Renaissance unveils continental strategy at Africa Energy Week - ITREALMS

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The Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, operator of Nigeria’s largest upstream oil and gas joint venture, formally introduced its pan-African operational strategy at the just concluded Africa Energy Week (AEW), signalling a new phase of regional expansion and leadership in the energy sector.

Speaking during a dedicated session at the conference, the company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tony Attah, described Renaissance as a transformational force in Africa’s energy landscape.

Kenya hosts AMRH 1st continental forum for safe medicines - ITREALMS

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The African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) programme has concluded plans to host the first Heads of Medicines Registration and Marketing Authorization Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, reports ITREALMS.

The forum slated to take place between April 10-11, 2024, ITREALMS gathered, marks a significant step in strengthening Africa's regulatory framework for medicinal products.

Swype Global seeks strategic partnerships to reform continental music talent discovery - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

As a technology market hub continues to attract attention from international organizations. Swype Global Ltd, a United Kingdom (UK)-based digital startup, has made a strategic entry into Nigeria with a 50 per cent investment in SGL-Swypatune Nig. Ltd, reports ITRealms.

This entry, ITRealms gathered, is in a bid to properly harness the potential of music talents in Africa using digital technologies.

Also, ITRealms reports that the entrance will serve as a catalyst for strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders who are poised to embrace the vision of leveraging digital technology, primarily focused on eliminating the barriers impeding the growth of upcoming artistes in Nigeria.

Music talent discovery in Nigeria still hinges on a traditional media model, a situation which creates limited access, ambiguous criteria and lack of transparency, as opposed to a digital based platform which provides more transparency, equal access to contestants and eliminates stage fright.

Having developed an intuitive digital platform dubbed SWYPATUNE - an App which will be available on the Google Play and Apple Stores by 2019 - Swype Global Limited has laid out a strategic roadmap to solving the common problems faced by many upcoming artistes before,during and after a music talent show.

With the likes of established financial houses like Fidelity Bank and Zenith Bank, and entertainment figures like Ice Prince, Ade Bantu, Chopstiks and others already in conversation with Peter Atorough, a professor and CEO, Swype Global, believes that having the right strategic partnership is a critical aspect of SGL-Swypatune’s business model.

"We have developed partnerships internationally with key technology and monetization content developers, but we are interested and actively searching for local business partnersand sponsors who will key into this vision and help transform the economic landscape of Nigeria. We have had interesting discussions with established artists like Ice Prince and major potential sponsors like Zenith Bank and Fidelity Bank."

“As a specialist in Digital Consumer Behaviour and Supply Chain Management, I think of the 360-degree business model:the whole idea is to eliminate multiple intermediaries through a digital based concept, and to bridge all the barriers encountered during the process of a talent show while offering value to all partners, sponsors and App users.”

Peter isn't ignorant of the fact that some developers are already building quick fix Apps which do not address local needs.

But he explains that while the likes of international app publishers like Facebook and Snapchat do not put the Africancultural orientations, environmental factors, as well as perspectives into consideration, Swype Global Ltd is founded on the philosophy that digital mobile technology represents the biggest and boldest opportunity to transform the economies of Africa. This is particularly relevant to Nigeria where Swype Global is looking to create new employment opportunities in the digital mobile technology space.

"If you visit Spotify for instance, no Nigerian music content is listed in the top 100 songs. That is a huge gap and Swype Global Ltd is bridging that by seeking the right stakeholders who will come on board and help us “drive a local digital platform built specifically with a deep understanding of Africa’s economic and social realities."

“During my visit to Nigeria, I have had the opportunity to meet and observe many aspiring artists performing or rehearsing their acts. I have met the likes of Queen Xand Malyna, all excellent performers with huge potential but poor exposure due to limited opportunities to showcase their talent at a national level. This is where Swypatune will make a huge difference.”

