February 2022 – Page 2

February 28, 2022

MTN Nigeria Launches Digital Multi-Experience Platform with Tecnotree Moments – for Gaming and Education

ESPOO, Finland, Feb. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Tecnotree, a Finnish-based global provider of digital transformation solutions for Communication Service Providers CSPs and Digital Service Providers DSPs, today announces the launch of its digital multi-experience platform, Tecnotree Moments in collaboration with MTN Nigeria. The multi-experience partner ecosystem offering aims to create lifestyle bundles of content, applications, and connectivity through a pre-integrated digital partner ecosystem for global, local and glocal high-demand and hyper-growth sectors. The platform will attract leading partners across different sectors such as education, entertainment, gaming, sports, health, and wellness, to enter Nigeria and use direct customer billing to convert ecosystem partners into instant revenue generators.

Tecnotree Moments is a gateway of digital services and lifestyle bundling products, being launched with e-sports content such as PUBG Mobile Daily, FIFA Daily, Rocket League Daily, Fortnite Monthly, and Fantasy Football. Its offerings also include Africa’s top-played games, with fresh games being updated regularly. With dynamic ecosystem partners, the platform is uniquely positioned to cater for the convergence in education and gaming content around the globe that fosters social and emotional learning, imperative for personalized and adaptive experiences.

This collaboration between Tecnotree Moments and MTN Nigeria is ground-breaking for realizing the full human potential of Nigerians across the country and creating an inclusive society that is key to promoting national development. Moments contains the complete Nigerian JSSCE, SSSCE, and IGCSE syllabus in the form of interactive and immersive content and live classes. Also, to remain relevant in the rapidly evolving digital economy, the MTN-Moments partnership will look at providing Massive Online Open Curriculum (MOOC) for career development and progression facilitating the acquisition of soft and technical skills. Considering the local skills and talent pool in the country, the platform will be launched first in Nigeria, with further plans to launch these services across other MTN OpCos in Africa.

‘MTN is constantly seeking partnerships to build platforms that provide a superior service to our customers. We have always been deliberate about giving our customers the very best in digital content. This partnership with Tecnotree is a reinforcement of that commitment. The platform will provide enormous quality content that cuts across education and entertainment for our customers.’ said Aisha Mumuni, MTN’s Acting Chief Digital Officer.

Padma Ravichander, CEO of Tecnotree Corporation said, ‘Our Vision is to empower digitally connected communities, narrow the digital divide and create digital inclusion for various diasporas of the Nigerian population. We are very excited to partner with MTN Nigeria to launch our Tecnotree Moments platform that will support the Nigerian community with true digital services and products through our global partners. MTN’s commitment to making Africa a truly digital economy is a powerful purpose and Tecnotree is proud to be its digital partner in the cause.’

Further Information
www.tecnotree.com

ABOUT TECNOTREE
Tecnotree is the only full-stack digital business management solution provider for digital service providers, with over 40 years of deep domain knowledge, proven delivery, and transformation capability across the globe. Our open-source technology-based agile products and solutions comprise the full range (order-to-cash) of business process and subscription management for telecom and other digital service providers. Tecnotree products and platforms service over 800 million subscribers worldwide. Tecnotree is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki (TEM1V). For more information, please visit our website www.tecnotree.com or social media channels – Linkedin I Facebook I Twitter

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1754777/Tecnotree_Moments_Logo.jpg

February 28, 2022

Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu, the Nigerian King of the IGBO Community in Ghana, Creates a Diaspora Partnership to Improve Global Health

ACCRA, Ghana, Feb. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — His Royal Majesty Eze Dr. Amb. Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu announces a global partnership in health with the Viola Ford Fletcher Foundation and Inderbitzin Solutions beginning with Ghana and Nigeria.

Through her global Viola Ford Fletcher Foundation, the Queen Mother commits to improving the lives of the Ghanian, Nigerian, and all people. “Health is wealth; it connects us to prosperity. In good faith, I am asking leaders to move forward together, commit to values, communicate honestly, and make a positive difference in people’s lives. In my name, let’s reduce recurrent polarizing, disagreement, and needless hardship, the root of generational suffering,” said Viola Ford Fletcher.

“All people can rise in health and essential knowledge; I think we can all agree upon that,” shared His Royal Majesty. “As leaders working together, we can build new levels of trust in our partnerships that support our mutual goals to improve lives. We can access global best practices and advanced technology and align them in state-of-the-art educational centers and industrious applications. This Diaspora relationship affords us new population health, bioinformatics capabilities, and connections related to advancing clean water, nutritious foods, essential educational frameworks, and sustainable economic opportunities.”

Presently, Inderbitzin Solutions is creating an unmatched health data platform including genomic detail that uniquely supports population health initiatives in Africa. “Together, we will close the gap in Healthcare and lead breakthroughs in science-based research. Our efforts grow, assemble, translate, and share essential information to better support wellbeing for African descent populations. We are increasing the democratization of health information for all people,” explained Paul Inderbitzin of Inderbitzin Solutions.

