Kenya’s Obodo launches digital property management tool. 1 other thing and a trivia

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

1. Kenya’s Obodo launches digital property management tool

Obodo, a Kenyan prop-tech startup, has announced the launch of a pilot product, Kijiji, that will help improve property management in the country.

The property management product is expected to help real estate agents and individual landlords easily and affordably manage their rental units.

Founded by James Muriuki, Skitah Wambui and Mark Muita, the new product will help Obodo better understand tenants, their needs, behaviours and expectations, as it prepares for future launches.

Speaking on the development, Muriuki explained that the idea of launching the startup was inspired after experiencing the ordeal that comes with securing a shelter as a young man.

He said: “The idea for Obodo came to me last year when I moved out of home for the first time. I had to experience the hell of renting as a young person with a limited budget. Fighting with landlords, getting conned and lied to, enduring days or weeks with unresolved maintenance requests.”

“When I did research I realised that somehow I was among the lucky few because over 60 per cent of people in Nairobi live in slums. This made me take the leap.”

The startup aims to take property management in Africa, which is still done mostly manually, online.

Tech Trivia: What was the first computer virus released in the wild?

A. Brain
B. WinVir
C. Creeper
D. Melissa
Answer: See end of post

READ ALSO: LATEST TECH NEWS: Ghana’s AgroCenta closes $790k pre-Series A funding. 2 other things and a trivia you need to know today, February 4, 2021

2. Tunisia’s Junior Robotics Lab seeks to scale cloud-based learning venture

Tunisian ed-tech startup Junior Robotics Lab is looking to scale its venture as it targets entering new markets.

The startup, which started life as a simple robotics club, was founded in 2017.

The startup is famous for organising robotics clubs, where kids starting from the age of eight can learn how to design, code, and build robots.

Today, with a vision to grow its chest, it is gradually transitioning into the ed-tech startup.

According to Atef Ben Bekri, Junior Robotics Lab chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder, the goal is to provide STEM education for kids in the 21st century.

He said: “We are committed to providing a one-stop solution for STEM education to foster 21st century skills in kids by enabling them to tinker with electronics, robotics, coding, and artificial intelligence at an early age.”

“Our startup offers a dedicated curriculum with rich content for any educational institution. Junior Robotics Lab provides a complete online tool for any educational institution to teach robotics managing workflow between the different stakeholders – school management, teachers, and students.”

Trivia Answer: Brain

While the first computer virus (Creeper) was released on the ARPANET as a harmless experiment, the first computer virus to be released in the wild didn’t have malicious intent either.

Called “Brain,” the program was created in 1986 by the Farooq Alvi brothers of Pakistan as a method to deter copying the medical software they wrote. It targeted IBM PCs and would replace a floppy disk’s boot sector with a copy of the virus and flag the real boot sector as bad.

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