Day: July 12, 2023

At least 1,202 exhibitors have confirmed their participation in the 38th Edition of the Luanda International Fair (FILDA) from 18 to 22 July, the Secretary of State for the Economy, Ivan dos Santos.

The event will contribute and improve the business environment, boost the emergence of the new companies and investments in the Angolan market.

There will be an increase of four companies, compared to the previous edition (2022).

The event will take place in the Special Economic Zone (ZEE), in an area of 24.000 square metres, under the central theme “Digital economy, the new frontier of the world”.

Sixteen of the 18 country’s provinces will take part in the Fair, which is also expected to gather 122 foreign countries, with stress to the United States, Brazil, Indonesia and the Czech Republic, said Tuesday the Secretary of State for the Economy, Ivam dos Santos.

Ivan dos Santos told the journalists that the event will ensure tax benefits and enable a resilient ecosystem by 2027.

Filda-2023 should contribute to the flourishing of business in different areas, as well as to the contact of businessmen and producers with potential consumers, he added

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

Angolan President, João Lourenço, re-appointed Wednesday Lando Sebastião Teta as CEO of the National Printing Press, a public company.

According to the decree issued Wednesday, the President appointed Leonel Pires Magalhães as Executive Director for Technical and Technology Area and Manuel António as Executive Director for the Administrative and Human Resources Area of the same public company.

The president also appointed Manuel João da Fonseca and Rodeth Teresa Mákina Gil as non-executive directors of the National Press.

Earlier, in another decree, the President of the Republic terminated the mandate of the members of the previous board of directors of the said public company.

The National Press is a public company that operates under the supervision of the Secretariat of the Cabinet Council, the activities of which are focused on the graphic field, with emphasis on the production of publications of the State Gazette, official forms, books and other graphic products.

Created in 1845 by the Portuguese colonial regime, its status has evolved over time, following the historico-political development of the Angolan State.

In the 1990s the National Press underwent a restructuring and modernization process, which continues today, allowing it to present itself as a reference in the national printing industry

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

Angolan President João Lourenço inaugurated Wednesday, the first School of the Network 42 “School 42” in the country, which does not have any professors and is open 24 hours per day with students trained through peer-to-peer pedagogy, and project-based learning.

Accompanied by the First Lady of the Republic, Ana Dias Lourenço, members of the government and the management of the educational establishment, João Lourenço toured some areas of the school unit, having received information about its operation.

At School 42, in Luanda, with about 300 computers, students will learn virtually the fundamental concepts of programming and can choose, among other specializations, cyber security, data analytics, web development.

In Angola, School 42 will operate at the Higher Polytechnic Institute of Technologies and Communication (ISPTEC), in Luanda, under the financial support of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, of an estimated budget of around three million dollars.

Known internationally as “A42”, the initiative was founded in Paris, France, in 2013, and has more than 18,000 students spread over 50 schools around the world, with Angola being the first in sub-Saharan Africa to embrace the concept.

At School 42 you learn, in a practical way, in a model that looks like a game, says an information note on the project released in the Angolan capital.

Without teachers or books, learning takes place through the development of projects that allow you to earn points and pass levels, as if it were a game.

Once the basics have been learned, each student is free to design their own path, choosing the projects that allow them to gain knowledge in the areas that interest them most.

There are no classes or set timetables. The campus is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

So each student has the freedom and responsibility to build their own learning plan and work at their own pace when they are most productive.

Free and inclusive education

Learning in 42 schools is completely free and inclusive. It does not require any academic degree or background knowledge in programming.

The only requirement is that candidates must be at least 17 years old, work on practical projects and with the help of other students, with a differentiating factor of the “42 pedagogy” and with daily and weekly assessment.

Selecting candidates

Candidates are selected by an automatic tool, with no human interference in ranking them and choosing who gets to be a student.

Successful cadets are placed on the job market in less than 24 months, after which they must do a compulsory, paid professional internship that must be completed in six months.

Curriculum

The curriculum is updated by a Pedagogical Committee (PC) that includes industry professionals from around the world to ensure that students at 42 schools have the same level, regardless of whether they are in Luanda or Tokyo.

Training program

The training program of Schools 42, and which the Angola government is now licensed to implement in Luanda, is structured in 21 levels of learning, with the conclusion of the first seven levels, the student completes a base that is the same for everyone in the network, whether they are in Luanda or Singapore.

After the apprenticeship, the student decides the specialization area he/she wishes to follow, with the possibility of going to any school in the network.

This decision is strictly based on your personal decision.

Specializations in computer graphics, AI, web and mobile development, network administration and cybersecurity are available.

Funding

Typically schools are funded by one or more individual and corporate philanthropists who recognize the importance of supporting digital workforce education readiness.

Schools 42 set out to solve a problem identified by employers looking for exceptional talent.

Network 42 in Portuguese-speaking Countries

In Portuguese-speaking countries, we find the 42 network in Lisbon, Porto (Portugal), São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte (Brazil).

Network 42 schools are also present in the world’s largest financial hubs such as Singapore, London, Hong Kong, and Luxembourg.

These schools are in the Top 10 of the most innovative and inclusive schools, above Tokyo Institute, MIT, Berkeley Tech and Stanford.

The network of schools attracts the interest of market partners from the Information and Communication Technologies industry such as Microsoft, HP, Apple, IBM, Amazon, SAP and CISCO.