Peter remains optimistic that Nigeria has a huge potential to overcome the issue of being so much reliant on Apps developed for Americans and Europeans. Providing more insight on the 360 Degree model, he said everybody who gets involved directly or indirectly with the digital platform, either as partners, sponsors or users, gets rewarded one way or the other. 

“This is how we do things in Africa; we share the rewards for the benefit of all stakeholders. Every day, international App publishers make huge money from your use of their apps. You think it’s free; but in reality, you are giving them a whole lot and getting nothing in tangible rewards from their profits. Swype Global wants to do things differently.”

Active users of the Swypatune App get credits in the form of Swypa Coins when they engage in different activities, and can use their credits to redeem fantastic offers on the app; vendor partners from different sectors, including hotels, cinemas, travel agents and retailers, can directly create and advertise their best offers on the platform for free; while sponsors or partners get a revenue share or advertisement exposure to the millions of Swypatune users.

"Users can use their Swypa Coins to redeem offers from food vendors, travel agencies etc. In a situation where an offer is worth £12 and a user has £8 Swypa Coins, such a user can borrow Swypa Coins from friends or top up their credit through their network’s airtime or bank card.”

The SWYPATUNE App will serve as a contest platform for music talents in Nigeria. There would be a crowd source entry (anybody can upload their music content on the Swypatune App). With the help of an efficient algorithm built in the App, 100 entries would be shortlisted after a review.

According to Frank Fotso, an engineer and director, Swype Global, "There will be three series in a year with each series producing 1 winner. The members of the public will have the opportunity to vote and determine their No 1 tune, thereby directly deciding the winner of each series. The winner will get N10 Million towards recording and establishment, including post contest management and mentoring. There will also be weekly prizes presented on a Weekly TV slot showcasing the week’s No 1 song and Swypatune users.”

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Pix: From Left to Right: Nnam Uche, Country Manager, Swype Global Limited Nigeria, Dr. Peter Atorough, CEO, Swype Global Limited 

STEM: African women in ICT can boost continental GDP - Celine Bremaud

Guest Interview@ITREALMS:

The Sales, Marketing and Operations Vice President at Microsoft  for Middle East and Africa,  Celine Bremaud, recently spoke to Victor Onyeka-Ben,  on the company’s STEM education in Africa. Excerpts:

 

Q: What is the level of acceptance of STEM education in Africa? How has your program impacted on women in the continent? Has enough been done by your organization to improve the situation on the ground in Africa?

It’s estimated that by 2020, 80 percent of all jobs will require some sort of STEM qualification but Africa is lagging behind the rest of world in terms of investments in STEM education and workforce development.

Microsoft has a long history of supporting STEM education on the continent with a particular focus on the “T” for technology and computer science education. Our work has primarily focused on closing the “digital divide” - helping students, educators, and young adults gain the basic digital literacy and learning skills required in today’s technology-driven world.

When it comes to women, Microsoft also realizes that women of all ages are underrepresented in STEM fields. It’s a well-known fact that globally, only 14 percent of the STEM workforce consists of females. Having more women enter the STEM workforce will in turn drive economic growth, equality and innovation. In fact, bringing 600 million additional women to the ICT sector can boost the GDP of developing countries by an estimated US$13 billion. We therefore want to create a culture where more women are attracted to STEM and see themselves having a career path in the technology industry.

With this in mind, Microsoft is actively empowering young girls on the continent to study STEM subjects at school and university and encouraging women to pursue careers in STEM fields. We have many programmes aimed at increasing participation of women in STEM fields across the continent.

Our most recent programme is our annual #MakeWhat’sNext campaign in celebration of International Women's Day. On an annual basis, Microsoft launches an awareness campaign globally and regionally to encourage young women to pursues careers in STEM with a particular focus on computer science. This year, the campaign covered 14 countries in the Middle East and Africa reaching over 23 million young women and parents. We also upskilled over 293, 600 young girls with the main goal of the campaign being to address the stereotypes and misconceptions that discourage women from pursuing careers in STEM.  The campaign ran from International Women's Day on 8 March and culminated on International Day for Girls in ICT which falls on 26 April.

