LATEST TECH NEWS: Africa’s Access Afya receives funding from America’s MIT. 4 other things and a trivia you need to know today, May 25, 2020

These 5 latest stories from the tech space will keep you updated with trends today.

1. Africa’s Access Afya receives funding from America’s MIT

Kenya-based healthcare startup Access Afya has been listed among the first investments made by MIT Solve through its new venture vehicle, as part of a US$900,000 bridge funding round. MIT Solve, which is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) identifies tech-based social entrepreneurs through open innovation challenges and helps them drive transformational impact.

Initiated in 2019, Solve Innovation Future is a philanthropic venture vehicle that uses debt, equity, and alternative structures to invest in entrepreneurs driving social and environmental impact. According to modalities, startups are selected annually through Solve’s open innovation challenges, and backed with amounts ranging from US$75,000 to US$250,000.

2. Digital startup launches platform to help send a wedding present

Nigerian startup Wedding Registry NG has reportedly launched its web platform that allows users to more easily give and receive wedding gifts. Reports on the activity of the startup shows the facility as an e-commerce website with a focus on wedding gifts. According to its blueprint, Wedding Registry helps couples communicate their gift preferences to guests, while guests can easily select and pay for certain items.

Founded by Prince Iwendi and Daisy Okwa after they noticed a gap in the market, Wedding Registry is going up against the likes of Jumia and Konga but believes it stands apart due to its focused service delivery. Although, industry experts have criticised its commission backing, noting that charging 10 per cent commission on all gifts purchased through the platform is on the high.

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Tech Trivia:

How do you pronounce the abbreviation of Graphics Interchange Format (.GIF)?

A. Jif with soft G sound (like the word gin)
B. Gif with a hard G sound (like the word gift)
C. First called Jif but some say Gif
D. First called Gif but some say Jif

Answer: See end of post.

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3. China to launch Mars mission in July

China’s space program is set to launch a Mars mission in July, an ambition that none is certain of as the Coronavirus pandemic continues. This, according to press, will include deploying an orbital probe to study the red planet, and a robotic, remotely-controlled rover for surface exploration.

Read also: LATEST TECH NEWS: Netflix to deactivate old, unused accounts. 4 other things and a trivia you need to know today, May 22, 2020

This comes just as the U.S. is equally planning another robotic rover mission for Mars, which is set to take off this summer. According to space experts, the period is a peak time for an optimal transit from Earth to Mars thanks to their relative orbits around the Sun. Although, this will be the first rover mission to Mars for China’s space program, it is one of the many ways that it’s aiming to better compete with NASA’s space exploration efforts.

4. AIS pulls down 8 billion Thai internet database leakage

The largest cell network Thailand, AIS, has reported the leakage of 8 billion Thai internet database records. According to the company, it has, however, promptly responded to the leakage by pulling it offline when it discovered that it was spilling billions of real-time internet records on millions of Thai internet users.

Reports reveal that the database contained DNS queries and Netflow data, however, without a password. Reports could not ascertain the owner of the database but noted that the kind of records found in the database can only come from someone who’s able to monitor internet traffic as it flows across the network.

5. UK government aborts Huawei’s involvement in 5G networks

On Monday, May 25, conservative members of the United Kingdom’s government pushed Prime Minister Boris Johnson to draw up plans to remove telecom equipment made by the Chinese manufacturer Huawei from the nation’s 5G networks by 2023.

Following a vote, the decision by Johnson, who wanted Huawei’s market share in the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure capped at 35 percent, bringing the UK back into alignment with the position Australia and the United States have taken on Huawei’s involvement in national communications networks.

Tech Trivia Answer: JIF

The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) was developed in 1987 by ISP CompuServe employee Steve Wilhite who insisted at the 2013 Webby Award show that the format was always intended to be pronounced as “Jif” with a soft “G” as an attempt to play on the branding of American peanut butter brand Jif.
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