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🤖 Google Commits $37 Million to Shape Africa’s AI Future

🤖 Google Commits $37 Million to Shape Africa’s AI Future

Plus: 🦹🏻 Microsoft SharePoint Under Cyberattack

Innovation Village
July 25, 2025

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Today’s Menu ☕️

🤖 Google Commits $37 Million to Shape Africa’s AI Future
🦹🏻 Microsoft SharePoint Under Siege: Hackers Target Governments, Universities
📍 How Google Maps Generates $62 Billion in Revenue Without Charging Users
🪙 Luno unveils Nigeria’s first-ever crypto staking service
📱 MTN and Yango launch special SIM offer to empower ride-hailing drivers

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🤖 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Google Commits $37 Million to Shape Africa’s AI Future

Google has pledged $37 million to accelerate artificial intelligence development across Africa, highlighting its deepening commitment to the continent’s fast-growing tech ecosystem. Announced in Accra, Ghana, the funding will support research, language inclusion, startups, and AI skills training.

At the core is the newly launched AI Community Center in Accra—a collaborative space where researchers, developers, creatives, and civil society can explore AI-driven solutions for Africa’s pressing challenges, from food insecurity to healthcare and language access.

A major $25 million grant from Google.org will fund the AI Collaborative: Food Security initiative, using AI to improve hunger forecasting and crop resilience. An additional $3 million will support the Masakhane African Languages AI Hub, aimed at developing tools for over 40 African languages.

Google is also investing $2 million in research at the University of Pretoria and Wits MIND Institute, while allocating $7 million to expand AI literacy in four countries and offering 100,000 scholarships in Ghana.

A new catalytic fund will support 100+ AI startups, blending funding and technical assistance. This initiative cements Africa’s role in shaping a responsible, inclusive AI future.…...…continue reading

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🦹🏻 CYBERATTACK

Microsoft SharePoint Under Siege: Hackers Target Governments, Universities

A critical vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint servers has led to a sharp rise in global cyberattacks, with over 400 organizations compromised, up from an initial estimate of 60, according to Dutch cybersecurity firm Eye Security. Victims include U.S. government bodies like the National Nuclear Security Administration and NIH, as well as entities in South Africa, Mauritius, and Jordan. In South Africa, malware was found on the National Treasury’s website, though systems remain operational.

Microsoft has linked the breach to Chinese state-backed hackers—Linen Typhoon, Violet Typhoon, and Storm-2603—who used the flaw to steal authentication keys and gain deep system access. China denies involvement. The vulnerability, once used for targeted attacks, is now being exploited more broadly. Microsoft has issued patches, but many systems may have been compromised beforehand.

Experts warn of risks to sensitive but unclassified data. The breach has drawn scrutiny, especially given Microsoft’s past security failures, and will be discussed during upcoming U.S.–China cybersecurity talks.......…continue reading

📍MOBILITY AND NAVIGATION

How Google Maps Generates $62 Billion in Revenue Without Charging Users

When was the last time you stopped to think about Google Maps? Probably not often. You use the app, and it meets your needs. It’s there when you need directions, when you’re looking for a coffee shop, or just curious about what that new restaurant looks like on Street View. It feels like one of those everyday internet tools—always there, always free.

But Google Maps isn’t just a handy tool. It’s a quietly powerful global business, valued at over $62 billion. That’s more than Volkswagen. More than PayPal. And yet, it still costs you nothing. So… how?.

When you open Google Maps, you’re tapping into a vast system powered by real-time traffic data, restaurant schedules, walking paths through side streets in unfamiliar cities, live street imagery, address autofill, and satellite views. It might feel simple, but behind the scenes, it’s anything but.

That simplicity is built on satellite feeds, aerial scans, ground-level photography, machine learning, and some serious computing power.

So while you’re checking how long it’ll take to get home during rush hour, Google is juggling a massive global infrastructure: data centres, engineers, code frameworks, mapping vehicles, and image-processing teams. All these are working to keep an up-to-date, searchable version of the real world online—buildings, streets, landmarks, even potholes. And the wild part is, you’re not paying a cent for any of these. So how does Google make money from this service.......…continue reading

🪙 CRYPTOCURRENCY

Luno unveils Nigeria’s first-ever crypto staking service

Luno has launched crypto staking in Nigeria, becoming the first active platform in the country to offer this feature. This move allows Nigerians to earn passive income by supporting blockchain networks, marking a major step forward in the local digital finance landscape.

Staking lets users lock cryptocurrencies like Solana (SOL), Polkadot (DOT), Cosmos (ATOM), or NEAR in exchange for rewards—similar to earning interest in a savings account, but with returns as high as 18% annually. Luno’s service offers flexibility with no lock-up periods, no minimum amounts, and the ability to unstake anytime.

With Nigeria recording over $59 billion in crypto transactions from mid-2023 to 2024, Luno’s introduction of staking provides a new way for investors to grow wealth beyond price speculation. It also reflects the growing maturity of Nigeria’s crypto space, with increasing regulatory openness and an emphasis on safety. Luno’s launch positions it at the forefront of secure, innovative crypto services in the region......…continue reading

📱 TELECOMS

MTN and Yango launch special SIM offer to empower ride-hailing drivers

MTN Cameroon has partnered with Yango, a ride-hailing platform from Russian tech giant Yandex, to launch a dedicated SIM card package designed for Yango drivers. Dubbed the “Special Yango Offer,” the initiative aims to reduce operational costs, enhance digital connectivity, and improve service delivery for thousands of drivers in Cameroon.

For a monthly fee of 6,000 CFA francs (approximately $10.50), drivers receive 50,000 CFA francs ($89.50) in call credit, unlimited access to the Yango Pro app, zero mobile money withdrawal fees, and no charges for MoMoPay customer transactions. The package is now available in Douala, Yaoundé, and Bafoussam, with nationwide expansion planned.

Yango’s Country Manager, Clovis Pilla, noted the offer supports driver connectivity and income, while MTN Business Cameroon’s GM, Franck Gérard Kom, highlighted the lower costs and ease of business for drivers. Following a similar success in Côte d’Ivoire in 2023, this partnership is part of Yango’s broader strategy to empower Africa’s gig economy.....…continue reading