The scramble for Africa’s financial sector has witnessed a shift since the lockdown as more African financial powerhouses are strengthening their regional base by acquisition as an expansion strategy instead of mergers. This played out again with the recent acquisition of Mozambique’s African Banking Corporation by Access Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s biggest banking institutions. Access Bank hopes to use the acquisition of the ABC to consolidate its operations in Mozambique into a single financial services unit, and hope that gaining new grounds will add bigger value to miles already covered after acquiring another banking asset in the Southern African region.
Group Managing Director, CEO of Access Bank, Mr Herbert Wigwe
The deal was sealed by Access Bank Mozambique with the backing of London-listed financial services group Atlas Mara Limited. Access Bank has been working on expanding its non Nigerian market beyond its present level especially with more footholds in the SADC region. This acquisition comes after two other acquisitions in Zambia and South Africa so far delivered between the start of the year and now, and another one to be completed in Botswana by June.
An already cluttered market in its base, Nigeria, is pushing the country’s biggest bank by asset to seek growth in the rest of Africa at a time when the coronavirus crisis has grievously deteriorated credit quality and lenders still battle the headwinds of last year’s record crash in the prices of oil on earnings. Oil and gas contributes the bulk of the credit base of Nigerian banks.
With the Mozambican takeover, the bank’s combined assets from a proposed merger between Access Bank Mozambique S.A and the new acquisition will make it the seventh largest bank in the country.
“We are building the scale necessary to compete effectively and efficiently in key African markets outside Nigeria and ensure we sustainably deliver strong return on invested capital in our African expansion,” says the Group Managing Director, CEO of Access Bank, Mr Wigwe.
“Scale is an important contributor to returns and this transaction is consistent with our rigorous efforts to create to create a strong presence with scale across Africa.”
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Global pharmaceutical giant Novartis has delivered 1 billion courses of antimalarial treatment, including 430 million pediatric treatments, largely at no profit since 1999; With other innovations, the Novartis artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) contributed to reduce malaria deaths by nearly half over the same timeframe; Novartis continues to invest in research and development for next-generation antimalarials to combat the threat of artemisinin resistance.
Dr. Lutz Hegemann, Group Head, Corporate Affairs and Global Health, Novartis
Novartis announced today that it has delivered one billion courses of antimalarial treatment since 1999. More than 90% of this artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) was supplied without profit to malaria-endemic countries around the globe.
ACTs are the standard of care for the treatment of P. falciparum malaria, the most deadly form of the disease, responsible for over 99% of cases in Africa and half of cases in Asia [2]. Since the turn of the century, ACTs have transformed malaria treatment and contributed to the dramatic reduction in malaria deaths.
Working with Chinese partners, Novartis launched the first fixed-dose ACT (artemether-lumefantrine) in 1999. Artemisinin is a natural compound found in the plant Artemisia annua, or sweet wormwood, and has shown to clear malaria parasites in the blood. ACTs combine an artemisinin derivative with a partner drug to reduce the risk of resistance if artemisinin is given alone.
Adoption of ACTs as first-line treatment by the World Health Organization (WHO) has been critical to the global malaria response. Since 2000, the WHO estimates that 1.5 billion malaria cases have been averted and 7.6 million lives saved.1 Along with malaria prevention tools and better diagnostics, ACTs remain a key component of the global drive to reach malaria elimination.
In 2001, two years after the launch of its ACT, Novartis signed an agreement with the WHO, committing to make the antimalarial available without profit to the public sector of malaria-endemic countries. Although the agreement expired in 2011, Novartis continues to provide treatments on the same terms as before.
“This is a landmark moment in the fight against malaria. Over the last 20 years, Novartis has delivered one billion treatments in more than 70 countries,” said Dr. Lutz Hegemann, Group Head, Corporate Affairs and Global Health, Novartis. “We could not have achieved this milestone without the support of our global partners and those we work with on the ground in endemic countries.”
Children bear a significant burden of malaria disease and death. This led Novartis and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) to partner on the development of the first dispersible ACT formulated specifically for children. Of the 1 billion treatments delivered, more than 430 million are the pediatric formulation launched in 2009. This pediatric treatment has contributed to a significant reduction in malaria deaths in children: in 2010, a child died every 30 seconds from malaria and now it is estimated that a child dies every two minutes. Although this is a massive improvement, there is still a long way to go.
