Imperatives for relevance in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

By Austin Okere

The popular saying used to be that big fish would eat small fish. This has since changed significantly in the light of recent happenings in the global economy; UBER, until recently a relatively unknown company out of Silicon Valley in California employs 160,000 drivers today, and is adding an average of 20,000 drivers every month.

This transport services disrupter is now valued at $41b. Another previously obscure company with similar roots, AirBnB, has over 1.5m accommodation on her platform, and is now valued at $25b. Upwork, a platform that connects businesses with freelancers have gone from zero to $1b revenues in just five years and projects to reach $10b in the next 5 years.

The new disrupters are not confined to just North America and Europe. China’s foremost e-commerce business, Alibaba’s recent listing on the New York Stock Exchange broke all records with a valuation of $170b. DiDi Kuaidi, a Chinese transport platform is pooling over 8m drivers and serving 10m commuters every day, in a consumer to consumer model.

Africa leapfrogs the trend

Here in Nigeria, our own Company, CWG Plc (www.cwlgroup.com), has seen a record uptake of 6m new Accounts on the Diamond Y’ellow Account platform; a mobile banking product that she white labels, and recently launched in conjunction with MTN (the largest Mobile Operator in Africa)

Amazon Announces New AWS IoT Button

Push buttons can make your life a lot easier and also help you spend more than you probably would otherwise. This week, Amazon has added one more push button to its collection, and it might be the best of them all.

Listed for sale on its site, the customizable AWS IoT Buttons is one of the latest and most useful additions to the network of Internet of Things, according to latest report on lighthousenewsdaily.com.

It was launched as part of the Dash buttons product line that allows customers to order products such as toilet paper, pet food, or tampons by simply pressing an internet-connected physical button.

The concept behind the Dash buttons was to provide customers with an easier refill option. All you have to do is buy the little buttons and you stick them wherever you store the product – inside the cupboard, on the washing machine.

Whenever you run low on supplies, you simply tap the button and— voilà—your order has been placed. At the moment, Amazon offers more than 100 different buttons, but the new addition

Vodacom Nigeria Trains 25 Pupils on IoT

As part of its support for the ‘Girls in ICT’ programme, Vodacom Business Nigeria has trained 25 female pupils of Clemmy High School, Agodo-Egbe, Lagos, on Internet of Things.

The beneficiaries, who were pupils from Senior Secondary School 1 and 2, learned how the IoT was used in ensuring people’s safety and in securing property in today’s world.

They also toured the company’s facilities, exposing them to the importance of connectivity and data security to individuals and businesses in this milieu.

Clemmy High School emerged as winners of the app development and quiz competition, which was part of the ‘Girls in ICT Day’ celebration last month, organised by E-Business Life.

Vodacom said its aim of training female students in particular was to debunk the myth that ICT was for males, predominantly; encouraging more female students to choose ICT as their course of

Airtel Reviews Data Tariff

*Segun Ogunsanya, Airtel Nigeria CEO

In its commitment to becoming the mobile Internet services provider of first choice for telecoms consumers in Nigeria, leading telecoms operator, Airtel Nigeria has announced a review of its data tariff plans in a strategic move to offer more value to customers.

Under the new data plans, customers can now enjoy up to 30MB with just N100, and 7GB at just N3,500 for a 30 day period. Customers can activate the new tariff plan by dialling *141#

In a statement, Airtel said that with the review, telecoms consumers will be further empowered to connect to their dreams as well as fulfill their professional and personal endeavours at an amazingly discounted rate.

Speaking on the revised data plans, Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Ahmed Mokhles, said the data offering is designed specifically to cater to the needs as well as empower the different segments of mobile Internet consumers.

According to him, Airtel Nigeria has a key objective of delivering innovative, bespoke and quality data offerings to telecoms consumers in line with its commitment to empowering more Nigerians

Worldwide App Revenue Touches $34.2B- Report

Mobile device users installed nearly 156 billion mobile applications worldwide in 2015, generating $34.2 billion in direct (non-advertising) revenue.

A new forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that these figures will grow to more than 210 billion installs and nearly $57 billion in direct revenue in 2020, according to TOI report.

While the market will continue to grow throughout the forecast period, IDC expects to see slower growth in both application install volumes and direct revenue over time. This trend, which is largely driven by market maturation, will see annual install growth fall into the single digits over the second half of the forecast.

Mobile application install volume will still experience a five year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3%. Meanwhile, direct revenue from mobile applications will also experience slower growth by the end of the forecast period, although the five year CAGR will remain in the

Oracle Accuses Google of Stealing to Become Smartphone Powerhouse

Oracle Corp and Google faced off on Tuesday in a $9 billion copyright retrial, with Oracle accusing Google of stealing programming to become the world's leading smartphone player and Google saying it acted legally as a true innovator. 

