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E-Business

SAP Africa Code Week goes Fully Online, Intros Mobile App

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The 2020 edition of SAP Africa Code Week (ACW) will officially kick off in October, as the initiative goes fully online, with a number of new developments aimed at empowering Africa’s youth with digital skills, including a mobile app learning platform.

Introduced by software giant SAP, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and partners in 2015, ACW aims to spark interest in coding through fun and interactive community workshops for youngsters.

The initiative has grown from the 88 000 pupils who participated in the first year, to the 3.85 million children and 39 000 teachers who ran over 55 000 coding workshops in 37 African countries last year.

Now in its sixth year, ACW bills itself as the largest digital literacy initiative on the continent. With the 2020 edition of ACW shifting to a virtual model, this is the latest tech event to be affected by the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, as event organisers try to minimise the spread of the virus.

The online event will allow expansion of the programme’s reach to 54 African countries, with all learning materials translated into Portuguese and French for the large Francophone and Lusophone African communities.

This year, the initiative allows African countries and participating organisations one week of their choice in October, to dedicate to training school pupils.

The ACW initiative says it will continue to work closely with ministries of education across the African continent, with a view to promoting sustainable digital skills development capacity.

Faith Mangope, female tech entrepreneur and Africa Code Week ambassador, explains: “A big part of this year’s Africa Code Week efforts will be focused on engaging more women teachers and students. Globally, women hold only 24% of jobs in the ICT sector, and there are 250 million fewer women online than men. Our mission is to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to attain the skills they need to contribute meaningfully to the future workforce.”

The ACW mobile app will also be introduced this year, providing easy access to smartphone material in support of all-inclusive learning, according to SAP.

Another new development this year is the AfriCANCode Challenge coding competition aimed at engaging participants through a number of fun and exciting activities.

This competition invites youth, aged between nine and 16, either individually or in teams, to use their skills and creativity to solve problems. Two competition themes have been identified: ‘Courageous Coders’, focused on how technology can change the world, and ‘Plugged-in Pupils’, which asks youngsters to imagine the potential related to tomorrow’s connected school.

Claudio Muruzabal, SAP president of EMEA South, says in addition to the new virtual components of the 2020 ACW initiative, hundreds of SAP expert volunteers from across the globe will play their part online by working with NGOs and other partner organisations to provide on-the-ground support during this year’s activities.

“Offering accessible, hands-on digital support to Africa’s youth and teachers helps put people in a position to meaningfully participate in today’s digital economy. This is vital and SAP’s commitment to Africa Code Week remains firm.

“Through invaluable partnerships with UNESCO, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa, Irish Aid and all the partner NGOs across Africa, the 2020 ACW initiative can effectively leverage the skillsets of networks and knowledgeable local ICT experts to ensure every workshop is a sound success,” notes Muruzabal.


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E-Business

Jumia Replatforms its Retail Media Program to Mirakl Ads to Enhance Marketplace Advertising

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Jumia, e-Commerce platform in Africa, has partnered with Mirakl to elevate its marketplace advertising capabilities by deploying Mirakl Ads, a retail media solution uniquely designed to optimize performance for both first-party and third-party sellers.

This move strengthens Jumia’s efforts to deliver more value to its sellers, enhance the customer experience, and unlock profitable and sustainable new sources of revenue. Retail media is a rapidly growing sector within the e-commerce industry, expected to reach $204 billion by 2027 with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2%.

Jumia’s adoption of Mirakl Ads positions the company at the forefront of digital advertising innovation in Africa, unlocking significant opportunities to increase revenue generation. With growing usage across its platform, Jumia is well-placed to capitalize on this momentum by delivering improved advertising tools to sellers and more relevant, personalized product recommendations to customers.

“Advertising is a key growth lever in our marketplace strategy, and this partnership with Mirakl allows us to accelerate that journey with speed and scale.

“By integrating Mirakl Ads, we’re empowering our sellers with smarter tools and delivering a better, more personalized experience to our customers. It also positions us to unlock new revenue streams while deepening engagement across our platform. Importantly, this partnership supports our ambition to grow gross profit and accelerate our path to profitability,” said Francis Dufay, CEO of Jumia.

