July 10, 2023

Ambiq Propels Remote Healthcare Monitoring Sector Growth with New Ultra-Low Power Processors

The Apollo4 Lite and Apollo4 Blue Lite System-on-Chips (SoCs) Help Enhance Devices’ Functionalities and Battery Life to Accelerate the Adoption of Remote Monitoring

Apollo4 Lite and Apollo4 Blue Lite: Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere

Ambiq introduces Apollo4 Lite and Apollo4 Blue Lite

News Highlights:

The new Apollo4 Lite and Blue Lite SoCs offer feature-rich capability, optimized memory, powerful graphics performance, and secureSPOT^® for robust security in a lightweight solution
Ideal for digital health applications, such as digital stethoscopes, patient monitoring, and continuous glucose and blood pressure monitoring
The Apollo4 Blue Lite offers secure Bluetooth^® Low Energy connectivity for communication to handheld devices, host equipment, and the Cloud

AUSTIN, Texas, July 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ambiq^®, a technology leader in ultra-low power semiconductor products and solutions, introduces the Apollo4 Lite and Apollo4 Blue Lite SoC to its expanding portfolio of SoCs for IoT endpoint devices, especially the remote monitoring products of the healthcare sector. This announcement follows Ambiq’s release of its Heart Kit, an optimized open-source AI model utilizing multi-head neural networks (MH-NNs) to enable a variety of real-time heart-monitoring applications.

The Apollo4 Lite and Blue Lite product line is the latest generation system processor solutions built upon Ambiq’s proprietary Subthreshold Power-Optimized Technology (SPOT^®) platform, enabling new features while reducing devices’ overall system power consumption to extend their battery life. Both SoCs are embedded with an ultra-low power Cortex-M4 core that can operate at up to 192 MHz with turboSPOT, an audio subsystem, GPU, and ample MRAM and SRAM. They are also conveniently pin-compatible with Ambiq’s Apollo4 Plus and Blue Plus¹, providing developers with optimum flexibility for innovation.

“Today’s patients are more empowered to monitor and advocate for their own health, and healthcare providers require more data analytics to prescribe holistic treatment,” said David Priscak, VP of Technical Solutions at Ambiq. “With bold graphics and long battery life, state-of-the-art health tracking is now more affordable and accessible thanks to these new additions to our Apollo4 SoC family.”

Apollo4 Lite / Blue Lite Chart

“The global remote patient market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $53.6 billion in 2022 and is poised to reach $175.2 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 26.7% from 2022 to 2027,” said Ms. Anu Dhiman – Lead Healthcare Analyst – MarketsandMarkets Research Pvt. Ltd. “The predominant factors influencing the growth of the market include the benefits of remote patient monitoring to reduce the burden on medical resources, the monitoring benefits of telehealth and remote patient monitoring services, advancements in telecommunications, as increasing geriatric population, and the growing need to expand healthcare access.”

The Apollo4 Lite and the Apollo4 Blue Lite are designed for extended battery life, advanced security, and powerful graphics in small form factors, which are critical for the continued adoption of these devices. Both are now in mass production, targeting digital health products, smartwatches, fitness bands, animal trackers, voice-activated remotes, industrial maintenance, and smart home IoT devices. For more product information, visit www.ambiq.com/apollo4-lite and www.ambiq.com/apollo4-blue-lite.

¹ – Apollo4 Lite is pin-compatible with Apollo4 Plus (AMAP42KP-KBR); Apollo4 Blue Lite is pin-compatible with Apollo4 Blue Plus (AMA4B2KP-KXR.)

About Ambiq

Ambiq’s mission is to develop the lowest-power semiconductor solutions to enable intelligent devices everywhere by developing the lowest-power semiconductor solutions to drive a more energy-efficient, sustainable, and data-driven world. Ambiq has helped leading manufacturers worldwide develop products that last weeks on a single charge (rather than days) while delivering a maximum feature set in compact industrial designs. Ambiq’s goal is to take Artificial Intelligence (AI) where it has never gone before in mobile and portable devices, using Ambiq’s advanced ultra-low power system on chip (SoC) solutions. Ambiq has shipped more than 200 million units as of March 2023. For more information, visit www.ambiq.com.

