Andela to Cut 400 Jobs in Africa, Apple Battles $14bn EU Tax Fee, and Microsoft Wants End to Huawei Ban

Africa

Andela to cut 400 tech jobs in Africa

Tech talent accelerator, Andela, will shed 400 lower level engineer jobs across Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, TechCrunch has revealed. This is despite revenues projected to hit $50 million for the startup. According to CEO Jeremy Johnson, the cuts “are due to market demand for more senior engineering talent.” This means Andela will be focusing more on recruiting experienced engineers to work on tech projects across Africa and the world. Andela focuses on training African engineers who work on a variety of projects across the world. With offices in Egypt, Rwanda, and Nigeria, Andela’s client list is currently more than 200. Andela hopes to bring in about 500 developers in the “mid and senior developer populations next year.” All 400 staff will receive severance packages and job placement services.

Egypt’s Halan to expand into Ethiopia

Egyptian startup, Halan, has announced plans to expand its tuk-tuk-hailing services into Ethiopia by the close of 2019, Reuters has announced. Halan will start operations in Adama. Mounir Nakhla, CEO and founder of the tech startup said, “Adama is a very small place in Ethiopia…and it has a lot of two-wheelers and three-wheelers. It’s a great place to test out product in Ethiopia.” Halan has already done test rides in Adama, and will attempt to recruit the city’s drivers onto its app. Halan uses two and three-wheeled vehicles to transport passengers and goods and targets underserved markets in the North African territory. Users of the app in Egypt and Sudan can order bike or tuk-tuk rides and also order food and goods deliveries.

Europe

Apple rejects EU order to pay $14 billion tax bill

Apple is protesting an order by the EU to pay up to $14 billion back in taxes, Reuters has revealed. The order was part of a 2016 ruling by the European Commission to double down on deals given multinationals by policymakers. Apple has said the decision “defies reality and common sense,” according to the report. Apple is receiving support from the Irish government whose low taxes entice multinational companies to set up headquarters in the European country. Apple is accusing the Commission of trying to change international tax laws, thereby, plunging businesses into a world of uncertainty. It claims the EU Commission wants all Apple profits outside the US to be attributed to its two Irish branches. “The activities of these two branches in Ireland simply could not be responsible for generating almost all of Apple’s profits,” Apple’s lawyer, Daniel Beard said. The EU has rejected the challenge, saying Apple was a beneficiary of illegal Irish state aid that lowered the US company’s tax burden for 20 years. It added that Ireland was to tax Apple’s subsidiary, not the Apple group.

Met Police partners Facebook to stop live streaming of terror attacks

London police has announced plans to work with Facebook in a bid to stop the live streaming of terrorist attacks, Reuters has announced. This comes on the back of terrorist attacks at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, which led to the death of 51 people, which was broadcast live on social media platforms. As part of the plans, the Metropolitan Police will help build a database of police personnel using firearms. The database will then serve as a reference point to train Facebook algorithms to detect real-life shooting cases and to delete such videos. The Met Police intends to share said videos with other firms working with government to stop live streaming of terror attacks. “Technology that automatically stops live streaming of attacks once identified would also significantly help prevent the glorification of such acts and the promotion of the toxic ideologies that drive them,” Neil Basu of Britain’s counter-terrorism team.

Fiat to try vehicle-to-grid technology

Italian-American automobile giant, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), is testing vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology using an initial cache of 700 electric cars. V2G technology allows power grids to draw energy stored in car batteries to make up for shortfalls during peak hours. FCA has already agreed terms with Terna, Italy’s grid operator, to allow the grid access to car batteries through charging station infrastructure. “We’ll start with the electric Cinquecento. The project will kick off in the coming months, we plan to reach 600-700 test vehicles by 2020-21,” Pietro Gorlier, FCA’s COO for EMEA region, said. After a failed $35 billion bid to merge with Renault, FCA will start producing full electric cars next year.

The Americas

Crypto exchange to be launched in Argentina

Huobi Group has announced plans to establish a cryptocurrency exchange in Argentina. The exchange will provide a gateway for trading the Argentine peso with cryptocurrency, a Reuters report said. Users will then be able to purchase cryptocurrency using credit cards, wire transfers as well as other digital payment services. “Argentina is South America’s most promising market for blockchain development,” Carlos Banfi of Huobi Argentina said. “The increasing demand for crypto-related products and services makes Argentina a perfect entry point for Huobi to pursue larger projects in promoting cryptocurrency and blockchain to the market,” Huobi added in a statement. Due to pressure on the local currency, reports have indicated rapid adoption of digital currencies in the South American country.

Microsoft wants end to Huawei ban

Microsoft is calling on the Trump administration to lift its ban on Huawei to allow the US company to supply Windows software to the Chinese tech giant, the BBC has announced. The current ban prevents US firms from supplying services to Huawei over claims the company has deep ties with Beijing, thereby posing a security threat to the US. Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, said he didn’t think the US could be undermined by customers using Windows software. Though he believed countries had a responsibility to protect their citizens, he added that “…we believe it would be a mistake at the same time to try to draw some new digital iron curtain down the Pacific Ocean – I think that would hold back the United States, would hold back the democracies of the world.” Mr Smith added that many companies including Microsoft had applied to the Commerce department seeking relief to supply technology to Huawei.

Asia

Eros Now partners Microsoft Azure for video streaming

Bollywood production house, Eros Now, has announced plans to tie up with Microsoft’s cloud platform, Azure, in a deal that is mutual for each party, Reuters has learnt. Microsoft will build an online video portal that will have multi-lingual voice search capabilities for videos uploaded by Eros Now. “AI and intelligent cloud tools will be the next drivers of the media business and will impact everything from content creation to consumer experience,” President of Microsoft India, Anant Maheshwari, said to the press. The move gives Microsoft a push in its quest to expand into one of Asia’s largest markets. It already partnered with video-on-demand platform, ZEE5, while Reliance Industries Ltd also announced similar tie-ins with Microsoft.

Huawei Mate 30 will run on open-source Android

Huawei’s new Mate 30 smartphone range will only run on the open-version of the popular Android OS, it has been reported. This has become necessary due to a US blacklist that limits Huawei’s ability to acquire license for the latest Android. That means the devices will not be able to access some Google apps, Reuters said based on a report by persons close to the situation.