Microsoft is announcing the establishment of the Africa AI Innovation Council to harness the power of data and artificial intelligence (AI) to boost climate resilience and adaptation efforts in Africa. With membership drawn from organizations led by the African Development Bank, African Risk Capacity, and African Climate Foundation.
The company is at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Where world and business leaders are gathered to take action on issues critical to tackling the climate emergency. Participating as a strategic technology partner and a principal sponsor, Microsoft is unveiling action-based new climate-focused initiatives.
“The world needs to move faster and COP27 will provide an important forum to move from pledges to progress“, says Microsoft Vice Chair and President, Brad Smith.
In relation to Africa, Microsoft notes there is insufficient reliable climate data. It also lacks data scientists to work with the available data to turn them into insights for decision-making. It is therefore announcing the first global expansion of the AI for Good Lab to Kenya and Egypt. Where data scientists will close the climate data divide and work with local partners to use AI on new climate initiatives.
The Africa AI Innovation Council will convene a high-level, multi-sector group of leaders who understand the issues facing the continent. They will inform the work of the new AI for Good Labs coming to Kenya and Egypt. It will also identify opportunities to improve climate resilience through data and AI. As well as facilitate ways to generate additional climate data and drive continued research.
“Microsoft is making good on its commitment to move beyond pledges to climate action“, says Wael El Kabbany, General Manager, Africa Regional Cluster.
“Given our role as an enabler of a diverse range of digital solutions, Microsoft has a unique responsibility to help governments and organizations to achieve their climate goals through the power of technology. We are committed to accelerating digital transformation in Africa, with a view to helping the continent realize its growing innovation potential in the climate technology space and beyond.”
Wael El Kabbany
Africa-based data scientists will also get access to satellite imagery to address challenges nominated by the Africa AI Innovation Council.
In 2020, Microsoft announced plans to be carbon negative by 2030 and to remove from the environment all the carbon the company emitted since its founding by 2050. The company built on this pledge by adding commitments to be water positive and zero waste by 2030. In opening its ultra-modern Africa offices it factored in solutions that reduce or prevent the emission of carbon. Using self-heating windows, solar plants, and a water treatment facility to recycle and purify water. The eco-friendly office also optimizes space utilization and lighting adjustments.
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Microsoft is announcing plans to build a new team of data scientists on the ground in Africa to work to improve climate resilience, by setting up AI for Good Labs in Nairobi, Kenya, and Cairo, Egypt. This will be the company’s first global expansion of the AI for Good Lab. The new team will work with local partners to use AI on new climate initiatives.
Currently, statistics show that for every five data scientists in the Global North there is one in the Global South. In Africa the situation is dire and the gap is wider. For every data scientist in Africa, there are 14 in the Global North. This means a gap in the available reliable data to work with. As well as being able to turn them into insights for the decision-makers to use. This is why Microsoft is planning to open AI for Good Labs in Africa to help close that divide.
As world and business leaders gather in Egypt for COP27, Juan Lavista Ferres, Chief Data Scientist, AI for Good, Microsoft, reveals Microsoft’s plans to close the climate data divide in the Global South. The work of the Labs he notes will be informed by the Microsoft Africa AI Innovation Council. Another new establishment by Microsoft in partnership with representatives from African organizations such as the AfDB, and African Climate Foundation.
“We see these days ahead as an opportunity to engage in important discussions and take steps toward solutions. Today we are sharing details about our work to support new climate solutions. By harnessing the power of data and artificial intelligence (AI), with an expansion of our AI for Good Research Lab into Egypt and Kenya.“
Juan Lavista Ferres
“Access to reliable climate data is critical to inform decision-making and avoid the worst effects of climate change“, says Wael El Kabbany, General Manager, Africa Regional Cluster, Microsoft. “We believe these labs will be significant in closing the climate data divide“, he adds.
Microsoft AI for Good Lab
The Microsoft AI for Good Lab consists of data scientists and researchers who use AI, Machine Learning, and statistical modeling to address human challenges. Across the AI for Good program portfolio—Earth, Accessibility, Humanitarian Action, Cultural Heritage, and Health. They work on issues that improve societies and environments with a focus on sustainability.
Juan adds that Microsoft “will work to scale AI for Good projects and support startups in the region to deliver new AI innovations“. Africa-based data scientists will have access to satellite imagery thanks to a partnership between Microsoft and Plant Labs. To address challenges nominated by the Africa AI Innovation Council with a special focus on adaptation and early warning systems.
The new Microsoft AI for Good labs in the region will bring in new jobs as it hires data scientists and researchers with experience in computer vision, statistics, and artificial intelligence.
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MTN Group and Microsoft are announcing a new partnership that will see them support customers across governments and organizations accelerate value creation and drive Africa’s economic growth using Microsoft platform solutions.
The agreement centers on transforming and modernizing MTN’s communications and technology infrastructure together with harnessing capabilities and building the largest and most valuable platform business with a clear focus on Africa.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Microsoft – a company with the strength and scale to complement MTN’s capabilities and to support our Ambition 2025 strategy,” said Group Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer Chika Ekeji. “Together we will use the power of technology and connectivity to innovate and accelerate the digitalization and development of the continent.”
The two companies will develop joint go-to-market plans across the markets where MTN operates. To serve the digital transformation ambitions of African enterprise customers. Microsoft will skill up MTN Group resources to drive focused selling of Microsoft’s products and cloud services in Africa.
“Our valuable, longstanding partnership with MTN will play a pivotal role in Africa’s digital transformation, and we are proud to continue building on that decade-long collaboration with our newest venture. We recognize the potential that Africa holds to stand among the leaders of the digital world, and we are committed to maximizing our partnerships to deliver infrastructure that accelerates this transformation and enables a connected, digital-first continent,” says Samer Abu-Latif, Corporate Vice-President and President of Microsoft Middle East and Africa.
