Western Digital, Dropbox Deploy Leading-Edge Cloud Infrastructure

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Salesforce and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have expanded their strategic partnership, deepening product integrations across data and artificial intelligence (AI). The new and enhanced integrations will include streamlining purchasing options for customers via the AWS marketplace, enhancing customer experiences through unified data management, empowering developers with new AWS compute and development services, securely bringing AWS data and AI services to Salesforce’s Einstein 1 Platform, and ensuring seamless customer service with service cloud and Amazon connect. It was gathered these features will enable customers to seamlessly and securely manage their data across Salesforce and AWS, and safely and

By Olumide Balogun In the bustling markets of Lagos, a remarkable transformation is underway. A local logistics company, once struggling with efficiency, has now streamlined its entire operation using AI-driven solutions. This is a glimpse into the broader canvas of Africa where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a cornerstone for business innovation. Across the continent, from the tech hubs of Nairobi to the vibrant streets of Accra, AI is no longer a distant concept but a present-day tool reshaping the way businesses operate and grow. Enterprises of all sizes are tapping into AI to enhance their processes, improve customer

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has announced a N1 billion partnership between the ministry and IHS Towers, one of the largest independent communications infrastructure firms in the world, to establish the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Learning Community. The ministry earlier this month released a 31-page policy document titled Accelerating our Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency which outlined plans to boost the country’s economy through the use of technology. It said it would collaborate with other ministries and parastatals, including private sector stakeholders to drive opportunities for startups to facilitate the

By Adedapo Adesanya The exchange rate of the Naira to the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange market ended in a stalemate on Monday, November 29. This was because the value of the local currency remained unchanged at N415.07/$1 at the close of business on the first trading session of the week. This came despite a spike in the demand for forex at the spot market yesterday with the value of transactions rising by 19.1 per cent or $41.22 million to $256.69 million from the $215.47 million achieved last Friday. Also, at the

By Dipo Olowookere The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has expressed shock over the tragic death of six Nigerian asylum-seekers, among them three children, who were killed in a blast in the far north of Cameroon. In a statement issued by the agency, it said, “This tragic incident is a disappointing testament of continuing forced returns (refoulements) of refugees and asylum-seekers from Cameroon, despite numerous appeals by UNHCR to the Cameroonian government to respect its obligations.” Speaking on the matter, the Director of UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Africa, Valentin Tapsoba, stated that, “The forced return of refugees and asylum-seekers is in

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) has supported the recent decision by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) to cut production by around 2 per cent. Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Oil Week in Cape Town, South Africa, the Secretary-General of the group, Mr Omar Farouk Ibrahim, said, “It is a decision well taken.” “I believe it is the right thing to do to save the industry and also to ensure that there is stability for today and tomorrow,” he added. The decision by OPEC, which includes major oil producers

By Modupe Gbadeyanka China’s leading cross-border logistics company, 4PX, has tapped into the logistics infrastructure of Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, Jumia, to service its African customers. The Chinese recently partnered with Jumia to reach more businesses on the continent and expand its tentacles to the continent. Ranked as number 3 in China’s cross-border e-commerce market, 4PX has worked with more than one million sellers and its daily operation capacity exceeds 8 million parcels. Jumia’s logistics infrastructure boasts more than 3,000 drop-off stations and pick-up stations located across Africa. In 2021, the firm seamlessly processed more than 34 million packages with

By Adedapo Adesanya The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the federal government to unblock millions of SIM cards not linked to the National Identification Number (NIN). Business Post had reported that the federal government directed telecommunications companies in the country to bar all outgoing calls on unlinked SIM cards from Monday, April 4, 2022. Unlinked lines are Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) not yet registered and linked with the NIN by users. While reacting to the ban via a statement issued on Sunday, SERAP asked President Muhammadu Buhari to “direct the Minister of Communication

By Modupe Gbadeyanka All is now set for the 2022 edition of the annual GTCO Autism Conference scheduled for Monday, August 29 and Tuesday, August 30 at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos. This year’s event, the 12th, is themed Creating a Community of Awe-Tism Advocates and will involve different stakeholders, including parents, medical experts, caregivers and others. Organisers of the programme, which has gained wider acclaim for bringing together some of the world’s leading experts in autism, said the GTCO Autism Conference will feature keynote addresses and panel discussions by experienced specialists from renowned institutions in Nigeria and abroad in a

By Dipo Olowookere Mrs Bunmi Lawson has resigned her appointment as the interim Managing Director of Fortis Microfinance Bank Plc. This information was revealed by the interim management committee of Fortis Microfinance Bank Plc yesterday. In a statement its scribe, Mr Victor Emerson, the financial institution disclosed that the resignation took effect from Friday, August 3, 2018. However, the lender did not explain in the statement why Mrs Lawson was quitting the position at the firm. “Following the said resignation, it is expected that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will announce the appointment of a new Interim Managing Director

The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Wednesday announced the commencement of a global offering of Nigeria’s first Diaspora Bond. The Federal Government hopes to raise about $300 million from the exercise, which had been in the pipeline for months now. The sale of the diaspora bonds was earlier thought to begin in March this year, but it was shifted. In a statement released yesterday by the DMO on its website, the country’s debt office noted that “Nigeria has filed a registration statement for the bonds with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.” It explained that application also will be