Tech Top 5 News

Fact Checkers to Fight Election Misinformation with AI Tools
Full Fact, a UK-based charity which tackles misinformation through fact-checking and campaigns, is partnering with organisations dedicated to promoting credibility in information during the upcoming general election in Nigeria on February 25, 2023. Collaborating with International Fact Checking Network (IFCN) members Africa Check, Dubawa, and FactCheckHub, Full Fact will expand the use of its AI tools to stop the spread of misinformation during the election.
The project, made possible by a $2 million grant from Google’s philanthropic arm, google.org, has already seen remarkable results. With the support of seven dedicated technical google.org fellows who worked on a pro bono basis, full fact’s AI technology has seen a 1000x increase in claim detection (identifying which claims are most important to fact-check) and helped scale their fact-checks to appear in 237 million search results in 2020. The technology, developed by Full Fact in 2015, will now be used in the Nigerian election for the first time, offering instant transcription services and real-time fact-checking during debates, speeches and throughout the election process to increase the speed and accuracy of information dissemination.

Government Affairs & Public Policy Manager Dawn Dimowo, Nigeria, said:”At google.org, we’re dedicated to using our resources and technology to make a positive impact on society. Continuing our support for Full Fact in Nigeria is an exciting opportunity to help stop the spread of misinformation and promote accurate information during the election. This builds on our ongoing efforts to support local fact-checking initiatives.”
Editor, FactCheckHub, Opeyemi Kehinde, said, “Using the Full Fact AI tool, built in collaboration with Africa Check, has enhanced our work ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 general election. Since we were onboarded, our team of fact-checkers and researchers at the Nigerian Fact-checkers Coalition (NFC) have been utilising the AI platform to source claims for debunking easily.”
Full Fact AI provides three tools to Nigerian fact-checkers: the Search tool, which helps identify the most significant statements to fact-check each day by monitoring online media, social media, and RSS feeds; the Alerts tool, which informs fact-checkers of repeat instances of previously fact-checked false information, allowing them to act quickly and insert accurate information into public discourse; and the Real-Time tool, which offers an instant transcription of election debates, interviews, and town halls, eliminating the need for manual transcription and providing a record of fact-checkable claims.

Jumia Lays off 900 Workers to Cut Cost
E-commerce Market Place, Jumia, has laid off about nine hundred workers as part of its cost-cutting efforts.
According to its 2022 financials recently released, this decision was important to save over 30 per cent in monthly staff costs starting from March 2023.
In the statement, the company said, “In the fourth quarter of 2022, we undertook significant headcount reductions, resulting in over 900 position terminations, corresponding to a 20 per cent headcount reduction,” said the company.
The organisation added that it is delivering on its strategy to reduce losses and accelerate progress toward profitability with a major focus on enhanced cost discipline and accelerating monetisation.

“We have streamlined our organisational structure, creating leaner, more effective teams fully committed to the execution of our strategy. As part of our streamlining efforts, we have significantly reduced our presence in Dubai, where certain management functions were located, reducing headcount by over 60 per cent,” explained Jumia. “Most of the remaining staff are being relocated to our African offices, closer to our consumers, sellers, and operations.
It explained that implementing “these organisational changes resulted in $3.7 million in one-off restructuring costs booked in the fourth quarter of 2022.”

CcHUB Launches Ed-tech Accelerator Program to Support Startups in Africa
Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) has launched an accelerator programme focusing on ed-tech. The accelerator, to be called the EdTech Fellowship Programme, will commit $15 million to support seventy-two startups in Nigeria and Kenya over the next three years.
The programme aims to create a new ecosystem of edtech startups that will inform what the education solutions space is supposed to be like.
It will give the startups an initial . $100,000 check after being accepted into the program.
The partnership is part of the broader Mastercard Foundation Ed-Tech Fellowship Program, which seeks to support Edtech companies across Africa that address learning challenges across K-12, tertiary education, and vocational training.

