Kenya-Based Startup Afya Rekod – Universal Patient Portal Partners With Medi-Science, UK

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Kenya-Based Startup Afya Rekod – Universal Patient Portal Partners With Medi-Science, UK

Medi-science International Limited and Kenya-based startup Afya Rekod  have announced a strategic collaboration that seeks to transform healthcare delivery through improved access to personal health data in Africa and Europe.

 

The partnership will give patients an accessible record of their own health history, by enabling patients, doctors and hospitals to host health records securely on one platform through a digital application.

Decentralization signifies the modification or change of our current Healthcare Systems. Our current Healthcare Systems have standard normalized processes and procedures. A person is sick; they visit a physician, they provide insurance or they pay out of pocket after being assessed. They then are given a prescription or medications conventionally appropriate to treating that effect. However, there are imperfections in this system. Many patients have to wait weeks to see a Doctor, some do not have the insurance or the financial resources to pay for a medical professional’s treatment. Others cannot afford prescriptions or are given drugs that do not treat the issue but that only make them become dependent on the drug.

Afya Rekod, a patient-driven platform, puts patients at the core of all healthcare services. They can capture, store, access and own their health records, which has multiple benefits including reducing the cost of repeating medical tests. Both patients and clinicians will be able to access imaging files and test results through an app on their phones or browser without having to go back to the health clinic to collect the files. To protect confidentiality, Afya Rekod uses various AI and blockchain modules, and the patient maintains the sovereign right of ownership to their health data.

John Kamara, CEO  Afya Rekod said, “Our vision is to put patients at the core of what we do. We want families to have access to their medical records virtually and access them any time, in a matter of seconds. The partnership with Medi-science International Limited will allow for a seamless flow of data between the patient and doctors.”

“Afya Rekod allows clinicians to view data and share with other experts, enabling them to make better informed diagnoses and decisions. An efficient proximity between Doctors and patients thereby diminishing long-line waiting times for consultations between physicians and patients; thus more efficiently affording a Patient-Prompt Service without the need for that patient to be at a physical hospital or Healthcare location.” added John Kamara, CEO  Afya Rekod.

Sunny Ahonsi, CEO Medi-science International Limited said, “Our world’s Healthcare Systems are going through what we would like to call a stage of awakening. For decades our demographically overloaded Healthcare Systems’ accessibility and effectiveness have been stagnating in their traditional forms of treatments and care for individuals. This is why the Decentralization of Healthcare is becoming increasingly imperative. At Medi-science International Limited we are working along with the current Healthcare Systems while at the same time decentralizing their conventional formalities to generate the most efficient, effective and economical standards of care.”

“Your health  is in the hands of our Innovative experts, MediLiVes is the care Connectors. In our collaboration with Afya Rekod, we will work on data accessibility to help create insights for better, more targeted, more individualized patient care. The health sector and the public must all come together to further the digital healthcare journey, to the benefit of millions of people, and this partnership supports that journey. Your health  is in the hands of our Innovative experts, MediLiVes  are the care Connectors!” added Sunny Ahonsi, CEO Medi-science International Limited

MediLiVes, a product of Medi-science International Limited, offers an Analytical telemedicine system to make medical examinations cost effective and quick. MediLiVes is an innovative initiative offering unique, new-generation telemedicine solutions. Telemedicine, based on technology that enables a patient’s health condition to be monitored from a distance, is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. The versatile nature of our core product means that it can find abnormalities not only in cardiology, but also in diabetes, dietetics, civilization diseases, and chronic illnesses.

Medical specialists are present across the globe – we aim to provide access to the best scientists, doctors, and healthcare providers to each and every human being.

 Ghana Cedi Dropped By 35%, Making It The World’s Second Worst-Performing Currency

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 Ghana Cedi Dropped By 35%, Making It The World’s Second Worst-Performing Currency

This year, the Ghana cedi has lost 35% of its value against the US dollar, making it the world’s second worst-performing currency after the Sri Lankan rupee.

According to Bloomberg’s currency performance ranking, the cedi fell 1.1 percent on Wednesday to trade around GH9/$, extending its weekly drop to 5.2 percent — the worst drop since March 29, 2019.

“As the monetary policy committee met, a new set of data indicated that inflation could accelerate further in the coming months,” according to the report.

“Ghana’s producer prices rose 41.2 percent in July, the fastest increase in eight years.”