Q: How have the programs assisted in advancing the ideals of STEM especially in bridging the gender gap particularly in the region(s) that you cover?

Microsoft is involved in a wide range of programs aimed at attracting, recruiting, retaining, and developing women from around the world in the field of computer technology and STEM subjects. We have embarked on a variety of initiatives in the in MEA region to that effect. Here are some of our flagship programs:

Microsoft Digital Skills program is a global program that seeks to ensure that all youth have the opportunity to learn digital skills and computer science through unique programs and partnerships with governments, business, and non-profit organizations such as Code.org.

Under this initiative, we also sponsored a number of programs dedicated to empowering women such as:

à Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative

The Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative will partner with the Federal and State Ministries of Women Affairs across 12 states in Nigeria to establish the Nigerian Women Techmakers program, an experiential learning program aimed at building digital literacy, coding and analytical skills in young women. The Nigerian Women Techmakers program will train 2,400 young women through a three-month program that includes technical training, mentoring, hackathons and workshops.

à The African Centre for Women, Information & Communications Technology

The African Centre for Women, Information & Communications Technology (ACWICT) creates opportunities for youth from poor and disadvantaged areas in Kenya to pursue careers in the technology industry. 9,000 young women are introduced to digital skills training, including introduction to computer systems, hardware and software components, computer applications, and programming and coding.

à FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalist)

Microsoft has also supported FAWE since 2016 in 10 African countries to train youth, teachers and students to adopt and use STEM curricula, teaching and learning materials and classroom practices that are gender-responsive. This is conducted through at least 30 schools per country with each center reaching over 1,000 girls directly. In 2017, two teams per country presented their innovations at a Pan-African Innovation competition in Lusaka Zambia.

à Aspire Women

Aspire Women is an Egyptian initiative to help underserved women realize their career dreams, by breaking the barriers hampering their socio-economic development. The three-year program was designed to empower 25,000 young women in Egypt through access to technology.

à Leveraging our employees

Microsoft ran mentorship programs in Kenya and Egypt benefitting 600 young women with skills development and career enablement in technology and business.

à Cloud Startup Academy

Microsoft also launched the Cloud Startup Academy to help women entrepreneurs launch businesses with the help of cloud technology. Since launching the program, 22 new cloud-based startups have been created and 19 women have been placed in permanent jobs.

Q: Are you willing to partner with NGOs in taking the program closer to women? Will you for instance, have a working partnership with Africanewscircle.com or other NGOs known to it to take the STEM program closer to women across Africa?

Microsoft does most of its philanthropic work on the continent either with or through nonprofits. We rely on our nonprofit partners to share learnings and bring opportunities to the most underserved populations and we have multiple partners across the Middle East and Africa. We’ve mentioned a few of them above but we also work with many others across the region.

Q: What do you think should be done to get more women involved in STEM education? Are you doing that already or have done anything in that direction?

At Microsoft, we believe diversity fosters greater innovation. With this belief in mind, we strive to be a leader in attracting women to careers in technology. We start early in the pipeline by sparking girls’ interest in technology careers. We promote the study of computer science at traditionally women’s colleges and other universities. We also invest in women-focused organizations, seek out women-owned suppliers, and provide support to women once they are employees at Microsoft.

Understanding the need to invest in a future workforce that is diverse and inclusive, we’ve created specific programs around the development and hiring of diverse talent, including high school internship programs and college recruiting efforts such as YouthSpark, DigiGirlz and Explore Microsoft internships.

Our annual #MakeWhatsNext initiative aims to increase the number of girls interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers by introducing them to lesser-known female inventors. We believe that by expanding these young girls’ imaginations by showing them what's possible in STEM fields will attract more women to STEM fields.

Q: How widespread or accessible, is your digital program to women in Africa? Can you give specific examples of where you have implemented the digital program in Africa? Do you have plans of expanding the program?

