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IBM Research Focuses On Big Data to Tackle SDGs in Africa

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As the world today, May 17, 2017 observe ‘World Telecommunication and Information Society Day’ with the theme “Big Data for Big Impact.” ITU and the members are exploring how Big Data can help solve the world’s biggest challenges with special focus on IBM’s research on Africa.

IBM Research Africa is currently working on a wide range of development projects across Africa, using Big Data to make headway towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

IBM has launched research facilities including one in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013 and another in Johannesburg, South Africa, which was officially inaugurated in August 2016.

The innovation labs conduct research in conjunction with academia and offer education and internship opportunities to talented students.

The innovation hubs are not only making big strides in Big Data research, but also in skills development.

“The big motivation for us is addressing Africa’s grand challenges and bringing skills to the continent… both generating skills locally and encouraging Africans to come back to the continent and to contribute to its growth and transformation,” Chris Sciacca, EMEA Communications Manager at IBM Research, said in a report by ITU News.

The labs are helping to boost skills development, including recruiting young talent and promoting an online learning platform.

The company invested $70 million to launch a Watson-powered platform for 25 million African youth. The online learning platform will offer free skills development programs on topics including big data analytics and cloud computing.

And IBM Research Africa is doing innovative work to address some of Africa’s biggest challenges in areas such as healthcare, environment, entrepreneurship, and urban ecosystems.

Groundbreaking Research on Cancer and Malaria
Geoffrey Siwo, a research scientist at IBM’s lab in Johannesburg has recently been recognized as a 2017 Quartz Africa Innovator for his work to develop an algorithm that can potentially help identify the gene variant, more common among Africans, that encourages metastasis in cancer patients.

The lab is also conducting research in malaria and has successfully used the model and data from World Health Organization (WHO) to analyze and measure “sensitivity” of malaria. The findings can help the government to better predict malaria incidence and control spread of the disease base on the data of climate and environmental conditions of the region, in terms of implement preventative measure deploy medical resources more efficiently.

Tackling SKA’s Big Data Challenges and Bringing New Skills to Africa
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope co-located in Africa and in Australia, is expected to be operational by 2024.

The volume of data that the SKA telescope will generate is much larger than what is on Internet today. The challenge is to store these data as cost- and energy-efficiently as possible.

IBM is helping SKA-South Africa to tackle the Big Data challenge and is opening up new opportunities for young talent.

“IBM scientists and SKA-South Africa are training students to develop machine-learning techniques to filter out the useful data from the noise,” said Sciacca, “these skills will eventually be applied for more than just searching for E.T. but also big data challenges in healthcare and finance.”

Foster Entrepreneurship and Transform the Economy
IBM’s Nairobi THINKLab is committed to transform the business environment in Kenya. For example, in collaboration with Kenyan government, the lab helped simplify the way entrepreneurs start business in the country.

Using machine-learning technologies, researchers have successfully simplified the process of starting a business by reducing the number of interactions with government from 11 to 3 steps.

The effort has helped Kenya advance on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking, from 136th in 2015 to 92nd. It is also ranked the world’s third most-reformed country in starting business. Currently, the lab is resuming the joint effort with the Kenyan government to reach the Top 50 by 2020.

Digitize the urban ecosystems – wildfire assessment and traffic-light infrastructure
Unreliable traffic infrastructure is one of the main causes of traffic congestion in the city of Johannesburg, IBM Research has develop a technology using data extracted from Twitter and TomTom to develop a traffic optimization recommendation tool to solve that problem.

It allows city officials to be more informed about traffic incidents and more efficiently dispatch volunteers to take care of the problem.

Another example of IBM Research’s Big Data solution to urban challenges is Cape Town’s wildfire assessment system. Due to its unique topography and vegetation, Cape Town is one of the most fire-prone cities in South Africa.

IBM lab has designed a cognitive dashboard that uses data from The Weather Company and Cape Town’s open data portal to assess fire incidence risk and severity.

The technology has assisted government officials to advance the city’s emergency response and deployment system.

 


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Glo Urges Workers to Reflect on Furthering National Growth on May Day

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Telecommunications services provider, Globacom, has admonished Nigerian workers to reflect on more ways of contributing further to the growth of the country.

In a solidarity message on the occasion of the 2024 International Workers’ Day, the company noted that Nigerian workers were resilient in spite of the challenges they encounter in the course of discharging their duties.