Novartis continues to spearhead the use of ACTs to treat malaria. The company is now testing a new ACT formulation for infants weighing less than five kilograms in collaboration with the PAMAfrica research consortium led by MMV. This is one of the most vulnerable groups affected by malaria, for whom there is currently no approved treatment.
Over the last few years, worrying signs have been observed of emerging drug resistance to ACTs in South East Asia, and more recently in Africa. If widespread resistance to ACTs occurs, particularly in Africa, new effective treatments will be urgently needed. In 2018, Novartis committed to invest more than USD 100 million over five years to further advance research and development of next-generation treatments.
Novartis currently leads five malaria development programs worldwide, featuring three compounds that employ new mechanisms of action and activity against artemisinin-resistant strains of the disease.
KAF156 (ganaplacide) belongs to a novel class of antimalarial compounds that act against both the blood and liver stages of the parasite’s lifecycle. It demonstrated activity against both P. vivax and P. falciparum malaria, including artemisinin-resistant parasites. Novartis leads the development of this compound with scientific and financial support from MMV and from EDCTP via the WANECAM2 Consortium.
KAE609 (cipargamin) is another novel antimalarial compound demonstrating rapid clearance of parasites pre-clinically and in patients. Novartis is leading the development of KAE609 with financial support from the Wellcome Trust and in collaboration with the PAMAFRICA Consortium supported by EDCTP and led by MMV.
In 2020, the company discovered another novel malaria compound, INE963, which has an entirely new mechanism of action which will begin clinical trials in 2021. INE963 is a fast-acting, long-lasting antimalarial that holds promise for a high barrier to resistance. It was discovered with support from MMV and received the organization’s “Project of the Year” award in 2020.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Mobile technology is at the heart of Africa’s digital journey thanks to its ability to provide communities with improved work and economic improvements. A great example of how access to online resources is The Haller Foundation’s award-winning mobile app — Haller Farmers. In this interview Joseph Baraka, Community Project Coordinator at the Haller Foundation in Kenya explains:
Africa faces one of the biggest digital divides in the world — with that in mind, how does access to mobile technology allow rural communities to thrive in an increasingly innovative era?
The use of mobile phones has increased drastically in Africa in the past decade. Many mobile phones companies have come in handy with cheap and affordable mobile phones. That said many community members have been able to access vital services like mobile banking ‘M-PESA’ for cashless money transfer, agricultural, marketing, weather advisory apps for farmers.
It is this advancement in technology that has led community members to thrive in most aspects hence improved the livelihood and living standards of community members.
Joseph Baraka, Community Project Coordinator at the Haller Foundation
Despite farming being a fundamental part of society, training and education on sustainable agriculture are neglected and underfunded at the government level. Have apps — like Haller Farmers — acted as a good solution to this issue?
Yes, this is because the Haller Farmers App offers comprehensive and practical knowledge at the touch of a button and also at very minimal cost. Once downloaded, selected content is available offline and also has a ‘chat’ section where farmers can ask questions in regards to farming and get feedback in real time.
Other than helping African farmers improve their agricultural productivity, what kind of benefits does mobile technology have on rural communities?
Mobile technology has brought about Mobile banking services like ‘M-PESA’ which helps community members transfer and receive money at their convenience. It is also safe and reliable for farmers since they don’t have to carry cash around with them once they sell their produce.
What is the main challenge when it comes to mobile technology in rural communities and how can this be overcome?
The main challenge is the lack of electricity to charge the mobile phones thus the need to equip community members with some charging solutions like solar charging units or solar phones. Poor network, illiteracy, poverty, and lack of compatible mobile gadgets like smartphones are also issues.
It could be argued that the increasing adoption of mobile technology across the continent is leading the way to a more innovative Africa — where do you see the future of mobile technology going and why?
