Microsoft pledges agritech support in Africa to increase food security

Microsoft pledges agritech support in Africa to increase food security

Microsoft is promising its commitment to working with both the private and public sectors to accelerate digital transformation in African agriculture in order to increase food security for the continent.

Speaking during a virtual roundtable panel discussion on the topic, Microsoft Kenya Acting Country Manager Kunle Awosika said the organisation is committed to continuing investing in agritech on the continent, with the goal of developing agritech that enables data-driven, precise and connected farming that optimises yields, boosts farm productivity and increases profitability.

We understand that these important issues will not be solved by one company, but through partnerships with the private sector and our partners in government for maximum impact and benefit to the farmers of Africa,” he said.

food security africa microsoft agritech

Speaking at the same forum, ATO Coordinator, Agriculture Transformation Office, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives Thule Lenneiye, said: “Through partnerships such as the one with Microsoft, we can offer our smallholder farmers valuable services that help them modernize and digitize age-old farming practices, increasing productivity and boosting food security for our communities and country.”

One way in which agritech changes the face of agriculture is through democratising information. In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Microsoft is investing in the Kenyan National Agriculture Platform as a key initiative to drive digitalization in agriculture. As part of this investment, a developer team based in Kenya has developed an Agri chatbot, which provides extension and advisory services to smallholder farmers using either feature phones or smartphones, via SMS, WhatsApp and Telegram.

The AgriBot provides a key platform that farmers can use to access all the relevant information from the Ministry of Agriculture and other government institutions, as well as services from the private sector. These services are invaluable to the over 400,000 farmers already on the platform who would otherwise not have access to such a resource.

Olatomiwa Williams, Microsoft Country Manager Nigeria and Ghana speaking at the forum said the organization is working with stakeholders to identify and develop sustainable and inclusive digital solutions for agro-products and services that seamlessly connect farmers, customers and other stakeholders in the ecosystem. Importantly to improve the economic situation of farmers in Nigeria.

Microsoft also recently announced that it is extending its partnership with the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). The initial collaboration between the two organizations started in 2019 when Microsoft and AGRA co-created the AgriBot as a digital solution for localized extension and advisory services for smallholder farmers.

The new phase of the relationship will promote digital innovation and technology as an enabler to connect the agriculture ecosystems, sustainably integrating stakeholders in the service of strategic value chains.

Our partnership with AGRA forms part of Microsoft’s ongoing investment in agritech across the continent as we support digital transformation in the sector. We’re excited to continue building locally relevant technology solutions that address the local farmers’ needs and deliver meaningful impact,” added Kunle.

On his part, John Macharia, AGRA Kenya Country Manager, said: “At AGRA, we realized early on that digital innovation is critical in advancing food security and poverty eradication in Africa. Our partnership with Microsoft will directly support governments, SMEs and farmers, by bringing the digital tools needed to build resilient food systems.”

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2021 Microsoft Partner of the year Africa Award winners

2021 Microsoft Partner of the year Africa Award winners

Microsoft Partner award Africa

Microsoft is announcing its partner of the year award winners and here is a list of winning organizations in Africa. The announcement comes ahead of Microsoft Inspire 2021 where it will celebrate exemplary achievements from across its global partner ecosystem. Microsoft Inspire 2021 partner event, is set to take place July 14-15 as a free global digital event.

Microsoft uses the partner award to recognize outstanding accomplishments within its partner community. This year, the company received over four thousand entries from one hundred and thirty countries across fifty-six categories. Microsoft introduced a new category, the Social Impact Award which includes awards for Community Response, Inclusion Changemaker, and Sustainability Changemaker.

Unfortunately, no African partner emerged as a global category winner this year and last year. The last time this happened was in 2019 when Cloud Productivity Solutions Limited from Kenya won the global category for Teamwork.

Ten partner organizations emerge as award winners in 2021. Cloud Productivity Solutions, Kenya is the only winner from last year to win this year as well. Ghana recorded an award winner for the second year in a row. Senegal for the third year in a row failed to register an award winner. Côte d’Ivoire is back with a winner after failing to register an award winner in 2020. Namibia failed to register a winner this year.

Below are Microsoft Partner Africa winners from the country and region category.

At Microsoft, we believe our partners make more possible.
That’s why we recognize exceptional partner contributions.

