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PAPS Raises $4.5M Pre-Series A Round Led by 4DX Ventures And Orange

Hassan Barakat
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PAPS Raises $4.5M Pre-Series A Round Led by 4DX Ventures And Orange

PAPS raises $4.5M in a pre-Series A investment.

The logistics and delivery company located in Senegal is addressing this void in the region by providing consumers with a variety of logistics services.

The company announced today that it has raised $4.5 million in a pre-Series A round of funding to develop its tech-enabled logistics solution throughout the Francophone area.

4DX Ventures, a pan-African venture capital fund, and Orange, a regional telecom operator, lead the investment.

Existing investors Uma Ventures and Saviu Ventures are among the participants. Others include new investors; Yamaha Motor, LoftyInc Capital, Proparco, Google Ventures, To.org, Kepple Ventures, and Enza Capital.

PAPS was founded in 2016 by Bamba Lo, the CEO, to provide end-to-end logistics solutions to businesses with both physical and online operations.

PAPS began with a consumer-to-consumer logistics concept.

However, after noting how sporadic and unstructured most requests were, it quickly shifted.

In contrast to the B2B paradigm, where deliveries are planned, it was difficult to accurately estimate the delivery flows in the space.

Small and large organizations can use the platform to help them with their logistical needs, which range from storage to international transportation to last-mile delivery.

PAPS also gives merchants with visibility tools that allow them to follow and know the status of deliveries from departure to arrival. On the platform, merchants can also arrange delivery.

The warehouses where clients’ goods and parcels are stored are owned by the Senegalese firm.

Motorcycles, vans, vehicles, and trucks are also owned by the company for inter and intra-city logistics and deliveries. In addition, the logistics firm maintains a relay network of hubs near its customers that serve as delivery sites.

PAPS, according to its CEO, intends to provide that infrastructure and an enabler for businesses to reach clients they can’t reach now due to logistics.

“The gap that we’re filling is the domestic market, which none of these huge multinationals want to handle.”

“PAPS is the only company that has addressed the home market, which is why we aim to provide quality and dependability,” he added.

PAPS has clients across a wide range of industries, including banking, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals (Lo said that the company currently handles distribution for 70 percent of all pharmacies in Senegal).

PAPS is used by major logistics companies like DHL and FedEx, as well as consumer and business-focused e-commerce enterprises like Jumia, Glovo, and Sokowatch in Senegal and Ivory Coast, according to the company.

The company claims to have the largest last-mile fleet in Senegal, having made over 10 million deliveries across its two markets since its inception, according to a statement. Lo claims that the company’s delivery figures are up 150 percent year over year.

This pre-Series A round will be used to grow the company’s tech staff, expand its physical infrastructure to onboard more warehouses, hubs, and fleets, and expand its offering to more African businesses.

“We have been impressed with the Paps team’s performance thus far and their dedication to establishing a truly creative firm in the logistics industry,” Walter Baddoo, co-founder and general partner at 4DX Ventures, said in a statement.

We believe that technology can help modernize Africa’s logistics system, and we look forward to working with Bamba and the paps team on the next phase of their development.”

Poa Internet Secures $28 Million in Series C Round, Led by AfDB-backed Africa50

Hassan Barakat
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Poa Internet Secures $28 Million in Series C Round, Led by AfDB-backed Africa50

Poa Internet secures $28 million in a Series C funding round led by Africa50, bringing the total amount it has raised to date to $36 million.

This is happening just over a year after the internet service provider (ISP) won the innovation challenge hosted by Africa50 backed by AfDB Group in 2020.

Participating in the latest round was Novastar Ventures, one of the earliest backers of the firm.

Poa intends to use the new funds to expand its reach, starting with Kenya and then expanding to other African countries.

“At the moment, we’re concentrating on Kenya, but the problem we’re addressing is one that affects the entire continent. And it’s not just about getting people connected for us.”

We intend to bring a lot of people online and to provide them a meaningful internet experience such as the ability to stream videos, without worrying about how much data they’re consuming,” Poa Internet’s co-founder and CEO, Andy Halsall, told TechCrunch.