Mobile phone technology has and is continuing to change the living standard of many communities members given that in rural Africa it was hard for community members to communicate and had to walk long distances in order to do achieve that but with the emergency of mobile technology, communication has become easy and cost effective given that sending a text message “SMS” is as low as 1kenyan shilling per sms hence cost effective. It has also provided easy banking options with most of the banks having a mobile phone app hence reduced transportation cost of going to the bank and also time spent queuing to be served in the bank. Mobile technology has also made life easier for scholars given that they can Google and research for data related to their studies.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
One of Africa’s leading Cryptocurrency exchanges, Quidax has announced plans to expand beyond Africa to the global market. The announcement was made at the launch of their native token, QDX and repositioning as the global home of BEP20 tokens. Launched in 2018, Quidax is a cryptocurrency exchange that initially positioned itself as an African focused cryptocurrency exchange but has stated a change in strategy following some events in February.
Quidax CEO, Buchi Okoro
Quidax aims to be the home of BEP20, giving anyone access to tokens on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), as well as popular cryptocurrencies. Apart from instant exchange services, Quidax enables OTC trading and gives fintech companies the tools to offer cryptocurrency services to their customers through a dedicated API. Quidax was officially launched in 2018 and currently has over 400,000 customers in more than 70 countries.
Quidax CEO, Buchi Okoro revealed that they have processed over 3.2 billion dollars worth of transactions since their launch and have grown their customer base from 50 customers in 2018 to over 400,000 customers across 72 countries today.
Quidax is going to launch QDX, its native token. QDX will be a BEP20 token that will power all the functions within the Quidax ecosystem from trading fees on the exchange, to staking, governance, and all financial products.
Quidax will be the first project to launch on Julswap’s launchpad, JulPad. The choice to launch on JulSwap is strategic due to what JulSwap has achieved in a short period.
Speaking on their new direction, Buchi Okoro said “we are set to become the global home of BEP20 tokens. This means that anyone in the world can trade over 100 cryptocurrencies in the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem on Quidax,”
He also added that they will be launching 7 products over the next 6 months with a blend of CeFi and DeFi that will add more value and wealth to their customers.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Africa is an important and growing part of Qatar Airways’ network, but where could be next and how suited is the airline’s fleet? Qatar Airways’ Hendrik Du Preez, Vice-President for Africa, recently spoke to Routesonline about the airline’s development and opportunities across the vast continent.
Qatar Airways serves some 26 destinations across Africa in its own right this year. The A350-1000, seen here, is mainly used to Johannesburg, and also Cairo to a limited degree. Qatar Airways’ Africa network now comprises 26 destinations, analyzing OAG data indicates, up from 24 in 2019. Abuja, Accra, and Luanda were all added in 2020, while Abidjan is coming this June. Meanwhile, Cairo and Alexandria have resumed following the end of the blockade.
Qatar Airways
These additions have offset the loss of Gaborone, Marrakesh, Rabat, and Windhoek. Speaking to Routesonline, Du Preeze singled out both Gaborone and Windhoek – each very tourist-driven – as likely to return next year.Qatar AirwaysThese additions have offset the loss of Gaborone, Marrakesh, Rabat, and Windhoek. Speaking to Routesonline, Du Preeze singled out both Gaborone and Windhoek – each very tourist-driven – as likely to return next year.
Johannesburg, Cairo, Nairobi, Cape Town, Lagos, Dar Es Salaam, Casablanca, Tunis, Zanzibar, and Entebbe are the carrier’s top-10 Africa destinations by total flights.
On the Airway’s next step, it says that resumptions are just one part of Qatar Airways Plan for Africa. “We are definitely looking at other destinations in Africa as there is huge potential across the continent for new routes.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Somaliland, South Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, were all mentioned by Du Preez as possible future destinations. And the capitals of these countries – Kinshasa, Hargeisa, Juba, Lusaka, and Harare – would make sense. Pre-COVID, Dubai had up to 13 weekly departures to Hargeisa, 11 by Emirates’ partner, flydubai.
This year, Qatar Airways’ leading African countries, by flights, are South Africa, Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya, and Nigeria. Bilateral agreements remain a vital piece of the jigsaw for growth. Find out more: Join our forthcoming webinar to hear from the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker. Qatar Airways has often relied on partner airlines to reach parts of the continent that it did not serve, and they have been crucial to its development.
