NITDA DG takes-off !

Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, director general, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has admitted there are many challenges facing the Agency and the country at large. Pantami, who took to social media to appreciate Nigerians on the numerous congratulatory messages sent to him on the recent appointment to head the Agency, also solicited prayers for a successful tenure.

The DG writes, “I write to thank all my fellow Nigerians for their goodwill messages, suggestions and prayers over my recent trial of serving Nigeria as the DG of NITDA. The responsibility is a huge one, which needs more advice, than congratulatory messages. This is indeed a trial, that we hope and pray to be successful. I received many messages through email, whatsApp, twitter and Facebook. I had tried to reply all individual, but became practically impossible. I do hope that this will be accepted as a reply to those that I couldn't reply them privately.

Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami was appointed substantive DG of NITDA following the announcement by the Federal Government on Monday the 26th of September 2016.

In a brief reception held in his honour, Dr. Isa Ali expressed his gratitude towards the reception he received from the outgoing acting DG, the indefatigable Vincent Olatunji, PhD, and other members of staff. Dr. Pantami promised to consolidate on the achievements the Agency has recorded over the years, adding that what is important to him is to see how Nigeria can explore the potentials of ICT for National development.

He said, “What is important to us is Nigeria and I am here to work together with you as a team to achieve the vision of the Agency”.

We believe that the NITDA DG will commence action by receiving reports and proposals from professionals on what needs to be done within the next three (3) years.

Facebook is now available in 101 languages

Today Facebook is becoming available in three new languages; Corsican, Fulah and Maltese. With these three languages, Facebook is now available in 101 languages and now more than one billion people use Facebook in a language other than English.

Our mission is to give people the power to share and to make the world more open and connected and language is vital to connecting. We discovered this very early on in our history when Facebook was only available in English, but the people using Facebook were from all over the world.

In 2007 we built a Translate Facebook app that enabled anyone to translate the Facebook interface into their own language. Over the years, a vibrant community has developed that is helping make Facebook available in languages from all over the world.

What is particularly interesting about this community is that they have helped Facebook translate the service into nine languages that are on UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. These languages are the hardest languages to translate - there are fewer people speaking them and many of them oftentimes are not spoken in the home.

So much is carried through language - tradition, culture, different opinions - it is vital to have these languages in danger represented on Facebook because it opens up communication and connectedness to more people. There are thousands of languages in the world and to connect everyone, we have to be available in languages people are comfortable with and understand. We have a long way to go in collaborating with the community of translators and are so grateful for all of their help. 

Please see the post from Mark Zuckerberg here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10103141439212431&id=4

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About Facebook

Founded in 2004, Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what is going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. Facebook has 1.04 billion daily active users on average worldwide and 7.2 million daily visitors from Nigeria.

About Red Media Africa

Red Media Africa (www.redmediaafrica.com [2]) is the PR & Empowerment Marketing division under the parent brand, RED. It focuses on using inspiration, empowerment and action to help brands and organisations connect with their audiences, enhance their bottom-lines and lead in their industries. It has 6 major practice areas: Corporate Practice, Technology Practice, SME Practice, Governance Practice, Faith Practice and the International Practice - with work for brands across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. RED owns the continent's largest portfolio of youth media brands. Its Content Division holds brands across TV, radio, online and events including Y! Magazine,YNaija.com, Rubbin' Minds, #YTech100 and the The RED Summit. It also anchors a development firm, The Future Project, which projects include Africa's leading youth platform, The Future Awards Africa, HowCanIGetInvolved.com and Aiki.ng, which is run in conjunction with Microsoft.‎​

Announcing the Winners of the Internet.org Innovation Challenge in Africa

Internet.org is excited to present six Innovation Challenge in Africa awards to leading examples of ideas, apps, websites and/or online services that provide real value in the categories of education and economic empowerment.

Across the African continent, only 28 per cent of the population has access to the internet. To bring more people in Africa online, the internet needs to be accessible, affordable and educational. We need to help people understand the possibilities available to them online. Each of the submissions we received has a part in creating a more connected world.

We are presenting two $150,000 USD Innovation Challenge award prizes: one each to the leading app, website, service or idea that best meets the needs of the designated population categories – Education and Economic Empowerment, as well as four additional $50,000 USD Impact awards within each category.

The winners are:

Education

Innovation Challenge Award Winner
Started in Ghana, Esoko makes it easier for businesses, governments, NGOs and others to connect with farmers. Through its web and mobile apps, Esoko enables two-way data flows that allow smallholder farmers to access vital agricultural information and markets, and businesses to gain better visibility into their supply chains. The name Esoko comes from “e” representing electronic and “soko” meaning market in Swahili. Esoko has since spread its services to eight additional markets across Africa.

Impact Award Winner
mPedigree Goldkeys from Ghana is an anti-counterfeiting, tracking and tracing solution that uses consumers’ mobile phones as a verification tool. In Uganda and Kenya, this service is being used to help farmers determine whether they are buying original counterfeit seeds. They have since spread their services to Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Egypt for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agro-inputs like seeds and pesticides, and electrical components.

Impact Award Winner
Nigeria’s SaferMom provides pregnant and new mothers with simple tools to help make informed health decisions via sms, voice services and its mobile app. SaferMom uses a chain of community health partners and mobile technology to track the health of pregnant moms and newborn babies, immunization schedules for babies, nutrition and behavioral routines based on their fetal development stages and antenatal care. This service is available in the English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Pidgin languages.

Economic Empowerment

Innovation Challenge Award Winner
Founded in South Africa, Hyperion Development is a social enterprise that has built the first online course platform for computer science education supported by the largest online community of software developers in Africa. Hyperion Development allows anyone to take online courses in coding with a personal computer or mobile phone; even without a broadband connection, which fewer than 1% of Africans have.

Impact Award Winner
Launched in Ghana, Mutti by mPharma is a drug affordability service that enables patients to access high quality medicine at lower prices with flexible payment terms through micro-payments. Mutti means medicine in Bemba, a Zambian language. They also operate in Nigeria, Zambia and Cote D’Ivoire, targeting three main chronic conditions: hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Impact Award Winner
Nigeria’s Tuteria connects people seeking to learn with people around them who can teach. Tuteria provides an online platform which allows users to find, evaluate, book and pay for lessons with competent local tutors, coaches, instructors and mentors.

The challenge was judged by:

• Ike Eze, Head, PocketMoni and Executive Director, Strategy and Corporate Development, eTranzact
• Ime Archibong, Director of Product Partnerships, Facebook
• Rob LeBlanc, Chief Investment Officer, The Amethu Project
• Terryanne Chebet, Founder, Keyara Organics

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About Facebook

Founded in 2004, Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what is going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. Facebook has 1.04 billion daily active users on average worldwide and 7.2 million daily visitors from Nigeria.

About Red Media Africa

Red Media Africa (www.redmediaafrica.com [2]) is the PR & Empowerment Marketing division under the parent brand, RED. It focuses on using inspiration, empowerment and action to help brands and organisations connect with their audiences, enhance their bottom-lines and lead in their industries. It has 6 major practice areas: Corporate Practice, Technology Practice, SME Practice, Governance Practice, Faith Practice and the International Practice - with work for brands across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. RED owns the continent's largest portfolio of youth media brands. Its Content Division holds brands across TV, radio, online and events including Y! Magazine,YNaija.com, Rubbin' Minds, #YTech100 and the The RED Summit. It also anchors a development firm, The Future Project, which projects include Africa's leading youth platform, The Future Awards Africa, HowCanIGetInvolved.com and Aiki.ng, which is run in conjunction with Microsoft.‎​