Poa Internet now has over 12,000 clients (homes and small businesses) in Nairobi’s low- and middle-income districts, with tens of thousands more using its street Wi-Fi connections.

Safaricom Home by East Africa’s biggest telecom Safaricom, Faiba by Jamii Telecommunication Limited, and Zuku have built their fiber networks in areas that are normally not the main target markets for their competitors.

Poa Internet charges a monthly subscription of around $13, which is 50% of the market pricing, providing it a competitive advantage.

Its subscribers also get unlimited data consumption, which is another feature that appeals to internet users in a country where big ISPs offer monthly subscription bundles with data limits.

The company has also put up Wi-Fi hotspots in public spaces, where customers pay $0.18 for 1 GB of data, which is 10 times less than what the country’s telecoms charge for a similar non-expiring internet bundle.

“Our internet speeds are 4 mbps, which is sufficient for video streaming, as everyone wants to watch Netflix, use YouTube, download movies, and make video calls.”

“As a result, we’ve designed our service to be quick enough to deliver video, but most importantly, our price is a selling point,” Halsall explained.

“Our primary goal is to keep the price as cheap as possible while operating in areas where fiber access is either unavailable or unlikely to be available.”

“As a result, we won’t be competing against anyone because we’ll be targeting a market segment that is underserved.”

Affordability remains one of the most significant barriers to internet access across the continent, and Poa Internet has been working to address this puzzle from its inception in Kenya in 2015.

The advantages of affordable data and a more connected continent are enormous because as more people become connected, sectors like e-commerce and e-learning will boom.

Currently, Africa50 has 31 shareholders, including the AfDB, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), Bank Al-Maghrib (the Central Bank of the Kingdom of Morocco), and 28 African countries.

“Increasing access to reliable and affordable internet connectivity is strongly aligned with the key pillars of Africa50’s strategy, and we are happy to be part of this high impact journey and to support Poa’s growth in Africa,” said Africa50 managing director and head of infrastructure investments at Africa50, Raza Hasnani.

Digital Marketing Training And Web Design Class (25th Edition)

Hassan Barakat
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Digital Marketing Training And Web Design Class (25th Edition)

Digital Marketing Training Class is a hands-on workshop aimed at explaining what Digital Marketing and Web Design are, how they function, and how they can be utilized to raise brand awareness and enhance business sales and profit.

Date: February 5th & 6th | February 12th & 13th, 2022 (2 weekends, 4 days)

Venue: 14 Adedotun Dina Crescent, Mende, Maryland, Lagos.

Training fee: N35,000

About The Training

Our training is designed to help small and medium-sized business owners understand the importance of digital marketing and web design, as well as how to use it to attract new customers and convert them into loyal paying customers.

Individuals who complete our program will be prepared to work as world-class Digital Marketing and Web Design experts.

This course is entirely practical, covering topics such as Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Display & Banner Advertising, Landing Page Creation & Sales Funnel, Marketing Automation, WordPress Web Design, and Web Analytics, among others.

We will train you to become a data-driven marketing expert who will use data and analytics to make marketing decisions that will help your company develop.

Courses Offered

1. Introduction to Digital Marketing

2. Social Media Marketing:

a. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Marketing

b. Learning how to deploy social media tools (and automation tools) for business profit

c. The Social Media selling approach & gaining Marketing edge with Social Media Marketing

d. Influencer marketing

e. Practicals on how to launch effective Social Media Sponsored Ads on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn

f. Understanding Social Media analytics to measure business growth

3. Search Engine Optimisation

a. Strategies to bring your website/brand on Google’s first page

4. Google Adverts

a. Display Advert

b. Search Engine Marketing

c. Youtube Ads

5. SMS & WhatsApp Marketing: How to send bulk SMS & use WhatsApp for marketing and branding.

6. Email Marketing:

a. How to build Email Campaigns & Newsletters

b. How to create Landing Pages to generate leads

c. How to create your Sales Funnel

d. Email Marketing copywriting

e. Marketing Automation.

