Tunisia team Athena-IO, wins USD 5000 and Microsoft Azure Grant as Second place winners.
Team Athena-IO came in second place in the just ended Europe Middle East and Africa regional final championship qualifying round. They won 5,000 USD and Microsoft Azure Grant as their prize. They unfortunately couldn’t pick a spot at the world championship as the style of the competition is different this year.
Athena-IO’s idea is a cross-platform solution enabling content creation and visualization on Mixed Reality devices such as the HoloLens. To help corporations train their workforce and make technology more accessible to everyone.
Team iCropal, Kenya present to judges
Three teams; EKKO, Pakistan, Athena-IO, Tunisia and iCropal, Kenya joined 9 others from Europe as 12 EMEA Regional Finalist. This means no team gets to represent Africa and the Middle East in the world championship this year.
The Journey to the World Finals
This year there will be three Regional Finals hosted at Microsoft Ignite The Tour events. The Asia, EMEA and Americas regional finals with winners meeting in May for the world finals. World Finals winners will recieve USD100,000 Microsoft Azure Grant and a mentoring session with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
“We understand that today’s students are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs. They will also become technology decision makes. Whatever we can do to help make them better for tomorrow, we want to invest in that” – Jennifer Ritzinger, our Senior Director of Academic Ecosystems.
The Imagine Cup 2019 EMEA Regional Final was hosted at the Amsterdam Microsoft Ignite The Tour event. Giving finalists the opportunity to pitch their ideas to event attendees during its welcome reception. The student developers received feedback for their ideas. One team was selected by the Ignite tour attendees as the People’s Choice Award recepient.
Microsoft says hosting the regional finals at The Ignite Tour will help student developers learn how to take their projects to the next level and integrate the latest and greatest technologies into their solutions.
Microsoft’s Imagine Cup has a mission to empower student developers to achieve more and create the next great technology solutions. With students also getting the chance to win cash, prizes, mentoring and travel in the process.
“We believe that with student innovation and creativity, partnered with Microsoft technologies and Azure cloud resources, the possibilities are endless”.
Equity Equivalent Investment Programme to drive digital transformation and create economic empowerment in South Africa.
Seven years on after launching the Microsoft Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP), the company evolves the programme. Microsoft announced the EEIP in 2011 where they committed 7 years to support black owned Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) helping them develop and expand.
The evolved Microsoft EEIP will now focus on investments in technology solutions in agriculture and digital transformation in the manufacturing sectors. It will also include funding of skills development of South Africa’s young software developers. Through multiple AppFactories hosted by strategic partners across the country.
According to Microsoft South Africa managing director, Lillian Barnard “these are two areas where government’s priority and Microsoft’s focus overlap. We are evolving the program to meet South Africa’s shifting social economic needs. As well as take advantage of the economic opportunities presented by public cloud and Microsoft datacenters (cloud services) now available in South Africa“.
As part of the Trade Ministry’s requirements for any multi national company operating in South Africa. Microsoft had to make a contribution towards the objectives of South Africa’s Trade and Industry Ministry Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) initiative. In 2011 Microsoft launched the Microsoft Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) as a means of supporting South Africa’s transformation imperatives. It was established to address the ownership element of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and approved by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Microsoft’s Equity Equivalent Programme injects direct funding and business development assistance into several sustainable, independent and majority black-owned software companies in South Africa. The programme targets investments that promote socio-economic advancement and development within the South African economy.
Empowering Next Gen companies
Over the 7 years, Microsoft has identified and supported 8 independent software vendors. For Microsoft the evolved EEIP will drive innovation. Through access to technology solutions and digital transformation to help businesses in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors compete and be successful. Microsoft wants to create experienced and employable young software developers to take advantage of the 4th Industrial Revolution and contribute towards the economic growth of South Africa.
Beneficiary ceo’s from Chillisoft, Maxxor, mmapro IT Solutions, Home Grown and iSOLV Technologies talk about the Microsoft EE program.
Home Grown – Microsoft Equity Equivalent Investment Programme recipient.
It has made a massive difference to our capabilities as a busines. Our status as a Microsoft Equity Equivalent Programme partner gives us a great deal of credibility.
One such early beneficiary of the Microsoft Equity Equivalent Programme is Home Grown. Home Grown is a utility management service provider. Developing solutions for the mobile cellular industry with a focus on the energy sector. The smart utility management platform uses Microsoft’s cloud technology Azure to forecast electricity demand in real time. It also incorporates external data such as weather measurement and GPS coordination to assist in more effective resource distribution and management.
Then a startup in Kwazulu Natal, Home Grown’s CEO Thaisi Shale, was looking for a way to break into the bigger South African market.
“In 2011 Microsoft confirmed that Home Grown had been formally identified as an Equity Equivalent Programme partner. Securing the business long term financial and strategic assistance from one of the globe’s largest technology pioneers.
