At a time when energy security and affordability have risen to the top of the development agenda, 655 million people globally still lack access to electricity, and two billion use polluting fuels and technologies for cooking putting their health and well-being at risk. Sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate share of these gaps, with over 560…
According to Unesco, around 250 million children (16%) globally are out of school although they are of an age to be at school in their countries. Available evidence suggests that out-of-school numbers are extremely high in conflict-affected countries, though the exact number is hard to quantify. For example, in the Central African Republic, South Sudan…
Frank Garcia has just been confirmed as Washington’s top Africa diplomat. His appointment tells African governments everything they need to know about how little they matter to this administration. Last month, the U.S. Senate confirmed Frank Garcia as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, ending a vacancy that had run for more than fifteen…
Charles Molapisi MTN Group is targeting R30-billion in “value creation” from AI over the next three to five years, with roughly half expected to come from using AI to run the business more cheaply and the balance split between consumer and business applications. Setting out the plan at the group’s capital markets day on Wednesday,…
Electrification target to raise share of final energy demand met by electricity from just over 20% today to 35% by 2035 Türkiye’s COP31 Presidency also wants to halve growth in global waste by 2035 Resilient Cities target of reducing energy consumption intensity in the building sector by at least 25% by 2035 COP31 Presidency commissions…
Yunus Scheepers, group divisional manager of cyber security operations at BUI. Deepfake attacks have increased by more than 2 000% globally over the past three years. In the last 12 months, 62% of organisations worldwide have experienced at least one deepfake attack, while estimates suggest deepfake-related losses in Latin America alone could reach nearly $40…
The department’s review process aims to present the updated AI policy to Cabinet by November and for public comment by January 2027. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) is still targeting this financial year (2026/2027) to finalise South Africa’s artificial intelligence (AI) the policy. This, in an effort to minimise a prolonged period…
A reported cyberattack on Senegal’s treasury highlights the vulnerability of African institutions to cybercrime. As parts of the continent go digital at breakneck speed, countries are struggling to build up their defences against hackers and fraudsters at the same pace. This week, Senegal fell victim to the third cyberattack on a public institution in less…
A three-year effort to immunise children who missed routine vaccinations due to the Covid-19 crisis is on course to reach the 21 million target, the United Nations has said. The UN’s World Health Organization and children’s agency Unicef, along with the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, had launched “The Big Catch-Up” during the World Immunisation Week in…
Sid Bhatia, AVP and GM for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Dataiku. AI enablement platform Dataiku and its South African integration partner, Blue Turtle, participated in the ITWeb AI Summit 2026 and said they are determined to support local AI adoption. The companies believe South African organisations face several challenges that block AI adoption…