7. Information Marketing: How to create & make money selling information products (e-books, audio books etc)

8. Web Design & Ecommerce

a. Getting a domain name and hosting service

b. Installing WordPress

c. Developing your Website

d. Working with Plugins and Themes

e. How to build an e-commerce website or an online store

f. How to build a Blog and monetize your blog (making money from your blog)

g. Setting up SEO Plugins for your website

h. Setting up customised email addresses

i. Setting up sub-domains

j. Setting up and understanding Google Analytics

9. How to build your Digital Marketing Agency in 30 days & how to make your agency profitable, bankable and trustworthy.

10. In-depth revelation on opportunities in digital marketing and the digital space at large and how to start a profitable career in any of them (including Social Media Marketing, Mobile Marketing/Bulk SMS, Blogging, Web Design, SEO, Affiliate Marketing, Information Marketing, Email Marketing, etc).

11. Bonus Courses

Benefits of The Training

1. Certificates at completion at the end of the training.

2. Access to private Digital Marketing mentoring groups, free refresher classes, and job opportunities.

3. Access to learning materials worth N15,000 at the end of the training.

4. Free database gift worth N10,000 at the training venue.

Click the REGISTER icon to fill a form (you will receive further details after filling the form)

Read more about the event and register here

ICT Maghreb 2022 Exhibition And Conference

Hassan Barakat
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ICT Maghreb 2022 Exhibition And Conference

ICT MAGHREB 2022 Exhibition and Conference is a Professional Information and Communication Technologies Exhibition for IT Decision Makers.

Location: Algiers, Algeria

Date: 14/03/2022 12:00 AM to 16/03/2022 12:00 AM

The event, which takes place in one of Algiers’ most attractive sites, attracts over 5,000 professional visitors and 150 exhibitors, including the major Algerian players in the technology industry as well as 40% of foreign and multinational firms.

ICTMAGHREB is a true crossroads for IT professionals to meet and exchange ideas, as well as a gathering place for decision-makers to learn about major market trends, discover new market trends, discover new hardware and IT solutions, and meet experts and customers from the public and private sectors.

Because of its international scope, the show also provides an opportunity to form strategic collaborations with foreign enterprises.

More than 2000 meetings will be organized using our new B2B Matchmaking and Networking tool.

ICT MAGHREB expresses itself as a platform for reflection on current events and the progress of ICT, in addition to the tools and solutions given.

Over 40 keynote speakers, talks, conferences, debates, and workshops are scheduled over 3 days, drawing a large crowd.

ICT Maghreb 2022 is a 3-day exhibition and conference on information and communication technology that will take place from the 14th to the 16th of March 2022 at the Cultural Palace, Moufdi Zakaria, Algiers, Algeria.

The event is organized by ATEX International Exhibitions.

Visit The Official Page of ICT Maghreb to Read More And Reserve A Seat for The Event

Chipper Cash Africa’s Most Valuable Fintech Comes to Ghana

Abidemi Ogunyemi-Aderibigbe
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Chipper Cash Africa’s Most Valuable Fintech Comes to Ghana

Chipper Cash is an African fintech company that recently got the Enhanced Payment Service Provider Licence from the Bank of Ghana.

The license was issued after meeting all requirements and this will enable the kickstart of its operations in Ghana.

Chipper Cash was founded in 2018 by Ghanaian Maijid Moujaled and Ugandan Ham Serunjogi. The aim is to solve challenges of completing transactions between African countries like regulatory issues and high rates.

So far, the fintech company has a fund donation of over $250 million from various investors.

The investors include Jeff Bezos’ Bezos Expeditions VC fund, Ribbit Capital, Deciens Capital, One Way Ventures, 500 Startups, Tribe Capital, and Brue2 Ventures making it Africa’s sixth unicorn.

The commencement of operations in Ghana marks the beginning of an impressive first quarter after raising over $250 million last year increasing its footprint on the Africa continent.

Chipper Cash coming to Ghana

The company’s entry into Ghana had long been forged in spring 2019 co-founder Majid Moujaled(27yrs) and Dion Jon Taylor Samson(28yrs) reconnected. They both haven’t seen each other since their last day of high school almost 13 yrs ago.