The telecommunications giant further noted that the story of Nigeria cannot be adequately chronicled without acknowledging the immense contributions of workers, both in the public and private sectors.

The day is observed on May 1 yearly in recognition of the contributions of workers all over the world and to advance fairer and more sustainable future by advocating for workers’ rights.

“We salute Nigerian workers on this day and commend them for the hard work, commitment, resourcefulness and industry which are essential for the growth of the economy of any nation,” Globacom said.

 


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CWG Board of Directors Approves 400% Increase in Dividend Payout

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CWG Plc has announced a significant milestone in its commitment to delivering value to shareholders. Following a thorough review of the company’s financial performance and outlook, the Board of Directors has approved a substantial increase of 400per cent in dividend payout to shareholders.

This decision reflects CWG’s confidence in its financial stability, growth trajectory, and ability to generate sustainable returns. By enhancing the dividend payout, CWG aims to reward shareholders for their continued trust and support while reaffirming its commitment to creating long-term value.

Mr. Philip Obioha, Chairman of the Board of Directors at CWG Plc, said, “The decision to approve a 400% increase in dividend payout underscores our confidence in CWG’s performance and outlook. We are dedicated to delivering value to our shareholders and believe that this significant dividend increase is a testament to our commitment to shareholder value creation.”

This increase in dividend payout aligns with CWG’s strategic objectives to prioritize shareholder interests and maintain strong financial discipline. The Board remains committed to prudent financial management and sustainable growth, ensuring that CWG continues to be a reliable investment for shareholders.

As CWG continues to execute its growth strategy and expand its presence in the market, the Board anticipates that the increased dividend payout will further strengthen investor confidence and support CWG’s vision for the future.


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Prof. Aliyu, AI Practitioner to Keynote ABoICT 2024

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CommunicationsWeek Media Limited, a certified global ICT company with over two million online subscribers, is delighted and proud to announce Prof. Yakub Aliyu, as the keynote speaker at Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture series 2024.

 

Aliyu, will be speaking on the theme: Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Good, The Complex and The Anticipated”, this leans heavily on the fact that AI changing our lives– we just need to know where to look today.

This year’s rebranded Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series is slated for Saturday, May 25, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton, Lagos.

The event is the most prestigious annual event that brings together captains of industry in both technology and financial worlds.

According to Ken Nwogbo, CEO, Communication Week Media Ltd, organisers of the ABoICT Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series, “the choice of Prof. Yakub Aliyu is deliberate because of his exceptional career in Artificial Intelligence (AI)”.

He added that, AI is considered to have the potential to instigate a fourth industrial revolution,1 and is dramatically changing people’s patterns of interaction and economic activities.

“The traditional factors of production and physical capital and labour may no longer promote substantial economic growth. It is generally believed that AI will be one of the most important factors determining future economic growth,” he said.

A professor of microelectronics and a scholar-practitioner in artificial intelligence and deep machine learning for industrial applications and high-speed application processors. His research interests include Multimodal AI models for high-efficiency industrial robot applications and Human AI interactions.

He also has adjunct academic professorships at five African, USA, and UK universities. Holds a BS in Applied Physics Electronics from Karlsruhe and A Bello Universities in Germany and Nigeria, an MBA in International Business Management from the University of London, an MSEE (Master of Engineering, Electronics), and a Ph.D. in Electronics Engineering from the University of Wales.

Prof. Aliyu is the global quality director for Bourns Inc., Riverside, California, USA, an electronics system, and components manufacturer. I oversee quality functions in 21 factories worldwide.

He has also held quality and operational management leadership positions at National Semiconductors, Bell Labs-Lucent Technology, Texas Instrument, Global Foundries, and Roper Technologies USA.

Authored and coauthored over 30 Advanced Technology United States-issued patents in High-Speed Application Processors and Contributed to over 40 international impact Journals, chapters, and conferences; FASI, SMIEEE USA, MIEE UK, M. Inst pf Physics Chartered Phys and C Eng UK.

Past lecturers included Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Dr. Jean Luc Fort, CEO at OR System France and a specialist in Counterparty Risk; and Professor Chris Nwagboso, Chairman, Knowledge Factory International, United Kingdom.

Others are: Uche Orji, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited; Dr. Adewale Obadare, chief visionary officer, Digital Encode and John Obaro, CEO and founder of Systemspecs; Prof. Isa Pantanmi, minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Dr. Seyi Akindeind, co-founder, Digital Encode; Dr Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Director, Africa Data Centres.


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