BizSavvy

In its comprehensive report, ‘Youth in Digital Africa: Our Connections. Our Choices. Our Future,’ Caribou Digital, in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, highlights the critical gender gap in digital skills and its broad implications. This report, rich with powerful personal narratives from young Africans, explores the challenges and advantages technology brings in the digital age.   The gender gap in digital skills, as revealed in the report, significantly impacts women’s access to online information, educational resources, and employment opportunities. This disparity also limits their participation in the digital economy, entrepreneurship, and technology-related decision-making processes. The report cites a 2023 UNICEF study across 32 countries, showing that for every 100 young men with digital skills, only 65 young women possess the same skills.   UNICEF emphasizes the necessity for young adults in low- and middle-income countries to master digital skills,...

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has cautioned Kenyan citizens against acting carelessly among the continuous demonstrations in their country. Dabiri-Erewa on Thursday claims that the Nigerian Embassy in Kenya has been aggressively contacting different groups to guarantee the safety and welfare of Nigerian citizens, especially students. Responding to a remark made on X by self-acclaimed activist Dr. Olukemi Olunloyo, who disputed Dabiri-Erewa, alleging that the Nigerian embassy had not provided any warnings to Nigerian citizens regarding the protests in Kenya, during which eight protestors were shot dead by the Kenyan police, "Our young people in Kenya especially have been told to be cautious and vigilant; the Kenyan government has imposed a shoot at sight. Dabiri-Erewa noted: "We pray for none; no Nigerian casualty at the moment." Following police opening fire on 13 protestors who assaulted the Kenyan parliament, ...

  One of two new smartphones that OnePlus unveiled today, the Ace 3 Pro teams with the Pad Pro. Although it has a remarkable 13% higher battery capacity, the Ace 3 Pro undercuts its premium sibling on price even if it looks like the OnePlus 12 and features a matching Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU.   Along with their Pad Pro tablet and updated Watch 2 smartwatch, OnePlus has also unveiled a new Ace Pro smartphone in China. For reference, the Ace 3 Pro debuted following some weeks of teasing and leaks. Though the Ace 3 Pro was supposed to include OnePlus's new Rain Touch 2.0 capability, we cannot discover any reference of it in its marketing materials. Still, has certified the Ace 3 Pro to IP65 levels of dust and water resistance, same like the OnePlus 12 (curr. $799.99 on Amazon). Neither do the parallels between the Ace 3 Pro and OnePlus 12 stop there. Both include 24 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, up to 1 TB of UFS 4.0 flash storage, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, for instance. F...

This message queries this week center on Social Security payments.   Q. I was advised since I am single and have no dependents; I can collect social security at age 62. Does this sound like a decent concept? Unfortunately, the response is not so straightforward as with most retirement decisions. If you intend to work beyond age 62, first there is an earnings restriction that lowers your Social Security income by $1 for every $2 you over the limit (the 2024 maximum is $22,320) until you reach your Full Retirement Age. Remember that the number of months you file before your FRA lowers your Social Security benefit. Should you file for benefits at age 62, your benefit will be discounted by thirty percent if your FRA is 67. File at 63; the reduction is 25%; at age 63 ½, it is just 22.5%. If your benefit at age 67 is $3,000/month, for instance, it would be lowered to $2,100 at age 62 and raised to $3,420 if you postpone claiming till age 70. This is a lifetime, permanent red...

Returning from holiday to the blue sky of London, I find it really shocking how empty the trains and roads seem at rush hour. After a start to the summer so dismal that this month has been dubbed Juneuary, who would not want to work from a sunny garden over a drab office? Some would rather, however, lounge in the sun without thinking about job at all. Online searches for so-called "mouse jigglers," which replicate the movement of a pointer so supervisors are unaware their home working personnel are offline, are growing when temperatures increase. These devices, said to be "an absolutely essential item for working from home," are already thousands of pleased Amazon consumers employing. "Exactly what every dishonest student need," says still another. Buyers should be advised, though, as this gear does not deceive everyone. After looking into allegations that members of its wealth and investment management division were posing as busy, American banking be...