Contact

Charlene Wan
VP of Branding, Marketing, and Investor Relations
cwan@ambiq.com
+1.512.879.2850

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July 10, 2023

Ambiq Impulsiona Crescimento do Setor de Monitoramento Remoto de Saúde com Novos Processadores de Energia Ultrabaixa

Apollo4 Lite e Apollo4 Blue Lite System-on-Chips (SoCs) Ajudam a Melhorar as Funcionalidades e a Vida Útil da Bateria dos Dispositivos para Acelerar a Adoção do Monitoramento Remoto

Apollo4 Lite e Apollo4 Blue Lite: Qualquer Pessoa, Qualquer Hora, Qualquer Lugar

Ambiq introduz Apollo4 Lite e Apollo4 Blue Lite

Novos Destaques:

Os novos SoCs Apollo4 Lite e Blue Lite oferecem recursos ricos em funcionalidades, memória otimizada, desempenho gráfico potente e secureSPOT^® para segurança robusta em uma solução leve
Ideal para aplicações de saúde digital, como estetoscópios digitais, monitoramento de pacientes, e monitoramento contínuo de glicose e pressão arterial
O Apollo4 Blue Lite oferece conectividade segura Bluetooth® de baixa energia para comunicação com dispositivos portáteis, equipamentos host e a nuvem

AUSTIN, Texas, July 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A Ambiq®, líder em tecnologia de produtos e soluções de semicondutores de potência ultrabaixa, incluiu o SoC Apollo4 Lite e Apollo4 Blue Lite no seu portfólio de SoCs em expansão para dispositivos de endpoint IoT, especialmente produtos de monitoramento remoto do setor de saúde. Este anúncio dá seguimento ao lançamento da Ambiq do seu Heart Kit, um modelo otimizado de IA de código aberto que utiliza redes neurais de múltiplas cabeças (MH-NNs) para viabilizar uma variedade de aplicativos de monitoramento cardíaco em tempo real.

A linha de produtos Apollo4 Lite e Blue Lite é uma solução de processador de sistema de última geração criada com base na plataforma proprietária Subthreshold Power-Optimized Technology (SPOT®) da Ambiq, que viabiliza novos recursos e reduz o consumo geral de energia do sistema dos dispositivos para prolongar a vida útil da bateria. Ambos os SoCs são incorporados com um núcleo Cortex-M4 de potência ultrabaixa que pode operar a até 192 MHz com turboSPOT, um subsistema de áudio, GPU e ampla MRAM e SRAM. Eles também são convenientemente compatíveis com o Apollo4 Plus e Blue Plus¹ da Ambiq, proporcionando aos desenvolvedores a flexibilidade ideal para a inovação.

“Os pacientes de hoje estão mais capacitados para monitorar e defender sua própria saúde, e os profissionais de saúde exigem mais análise de dados para prescrever tratamento holístico”, disse David Priscak, VP de Soluções Técnicas da Ambiq. “Com gráficos ousados e longa duração da bateria, o rastreamento de saúde de última geração agora é mais em conta e acessível graças a essas novas adições à nossa família Apollo4 SoC.”

Gráfico Apollo4 Lite/Blue Lite

“O mercado global de pacientes remotos em termos de receita foi estimado em US$53,6 bilhões em 2022 e deve chegar a US$175,2 bilhões até 2027, crescendo a um CAGR de 26,7% de 2022 a 2027”, disse a Sra. Anu Dhiman – Analista Líder de Saúde – MarketsandMarkets da Research Pvt. Ltd. “Os fatores predominantes que influenciam o crescimento do mercado incluem os benefícios do monitoramento remoto de pacientes para reduzir a carga sobre os recursos médicos, os benefícios de monitoramento de serviços de telessaúde e monitoramento remoto de pacientes, avanços em telecomunicações, como o aumento da população geriátrica e a crescente necessidade de expandir o acesso à saúde.”

A Apollo4 Lite e a Apollo4 Blue Lite são projetadas para uma vida útil prolongada da bateria, segurança avançada e gráficos potentes em pequenos formatos que são essenciais para a adoção contínua desses dispositivos. Ambos estão agora em produção em massa e voltados para os produtos de saúde digital, smartwatches, pulseiras de fitness, rastreadores de animais, controles remotos ativados por voz, manutenção industrial e dispositivos IoT domésticos inteligentes. Para mais informação sobre o produto, visite www.ambiq.com/apollo4-lite e www.ambiq.com/apollo4-blue-lite.

¹ – Apollo4 Lite é compatível com pinos com Apollo4 Plus (AMAP42KP-KBR); Apollo4 Blue Lite é compatível com pinos com Apollo4 Blue Plus (AMA4B2KP-KXR.)

Sobre a Ambiq

A Ambiq tem por missão desenvolver soluções de semicondutores de nível mais baixo de energia para habilitar dispositivos inteligentes em todos os lugares, desenvolvendo soluções de semicondutores de nível mais baixo de energia para impulsionar um mundo mais eficiente em termos de energia, sustentável e orientado por dados. A Ambiq ajudou os principais fabricantes em todo o mundo a desenvolver produtos que duram semanas com uma única carga (em vez de dias), ao mesmo tempo em que oferecem um conjunto máximo de recursos em designs industriais compactos. O objetivo da Ambiq é levar a Inteligência Artificial (IA) a áreas nunca alcançadas em dispositivos móveis e portáteis, com o uso de soluções avançadas de sistema em chip (SoC) de energia ultrabaixa da Ambiq. A Ambiq entregou mais de 200 milhões de unidades até março de 2023. Para mais informação, visite www.ambiq.com.

Contato

Charlene Wan
VP de Marca, Marketing e Relações com Investidores
cwan@ambiq.com
+1.512.879.2850

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July 10, 2023

Ambiq propulse la croissance du secteur de la surveillance des soins de santé à distance avec de nouveaux processeurs à ultra-basse consommation

Les systèmes sur puces (SoC) Apollo4 Lite et Apollo4 Blue Lite contribuent à améliorer les fonctionnalités et l’autonomie des appareils afin d’accélérer l’adoption de la surveillance à distance

Apollo4 Lite et Apollo4 Blue Lite : n’importe qui, n’importe quand, n’importe où

Ambiq lance l’Apollo4 Lite et l’Apollo4 Blue Lite

Faits saillants de cette actualité :

Les nouveaux SoC Apollo4 Lite et Blue Lite offrent de nombreuses fonctionnalités, une mémoire optimisée, des performances graphiques puissantes et secureSPOT^® pour une sécurité renforcée dans une solution légère
Il s’agit de produits idéaux pour les applications de santé numérique, comme les stéthoscopes numériques ainsi que les appareils de surveillance des patients et de contrôle de la pression artérielle et de la glycémie en continu
L’Apollo4 Blue Lite offre une connectivité Bluetooth^® à basse consommation sécurisée pour la communication avec les appareils portatifs, les périphériques hôtes et le Cloud

AUSTIN, Texas, 10 juill. 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ambiq^®, un leader technologique des solutions et produits à semi-conducteurs et ultra-basse consommation, ajoute les SoC Apollo4 Lite et Apollo4 Blue Lite à son portefeuille en expansion de SoC pour les périphériques de point de terminaison de l’IdO, en particulier les produits de surveillance à distance du secteur de la santé. Cette annonce fait suite an lancement par Ambiq de son Heart Kit, un modèle à IA open-source optimisé utilisant des réseaux neuraux à têtes multiples (multi-head neural networks, MH-NN) afin de permettre une variété d’applications de surveillance cardiaque en temps réel.

La gamme de produits Apollo4 Lite et Blue Lite se compose des solutions de processeurs système de la toute dernière génération s’appuyant sur la plateforme exclusive Subthreshold Power-Optimized Technology (SPOT^®) d’Ambiq, permettant d’accéder à de nouvelles fonctions tout en réduisant la consommation énergétique globale des appareils afin de prolonger leur autonomie. Les deux SoC intègrent un cœur Cortex-M4 à ultra-basse consommation pouvant fonctionner à une fréquence qui peut atteindre 192 MHz avec turboSPOT, un sous-système audio, un processeur graphique ainsi qu’une MRAM et une SRAM importantes. Très pratiques, ils sont aussi compatibles avec les broches des Apollo4 Plus et Blue Plus¹ d’Ambiq, offrant aux développeurs une flexibilité optimale pour innover.