Home Grown’s status as a Microsoft Equity Equivalent Programme partner has afforded us the opportunity to solidify our internal resources. Since the announcement we have been able to take on valuable staff in marketing, administration and development. It has made a massive difference to our capabilities as a busines.
Our status as a Microsoft Equity Equivalent Programme partner gives us a great deal of credibility. Microsoft’s input from a strategic perspective has been invaluable. We believe that with their continued assistance we can competitively introduce our solutions to a global market.” – Thaisi Shale, CEO Home Grown
Microsoft is increasing its investments on African soil. It is launching two development centers in Africa. With offices in Kenya and Nigeria. Early this month Microsoft’s planned Africa datacenters became a reality and went live in South Africa. Last year in partnership with Techno Brain Limited Microsoft opened Africa’s first Software Testing Centre in Kenya. It also opened its first Africa customer service support center in Lagos, Nigeria in partnership with Tek Experts.
The latest announcement was highlighted by Alex Kipman, Microsoft’s technical fellow for AI and Mixed Reality. Alex is known as the man behind Microsoft HoloLens. A software engineering job posting on Microsoft’s career page gives more details about this.
The role description says Microsoft is launching a “Cognition Africa engineering team to build Mixed Reality Cloud Services”. And asks software engineers who meet the qualifications to apply.
Here’s what the job posting tells us about the Mixed reality and AI engineering office in Lagos.
“We are launching a Cognition Africa engineering team to build Mixed Reality Cloud Services that bring those technologies to a wider range of devices. Do you want to join us on this journey? We are offering opportunities for passionate Software Engineers to help us build the team and suite of cloud services which bring these capabilities to the cloud“.
Excited to share that our team is opening an engineering office in Africa to build #MixedReality and #AI. We are going to be based in Lagos, Nigeria. You can apply for roles here: https://t.co/wFJzUbIl3k … looking forward to my first visit soon [)-)
Alex Kipman in his tweet also says “looking forward to my first visit soon“. I want to believe we might have a HoloLens 2 showcase event in town soon. Microsoft unveiled the HoloLens 2 recently at the 2019 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The Blacks at Microsoft Employee Resource Group celebrated 30 years of diversity and inclusion as part of Black History Month.
Microsoft says “we strive to create an environment that brings the power of diversity to life. Where people with different backgrounds and experiences thrive in both their professional and personal lives. Where we’re all able to channel our passions.“
Blacks at Microsoft (BAM) is a Microsoft Employee Resource Group with a mission to achieve a strong representation of Blacks at all levels of the company. Founded in 1989 as the first Microsoft-sponsored employee resource group. It is dedicated to supporting the continued growth and development of black employees and encouraging students to pursue a career in technology. It is also a community that provides its members an opportunity to learn, listen, grow, and network.
Blacks at Microsoft fireside chat. ?: Chris Capossela
The Blacks at Microsoft (BAM) Employee Resource Group celebrated 30 years of empowerment. Hosting an Anniversary Gala, conferences, and speaker series across other Microsoft chapters.
The conference tracks conversations covering professional and personal development, social change and justice, and systematic education.
Speaking at this year’s Microsoft 2019 Black at Microsoft conference was Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Capossela. Here is what he says about the community.
“Creating an inclusive community is a journey – one that I’m on as an individual, we’re on as a company, and so many of us are working towards as an industry. I’ve learned that it’s so important to understand someone else’s background and daily struggles to overcome our differences“.
– Chris Capossela, Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft
BAM, NY chapter at Nasdaq
Throwback
In celebrating 30 years of the group, Microsoft’s channel 9 caught up with some of the founding members. Take a look.
“At Microsoft, we have made the long-term commitment to build and sustain a culture that fosters an inclusive working environment. Which will enable our employees to do their best work and serve the diverse needs of our customers around the world. We also are committed to engaging in and advancing diversity and inclusion conversations in communities where we believe we can help empower people”. – Toni Townes-Whitley – President, US Regulated Industries at Microsoft.
One of BAM’s goals is to encourage black students to pursue a career in technology. Every year the community offers a Black at Microsoft scholarship. This year BAM will award two US$5,000 scholarships to outstanding high school seniors. Who are interested in pursuing careers in technology. Learn more about the scholarship here.
Some initiatives of the BAM community in Africa include the NexTech Africa conference and Africa to Redmond Hack for Africa program.
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Six months on, Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system has chalked a new milestone. Crossing the 800 million mark for devices running on Windows 10. At the announcement of Windows 10 October 2018 Update, Microsoft said Windows 10 was running on 700 million devices. This also comes as We approach its 4th year in July.
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Modern Life & Devices Group shared this news in a tweet. Thanking customers and partners for helping reach this new milestone.
Microsoft was forced to accept it couldn’t reach its 1 billion devices target as early as 2017. When it announced Windows 10 was on 600 million devices then. Many believe this happened due to cutting off of Windows 10 on mobile devices. With Windows 7 nearing its support life many users and enterprise customers might finally make their Windows 10 leap.
