Meta is excited to announce the launch of the Llama 3.1 Impact Grants, continuing its commitment to supporting innovative use cases of open-source AI to address critical global challenges. Building on the success of previous grant programs, the Llama 3.1 Impact Grants will provide up to $2 million USD in funding to organisations worldwide.

The Llama 3.1 Impact Grants program invites proposals from organisations with ideas for using Llama 3.1 to address social challenges in their communities. Applications in areas such as economic development, science and innovation, public service and more will be given special consideration. Selected recipients will receive up to $500,000 USD and winners will be announced early next year.

Speaking about the grant, Kojo Boakye, Vice President, Public Policy, Africa, the Middle East, and Turkiye, Meta commented: “We’re inspired by the diverse projects we’ve seen developers undertake around the world to positively impact their communities by building with Llama.

“We believe AI has more potential than any other modern technology to increase human productivity, creativity, and quality of life—and to accelerate economic growth while unlocking progress in medical and scientific research.

“The Llama 3.1 Impact Grants program presents an opportunity to further empower organisations to leverage AI for social good and to drive meaningful change.”

To support prospective applicants, Meta will host a series of regional events, including virtual events, in-person hackathons, workshops, and training sessions in Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Korea, Latin America, North America, Pakistan, Singapore, Sub-Saharan Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

These events will provide technical guidance and mentorship, fostering the development of impactful applications of Llama 3.1 in local contexts. Organisations participating in these events will be eligible for additional specialised awards of up to $100,000 USD.

The inaugural Llama Impact Grants, announced in October 2023, received over 800 applications from 90+ countries. The 20 finalists have submitted their final proposals, and the grant recipients will be announced in September, alongside the recipients of the Llama Impact Innovation Awards.

The application window for the Llama 3.1 Impact Grants is open from Monday, August 5, 2024, to Friday, November 22, 2024. Meta encourages eligible organisations to submit their proposals and take advantage of this opportunity to drive social impact through AI. All proposals will be evaluated using the selection criteria here.

Respite at last for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises on the African continent as TD Africa partners Huawei to help SMEs optimize operations, enhance productivity, and drive growth.

Having seen the challenges SMEs on the continent face in networking, TD Africa, Africa’s number one technology distribution company, considered it wise that the SMEs got a one-stop, cutting-edge technology solution.

This solution kit, known as the Huawei eKit, will empower SMEs with a comprehensive suite consisting of robust connectivity solutions, intelligent collaboration tools, and reliable storage systems.

Joshua Okoro, Business Head of Huawei at TD Africa, said the company is thrilled once again to offer such a holistic solution to end the challenges SMEs on the continent grapple with.

His words, “We are truly excited to introduce Huawei eKit as the definitive networking solution for the African market. This collaboration aligns perfectly with our mission to empower SMEs and drive digital transformation across the continent.

“Huawei’s eKit innovative solutions and robust features, coupled with TD Africa’s deep marketing understanding, extensive reach, and expertise, create an unbeatable combination that addresses the specific challenges and opportunities African entrepreneurs face.

“We are confident that this Huawei eKit solution will foster a powerful synergy that benefits businesses of all sizes across the continent.”

The eKit range, which includes routers, switches, access points, and the revolutionary IdeaHub, provides businesses with the necessary tools to succeed in today’s digital landscape. These solutions offer exceptional performance, security, and scalability, ensuring businesses can operate efficiently and securely.

By leveraging the advanced capabilities of the eKit, businesses across Africa can now effectively protect their sensitive data, mitigate risks, and optimise their operations, paving the way for a brighter, more technologically advanced future.

This collaboration further reinforces TD Africa’s commitment to empowering Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) with cutting-edge technology solutions and assures seamless access to Huawei original eKit products and services.

As the continent’s go-to distributor for technology-driven solutions and sole distributor of the Huawei eKit in the region, TD Africa is committed to empowering its partner ecosystem with unparalleled training, support, and resources to maximise the potentials of the Huawei eKit.

TD Africa is set to revolutionise how businesses operate across the continent by leveraging on the deep understanding of the African market and a robust distribution network. This will ensure a ubiquitous access to Huawei eKit solutions.

The partnership further underscores TD Africa’s unwavering commitment to driving technological innovation and delivering exceptional value to its partners.

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a directive to telecommunications operators to simplify their tariff plans, bundles, and promotional activities.

This move aims to provide clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information about the cost of voice, short messaging service (SMS) and data services to subscribers.

The directive, titled “Guidance on the Simplification of Tariffs in the Nigerian Communications Sector,” was issued on July 29, 2024. It mandates Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to publish a comprehensive table showing the features of their tariff plans and bundle offers.

The table should contain all necessary information for subscribers to make informed decisions, including details on add-ons, their prices, how consumers can opt-in or out, terms and conditions for renewal, and rollover policies.

The guideline is the outcome of consultations with industry stakeholders, including MNOs and Consumer Focus Groups, and extensive data analysis on consumer preferences and expectations.

The objectives of the simplification guidelines are to reduce the complexity of tariff plans and bundles, ensure transparency and fairness of promotional elements of tariff plans, protect consumers’ interests by providing clear and understandable tariff information so that they make informed decisions, and promote fair competition among licensees by standardising tariff structures.

Service providers are also required to display all relevant information about their tariffs, such as the name of the plan, price, validity period, price-per-second for on or off-network and international calls, expected data speeds, and fair usage policies.

“Operators can maintain existing bonus-led tariff plans till 31st December 2024, within which period operators are expected to educate and migrate all subscribers to the simplified tariff plans,” the directive stated.

The guidelines further mandate that MNOs must communicate tariffs to subscribers in “clear language and a user-friendly format,” with full disclosure of a subscriber’s tariff plan via Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).

Additionally, “operators must offer stand-alone data bundles at fair prices to avoid tying consumers with products they do not need; bonuses on promotions must be stated in actual value; access fees and asymmetric fee structures must be eliminated,” among other conditions.

The NCC emphasised that while complying with these guidelines, operators must also meet the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) standards set out in the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations.