Aisha's Song - A Story of Female Empowerment

Partially blinded by an unknown illness aged 4 and sent out to work on the tough streets of Kano in Nigeria aged 9, Aisha Sani Abdullahi's life chances were not great. However, a chance encounter sent Aisha's life in a completely different direction. Beautifully shot and musically lush, Aisha's Song is a moving and uplifting story of female empowerment from a part of the world where women are all too often overlooked.

Students in Uganda to gain specialised ICT training

Top performing students at Makerere University in Uganda are to gain scholarships and specialised ICT training through a new partnership.

Global ICT service provider Huawei has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the College of Computing and Information Technology.

“Our aim is to work closely with Makerere University to help in training the next generation of ICT professionals whom we hope will in years to come, contribute positively to the development of the ICT sector in the country,” said Eric Yang, Huawei’s Managing Director for Uganda.

Under the MoU, selected students will gain specialised ICT skills in Huwaei centres in Uganda, Kenya and South Africa.

There will also be the opportunity to study at the Huawei University in China.

Top performing students will benefit from internship placements and fully funded scholarships.

By Emily Spaven

Technology degrees available at East African university

A variety of technology courses are being undertaken at an Information and Communication Technology Centre of Excellence in East Africa.

The centre, which opened last September, is a campus of Carnegie Mellon University – a major higher education institution in the US.

Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda (CMU-R) is offering a Master of Science degree in Information Technology as well as a number of Personal Development courses.

These courses are designed to help both mid-career professionals and recent graduates enter a career in leadership and innovation within the technology industry.

“With CMU in Rwanda, Rawandan students will benefit from an excellent education, moving beyond learning about the history of programming languages and engineering in theory to practical application of the technology,” said student Arlette Umuhoza.

Scholarship funding is available. More information can be found on the Financial Aid section of the CMU-R website.

By Emily Spaven

Informa Telecoms & Media expands in Africa

Informa Telecoms & Media has expanded its team in Africa, with the aim of deepening its coverage across the continent. The company provides market intelligence for the global telecoms and entertainment industries.

“There are now unprecedented levels of interest and investment in the African telecoms industry,” said Nicholas Jotischky, Informa’s Principal Analyst for Middle East and Africa research.

He went on to say that, up until recently, the telecoms business in Africa was largely about “rapid consumer growth”, but this is now evolving. 

Mr Jotischky explained that there is now the opportunity to investigate themes such as the power of next-generation networks, the role of partnerships, the potential benefits of cloud computing and the impact of mobile enterprise and government.

Women at Informa

Of Informa Telecoms & Media’s 13-strong global management team, two are women – Event Director and Managing Director of IIR Telecoms Carolyn Dawson and HR Director Sian Bartle. 

There are also two women on the MEA region team of analysts – Research Analyst Mai Barakat and Senior Analyst Thecla Mbongue.

However, with Informa Telecoms & Media’s plans to expand, we’ll hopefully see an increase in the number of women employed by the company over the next few years.

By Emily Spaven

The ‘tremendous growth’ of digital marketing in MENA

Some 58% of marketers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are set to increase their digital marketing budgets in 2012, according to a new report.

The research, conducted by Econsultancy and ArabianBusiness.com, shows just how rapidly digital marketing is expanding in the region. 

Econsultancy’s 57-page State of Digital Marketing in MENA report is based on a survey of more than 400 B2B marketers. 

It shows that firms plan to spend 27% of their marketing budgets on digital this year, compared 22% in 2011. 

Further to this, some 52% of the companies surveyed said they are increasing their digital marketing budgets by at least 20%.

Econsultancy’s Research Manager, Aliya Zaidi, said it is a “lack of local talent” that is holding some companies back from “making the most out of digital”. 

“There’s huge demand for Arabic copywriters in this region, and companies need to address the skills gap by investing in further digital education and training,” she added.

The full report can be accessed via this link.


By Emily Spaven

SOUTH AFRICA: Plan for 1.5 million students by 2030

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Malawi women entrepreneurs feast with VP at Mudi

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Digital anti-rape campaign reaches South Africa's Top Leaders

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