The Ghana cedi, like the naira, has been consistently depreciating against major trading currencies, particularly the US dollar, since the beginning of the year.

According to Bloomberg, the currency’s fall is due to demand for forex exceeding supply during a period when Ghana’s high debts and low investor confidence have made access to the international capital market for borrowing impossible.

The Bank of Ghana (BOG) raised its lending rate (MPR) to 22 percent on Wednesday in an effort to reduce inflationary pressures and halt the cedi’s depreciation against the US dollar.

In July, the Ghanaian government initiated talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support its economic programs as part of efforts to accelerate the country’s recovery from the pandemic’s challenges.

Due to the economic downturn, hundreds of citizens took to the streets to protest price increases, a tax on electronic payments, and other levies.

Ghana’s Central Bank Increased Key Interest Rate To 22%

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Ghana’s Central Bank Increased Key Interest Rate To 22%

In its latest effort to combat the country’s rising inflation, the Bank of Ghana increased its benchmark interest rate by 300 basis points to 22%.

The decision was made during the central bank’s emergency meeting on Thursday. The meeting was called by the bank in response to an increase in inflation in July and increased pressures in the foreign exchange market.

Headline inflation rose to 31.7 percent in July, up from 29.8 percent in June, for the 11th month in a row. Food inflation increased to 32.3 percent in July, up from 30.7 percent in June 2022.

“The Ghana Cedi has depreciated by 25.5 percent year to date, reflecting the Ghana specific situation, including the challenging financing of the budget from both domestic and external sources, downgrading of sovereign credit rating, nonresidents disinvestment in local currency bonds, and loss of reserve buffers,” the bank said.

According to the bank, executing the country’s budget for the year has remained difficult.

“Revenue has lagged behind projections, posing financing challenges.” In the absence of access to the international capital market and given the limited domestic financing available, central bank overdrafts have assisted in closing the financing gap, as reflected in the mid-year budget review. “The Bank of Ghana is collaborating with the Ministry of Finance to agree on an overdraft cap,” it said.

The bank stated that it intends to raise foreign exchange from mining and oil companies in order to increase its forex reserves.

“To increase the supply of foreign exchange in the economy, the Bank of Ghana is collaborating with mining firms, international oil companies, and their bankers to purchase all foreign exchange arising from the voluntary repatriation of export proceeds from mining and oil and gas companies.” This will strengthen the central bank’s foreign exchange auctions,” it said.

Mobile Transactions Have Increased By N8.9 Trillion

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Mobile Transactions Have Increased By N8.9 Trillion

Between the first seven months of 2019 and the same period in 2022, mobile transactions increased by N8.981 trillion.

According to data from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System, they have risen from N289.12bn to N9.27tn.

This is because the value of cheque transactions fell by 31.42 percent from N2.67 trillion in January to July 2019 to N1.83 trillion in 2022.

Due to COVID-19, the use of mobile payment gateways began to rise in 2020, while the use of cheques began to decline around the same time.

While mobile transactions increased as a result of COVID, the total value of cheques cleared began to decline. The value of cleared cheques was N2.67tn in the first seven months of 2019, N1.86tn in 2020, N1.85tn in 2021, and N1.83tn in 2022.

According to the NIBSS’s ‘Instant Payments – 2020 Annual Statistics,’ mobile devices drove electronic payments in 2020, accounting for 43% of total transactions. It went on to say that USSD was used in 35% of the transactions and mobile devices were used in 78% of total transfer transactions.

According to Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission, one advantage of financial services riding on telecom infrastructure was the provision of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, which facilitated financial transactions.

The number of active GSM subscribers increased from 173.63 million in January 2019 to 206.08 million in June 2022 during the review period.

The GSMA, the global body for telecommunications companies, noted in its 2021 mobile money industry report that “while 2020 saw unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the mobile money industry witnessed strong efforts in striving towards cashless societies, entering strategic partnerships to expand the horizons of digital payments, and developing new and robust interoperable payment systems.”

CBN Suspends COVID-Linked Loan Relief And Raises Interest Rates To 9%

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CBN Suspends COVID-Linked Loan Relief And Raises Interest Rates To 9%

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, interest rates on all applicable intervention facilities have been reduced from 5% to 9% per year.

In the midst of the pandemic in 2020, the bank announced a one-year reduction in interest rates on all its intervention facilities from 9% to 5% as part of policies to mitigate the negative impact of the deadly coronavirus on Nigerian businesses and the economy.