“We have an interline agreement with Air Côte d’Ivoire, which is important because we do not have that reach in West Africa. We have interlines with many of the airlines all over Africa.”
He said that negotiation is still ongoing with Rwandair, with data showing Qatar Airways has served Kigali since 2012. And South Africa’s Comair, a British Airways franchisee, may well become a partner too. South Africa is by far Qatar Airways’ number-one country in Africa this year, with Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg served.
“We are definitely establishing deeper partnerships with key partners around the continent going forward.”
The B787-8 is the main aircraft for Qatar Airways’ Africa operations. 20 airports across the continent will see it this year.
Du Preez believes that Qatar Airways’ mixed fleet is crucial to its Africa development. This offers flexibility and the opportunity to right-size capacity to demand as passenger traffic picks up; after all, it can take a good while for a long-haul to develop.
It also enables the airline to start a new route – perhaps a secondary destination, of which “there are many of them” – with a smaller aircraft and to build up over time.
While having fewer than 15% of flights to African destinations, narrowbodies, like this A320, are important for Qatar Airways. If Juba and Hargeisa happen, they’re likely to start with them.
Qatar Airways uses eight aircraft types to Africa this year. In order of the number of flights, they are the B787-8, A350-900, A320, B777-300ER, A350-1000, B777-200LR, B787-9, and A319. The carrier used the A319 on just one route – to Seychelles – back in January.
The end of the Qatar blockade has been significant for certain destinations, including Khartoum and Lagos, which have seen hours shaved off their flight times. This means a huge amount of fuel is saved, and Qatar Airways is again more competitive in terms of flight time. The carrier’s mixed fleet also enables a strong focus on cargo, where it makes sense, which can make a huge difference. As Du Preez said:
“Thanks to the belly hold of the B787s and A350s, a lot of the [trip] cost can be covered by the cargo and at the same time we are building up on the passenger side.”
James Pearson is a Route Development Analyst – James lives and breathes route development
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Modern technology, with all of its astonishing changes, is entirely driven by innovations conceived in the human brain – an organ that weighs about 1.5kg. Judging by how we effortlessly carry it about in our heads, the human brain is little. Yet, a Stanford study reveals that the brain’s memory capacity in the average adult can store the equivalent of 2.5 million gigabytes digital memory of information. Staggeringly awesome; not so?
With the brain, humans can perceive and interpret the world, understand their place in it, and develop their environment in ways that suit their needs. No wonder the creation of innovative ideas is considered uniquely human, and it is subject to advances in every aspect of human endeavours.
We live in exciting times; the age of digital transformation and the realities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. While there’s so much to celebrate, many African countries are not able to fully benefit from global advancements in technology. Erratic power supply, low Internet penetration, brain drain, shortage of digital skills, and weak public-private partnerships are some of our present circumstances.
As the pace of globalisation and digitalisation keeps expanding, so does the disparity between Africa and the rest of the world, particularly the developed economies. This gap engenders the need for African leaders to invest in capacity building.
Giving credit where it is due, the growth performance in Africa has picked up over the last several years. However, in this era of digital transformation, the focus should not solely be on natural resources but on developing human capacity as a pathway to economic growth.
Labelled the youngest continent, 75 per cent of Africa’s population of nearly 1.3 billion are under the age of 35, while almost half of the population are under the age of 15. The International Monetary Fund predicts that by 2035, Africa’s working-age population will exceed that of the rest of the world combined.
As for resources, our continent is blessed with a vast quantity. We have an abundance of uncultivated arable land, large oil reserves, natural gas, and mineral resources – to name a few. That said, the creativity and innovation of Africa’s youthful population coupled with our wealth of resources can play a key role in accelerating the continent’s economic transformation.
Prioritising capacity-building efforts will be a huge step in this direction. By this, I mean that African leaders and decision-makers need to have the right knowledge about digital transformation, and equip young people with the right skills to position themselves and become contributors to this digital economy. Consider how that can be done in the following ways:
Infrastructural development
It has been said that the digital capacity of a country is only as effective as its digital infrastructure. Frankly, I’m inclined to agree with this submission. We keep talking about capacity building, yet little or nothing will be accomplished if the structures and infrastructure required to strengthen learning are not put in place.
