Facebook is plotting a new cryptocurrency dubbed ‘Libra’ for its vast social network scheduled for release in 2020. Libra Coin, a virtual currency, will be governed by Libra association, a conglomerate of 28 American and European corporations who will decide everything from who can join the network, process transactions and how much currency will circulate. As an African, it is my opinion that the peoples of Africa, its governments and central banks should be concerned, because we risk ceding more control, from the little we have now, to a digital
In May 2018, Twitter officially released the Account Activity API to help developers build solutions that enable businesses to create better customer engagement experiences on its platform. On the team of engineers that worked on the API is Babatunde Fashola, a Nigerian software engineer that has worked at Twitter for the past three years building products now used by millions of people around the world. Many Nigerians may recognize the Twitter software engineer’s name as that of the former Lagos state governor and current Minister of Power, Works, and Housing.
According to Terragon’s Digital Trends for Nigeria in 2018 report, about 6 million Nigerians use Twitter actively every month. Over the years, the social media platform has changed the way Nigerians interact with one another online and with other users all over the world. It has also bridged the gap between citizens and the Nigerian government as many government officials and agencies have active Twitter accounts. In Silicon Valley, San Francisco, California, the tech giant’s headquarters, various teams of diverse specialties, educational backgrounds work together to ensure that users of the platform all over
Flatiron Health is hiring on pocitjobs.com In 2001, as a 17-year old kid in Nigeria, Ina Onoche decided to learn to code. His interest was piqued when his friends told him that only “geniuses” like Bill Gates could become Software Engineers. Challenge accepted. “I didn’t think it was that hard,” Ina says, learning solely through books and in spite of Nigeria [like most countries at the time] only having limited dial-up access. “After I started playing around with computers, they became so interesting to me.” In this interview, Ina talks
Three days ago 157 people lost their lives in my worst nightmare. Just six minutes after takeoff, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 heading for Nairobi, crashed near Bishoftu, Ethiopia after a struggle by the pilots to gain control of the aircraft. Initial reports predictably focused on the safety record of the airline (we see you Financial Times) and the number of Western lives affected or lost (a fail). However, just 48 hours later outlets like The Points Guy, The Atlantic, and NewsOne quickly called BS on the hierarchical value of lives evident in early reports
Oluwatoyin Yetunde Sanni is a Nigerian based Software Developer currently working with Andela. How did you get involved in technology I’ve always enjoyed taking things apart, figuring out how they worked and then putting them back together again. I was introduced to a computer very early. I remember opening my first yahoo account when I was barely 12 years and this was the era when the Internet was not a luxury as it is now. Even though I earned a degree in Computer Science [from the University of Ilorin]. But
The oddest part about being a Zimbabwean millennial is that for your benefit you grew up having to look beyond Zimbabwe to achieve any form of a normal livelihood. This is still largely a present and painful reality, families, remain scattered across the world, torn apart by circumstances that merely happened to them. Despite that which we had no control or say over, I’m happy to say in our post-Mugabe dispensation; I can see Zimbabwe through a different lens — contentious point at varying degrees depending on who you talk
On a trip to Uganda for a friends wedding, I took a random stroll through Kampala. I’d never been before and wanted to get a feel for the city. If I was hoping to escape work, the universe had other ideas. The first left I glance I see the familiar logo of Andela. Running POCIT, there are certain amazing companies and organizations you consistently hear about, Andela being foremost among them. With existing investors including Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, GV, and Spark Capital, their reputation proceeded them. I had to see
Five years ago I was leading strategic partnerships for a World Bank agricultural research institution. I was “living my best life”, travelling all over the world and making an “impact” — at least that’s what I thought until I found myself on a rooftop in Nairobi, Kenya with a filmmaker, a designer, and a restaurateur who would change my life forever. That night, inspired by the courage, drive, and resilience of my peers I realized that disrupting the narrative on Africa in a way that did not involve “selling poverty”
This is a collaboration with onchek.com, a platform that helps you shop luxury fashion from Africa [You can purchase all the looks worn via their site]. They spoke to Software Engineer Iheanyi Ekechukwu, someone who should be familiar with POCIT audiences. He featured as one of our very first spotlights all the way back in 2015! Here he talks about his style, his fashion inclinations and of course some tech talk. Enjoy. It was about 9 AM, right before it started raining, that Iheanyi walked into the studio, wearing layers