At the time, the bank stated that it had approximately N3 trillion in various intervention programs run through commercial banks.

Anchor Borrowers, Commercial Agricultural Credits Scheme, Micro-Small and Medium-scale Enterprise, and Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) are examples of such programs.

The bank stated at the time that it had approximately N3 trillion in various intervention programs run through commercial banks.

Anchor Borrowers, Commercial Agricultural Credits Scheme, Micro-Small and Medium-scale Enterprise, and Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) are some of the programs.

The CBN made the announcement in a circular signed by Chibuzo Efobi, the director of its financial policy and regulation department, on Wednesday.

“Further to our circular dated March 15, 2022 (Ref: FPR/DIR/PUB/CIR/001/040) extending the period of interest reduction to all intervention facilities from nine percent to five percent per annum (as part of measures to mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian economy), the Central Bank of Nigeria hereby reverts the interest rate on all its intervention facilities to nine percent per annum,” the letter said.

“The reversed rates shall be implemented as follows: All intervention facilities granted effective July 20, 2022, shall be at a nine percent annual rate; all existing intervention facilities granted prior to July 20, 2022, shall be at a nine percent annual rate effective September 1, 2022.”

 

Nigeria Takes Action Against Unregistered Online Money Lenders

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Nigeria Takes Action Against Unregistered Online Money Lenders

Nigeria is cracking down on unregistered online money lenders who offer short-term loans with no security at high interest rates, according to the consumer protection agency, adding that it had asked Google to remove some lenders’ apps from its play store.

The lenders, dubbed “loan sharks” due to their aggressive recovery methods, charge interest rates of up to 45% per year. Applicants download an app, fill out a form, and are asked to give the lender access to their contacts for “risk management purposes.”

Millions of Nigerians who lack bank accounts or security to borrow turn to these lenders for loans starting at 2,000 naira ($4.76). Many people have taken to social media to complain about being harassed and having their contact information shared with third parties without their permission.

In an August 18 report, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) stated that it had conducted search and seizure operations against at least five lenders.

According to FCCPC chief executive Babatunde Irukera, one of those targeted was Lagos-based Soko Lending Limited.

Irukera described Soko as “one of the most prolific actors in violating consumer privacy, fair lending terms, and ethical loan repayment/recovery practices.” He did not specify what was seized or recovered.

Soko did not respond to a written comment request.

Soko describes itself as a “simple, entirely online lending platform” that can process loan requests in five minutes.

Nigeria has the most fintech companies in Africa, with the majority of them offering loans. However, because of the lack of scrutiny, many businesses operated without regulatory approval, which the FCCPC hopes to change.

The FCCPC stated that it had asked Google Play to remove four lending apps that were circumventing investigations.

“For apps that are not on the Play Store, the commission is continuing to investigate what platforms they are hosted on in order to disable them,” said Irukera.

Payment systems Flutterwave, Opay, and Paystack, as well as mobile network operators, were ordered to stop providing platforms, hosting services, and connectivity to lenders, he added.

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Ticket Sales Reach 2.45 Million

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FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Ticket Sales Reach 2.45 Million

Over half a million tickets sold in latest sales period; High demand from the Arab region, the Americas and Europe; Launch date for next sales phase to be announced in late September

With less than 100 days to go until the start of the greatest show on Earth, a total of 2.45 million tickets have now been sold. The first FIFA World Cup™ to be held in the Middle East and Arab world will kick off on 20 November, bringing fans from the region and across the world together in a compact and modern setting, with Qatar, the USA, England, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the UAE, France, Argentina, Brazil and Germany leading the ranking of ticket sales by country of residence.

In the last sales period (https://fifa.fans/3wdhgYJ) alone, which ran from 5 July to 16 August when fans were able to buy tickets on a first-come, first-served basis via (https://fifa.fans/3c1pvjt), a total of 520,532 tickets were sold. The biggest number of allocated tickets were for group-stage matches such as Cameroon v. Brazil, Brazil v. Serbia, Portugal v. Uruguay, Costa Rica v. Germany, and Australia v. Denmark. Fans living in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the USA, Mexico, the UAE, England, Argentina, Brazil, Wales and Australia led the way – and the digital queues – by securing the biggest number of tickets.

