TechCabal Daily, 599

The Egyptian Government can now block websites it considers a threat to "national security". [View this email in your browser]( PRESENTED BY ANDE 23 - 8 - 2018 Sponsor Message The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) has just launched the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Snapshot of Ghana which identifies organizations that actively support entrepreneurs in Ghana and the kind of support they provide. These organizations include investors, capacity development providers, business development support providers, professional service providers, government agencies, and others. Click [here]( to view the snapshot. Following the passing of a bill that allows the Egyptian government to [regulate social media accounts with over 5K followers]( Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has signed a "Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes" legislation into law. This one allows the Egyptian government [to block any websites]( it deems to be a threat to national security as well as spreading the "ideas of terrorist organizations." Other African government examples of such repressive behavior? Click [here](. Jason Njoku announced [on Twitter]( that 67% of IrokoTV's subscriber base come from Africa. The breakdown: Nigeria (41.9%), French-speaking Africa (18.3%), English-speaking Africa (6.6%). According to Jason, Africa represented just 29% of Iroko's subscriber base as at January 2017 (they launched data-free downloads at their kiosks in February 2017 - 'aha!' moment?). Nigeria's smallest (and oft-forgotten) telco, nTel, is not having a great time. According to [this Guardian Nigeria report]( the telco has been going through outages in its network and struggling with infrastructure upgrades as well as a general decline in service delivery and quality. Also, it had only 120K subscribers as at February 2018. Techpoint [reports]( Zoto, a Nigeria-based mobile airtime purchase app, has quietly shutdown operations. The app originally launched in 2015, claimed over 1 million users at one point and had a 30-man team as at February 2018. Yele Bademosi, Managing Partner at Nigerian early stage VC firm Microtraction, announced the VCs [fifth investment]( ThankUCash, a multi-merchant rewards platform with analytics for merchant growth. Here is [a list]( of Microtraction's investments so far in the order they've been announced. The Nigerian National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) says it has [commissioned the construction]( of a technology hub at the Katsina State Institute of Technology and Management in Northern Nigeria. The Northern hub is part of NITDA's plan to create a network of six hubs across Nigeria's six geopolitical zones. Google [has optimized Search]( for the Swahili language (the most spoken language in Africa) through Knowledge Graph - a search capability that understands real-world entities and their relationships to one another instead of simply listing keywords in unrelated contexts. The Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission, Kenya's electoral authority, [is thinking of introducing blockchain technology]( in the country's election process. The IEBC has formed a taskforce to guide them through the legal reform process and blockchain is considered one of the ‘priority areas’. As the fight to stop misinformation and fake news rages on, Facebook is now [giving its users a reputation score]( predicting their trustworthiness on a scale from zero to 1. Facebook has typically relied on its users to report problematic content — but as it has given people more options, some users started falsely reporting items as untrue, hence this ratings system. What we don't know: what criteria Facebook measures to determine a user’s score, whether all users have a score and in what ways the scores are used. Anyone seen that episode of Black Mirror? South Africa-based Naspers [made $2.2B]( from the $16B acquisition of Indian e-commerce giant FlipKart by Walmart (it had a 11.2% stake in FlipKart). The investment firm said the proceeds will be used to "reinforce Naspers’s balance sheet and will be invested over time to accelerate the growth of Naspers’s classifieds, online food delivery and fintech businesses globally, and to pursue other exciting growth opportunities when they arise." Netflix is reportedly [testing a feature]( to bypass Apple App Store fees (and charge subscribers directly) and it has expanded the test to 33 countries (including South Africa), up from 10 countries in June. The Global Young Academy – an organisation of 200 young scientists and over 200 alumni from 83 countries – [has published]( an early version of the Global State of Young Scientists (GloSYS) Africa Survey. Big number: 20,000 highly educated professionals (30% of which are scientists) leave Africa annually. The Alibaba Business School [has kicked off]( its one-week “Global E-commerce Talent” (GET) program in Rwanda, in partnership with Rwanda’s Higher Education Council and the Rwanda Development Board. It is the first time the program is holding in Africa. Launchlab, a business incubator run by South Africa's Stellenbosch University, [has launched]( the second edition of its Launchlab Ideas Program in partnership with Nedbank, Mercedes-Benz SA, WineTech and Santam. If you're in that neck of the woods, check out deets and registration [here](. Applications close September 28. Simpa Dania, founder of Nigeria-based health tech company, All Purpose Medical Information System (APMIS), [is looking to]( train 200 IT savy youth/small businesses "to transform the digital health landscape in Lagos." Find out more [here](. Usable and Google Developer Group (GDG) Lagos have partnered to host a free UX masterclass for Nigerian startups who would like to improve their product development and shipping process with design thinking, and establish a more user-centered process. It'll go down at the MEST Incubator Lagos from September 15-16, 2018. Registration and more info [here](. Deadline is August 31. The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) [will host its fourth annual Entrepreneurship Forum]( in Lagos, Nigeria on October 25. President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana will feature in an interactive session (moderated by TEF founder Tony Elumelu) at the event. Zambia-based incubator BongoHive [has launched]( the Social Enterprise Academy Zambia, in partnership with Scotland-based Social Enterprise Academy International. The academy will support people and organisations working for social change in Zambia. DEMO Africa [has selected]( the 30 startups that will pitch at its launchpad event in Casablanca, Morocco in October where it is also launching a $100 million investment fund. "[Nigeria is trying to spend its way out of extreme poverty by cash handouts]( by Yomi Kazeem, for Quartz Africa. "[The 40-year-old “prophetic” novel that predicted the troubles of modern-day Zimbabwe]( by Tinashe Mushakavanhu, for Quartz Africa. "[Failure Diaries: The rise, fall and imminent relaunch of Eazyhire]( by Ifeanyi Ndiomewese, for Techpoint. Clickbait: [Watch rare footage of Louis Armstrong play an open-air concert in pre-independence Ghana]( From Techcabal + [The World Is Leaving Africa Behind In Electric Vehicle Adoption]( + [How Off-Grid Energy Startups Are Using Mobile Money To Increase Access To Electricity In Africa]( That's All. We'll see you tomorrow. - Akindare You're smart. Share this digest. [Share]( [Tweet]( [Forward to Friend]( Copyright © 2018 Big Cabal Media, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up on TechCabal.com Our mailing address is: Big Cabal Media Plot B, Block 1, Industrial Avenue, Ilupeju Industrial EstateIlupeju 100252 Nigeria [Add us to your address book](//techcabal.us7.list-manage.com/vcard?u=516543d20461f295636a963ec&id=ebb229e161) Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.