The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of the Republic of Congo inaugurated a groundbreaking Centre devoted exclusively to advancing research through artificial intelligence to advance digital technology in Africa in areas of digital policy, infrastructure, finance, skills, digital platforms and entrepreneurship.
The African Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence, funded through the ECA and other partners, will provide the necessary technology education and skills to promote Africa’s integration, contributing to generate inclusive economic growth, stimulate job creation, break the digital divide, and eradicate poverty for the continent’s socio-economic development and ensure Africa’s ownership of modern tools of digital management.
The Centre was officially launched by UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the ECA, Vera Songwe, and Anatole Collinet Makossa, Prime Minister of Congo under the auspices of President Denis Sassou Nguesso. The event was attended by African ministers responsible for ICT and the digital economy.
ECA launch Africa’s first AI Research
Africa to register mild economic growth in 2022
After being the slowest growing region in 2021, Africa will register mild growth in 2022 (+3.5%) as vaccination rates will remain very low (32% in the overall continent but only 4% in Sub-Saharan Africa) according to the Allianz Economic Outlook report: Don’t Look Up. GDP growth expectations in countries are as follows: Senegal (6.1%), Kenya (5.6%), Ivory Coast (5.5%), Ghana (5.4%), Egypt (4.6%), Mozambique (4.6%), Namibia (3.7%), Morocco (3.3%), Tunisia (3.2%), Gabon (3.2%), Algeria (2.4%), Nigeria (2.3%), Angola (2.2%) and South Africa (2.0%).
In 2022, oil exporters such as Angola and Algeria will continue to benefit from the commodity upcycle tailwind. On the other hand, amid rapidly rising inflation to double digits in most countries, monetary policy rates are expected to increase in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt. In an environment of continued sanitary uncertainty, this monetary tightening is expected to put a brake on growth.
In addition to rising energy prices, food inflation has soared to hardly bearable levels in Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Ghana. The food security situation is likely to deteriorate in 2022 in southern and eastern Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia as a result of adverse climate events. The deteriorating security situation in Ethiopia entails significant risk of spillovers to the region, including migration flows to the Kenyan border. Tunisia, Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya and South Africa are hot spots regarding debt sustainability. Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Burkina Faso will see current account deficits only improve slightly in 2022 after deteriorating in 2021.
1 in 3 finance workers haven’t been cybersecurity trained
A pretty impressive 31% of employees in the finance sector haven’t had cybersecurity training arranged by their current employer, according to a new survey commissioned by NordLocker, an encrypted cloud service provider. This is alarming information as the same survey reveals 88% of finance professionals handle confidential data at work.
“Since finance is among the top three industries most hit by ransomware, the organizations that don’t train their employees how to identify the potential risks and about the right measures to avoid them are on the brink of falling victim to various cybercriminal activities,” explains Oliver Noble, a cybersecurity expert at NordLocker.
The survey reveals that 7% of employees in the finance sector don’t use any cybersecurity tools at work. Among those who do use protection on their digital devices, antivirus is the most popular software (72%) followed by a password manager (63%), a VPN (61%), and a file encryption tool (52%).
Deputy UN envoy highlights the need for support to drought-hit communities
The United Nations Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula, visited Somaliland to assess the drought situation. He highlighted the need for urgent humanitarian support to drought-affected communities in the area.
During the two-day visit, Abdelmoula toured the drought-affected area of Cunaqabad, outside Hargeisa, where he witnessed the effects of the ongoing drought and interacted with displaced families in vulnerable conditions.
The Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator held separate discussions with Somaliland’s President, Muse Bihi Abdi, and Vice President, Abdirahman Abdilahi Ismail, who is also the chairperson of the drought committee of Somaliland.