Reuters latest report says Oracle claims Google's Android smartphone operating system violated its copyright on parts of the Java programming language, while Alphabet Inc's Google says it should be able to use Java without paying a fee under the fair-use provision of copyright law.

The dispute previously went to trial in 2012, but a jury deadlocked. If the new jury in San Francisco federal court rules against Google on fair use, then it will consider Oracle's $9 billion damages request.

The case has been closely watched by software developers who fear an Oracle victory could spur more software copyright lawsuits. However, investors see little risk for Google because the company could afford to pay a one-off fine, and the possibility of an injunction that would force

WhatsApp Launches Desktop Apps For Mac And Windows

It’s goodnews as Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp is coming to desktops. The company has announced that its apps are now available on PCs running on Windows 8 and above and for Mac OS 10.9 and above, according to reports by ettelecoms.com.

Similar to 'WhatsApp Web', the desktop app is synced with WhatsApp on your mobile device. According to the company, "The app mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device."

Since the app will run natively on users' desktops, they will have "support for native desktop notifications, better keyboard shortcuts, and more".

To download the app, users need to visit 'https://www.whatsapp.com/download' from their desktop browser. Then, open the app and scan the QR code using the WhatsApp app on their smartphones. The company also advises users to connect their phones to Wi-Fi.

The desktop app is in addition to the existing apps for Android, iOS, Blackberry, and Windows Phone, among others. The desktop app comes 16 months after WhatsApp made its messaging service available on the web.

WHO IS SPEAKING AT THIS YEAR CONFERENCE

Keynotes and panel discussions by 20 corporate speakers from different industries, professionals and leading innovation experts.

Presentations are short and mostly take place in tracks. This enables attendees to stay focused on their key interests and challenges. Each day includes more time for interaction than presentation in order to ensure high levels of energy and networking.

All Speakers


Juliet Ehimuan Chiazor, 
Country Manager, Google, Nigeria.
Keynote: “Internet of Things and Its impact on Africa”


Andrew Chen,
President & CEO, Catronic Enterprise
Keynote: “Smart Cities A Step Into The Future”


Dr. Kemafor Anyanwu (Ogan), 
Ph.D. Ass. Prof., Dept. of Comp Science, NCSU, USA
Keynote: “Unlocking the IoT promise in Africa”


Russell Southwood,
Balancing Act, UK.
Keynote: “Building a smarter Africa”


Ademola Aladekomo
CEO and MD of Chams Nigeria Limited
Presentation: Success Story / Demo Presentation-SMART CITY


Robin Raskin, 
Living in Digital Times, USA.
Presentation: Success Story Demo Presentation: The 5 Fingers of Digital Africa.


Chika Nwobi,
L5Lab, Lagos, Nigeria.
Keynote: Online Portals: What’s the fuss?


Steven Ibaraki,
Founder/CEO, Global Industry Council, Canada.
Keynote: “Where and how to Start? Investments, Startups, Megatrends”


Daniel Asare-Kyei, 
Esoko, Ghana.
Keynote: “IoT and the future of Agriculture in Africa”.


Dr.Matunda Nyanchama,
Agano Consulting, Kenya.
Keynote: “IoT the security game changer”


Mr.Raymond Ayonote,
Securitium Limited, UK
Workshop: “Creating Billion Dollar Mobile Apps”

More Speakers to be announced....

WhatsApp Ban Ends in Brazil

A Brazilian court on Tuesday agreed to end its blockage of the smartphone messaging service WhatsApp after suspending it for failing to surrender user data, the company said.
 

WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, appealed against the shutdown imposed on the company on Monday for not handing over information requested in a drug trafficking investigation.

The court rejected an initial appeal, but a second appeal was upheld, a spokesman for WhatsApp told AFP early on Tuesday afternoon.

"WhatsApp is now back online in Brazil!" Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on his page at the leading online social network.

"Your voices have been heard once again. That said, the idea that everyone in Brazil can be denied the freedom to communicate the way they want is very scary in a democracy."

The shutdown angered users reliant on the free app in Brazil, where cell phone fees for texting and calls are among the highest in the world.

Zuckerberg encouraged WhatsApp users to make their voices heard at an Internet Freedom Caucus event in Brasilia on Wednesday that will focus on introducing laws to prevent such internet

Mobile Operator Artilium Eyes Africa Expansion

London-registered mobile operator Artilium has announced a new deal which will see it significantly strengthen its foothold in Africa, according to bdaily.co.uk.

Artilium has partnered with Tritente Global Energy Group to launch Artilium-Africa, which will see the firm bring its 3G and 4G mobile data service, along with cloud and telecom services to the African market.