The expectation is that these solutions will be part of the urgent and critical response in addressing many of Africa’s long-standing challenges that have acted enrollment, quality, and availability of effective educational options for the continent’s young population.
The innovation hub launched a call for applications to its accelerator program. Successful participants will undergo rounds of screening to determine the fit for solutions and founders before being further assessed for scalability and long-term potential.
The partners are also encouraging female-led startups to apply. Interested organisations can apply through the hub’s website.
In addition to initial funding to the selected startups, CcHUB will provide resolute expert teams to support participants in product development, government relations, pedagogy and learning science.

“Over the next three years, we will have 72 edtech companies launched into the market. We believe this will kickstart the ecosystem and reboot it afresh because out of that number, at least you are sure about half or 20-30 per cent of them would live for another three to four years. And that will allow us to know if technology can truly work for education in Africa, the co-founder and CEO of CcHUB,” Bosun Tijani said.

Bolt to Invest €500m in Africa to Expand Its Services
A mobility app in Africa,Bolt has announced plans to invest €500 million in its operations on the continent over the next two years. The funds will be used to expand Bolt services in Africa and create opportunities for over 300,000 new drivers and couriers to join the platform in 2023.
Bolt now operates ride-hailing and delivery services in six countries – Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, and Tunisia – with over forty-seven million customers and 900,000 drivers on the platform.
Bolt also announced that it has surpassed one billion rides in Africa in seven years and expects the number of drivers on the platform to hit over one million in the next six months.

Founder and CEO Markus Villig said, “Over the past seven years, we have built a dedicated team of 500 people in Africa, and we remain committed to investing in local communities for the long term. At a time when many countries are facing economic challenges, we will continue to grow our presence in Africa through this new investment which offers massive potential to create new jobs and income opportunities for drivers and couriers.”
Regional Manager (West and North Africa) Ireoluwa Obatoki said, “While many companies are scaling back investments given the macroeconomic environment, we recognise the transformational effect platforms like Bolt can have in Africa. We operate in markets where there are unique challenges and by continuing to expand our services, we will offer people new opportunities to earn a good living by being a driver, as well as providing millions of customers with a safe, dependable, and affordable way of moving around their city.”

Yahoo to Lay off 20% Its Workforce
Yahoo recently announced its plans to lay off about 20 per cent of its total workforce which will amount to more than 1,600 workers losing their jobs.
The layoffs are part of a major restructuring of its ad tech division.
 This invariably means about 50 per cent of Yahoo’s employees in that division by the end of this year.
 The company has plans to keep its demand-side platform, which helps advertisers buy ads, but shut down its ad sales operation. Yahoo will now partner with Taboola to sell ads on its properties.

In a statement, the company said, “These decisions are never easy, but we believe these changes will simplify and strengthen our advertising business for the long run while enabling Yahoo to deliver better value to our customers and partners.”
Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone, in an interview, said that these changes will be “tremendously beneficial for the profitability of Yahoo overall” and will allow the company “to go on offence” and invest more in other parts of its business that are profitable.
The announcement comes as a growing number of tech and media companies are cutting costs to adjust to a pullback in digital advertising spending amid broader global uncertainty.

Tech Personality of The Week:

Yele Bademosi

This week’s tech personality is Yele Bademosi.
Yele is the CEO and Co-Founder of Nestcoin.
Nestcoin is a company that focuses on creating Web3 applications and investing in other startups with similar interests. It strives to create equal access to economic opportunities through crypto.
He was previously the CEO and Co-Founder of Bundle, an Africa-focused social payments app for cash and crypto, aimed at  driving crypto adoption in Africa and bringing more economic freedom and prosperity to all Africans.
Yele is focused on developing the blockchain ecosystem in Africa, accelerating Africa’s transition into a sustainable and developed economy by leveraging capital, innovation, and policy.

He is a Founding Partner at Microtraction, which funds Africa’s most remarkable teams at early-stage startups across multiple sectors, including finance and cryptocurrency.
In 2019, he pitched an idea to Binance on what the cryptocurrency exchange should be doing in Africa and was hired to become the first Director at Binance Labs.
Yele leads the Africa chapter of the Binance Labs Incubation Programme–and is the general manager of Starta Africa, an online community and resource platform for African entrepreneurs. He is a self-taught designer and developer who has created multiple apps and products, including a social app connecting university students in the UK.