Majid told Dion about what he has been working on and Dion also buy the idea and was keen on bringing in the great service to Ghana. He asked that the Ghanian entity be set up and measures are put in place for effective rollout.

The rollout involves getting a partner bank, setting up aggregators, forming a full-fledged corporate body- Critical Ideas Ghana Limited. Dion who is the C.E.O of the Ghana branch led the rollout that will aid operations in Ghana and get licensing by regulators.

Reasons for choosing Ghana

Ghana is one of the fast-paced growing digital payments markets in Africa. Even though the covid-19 pandemic also helps in the increase in the adoption of digital payments across Africa.

The rapid embrace of digital payment platforms in Ghana aligns with the goals of Chipper Cash to increase financial inclusion across Africa.

Chipper cash has deep roots in Ghana with the co-founder Majid Moujaled being a Ghanaian. The company aims at creating job opportunities as it forays operations in the country.

With the new license from the Bank of Ghana, delivering the fastest and lowest cost of payments service in the country is certain. This will help to fulfill the mission of unlocking global opportunities one transaction at a time.

 

 

 

KamPay To Deploy Blockchain To Areas In Africa Without Internet Access

Boluwatife Aponmade
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KamPay To Deploy Blockchain To Areas In Africa Without Internet Access

A utility token, KamPay to deploy blockchain to bring internet to parts of Africa that do not have it. It is set to open up internet access to the huge populations across the world without internet access.

Digital payments based on blockchain technology will become a necessity for everyday remittance since Central Bank Digital Currencies have been adopted across Africa. Meanwhile, with just 22% of Africans having internet connections (IFC), there is a large number of people that will not be able to benefit from this technology.

This is what KamPay aims to change with the launch of its KamMobile technology which can allow anyone with a mobile phone (650m-50% of Africa) to be able to make use of the blockchain via SMS.

Through a lot of SMS commands, users will be able to create wallets on key blockchains, and eventually be able to deposit and withdraw using the mobile money, as well as be able to conduct P2P transactions. The technology works are similar to the mobile money model that is found in countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, where users’ funds are kept in a digital account that is linked to their phone number.

KamPay will be aiding its launch in the market through its partnerships with Tingo Mobile PLC that has above 10 million mobile customers, as well as with African Grain and Seed (AGS) to reach millions of farmers across the world.

KamPay and AGS already have an ongoing partnership, providing microlending to 50,000 farmers in the rural side of Zimbabwe. It also ensures the allocation of funds by setting wallets with assignments that can only be used on pre-approved catalogs selected by AGS.

The SMS technology aims to reach across the entire continent and to go beyond rural microlending to being part of millions’ day-to-day. This initiative is supported through other tools that are being launched by KamPay, these include merchant and end-user access to low-fee facilities to allow daily remittance in the world, aiding mass adoption.

Yigal Weinberger, KamPay’s CTO said, “This is a game-changer and the key to making it possible not only for Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole but also for other developing regions struggling with low internet and smartphone penetration challenges to benefit from the advancements of crypto technology”.

According to the KamPay team, KamMobile is still in the development stages and will be launched by the end of the year in 2021 for the ‘SMS to wallet’ set up. The beta version of the mobile money or fiat to crypto purchasing platform will be launched in the first quarter of 2022 while the main rollout is scheduled to be launched in the second quarter of 2022.

Nigerian Restaurant Management Platform Orda Raises $1.1M Pre-Seed Fund

Mena Adediran
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Nigerian Restaurant Management Platform Orda Raises $1.1M Pre-Seed Fund

Orda, formerly called StarKitchens, has announced that it has raised a $1.1 million pre-seed fund to scale up across Africa. Orda describes itself as a cloud-based restaurant operating system crafted for African chefs and food business owners.

The round was led by LoftyInc Capital, and saw participation from other investors such as Techstars Boulder, Magic Fund, Hustle Fund, Norrsken Foundation, Oxford Seed Fund, DFS Labs, amongst others. Angel investors that participated as well include Ire Aderinokun, Jesse Ovia and Ademola Adesina.