The telecoms company already provides micro-data center services to 50 telecoms companies, including T-Mobile, and hopes its low-cost, energy efficient data centres will help it gain a foothold across Africa.

Artilium has also announced that it is in the process of obtaining a value added services license for Ethiopia, and is looking to have a presence in 20 to 40 different countries within five years.

Washington DC-based Tritente Global Energy Group will support the growth of Artilium-Africa thanks to its extensive network of connections and ongoing infrastructure and renewable

Facebook Rewards 10-year Old With $10,000

Zukerberg, Facebook founder

Social networking giant, Facebook has paid $10,000 to a 10-year-old boy for spotting a bug in Facebook-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram.

According to a report in technology website VentureBeat.com, Jani from Finland discovered the security flaw in Instagram on his own.

He found a bug in Instagram which requires you to be at least 13 before even signing up, that let him delete any comment on the social network.

“He reported the bug by email, offered proof by deleting a message on one of Facebook's test Instagram accounts and it was fixed in February. Facebook paid him the bug bounty in March,” the report added.

“I would have been able to remove anyone, even Justin Bieber,” the report quoted Jani as saying.

The Finnish boy wishes to become a security researcher. “It would be my dream job. Security is

Samsung Launches IoT Cloud Platform

Samsung has launched its Artik Cloud Platform, an open data exchange platform designed to connect any data set from any connected device or cloud service, according to iotworldnews.com.

Speaking at Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco, the company has launched the service in direct competition with established platforms such as Microsoft’s Azure and IBM’s Bluemix, to capitalize on growing momentum in the IoT market.

“Our vision for the Artik platform is an end-to-end experience that reduces the obstacles, challenges, and time-to-market for IoT solutions,” said Young Sohn, Chief Strategy Officer at Samsung Electronics.

“We’re excited to announce the Samsung Artik Cloud after three years of development and feedback from hundreds of developers. Unlike many other IoT cloud platforms, Artik Cloud breaks down data siloes between devices and enables a new class of IoT applications and services.

“The launch of this exciting new platform not only signals Samsung’s foray into the cloud services market but reinforces our belief that, by creating powerful open platforms, we can harness the information generated by IoT to develop new insights and new approaches to address the

Microsoft Acquires Internet of Things Platform, Solair

Microsoft today announced that it has acquired Solair, a company that provides software companies can use to work with all of their Internet-connected devices. The software can run as a cloud service or on companies’ infrastructure. Solair also offers a hardware gateway that companies can use on their premises to interface between their devices and the cloud.

The technology will become part of Microsoft’s expanding Azure IoT Suite,  Microsoft Azure IoT partner director Sam George wrote in a blog post. 

“Solair’s IoT customization and deployment solutions, built on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, are engineered to help businesses in any industry utilize IoT to run more efficiently and profitably,” George wrote.

“For example, Solair has brought the power of IoT to the Rancilio Group’s full line of espresso machines, allowing the Italian manufacturer to remotely monitor machines, resulting in greater efficiency across the supply chain. Using the power of cloud-based data and analytics, Solair has helped the Rancilio Group reduce costs and increase revenue.”

The acquisition comes as other big technology companies strive to build out their own cloud services for the Internet of Things (IoT) devices — there’s Amazon Web Services’ AWS IoT service,

WHO IS ATTENDING THIS YEAR CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

It’s almost time for the Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition. So here is everything you need to know about this year’s innovative ceremony.

We are very excited

The line – up for the ceremony, will hold once again at the Abuja International Conference Centre in June 1^st-3^rd, 2016. Sounds as the best yet with Jim Ovia(Chairman Zenith Bank), Adebayo Shittu (Minister of Communication), opening the ceremony by 9:00 a.m. . . .


Extra activities have also been lined up, like Demo Presentations on the Internet of Things (IoT), Exhibition, Job Fair, Workshop, Digital Faceoff and many more.

Who will be speaking?
The question is who is not speaking really! This year Conference will see industry experts, professionals, Technology Directors and CEO’s take the stage to engage the audience in energetic and innovative sessions.

What excitement can we expect?
Digital Africa is proud to welcome attendees, professionals, delegates, exhibitors, retailers, volunteers, tech startups, students to network, meet and discuss with over 100 corporate innovation executives from large multinational firms.

Every programme lined up for 2016 Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition are innovative with practical sessions. The Internet of Things is the topic on everyone’s lips, the buzzword of the year. It promises to transform the way we live and work, to free us from mundane tasks, and create entirely new jobs in entirely new industries. It has gone from a small and interesting topic of conversation to an industry with the potential to change the way the world functions.

This year Conference & Exhibition will focus more on the challenges and also, proffer solutions for accelerating development for Africa with Internet of Everything (IoE)