👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – Kenya to develop national AI strategy

Economy

Nigeria is introducing a scorecard system to gauge the performance of its public officeholders. 

The news: In a recently released Central Delivery Coordination Unit (CDCU), the government hopes to offer its citizens a medium to measure and review the performance of public officeholders. The Bola Tinubu-led administration says it has a goal of “ensuring citizen-centric governance for accountability and transparency.”

Central Delivery Coordination Unit? The CDCU is the second iteration of two performance tracking platforms the government had earlier created in August 2022. Both platforms—Presidential Delivery Tracker (PDT) and the website of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit (CDCU)—were designed to help citizens track the government’s deliverables and performance on policies, projects, and programmes.

In its latest iteration of the CDCU, the government has launched an app alongside building a Delivery Reporting Framework and Template that mirrors international standards. 

Will this project hold water? Nigeria’s latest swing at open governance is not a first on the continent. Morocco’s revised constitution of 2011 outlined government goals in making information available to its citizens. Similarly, Kenya’s constitution—section 35—guarantees its citizens’ rights to government information. 

While the Nigerian government has implemented the tracker, questions in the hearts of the citizens will be whether the data captured is accurate and not manipulated. As the tracker brings to the fore the performance of public officials, citizens will also be eager to know if there will be consequences for public officials who consistently underperform according to the scorecard or whether the data be readily available and easily understandable for the public.

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AI

A week after Nigeria announced plans to develop its National AI strategy, Kenya is following suit. 

Let’s—pardon our AI—delve into it: In a recent kick-off meeting held on April 8, 2024, the Kenyan government, in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) known as “German Development Cooperation” in English, launched a project to formulate a National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy. 

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union, the initiative, named “FAIR” which means “Forward Artificial Intelligence for All,” aims to leverage AI’s potential for driving Kenya’s digital transformation and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The effect of the launch of Kenya’s AI strategy: AI can positively impact various sectors in Kenya, such as health, education, finance, and security and forming a strategy which will include policy and regulation-making will reduce its excesses. 

Bodo Immink, the Country Director of GIZ said the project represents a significant step forward for Kenya in harnessing the power of AI for sustainable development and social inclusion. 

Prior to the launch, on March 26, 2024, the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO (KNATCOM), in partnership with UNESCO, hosted a Stakeholders’ Consultation Forum in Nairobi to address Kenya’s Readiness Assessment (RAM) on AI. 

The forum marked a significant step in Kenya’s dedication, alongside UNESCO’s 193 Member States, to champion ethical principles in AI development. 

The 2021 adoption of the Recommendation on the Ethics of AI has shown Kenya’s commitment to prioritising human rights and promoting inclusivity in the advancement and deployment of AI technologies.

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Energy

Over the past ten years, SA has suffered load shedding which has seen citizens enjoy barely 10 hours of electricity per day. One of the culprits: data centres, which typically guzzle 12-20MW of power, creates a problem in the country as South Africa is known for its frequent power cuts.

To address this, Teraco, an African major data centre provider, announced plans in February 2024, to build a 120-megawatt solar farm in the Free State province to supply clean energy to its facilities across South Africa.

Africa Data Centres (ADC), another major player, has followed suit. It has partnered with its sister company, Distributed Power Africa (DPA) Southern Africa, to build a 12MW solar farm also located in the Free State province to power its data centres. 

The partnership, which is part of a 20-year power purchase agreement signed in March 2023, will ensure a steady supply of clean energy for ADC’s data centres, and is said to reduce reliance on South Africa’s national grid and transition to cleaner energy sources.

The rollout will occur in two phases. The initial phase prioritises supplying ADC’s Cape Town data centre, as a result of Cape Town having the necessary regulatory framework and infrastructure for power wheeling in place, ahead of Johannesburg and Tshwane (Pretoria). “Construction starts in the next three months, and we are looking to have 12MW available for the grid in the next 12 months,” said Finhai Munzara, chief financial officer at ADC.

Meanwhile, South Africa recently took a breather from load shedding. Between March 26 to April 5, 2024, Its citizens reportedly enjoyed a 10-day reprieve from load shedding, the longest stretch since December 2023. The Easter holiday weekend naturally led to lower power demand, and cooler weather also played a role as Eskom’s coal fleet performed surprisingly well, generating enough electricity to meet demand without resorting to blackouts.

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Telecoms

In January this year, Nigeria’s mobile subscription numbers took a tumble due to the implementation of the mandatory National Identification Number (NIN)-SIM card linkage requirement by the country’s telecom regulator, to mitigate the use of unregistered SIM cards in the country. 

In December 2023, the total number of active subscriptions across four mobile networks—Airtel, MTN, Glo and 9mobile—stood at 224.4 million. However, January 2024 saw a drop to 218 million as subscribers scrambled to comply with the NIN-SIM directive.

MTN in particular, suffered a 2.8 million internet subscription loss leaving 67.8 million subscribers in January 2024, from 70.6 million subscribers in December—the most decline the telcom has seen since May 2023. 

Well, those numbers are starting to bounce back. As of February 2024, active mobile subscriptions in Nigeria climbed back to 219.7 million. The industry’s top dogs, MTN and Airtel, were the key drivers of this growth. According to NCC data, MTN, the market leader, added 1.1 million new subscriptions, bringing their total subscribers to 80.9 million. Airtel wasn’t far behind, adding 434,175 new subscribers and pushing their base to 63 million. Globacom, the third-largest operator, chipped in with a modest increase of 176,756 subscriptions.

The NCC’s directive for network barring of unregistered SIM cards remains in effect. This may lead to further fluctuations in subscription numbers in the coming months, as deadlines for NIN submission and verification have passed.

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Crypto Tracker

Source:

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$69,072	– 2.66%	+ 0.72%
Ether	$3,525	+ 7.85%	– 9.04%
Saga	$6.23	+ 6.80%	+ 6.80%
Solana	$171.53	– 3.56%	+ 21.81%

* Data as of 06:15 AM WAT, April 10, 2024.

Events

• The second edition of TechCabal’s Moonshot Conference is set for October 9–11, 2024, at the Eko Convention Centre, Lagos, Nigeria. Moonshot will assemble Africa’s biggest thinkers, players and problem solvers on a global launchpad for change. If you want to join the stakeholders in Africa’s tech ecosystem for three days of insightful conversations, then get an early-bird ticket at 20% off. 
• Nigeria’s biggest women-only festival, Hertitude, is back for a third time. For those new to the scene, Zikoko brings all the girls to the yard every year to let their hair down, form bonds and celebrate what it means to be a hot babe. It’s happening on April 20, 2024, in Lagos and will feature everything from talent shows and karaoke sessions to spa services, live music performances and an afterparty. Click here to get tickets.
• Attention all music lovers! On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Zikoko wants you outside for a day of link-ups, games, drinks and live performances at Muri Okunola Park, Lagos. Strings Attached is an opportunity for friends to reconnect, lovers to bond and individuals to make friends and build community. To get a free ticket, download the Onebank by Sterling App and sign up using ZIKOKO as the referral code. You’ll get your ticket in your email once tickets are available. Click here to get the app.

Here’s what you should be looking at

• Who calls the shots at Susa Ventures-backed Okra?
• Access, UBA and Zenith, total assets exceed ‘N20 trillion, form largest banking trio in Nigeria
• Elon Musk says his posts did more to ‘financially impair’ X than help it

Written by: Mariam Muhammad, Towobola Bamgbose & Faith Omoniyi

Edited by: Timi Odueso

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