NEWS
ICANN launches initiative to advance Africa ’ s Digital Transformation by a digitally savvy , young and educated urban workforce for whom adopting and using online services is second nature .
The Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers ( ICANN ) has launched the Coalition for Digital Africa , an initiative aimed at expanding the Internet in Africa .
Conceived by ICANN , the coalition is an alliance of like-minded organisations committed to building a robust and secure Internet infrastructure to bring more Africans online .
Home to the youngest population on the planet , 70 % of whom are under age 30 , Africa has one of the fastest-growing Internet penetration rates in the world . Internet connectivity is growing by leaps and bounds – from 1.2 % in 2000 to 43 % in 2021 – driven
“ The Coalition for Digital Africa provides an opportunity for new ways of co-operating and collaborating among diverse stakeholders ,” said ICANN President and CEO Gӧran Marby . “ Though the coalition was initiated by ICANN , its success is dependent on synergistic work with other organisations – be they local , regional or international – who are united in their aim to enhance Africa ’ s Internet infrastructure , increase the rate of Internet access , bolster Internet security and raise the level of participation from Africa in multistakeholder policymaking development .”
The coalition will further promote innovation aimed at building technical capacity and encourage entrepreneurialism by enabling people to access the Internet using their own languages and scripts .
Zoho Finance Platform achieves 50 % yearover-year growth
Zoho Finance Platform has achieved 50 % year-over-year ( YOY ) revenue growth , supporting more than half a million businesses across more than 160 countries .
Driving the growth is the global expansion of its cloud-based accounting application , Zoho Books , which now supports 180 currencies , 17 languages , and is backed by a comprehensive global tax engine that solves country-specific tax compliance challenges .
Following the launch of Zoho Books in Mexico , a few weeks after launching in Kenya , the accounting application now supports 14 editions , including a global version .
“ There are not many finance platforms in the market available to growing global businesses . This requires supporting multiple countries , complying with constantly evolving tax and regulatory rules . By offering 14 editions of Zoho Books – and growing – we ’ re moving towards being the most comprehensive financial platform in the world ,” said Raju Vegesna , Chief Evangelist for Zoho .
“ We will continue to be innovative , challenge the conventional wisdom and raise the bar in the industry on what a finance platform can be and how businesses globally can benefit from it .”
Launched in 2011 , Zoho Books is among Zoho ’ s five highest-grossing products , with revenue growing 50 % YOY . The accounting application offers editions across the globe , including the US , UK , Canada , India , Australia , UAE , Kenya and Mexico . Zoho Books is a government recognised taxcompliant solution in the UK , Saudi Arabia , UAE and India .
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