Fans who now hold confirmation for one or more matches in their FIFA ticketing account are encouraged to start planning their trip as soon as possible by booking their accommodation (https://bit.ly/3PxON6F), if living outside of Qatar, and by applying for their Hayya (https://bit.ly/3dynpbf) (the Fan ID for the tournament) via (https://bit.ly/3pLzyg5) or the Hayya to Qatar 2022 app [available on iOS (https://apple.co/3CgovTo) and Android (https://bit.ly/3PyHDz9)]. An approved Hayya application, alongside a valid match ticket, will grant spectators access to stadiums, provide entry to Qatar for international fans, and offer free public transport on matchdays, along with a host of other benefits.

Those who have not yet secured their seats, or those who would simply like to take advantage of Qatar’s compact nature by adding more matches to their programme, should keep an eye on (https://fifa.fans/3c1pvjt) from late September onwards when the launch date of the last-minute sales phase will be communicated.

During the last-minute sales phase, which will run until the end of the tournament, tickets will also be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and confirmed immediately after payment. (https://fifa.fans/3c1pvjt) is the only official channel for the general public to buy tickets, with fans urged to stay away from unauthorised websites. Over-the-counter sales will also start in Doha following the launch of the last-minute sales phase.

BingX Increases Global Workforce Despite Crypto Winter

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SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 19 August 2022 – BingX, the leading social trading exchange, is actively hiring for roles across its offices despite the current market downturn, with more than 200 positions looking to be filled globally.

copy trading exchange that offers spot, derivatives, and copy trading services to more than 100 countries worldwide with over 3 million users. BingX connects users with expert traders and the platform in a safe, simple, and transparent way. BingX also allows free for users who are new to investing in Crypto.

For Partners, visit

Visit BingX at:

Bolt Celebrates 9th Global Anniversary By Announcing Ongoing Post-Pandemic Growth

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Bolt Celebrates 9th Global Anniversary By Announcing Ongoing Post-Pandemic Growth

Bolt, Nigeria’s leading mobility service, has announced it has quadrupled its business globally since the start of the pandemic, recording its most successful month on record this July.

 

Bolt, which launched two new products since the start of the pandemic, has operations in 45 countries and over 500 cities across Europe and Africa now – an increase of over 200% in the period prior to the pandemic.

 

Globally, Bolt has tripled its number of customers to over 100 million since the beginning of  2020, added more than 2 million new drivers to the platform, and more than doubled the size of its workforce to over 3000 employees. The business has also opened several new offices over the past year, including engineering hubs in Berlin and Nairobi, and continues to advertise over 350 open roles with a view to hiring 700 more employees by the end of the year.

 

The announcement of these new stats comes as Bolt marks its ninth anniversary since Markus Villig founded the company in Tallinn, Estonia, in 2013. Then just a teenager, Markus personally recruited the first drivers to the platform on the streets of Tallinn and has since built a business valued at €7.6bn at the time of its latest funding round.

 

Markus Villig, CEO and Founder said: “The pandemic was the biggest economic shock in generations, so hitting milestones like 100 million customers and operations in over 500 cities are achievements we’re really proud of.

 

“When Bolt was first founded, our mission was to challenge the traditional taxi industry in Tallinn through a new ride-hailing service. Now our size and the range of products we offer put us in a unique position to revolutionise how people move around the cities. By providing an alternative to private cars, we can help create cities that are greener, safer and more pleasant to live in.

 

“It’s important to stay grounded though – rising levels of inflation and interest rates mean we have to be disciplined when assessing how and in what markets we invest. This could mean prioritising growth efforts in our existing markets instead of expanding our services into new countries. Our culture of frugality helped us come out of the pandemic in a strong position, but the challenges are not going to stop, and the team is focused on preparing for and responding to them.”

 

Since Bolt’s launch in Lagos in 2016, it has expanded its operation into 25 states and 33 cities since the pandemic to provide seamless mobility offerings to Nigerians. In 2021, Bolt extended its Bolt Food service to Nigeria increasing its product offering in the country. The introduction of Bolt Food in Nigeria came after the platform accessed post-pandemic realities and decided to help provide easier access to daily essentials such as food.

 

Oludele Dare, Country Manager, Nigeria said: “We are happy to see the post-pandemic growths that the business has experienced. When we first launched in Nigeria, our mission was to transform the ride-hailing and mobility sector. Scaling during the pandemic was a challenge but our focus on providing seamless mobility services to Nigerians ensured that we maintained growth. Our business in Nigeria is built on efficiency and easing mobility for riders while offering drivers a flexible opportunity to earn more income.”

