Singularity University Global Grand Challenge Accepting 2017 Applications: Zenvus Recommends

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May 12, 2017

Singularity University Global Grand Challenge is accepting applications. It is looking for world’s most promising social impact technology companies (could be for-profit or not). Zenvus represented Africa, as the only firm from the continent, last year, and this challenge added value in our business. Zenvus participated in the food track.

About Singularity University

Singularity University believes that leveraging the convergence of exponential technologies will advance the world along the path to solving major global challenges and will shift humanity from an era of scarcity to one of abundance.

That’s why, as part of Singularity University Global Summit, we’re teaming up with some of the world’s most influential organizations – as well as companies that are actively investing in a brighter future – to evaluate the potential human and economic impacts of GGC Award applicants, and to offer connections, opportunities, resources, and recognition to their projects.

If you and your team are using exponential technologies to positively impact humanity on a global scale, we encourage you to apply for the Global Grand Challenge Awards.

The Awards

A maximum of three participating organizations will be selected for each of the 12 tracks. Those chosen will be invited to attend Singularity University Global Summit in San Francisco, August 13-15, 2017. As a GGC Award participant, your organization will receive dedicated exhibition space in the SU Global Summit EXPO, where you’ll have the opportunity to present your work to 2,000 public and private sector leaders from numerous industries and dozens of countries.

One participating organization from each track – the one found to have the most potential to positively impact one billion people through exponential technology – will be selected as the track winner, and will earn recognition and exposure to some of the world’s most influential companies and development organizations.

The following tracks are available in 2017:

Disaster resilience
Energy
Environment
Food, Governance
Health
Learning
Prosperity
Security
Shelter
Space
Water

The event will be held in Hilton San Francisco Union Square, USA on August 13-15, 2017

Apply here – Deadline: July 31, 2017

Zenvus Team Visiting Nairobi Kenya To Meet Farmers And Governments: May 15-19

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Tekedia Editors

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May 11, 2017

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Zenvus team will be in Nairobi (Kenya) to meet farmers, co-operative leaders and government officials on its breakthrough technology which is transforming farming in Africa. Zenvus makes sensors and multi-spectral cameras, supported with analytics, which help farmers improve farm productivity and reduce farm inputs like water, energy and fertilizer.

African farmers work really hard. Yet, most are very poor. The key factor is lack of productivity as most of the farmers are using guessing as a farming strategy. They do things without any data-based insights. For decades, the only result has been poverty. Our solution is an intelligent device that uses proprietary electronic sensors to collect soil data like moisture, nutrients, pH etc and send them to a cloud server via GSM, satellite or Wifi. Algorithms in the server analyze the data and advice farmers. As the crops grow, the system deploys special cameras to build vegetative health for detection of drought stress, pest and diseases. We tell a farm what, how, and when to farm. Fixing agricultural productivity will have exponential impacts on the quest to reduce mass poverty and that is what Zenvus does. Besides precision farming, Zenvus supports lending, insurance and trading by using the data collected from farms to help farmers raise capital, insure their farms and more.

We will be meeting partners through the week of May 15-19, 2017 in Nairobi, Kenya. To schedule to meet us, please email audrey.kumar@fasmicrogroup.com.

The Founder of Zenvus and Chairman of Fasmicro Group, Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe, will be available to answer questions on Zenvus technology.

GE Lagos Garage Accepting 2017 Summer Applications

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Tekedia Editors

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May 11, 2017

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GE Garage Lagos is General Electric’s open FabLab in Nigeria. Through workshops and demo, they hope to increase the employability of the local workforce in some key industries. GE created the Garages program in 2012 to reinvigorate America’s interest in invention, innovation, and manufacturing. In 2014, Garages went global with three weeks of workshops amidst a fully equipped fabrication lab in Lagos, Nigeria.

In 2017, GE continues the program dedicated to accelerating the impact of Nigeria’s most promising entrepreneurs. Working with a variety of world-class instructors, investors, technical experts and partners, participants will build a culture of collaboration and innovation while translating their creativity to potentially viable ideas and businesses.

The Garage Entrepreneurship program’s select participants will directly interact with the latest manufacturing technologies – including 3D printers and laser cutters – that enable innovation through rapid prototyping, which will transform Nigerian industries, particularly, SMEs in creating value. The Garage also provides access to advanced hardware and Nigeria’s extensive mentorship network, supporting entrepreneurial spirit with an aim to spark ideas that drive growth across multiple sectors of the economy.

They have a new calendar and are accepting applications.

This program is designed for hardware entrepreneurs that have an existing product or idea and want to learn how to apply cutting-edge manufacturing technology like 3D printing to their product development process.

APPLY NOW by submitting this application form. The deadline is midnight May 22, 2017. There is NO fee for the application or the program.

PROGRAM DATES:
May 30-June 24, 2017. Time: 4pm-7pm weekdays.

LOCATION:GE Nigeria Headquarters , Mansard Place – 3rd Floor, Plot 927/928, Bishop Aboyade Cole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos

* Required

Why OPEC Cannot Help Nigeria: In 10 Years, OPEC May Not Exist

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May 11, 2017

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The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, is becoming increasingly irrelevant. And it is asking America for help.

The unusual plea was issued Thursday in the cartel’s closely-watched monthly report, which found that global markets are still suffering from too much supply. The report noted that balancing the market would “require the collective efforts of all oil producers” and should be done “not only for the benefit of the individual countries, but also for the general prosperity of the world economy.”

Producer in particular is to blame: The U.S., where shale producers have continued to ramp up their drilling despite lower crude prices. The increased production has undermined OPEC’s efforts to keep prices between $50 and $60 per barrel.

OPEC and allied producers agreed in November to slash production, a move designed to rid global markets of excess supply. For a while, the strategy appeared to be working, with prices drifting north of $54 earlier this year. Now, the magic appears to be wearing off.

The cartel has responded to the sharp decline in prices by suggesting that the agreement could be extended far beyond its original mid-year deadline. But that won’t help OPEC solve its American problem. The U.S. did not join its agreement, and the number of rigs in operation there has doubled over the past year.

So in practice, OPEC needs U.S. to get prices high. That will not happen because cartel is not allowed in U.S. laws.

Nigeria Needs Technology and not OPEC

Within 10 years, there may not be OPEC as it will be highly irrelevant. That means Nigeria cannot count on OPEC to boost revenue. Now is the time to redesign the economy with technology and knowledge.

Is Your Website At Risk Of Facebook Ban? Find Out What To Do

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Tekedia Editors

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May 11, 2017

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Facebook wants to make its ecosystem cleaner with lesser irrelevant contents showing on people’s feeds. The social media giant said on Wednesday that it was making changes designed to keep its users from linking to “low-quality” websites, part of an effort to fight spam and misinformation.

The world’s biggest social network said it is updating its ranking algorithm with the help of artificial intelligence so users would see fewer posts “that link to these low-quality web page experiences.”

“With this update, we reviewed hundreds of thousands of web pages linked to/from Facebook to identify those that contain little substantive content and have a large number of disruptive, shocking or malicious ads,” a Facebook blog post said.

“If we determine a post might link to these types of low-quality web pages, it may show up lower in people’s feeds and may not be eligible to be an ad,” the blog post from researchers Jiun-Ren Lin and Shengbo Guo said.“This way people can see fewer misleading posts and more informative posts.”

The social network with nearly two billion users worldwide also recently stepped up its security to counter efforts by governments and others to spread misinformation or manipulate discussions for political reasons.

It is becoming increasingly important that people will realize that content is king. That means to stay and be relevant in Facebook, one has to make a great content so that the social media company does not issue the hammer of a ban.