2020 survey lists the most admired African brands

2020 survey lists the most admired African brands

The survey which started 10 years ago, is now seen as the most authoritative survey, analysis, and metric of African brands. It is a consumer-led survey that seeks to establish brand preferences across Africa. The respondents of this survey are 18 years and older, in 27 countries which collectively represent 50% of the continent, covering all economic regions and accounting for an estimated 80% of the population and the GDP of Africa. American sports and fitness giant, Nike takes the top spot for the third year in a row. MTN…

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New study reveals new consumer experiences during COVID-19

COVID 19 Read consumer

The era of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has had consumers taking online classes, signing up for trials and subscriptions, and using telehealth. It’s a golden opportunity for service providers, according to a new survey. The April 2020 Amdocs study surveyed 1,000 people in the US, 18 and over, to examine consumer behavior and attitudes in day-to-day life, and how they have changed during the pandemic. The changes in those surveyed also reveal that there are new opportunities for service providers during this time–nearly a third of those surveyed (30%) are…

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Facebook shareholders want to postpone end-to-end encryption plan

Facebook End-to-end encryption

It is reported that investors at Facebook annual stockholder meeting will vote on a proposal to postpone the firm’s plans for end-to-end encryption. The social media firm wants to make the measure the default option across its messaging platforms to protect privacy. But activist shareholders have however stated that this would make it nearly impossible to detect child exploitation on Facebook, now the group wants the company to delay the move until after its board of directors studies the risk further. “As shareholders, we know that privacy is important to…

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Counting the cost of COVID-19? Report Spells bad news for Women in STEM

STEM

COVID-19 is threatening to reverse hard-fought gains for women in STEM, according to a new report commissioned by the federal government. The report, commissioned by Industry and Science Minister Karen Andrews and produced by the Rapid Research Information Forum — a group of 35 research sector-led organisations chaired by Australia’s chief scientist, Dr Alan Finkel — was collaboratively led by Science & Technology Australia (STA) and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE). According to the peer-reviewed report, Australia’s scientific and technical services industry recorded job losses of 5.6%…

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PayPal rolls out a new QR code feature in its app to enhance contactless payments

PayPal Becomes The First Foreign Payment Platform In China

Cash is out and touch-free payments are during the coronavirus pandemic, this Paypal has taken cue and announced a new feature in its mobile app that will let customers make payments at stores, farmers’ markets and just about anywhere else using QR codes. You can scan a code — either from a printout or on a screen — using your phone’s camera. Payment QR codes are already fairly common, with a bunch of companies providing similar features, including Visa, Mastercard and Walmart. The biggest difference is that many existing QR…

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NewsGuard, news credibility and transparency content scoring service free for all Microsoft Edge users

NewsGuard

NewsGuard is a desktop browser extension that displays credibility and transparency content scoring and is available by subscription. It launched in August 2018 and typically costs $2.95 per month for a desktop user. In recent weeks, NewsGuard, the internet news watchdog service, has been escalating its battle against misinformation by opening a Coronavirus Misinformation Tracking Center and offering its service for free to all internet users until July 1. Until recently, only Microsoft Edge mobile device users on iOS and Android had unlimited free access to the service. Last week, the company entered a partnership with…

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Telegram quits on its cryptocurrency focused subsidiary TON

Telegram

After years of drama with the SEC, Telegram is calling it quits on its crypto-focused subsidiary, Telegram Open Network (TON). “Telegram’s active involvement with TON is over,” wrote Pavel Durov, founder and CEO, in an announcement on his channel. “You may see – or may have already seen – sites using my name or the Telegram brand or the ‘TON’ abbreviation to promote their projects. Don’t trust them with your money or data.” TON was a blockchain platform designed to offer decentralized cryptocurrency to anyone with a smartphone, in a…

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