Tekedia Institute congratulates our Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 7 graduates. As you celebrate in Lagos, we wish you all a moment of coming together to celebrate business innovation and growth. These events are independently organized by our learners and graduates, across cities. Form more companies. Find co-founders. Discover new market opportunities. Unlock linkages and partnerships. Advance.
The main graduation video below
Andreessen Horowitz, one of US leading venture capital firms, proclaimed: this is the “golden era” for cryptocurrencies and we’re pumping $4.5 billion to invest in crypto related businesses.
“Bitcoin and any cryptocurrency at this point has not really established itself as a credible institutional investment,” Scott Minerd, Guggenheim Partners’ chief investment officer, positing that BTC could fall to $8,000, cutting down his February prediction of $600,000. BTC is trading at sub-$29,000 today.
If BTC is a currency [means of value exchange], it has to demonstrate that it can also be a store of value, even in the short-term. But where it is an investment asset, it needs to show that it can outperform or compete at par with other asset classes to be worth the trouble. Today, bitcoin is unperforming as a “currency” and as an “investment asset”.
Your hope and unbounded optimistic exuberance is not a strategy. Shine your eyes.
Bitcoin hit its peak of $69,000 in November. It’s lost more than half its value since then as investors have pulled out of riskier assets in the face of rising interest rates.
Despite the crash, there were several panels about cryptocurrencies and digital money at Davos this year, not to mention a spate of crypto-linked vendors along the town’s famed promenade. But establishment voices at the summit didn’t waste any time disparaging the web3 crowd.
“Bitcoin may be called a coin but it’s not money,” said Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, on Day One of the event. “It’s not a stable store of value.”
Senegal’s President and African Union chairperson, Macky Sall, recently disclosed that when he visits Russia and Ukraine in the coming weeks, he will push them to unblock exports of grains and fertilizer to the African region, to avoid widespread famine.
Recall that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused so many crises as it worsened the food security in many African countries. Most of these African countries rely on Russia and Ukraine for a significant percentage of their wheat, fertilizers, vegetable oil, and grains.
The war however disrupted global commodity markets and trade flows to the African region, which led to the surge in the prices of food, as well as severe hunger. Even before the Russian-Ukraine war, so many countries in Africa were already faced with food crises and a surge in food prices, due to extreme climate conditions, floods, and food droughts, which disrupted planting, production, and global supply chains.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine however worsened the food crisis in the African region. Currently, the African region is suffering from disruptions in the food supply, and if drastic measures are not taken, millions of people across the African continent may die of hunger.
With Russia and Ukraine being one of the highest exporters of Wheat, Grains, and fertilizers, nearly half of Africa’s 54 countries rely on them for these products.
Reacting to the plight of the people in the African region, following the impacts of the Russian-Ukraine war, the African Union chairperson Macky Sall had this to say; “We have pleaded for a ceasefire, for an end to the war and the release of all food products, so that the world doesn’t know famine after two years of covid and almost three months of the war.
“There are multiple initiatives to call on countries that have (grain) stocks to liberate them and to ensure that Russia can authorize the export of cereals from Ukraine and can also export itself if food supply blockages were to continue and there was a famine, the world not be able to contain the consequences because it would be massive on immigration. It would also be most dramatic for African countries”
Macky Sall further disclosed that in a bid to alleviate the plight of the people in the African region, he would visit Moscow and Kyiv in his capacity as the chairman of the African Union to broker peace between the two sides. It might interest you to know that the UN world food program (WFP) buys half of the wheat it distributes around the world from Ukraine.
Following the war, supplies have become limited which has seen some African countries witness severe hunger. The WFP had earlier warned that if the war lasts beyond April, which already has, acute hunger will increase by 17 percent globally, with African countries being the worst hit.
It is quite sad that the African region has become a collateral victim of the Russian-Ukraine war. This is indeed a wake-up call for African nations to begin to produce their food, to ensure food security, and stop being dependent on other nations for food supplies.
With the uncertainty of life, they never can tell what might become of them when something goes wrong, just like the Russian-Ukraine war for instance which has seen them badly affected. The African Union on the other hand should implement initiatives to help alleviate the suffering of the people in the region to prevent hunger-induced mortality
Infinix has rolled out its all-new NOTE 12 Series that includes high-performance variants with the thinnest 120W Hyper Charge design, a sleek 6.7” FHD + Super Light AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, 108MP Cinematic Triple Camera and more.
