NUGGET (24 MARCH 2021)

Future Thinkers, here is your news…

Microsoft reported that it believes an attack on its business email software not too long ago was by the Chinese government-backed hacking group called Hafnium. A little info on this organization: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafnium_(group)

Dvůr Králové Safari Park and Brno ZooZookeepers in the Czech Republic are doing something innovative. They are using technology to allow their Chimps to FaceTime one another. They have been lonely during lock down.

77 of the 100 most air polluted cities around the world are in the USA, said by the recent IQAir report. (www.iqair.com – air quality and pollution city ranking website.) It is interesting that one of the main offenders for air pollution for the USAs West Coast was their record-breaking wildfires which have been attributed to climate change. This is an example on how the ripple effects of climate change compound one another.

A local Kenya newspaper recently reported that Chinese lenders could take control of the port of Mombasa if they default on a $3.2bn loan. Ukur Yatani (Finance Minister) has said their country is not at risk of losing its main port to China. A crude description of the problem: countries using assets as ‘collateral’ for financial support from China. This situation is not unique in Africa. It is a subject of great debate. I travelled to several cities in China to do some groundwork for an article called “Is China helping Africa advance at a technological level or hurting us?” which you can read here:
https://www.jeanpierremurraykline.co.za/ischinahelpingafricaadvanceatatechnologicallevelorhurtingus_jeanpierremurraykline.html

A quick shout out to an African Tech business: https://gozem.co. They are a transport technology platform for Francophone West and Central Africa. Their objective is to create a super App. The business started off as an ‘Uber’ type company, mainly with motorcycles. They call their drivers ‘Champions’, how cool is that! Their business has done very well in just a few short years, currently operating in 7 cities and completed over 500 000 trips. In addition, they are moving on with an e-commerce delivery service in the cities of Lome and Cotonou and developing an e-wallet. Well done!

The electronic Chinese yuan is now being tested in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. There is no other country developing its own e-currency with more vigour than China. The sign for their new e-currency is: ‘eCNY’.

*** That’s it for this week!