The inauguration of the school comes after Sonangol and the Technical Management Unit of the National Staff Training Plan (UTG/PNFQ) signed a cooperation protocol in March 2022 for the implementation of “School 42” in the Angolan capital

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

The Seychelles National Assembly has asked the government with all its strategic partners to consider putting in place all necessary mechanisms for the public sector and parastatal services to go cashless as of January 1 in 2025.

The motion was brought forth on Wednesday by the elected member of the central district of Mont Buxton, Gervais Henrie, who is also the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.

Henrie said that the motion is simple and that “it is asking that once and for all, all cash transactions stop in public and parastatal services. The motion is proposing a time frame of 18 months from now.”

He said that before coming into power, it was a dream of the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) party to transform the Seychelles’ economy into a digital economy where financial services become a new frontier for business.

Henrie said that in his first budget address in February 2021, the Minister for Finance, National Planning and Trade, said that the world has already entered the digital era and Seychelles cannot be left behind.

“In December 2020, Vice President Ahmed Afif said that from the end of 2021, most ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) expect to have a point of sale or POS to facilitate digital transfer instead of using cash,” he added.

Henrie revealed that through a conversation with Karine Bonne, the acting comptroller general in the Management of Public and Treasury Division, he learned that 95 percent of MDAs have POS except for one or two entities.

He spoke about two entities that have gone cashless, the Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC) and Seychelles Parks and Gardens (SPGA).

“When SPGA launched its digital payment for visitors going to Curieuse in July 2022, the chief executive, Allen Cedras, said that in a year SPGA collected around SCR15 million around $1 million on ticket sales but by using cash, it loses half the amount that is SCR7.5 million,” he explained.

He added that the chief executive of SPTC also said that the company loses around 10 percent of its revenue in leakage when passengers pay for their fares but tickets are not issued, so the transaction is not registered.”

SPTC went cashless on July 1 and no cash payment for fares is accepted on its buses.

Henrie said that the two examples “show clearly that we must eliminate the use of cash in revenue collection.

He also reocgnises that much work has been done by the Department of Information, Communication and Technology (DICT) and the Central Bank of Seychelles with its international partners and consultation with the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In September 2021, the Central Bank of Seychelles said that the island nation’s financial system will be almost entirely digitalised by 2023 in line with its technological integration strategy.

Henrie said that several measures have been put in place to facilitate the collection of revenue by the Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC) and this included technical support from the United States government.

“Through the motion, the National Assembly recognises that digital transactions will eliminate risks and administrative difficulties, and costs associated with the transaction,” said Henrie.

Among the benefits he mentioned are improved efficiency and maximum benefits in public management and reduced potential for illegal and dishonest activities.

“We are supporting the government strategy to improve the business environment and the possibility to do business through the adoption of a more efficient payment,” he added.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

Findings from the latest tourism carrying capacity study for Seychelles’ two main islands, Mahe and Praslin, show that the island nation’s roads, sea and airport functionings are at capacity, said a top official on Wednesday.

Conducted by Sustainable Travel International, the study covered various areas concerning sustainable tourism development such as infrastructure, the environment, beach density as well as the effects of tourism on hotspots.

The study revealed that popular beaches, such as Beau Vallon on the main island of Mahe and Anse Source D’Argent on La Digue, are very crowded, leading officials to now determine ways to better manage them in the future.

The principal secretary of tourism, Sherin Francis, told reporters that “the results of the study will allow us to work on sustainable tourism regulations.”

Among the regulations to be drafted is the strategic accommodation development plan.

Another aspect the study has determined is that the focus of investment mainly on accommodation facilities has led to little innovation in terms of the visitor experience.

“There has been a shift in room categories, 41 percent are self-catering, 34 percent in big hotels, with the remaining percentages covering medium and small hotels as well as guest houses,” explained Francis.

According to the officials, the Department of Tourism receives three change of use applications for accomodation per week.

Change of use is when individuals owning houses apply for a license to use their accommodations as self-catering tourism establishments.

Francis expressed concern at the shift as “these types of establishments are only charging the bare minimum, thus attracting tourists who will not spend much to contribute to the economy.”

She said it costs Seychelles to host visitors in terms of utilities and other services, “creating the need to have high yield visitors who can contribute towards the costs. This is why we are pushing for Seychellois interested in investing in the tourism sector to diversify the products they provide.”

This is especially in the areas of small boutique hotels and in providing cultural experiences, in addition to adding value to the products already on offer.

Tourism Seychelles’ data collected over an array of platforms, such as TripAdvisor, show that as a destination the island nation is lacking in leisure and nightlife.

“With the latest projects the government is putting forward such as the Beau Vallon Promenade development, we are hoping to tackle this issue,” Francis added.

Meanwhile, the existing moratorium, which came into force on August 1, 2021, on the construction of large hotels of 24 rooms and more, is still in force unless the project is already in the pipeline. No additional permits are being issued.

Following the recommendations, the tourism department has also put on hold the issuing of change of use permits until the next study is carried out.

Francis said that now that the authorities have the data to work with “we will be working on a framework to collect figures and monitor the various snapshots provided.”

A carrying capacity was already carried out for La Digue, the third most populated island of Seychelles from 2019 to 2021. Results from the carrying study that came out in 2021 also identified these pressures as deficient utility services, lack of proper waste management system, and the landfill operating at capacity.

As part of recommendations brought forward after a study was carried out for the construction of new tourism accommodations and applications for change of use.

Source: Seychelles News Agency