Technology

AfDB organizes roadshow to whet investor interest ahead of Africa Investment Forum 2019

Posted on by in Business, Development and tagged , , , .
Department and city businesses

The African Development Bank has organised a roadshow to drum up support from Angolan investors ahead of the second edition of the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in November 2019.

The Angola Country Office of the African Development Bank Group, in collaboration with Executive Director of the Export Promotion and Private Investment Agency (AIPEX) and the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP), organized the Luanda roadshow, held on 11 April 2019. About 170 participants from the public and private sector attended.

The Bank’s maiden investment forum held in November 2018 saw an unprecedented gathering of world-class investors, meeting with the aim of bridging the continent’s growing infrastructure investment gap. The event exceeded all expectations with projects worth over US$38.7 billion securing investment interest in 72 hours.

 Joseph Ribeiro, Bank Country manager for Angola, Ezekiel Odiogo, the Africa Investment Forum Department’s Head of Private Sector Investment Operations, Neima Ferreira, Senior Investment Officer of the Africa Investment Forum and Elsa Nabenge, consultant economist and local private sector focal point, represented the Bank team at the event.

During the event, Marcelino Pinto, MEP Director for Economy, Competitiveness and Innovation and José Chinjamba, AIPEX Executive Director, showcased Angola’s economic reform plans over the last 15 months, aimed at attracting foreign investments and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

They highlighted the fact that the Angolan authorities had established the Domestic Production, Export Diversification, and Import Substitution programme (PRODESI), as part of its agenda to achieve accelerated private sector-led economic diversification.  

 “The implemented and ongoing set of reforms, as well as the instruments of credit facilitation, attest to the Government’s willingness to support private activities in order to take advantage of opportunities offered by platforms such as the Africa Investment Forum,” Pinto told participants, made up of representatives of commercial banks, development financial institutions, transaction advisors and investment fund managers.

Also addressing the gathering, Ribeiro said Angola needed substantial investments in strategic sectors for diversified economic development, in order to enhance its position as Sub-Saharan Africa’s third largest economy.

“To this end, it is not only fundamental, but necessary, to join efforts to overcome the challenges that are posed to the development of the private sector in Angola,” he added.

Representatives of chambers of commerce in Angola, start-ups and accelerators, project sponsors, promoters and developers also attended the event.

To date, 26 projects have been identified in Angola, covering various sectors including infrastructure, agribusiness, waste management and recycling, renewable energy and ICT. The projects are currently being screened through ongoing B2B sessions.   

The Angola roadshow is one of several other events to be convened in the Southern Africa region by the Bank’s Africa Investment Forum team in preparation for the 2019 Forum, which will take place from 13-15 November 2019, at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

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Black Hole Image Makes History; NASA Telescopes Coordinated Observations

Posted on by in Development, International and tagged , , .

A black hole and its shadow have been captured in an image for the first time, a historic feat by an international network of radio telescopes called the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). EHT is an international collaboration whose support in the U.S. includes the National Science Foundation.

Using the Event Horizon Telescope, scientists obtained an image of the black hole at the center of galaxy M87, outlined by emission from hot gas swirling around it under the influence of strong gravity near its event horizon.
Credits: Event Horizon Telescope collaboration et al.

A black hole is an extremely dense object from which no light can escape. Anything that comes within a black hole’s “event horizon,” its point of no return, will be consumed, never to re-emerge, because of the black hole’s unimaginably strong gravity. By its very nature, a black hole cannot be seen, but the hot disk of material that encircles it shines bright. Against a bright backdrop, such as this disk, a black hole appears to cast a shadow.   

The stunning new image shows the shadow of the supermassive black hole in the center of Messier 87 (M87), an elliptical galaxy some 55 million light-years from Earth. This black hole is 6.5 billion times the mass of the Sun. Catching its shadow involved eight ground-based radio telescopes around the globe, operating together as if they were one telescope the size of our entire planet. 