The series includes two variants – the NOTE 12 VIP and NOTE 12 G96 – that offer well rounded, innovative performance features such as aerospace-grade ultra-thin glass fibre, up to 5GB of extended Random Access Memory (RAM) and 103 charging and battery protections that keep users’ devices charged up safely whenever they need them.
Infinix Mobility is an emerging technology brand that designs, manufactures and markets an expanding portfolio of devices worldwide under the Infinix brand, which was founded in 2013. Targeting today’s youth, Infinix focuses on developing cutting-edge technology embodied in meticulously designed mobile devices that offer refined style, power and performance. Infinix devices are trendy and attainable with the end-user at the forefront of every step forward.
With ‘The Future Is Now’ as its brand essence, Infinix aims to empower today’s youth to stand out from the crowd and show the world who they are.
The company’s portfolio of products is sold in more than 40 countries around the world, covering Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Expanding at a phenomenal rate, Infinix grew an unprecedented 157% during 2019-2021 and has huge plans to continue creating flagship-level devices offering striking designs and strong value propositions.
The company said, “Infinix is creating a new standard for high-quality smartphone performance and design with its new NOTE 12 Series, which embodies impeccable form and function.” shared Vento Lin, Product Manager of NOTE Series at Infinix Mobility. This series packs quick-charging power and strong chipsets into an iconic design that is perfect for emerging professionals who need a light, flexible and high-performance device.”
The NOTE 12 VIP is the thinnest smartphone equipped with 120W ultra-fast hyper charging speeds, making this lightweight smartphone more portable than ever while staying powered all day long.
How is the Charging Mechanism?
Infinix integrated the NOTE 12 VIP smartphone with 120W Hyper Charge and a 4500mAh battery to give users maximized battery capacity and supersonic charging speeds that power up the device from 0% to 100% battery power in just 17-minutes. To help achieve fast-charging capabilities, Infinix incorporated a dual-charge pump and dual-cell battery. This enables the NOTE 12 VIP to adjust the voltage and amperage to the optimal ratio, as well as double the available input.
Keeping ultra-fast charging safe, the smartphone includes 103 charging and battery protection features, which span the entire charging cycle for the charger, circuit and battery. On top of the all-encompassing projection features, the NOTE 12 VIP also has 18 thermal sensors to monitor the device’s temperature in real-time to ensure that the smartphone charging is always safe. Enhancing the charging benefits even further, the NOTE 12 VIP uses platinum superconducting material that increases the corrosion resistance of the charging cable for great charging material longevity.
By combining all of these beneficial features, the NOTE 12 VIP’s charge cycle counts up to 800 with up to 85% battery capacity retained. Additionally, the NOTE 12 VIP’s 120W Hyper Charge is certified by the TüV Rheinland Safe Fast-Charge System certification, which proves its reliability and longevity when charging daily.
Breath-taking Design Language
The NOTE 12 VIP boasts a stylish and sophisticated design wrapped with high-performance features to create the ideal smartphone. The device is the first to utilize aerospace-grade ultra-thin glass fibre material with the texture of glass and the strength of carbon fibre. The material gives the NOTE 12 VIP feather-light proportions and a 7.89mm ultra-sleek design that weighs only 199 grams.
Encased in this next-level design is a 6.7” FHD+ Super Light AMOLED display that provides users with a crisp screen packed with crucial image features such as 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, 10-bit colour depth with over 1 billion colours and great contrast ratios. The AMOLED display features a flexible screen that enables a stunningly capable 3.1mm narrow lower bezel and a 93.1% screen to body ratio with stronger screen impact resistance.
The display also provides users with a silky-smooth visual experience with a sharp 120Hz ultra-refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling that instantly synchronizes with every swipe. Additionally, a low blue light eye comfort certification, accredited by TÜV Rheinland, the NOTE 12 VIP allows users to enjoy hours of use with less eye fatigue.
Users can also experience immersive visuals with the NOTE 12 G96’s 6.7” FHD+ True Colour AMOLED display that yields crystal clear brightness even in broad daylight offering a range of flexible options for different consumers.