Microsoft Partner Africa Award Winners country category

Cote d’Ivoire Partner of the Year
MC3 Cloud

Egypt Partner of the Year
Atos IT SAE

Ghana Partner of the Year
eSolutions Consulting

Kenya Partner of the Year
Cloud Productivity Solutions Limited

Mauritius Partner of the Year
The Cloud Factory

Morocco Partner of the Year
CBI

Nigeria Partner of the Year
Reliance Infosystems

South Africa Partner of the Year
Tarsus On Demand

Tunisia Partner of the Year
INSOMEA Computer Solutions

Uganda Partner of the Year
Computer Revolution Uganda

Click here to register and participate in the Microsoft Inspire 2021 online experience.

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Microsoft is inviting female software engineers in Nigeria and Ghana to participate in a SE skills workshop

Microsoft is inviting female software engineers in Nigeria and Ghana to participate in a SE skills workshop

Microsoft is announcing a week-long software engineering skills workshop to empower female software engineers living in Ghana and Nigeria.

Microsoft’s LEAP Apprenticeship program and the Microsoft Africa Development Center bring the event as part of its commitment to empowering women in tech in Africa.

It is a virtual hands-on workshop and will take place from the 3rd to the 7th of May 2021.

The company says its goals are to help participants deepen their technical knowledge and sharpen their interview skills. It will also give them an opportunity to network and interact with Microsoft female software engineers.

female software engineers Microsoft Ghana Nigeria

Business Program Manager at Microsoft Nigeria, Princess Anya says this workshop is for you if you applied for a software engineering role in a top technology organization and couldn’t get the position.

To participate in the workshop check out the eligibility requirements from the application page. Some are to have a year and above experience in programming, be a resident of Nigeria or Ghana.

Click to find out more and apply to participate in the Microsoft software engineering skills workshop.

Don’t forget to kindly share this with anyone in your network who might benefit from this workshop.

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1.1M Africans acquire digital skills during COVID-19

1.1M Africans acquire digital skills during COVID-19

Microsoft is announcing it has helped over 30 million people in 249 countries and territories acquire digital skills. Out of this, over one million learners across Africa participated in the Microsoft Global Skills program.

The global skills initiative offers free online courses across Microsoft, LinkedIn, and GitHub learning platforms. It seeks to help people, mostly those affected by the pandemic gain in-demand skills to be employable.

Across the Middle East and Africa region, 2.1 million learners have participated in the program. With software development, customer service, project manager and data analysis being the popular learning paths among learners.

The top 10 countries with learners across Africa are South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Comoros, Sao tome and Principe, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Seychelles and the Central African Republic are countries with less than 500 learners.

To get more Africans to acquire digital skills, Microsoft is also partnering with organizations and governments. Offering additional funding and services to make this possible where this is necessary.

Microsoft is extending the free LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn courses and low-cost certifications that align to 10 of the most in-demand jobs offer through 2021.

Just seeing this opportunity, click to find out more and take advantage of the free courses from Microsoft.

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Women Techsters Initiative to train girls and women across Africa in coding and deep tech skills

Women Techsters Initiative to train girls and women across Africa in coding and deep tech skills

Women Techsters Tech4Dev Nigerian Women Techsters Microsoft Nigeria

Microsoft is working with Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative, Tech4Dev, to train girls and women across Africa in coding and deep tech skills through the Women Techsters initiative.

The initiative will will focus on training women and girls in software development, product design, product management, data science and AI engineering, and cybersecurity.

The Women Techsters initiative is opened to girls and women aged 16 to 40 years in the 54 African Countries. However, the program is launching in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa. With plans to scale the initiative to girls and women in more African countries later.

The training will be delivered through a series of simultaneous activities such as; bootcamps, open days, masterclasses and fellowships.

Microsoft says the program has been developed in such a way that participants will not only learn and develop deep technical skills. But they can fill knowledge gaps, learn coding skills and jumpstart their careers.

Prior to the launch, Microsoft piloted the initiative with Tech4dev in Nigeria called the Nigeria Women Techsters. Fatima Ahmed a participant in the Tech4Dev Nigerian Women Techsters program says; I thought I was just coming to learn new skills and go back to apply for jobs. But during the training, I started getting job opportunities. Today, I work as a technical support engineer at Tek Experts, where I provide cloud-based solutions. I am glad I took a bold step to come for the Nigerian Women Techsters training. Read more about her experience and what to expect here.

Click to visit the Tech4Dev programs page to find out more and apply to participate in the initiative.

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