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Africa’s 20 Entrepreneurs Make Business Case

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Africa’s 20 entrepreneurs will be presenting a business case for investment at Viridis Africa in October and among them will be Ben van Rooyen, CEO, ZEO Africa

Zeo Africa was established in 2013 in order to commercialise ZeoForm, a patented product developed by Zeo IP, an Australian company.

ZeoForm granules and products made from the granules are completely biodegradable, non toxic, and compostable.

These capabilities are developed through chemical bonding at the molecular level, making ZeoForm and its derivatives nanotechnology compounds and products.

Zeo Africa has exclusive rights to all proprietary intellectual property of Zeo IP in South Africa, including patents, trade secrets, methods and plans for the production of ZeoForm granules and products, and all trademarks and copyrights.

Zeo Africa also has non-exclusive rights to the technology for the rest of the African continent, with a first right of refusal for an exclusive license in any country.

“Zeo Africa’s mission is to develop and commercialize ZeoForm and derivatives – transforming recovered and renewable cellulose fibers into an array of new eco-materials for specialized and everyday use. By doing this we intend to be a leading African supplier for companies seeking biodegradable and recyclable raw materials,” said Ben van Rooyen, CEO of Zeo Africa.

 Another entrepreneur is Joel Arcus, BioWaste Technologies.  Joel is a man of vision and intention. A dedicated father and husband who is passionate about the environment and believes that a community involved in sustainable, bio-friendly solutions is the way to heal our planet.

“I am a firm believer that education, integrity, purpose and uplifting others will build humanity as a whole and allow for the alleviation of poverty and afford others the opportunity to achieve success and establish a bright future for generations to come.”

Joel is the general manager of Green Waste Energy Development Africa which is developing green waste to energy projects in Africa.

He is also the director of BioWaste Technologies (PTY) LTD. BioWaste Technologies (PTY) LTD is a consulting and solutions based company that addresses a huge need for developing South African entrepreneurs by creating and driving functional, adaptable and sustainable Green Projects in partnership with our clients.

The company’s vision is Zero Waste to Landfill.  BioWaste Technologies is a services oriented company delivering green waste management solutions through the implementation of a few niche products.

“We drive functional, adaptable and sustainable green projects in partnership with our clients, assisting them with their waste management strategies. We thus enable them to contribute to a greener and healthier environment, while simultaneously adding valuable cost saving solutions to their existing waste removal practices, through the implementation of either one of our product solutions.” said Arcus. 

“BioWaste Technologies was created in 2010 out of a deep passion to do something constructive about our South African environmental degradation and climate change.” 

Joel Arcus and Ray Finch, founding partners, left their jobs and set themselves the challenge to find sustainable technology solutions for dealing with organic waste. Today they and their team of partners are pioneers and leaders in the field.

“Recycling” is growing or “recyclables” with up to 25% of plastics, glass, metals, paper & cardboard  now being recycled in our biggest cities. Organic waste though, is posing significant unsolved challenges. Not only in South Africa, but all over the world.

“Realistically the only “long term solution”, is that we need to find ways to USE or RECYCLE,  EVERYTHING so, we have set our Vision for South Africa to achieve “Zero Waste to Landfill”.”

“We are investing heavily in bringing innovative solutions including: In-Vessel Composting plants; Waste to Energy Plants; and comprehensive waste management facilities where recyclable is recycled, organic waste is composted and the rest is gasified to produce electricity,” concluded Arcus.

The intention of Viridis Africa is to bring together investors such as Inspired Evolution, Sterling Waterford Securities, Lerako Metier, the IDC, Curatio Capital, Vantage Capital and the Technology Innovation Agency and entrepreneurs from Africa and the rest of the world, to jointly explore commercial initiatives in green technologies.

The programme includes the presentation of 20 projects of business initiatives, ranging in size and scope and encompasses priority areas such as bioenergy, hydro, wind power, green chemistry, recycling, water treatment, desalination, amongst others.

Principals who would present their business opportunities at this event would have the audience of numerous local and foreign investors who have $300 Million available for investment into these various initiatives (Solar Energy – Bio Energy – Waste Energy).

Investors would include venture capital, private equity, project and corporate finance outfits and others dedicated to the clean tech sector. Also included are major companies who seek strategic alliance and acquisitions.”

