Posts by Alastair Tempest
GS1 Discusses Protecting Goods with Amazon
EFSA sits on the GS1 Council for Southern Africa which is hosted by the Consumer Goods Council. GS1 is the system of QR codes and Bar codes which guarantee the…
Read MoreWomen Still Doing Worse in the Online Environment, But There’s Hope
Last year this Newsletter reported on the lack of investment in Women-owned digital economy companies in Africa. The African ecommerce market could benefit by around $14.5 billion if the number…
Read MoreSMEs’ Confidence in Sub-Saharan Africa is on the Rise
The inaugural Middle East and Africa (MEA) SME Confidence Index found 74% of SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa are optimistic about the next 12 months; 68% of SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa…
Read MoreNews From Africa
Robberies Of and From Delivery Vehicles Increasing in SA ITWeb has carried a story on the worsening spate of robberies targeting delivery courier vans and scooters. The article (https://www.itweb.co.za/content/GxwQDq1Z6d9vlPVo) points…
Read MoreUnited Nations Industrial Development Organisation
The Director General of UNIDO, Li Yong of China, will step down soon. UNIDO, which is HQ’ed in Vienna, Austria, is an important UN agency for us in Africa. We…
Read MoreUNCTAD’s Ecommerce Week 2021 will be Concentrating on Asia
The UAE and UNCTAD have agreed on the first Middle East/Asia Ecommerce Week (see below). In its recent studies UNCTAD points out that African online shopping has increased by 18%…
Read MoreUNCTAD Report Shows that Electricity Is not Reaching the Poorest
UNCTAD calculations show that more than half the people living in Lesser Developed Countries (LDCs) lacked access to electricity in 2019. This is equivalent to some 570 million people without…
Read MoreMiscellaneous
Clipping the Social Media Giants’ Wings Readers may have seen that the first USA case against Facebook on unfair competition failed before a federal court last week. We reported some…
Read MoreMajor Changes to SA’s Online Payments – Welcome 3DS 2.0
Over the next few months, most card schemes will require payment platforms and retailers to migrate to the new standard, 3DS 2.0. The shift to 3DS 2.0 is connected to…
Read MoreSA’s Cybercrimes Bill is Passed into Law
Following the signing into law of the Cybersecurity Act in May, the President has now signed the Cybercrimes Act into law. These new laws provide SA with the legal wherewithal…
Read More