Foundation shortlists 20 graduates for 2022 HackathonAfrica. 2 other stories and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today

1. AfricaPlan Foundation shortlists 20 graduates for 2022 HackathonAfrica

A US-based Pan-African organisation, AfricaPlan, has shortlisted 20 graduates to participate in the first cohort of the 2022 HackathonAfrica program in Enugu State.

The founder, Oni Chukwu, confirmed the development in a press statement forwarded to Ripples Nigeria.

Oni, who is a technology leader and entrepreneur, noted that the 20 shortlisted candidates were drawn from a pool of 300 applicants who showed interest in the program.

According to the organization in the statement, the program is an intensive software coding bootcamp for fresh graduates aimed at tackling the steep digital skills deficit in Nigeria’s Southeast region.

The statement reads in part:

“The Hackathon attracted massive interest from youths across the region with over 300 applications received. However, only twenty recent graduates were shortlisted to join the first cohort, which included ten males and ten females, underscoring the Foundation’s strategic commitment to inclusivity and removing biases by granting equal opportunities to both genders.

“A unique fully-funded, residential software coding boot camp, HackathonAfrica will last for three months and will encompass intensive hands-on practical training on Fullstack Web Development (MERN) and in the latest and more commonly used software coding programs and databases in tech today.”

The program is designed to create opportunities for the enterprising youth to tap into the burgeoning technology industry.

Tech Trivia: 1,048,576 bytes is equal to what?
A. 1 mebibyte
B. 1 gibibyte
C. 1 tebibyte
D. 1 pebibyte
Answer: see end of post

2. Crypto.com pulls out of sponsorship deal with UEFA

Giant cryptocurrency trading platform, Crypto.com, has reportedly pulled out of a sponsorship deal with UEFA.

Read also:Nigerian startup, Anchor, to expand workforce with over $1m fund. 2 other stories and a trivia

Haider Rafique, Global Marketing Chief at OKX, confirmed the development in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Tuesday.

Rafique cited concerns about increased crypto regulation and potential legal trading restrictions in the UK, France, and Italy.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that Crypto.com also has sponsorship deals with Formula 1, the Ice Hockey World Championship and the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

Commenting on the decision, Rafique, said:

“The European regulatory landscape as it applies to the crypto space is nuanced and still evolving.

“The changing regimes focus on regulatory concepts, like consumer protection and anti-money laundering, that are generally welcomed by the industry.”

Our correspondent also gathered that Crypto.com was to replace the banned Gazprom as sponsor after UEFA severed ties with the Russian energy provider out of support to Ukraine.

3. EU slams over $403M fine on Instagram over children’s privacy

The European Union (EU) privacy regulators has slammed a hefty €405M (over $403m) on Instagram in EU over children’s privacy after a long-running complaint related to how the social media platform handles children’s data.

Ireland’s DPC, Graham Doyle, confirmed the development in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Tuesday.

Ripples Nigeria understands that the penalty is for a breach of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

“We adopted our final decision last Friday and it does contain a fine of €405 million. Full details of the decision will publish next week,” stated Doyle.

Till date, the Instagram penalty is the largest GDPR penalty the social media giant has been hit with.

Trivia Answer: Mebibyte

A mebibyte is a unit of data storage that equals 2 to the 20th power, or 1,048,576 bytes.

While a megabyte can be estimated as 10^6 or 1,000,000 bytes, a mebibyte is exactly 1,048,576 bytes.

By Kayode Hamsat

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