Nigeria’s Towntalk has built a data infrastructure that leverages “hard to collect” location data and implements AI methodologies to develop a range of risk protection solutions for security, logistics and agriculture companies in Africa. Formed in 2020, Towntalk has built a “data ecosystem” that is further enhanced by industry partnerships with leading security companies.
Kenyan startup Fingo has partnered with Ecobank to launch a new app aimed at powering financial inclusion across Africa. Fingo, which took part in Y Combinator in 2021, empowers Africa’s youth by enabling them to open a bank account via their mobile phone in less than four minutes, send money to other Fingo users for free, and to M-Pesa users and paybills via Paybills and Till numbers at subsidized rates.
Marketers may be using generative AI primarily to generate content, but its potential to speed data integration is at least as important. Case in point: Informatica has just launched CLAIRE GPT, which lets users build data management processes with a natural language interface. They’ve also added closer integration with Microsoft Azure and an expanded program for developers to integrate with Informatica tools.
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that could potentially ban TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell its holdings within a year. The bill now goes to the President Biden, who has said he will sign it. Court challenges are likely to follow.