“This is an amazing accomplishment by the EHT team,” said Paul Hertz, director of the astrophysics division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Years ago, we thought we would have to build a very large space telescope to image a black hole. By getting radio telescopes around the world to work in concert like one instrument, the EHT team achieved this, decades ahead of time.”

To complement the EHT findings, several NASA spacecraft were part of a large effort, coordinated by the EHT’s Multiwavelength Working Group, to observe the black hole using different wavelengths of light. As part of this effort, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and Neil Gehrels SwiftObservatory space telescope missions, all attuned to different varieties of X-ray light, turned their gaze to the M87 black hole around the same time as the Event Horizon Telescope in April 2017. If EHT observed changes in the structure of the black hole’s environment, data from these missions and other telescopes could be used to help figure out what was going on. 

While NASA observations did not directly trace out the historic image, astronomers used data from NASA’s Chandra and NuSTAR satellites to measure the X-ray brightness of M87’s jet. Scientists used this information to compare their models of the jet and disk around the black hole with the EHT observations. Other insights may come as researchers continue to pore over these data. 

There are many remaining questions about black holes that the coordinated NASA observations may help answer. Mysteries linger about why particles get such a huge energy boost around black holes, forming dramatic jets that surge away from the poles of black holes at nearly the speed of light. When material falls into the black hole, where does the energy go? 

“X-rays help us connect what’s happening to the particles near the event horizon with what we can measure with our telescopes,” said Joey Neilsen, an astronomer at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, who led the Chandra and NuSTAR analysis on behalf of the EHT’s Multiwavelength Working Group. 

The story is published courtesy of NASA

Tanzania Selects HID Global’s Solutions for Electronic Visa and Residence Permit Services in e-Immigration Program

Posted on by in Development and tagged , , , , .

The new web-based visa and residence permit services allow visitors and residents to apply for and receive validated credentials for traveling or living in the country

Rob Haslam, Vice President of Sales, Citizen ID business with HID Global

HID Global® (www.HIDGlobal.com), a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, on Monday announced that the government of Tanzania has selected HID’s citizen ID solutions to add e-Visa and e-Permit capabilities to its e-Passport, which HID helped deploy last year as part of the Tanzania e-Immigration program.

The new web-based visa and residence permit services allow visitors and residents to apply for and receive validated credentials for traveling or living in the country.

“This is an important milestone as we continue to work with HID Global to enhance and broaden the capabilities of our e-Immigration ecosystem,” said Dr Anna Peter Makakala, Tanzania’s Commissioner General of Immigration. “We plan to continue expanding this solution to our country’s border crossings and across the broader global community as we become a showcase for efficient, comprehensive and integrated e-Immigration solutions.”

“We are pleased to be entering this second deployment phase with the government of Tanzania, building on the success of the country’s e-Passport roll-out last year,” said Rob Haslam, Vice President of Sales, Citizen ID business with HID Global. “Immigration officers in Tanzania now have a convenient and efficient toolset for completing their vital mission of vetting and granting electronic visa and residence permit credentials to applicants.”

Since early 2018, HID Global has been Tanzania’s primary supplier of an end-to-end solution for issuing e-Passports with advanced physical and electronic security features, automated verification capabilities and a tamper-proof contactless chip embedded in a polycarbonate datapage. The country now has a single citizen identification system that spans the entire identity journey from data capture to issuance and can be used to support e-Passports, e-Visas, e-Permits and other physical electronic documents.

HID’s solutions can be found in sixty percent of all government-issued electronic identity projects around the world.  As a solutions provider, HID is delivering complete, end-to-end system solutions that meet governmental requirements for national ID, e-Passport, foreign resident ID, driver license, vehicle registration and other programs. 

GE Healthcare collaborates with NSIA to advance early cancer detection in Nigeria

Posted on by in Diseases and tagged , , , .

Partnership will ensure provision of latest technology to enable early diagnostics and better treatment for cancer patients; NSIA- LUTH Cancer Center (NLCC) is the first hospital in West Central Africa to install GE Healthcare’s Discovery RT CT.

