300 million Africans suffered internet shutdowns in 2022

Friday, 27 January 2023

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Good morning!

CBN said yesterday that it has come to the conclusion that all Nigerians should use its Nigerian Domestic Card, AfriGo.

Its governor, Godwin Emefiele said that CBN will stop paying for local transactions made through our debit cards in dollars. When we use our debit cards; Mastercard and Visa, CBN renumerates what we've paid in dollars.

Now it says it will not pay the charges in dollars anymore on local transactions. This will mean that for local transactions, well you essentially need its new AfriGo card.

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Below are the tech stories and news you need to know to start your day, carefully curated by Technext.

Summary of the news

IBM said it will layoff 3,900 employees
300 million Africans were affected by internet shutdowns in 2022
CBN has banned dollar charges on domestic transactions
Prosus said it will cut 30% of its corporate staff
Federal Executive Council has approved the Nigeria Data Protection Bill

IBM to sack 3,900 employees

IBM, a US multinational technology company, has become the latest tech giant to slash thousands of jobs. The data giants announced on Wednesday that 3,900 job positions would become void, or 1.5% of its global workforce, Technext reports.

The company explained that this layoff was not due to poor employee performance in 2022 or a fear for the new year, saying they were related to the previously announced sale of two business units. According to a spokesperson, these job cuts will cost IBM about $300 million this quarter.

While the layoff trend has persisted, IBM has explained that they are not downsizing in response to the gloomy global economic outlook. IBM CEO, Arvind Krishna, expressed utmost confidence in the upcoming year in a call with the CNN on Wednesday.

The units affected by this development are; Kyndryl, an IT infrastructure services business that was officially separated from IBM in November, and IBM’s healthcare analytics business, which an investment firm is in the process of acquiring.

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300m Africans suffered internet shutdowns in 2022

300 million Africans were affected by internet shutdowns in 2022, a new report by Surfsharks reveals. The reports also revealed that a total of 5 African countries censored the internet 13 times in 2022.

Surfshark spokeswoman Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske said:

More than half of the world’s population was affected by internet censorship last year. Many of these cases involved full internet disruptions on a local or national level. These can be devastating and extremely dangerous, especially during wartime, protests, or violent government repressions.

Internet restrictions can make it difficult or even impossible to mobilize people for the defense of democracy, contact loved ones, access news sites, and spread information to the outside world on what’s happening.

See a summary of the report below:

4.2 billion people were affected by internet censorship in 2022 globally.
Africa was the second most intensive continent by internet shutdowns after Asia.
There were 13 new internet restrictions in Africa in 2022 imposed by 5 countries.
Sudan takes the lead in Africa by new disruption count (4).
The main causes for internet censorship in 2022 were protests and political turmoil.
Facebook was the most-restricted social media platform in 2022.

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CBN bans dollar charges on domestic transactions

The Central Bank of Nigeria, in collaboration with the NIBSS, has launched a Nigerian national domestic card scheme, AfriGo, as part of its efforts to drive financial inclusion in the country, Technext reports.

At the brand unveiling and virtual launch this morning, the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele also disclosed that the apex bank would no longer pay the charges on domestic card transactions in dollars, effective immediately.

See an excerpt from the CBN governor below:

At this time when foreign exchange challenges persist globally, it is important for me to say that we have come up with this card to ensure that all online card transactions will now, effective immediately, begin to go on the Nigerian National Domestic System.

Your existing cards are fine. You can continue using them, but given that charges by foreign cards are in dollars, we will no longer pay dollars for the charges on those cards.

We will only pay dollars for charges on transactions that are done outside Nigeria. NIBSS, the CBN and Nigerian banks will work together to see how to segregate those transactions. To ensure that we pay fees or charges for international transactions that are conducted on both domestic cards, Visa or Master Cards, as they are known today.

We will bar domestic charges from the Nigerian foreign exchange market at some point in the very near future.

Prosus to cut 30% of corporate staff

Amsterdam-listed Prosus NV and its parent Naspers are planning to cut their corporate workforce by 30%, becoming the latest global tech company to announce layoffs, MoneyWeb reports.

The firm, one of Europe’s largest e-commerce companies by asset value, will make cuts at its corporate centers, including hubs in Hong Kong, Amsterdam and South Africa, Chief Executive Officer Bob van Dijk said in an interview Wednesday.

He said the job cuts are taking place over a 12 month-period and about 15 locations will be affected.

"The reality is that the macro environment has become more difficult and has changed a lot,” Van Dijk said. “This also means that the cost of capital has changed a lot, as interest rates go up and risk premiums also go up."

Van Dijk declined to say how many people would lose their jobs.

Prosus employed 30,000 people globally at the end of March last year, according to an earnings report. But these roles are spread across corporate hubs and a range of businesses the e-commerce group invests in and operates, including in classified advertising, food delivery and internet payments.

FEC approves Nigeria Data Protection Bill

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the Nigeria Data Protection Bill for transmission to the National Assembly. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, disclosed this on Wednesday after the FEC meeting,. Nairametrics reports.

He explained that when the bill is passed into law, will ensure the privacy and confidentiality of data being submitted to the government and other institutions.

The bill, which seeks to give Nigerians full legal backing in the protection of their data will replace the current Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR). Emphasizing the importance of having a data protection law in Nigeria, the National Assembly had last year promised to give the bill an accelerated passage once sent to them by the executive.

Meanwhile, the Minister disclosed that the FEC has also approved the National Child Online Protection Policy and Strategy aimed at protecting children from the harmful side of the digital environment. Pantami said the policy was in line with the International Telecommunication Union’s policy document for all its member countries.