« Les patients d’aujourd’hui sont davantage habilités à surveiller et à protéger leur propre santé, et les prestataires de soins de santé requièrent davantage d’analyses des données pour prescrire un traitement holistique », a déclaré David Priscak, VP des solutions techniques chez Ambiq. « Avec des graphismes audacieux et une longue autonomie, il est désormais plus facile que jamais d’accéder à un suivi abordable de la santé à la pointe de la technologie grâce à ces nouveaux ajouts à notre gamme de SoC Apollo4. »

Tableau sur l’Apollo4 Lite / Blue Lite

« Le chiffre d’affaires du marché mondial de la surveillance des patients à distance a été estimé à 53,6 milliards USD en 2022 et devrait atteindre 175,2 milliards USD d’ici 2027, en se développant selon un TCAC de 26,7 % entre 2022 et 2027 », a commenté Mme Anu Dhiman, analyste de santé en chef chez MarketsandMarkets Research Pvt. Ltd. « Les facteurs prédominants qui influencent la croissance du marché comprennent les avantages de la surveillance des patients à distance afin de réduire la fardeau pesant sur les ressources médicales, les avantages en termes de contrôle de la télésanté et des services de surveillance des patients à distance, les avancées des télécommunications, l’accroissement de la population gériatrique et le besoin grandissant d’étendre l’accès aux soins de santé. »

L’Apollo4 Lite et l’Apollo4 Blue Lite sont conçus pour une autonomie accrue, une sécurité avancée et de puissants graphismes au sein de petits facteurs de forme, qui sont des aspects cruciaux pour l’adoption continue de ces appareils. Les deux solutions sont maintenant produites en masse, ciblant les produits de santé numérique, les montres connectées, les bandes d’exercice, les localisateurs d’animaux, les télécommandes à activation vocale, la maintenance industrielle et les appareils employant l’IdO pour l’habitation intelligente. Pour plus d’informations sur les produits, veuillez consulter les pages www.ambiq.com/apollo4-lite et www.ambiq.com/apollo4-blue-lite.

¹ – L’Apollo4 Lite est compatible avec les broches de l’Apollo4 Plus (AMAP42KP-KBR) ; l’Apollo4 Blue Lite est compatible avec les broches de l’Apollo4 Blue Plus (AMA4B2KP-KXR).

À propos d’Ambiq

Ambiq a pour mission de développer les solutions à semi-conducteurs les moins gourmandes en énergie pour permettre l’utilisation d’appareils intelligents sur toute la planète en vue de favoriser un monde plus éco-énergétique, durable et piloté par les données. Ambiq aide des fabricants de premier plan du monde entier à développer des produits ayant une autonomie de plusieurs semaines (au lieu de quelques jours) tout en offrant un ensemble de fonctions maximal dans des conceptions industrielles compactes. L’objectif d’Ambiq est d’amener l’intelligence artificielle (IA) là où elle n’a jamais été auparavant au sein de dispositifs portables et mobiles en utilisant ses solutions avancées à système sur puce (SoC) et ultra-basse consommation. En mars 2023, Ambiq avait déjà expédié plus de 200 millions d’unités. Pour tout complément d’information, veuillez consulter le site www.ambiq.com.

Contact

Charlene Wan
VP du branding, du marketing et des relations avec les investisseurs
cwan@ambiq.com
+1.512.879.2850

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July 10, 2023

British AI Firm, Quantexa, Commits to Over £200M in AI Research and Development Investment by 2027

AI in Context

How Quantexa Augments and Automates Decision Intelligence with AI

Quantexa CEO outlines vision for investment in support of UK Government’s plan to make UK an AI Hub, which includes:

£125M in new global investments aimed at accelerating enterprise and government agency’s ability to use trusted AI-enabled Decision Intelligence solutions
£85M in dedicated UK investment will create over 170 new jobs in London AI Innovation Centre team
Preview of Generative AI assistant shows how world-leading institutions will unlock the full potential of data to investigate risk and identify opportunity

LONDON and NEW YORK, July 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Quantexa, a global leader in Decision Intelligence (DI) solutions for the public and private sectors, announced today that it will invest an additional £125M in the global artificial intelligence (AI) industry over the next three years to help clients advance the use of AI to protect, optimise, and grow their organisations. By 2027, Quantexa’s total global investment in AI will reach more than £200M.

