recognises that information technology (IT) has become an integral part of doing business today.

Going forward, CEOs in Africa indicated that they will be more actively looking for partners, while keeping an eye on costs. Partnerships and alliances feature prominently in their plans, with more than half of Africa CEOs (56%) planning to enter into strategic alliances over the next 12 months. In addition, 16% say they intend carrying out cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) activities in the next year. Looking at investment prospects, China (22%), Kenya (22%), Uganda (20%) and South Africa (18%) remain the countries Africa CEOs view as most important for growth in the next 12 months.

While many organisations across the globe are expanding or seeking to expand in Africa, the availability of key skills stands out as a key concern for CEOs both in Africa and South Africa. More than half of Africa’s CEOs expect to increase their headcount over the next year. ‘The talent trends that we are seeing suggest that the market is becoming more and more competitive,” Boegman adds. As a result companies are having to review their talent management strategies. Around half plan to invest more in their leadership pipeline and focus on developing their institutional culture.

Stakeholders’ expectations
Across Africa boardroom agendas are changing, with many additional focus areas being brought to the table. The corporate landscape continues to undergo constant change, with companies being confronted by shareholders and other institutional investors who demand explanations around financial reporting and performance. In the process business is encountering a range of challenges in responding to wider stakeholder expectations. These include: additional costs to doing business (62%), unclear or inconsistent standards or regulations (45%), and customers’ unwillingness to pay (35%).

Dion Shango, CEO for PwC Southern Africa, says: “More successful companies tend to be collaborative and collective in their engagement with stakeholders. Business leaders need to have a business rationale for engaging and collaborating with stakeholders, while being acutely aware of the risks posed by not engaging with all relevant stakeholders.

“One of the most significant benefits of engaging and collaborating with stakeholders is that an organisation may be able to engage new markets in Africa and speed up the introduction of new products and services.”

Trust is also emerging as an important differentiator in the business community. Building trust helps organisations to attract investment and build stakeholder loyalty. It is concerning to note that 65% of Africa CEOs are somewhat or extremely concerned about the lack of trust in business. Corruption is also seen as a major threat by businesses (86%). The private sector has taken the initiative to fight corruption by calling on government and regulators to enforce legislation and codes of business practice.

Communicating shared prosperity
It is positive to note that Africa CEOs are increasingly recognising the importance of reporting on non-financial matters. In addition, most Africa CEOs surveyed not only believe that success is dependent on more than just making money, they also believe that their organisatiions should do more to report on the broader impact of their activities and how these activities create value for stakeholders.

Shango concludes: “Africa and South African CEOs have built on the experience of the past few years and are better prepared to deal with the host of challenges and uncertainties. CEOs have and also continue to reshape their business strategies to take advantage of new opportunities for growth, both in existing and new markets.”

Read More at IT News Africa

20 May

East Africa technology news, North Africa technology news, Southern Africa technology news, Technology News, West Africa technology news

The need for Open source skills in Africa (IT News Africa)

May 20, 2016
By Dr. Dennie Beach

With many businesses transitioning from legacy systems to ones built on open source (OS) software, there is a need for skilled employees that can unlock the value this approach offers.

By: Matthew Lee, regional manager for SUSE Africa

Despite the fact that OS skills development is nothing new, the subtle changes in business requirements over the years mean the need has progressed beyond foundational skills. Today, companies are looking for people who have more advanced OS skills reflecting a more dynamic, connected business landscape.

While the market for this in South Africa is relatively small when compared to more developed countries, there is certainly significant potential for growth. As demand for OS-based solutions increase here, and on the rest of the continent, so too will the skills requirement.

According to the 2016 Open Source Jobs Report published earlier this month, 65% of hiring managers say OS hiring will increase more than any other part of their business over the next six months, and 79% of hiring managers have increased incentives to hold on to their current OS professionals.

Furthermore, the report found that 58% of hiring managers are seeking DevOps professionals while the need for developers remains the top position on their list at 74%. Perhaps the most telling statistic is the one that shows that 31% of OS professionals say the best thing about their jobs is working on interesting projects, while working on the most cutting-edge technology challenges (18%) and collaborating with a global community (17%) also feature prominently.

This last point indicates just how far OS has come in the business adoption cycle. No longer just limited to core back-end systems, OS provides decision-makers with a way to manipulate the underlying platform to suit more diverse organisational needs. This link between mission-critical platforms and systems are resulting in an increased demand for the associated skills to extract the most value out of the transition.

