Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 73 | Page 15

NEWS

Microsoft and Viasat announce partnership to deliver Internet access to underserved communities in Africa needed Internet connection , often for the first time .

Microsoft and Viasat have announced a new partnership to help deliver Internet access to 10 million people around the globe , including 5 million across Africa .

Viasat , a global communications company , is the first satellite partner to work with Microsoft ’ s Airband Initiative and together they will deepen Airband ’ s work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Nigeria , Guatemala , Mexico and the United States , as well as prioritise expanding the program to Egypt , Senegal and Angola to deliver much-
This global partnership with Airband is an important step in reaching the Initiative ’ s expanded goal of delivering Internet access to a quarter of a billion people across the world , including 100 million people on the continent of Africa , by the end of 2025 . “ We believe access to the Internet is a fundamental right and that digital skills create and enable economic prosperity for people , businesses and governments ,” said Teresa Hutson , Microsoft ’ s Vice President of Technology and Corporate Responsibility . “ Through our Airband Initiative we will extend high-speed Internet access to 100 million people on the continent of Africa and to a quarter of a billion people living in unserved and underserved areas across the world by 2025 .”

OpenSpace partners with Nedbank Property Finance to bring remote inspections to clients

OpenSpace , a global leader in reality capture , has announced a partnership with Nedbank , the largest commercial property financier in South Africa .

Through this partnership , OpenSpace provides Nedbank ’ s clients with the ability to track site progress and improves communication across key stakeholders on the project . Additionally , Nedbank is also able to use this information to reduce its risk profile , leading to time and money savings . As Nedbank scales the use of OpenSpace across its portfolio , IT currently has 25 active sites across Africa .
“ OpenSpace is an incredible tool that allows us to monitor construction risks proactively ,” said Genevieve Naidoo , Divisional Executive for Property Finance PM , Valuations and Sustainability Nedbank CIB . “ Initially , we were concerned about the additional cost of the platform since property development projects are sensitive to extra costs . But the benefits of OpenSpace far outweigh the cost of the technology in terms of saving time for teams . Being able to pay our clients quicker creates a huge benefit for them as well and allows them to manage their cash flow cycles .” Nedbank began offering
OpenSpace ’ s platform as a solution during the COVID-19 pandemic to clients in Kenya , Morocco and Mauritius . Nedbank ’ s clients can monitor jobsite conditions from any location and communicate using OpenSpace ’ s core functionalities , including the Field Notes feature . p
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