The investment marks Quantexa’s continued advancements in AI with the preview of its Generative AI technology, Q Assist. Quantexa also furthered its commitment to advancing the company’s existing AI Stack to enable its growing global ecosystem of clients and partners to unlock new industry-specific use cases for financial services, insurance, telecommunications, healthcare, and in the public sector. Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence platform and suite of solutions for data management, customer intelligence, KYC, risk, fraud, and financial crime have been deployed in over 70 countries.

Analysis from University of Washington suggests this investment will boost the global AI industry by £600M as the multiplier effect is realised.

AI in Context: How Quantexa Augments and Automates Decision Intelligence with AI

Preview of Generative AI Assistant Breaks New Ground
Built on Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence Platform, the technology preview of Q Assist, a generative AI assistant, demonstrates the potential of using LLM’s to create an intuitive and conversational interface bringing new efficiencies for analysts working with data to identify risks as part of investigations. For organisations, the potential benefit is significant – as the AI assistant allows all analyst staff to become as effective as the most experienced investigators.

Q Assist is LLM agnostic and will allow clients to use their own proprietary, open source, or commercially available models including ChatGPT^TM, a leading LLM from OpenAI. Quantexa’s market-leading entity resolution, graph analytics, and scoring capabilities become turbo-charged when they can be queried with natural language questions and prompts in Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence Platform.

Today, in a video showcase, Quantexa demonstrated one of what could become many potential use cases for Q Assist. The financial crime investigation scenario was chosen to show the potential in using natural language to query vast amounts of structured and unstructured data at scale, allowing even junior analysts to understand the complex data behind graph analytics and alerts. The preview also showed the ability to automate the generation of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and investigative summaries – possible in close to 100 languages – driving further efficiency in what is typically a manually intensive process and allowing more time to be redirected to strategic activities.

AI Throughout Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence Platform Delivers Business Value
Enterprises and government agencies are using Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence to become more effective and efficient at organising siloed, messy data to obtain 360-degree views of customers and suppliers to identify fraud, qualify eligibility for services, stop dangerous goods at borders, or optimise supply chains.

Quantexa is using three core principles to responsibly build out its AI Stack:

Context-Based Learning: Just as humans require full context to make informed decisions, so does AI. Without context, even the smartest machine learning or deep learning algorithms lack accuracy to be deployed reliably. For example, it’s impossible for a person or AI model to know if a single bank transaction in isolation is money laundering. Quantexa builds true context by using data to create single views of people, organisations, places, and other entities and assembles them visually to show complex interactions between entities. This context is what enables a person or AI to make an accurate decision.
Composite AI: Quantexa’s Composite AI Stack aggregates the outputs of many different techniques, including machine learning, natural language processing and deep learning. Combining these with input from subject matter experts, organisations can continually use analytics to improve decisioning to protect, optimise, and grow. Quantexa uses exclusive access to huge volumes of structured and unstructured industry data to train its AI and provides out-of-the-box open models, giving clients the ability to modify or create their own.
Explainability and Trust: In the highly regulated environments that organisations work in, it is crucial that decisions are transparent and explainable with no suggestion of bias. Quantexa’s technology and governance uses context-based techniques and composite AI to drive adoption of explainable outcomes without privacy concerns. Quantexa publicly maintains its AI ethics and safety guidelines here.

Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said:
“We want to ensure the UK remains the best place in the world to build, test, and use safe AI technology. Quantexa’s new £85M London AI Innovation Centre will help cement this reality. It will create over 170 jobs, harness the extraordinary potential of AI as we grow our economy, and lead the way on responsible AI development around the world.”

Chloe Smith, Technology Secretary, said:
“The Government is serious about AI, which is why we’ve invested £2.5B in AI infrastructure and skills since 2014 and this year set out our plan for AI regulation to drive innovation and build trust. Quantexa’s investment is a huge vote of confidence in those plans and will unlock new opportunities for growth and job creation, enabling us to continue to pave the way as a global leader in the development of AI.”

