E-Business
For Africa to Catch Up in Tech Development
Africa is surely trailing behind other developing countries in the development of the tech ecosystem. These developed countries have gone far in the development of their tech ecosystem because they have created the conducive environment for it to grow and flourish in their respective domains.
For Africa too to achieve this feat, it must brace up to create those kinds of enabling environment that has assisted the developed countries to achieve that feat. Internet World Stats shows, for instance that, of the about 3.566 Billion internet users in the world as at June 2016, only about 333.5 Million of them are in Africa and this represents only 9.4%!
This, in my view, is a far cry when you compare the population of Africans to that of the rest of the world as well as the numerous benefits that can be derived from the tech ecosystem that many Africans do not have access to because of the slow growth.
In order to allow many more Africans to enjoy the benefits of the tech ecosystem, the continent must step up its game and tow the path of closing the digital divide.It should be noted that America, Europe and Asia, got to the height they have attained today by working hard to achieve it.
Below, therefore, are some of what Africa should be doing in order to bridge the gap between it and the developed world in the tech ecosystem. .
One of these is that African governments should make sure that each country solves the issue of epileptic supply of electricity. It is important to state that without stable and affordable electricity, not much can be achieved in the sphere of growing and sustaining the tech ecosystem.
Without solving the electricity issue, all other efforts to make progress in bridging the gap are not likely to bear adequate fruit as majority of African citizens cannot sustain running their devices on fuel-powered generators.
One other area where African governments should look into is speeding up the provision of high speed Broadband internet access to its citizens.
It is of interest to note that the speed of internet access currently provided by many Internet Service Providers in Africa is very slow.
It is, however, heart-warming to note that that various Broadband projects are on-going to improve the speed of internet access in Africa.
African governments should also make access to tech gadgets and accessories available and affordable to their citizens.
This can be achieved through the rendering of reduced, or completely waiving, of import duties on those gadgets and accessories.
This will give room for the reduction of their prices and enable more Africans to have access to them.
The next thing for Africa will, then, be to encourage its citizens to embrace tech and use it to solve their everyday problems.
One of the most important ways in which this can be achieved is to ensure that computer is introduced and taught in all schools in Africa right from the basic schools on through to the secondary and tertiary levels.
The teachings here should not just be on theory alone but the practical aspects of it. Africans should encourage the citizens to interact with the government agencies, etc., in their daily dealings.
More tech hubs should also be encouraged to spring up in Africa with a view to reaching out to as many innovative minds as possible.
Tech Hubs are co-working spaces where innovative minds, mentors, investors, financiers, etc., meet, with the facilities providing conducive environment, such as working space, uninterrupted electricity supply, air conditioners for cooling and very importantly, high speed Broadband internet connection, and many more to the numerous users.
It will do the investors and the governments of African countries a lot of good to ensure that anyone trying to set up a Tech Hub is given the necessary assistance to achieve this.
If this is sustained, African countries will soon catch up with the rest of the world in the tech sphere.
Africans should forge ahead by adopting Digital Inclusion. This is a process that provides digital literacy, most especially, to adults not already vast in tech. This is a sure way of bridging the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world.
This can be achieved by organizing affordable training and workshops and seminars for its adult citizens. This way, many more will be made aware of tech and what it can do for them.
If these are done, we can then begin to look up to more innovations coming from Africa, towards solving some of the world problems.
CFA is the Founder, www.CFAtech.ng & Co-producer/Presenter, Tech Trends on Channels Television
Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.
China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.
The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.
“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.
The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.
It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.
Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.
Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.
Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.
A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.
“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.
Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.
Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.
It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.
Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.
According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.
NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”
The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.
The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.
The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.
In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.
“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.
Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.
“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.
He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework. He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.
According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.
Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.
“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”
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