To illustrate, broadband connectivity in many African nations – when available – tends to be relatively slow, erratic, and costly. As such, countries like Botswana, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa are activating ambitious broadband strategies to increase Internet penetration rapidly, especially in rural communities. When connectivity services are accessible, affordable, and available, this will foster youth inclusion in the digital space. Needless to say, Africa needs to invest heavily in its digital infrastructure.
Educational reform
According to a World Bank survey across seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, which represent about 40 per cent of the continent’s population, it was reported that one-third of teachers had not mastered the curriculum that they were to teach. This shows how Africa’s educational systems have sunk into a state of disrepair.
In this age of enlightenment, it is still confounding that millions of children are not enrolled in schools while many of those in primary school are failing to achieve basic proficiency in reading, writing, and math. Also, many institutions adopt antiquated and impractical academic curriculum that does not offer the skills and knowledge required to succeed in the digital world.
To address this, governments must update curriculums and entrust them to competent and accountable teaching staff, so they are able to churn out worldly-wise graduates who possess critical thought and digital skills. After all, a highly educated youth population can better utilise digital transformation and expand its frontiers.
Implementation of innovation-friendly policies
In the face of no action or hurtful policies, the continent risks a broken social order and an exodus of youths who may seek opportunities elsewhere. It is no longer news that young people are desperate to find greener pastures in popular migratory destinations such as Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Germany.
In response to this growing concern, the Founder of SystemSpecs, John Obaro, said, “A lot of our young ones find the lure of foreign countries irresistible, and organisations across the country are incapable of halting the emigration as some of the reasons adduced are justifiable. We might be unable to completely stop the outward movement of talents, but we can make it less attractive by creating an enabling environment for them to thrive.”
African governments should focus on enacting policies that support the activities of the emerging private sector, particularly young entrepreneurs. By creating a conducive and inclusive ecosystem, the youth segment will be able to put their resilience and proclivity for entrepreneurship to good use rather than flee abroad.
Possible COVID-19 third wave and NIN enrollment
On May 4, 2021, the Federal Government of Nigeria approved the deadline extension for the National Identity Number and Subscriber Identity Module data verification to June 30, 2021. The new deadline – the fourth – was given based on the request by stakeholders for an extension to make it easier for all citizens and legal residents to register.
Going by all the previous deadline extensions, it is clear that the timeframe given by the government is not feasible enough.
True, significant progress has been recorded as almost 54 million people have obtained their NIN, however the registration, even with a postponed deadline, still leaves a lot to be desired as it will only result in a crowd-induced frenzy.
Considering that another wave of COVID-19 pandemic is looming on the horizon and countries like India, Brazil, Argentina are already in the throes of a vicious third and even fourth wave, it will be a mistake to risk spreading the virus simply to comply with a deadline that may or may not be extended further.
To buttress this point, the Lagos State Government, through its Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, announced the impending third wave of the pandemic and the measures taken for its prevention in the state.
Let me reiterate what I have always stated about this entire SIM-NIN integration saga: this entire drama is not necessary. There are many routes we could have taken to achieve better results. A more practical way to go about it is to make the NIN enrollment exercise a never-ending exercise – a continuum, if you will.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
The total amount of payments via internet in Algeria recorded considerable improvement at the end of the first quarter of 2021, shooting up by 247.8% from previous year’s record. This was boosted, in part, by growing enthusiasm towards online payments brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. In total, online payments amounting to more than 2.2 billion dinars ($16.5m) were made in the period January-March, 2021 compared to 634 million dinars in the same period of the previous year, according to Groupe d’intérêt économique (GIE) Monétique.
Mobile Payment
This is a significant number for a country of about 43 million people out of which only about 59.6% (25.6 million) are connected to the internet.
Here Is What You Need To Know
According to the report, the increase is as a result of an increase in the total number of transactions carried out by interbank card holders (CIB) and those of Algeria Poste (Edahabia), which reached 1,782,213 transactions during the first quarter of the current year — it was 404,449 transactions over the same period in 2020, representing an increase of more than 340.65%.
