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As Africa’s digital economy grows, expensive internet hinders investor activity in some countries

A new report detailing the cost of mobile data in different markets across the world, bears the evidence of why internet use in most of Africa remains low despite the growing broadband internet coverage. The Worldwide Mobile Pricing 2022 report , which surveyed 233 countries, shows that five of the 10 most expensive countries to buy mobile data in the world are in sub-Saharan Africa. Mobile data is so costly in these countries that 1GB costs at least $10, which is 250 times more expensive than Israel, the country said to have the world’s cheapest data. In Sao Tome and Principe 1GB of data costs $29, while in Botswana it costs $16. Togo ($13), Seychelles ($13) and Namibia ($11) are the other African countries with the most expensive data packages — hindering economic growth and job creation. Kenyan low-cost ISP Poa Internet secures $28 million in round led by AfDB-backed Africa50, plans to link region with cheap, limit-free connectivity Dan Howdle, consumer telecoms analyst at...
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Google Maps rolls out location sharing notifications, immersive views and better bike navigation

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Google — facing increasing competition from other apps like Instagram and TikTok when it comes to consumers searching for things — wants to be the first place people go for discovery and planning pastimes. In aid of that, today the company announced three new features for its star navigation app, Google Maps: aerial and more immersive views of 100 landmarks, more detailed cycling routes, and improved location sharing with notifications for the arrival and departure of your friends. Google Maps has long been adding in more features beyond just giving you the ability to plan how to get from A to B, and even some of the features today are essentially interim steps in longer upgrade strategies. The company first introduced the idea of  immersive views at its developer conference Google IO back in May with an aim to creating 3D models of landmarks by using a fusion of Street View, satellite, and aerial images. With that in mind, the company is now rolling out immersive views of m...
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Packworks makes operations easier for sari-sari stores in the Philippines

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Sari-saris are small neighborhood stores in the Philippines that are often run on pen and paper ledgers. Inspired by a motorcycle journey, Packworks is on a mission to change that, with a mobile enterprise resource planning platform (ERP) that just raised $2 million led by logistics group Fast Group and CVC Capital Partners, with participation from ADB Ventures, Arise, Techstars and Ideaspace Foundation. The startup will use its new funding to develop its super app, called The Pack, by increasing its platform offerings, including optimizing store operations, including funding access for businesses, and order management across the entire supply chain. It also plans to build a department that engages sari-sari stores and provides additional services with parters, plus build an open platform for financial institutions and brands to connect directly with sari-sari owners.” Before raising, Packworks bootstrapped its way to working with 150,000 sari-sari stores, the company says. It was f...
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RPA Supervisor lands cash to help companies manage their various RPA platforms

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Proving that there’s room in the robotic process automation (RPA) market for another vendor, RPA Supervisor today announced that it raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Dawn Capital with participation from S16vc and existing investor MMC Ventures. The infusion, which brings the startup’s total raised to $25 million, will be put toward product development and growing RPA Supervisor’s overall headcount, CEO Tobias Gundhus told TechCrunch via email. RPA refers to tools that partially or fully automate manual, rules-based and repetitive software tasks. Led by behemoths like Automation Anywhere and UiPath, the RPA industry has been on an impressive upward trajectory as of late, with Forrester predicting that RPA-related services could bring in $16 billion by 2025. But according to Gundhus, RPA vendors’ success masks the challenges that many organizations implementing RPA technologies are experiencing. One recent survey found that 69% of organizations that have adopted RPA expe...
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Google launches Street View in India after years of rejection

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Google has relaunched Street View, the Google Maps feature that allows users to explore an area through 360-degree panoramic street-level images , in India roughly six years after the South Asian nation rejected the feature over security concerns. The company, which has been attempting to launch Street View in the country for over 10 years , said it has partnered with local giants Genesys and Tech Mahindra to relaunch the service, which is now live in 10 Indian cities. The company expects to roll out the service to 50 Indian cities by the end of the year. This is the first time that, Google executives said at a press briefing in New Delhi Wednesday, Google has partnered with third-party firms for Street View. Unveiled 15 years ago, Street View is live in over 100 countries and territories and has amassed over 220 billion Street View images, the company said earlier this year. “Starting today, Street View will be available on Google Maps with fresh imagery intensity in India that is ...
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