 

How To Evolve Design Thinking Into Design Doing

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How To Evolve Design Thinking Into Design Doing

Design is all about continuous learning and figuring out how different things can work together to solve a problem or create something of value. It’s a “1+1=3” process, and when you get it right, magic happens.

My introduction to this process—which has since laid the foundation for my career—started in the kitchen, of all places. As a teenager, I’d attempt new dishes for my family, mixing and matching ingredients to see what worked and what didn’t. I learned to think on the fly and got comfortable with failing small and fast. My interest in piecing together ingredients to bring a culinary vision to life evolved into a passion for creating great experiences that offer simple solutions to complex problems through design.

Creating new products, services, and technology solutions requires a similar approach to cooking. You think about what the customer needs, consider how you’ll sell the product, and ask yourself whether it’s technically feasible and how it will be received. Like ingredients in a kitchen, the list of considerations is vast—so how do you know where to begin?

About 90% of the design process is centered around understanding the problem you’re solving (i.e., why the design should exist), then sorting through all options and considerations in order to conceptualize the design. Only then does the process become about molding those decisions together to create something that has a meaningful impact on the customer.

THREE PILLARS OF DESIGN DOING  

You might not expect someone raised in rural India who holds a degree in chemical engineering to become a champion of design, but an experience early in my career fundamentally changed my thinking. A collaboration with the design firm IDEO in 2005—well before iPhones, iPads, and the app ecosystem that launched the power of design as it relates to the user experience—provided me with a more structured understanding of how to approach problem solving using design thinking.

We regularly think, talk, and write about design-thinking principles—typically with an understanding that the best designs put people at the center. But now it’s time to shift those conversations. Rather than focusing solely on design thinking, we need to translate the thinking into design doing.

To grow from thinking into doing, my personal and professional experiences have taught me that there are three pillars of design doing.

1. Separate the buyers from the users.

Designers need to be sure they are empathizing with the user. Remember: the person signing the check (the buyer) is often a different person than the one actually using the product.

When it comes to enterprise software, for example, the person who pays for the software has different challenges and motivations than the people using it every day. The business value of the solution needs to resonate with the buyer, but the actual product experience needs to empathize with the user.

Putting empathy at the core of design isn’t easy. Doing so requires an appreciation for the process, a lot of discipline, and robust market research to ensure you can champion the user and not be limited by inputs from buyers regarding their perception of user needs.

2. Test early and test often.

Product teams often try to come up with a polished concept before asking for internal feedback. But incorporating changes at a later, go-to-market stage is a much larger undertaking that can extend the timeline, cause internal misalignment in the team, and limit the impact a solution can have on the user. Instead, the process should include short cycles with fast, efficient iteration. Design doing is about using design as a facilitation activity—one that’s focused on involving a large swath of internal minds to create the best possible outcome.

Though a lot of teams want to do this, design doing requires a focus on building the right kind of culture to make it happen. It needs an environment of psychological safety for the design team and for those providing inputs. I always tell my team that I want to see “ugly prototypes” so that they aren’t afraid to show in-progress design or get inputs from diverse areas within the company.

Testing early and testing often also means you’ll avoid a macro failure. A hundred micro failures along the way will always be better than one macro failure at the end.

3. Leverage data to create a fast feedback loop.

Design is a learning activity, and it’s important for everyone to understand that whatever is released can be improved with future understanding. That’s why you need to have a steady pulse on how the design is working from quantitative and qualitative standpoints, both of which help to inform the next iteration.

Think of the regular software updates on our phones. Those slight tweaks to features and functionality we experience are based on data-driven feedback loops—modern software products are more like building an ever-evolving theme park rather than a singular release event like a blockbuster movie.

Opening yourself up to input on your design from those using your product will only make you smarter, stronger, and more confident as you go forward.

SUCCESSFUL DESIGN   

So how do you know when your final design is ready to ship? It’s important to be “urgently patient” throughout the design process, as it can take time to get there even with rapid iterations. However, there will be intermediate milestones and small wins to celebrate throughout if the team is regularly engaging with customers and users, and learning what they like and don’t like. Still, you should never be done with design because that would mean the feedback loop has stopped.

Beyond that, it’s quite simple. You’ll know your design is successful when people love it and want more of it, and when you yourself are proud of it.

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