2nd Right: Eyong Ebai, General Manager for West Central and French Sub-Sahara Africa at GE Healthcare and his team during the commission event

GE Healthcare has partnered with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to supply latest technology in computed tomography (CT), Discovery RT, to Lagos University Teaching Hospital for its modern NSIA- LUTH Cancer Center, commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Discovery RT, a simulation CT machine, is the first of such technology to be installed in the country. It enables physicians to study the body in detail allowing them to determine the exact location, shape, and size of the tumor to be treated. As part of the partnership, GE Healthcare will also provide servicing of the equipment and deliver hands-on training for the hospital’s radiology staff on the new technology.

Nigeria currently has eight public and one private comprehensive cancer care centers to serve its growing population of over 180 million people. Many of the public cancer centers have radiotherapy machines that are outdated, making access to radiation therapy more difficult for cancer patients. The new Radiotherapy Centre will increase access to quality services for the patients across Lagos state. This will help early detection and treatment of cancer, which improves chances of its being cured.

“For many years, GE Healthcare has developed tools that help improve the care of patients through advanced technologies that facilitate the diagnosis as well as help the fight against diseases such as cancer. We are happy to collaborate with NSIA in this landmark achievement for Nigeria in progressing the availability of world-class radiotherapy for cancer patients in the region. This will help improve the overall results in the fight against cancer, as well as in improving the quality of life”, said Eyong Ebai, General Manager for West Central and French Sub-Sahara Africa at GE Healthcare.

The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that by 2030, between 10 and 11 million cancers will be diagnosed in low and middle-income countries.

MainOne and Facebook announce open-access fiber network in Nigeria

Posted on by in Development and tagged , , , , .

MainOne has announced a metro fiber infrastructure project in two states of Nigeria, with support from Facebook. The infrastructure collaboration is part of Facebook’s efforts to connect more people to broadband internet.


MainOne is building and operating approximately 750 km terrestrial fiber infrastructure in Edo and Ogun States, two of Nigeria’s fastest growing states

As part of this project, MainOne is building and operating approximately 750 km terrestrial fiber infrastructure in Edo and Ogun States, two of Nigeria’s fastest growing states.

These open-access transport networks will provide metro fiber connectivity to reach more than 1,000,000 people in Benin City, Abeokuta, Sagamu and 10 other towns by connecting mobile operators’ base stations, Internet Service providers, Points of presence (POPs), and public locations including schools and hospitals.

This partnership will leverage MainOne’s strength as a wholesale Telecoms Infrastructure service provider with investment from Facebook and support from local regulatory and state authorities to further deepen broadband penetration in Nigeria.

Speaking on the partnership, Ibrahima Ba, Network Investments Lead for Emerging Markets at Facebook, said: “We are working closely with MainOne and other partners to accelerate broadband deployment. In Nigeria, we are bringing together Facebook’s learnings from scaling our global infrastructure with MainOne’s knowledge of the local environment to develop and test new working models for multiple operators to access common infrastructure.”

Funke Opeke, MainOne’s Chief Executive Officer, lauded the collaboration and the commitment of Facebook and authorities in Nigeria to improving broadband penetration across the country. Commenting on the partnership, she added “MainOne has always been committed to broadband innovation, job creation, as well as growing the digital economy of West Africa. We believe that this partnership and the open-access network we have developed will be beneficial to improving the quality of access and accelerating the digital transformation in Ogun and Edo States.”

IAEA Signs Agreement with Consortium of 11 Japanese Institutions to Support Training in Nuclear Medicine

Posted on by in Diseases and tagged , , , , .

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has signed an agreement on Friday with a consortium of 11 Japanese universities and other institutions to strengthen human resources development in the field of nuclear medicine around the world.