Vishal Marria, CEO and Founder, Quantexa, said:
“While many companies are talking about AI and machine learning, we have been investing in it since our inception. We are investing our time, money, and resources into the biggest technological breakthrough for generations as it will transform how organizations make decisions. We’re proud to invest in London-based innovation but the impact will be felt by the global economy and will start a ripple effect that will unlock decision intelligence capabilities for our clients and their respective industries.”

Dr Oren Etzioni, Professor at the University of Washington’s Computer Science and founding CEO of the Allen Institute for AI, said: “An investment of 100 AI jobs will drive economic growth not just in London but around the world. The places most likely to benefit are AI innovation hubs like New York City, Seattle, and San Francisco. Based on my research into the impact of AI on employment and economic growth, the long-term monetary benefits of this announcement will increase significantly because of the multiplier effect from job creation and innovation. An initial investment of £200M is likely to benefit the wider AI industry by £600M globally within three years.”

To learn more about how your organisation can benefit from Quantexa’s AI investment, innovation, and ethical practices, please visit here.

About Quantexa
Quantexa is a global data and analytics software company pioneering Decision Intelligence that empowers organisations to make trusted operational decisions by making data meaningful. Using the latest advancements in big data and AI, Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence platform uncovers hidden risk and new opportunities by providing a contextual, connected view of internal and external data in a single place. It solves major challenges across data management, KYC, customer intelligence, financial crime, risk, fraud, and security, throughout the customer lifecycle.

The Quantexa Decision Intelligence Platform enhances operational performance with over 90% more accuracy and 60 times faster analytical model resolution than traditional approaches. Founded in 2016, Quantexa now has more than 650 employees and thousands of users working with billions of transactions and data points across the world. The company has offices in London, New York, Boston, Toronto, Malaga, Brussels, Amsterdam, Ireland, Luxemburg, Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, and the UAE. For more information, please visit www.quantexa.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Media Enquiries
C: Stephanie Crisp, Associate Director and Media Strategist, Fight or Flight
E: Quantexa@fightflight.co.uk

C: Adam Jaffe, SVP of Corporate Marketing
T: +1 609 502 6889
E: adamjaffe@quantexa.com
– or –
RapidResponse@quantexa.com

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July 10, 2023

Kenya, DRC, Central African Republic partner to boost security

Kenya, Republic of Congo and Central African Republic will join forces in the fight against terrorism and insecurity in the continent.

President William Ruto said the three nations are committed to achieving lasting peace and stability in the continent.

He said they will share intelligence and take common positions on international platforms to boost Africa’s peace agenda.

The Head of State said the countries will work closely in combatting radicalisation and violent extremism in order to achieve peace, security and stability.

“Our countries need to work together to find appropriate solutions to the common problems facing global and regional peace and security,” he said.

He made the remarks on Sunday during a meeting with presidents Faustin-Archange Touadéra (Central African Republic) and Denis Sassou N’Guesso, (Republic of Congo) in Oyo, the Republic of the Congo.

The leaders committed to enhancing bilateral relations between the three nations and foster Intra-Africa trade.

President Ruto said they are keen on exploring emerging and untapped trade opportunities for the benefit of the people.

“This is the time for Africa to trade with itself, and Kenya is keen to collaborate with the Central African Republic and Republic of Congo to realise this noble objective,” he added

Source: Nam News Network

July 10, 2023

Kenya hosts 20th Maputo Protocol Anniversary celebrations on women’s rights

Kenya is hosting the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women.

The event opens on Monday up to Tuesday. Hundreds of delegates from the African Union member States and others from overseas are attending the celebrations.

The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Gender and Affirmative Action Aisha Jumwa says she is elated that Kenya is hosting the event, which she says is instrumental in evaluating the progress made toward women’s rights protection while taking stock of the achievements made while also formulating strategies to address challenges that still hinder the rights and role of women in the African societies.

The CS said: “Since the establishment of the Maputo Protocol, it has been two decades of progressive realization of women’s rights. And though we made tremendous progress our work is far from over. Let us accelerate the promise of women and girls in Africa.”

Jumwa added: “On behalf of the Government, I wish to welcome all delegates to this auspicious 20th anniversary celebration of the Maputo Protocol.”