New technologies currently being developed by academic and research institutions will also have their opportunity so as to introduce potential business opportunities through the commercialisation of the above.

“Additional business proposals are invited from clean tech sub-sectors including clean energy generation (wind, solar, hydro, biofuels, geothermal, clean coal technologies), storage (fuel cells, advanced batteries, hybrid systems), efficiency (smart grids, waste heat recovery), water & waste water (water treatment, water conservation, waste water treatment, desalination) and recycling and waste (recycling, waste treatment, organic matter, plastics) etc.” said Adam.

The event will also introduce parties with complementary technologies and business models to one another in order to explore mutually beneficial opportunities.

The main purpose of the conference and its exhibitions will endeavour to bring about a vibrant market trading place for entrepreneurs and corporate to propose and conclude investment deals with funders

Although the event is to be held once a year, it is designed to give the participants long term continuity vis a vis the provision of web-based interaction platforms, inducing social networks.

Business Case Presenters:
Principals who would present their business opportunities at this event would have the audience of numerous local and foreign investors, stratified according to their interest and investment criteria.

The following are some of the clean tech sub-sectors in which principals may consider their company, initiative being presented:  Clean Energy Generation: Wind, solar, hydro, biofuels, geothermal, clean coal technologies


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Trump Threatens More Strikes in Nigeria

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President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could carry out further military strikes in Nigeria if Christians continue to be killed, reigniting a sensitive debate over religious violence and foreign intervention in Africa’s most populous nation.

Trump Threatens More Strikes in Nigeria

President Donald Trump

Trump made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times, published on Thursday, while responding to questions about a US military strike carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day.

At the time, the US military said the operation targeted Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria and was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.

Nigeria, however, described the operation as a joint counterterrorism effort, stressing that it was aimed at armed groups designated as terrorists and “had nothing to do with a particular religion”.

“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” Trump was quoted as saying. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”

Pressed on comments by his own Africa adviser that extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram have killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also victims but insisted that Christians were being targeted disproportionately.

“I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly raised alarms about the safety of Christians in Nigeria, beginning in late October when he warned that Christianity faced what he described as an “existential threat” in the country. He has accused Nigerian authorities of failing to adequately protect Christian communities and has openly threatened US military intervention if the violence continues.

Nigeria has firmly rejected claims of systematic persecution of Christians. The government maintains that the country’s security challenges are complex and largely driven by insurgency, banditry and criminal violence rather than religious targeting.

With a population of more than 230 million people, Nigeria is almost evenly divided between Christians, who are concentrated mainly in the south, and Muslims, who predominate in the north. Islamist insurgencies, particularly Boko Haram and its offshoots, have plagued parts of northern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands and displacing millions.

Nigerian authorities have repeatedly pointed out that militant attacks have claimed the lives of both Muslims and Christians, arguing that framing the violence along religious lines oversimplifies the crisis and risks inflaming tensions.

Following Trump’s earlier threats, the Nigerian government said it was willing to continue cooperating with Washington in combating terrorism but rejected language suggesting that Christians alone were under threat.

The latest comments are likely to strain diplomatic relations further, as Nigeria balances its partnership with the United States against concerns over sovereignty, security cooperation and the portrayal of its internal conflicts on the global stage.


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OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health

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OpenAI maker of ChatGPT is rolling out a health-focused feature to the generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that’s used by nearly a billion users.

Named ChatGPT Health, the new feature aims to provide users with health and wellness information. This, as health is one of the most common ways people use ChatGPT, according to OpenAI.

In a blog post, Microsoft-backed OpenAI says de-identified analysis of conversations show that over 230 million people globally ask health and wellness-related questions on ChatGPT every week.

ChatGPT Health will also “securely” connect medical records and wellness apps to ground conversations with a user’s own health information, making responses more relevant and useful.

“Designed in close collaboration with physicians, ChatGPT Health helps people take a more active role in understanding and managing their health and wellness – while supporting, not replacing, care from clinicians.”

According to OpenAI, health information is often scattered across portals, apps, wearables, PDFs, and medical notes making it hard to see the full picture, and people are left to navigate a complex healthcare system on their own.

“ChatGPT Health builds on these so responses are informed by your health information and context. You can now securely connect medical records and wellness apps – like Apple Health, Function, and MyFitnessPal – so ChatGPT can help you understand recent test results, prepare for appointments with your doctor, get advice on how to approach your diet and workout routine, or understand the trade-offs of different insurance options based on your healthcare patterns.”