Nuclear medicine is crucial to diagnose and manage diseases, especially brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s. A new Practical Arrangement between the IAEA and a consortium of 11 Japanese institutions will boost training opportunities for medical professionals in this field. (Photo: IAEA)  

The Practical Arrangement will boost training opportunities for medical professionals in IAEA Member States in the use of imaging techniques to diagnose and manage non-communicable diseases, with a special emphasis on degenerative brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The Practical Arrangement, signed on the margins of the 28-30 November IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science and Technology, will enable the IAEA to increase assistance to countries in clinical practice and research, along with opportunities for certified continuous professional development in the Japanese institutions. Another focus area is the development and implementation of nuclear medicine curricula and academic programmes.

“This arrangement will support IAEA projects in human health,” said IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the IAEA Department of Technical Cooperation Dazhu Yang. “It will focus on fields where Japan can offer expertise in support of our Member States.”

Every year, over 35 million nuclear medicine examinations are performed globally, particularly to diagnose and manage cancer, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative disorders.

These types of conditions are a growing problem with a global rise in life expectancy. However, countries often lack programmes to train specialists and technical personnel to facilitate diagnosis and treatment. For some degenerative disorders of the brain, such as Alzheimer’s, diagnostic imaging is crucial for early detection, which allows for a better management of the disease.

“Japan is proactively promoting medical care projects,” Kiyoto Tsuji, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, said in his statement at this week’s ministerial conference. “This collaboration will put nuclear science technology research and development into practical use, and bring about positive socio-economic impact in a sustainable manner.”  

The consortium includes leading Japanese institutions in the field of nuclear medicine: the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, the Fujita Health University School of Medicine, the Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, the International University of Health and Welfare, the Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medicine, the Kyoto University Hospital, the National Cancer Center, the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, the Southern Tohoku Research Institute for Neuroscience, the Tohoku University and the Tokyo Medical and Dental University.

The IAEA assists Member States in nuclear medicine through the coordination of research projects and the provision of expertise, training, equipment and internationally harmonized safety guidelines.  

Hewlett-Packard (HP) Commits to Educate 100,000 Across Africa in the Next Three Years

Posted on by in Development and tagged , , , , .

By 2030, Africa will be home to 32% of the population under the age of 30, and the largest working age population by 2035


HP opened the HP LIFE Center in South Africa. Photo credit
PC Tech Magazine

Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPQ) announced on Monday a new commitment to reach 100,000 learners across Africa over the next three years through the HP Foundation’s HP LIFE (https://bit.ly/2QuAzsD) program, and kicked off the commitment by opening a new tech-enabled HP LIFE Center in South Africa.   

HP made the announcement at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100.

HP’s pledge supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (https://bit.ly/2HUe9gd) and furthers the company’s goals to enable better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025 and to enroll a million HP LIFE users between 2016 and 2025, as outlined in the HP 2017 Sustainable Impact Report (https://bit.ly/2KOnogZ).

By 2030, Africa will be home to 32% of the population under the age of 30, and the largest working age population by 2035. Yet, today’s youth unemployment in Africa is up to 3x higher than adult unemployment. HP LIFE offers free, online learning for users to gain the skills to start and grow their own business or improve their employment opportunities. Building on the success of this global program, HP is working with partners to open technology-enabled HP LIFE innovation centers to further support entrepreneurship and workforce development across the continent.

“We believe that education is a human right, that technology in the classroom is a critical component for a 21st century education, and that in today’s economy our learning is never done,” said Nate Hurst, Chief Sustainability and Social Impact Officer, HP. “Africa is experiencing rapid urbanization and digitization—and it’s essential that people have access to learn skills for the work of tomorrow. This new HP LIFE Center provides a launchpad for innovation and opportunity across the continent.”  

In 2017, on the global stage at the Global Citizen Festival in Hamburg, Germany, HP announced a commitment to enabling better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025 (https://bit.ly/2Ufbp0m). The commitment to education is a part of HP’s broader Sustainable Impact strategy – a strategy to use the scope, scale and expertise of HP to drive positive, lasting change for the planet, its people and the communities where we live, work and do business.

“Sustainable Impact is fundamental to our reinvention and core to achieving our vision – to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere,” said Hurst.