Delegates from all over Africa including AU Human Rights Commission are attending the conference to discuss a wide range of social, political and economic issues that impact on women’s rights in African countries

Source: Nam News Network

July 10, 2023

Kenya court frustrates government plans to raise taxes

In a blow to the Kenyan government, a court has dismissed a request by the state to lift the suspension of a new finance law which would lead to significant tax increases.

President William Ruto’s government plans to double a fuel tax and other levies in order to increase its revenue to pay debts and fund projects.

Ten days ago the government said it was facing a budgetary crisis after a high court in Nairobi effectively halted the tax hikes.

The opposition called for nationwide protests against the taxes.

On Friday three people died and dozens were arrested when the police broke up demonstrations around the country.

Source: BBC

July 10, 2023

DPM &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; FM Demeke Urges African Countries to Address Job Creation Problems

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Demeke Mekonen urged African countries to double efforts to address problems in creating job opportunities.

The African Job Creation Forum that was held in Addis Ababa for three days as part of the African Integration Day commemoration concluded today.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Demeke Mekonen on the occasion called on African countries to double efforts to address the problems in creating job opportunities in the continent.

Among the current 1.4 billion population of Africa, 60 percent is below the age of 25 and this makes the continent the youngest part of the world.

If properly managed, Demeke noted, it is a blessing and a huge asset, because the greater the population, the largest workforce that expands production capacity.

“Unfortunately, the rate of unemployment particularly the unemployment rate of youth and women in Africa is the highest with a serious impact on the standard of living.”

The unemployment challenges that Africans are facing mainly originate from mismanaged labor supply and demand caused by a lack of qualified skilled training tailored to the 21st-century markets, inflation and recession, Demeke stated.

Recurrent conflict and instability that leads to shrink in investment, capital migration, and bankrupcy, faulty job creation planning and unorganized support for Enterprise Development as well as less organized entrepreneurial mindset and weak working culture, weakness in continental integration to respond to the interconnected problems are also the other challenges, he elaborated.

“And we have these challenges, doubling the effort in each African country to address problems in creating job opportunities must be our utmost priority. We need to agree to resolve the problem of a fragmented economy in the continent,” Demeke stressed.

He further pointed out that “in Ethiopia with a population of over 120 million, we are determined to address unemployment, creating 20 million jobs by 2030. We are also expecting to create 3 million jobs annually, 1 million from the current unemployment backlog, and 2 million to absorb the new entrants to the labor market. This is an ambitious but achievable goal.”

Moreover, advocacy platforms like the forum you concluded today, to coordinate and integrate national capacities should be organized every year as we did in Ethiopia since 2020, Demeke said, adding that the Africa jobs summit that “we are laying the foundation for will leave us with plenty of ideas, motivations, and visions to implement agenda 2063.”

Regarding the three-day forum, Demeke said: “I trust that the forum has provided you with an occasion to debate issues concerning opportunities and challenges in our continental efforts in the job creation domains.”

“As women and youth are not only the majority of the population, the success story of enterprises owned by them gives way to prosperity. Hence, we need to make sure that they have got the necessary policy attention and integrated continental strategic intervention. To this end, Ethiopia in collaboration with the African Union, and partners like AE-Trade will take a leading role to promote advocacy and awareness creation campaigns at the continental level using the African job submit platform.”

The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister has also handed over certificates of appreciation and awards to hundreds of Ethiopian enterprises that provided exemplary services.

“Finally, I want to congratulate the award winners. This recognition will certainly encourage you to do more and positively influence others in our efforts of building a better future.”

African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson, Monique Nsanzabaganwa on her part said Africa has more than 70 percent youth and job creation is critical in the continent.

“These three days were intense, packed with good news, passion, commitment, and pledges,” the deputy chairperson observed.

As the host of this forum, she said AU is “happier that you made the celebration of the 7th of July, Africa Integration Day, more meaningful and we appreciate the AE-Trade, the government of Ethiopia, and everyone who has contributed to the successful job creation forum.”

Meanwhile, the United African Royal Assembly on the occasion pledged support of mobilizing investment to the value of between six to eight billion USD to create between 80 to 125 million jobs over the next 10 to 15 years. There were also other pledges from other institutions.

“We have heard the big figure 80 million 125 million jobs that we are all up to be creating,” the Deputy Chairperson of AU pointed out referring to the pledge made during the forum by a United African Royal Assembly representative.

