This week’s africast comes to you after our team spent some time in Cape Town for AfricaCom 2022. The annual event made its return to an in-person event after taking a virtual hiatus for the past two years during the pandemic.
Naturally then there was more fervour than in previous years, as delegates, exhibitors and media descended upon the City Bowl to discuss the outlook for telecommunications on the African continent over the coming year. In particular the subjects of 5G, sustainability and collaboration where top of mind for many at AfricaCom 2022, so much so that we’re buoyed by what is on the cards in future.
Before we delve into that, however, we need to highlight some of the most noteworthy news stories of the past week, starting with new research on the use of bots on Twitter with a pro-Russian propaganda. It looks like the bots are trying to increase positive sentiment regarding the Russian government and its invasion of the Ukraine, which began in February this year.
Next up is WeWork, which has a mixed bag of results for its latest financial quarter. Suffering some substantial losses, but also stemming the tide compared to past quarters, the co-working specialists have decided to shut down a number of locations in the US. For now other regions across the globe remain unaffected, but in SA at least, expansion seems unlikely.
Lastly we discuss the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off later this month in Qatar. While the event has drawn criticism over human rights abuses, we are looking at a prediction of the winner via EA Sports. The game publisher used its FIFA 23 title to simulate who would win, with Argentina coming out tops. With EA Sports being right in previous years, it will be interesting to see if Argentina will lift the trophy at the end.
Mentioned in this africast:
- SA Twitter infiltrated by Russian propaganda bots – research
- WeWork exists 40 US locations but celebrates global expansion
- FIFA 23 predictor picks Argentina as this year’s World Cup winner
- Regulation stinks, what Africa needs is DEO
- ATU looking to unify Africa’s infrastructure and policy to push digital economy
[Image – Photo by Pieter van Noorden on Unsplash]
