Here’s everything interesting in African technology today. Not subscribed? Click here to get this goodness in your mailbox every day at 7am (GMT + 1).
+ Yes, Nigeria’s National Automotive Design and Development Council is planning an automotive design competition which will apply local concepts and feed directly into the automotive industry clusters in Kaduna, Nnewi, and Oshogbo. Whoop. Link
+ TechCabal has scheduled an Office Hours session (August 23rd) with Mark Essien for entrepreneurs who would like help and advice with the challenges of running a startup as a technical founder. Seats are capped at 15, so registernow.
+ After all these years, Bill Burr, the guy who created those annoying password rules about using uppercase letters and numbers and special characters, wants to say sorry. Link
+ Themes emerge when you compare the top Google Play apps in Nigeria, SA, Kenya, Ghana, and Tanzania. Link
+ Aha. You can now make video calls directly from your Truecaller app with the new Google Duo integration.
+ Oh and Africar Group is now making their car dealership websites across Africa available in 10 African languages
Opportunities
+ Imisi 3D is looking for a lab associate, so send your applications to: judith@imisi3d.com. Applicants must live in Lagos.
+ Imisi 3D is offering an Udacity VR Nanodegree scholarship. Complete this form to apply.
The Zimbabwean government announced yesterday that it has approved the spending of at least USD1bn to build a STEM university in honor of Mugabe, and Zimbabweans are, well, a ‘little bit’ pissed because, for one, it’s about a quarter of their annual budget. Welp.
Opera and Worldreader’s new study shows that African women are just as tech-savvy as men when it comes to exploring the web, and even use the internet more heavily. Dare I plead with thee to rid thyself of thy myths, o’ sons of the past?
The Nigerian government is partnering with Huawei on smart city initiatives (hashtag rollingmyeyes) to “reshape the way public services are provided and managed” (hashtag heavysigh) and bring the country closer to the “digital economy” (hashtag fixbasiceducationandpowerfirst).
Nitestay, the Nigerian online hotel booking company, has expanded to other African countries: Ghana, Kenya, SA, and Gambia.
Tizeti is piloting Unlimited Speed to combine with its Unlimited Download wifi service to prospective subscribers in Gbagada, Anthony, Ogudu, Maryland, Ikeja and environs. For Just N9,500 monthly, you can enjoy this upgraded experience. To sign up, click here, or call 01-4405610, 08172004139 or 08170590310
Upcoming events and deadlines
London: The sixth edition of Building Things for Nigeria, on the 17th of August. The event is for makers, entrepreneurs, product engineers, product visionaries, investors and people who are interested in building things but are yet to start. You can register here.
Owerri: Owerri’s first major tech meetup will be held on the 26th of August. Register here.
Deadline: African startups have three weeks left to enter DEMO Africa 2017. Link
