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28 MARCH, 2022 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH [Flutterwave Logo] Good morning âï¸ I finally got YouTube Premium + Music. ð¶ I've had a problem connecting my bank [debit] cards to my Google Pay account. After trying for years, fintechs came to the rescue where traditional banks failed. ð If you're having a similar problem connecting your Naira debit card to pay for subscriptions, here's a solution you can use without leaving your home. Get a [Barter account](, create a dollar card, and connect your dollar on Google Pay using your dollar card. There's a $2 creation fee for every dollar card ð³ you create, and the minimum you can fund your account with is $5. All in all, I funded my account with â¦5,000 ($8.5 according to Barter's conversion rate) and I had enough to pay for the card creation fee, and 2 months of YouTube Premium. Pros: I can use the dollar card to shop online and bypass my bank's $20 monthly limit. Flutterwave also makes KYC completion easier for those having issues with their BVN. Con: The exchange rate is quite high. In today's edition - Crypto market
- Microsoft accused of bribery in Africa again
- Kenya unveils a $27 million development centre
- TC Insights: Africa's outsourcing potentials
- Job opportunities CRYPTO MARKET
KENYA UNVEILS A $27 MILLION DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
Image source: MCGH Last week, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta [unveiled the $27-million Microsoft Africa Development Centre]( in Kenya. The centre adopts green energy and self-sustainability solutions including self-heat regulating windows, a mini solar plant that will power the facility and a water treatment facility to recycle and purify water. The news comes 3 years after Microsoft [opened up its first two development centres]( in Lagos and Kenya. What's it for? The Centre is aimed to help build and develop tech talent. A recurring conversation and complaint Africa's tech ecosystem has had is [the talent gap](. On one hand, there are millions of unemployed people on the continent, and on the other, there are open tech jobs that require skills many don't have. Kenya's new development centre is aimed at bridging that gap by building talent. To hear President Kenyatta say it, the centre, "...will build a local world-class talent and create innovative technological solutions that will yield global positive impacts [sic]". The president also announced that Microsoft would partner with local universities and start-ups to provide training and skills to create job opportunities for over 200,000 young Kenyans. At the launch of the first centre in 2019, Microsoft pledged to hire 500 engineers by 2023 across Lagos and Kenya to help with the development centres. According to Microsoft Vice President Joy Chik, over 570 engineers have been employed already working on different projects including digital identity, mixed reality, and even Microsoft 365. Meanwhile, in Lagos, Microsoft [opened a new office that will house its Lagos ADC.]( The 11,000sqm office will be shared with Facebook. SEND BY FLUTTERWAVE Don't just send money, send money fast. Send and receive money directly to mobile wallets, bank accounts, Barter or through cash pickup with $end. Visit [send.flutterwave.com]( and do it now! This is partner content. MICROSOFT ACCUSED OF BRIBERY IN AFRICA AGAIN
Speaking of Microsoft, some hefty allegations were laid against them on Friday. A whistleblowerâex-Director for Emerging Markets Yasser Elabdâalleges that Microsoft takes [over $200 million annually in bribes]( in Africa and the MENA region. Elabd, who worked for Microsoft for 20 years before his employment was terminated in 2018, believes that employees, partners, and government officials with connections to the big tech company are funnelling money from Nigeria, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Zimbabwe. What's more, it's not the first time such an allegation has been made. Quick, remind me of the first time In 2018, another whistleblower signalled the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to [a dodgy deal]( between Microsoft, South Africa's Department of Defence (DoD) and EOH Mthombo, a South African IT and consultancy agency that sells Microsoft licenses. It was found that EOH Mthombo had underpaid Microsoft [about R41.7 million (about $2.8 million)]( for a procurement deal it had signed with the DoD. While it appears that Microsoft was on the receiving end of this deal, the whistleblower claims that Microsoft employees were in on it. And now Ex-director Elabd, who believes he was fired for asking too many questions, alleges that many more bribery deals accompany Microsoft's operations in Africa and MENA. In Nigeria, Elabd claims, the Senate of the Nigerian parliament complained that Nigeria had paid $5.5 million for Microsoft licenses that were nowhere to be found. In Cameroon, the government had also supposedly [purchased 500,000 3-year OfficeAcademy subscriptions]( that disappeared. Similar events, as Elabd claims, have also occurred in Qatar where the government [paid $9 million annually over 7 years]( for Microsoft Office subscriptions it's Ministry of Education wasn't using. Other occurrences also happened in [Kuwait and Saudi Arabia](. While some of these allegations like the Qatari one have been confirmed by auditors, others have not. What's Microsoft saying? In a response to The Verge, Microsoft says the allegations are years old and have been dealt with. "We believe weâve previously investigated these allegations, which are many years old, and addressed them. We cooperated with government agencies to resolve any concerns.