Capture Fantastic Photos
The NOTE 12 VIP smartphone’s 108MP Cinematic Triple Camera, consists of a 13MP Ultra-wide angle lens and a Depth lens with Laser Detection Auto Focus that shoots fantastic photos. The camera incorporates a large 1/1.67-inch sensor with a 12000×9000 ultra-high resolution. It supports 9-in-1 pixel binning, producing large 1.92?m pixels that take in more light for maximum detail. The addition of Laser Detection Auto Focus also effectively improves the phone’s focus in low light conditions.
The NOTE 12 G96 is equipped with a 50MP Ultra Night Camera with a depth and AI lens. All devices in the NOTE 12 line-up feature a 16MP selfie camera for the perfect selfie.
All the Speed & Power You Need
The MediaTek Helio G96 Ultra Gaming Processor provides more speed and power to the NOTE 12 G96 and NOTE 12 VIP. The octa-core processor incorporates two powerful Arm Cortex-A76 processor cores clocked up to 2.05GHz and Arm Mali G57 GPU that works in tandem to harness next-level intelligence for ground-breaking performance. This is paired with fast 2133MHz LPDDR4X memory and turbo-charged UFS 2.2 storage that yields super-fast data bandwidth.
Infinix expands the NOTE 12 VIP, NOTE 12 G96’s 8GB memory to 13GB by integrating RAM and ROM to provide users with up to 5GB extended RAM. This improves the smartphone’s processing speed and accelerates performance when users are using their smartphone to multi-task with various functions and tasks delivering extra power when it’s needed.
Additional key features:
Pricing and Availability
According to the company, the NOTE 12 VIP would be available in Cayenne Grey and Force Black in 256GB; the NOTE 12 G96 would be available in Sapphire Blue, Force Black and Snowfall in 128GB and 256GB.
The global tech giant, Google disclosed on Wednesday, 25th May 2022 that it would invest $1 billion over the next five years to foster faster cum more affordable internet access and support entrepreneurship in Africa.
Internet reliability has been a major challenge in Africa where less than a third of the continent’s 1.3 billion people are connected to broadband, according to the World Bank.
But the continent, where nearly half the population is under 18, is a promising market.
According to Google and Alphabet boss, Sundar Picha,i “huge strides” have been made in recent years, but more work was still needed to make “internet accessible, affordable and useful for every African”.
“The investment will support digital transformation by ensuring improved connectivity and access.” he said in a statement.
He hinted that the funds would, among other things, go towards infrastructural development including the Equiano subsea cable that would connect South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria and St Helena with Europe.
The deal expands Google’s pledge announced four years ago to train around 10 million young Africans and small-scale businesses in digital skills.
On his part, the Google’s Africa Managing Director, Nitin Gajria said, “I am of the firm belief that no one is better placed to solve Africa’s biggest problems than Africa’s young developers and start-up founders”.
It’s noteworthy internet access is also hampered by the affordability of smartphones, hence Google disclosed it would partner with Kenya’s telecoms giant, Safaricom to launch affordable Android smartphones for first-time users.
The project, according to the boss, would later be rolled out across the continent with other carriers such Airtel, MTN, Orange and Vodacom
Google Adds More Languages To Its ‘Translate Platform’
On the other hand, Google has added 24 new languages spoken by more than 300 million people to its ‘Google Translate Platform’.
Ten of the new additions are in Africa, including Lingala of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Twi of Ghana, and Tigrinya of Eritrea.
“For years, Google Translate has helped break down language barriers and connect communities all over the world.” the US-based company said.
It stated the new addition was aimed at helping those whose languages weren’t represented in most technology.
The new language update comes with Bhojpuri, which is spoken by as many as 50 million people in northern India, Nepal and Fiji, to Dhivehi with its estimated 300,000 speakers in the Maldives.
The update now brings to 133, the total number of languages available on the Google Translate.
The company says the new languages also represent a technical milestone, explaining that they use a machine learning model which learns to “translate into another language without ever seeing an example.
But the company, however, admits that the technology isn’t perfect as some linguists have noted problems with the languages already available.
“For many supported languages, even the largest languages in Africa that we have supported – say like Yoruba, Igbo – the translation is not great. It will definitely get the idea across but often it will lose much of the subtlety of the language.” Google Translate research scientist Isaac Caswell disclosed to the press.
In 2020, Google Translate added five new languages to the platform in what was then its first expansion in the past few years.
This is welcome development, to assert the least. More so, the Google team is urged to take painstakingly finding across the continent towards discovering other languages being spoken by massive number of individuals.