Moni moni onse,
Global payments giant, Mastercard, and Ethiopian Minerals Petroleum and Biofuel Corporation (EMBPC) have collaborated to digitise the company's mineral eCommerce platform.
They will work together on product development and standardisation, promotion and marketing, training and capacity development, and technical advisory support. Mastercard will provide EMPBC with the solutions needed to digitise the eCommerce platform.
Using Mastercard's Payment Gateway Solutions (MPGS), EMBPC can diversify and broaden its offering.
This is consistent with EMPBC's strategic objectives to open up markets and sell its minerals globally.
Here's what I've got for you today:
- Fresh updates on the ARCON vs Meta case
- CBK releases the Kenya QR Code Standard
- South Africa's Netcare deploys a robot to perform surgeries
Fresh updates on the ARCON vs Meta case
A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) permission to serve a writ of summons on Facebook's parent company, Meta.
The court approved an application by ARCON in a pending ₦30 billion lawsuit against the social media giant for breaking Nigeria's advertising laws.
Under Nigerian law, serving a writ of summons — an official document that informs you are being sued — outside the country requires leave of court.
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Essentially, there has been no official summons to Meta that it must appear in court until now.
In even plainer terms, even though news broke of ARCON suing the company in October 2022, seven months later, Meta technically doesn't know it's being sued yet.
The writ will be served at the company's official headquarters in the US. Meta is the first defendant in the suit, and its agent, AT3, is the second.
In October 2022, the advertising regulatory body filed a lawsuit against Meta at the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, for persistent infractions of the ARCON Act No. 23 of 2022.
Before they can be published, ARCON wants all advertisements placed on Meta's platforms to go through a review and approval process. This also entails the potential "advertiser" paying to have it vetted.
In addition, the regulator is seeking a perpetual injunction prohibiting the defendants, their privies, agents, servants, and associates from publishing any advertising or marketing communications materials without permission.
What’s more, advertisers might have to pay more than they already do. Facebook advertisers currently pay a 7.5% Value Added Tax and may be subject to vetting fees starting from ₦25,000 ($57).
CBK releases the Kenya QR Code Standard 2023
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has released the Kenya Quick Response (QR) Code Standard 2023.
Kenyans can now use the Quick Response (QR) Code to make simple, quick, secure, and convenient digital payments.
Previously, customers had to enter several payment codes and numbers manually, creating friction and laborious payment processes prone to mistakes.
Now, they will only need to scan the QR codes to make payments to merchants who will supply the codes at payment points.
Banks, telcos, and other payment service providers all worked together to launch the QR code standard. These companies include PesaPal, FSD Kenya, Visa, Mastercard, Equity Bank, ABSA, KCB, Co-operative Bank, and Safaricom.
Some have already begun to issue QR codes. For instance, yesterday, Safaricom introduced a new M-Pesa QR code option.
The Standard will be a manual for banks and payment service providers under CBK regulation when providing QR codes to customers and companies that accept electronic payments.
It will also be introduced gradually as participating players align their corporate policies with its requirements and increase consumer awareness.
CBK claims that adopting the Standard and using standardised QR Code-enabled payments will benefit both customers and businesses.
The Standard will also promote inclusion by fostering a greater acceptance of digital payments among businesses of all sizes and customer orientations.
The QR Code Standard 2023 will ensure payment institutions' convenience, choice, security, and interoperability.
South Africa's Netcare deploys a robot to perform surgeries
South African healthcare company, Netcare Hospital Group, has deployed a Da Vinci Xi surgical system, a robot, at its facility in Pretoria East.
According to the company, the robot, which has a camera arm and mechanical arms with surgical instruments attached, is the first in the South African private sector.
Surgeons can use the robot to perform complex procedures with greater precision, flexibility, and control.
While seated at a computer console near the operating table, a surgeon can control the robotic system. It provides surgeons a 3D, magnified, high-definition view of the surgical site.
The system will be used for a range of surgical procedures by the initial robotic surgical team of urologists — Dr Johan Venter, Dr Paul Smit, and Dr Michael Heyns.
Dr Venter claims that the “tiny instruments” are more dexterous than the human hand and allow for precise work at the required site inside the body without compromising healthy tissues to reach the surgical site.
The robotic system's magnified 3D imaging feature enables them to see the delicate nerves and tissues in far more clarity and detail than human vision can.
Netcare has over 55 hospitals in South Africa, and this is not the first time the South African hospital has introduced robots in its operations.
In March 2020, Netcare announced that it had installed highly effective robots that kill germs at its healthcare facilities as part of its infection-prevention strategy.
In 2018, the company introduced a robot that kills bacteria called Xenex Pulsed UV Disinfection Robots in several of its hospitals in South Africa.
According to Dr Venter, “This fourth-generation version of the robotic system offers even greater control and vision of the operating field, enabling us to operate with absolute precision. In the case of prostate surgery, this is crucial for sparing nerves and, ultimately, continence and potency retention.”
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What I'm reading and watching
- AI ‘godfather’ quits Google and warns of dangers ahead
- Elon Musk Changes Twitter Blue Checkmark Labels to Reduce Humiliation
- Hackers are increasingly using ChatGPT lures to spread malware on Facebook
- How to Build An MVP | Startup School
- The Story That Shapes Your Relationship with Nature
Opportunities
- Clevertech is looking for a remote Mobile Engineer. Apply here.
- CreateApe is hiring a remote UI/UX Designer. Apply here.
- Are you a creative journalist and media maker passionate about fixing what isn’t working in sub-Saharan African media? Apply for the 2023 Jamlab Accelerator Programme here.
- If you are a software engineer, creative designer, product manager, design researcher, or a techie looking for an internship role, please, check out this website.
Have a fabulous Thursday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.