The collaboration is a testament to Mirakl’s ability to rapidly deploy enterprise-grade solutions, with Jumia launching Mirakl Ads in just two months. This showcases the platform’s ease of integration and fast time-to-value. Now live, the solution equips Jumia’s advertising ecosystem with advanced automation, AI-powered optimization, and seamless campaign          management.

With Mirakl Ads, all advertisers – from the biggest brands to the smallest marketplace sellers – can now boost their sales by leveraging advertising campaigns in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Ivory Coast.

“Jumia’s decision to replatform to Mirakl Ads is a powerful validation of our platform’s ability to deliver immediate and measurable impact for leading marketplaces. By combining Mirakl’s cutting-edge retail media technology with Jumia’s deep market reach, we are enabling sellers to grow faster and customers to benefit from a more relevant, engaging experience. This partnership is a true milestone, not only for Jumia and Mirakl, but for the future of digital commerce across Africa.” said Adrien Nussenbaum, cofounder and co-CEO of Mirakl.

Through this partnership, Jumia is taking a decisive step in accelerating monetization, improving customer engagement, and advancing its long-term financial performance and profitability.


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E-Business

Galaxy Backbone, Rural Electrification Agency Commit to Deepening Digital and Energy Access Across Nigeria

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In a major step towards deepening Nigeria’s digital and energy infrastructure, Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a brief but impactful ceremony held in Abuja.

The MoU signals a collaborative effort between both agencies to enhance Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda by integrating reliable energy solutions with cutting-edge ICT infrastructure, especially in higher institutions, Government institutions, underserved and rural communities across the country.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Professor Ibrahim A. Adeyanju, described the partnership as “a landmark moment in Nigeria’s journey towards a digitally empowered, sustainably powered, and inclusively connected nation.”

“This partnership exemplifies what is possible when two visionary government institutions come together, united by shared goals and driven by the desire to improve the lives of Nigerians everywhere,” he said.

Professor Adeyanju emphasized that while Galaxy Backbone’s core mandate is to provide secure digital infrastructure that powers government operations, reliable and sustainable energy particularly in rural areas is essential to fully actualize digital transformation.

Major highlights of the MoU include:

  • Solar electrification of some of GBB’s Metro Fibre sites in Abuja by the REA.
  • Powering Hostels of Higher Institutions across the country through the Fibre to Hostel Project being driven by the Federal Ministry of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE).
  • Support for the rollout of the 774 Local Government Digitization Initiative, beginning with six pilot Local Government Areas.
  • Provision of LANs, access points, cloud services, colocation infrastructure, and temporary connectivity to enhance REA’s operational facilities nationwide.

The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency Mr Abba Aliyu, in his remarks, expressed optimism that this collaboration will further bridge the digital and energy divide across Nigeria. He noted that by combining REA’s achievements in expanding energy access with GBB’s robust ICT backbone, both agencies are poised to create lasting impact across governance, education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship.

This partnership is also in direct alignment with the Renewed Hope Digital Transformation Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which envisions an inclusive digital economy powered by innovation and sustainable energy.

The ceremony was attended by top management from both organizations as well as members of the media.

With today’s signing, Galaxy Backbone and the Rural Electrification Agency have set the tone for stronger, smarter, and more inclusive public service delivery powered by strategic inter-agency collaboration.


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NIMC Says NIN Services Back Online

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced the restoration of its National Identification Number (NIN) verification services nationwide.

NIMC Says NIN Services Back Online

This, according to the commission, follows the completion of a system maintenance exercise.

In a statement issued on Friday, the NIMC confirmed that all previously disrupted services have resumed.

“NIMC wishes to inform the general public that the recent technical maintenance has been completed and all services have been restored,” the statement read.

The NIMC urged Nigerians seeking to enroll for NIN to visit the its official website to locate the nearest enrollment centers.

The agency also encouraged individuals to make use of its self-service portal for tasks such as data modification, including name changes.

To further ease the verification process, the Commission recommended downloading the NIMC NameAuth app (oath.app) from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store for quick and secure NIN authentication.

NIMC expressed appreciation for the public’s patience during the service disruption, which had impacted banks, telecom providers, and government agencies that rely on NIN verification for their operations.

 


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