Facebook released findings from The Impact of Facebook’s Connectivity Initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa, a study conducted by Analysys Mason that highlights how Facebook investments in infrastructure and connectivity across the region will deliver over $57 Billion in Economic Benefits over the next five years (2020–2024).
According to The Economist Intelligence Unit – Inclusive Internet Index 2020, over 800 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are unconnected to the internet. Over the years, Facebook has invested in infrastructure and partnerships to address the barriers to connectivity, such as the lack of availability in infrastructure, affordability, relevance and readiness to get online. Also aiming to provide financial and technical inputs that can make infrastructure easier and cheaper to deploy within the continent, Facebook’s infrastructure investments and connectivity initiatives include investing in infrastructure that supports internet connectivity such as submarine cables.
Facebook’s Africa Public Policy Director, Kojo Boakye, commented “at Facebook we’re committed to Africa and the role that we can play in improving the continent’s global competitiveness. Over the last three years we’ve heavily invested in infrastructure and connectivity initiatives that aim to affordably connect people on this continent and create tangible social-economic benefits. These efforts are part of a complex solution that requires all stakeholders – including mobile operators, infrastructure providers and governments – to work together for the common good. We are only 1% finished and remain committed to this exciting journey and working with all our partners along the way.”

Radisson Hotel Group announced the addition of six new hotels to its African portfolio, bringing the total to almost 100 hotels across 32 African markets.
Building on the recent announcement of its reinforced African development team structure, the announcement of the six new hotels further demonstrates the Group’s commitment to the continent.
Elie Younes, Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer, Radisson Hotel Group, said “we believe in the vast potential of Africa. The addition of the six hotels, following the announcement of Radisson Hotel Saint Denis earlier this year places us firmly on track to reach over 150 hotels in operation and under development across the continent within the next five years. The new hotel announcements include our debut in new markets, the introduction of additional brands and the strengthening of our presence in cities we’ve identified for scaled growth. We thank our hotel partners for their invaluable trust in Radisson Hotel Group and its people.” One of the six hotels will be in Addis Ababa.
Radisson Hotel Group’s fifth hotel in Ethiopia, scheduled to open in 2021, is located just 4km from Ethiopia’s newly expanded Addis Ababa Bole International Airport terminal, now the biggest airport aviation hub in Africa, expected to accommodate 22 million passengers a year.
The 114-room hotel will boast a wide variety of food and drink outlets, the hotel will offer guests a truly local experience in a traditional Ethiopian specialty restaurant and bar and appease international taste buds in a bespoke all-day-dining restaurant which leads out into a pool bar. In addition, the hotel will also have a third bespoke panoramic bar.

With over 720,000 confirmed cases across Africa, COVID-19 has already claimed almost 16,000 lives. In their efforts to reduce the devastating impact of the disease, several national authorities have partnered with leading technology and innovation company KC Wearable to use company’s KC N901 Smart Helmet.
The helmet can detect fevers, the most prevalent COVID-19 symptom, with 96% accuracy. South Africa was the first African country to use the helmet following a surge in cases last month and it is already being used in airports and logistics hubs across Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg. Authorities in Algeria, Egypt and Gabon are now also using the smart helmet, as they look to better protect their populations and avoid further escalation of the pandemic.
Beyond Africa, the helmet is already being used in over 35 countries, including Indonesia, the UAE, Italy, Netherlands, Kuwait, Chile, and Turkey. KC Wearable has partnered with national authorities and major transport hubs such as airports, as well as schools and hospitals, to detect COVID-19 symptoms in a range of settings.
With the ability to screen the temperatures of up to 200 people a minute, the helmet offers a quick and accurate alternative to traditional thermal cameras. The wearable headset improves the efficiency and flexibility of COVID-19 screening.