LATEST TECH NEWS: AWIEF awards unveils 2020 finalists. 2 other things and a trivia you need to know today, November 6, 2020

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

1. AWIEF awards unveils 2020 finalists

AWIEF Awards has unveiled winners from across eight different categories, a list comprising of twenty-four female founders and entrepreneurs. Organised by the African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF), a pan-African entrepreneurship and innovation non-profit, the annual AWIEF Awards, through a nomination process, identifies and celebrates the best female entrepreneurs across multiple industries in Africa. According to press, AWIEF will host the sixth edition of its annual Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum Conference as a virtual event on December 2-3, where the 2020 AWIEF Awards winners will be announced.

Commenting on the development, the board noted that the finalists for the 2020 AWIEF Awards are selected across eight categories, including the Young Entrepreneur Award, where the finalists are Sazia Souza of Technoplus (Mozambique), Hannah Lavery (South Africa), Olajumoke Odumola of KJK Online Communications (Nigeria), and Asomaniwaa Owusu-Ansah of Erith Health Services (Ghana). Reviewing the list, the Tech Entrepreneur Award finalists are Claudette Akinpaye of Agrizilla (Rwanda), Marlize Holtzhausen of Response24 (South Africa) and Abimbola Adebakin of Advantage Health (Nigeria), and those up for the Social Entrepreneur Award are Rita Stryker of Willette Safehouse (Liberia), Adenike Akinsemola of The Green Institute (Nigeria), Doris Mollel (Tanzania), and Mariam Mell’Osiime Mpaata of Junior Stars Youth Development Programme (Kenya).

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Tech Trivia:

…is the set of rules to be followed in problem-solving operations by a computer.

A. Code
B. Algorithm
C. Blogging
D. Hyperlinking

Answer: See end of post.

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2. Moroccan startup ATLAN Space secures $1.1m funding

Morrocan startup ATLAN Space has secured a MAD10 million (US$1.1 million) Series A funding round. The company, which employs artificial intelligence (AI) to enable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), carries out tracking missions with complete autonomy. Launched in 2016, ATLAN Space helps governments and institutions fight environmental crime and assist vulnerable populations. The startup has commercial contracts in Morocco and well as Niger and the Seychelles. Speaking to press, the company noted that the new raiser was led by Maroc Numeric Fund II, with participation from Hilmi Law Firm and Cadex Group, to help it scale.

Read also: LATEST TECH NEWS: Kenya’s Mdundo records 27% product growth. 2 other things and a trivia you need to know today, November 5, 2020

According to Badr Idrissi, chief executive officer (CEO) of ATLAN Space, the company seeks to enable UAVs to carry out tracking missions. He said: “ATLAN Space is developing artificial intelligence to enable UAVs to carry out tracking missions in total autonomy and without human intervention. This is for humanitarian purposes or to fight environmental crimes such as illegal fishing or deforestation.” Further speaking on the company traction, Dounia Boumehdi, managing director at MITC Capital, expressed excitement to work with ATLAN. He said: “The fund management team is proud to support ATLAN Space, a Moroccan startup that is the result of many years of R&D in artificial intelligence, and which has a proven technology with several clients internationally and in Morocco, with a high environmental and humanitarian impact.”

3. Data marketplace, CARMA, secures early-stage funding

A data marketplace startup, CARMA, has announced securing an undisclosed amount of early-stage venture capital from Mictotraction. The company, according to press, aims to fill the gap in the credit reference and lending space where credit history and other traditional data sources are limited. Speaking on the new raiser, the board noted that it would be used to expand its operations across sub-Saharan Africa and launch its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. Ted Martynov, CARMA’s co-founder, and CEO explained that the secured funding will allow the tech startup to expand its overall offering.

He said: “Our early-stage venture funding allows us to invest in growing our presence across sub-Saharan Africa and our ability to address the gap in the credit data ecosystem while strengthening our network of clients. We are also focusing on supporting companies with quality data in the credit decision process to avoid non-performing loans. We anticipate strengthening our services across the region, which will bring us closer to helping companies enhance data sharing to build proper credit assessment procedures.” Reviews further revealed that CARMA’s innovative technology provides unmatched service to unbanked individuals.

Tech Trivia Answer: Algorithm

In computer science, an algorithm is a finite sequence of well-defined, computer-implementable instructions, typically to solve a class of problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are always unambiguous and are used as specifications for performing calculations, data processing, automated reasoning, and other tasks.

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