She noted that “according to the African Union’s targets, 50 percent of this could go should go to women. And the African Union has a target for you, which is 35 percent, but the commitment I heard here, I think we are aiming actually higher than 35 because the youth is actually more or around 70 percent if we are talking about the proportions that we have to keep.

So I look forward to this as a key measure flagship as we work the journey for the next 10 years of the agenda 2063. One of the moon shots of that journey is that we make sure each and every member state has achieved at least the middle-income level by 2033. Hearing what I’m hearing here, I have no doubt that we are going to achieve that, she said.

“We have programs that are aiming to mobilize Finance, Financial inclusion, jobs, employment parity, and quota systems for public and private procurement. And we want at least 80 percent of all the banks in the nations in the 55 countries to be reporting what are their commitments to women, youth, and SMEs”, she said.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

July 10, 2023

Solar Energy Reduces Post-Harvest Losses

The Nakuru County Director for Agriculture Fredrick Owino today said the affordability, scalability, and suitability for centralized application of solar energy is changing the lives of local farmers through the reduction of post-harvest losses.

While speaking today at the Suka Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Subukia-Sub-County, he said the installation of an avocado solar cold store, which is used to store produce from farmers before marketing them has enabled them to bargain for higher prices.

He noted that solar cold storage has not only empowered the farmers to get better prices for their products, but it has also reduced post-harvest losses in the value chain and removed the urgency of selling perishable foodstuffs, even when prices are at their lowest.

Owino commended the Subukia sub-county farmers who have an estimated acreage of 800 hectares of avocado fruit trees and assured them of the county’s continued support of free seedlings.

Also, he visited the Suka Dairy Cooperative which collects 4700-4900 liters of milk every day from its 896 members, and solar energy has aided them in adding value by producing yogurt. Hence, increasing income for their members.

He urged other farmers’ cooperative societies in the county to emulate the Subukia farmers because solar energy helps overcome energy access challenges, improves agricultural productivity, reduces post-harvest losses, and enriches the overall livelihoods of farmers.

Additionally, he said solar energy has the capacity to play a significant role in assisting farmers throughout the country, through the construction of cold storages, and reducing post-harvest losses, which now stand at a high of 30 percent.

The Director observed that the huge challenge of accessibility to lucrative markets is nowadays made possible through the installation of solar energy. Since it enables the farmers to store perishables longer instead of being exploited by middlemen.

He was accompanied by Subukia Sub-County Administrator Roselyn Mutai, Sub-County Agricultural Officer Kenneth Muiruri, and other county officials.

Source: Kenya News Agency

July 10, 2023

Nakuru County Targets 10 Million Tree Planting By 2025

The Nakuru County government has set a target of planting 10 million trees by the year 2025 in different parts of the county, including schools, along highways, and city streets.

The City Planner, Macharia Thang’wa, said they are working in collaboration with the Global Climate Change Group, and the Boda Boda riders have joined the exercise in their collective effort to conserve the environment.

Speaking today while conducting the tree planting, he said the planning committee has an unwavering commitment to steering the movement in the entire county and turning it green. They were joined by Mama Ngina, Koinange Primary Schools, and Kenyatta Secondary School, where they planted 650 assorted seedlings.

He noted that Nakuru City has the advantage of schools with large compounds, and if each and every school was to endeavor to plant a minimum of 100 trees along the edges, the goal would be achieved faster.

Thang’wa added that despite the scarcity of water, the county would enable the schools to harvest rainwater to ensure that the tree seedlings are watered to maturity, hence reducing the number of drying seedlings.

He observed that the jacaranda trees that were planted along the streets of Nakuru city by settlers have served it well, but the expansion to other outskirts, such as Mwariki and Pipeline, are still bare.

However, the planner said that since the city is known as a dusty area, it would do property owners and homeowners good if they planted at least ten to twenty trees around their premises.

He commended the late Kariuki Chotara, a former Naivasha councilor, for the trees planted along the Naivasha-Gilgil highway, that have been appreciated to date, therefore immortalizing his name.

Also, he said trees planted along roads act as a safeguard and safety measure for residents because they consume the carbon emitted from vehicles before it reaches them.

Source: Kenya News Agency