Orda’s market is in the Africa restaurant industry wherein a lot of small restaurants make use of offline ways to produce receipts and make reconciliations; Orda aims to provide an alternate means of managing food businesses. “There are two kinds of restaurants where the majority of our focus is on — the bukkas [local restaurants] and the small restaurants, for instance,” Orda co-founder and CEO, Guy Futi, said.

The startup, founded in 2020, helps restaurants to manage their business processes online, through integrating local payments, logistics, inventory management as well as business analytics. Restaurants on the platform are also enabled to accept and process orders from food delivery platforms like Jumia Food, Bolt Food; as well as social media channels such as WhatsApp.

Futi expressed that the adoption from restaurants in its current markets —Nigeria and Kenya— has been “very seamless” and that the software doubles its growth rate every three weeks.

As of now, Orda charges restaurants between N2,500 ($5) to N30,000 ($50) on a monthly basis to access its software. Orda plans to build financial products, and dive into processing payments for restaurants. The startup is further working on expanding into South Africa by the end of 2022.

Speaking on the investment, Idris Ayo Bello, managing partner of LoftyInc Capital, said, “We loved investing in Orda because it is building the core digital infrastructure for restaurants across Africa. The team has done the hard work of figuring out the core problems that African restaurant owners are facing and is building a solution that can revolutionise the food business across the continent.”

The Future of FinTechs and Open Banking in Africa

Abidemi Ogunyemi-Aderibigbe
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The Future of FinTechs and Open Banking in Africa

FinTechs and Open banking are entangled, for open banking to thrive there is a need for the banking sector to absolve fintech solutions into its system. Just as Fintechs in Africa is seeing an increase in investment which is leading to its expansion across the African continent.

Various businesses are feeling the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the financial sector (banks) are not immune to it. For so many banks, the economic impact has been notably glaring.

As a result, moving to online financial services is increasing at a drastic pace as a plethora of Fintechs. Also, neobanks and non-traditional financial services are continuously expanding their activities.

As these payment methods became global during the pandemic, Africa has emerged as the new Fintech hub for all.

Due to the expansion across the continent, its potentials are enormous, especially in the sub-Saharan Africa region. This region has traditionally lagged behind from limited access to financial services.

Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy with a population of almost 210 million got over 60% of Africa’s inbound Fintech investment in 2021. Even though more than 50% of Nigerians still do not have a bank account.

In 2021, 4 African Fintech companies achieved outstanding status with over $1 billion valuations. The companies are Opay, Wave, Chipper Cash, and flutterwave.

Opay: a mobile payment company that raised funds from investors including SoftBank

Wave: Senegal based mobile money network

Chipper Cash: the operator of a peer-to-peer payment that has the backing of Jeff Bezos

Flutterwave: offers payment services to businesses 

Fintechs and Open banking

If the future of the Africa banking sector looks promising, then open banking seems set to play a vital role in the continent.

The provision of third-party financial service providers gives access to transaction, consumer banking, and other financial data through API.

Being an open-source tech, it gives room for third-party developers like fintech to access data withheld by banks. Also, to develop applications or services using the withheld data.

With this stress-free data connection, open banking allows customers access to products that suites their needs. It will lower costs and also encourage innovations and inclusion.

Africa’s demand for open banking needs the banking sector to absolve fintech solutions into its system. Some of which are already in progress by some countries. 

In December 2020, the Kenya Central Bank announced its 4-year strategy which includes an open infrastructure as one of its main strategic objectives.

In 2019 at the height of the pandemic, two large South African banks embraced open banking. Hence, leading to an increase of South African Banks that offers open banking services to about 6.

Meanwhile, TrueID and Okra- a South African and Nigerian startup respectively also announced receiving funding to develop open banking infrastructure.

The EU and UK have addressed the legislative challenge. The concern of the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) Order and the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) is the customer’s consent.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the required regulatory framework that is integral to the smooth operations of open banking in the future is yet to materialize. Regulations such as data protection laws.

Meanwhile, a large population remains underbanked or even unbanked across lots of Africa regions using South Africa as a case study. The opportunity is there for banks across the continent to be involved in open banking solutions, seeing to the needs of consumers and bringing to the limelight a new concept of African banking.