The telecoms sector generated the most transactions with a total of 1,619,622 transactions during the months of January, February and March 2021, followed by that of service providers (hotel reservations, training, etc.) which recorded 97,677 transactions, according to GIE Monétique.
The activities related to administrative services come in third position in the ranking of the sectors that generated electronic payments, with no less than 28,921 transactions, while the payment of electricity and water bills appears in the fourth position, having generated 25,570 payments online.
The balance sheet of the GIE Monétique also shows increase in electronic payments for the purchase of goods online, with a total of 573 transactions during the first quarter of 2021, including 465 for the month of March alone, a figure significantly higher than the sum of transactions recorded in this area during the same period in 2020 (9 transactions), reports the GIE Monétique.
The insurance sector is the only sector to have experienced a decline in the number of internet payments during this period with a total of 971 transactions compared to 3,229 transactions during the first quarter 2020.
According to GIE Monétique figures, internet transactions increased fivefold in 2020 to reach 4,593,960 transactions with a total amount of 5,423 billion dinars compared to 873,679 transactions and 1,576 billion dinars in 2019.
83 Active Web-merchants.
According to the report, a total of 83 web-merchants are active in Algeria at the end of the 1st quarter 2021, 38 more than at the same period last year when their number was 45.
This number includes 4 operators in the telecoms sector, as much as the transport sector; 13 players in the insurance sector; 8 web-merchants active in the distribution of electricity and water; and 2 administrative service providers.
The striking feature in the figures is the number of web-merchants in the segment of service providers which stands at 23, behind that of sellers of goods which reached 29 at the end of the 1st quarter of the current year.
The GIE Monétique expects to see this number increase following the launch, on April 4, of the portal for the remote integration of web merchants into the electronic payment platform called “CIB Web”.
22 web-merchants requested the integration of e-payment into their websites through the new portal, during the first ten days since its launch.
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions. He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance. He is also an award-winning writer
There are evidence that inspite of government’s best efforts to ban crypto-currency trading in Nigeria, Nigerians have turned deaf ear to the warnings. This is evidenced by the new report showing that the country has emerged as the biggest market for Paxful, a global peer-to-peer fintech and crypto-currency trading platform, with an impressive volume which currently stands at $1.5 billion and 1.5 million users.
Ray Youssef, CEO, and co-founder of Paxful
As at April 2021, the top four countries by volume on Paxful aside Nigeria are China, United States of America, India, and Kenya, but globally, over $5 billion has been traded with six million users to date on the platform.
The CEO and co-founder of Paxful, Mr. Ray Youssef said that the traditional financial system is failing 99 percent of the world’s population, explaining that this means there is no way out of income inequality for a lot of people in the world. Youssef said: “With crypto-currencies, we see an alternative, a way to rest the financial system based on equality. Our mission at Paxful is to give everyone equal access to finance no matter who they are or where they are so they can control their own money and build the future they want with financial freedom.”
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Apple Inc has reportedly suffered a ransomware attack at the hands of REvil operators. The hackers have revealed that the tech company has until 1 May to pay the ransom or risk losing confidential drawings and gigabytes of personal data.
Cybersecurity
“Our team is negotiating the sale of large quantities of confidential drawings and gigabytes of personal data with several major brands,” says REvil operators. “We recommend that Apple buy back the available data by May 1.”
According to The Record, the REvil gang asked for a $50 million ransom demand, similar to the sum they requested from laptop maker Acer last month.
Denis Legezo, Senior Security Researcher for Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team, says “REvil ransomware has been known since 2019 and it can both encrypt data and steal it. It is distributed on specialised forums “by subscription” (ransomware-as-a-service)”.
Thus, two groups of attackers are involved in the attack: the first finds a breach in the protection of the organisation and injects REvil there and the second creates the malware. After encryption or data theft, a ransom is demanded from the victim. And if successful, it is divided between these groups.
“An interesting feature is that the malware does not start if certain languages are detected when checking the system language and existing keyboard layouts (this is a large set of dozens of layouts), including Russian.”