We have implemented programs in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Senegal, Cote D ‘Ivoire, Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Uganda.

One example is DigiGirlz, a Microsoft YouthSpark program that gives middle and high school girls’ opportunities to learn about careers in technology, connect with Microsoft employees, and participate in hands-on computer and technology workshops. In the last 4 years, Microsoft has hosted DigiGirlz Days in 7 countries and in 2018, events have been planned for 10 countries including Ivory Coast, Ghana, Ethiopia, Senegal, Tanzania, Botswana, Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda.

As part of our YouthSpark cash grants, Microsoft has also partnered with the Zariah Elizabeth Foundation which empowers women through education. With support from Microsoft, 50,000 young women will receive digital skills training in the next year through a train-the-trainer program in UNESCO community centers. 2,000 teachers and trainers will receive training and support to effectively teach digital skills.

Q: Is there anything that has been done differently that makes women in the Middle East earn more STEM degrees than their counterparts in the rest of the world. 

According to the World Bank, 13 of the 15 countries with the lowest rate of female participation in the workforce are in the Arab world; however, the UAE is a notable exception.

Diverse perspectives are vital to developing and scaling 21st-century technologies. Women in the UAE for example make up 66 percent of the public sector workforce, of which 30 percent are in leadership roles. The 27.5 percent of women who make up the UAE cabinet all play key roles in supporting technology and innovation in the country. Here, women are not a stark minority in technology sector—they’re a part of all the major tech initiatives and, in many instances, leading them. We in the Africa region can learn many lessons from the region in terms of attracting more young girls to study STEM subjects and encouraging more women to pursue careers in STEM-related fields.

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African: Moving integration closer with free trade area

Commentary@ITREALMS: 

Twenty years ago, I hoped for an Africa that would draw closer and forge forward boldly, despite a bag of mixed fortunes. Rwanda had just been blighted by genocide; the ubiquitous coup d’état still reared its ugly head in West Africa; although a tentative calm prevailed in Central Africa, political tensions simmered below the surface; Zaïre was in the throes of the ‘first Congo war’; the civil war in Somalia grew in magnitude and intensity; Ethiopia began an experiment in state-led macroeconomic planning; a democratic South Africa rose from the ashes of Apartheid, a veritable validation of the OAU’s ultimate goal of political liberation for Africa.

An interim period of positive change ensued, a growth fuelled by new media including the Internet, greater multiculturalism and a stronger attachment to democratic principles.

In March 2018, 44 of the 55 African Union Heads of State and Government enacted the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) in Kigali, Rwanda at its 10th Extraordinary Session, under the able leadership of H.E. President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, with H.E. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda as current AU Chairperson and H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission. Once in force AfCFTA will be the largest trade zone in the world, increase intra-African trade by 52% by the year 2022, remove tariffs on 90% of goods, liberalise services and tackle other barriers to intra-African trade, such as long delays at border posts.

The end of colonialism in the early 1960s created 55 African countries which cut arbitrarily across ethnic, cultural and traditional boundaries. They established the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to promote unity and solidarity on one hand yet emphasised territorial sovereignty on the other. This hamstrung the OAU insofar as national affairs were concerned, and helped create regional economic blocks or communities (RECs) in the mid-1970s.

RECs engendered political and economic integration. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the East African Community (EAC) signed agreements for the free movement of goods, services and people. There are now 8 AU-recognised RECs and a number of sub-regional bodies that are actively pursuing Africa’s integration agenda.

In 1991 the Abuja Treaty established the African Economic Community (AEC), building on RECs for integration. At the 2001 OAU Summit, African Heads of States and Government adopted the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as a further vector to accelerate African economic co-operation and integration. The Summit recognised the importance of OAU input into REC programme planning and implementation. In 2002, the Constitutive Act of the AU was adopted in Lomé, Togo, formally replacing the OAU.

These milestones show that African economic integration is best pursued on a regional basis.