Therefore, legislators across Africa need to see the huge benefit that open banking will facilitate such as financial inclusion as well as its beneficial impact on access and affordability.

 

Orcas an Egyptian Ed-tech Raises $2.1m Pre-Series A Funding

Abidemi Ogunyemi-Aderibigbe
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Orcas an Egyptian Ed-tech Raises $2.1m Pre-Series A Funding

Orcas an Egyptian Ed-tech raises $2.1m Pre-Series A funding as it prepares expansion into Pakistan in the early months of 2022.

The Egyptian ed-tech was founded in the year 2019 by Hossam Taher and Amira El Gharib. Orcas make provision of live one-on-one tutoring sessions (offline and online) for K-12 students.

The Egyptian ed-tech, Orcas also provides a learning environment that encourages self-pace to complement the learning experience.

The progress of Orcas

The Egyptian startup is now fully active in Saudi Arabia and is now expanding to Pakistan after the recent raising of $2.1 million pre-series A funding.

The round was led by Access Bridge Ventures and CIRA’s NFX Ventures. There was also participation from Cairo Angels Syndicate, Algebra Ventures, Seedstars international, and Launch Africa Ventures.

A lot of learners today have different needs that require attention from Edtech companies. These needs are what Orcas use as yardsticks to offer the best.

Orcas is a learning platform that offers the complete spectrum of self-paced and teacher-led learning platforms. With this funding, there will be the capability to be able to continuously attract great talent, build technological products, and expand to new areas.

The CEO of Cairo Angels Syndicate, Aly El Shalakany said the investment in Orcas encompasses all that the fund should cater for.

In other words, the plans for the fund are to double down and invest best performing startups and to continue to support amazing founders like Amira and Hossam in building great businesses.

“We are very proud of Orcas’ performance so far and are confident that with this latest investment they will continue to be market leaders within the space”

He also said;

“They will now have the capability to add more exciting educational solutions using cutting edge technology and also bring these new products to the market”.

 

Cyber Intelligence Africa 2022, Johannesburg, South Africa

Boluwatife Aponmade
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Cyber Intelligence Africa 2022, Johannesburg, South Africa

The South African government is working hard towards becoming a more cyber-secure nation in years to come. In the ranking that was done recently, South Africa is heading in the right direction, however, there are still a lot of vulnerabilities that need stabilizing.

In this light, we are pleased to announce our Cyber Intelligence even to the African continent. The inaugural Cyber Intelligent Africa conference and exhibition will hold in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the 8th -9th of February, 2022. As the 2-day show goes on, you will hear from the regional governments, they will be discussing national cyber security strategies and policies, combating cybercrimes across Africa, threat intelligence and detection capabilities, international cooperation, and building cyber awareness.

The event will take place at Hilton Sandton Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Some of the speakers that will grace the occasion are Brigadier Piet Pieterse, Head of Cybercrime Investigation (CCI), South African Police Service (SAPS), Dhamir Mannai, Head of National Cyber Security Strategy, Government of Tunisia, Vladimir Aman, Head of Ivory Coast Computer Emergency Response Team (CI-CERT), Professor Basie von Solms, Director, Centre for Cyber Security, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, Ouanilo Jerome Medegan, Director, National Systems Security Agency, Benin, Dr. Lawan Mohammed, Ag. Director, Cyber Security Department, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigeria, and a host of others.

The event will avail you with unrivaled access to the regions of key government officials, who are implementing national cyber security programs and building cyber defense capabilities. Africa suffers from a lot of malware and ransomware intrusions as cybercriminals target the easiest organizations and computer systems to breach.

However, the government is working relentlessly to avoid future cyberattacks on their critical infrastructures.

Resecurity Inc., a California-based cybersecurity company is part of the sponsors of the event. Some of the Media Partners for Cyber Intelligence Africa 2022 are Aerospace & Defence Review, Asia Cloud Computing Association, Global Security Magazine, Homeland Security Research, e.t.c.

To register for the inaugural Cyber Intelligence Africa conference and exhibition as either a sponsor, delegate, speaker, or exhibitor, kindly contact us at events@intelligence-sec.com or on +44 1582 346 706.

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