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Bolt Launches #Drive4WITech Internship Programme to Encourage Women Participation in Technology

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In celebrating International Women’s Month and as part of its efforts to drive more participation and inclusion for women in technology, the fastest-growing ride-hailing platform in Africa, Bolt has launched the #Drive4WITech initiative.

#Drive4WITech is a paid internship programme for young women who choose to challenge the status quo and jumpstart a technology industry career.

The month-long programme, which aims to bridge the gap for women and create more opportunities for gender inclusion in the technology sector, offers 12 internship opportunities in operations, public relations, marketing and engineering to women across Africa with three selections from Nigeria. Candidates will have the chance to start a career in tech and make a difference in the ride-hailing space.

For women to be part of this programme, they will first be nominated on social media by nominators who will make a case for why their nominee deserves an internship role with Bolt and how they can contribute to the industry if given the opportunity.

In their journey to build a formidable career, the 12 recipients will be selected for internship roles in Operations, Public Relations, Marketing and Engineering with access to learning from top Bolt executives across Europe and Africa.

Commenting on the initiative, Femi Akin-Laguda, Bolt Country Manager said, “The tech industry continues to be a haven for growth, and we must continue to tap into its resources to prepare for the future. At Bolt, we understand the importance of women in societal development.

In commemorating International Women’s Day, we established the #Drive4WITech programme, ensuring capacity building for young women and creating a gender balance for impact in the technology and transportation sector. Through initiatives like this, we continue to show our support for women in creating a diverse and inclusive society.”

While more women are interested in participating in tech, the sector still has a long way to go to attain greater gender balance. Bolt’s internship programme will further enhance the opportunities and impact of women towards contributing to the technology sector.

The top finalists will be announced in April, and the internship program will begin in May 2021.


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E-Business

UK Orders Apple to Create Backdoor for Encrypted iCloud Data

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United Kingdom has issued a “technical capability notice” to Apple, mandating that the company create a backdoor to access users’ encrypted iCloud data.

UK Orders Apple to Create Backdoor for Encrypted iCloud Data

This directive, issued under the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, requires Apple to provide British security officials with the means to retrieve all content uploaded to iCloud by any user worldwide.

Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature, introduced in 2022, offers end-to-end encryption for iCloud data, ensuring that only users can access their information.

The UK’s demand challenges this security measure, potentially compelling Apple to either comply by creating the backdoor or withdraw the ADP feature from the UK market.

Compliance could set a precedent, leading other governments to request similar access, thereby raising global privacy concerns.

The UK Home Office has declined to confirm or deny the existence of such notices, stating, “We do not comment on operational matters, including, for example, confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.”

This development underscores the ongoing tension between governmental surveillance efforts and technology companies’ commitments to user privacy.

 


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Oracle Adds AI Pricing Features to Financial Software

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Oracle on Thursday added another set of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to NetSuite, one of its corporate finance software offerings, including some that might make it faster for consumers to get a price quote on purchases like custom bicycles.

Oracle has taken a different tack with AI than rivals such as Microsoft. Rather than racing toward general purpose virtual assistants, Oracle has decided to add targeted features that speed common-but-tedious tasks like entering a brief write-up of how a sales meeting went into a corporate records system.

Another such task that is common in the business world is giving a customer a price quote on a complicated purchase that might have a lot of options, when a sales professional would need to sift through materials to come up with a price.

NetSuite on Thursday announced a feature to compile such a quote via conversation with a chatbot asking what the customer wants, which can either be used by sales professionals behind the scenes to speed up their work, or directly by consumers in the case of e-commerce businesses.

“When you buy something like a bicycle, you have to configure it – figure out what parts you want and which parts work together. We all do it when we buy our cars on the web these days,” Evan Goldberg, executive vice president of Oracle NetSuite, said.

“If you can configure (products) for customers more easily, you can do more deals in a day, or each deal costs less.”

To power those features, Oracle has decided to skip the costly race to develop huge AI models and instead works with partners such as Canadian startup Cohere.

Goldberg said that Oracle’s recent agreement to build massive data centers with ChatGPT creator OpenAI could lead to working with it as well, though the two firms have made no formal announcements.

“I think you could safely say that there’s a possibility that OpenAI will be part of this,” Goldberg told Reuters. “We are eager to work with OpenAI.”

 


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IBM Exits Nigeria and Ghana, Transfers Operations to MIBB

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IBM, the American multinational technology giant, has reportedly announced plans to exit Nigeria, Ghana, and other key African markets, transferring its regional operations to MIBB, a subsidiary of the Midis Group.

IBM Exits Nigeria and Ghana, Transfers Operations to MIBB

The move, which according to TechCabal was revealed in a statement by the company, effective April 1 2025, is part of a new operating model IBM is adopting across select African countries.

Under this arrangement, MIBB will take over IBM’s local operations, customer support, and relationships while marketing and selling IBM products and services across 36 African nations.

“MIBB will market and sell IBM products and services in 36 African countries, thereby giving MIBB’s sales network direct access to IBM products, services, and support, further boosting innovation and growth in the region,” IBM stated.

IBM has been a key player in Africa’s tech industry for decades, providing critical infrastructure for banking, telecom, oil and gas, and government services.

However, its planned exit follows a trend of multinational corporations leaving Nigeria.

In December 2024, Swiss cement giant Holcim announced its departure from Nigeria, selling its 83% stake in Lafarge to a Chinese firm.

Similarly, South African grocery retailer Pick n Pay disclosed plans in October 2024 to exit Nigeria by selling its 51% stake in a joint venture.

IBM has yet to respond to media inquiries regarding the specifics of its transition strategy and reasons for the exit.


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