With Africa being the second most populated continent, population health data is part of its essential infrastructure. “Just as we continually improve our Internet and regional transportation connectivity to unite and position us for greater prosperity, we now connect the Diaspora and all people in essential health information. Cooperatively, we reduce data fragmentation, making it more accessible and usable. Purposefully using technology to empower supports to leapfrog into new levels of stability and prosperity. Broadening and organizing our knowledge allows us to better serve the needs of those we care for in our families, communities, and those less privileged; globally. We beautifully, peacefully, and prosperously create our lives when we have more sustainable health,” said His Royal Majesty Exe Dr. Amb. Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu.

“Working cooperatively, we can understand the needs, then create the right initiatives and assemble expert advisory to support solutions-oriented work that empowers people in meaningful ways. It’s 2022; there are approximately 7.5 billion people with 7 billion mobile phones; in combination, we hope to improve lives one at a time. Imagine supportive information that builds knowledge right on your smartphone; making the world healthier, wealthier, and wiser.,” said Ike Howard, the Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer.

About Royal Majesty Eze Dr. Amb. Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu:
His Royal Majesty Eze Dr. Amb. Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu is one of the most respected influential African Diaspora leaders. Residing at his palace in Accra, he is recognized by the Ghanaian government, who often defers to him on issues related to Ghana and Nigeria. His Majesty is also a successful businessman with ventures spanning Ghana, Nigeria, and other African countries. He is the chief executive officer of Chibert Group of companies with interests in transportation, Healthcare, farming, aluminum, education, entertainment, oil & gas, and marine services. Outside his numerous ventures, he is also a researcher and an author. One of his books, All About Leadership And Attainment Of Achievements, outlines the importance of African cultural values vis-à-vis modern leadership acumen. https://ezeigbogh.com

About The Viola Ford Fletcher Foundation:
The Viola Ford Fletcher Foundation (VFFF) is a newly forming 501(c)(3) non-profit. Its principles, values, and intention stem from the oldest living survivor of one of the worst race massacres in the USA’s history. Taking place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921, also referred to as Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre. The Foundation partnerships define new levels of trust and operate for the good of humanity, believing we are stronger together. The VFFF aligns with leaders who serve at the front edge of noble causes that empower self-sufficiency through health, education, and economic opportunity. Presently, we are harnessing expert leaders to produce tangible results. www.violafordfletcherfoundation.org

About Inderbitizin Solutions:
Inderbitzin Solutions is a US-based company whose mission is to make personalized and secured health information available for everyone. Their vision is for technology to empower 7 billion people, not 7 people, therefore changing how global healthcare data is collected, organized, and distributed.

In a totally secure environment, Inderbitzin Solutions will support decision-based analysis, research, and point-of-care capabilities. All users: patients, researchers, clinicians, pharma, health providers, and payers, will be provided the most relevant and usable information. www.inderbitzinsolutions.com

For more information about this release, please contact: Kristin Raffaelle at kmr@demosophy.com or 01-623-920-2152

Media Contact:
Kristin Raffaelle
www.Demosophy.com
01-623-920-2152

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1754981/Chekwudi.jpg
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1754985/Viola_Ford_Fletcher_Foundation_Logo.jpg

February 28, 2022

Sabre continues to drive growth in Africa through extended agreement with InterGuide

LAGOS, Nigeria, Feb. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR), a leading software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry, and InterGuide Air Service, a Lagos-based travel company with over 20 years’ experience, have extended their partnership with a long-term agreement that will see InterGuide continue to represent the Sabre brand and distribute technology in West Africa, supporting Sabre’s growth in the region.

Through the extended agreement, InterGuide, an influential local partner with multiple verticals, will continue to operate as Sabre Central and Western Africa and as such will continue to make Sabre’s distribution services, bookable travel products and technology services, including those from Sabre’s partner ecosystem, available to travel agencies, corporations, and travel suppliers in 13 countries across the region.

The partnership will help enable Sabre to grow in existing countries, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Liberia and Ivory Coast and to enter new countries including Mali, Togo, Benin, Mauritania, Niger, Gabon and Burkina Faso.

“We’re delighted to extend our relationship with InterGuide during this critical time for the travel industry,” said Salman Syed, vice president EMEA for Sabre Travel Solutions. “The challenges facing the industry today require a concerted collaborative effort between specialist partners. We are excited to leverage our technology expertise and InterGuide’s regional network and strong geographic ties to benefit travel customers, suppliers and agencies in Africa.”

To further support the region, Sabre and InterGuide are investing in the team, adding a new position in to the Airline Commercial team. Bobby Bryan will join as the new Sales and Account Director and will be based in Lagos. His main focus will be on building relationships and signing new airlines across the region into Sabre’s marketplace, to further enrich the content for agency subscribers. In addition to this, InterGuide has added Hamish Broom, former Sales Director, EMEA at Sabre into the leadership team and is adding more team members in the expansion countries.