â EARN INTEREST IN DOLLAR STABLECOINS [Busha]( Buy Dollar stablecoins with Naira on Busha, Earn passive income on your Dollar stablecoins, Receive interest daily and cash out anytime you want. With Busha, you get access to the best flex savings for Dollar equivalent in Nigeria. Start saving for the future you want NOW! [Download Busha](. This is partner content. TC INSIGHTS: AFRICA'S OUTSOURCING POTENTIAL Chinedu is a self-taught software developer living in Enugu, Nigeria. Frustrated by his inability to secure a remote job, he plans on switching career paths. The global IT services outsourcing market size was [valued]( at $520.7 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.7% from 2020 to 2027. According to [LinkedIn](, about 150 million new technology jobs will be created across the world over the next five years. These jobs are likely to result in a battle for overseas talent. Why then is Chinedu unable to partake of this largesse? First, he is in competition with foreigners from countries such as India and Ukraine who boast of an IT export volume of about [$34.8 billion]( and [$6.8 billion]( respectively. While his competitors from the aforementioned countries have had the benefit of working on complex and large projects, the same can not be said of Chinedu. âTech talents in Africa are mostly seen as junior-level due to their project exposure levels,â Femi Taiwo, CEO of Teraworks, said in a chat with TechCabal. The issue of trust that hangs around recruiting tech workers from African countries also affects his chances of securing a job. To solve both issues, talent outsourcing firms should adopt the escrow option. The escrow option ensures that developers who are matched with foreign companies duly deliver on the job. Similarly, the success of Ukraine and India as outsourcing giants is tied to the adequate government support tech talents in those countries received. âAlthough tech talents in Africa are already reaping the benefits from the opportunities presented by government tech programs and tech zones, there is a need for more public-private partnerships and tax breaks for local outsourcing firms to further create an enabling environment,â Femi Taiwo further added. Doing this will ultimately make Africa a preferred destination for tech outsourcing, thereby earning income for governments across the continent in form of tax and creating job opportunities for young people like Chinedu. You can download all our reports [here]( and watch [videos]( from our events. Send your custom research requests [here](. African startups have raised over $1 billion in funding in 2022. Weâve built a product that gives you access to these funding insights in real-time and itâs launching soon. Want early access? [Register here!]( RELIABLE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS WITH FINCRA [Fincra]( [Fincra]( provides reliable payments solutions for fintechs, online platforms and global businesses. Their solutions make it super easy for businesses to send and receive local and international payments in EUR, GBP and NGN from/to customers, suppliers and partners seamlessly without the headaches associated with traditional payment methods. You can gain access to Fincraâs platform through a merchant portal or simply integrate their payment API keys into your platform. Sign up for a quick demo in less than 5 minutes [here](. This is partner content. JOB OPPORTUNITIES - Big Cabal Media - [Editor-in-Chief (TechCabal)]( - Lagos, Nigeria - Seedstars - [Head of Investor Relations](, [Investment Analyst/Manager](, [Senior Software Engineer]( - Kenya/Egypt - Polygon - [Data Engineer](, [Senior Product Marketing Manager](, [Senior Technical Writer]( - Global (Remote) - Sunnyside Labs - [Facebook Ads Specialist]( - Nigeria Check out [more job opportunities here](, and submit your job listings at [bit.ly/tcxjobs](. What else we're reading - Kloud Commerce wants to be the [operating system for direct-to-consumer retail in Africa](. - Papa Njie: The returnee shining light on [remote villages in The Gambia](. - How much does it cost to [insure an electric car]( in South Africa? - The US has added Russian cybersecurity company [Kaspersky to its Security List](. - How will Togo [make the most of managing Googleâs Equiano cable](? DON'T JUST READ THE BRAND, WEAR IT TOO
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