According to the company, ChatGPT Health is designed to support, not replace, medical care, adding that it is not intended for diagnosis or treatment. “Instead, it helps you navigate everyday questions and understand patterns over time – not just moments of illness – so you can feel more informed and prepared for important medical conversations.

“To keep your health information protected and secure, Health operates as a separate space with enhanced privacy to protect sensitive data. Conversations in Health are not used to train our foundation models. If you start a health-related conversation in ChatGPT, we’ll suggest moving into Health for these additional protections.”

OpenAI adds that access to ChatGPT Health has started with a small group of early users to learn and continue refining the experience, adding that users with ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans outside of the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK are eligible.

“As we make improvements, we plan to expand access and make Health available to all users on web and iOS in the coming weeks.

“Medical record integrations and some apps are available in the US only, and connecting Apple Health requires iOS.”


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Kaspersky Shares AI Cybersecurity Predictions for 2026

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Kaspersky experts outline how the rapid development of AI is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape in 2026, both for individual users and for businesses. Large language models (LLMs) are influencing defensive capabilities while simultaneously expanding opportunities for threat actors.

Deepfakes are becoming a mainstream technology, and awareness will continue to grow. Companies are increasingly discussing the risks of synthetic content and training employees to reduce the likelihood of falling victim to it. As the volume of deepfakes grows, so does the range of formats in which they appear.

At the same time, awareness is rising not only within organisations but also among regular users: end consumers encounter fake content more often and better understand the nature of such threats. As a result, deepfakes are becoming a stable element of the security agenda, requiring a systematic approach to training and internal policies.

Deepfake quality will improve through better audio and a lowering barrier to entry. The visual quality of deepfakes is already high, while realistic audio remains the main area for future growth.

At the same time, content generation tools are becoming easier to use: even non-experts can now create a mid-quality deepfake in just a few clicks. As a result, the average quality continues to rise, creation becomes accessible to a far broader audience, and these capabilities will inevitably continue to be leveraged by cybercriminals.

Online deepfakes will continue to evolve but remain tools for advanced users. Real-time face and voice swapping technologies are improving, but their setup still requires more advanced technical skills. Wide adoption is unlikely, yet the risks in targeted scenarios will grow: increasing realism and the ability to manipulate video through virtual cameras make such attacks more convincing.

Efforts to develop a reliable system for labelling AI-generated content will continue. There are still no unified criteria for reliably identifying synthetic content, and current labels are easy to bypass or remove, especially when working with open-source models. For this reason, new technical and regulatory initiatives aimed at addressing the problem are likely to emerge.

Open-weight models will approach top closed models in many cybersecurity-related tasks, which create more opportunities for misuse. Closed models still offer stricter control mechanisms and safeguards, limiting abuse.

However, open-source systems are rapidly catching up in functionality and circulate without comparable restrictions. This blurs the difference between proprietary models and open-source models both of which can be used efficiently for undesired or malicious purposes.

The line between legitimate and fraudulent AI-generated content will become increasingly blurred. AI can already produce well-crafted scam emails, convincing visual identities, and high-quality phishing pages.

At the same time, major brands are adopting synthetic materials in advertising, making AI-generated content look familiar and visually “normal.” As a result, distinguishing real from fake will become even more challenging, both for users and for automated detection systems.

AI will become a cross-chain tool in cyberattacks and be used across most stages of the kill chain. Threat actors already employ LLMs to write code, build infrastructure, and automate operational tasks.

Further advances will reinforce this trend: AI will increasingly support multiple stages of an attack, from preparation and communication to assembling malicious components, probing for vulnerabilities and deploying tools. Attackers will also work to hide signs of AI involvement, making such operations harder to analyse.

“While AI tools are being used in cyberattacks, they are also becoming a more common tool in security analysis and influence how SOC teams work. Agent-based systems will be able to continuously scan infrastructure, identify vulnerabilities, and gather contextual information for investigations, reducing the amount of manual routine work.

“As a result, specialists will shift from manually searching for data to making decisions based on already-prepared context. In parallel, security tools will transition to natural-language interfaces, enabling prompts instead of complex technical queries,” adds Vladislav Tushkanov, Research Development Group Manager at Kaspersky.

 


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