“In these times of recovery, it is more important than ever that we can offer travel companies in Africa the agile and advanced solutions required to improve operational efficiencies and boost revenue,” said Gabriel Olowo, Chairman of InterGuide Group. “Sabre’s innovative business and technology solutions make them a partner of choice in meeting our requirements and addressing the challenges of today’s environment. Through the partnership we will seek to continue to deliver best-in-class technologies, including AI-driven products to travel agencies across Africa.”

About Sabre Corporation
Sabre Corporation is a leading software and technology company that powers the global travel industry, serving a wide range of travel companies including airlines, hoteliers, travel agencies and other suppliers. The company provides retailing, distribution and fulfilment solutions that help its customers operate more efficiently, drive revenue and offer personalized traveler experiences. Through its leading travel marketplace, Sabre connects travel suppliers with buyers from around the globe. Sabre’s technology platform managers more than $260B worth of global travel spend annually. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the world. For more information visit www.sabre.com.

About InterGuide Group
InterGuide is a conglomerate of service providers in airlines, hotels and related auxiliary and supplementary services. InterGuide operates in corporate, leisure and online travel, as well as GDS distribution, Airline GSA representation. It also runs an academy and consulting business which researches and produces skilled manpower who will become future industry leaders.

Contact:
Holly Barnett
Holly.barnett@sabre.com
sabrenews@sabre.com

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/322180/sabre_logo.jpg

February 28, 2022

Twitter to Reduce Visibility of Russian State Media Content

Twitter announced Monday that it will start labeling and making it harder for users to see tweets about the invasion of Ukraine that contain information from Russian state media outlets like RT and Sputnik.

“For years we’ve provided more context about state-affiliated media while not accepting ad $ or amplifying accounts,” Twitter said in a tweet. “With many looking for credible info due to the conflict in Ukraine, we’re now adding labels on Tweets linking to state media & reducing the content’s visibility.”

Twitter said it had seen over 45,000 tweets a day from people sharing links to Russian state media, much more than coming from state-sponsored accounts.

Twitter began to de-amplify Russian state media accounts in 2020 and had earlier banned Russian state media from advertising.

The announcement Monday will impact individuals sharing links from those entities.

The move is the latest spat between U.S. social media companies and Russia.

Twitter has been slowed down in Russia several times, most recently on Saturday, and last week, Russia said it would limit Russians’ access to some features of Facebook, saying the company was involved in censorship.

Google and Facebook have also banned Russian state media from monetizing their accounts.

Source: Voice of America

February 28, 2022

Climate Change Poses Grave Threat to a Healthy Planet

An expert group of 270 climate scientists warns the dire impacts of climate change soon will be irreversible unless governments act decisively to tackle these imminent global threats.

Hoesung Lee, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, does not mince words. He said the stakes of our planet have never been higher.

“Human activities have warmed the planet at a rate not seen in at least the past 2,000 years. We are on course to reaching global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius within the next two decades and temperatures will continue to rise unless the world takes much bolder action,” said Lee.

He said the action governments take today will shape how people will be able to adapt to climate change and how nature will respond to increasing climate risks.

Debra Roberts is co-chair of the IPCC Working Group II, which produced the report. She said the scientific evidence that climate change is a threat to human well-being and the health of the planet is unequivocal.

“Climate change combines with unsustainable use of natural resources. Habitat destruction, deforestation, and growing urbanization as well as inequity and marginalization … 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in global hotspots of high vulnerability to climate change,” said Roberts.

These include parts of Africa, as well as South Asia, Central and South America, small islands, and the Arctic. The report warns that people living in these hotspots will likely experience severe food shortages, leading to malnutrition, should global temperatures rise by two degrees Celsius by 2050.

Despite these dire predictions, scientists say the report presents a reality check on what has been done to stem global warming and what remains to be done. They say the report offers solutions on how to adapt to climate change and mitigate their worst effects.

Scientists say some challenges can be addressed by creating a more equitable and sustainable world, by moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and by using indigenous knowledge to protect nature.

These steps, along with adaptation and mitigation projects, can help create change, but poorer countries will need wealthier countries to help finance them.

Source: Voice of America

February 28, 2022

Malawi Household Food Security Bulletin | Mobile Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (mVAM) on the Effects of COVID-19 in Malawi Round 20: 7th December 2021 – 5th January 2022

SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS

• The high proportion of households with acceptable food consumption coupled with the low proportion of households with poor consumption indicates a stable food security situation in the current round.

There are early signs of deteriorating food security as observed by the increase in the proportion of households that are employing moderately severe consumption-based coping strategies and a further reduction in the proportion of households who are not employing any consumption -based coping strategies.

• The proportion of households who are employing emergency and crisis livelihoods-based coping strategies decreased, while the proportion of households not employing any livelihood-based coping strategies increased which suggests a stable food security situation in light of the late start of the lean season.

• Physical access to markets in this round of data collection remained high, similar to the previous round despite the uptick of the fourth wave of COVID-19 cases, as farmers are procuring farm inputs from markets for the growing season.

Source: World Food Programme