However, as with any IT component, there are a dizzying array of skills on offer. While much attention is placed on Linux, this is only one part of the OS offering. Companies need to consider the benefits of attracting talent with skills that talk to open customer relationship management, open databases, the open cloud, and even an open management system.

This is resulting in companies increasingly starting to take OS more seriously from a skills perspective. They understand that new requirements mean they have to adopt revised learning programmes that can encompass the likes of online courses, virtual-led classrooms, and self-paced programmes to enhance their existing OS skill set.

It must be remembered that there is no silver bullet approach to take to strengthen OS skills in the organisation. Decision-makers need to be considered and align their development with the company strategy. The most pressing needs are to start taking those first steps to build in-house capacity or to attract more advanced OS talent. The business world of today and the future demands it.

Read More at IT News Africa

12 May

East Africa technology news, Education, North Africa technology news, Southern Africa technology news, Technology News, West Africa technology news

SAP to train more than 150,000 youth in 30 African countries (IT News Africa)

May 12, 2016
By Dr. Dennie Beach

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoAfricaNetwork

SAP has revealed that it will train more than 150,000 youth in 30 African countries this year to foster digital literacy and equip the continent’s rising generation with job-relevant digital skills. SAP’s Africa Code Week 2016 will run from October 15 – 23, 2016, with thousands of free coding workshops and online trainings offered to children and youth aged 8 to 24.

SAP to train more than 150,000 youth in 30 African countries

“Today literacy should go beyond just knowing how to read and write, even beyond digital literacy- knowing how to use computers. Basic literacy for the next generation should be about coding,’ commented Jean Philbert Nsengimana, The Minister of Youth and ICT of the government of Rwanda.

The Africa Code Week 2016 kickoff coincides with The World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, on May 10 – 12*.

The World Economic Forum estimates that Africa’s growth will be just below 5% this year as the global economy continues to suffer. The continent has the fastest growing digital consumer market and the largest working-age population in the world. At the same time, African companies are scrambling to fill positions with employees who possess the right digital skills. Only one percent of African children leave school with basic coding skills.

Africa Code Week 2016 workshops for younger aged groups (8-11, 12-17) will be based on Scratch, a learning platform developed by the MIT Media Lab to simplify coding. Students will learn coding basics and program their own animations, quizzes, and games. Ages 18 and 24 will be taught Introduction to Web Technologies (HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, SQL), a workshop that will give them a basic understanding of typical website architecture while teaching them how to create a fully operational, mobile-friendly website.

Africa Code Week 2016 will be organized by SAP and hundreds of partners spanning local African governments, NPOs, NGOs, educational institutions and businesses including the Cape Town Science Centre, the Galway Education Centre, Google, AMPION, the King Baudouin Foundation, and ATOS.

“Digital literacy is the currency of the digital economy. Africa Code Week is a powerful way to spread digital literacy across the continent and contribute towards building the skilled workforce needed for Africa’s sustainable growth. SAP is proud to spearhead such a meaningful initiative in partnership with more than 100 local and international organizations from the public and private sector,” commented Brett Parker, Managing Director SAP Africa.

The initiative will run in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Critical to the success of the program is the training of thousands of teachers, parents and educators across the 30 African countries. Between the kick-off today and the start of Africa Code Week 2016 in October, SAP will conduct thousands of train-the-trainer sessions to help prepare them for the initiative. In addition, access to OpenSAP online courses enables further scale and impact.

2015 hugely surpassed expected participation Africa Code Week – the largest digital literacy initiative ever organized on the African continent – was launched by SAP and partners in 2015 with the goal of training 20,000 young people across 17 African countries. That goal was surpassed with an impressive 89,000 youth introduced to coding by 1,500 trained trainers across 17 countries in 10 days. Africa Code Week received a C4F award (category: ‘Education of the Future’) from the World Communications Forum in Davos on March 8, 2016.

Africa Code Week, addressing primary and secondary students, is part of SAP’s effort to bridge the digital skills gap and drive sustainable growth in Africa. The company invests in a full cycle of skills support for young people in Africa, including SAP Skills for Africa which gives recent university graduates the business and IT skills needed to be ready to enter the workforce.

Read more at: http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2016/05/sap-to-train-more-than-150000-youth-in-30-african-countries/