Andela Lays Off 135 Workers, Virgin and O2 Take on BT, and US to Allow Businesses to Work with Huawei on 5G standards

Africa

Andela lays off 135 workers

Andela, the software engineering talent company, has laid off up to 135 workers across different locations, it has been reported. Jeremy Johnson, Andela’s CEO, pointed to a struggling customer base as the reason for the downsizing at the company. He added that “While our customer base has held up better than most, the majority have still been impacted by the economic downturn.” While expecting a decline in the acquisition of new customers, Andela found it prudent to downsize its operations. These latest dismissals represent 10% of Andela’s workforce. Meanwhile, the company sees up to 50% of its partners will be or are being affected by the downturn precipitated by the pandemic. Founded in 2014, Andela trains software engineers and then partners them with tech firms around the globe who require their special needs and expertise.

Flutterwave launches digital store for African merchants

Flutterwave has launched Flutterwave Store to help African merchants set up online shops, it has been revealed. The initiative is a response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused many businesses to shut down their brick and mortar businesses. The lockdown has led to a boost in online sales and Flutterwave hopes to give African businesses the chance to leverage the advantage of digital shops. Flutterwave partners third-party service providers like Sendy in Kenya and Sendbox in Nigeria to offer payments solutions. While the service is free to merchants, there is a minimal fee on using the payments solutions. “The goal is not to become like eBay, that’s advocating for everybody. We’re just giving small merchants the infrastructure to create an online store at zero cost right from scratch,” Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola said. Flutterwave is a fintech start-up that offers payments solutions to businesses across the globe.

Europe

Virgin Media to merge with O2

Broadband giant Virgin Media is planning a merger with O2 to create one of the largest entertainment/telecoms firm capable of taking on BT, the BBC has reported. The companies that own both companies, Liberty Global and Telefonica, have announced that they agreed to the terms of the merger already. Virgin has approximately nine million subscribers across its broadband, cable, and mobile services while O2 boasts about 34 million mobile phone subscribers. “Combining O2’s number one mobile business with Virgin Media’s superfast broadband network and entertainment services will be a game-changer in the UK, at a time when demand for connectivity has never been greater or more critical,” Telefonica said. Meanwhile, calls have been made for the Competitions and Market Authority to investigate the deal since it could have a significant effect on the consumer. “Neither provider stands out in our recent customer satisfaction surveys, and any merger should only be allowed to go ahead if it delivers positive outcomes for consumers, Which?, a consumer protection group said.

Latvian drone goes missing after days of fuelling

The Latvian airspace is facing delay problems while the Latvian authority hunt down drone that went missing after take-off, it has been reported. The 26kg drone had been fuelled for days ahead of its operation but went missing mid-flight. The drone, which had taken off on Saturday, had enough fuel to last it through to Tuesday. However, operators lost contact with the non-military drone shortly after take-off. To aid in the search, the airspace is restricted for all aircraft flying below 19,500ft. Latvian aviation authorities believe the drone had probably landed but are still unable to track its location despite records of many sightings.

The Americas

Zoom ramps up security measures to curb hacking

Video conferencing app Zoom is introducing new security measures to curb the influx of hackers “zoombombing” video calls, it has been reported. Hackers and trolls have been gate-crashing private zoom meetings to post obscene messages. In its new security measures, Zoom requires all users of its free service to use passwords at all meetings. All data transferred during each meeting will also be encrypted to avoid interceptions. Still, security watchers feel Zoom would have to step up its measures if it was going to attract corporations back into its clientele. “The bigger issues such as the of the lack of end-to-end encryption, making it unsuitable for commercially or politically sensitive meetings, are much trickier to solve,” Jo O’Reilly of ProPrivacy said.

New US laws to allow Huawei involved in 5G regulations

The US is drafting new laws that would allow American tech companies collaborate with Huawei Technologies to establish standards for new 5G networks, it has been reported. Initial engagements with top US firms but the blacklisting of the Chinese firm brought discussions to a halt. While the US instituted the blacklist based on allegations of possible infiltration by Beijing, the move is believed to have put American companies at a disadvantage since Huawei was the world’s largest equipment manufacturer. “But their policies have inadvertently caused U.S. companies to lose their seat at the table to Huawei and others on the entity list,” Naomi Wilson of the Information Technology Industry Council said. The new law when finalised would allow American companies to participate in discussions on boards and panels where Huawei is also a part of.

Asia

China launches spacecraft using largest rocket

China has successfully launched a spacecraft using its largest carrier rocket, a Reuters report has said. The Long March-5B rocket took off at 1000 GMT from the Wechang Spacecraft Launch Centre in Hainan. This represents the large rocket carrier’s first ever mission into space, according to sources. China had already announced plans to build an unmanned spacecraft as part of plans to shuttle astronauts to a space station and also to be used for other space explorations. Being the third country to put a man into space using its own rocket, China hopes to build an inhabited space station by 2022.

Facebook dismantles disinformation network tied to Iran

Facebook says it has dismantled a ring of social media accounts spreading pro-Iranian propaganda targeted at British and American voters, Reuters has reported. Some of the accounts which were linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation (IRIB) had been in operation since as far back as 2011, the report said. The accounts have been known to leverage uncertainties around the coronavirus pandemic to shore up their audience in order to spread hate speech. The network of nearly 500 profiles on Facebook and Instagram allegedly posed as charities and independent websites to target users from all over the world. Some of the accounts within the network allegedly tried to influence the 2012 Republican primaries as well as Scotland’s referendum to break away from the UK.