Rethinking Africa’s priorities is urgently called for. In this regard Agenda 2063, a consolidated strategy for sustained political and economic integration and prosperity, was launched by African Heads of State and Government at the 50th Anniversary of African Unity in 2013. Agenda 2063’s first Ten-Year Implementation Plan (2013-2023) draws heavily on NEPAD’s experiences. Beyond these broad strokes in development priorities and programmes, African development must be translated into concrete action.

While business and consumer confidence have improved, investment, trade and productivity have not. This has a direct impact on both foreign and domestic investments in Africa, particularly in infrastructure. As the world’s second-fastest growing region, Africa holds much promise for those willing to invest time to study our local economies and identify opportunities presented by a booming middle class with an endless appetite for consumables.

Although the Africa Report 2017 shows that virtually all countries plan large infrastructure projects and understand the need to industrialise, Africa cannot afford to be an ‘investment risk’ for infrastructure projects that advance sustainable inclusive development.

To this end, the AU-NEPAD Continental Business Network (CBN) continues to de-risk infrastructure projects in order to attract financing, especially through Pension and Sovereign Wealth Funds. In September 2017, NEPAD and the CBN initiated an Africa-led and Africa-owned campaign to increase African asset owners’ contributions to African infrastructure from approximately 1.5% of their assets under management (AUM) to 5% of AUM. By using financial resources available on the continent and strengthening public-private partnerships, infrastructure investments should increase. The CBN has called for a more strategic engagement with domestic institutional investors in support of this campaign.

The AfCTA, is a monumental step for Africa; another significant milestone in Africa’s integration process. I have to however aptly point out that the AfCFTA was signed in Kigali the capital that experienced complete turmoil some 24 years ago but is now poised to become the futuristic “Wakanda.”

*Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, a former Prime Minister of Niger, is the current CEO of the African Union’s NEPAD Agency.

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Continental rail project gains momentum

ITRealms:

The first meeting of the steering committee and experts of the Continental High Speed Rail Network project ended in Dakar, with the aim of sharing the experiences of member countries while waiting for the feasibility study, reports ITRealms.

The two-day meeting of the coordination mechanism for this project is an initiative of the NEPAD Agency, in the framework of the African Union's Agenda 2063, which is the main continental strategy for regional integration through the provision of infrastructure.  

“The Continental High Speed Rail Network project is backed by a long-term vision that has a draft action plan and an institutional framework, a general framework in which several actions have been carried out since 2015,” remarked Louis Napo, Advisor on the High Speed Train project at the NEPAD Agency.  An overall feasibility study of the project needs to be developed in order to proceed to the implementation phase.

“However, this initiative will not start from scratch as several countries are engaged in similar projects, wherein some are still in the planning phase,” said Adama Deen, Senior Advisor to the CEO, and Project Manager, Continental High Speed Railway Project, at the NEPAD Agency.

The first session of the meeting was devoted to presentations on the experiences of Senegal, South Africa and Morocco, the latter two countries considered to be the most advanced in this field, which can inspire other countries on the continent.

The presentations by officials of railway companies in Senegal, South Africa and Morocco were followed by questions and comments, in order to inspire the best strategy possible for the project of the Continental High Speed Railway Network.

Adama Deen then went back on the actions taken before stressing the need to develop a study and a pilot project, which would involve taking charge of points relating to the cost of the project, its viability on how to deploy it through the continent and the choice of technology.

“The funding strategy is also a key success factor, of the project's business case. The Study would therefore be exploring the quantification of 3 key viability factors: the strategic equity and strategic debt required, as well as, the multiple revenue streams, to make the first 10-Year Implementation Plan, and the first country- regional pilot project viable, for implication by 2023,” Mr Deen added.

"In essence, we have a target to reach 20% network development by 2023; hence, we will working with "willing and ready" countries, and their respective regional economic communities, to define the first set of regional HSR pilot projects, Mr Deen further said. "Starting in 2018, we can have a clearer idea of what we want," he added, “For which viable and solid decisions must be taken, allowing the project to move forward.”

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