An attack like this, unfortunately, is not unique. Legezo goes on to say that targeted ransomware attacks on large companies have become quite common, especially over the past few years.
“One specific attack, even on an organisation known worldwide, will not change the way things are operated. But we hope that the reaction to this trend will include the introduction of information security events monitoring; complex cybersecurity systems, including for proactive detection of attacks; and enhanced training of employees around cybersecurity rules”.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Data and data analytics? Big business. We generate a massive amount of information every day, sourced via the Internet of (Every)Thing(s), GPS trackers, fitness wearables, software-as-a-service, web content and social media. This information can be analysed computationally to reveal patterns, trends and associations; yielding outputs with a multitude of uses. For example, we can use it to predict trends and patterns, find the most lucrative opportunities, and manage our time and resources more effectively.
Dina Biagio, Partner at Spoor & Fisher South Africa
But how does intellectual property (IP) law protect data, enabling it to be monetised? And what should businesses be aware of, as they grow increasingly dependent on data?
Copyright and common law
In South Africa, data is protected under copyright and the common law prevents unlawful competition. There is a distinction between an individual data item and a compilation of data (the latter, resulting from sourcing data items and organising them so as to make them useful).
An individual data item is eligible for copyright protection only if it is “original”; that is, not copied from an existing source, and if its production required a non-trivial degree of skilled judgement or labour. So copyright subsists in data items emerging from complex analysis, but not in raw data.
In contrast, where information has been (lawfully) gathered from publicly available sources and arranged into a compilation that can be searched and analysed, the compilation (but not the individual data items) is eligible for copyright protection.
As a general rule, copyright entitles the owner to prevent others from copying the original work but does not prevent independent re-development. However, proving that a compilation has been copied can be difficult, especially where the compilation is of raw, technical or public information.
Consider a database containing vehicle specifications and spare parts details that are publicly available. If a competitor were to compile the same information, independently and from scratch, the re-developed database is likely to be identical to the pre-existing ones.
How much must be copied?
An objective similarity between works will lead to the conclusion that work has been copied. But how much must be copied? ‘Data scraping’, where data items are (usually automatically) collected from public sources like websites, is commonplace. And this is sometimes permitted under the ‘fair dealings’ exception to copyright infringement, available in many jurisdictions.
Under SA law, copyright infringement occurs if a ‘substantial part’ of the original work is copied. So much must be copied that the value of the original compilation is sensibly diminished, particularly where the defendant takes ‘for the purpose of saving himself labour’.
Similarly, the owner of a database right existing under the European Directive on Copyright and Rights in Databases would have recourse where a ‘substantial part’ of the contents of their database is extracted or re-utilised. This applies even when the copying results from the repeated and systematic extraction or re-utilisation of insubstantial parts of the contents.
Unlawful competition
So we can own a copyright in data and data compilations, and we can prevent others from copying a substantial part of it. In Europe, we can own database rights. We can possess materials that contain data, and we can know data, but is it possible to own the data itself?
Our Courts have held that information or knowledge of whatever value and however confidential is not property and there is no real right of ownership comparable to ownership of corporeal property.
But a person having a quasi-proprietary or legal interest in data, or in a compilation of data, can seek relief for misappropriation, on the grounds of unlawful competition.
This interest could stem from having created the data/compilation; mandating another person to do this; or being granted an exclusive right to the data by the person who created, or mandated the creation of, the data/compilation.
Unlawful competition is based on the principle that no business should benefit at the expense of its rivals through the use of improper methods. But there is a fine (and sometimes blurred) line between competition that is deemed to be lawful and that which is not.
Unlawful competition is sometimes characterised by ‘springboarding’: starting not at the beginning with one’s own development but “using, as the starting point, the fruits of someone else’s labour”.
Ultimately though, the unlawfulness of business practice will be determined in each case, with regard to several subjective factors like the honesty and fairness of the conduct involved, the morals of the trade sector, and the importance of competition in a particular market.
As a trend, all businesses are likely to become increasingly dependent on data. You will need to navigate the legal minefield of data rights and interests, use data lawfully and optimise the value to be gained by exploiting it.
Dina Biagio is a Partner at Spoor & Fisher South Africa
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
