TechCabal Daily – Harnessing clean Arnergy ⚡

TWITTER MOVES TO PROTECT PRIVACY

Remember yesterday when we said nothing would change with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s resignation? Well, Twitter just proved us wrong. 

In a blog post yesterday, Twitter announced that it would now allow private individuals request takedowns of photos and videos featuring them. 

A harmful digital culture

The tech age has brought with it many new norms that are, no doubt, helpful to humanity. From cat videos to DIY posts, the internet and smartphones have made learning easy and fun. 

It’s also helped manifest the harmful digital culture of constant recording. It happens everywhere: someone sees something that’s distressing or unique, and the first thing they do is whip out their phone to record. 

If you don’t live in fear of waking up to find your bare ass trending on Twitter like this African billionaire did, or to find out someone has used your face as a meme, then you’re probably not conversant with social media. 

This is what Twitter is trying to curb on its platform: recording and posting videos and photos of private individuals without their consent. According to the platform, they’re also doing this to shore up targeted harassment campaigns. 

What people can’t tweet

“Sharing personal media, such as images or videos, can potentially violate a person’s privacy, and may lead to emotional or physical harm,” reads the Twitter safety blog post. 

Only media with private individuals can be submitted for a takedown. Public individuals like celebrities, politicians—and maybe tech bros—will not be subject to the new rule. 

Twitter will also take into consideration the context in which the media was shared. According to them, “…if a particular image and the accompanying tweet text adds value to the public discourse, is being shared in public interest, or is relevant to the community”, then the platform won’t remove the media.

Zooming out: This is of course in addition to Twitter’s existing ban that prevents users from sharing private information like home addresses and contact information without the owner’s consent. So if you’ve got a photo or a video up on Twitter you’d like taken down, simply click Report Tweet, select It’s abusive or harmful, and choose the Includes private information option to start the process.

SPOTIFY AD STUDIO’S NEW PRODUCT OFFERINGS IN AFRICA

Spotify Ad Studio has officially launched in Kenya, Jamaica, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda. Spotify’s ad platform allows businesses and brands to market their products and services through targeted podcast ads. Each advertisement costs a minimum of $239. The ad studio includes background mixing, targeted advertising, and real-time reporting.

Are you listening?

Audio content in the form of radio has always been popular in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa—one of the region’s most connected countries—90% of people listen to the radio. Now, as mobile phone penetration increases, more listeners are tuning in via cell phones.

Spotify has been making moves to capture mobile listeners through a range of programmes and expansions throughout the region. But the Swedish streaming service will still face stiff competition from other streaming services like Boomplay and Apple Music. 

Is Spotify up to the challenge?

ARNERGY MOVES FOR CLEAN ENERGY IN NIGERIA

Arnergy, a Nigerian company that provides solar energy solutions to multinational clients —including Heineken, KPMG, Shell, Citibank, 54Gene, Ardova, and the Dangote Group—has launched what it terms the “Diaspora Initiative”.

According to the company, the initiative allows Nigerians in the diaspora invest in solar energy solutions on behalf of local individuals and businesses, channelling remittances towards addressing critical energy needs.

How it works

The Diaspora Initiative offers Nigerians abroad an opportunity to buy off-grid solar panels and storage systems. These will be installed in households and businesses across the country for the provision of clean and uninterrupted electricity.

In partnership with Flutterwave, Arnergy offers Nigerian diasporans an opportunity to either purchase outright or lease-to-own the full range of its distributed utility models, which are powered by lithium-ion based batteries.

Using Arnergy’s monitoring technology (SolarBase), retail and commercial users can remotely monitor and adjust their energy consumption in real time through mobile and web applications.

The bigger picture

The persistent lack of electricity is a formidable challenge in Nigeria, a country that ranks 171 out of 190 nations on the World Bank’s ranking for access to electricity. As of February, 43% of Nigerians had no access to on-grid electricity, and as a result of the lack of reliable electricity, Nigeria loses $26.2 billion annually.

“For decades, the lack of consistent and affordable energy has held millions of Nigerians back from achieving the best possible economic outcomes,” Femi Adeyemo, Arnergy CEO and founder said, explaining the rationale behind the Diaspora Initiative. “We firmly believe the answer lies in solar energy.” The goal, according to him, is to “empower diaspora across the globe to drive us closer to a future where energy across the country is 100% renewable, reliable, and accessible,” he added. 

Since its founding in 2013, Arnergy claims to have delivered more than 3 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity and 9MWh+ of storage capacity across Nigeria. In 2019, the company was backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos via a $9 million Series A round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

EVENTS: TC LIVE WITH DEGBOLA ABUDU & DARE OKOUDJOU

This Friday, December 3, join Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO of MFS Africa and Degbola Abudu, founder and CEO of Capricorn Digital on TechCabal Live.

In October, Africa’s largest digital payments network, MFS Africa acquired Capricorn Digital, a Nigerian solutions and distribution company with a 90,000-strong agent network in a 100%-cash deal. This made Capricorn Digital the company’s third African acquisition in five years.

Come Friday, we’ll be discussing the details of the acquisition and what it means for Africa’s payments landscape. We’ll also be pulling useful takeaways and lessons for companies and everyone who’s interested in or curious about the acquisition process. 

Register to attend.

OPPORTUNITIES

• The African ChangeMakers Fellowship Programme for 2022 is now open to applications from African visionaries and innovators who want to upskill. Selected applicants will get a four-week digital online connectivity course and access to a network to share, connect, and collaborate. Check it out. 

• Content writers and editors in Nigeria can now apply for the Decagon Content Writing and Editing Competition 2021. The competition seeks to promote a writing culture among young Nigerians. Winners will be awarded cash prizes up to ₦500,000 ($1,100). Write away.

• The Design, Product and Developer School Programme is open for applications from young Nigerians seeking to learn graphics design, product design and management, and software development. Read about the fully-virtual program.