The partnership also includes ongoing knowledge-sharing, innovation, and growth opportunities. Joint initiatives will be in areas such as digital education, micro-SME digitization, fintech, and gaming. To create shared value and extend digital and financial inclusion across Africa.
“Our partnership with MTN will empower and enable the future growth of Africa through the joint development of innovative solutions; a dedicated focus on digital skilling and education; robust go-to-market strategy transformation; and the advancement of SMMEs and industries to compete on the global digital stage”
The parties will also execute a carrier agreement that will position MTN as a major provider of terrestrial connectivity to support Microsoft’s Africa-based expansion plans.
The companies believe that digital transformation presents an opportunity for the continent to leap ahead and benefit from widespread socio-economic growth. Particularly when leveraging the power of the cloud.
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Dynamics 365 and Power Platform services are now generally available in the Mircosoft Africa datacentres. The Microsoft Business Applications will provide organizations with solutions to cut costs, improve efficiencies, drive business continuity and disaster recovery. The services are available in the Microsoft South Africa North and West datacentre regions located in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively.
Dynamics 365 and Power Platform services feature the ability to rapidly store, analyze, and act on data with intelligent software. While maintaining data residency and sovereignty and meeting compliance and regulatory requirements.
Microsoft notes the continued upgrade of services shows its commitment to investing in Africa. As well as increasing cloud capacity and capabilities to enable organizations in the public and private sectors in the region to accelerate growth through innovation, agility, and resilience.
“Leaders in organizations across industries and sectors are focused on finding ways to improve the flow of innovation and knowledge across the business in order to respond to market changes, customer needs, and specific business and industry challenges at speed. They need digital solutions that break existing silos between data sources, people, processes, and insights,” says Karin Jones, Director of Business Applications GTM at Microsoft South Africa.
“This will accelerate digital innovation in the country by enabling businesses to become more agile, resilient, and competitive,” says Jones.
With this Microsoft now offers Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform online services to organizations in the region.
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Vivo is introducing its latest additions to its V series range of devices, the Vivo V25 5G and V25e. Upgrades to the V23 5G and V23e models with improved photography features for people who express themselves through video and photography.
What the new Vivo V25 5G and V25e promise creators is a device to capture glowing portraits, powered by high-performance, energy-efficient hardware cased in an exquisite body with a glossy aesthetic. Coupled with the newest cooling technology and fast charging capabilities, they both offer long-lasting and smooth mobile experiences through Funtouch OS 12 based on Android 12.
Vivo V25 5G has a thin 2.5D body that is 7.79mm, is lightweight and sports a slim body that makes the device a comfortable fit in the hands of users. It features a MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor with a high energy-efficiency ratio and 8GB RAM and 8GB extended RAM, enabling users to seamlessly play demanding games and multitask across various apps. V25 5G supports 44W FlashCharge that can recharge the 4500mAh battery cell from 0% to 61% in 30 minutes.
The Vivo V25e on the other hand is equipped with MediaTek Helio G99 chipset built on the highly efficient TSMC N6 (6nm-class) chip. It is power-efficient and can support a 90Hz refresh rate display. The MediaTek HyperEngine 2.0 Lite game engine that comes with the chipset also allows for a smooth gaming experience with stable performance, faster response, and reliable connection. It offers up to 128GB of storage capacity and supports up to 1TB of memory expansion. The Vivo V25e supports 44W FlashCharge and it can recharge the high-density 4500mAh battery cell from 0% to 58% in 30 minutes.
Both Vivo devices have 3 rear cameras. A 64MP OIS ultra-sensing camera that minimizes blurry shots and supports a longer exposure time. Allowing you to create clearer and brighter images and 4K videos even in dim lighting conditions.
The main camera on the V25 5G is supported by an 8MP super wide-angle camera and a 2MP super macro camera whilst the V25e is supported by a 2MP bokeh camera and 2MP macro camera. The V25 5G is equipped with a 50MP eye autofocus selfie front camera whilst the V25e has a 32MP portrait front camera.
With an eye-catching design, both phones have a Color Changing Fluorite AG Glass covering the rear panel that changes its hue when exposed to UV light. Check out more.
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Microsoft is announcing a partnership with Liquid Cloud through its Africa Transformation Office (ATO) to provide cloud services to businesses across the continent. Liquid Cloud and the Microsoft ATO will collaborate to deliver resilient cloud in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to meet regulatory and data residency requirements, address low latency workloads, strengthen resilience, and enable business continuity.
The hybrid cloud environment extends Azure capabilities enabling customers to create cloud-native applications faster with Azure platform and data services such as App Service, Functions, Logic Apps, Azure SQL Managed Instance, PostgreSQL database, and Azure machine learning. As a result, customers will be able to innovate anywhere and use the Azure platform to bring new solutions to life that solves today’s challenges, while creating the future.
“We witnessed an accelerated adoption of cloud technologies in Africa, and businesses are now reaping the benefits of their investment. Our customers are increasingly moving to hybrid work culture, meaning the demand for cloud-based services will only grow. Our partnership will enable us to build comprehensive and edge-based cloud capabilities that meet customer regulatory requirements and ensure that they deliver value to their customers,” said David Behr, CEO of Liquid Cloud and Cyber Security.
On his part, Wael El kabbany, General Manager, Africa Regional Cluster, Microsoft said: “Critical infrastructure enablers are needed to provide access to the cloud to accelerate digital transformation and the adoption of digital technologies. Working with Liquid Cloud, access to the local cloud will be available to more organizations and highly regulated industries across the continent. In addition, the hybrid cloud provides in-country resources that address data residency, latency, and storage requirements,“
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