fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
How to Identify Frequently Dropped and Constant Offline Devices among 50,000 Devices
By: Alibaba Cloud
Tags: Internet of Things, IoT, Database, Trends, Alibabacloud

Monitor the Device Status Change Using the Rule Engine

1) Online and Offline Status Messages

When a device connecting to the IoT platform goes offline, a message of a specific topic is generated to signify the device status change. Easily learn about the device status change by subscribing to this topic on the server.

1.1 Format of the Online/Offline Status Change

The following table shows the Payload Data Format Parameter description.

2) Configure the Rule Engine to Change the Device Status

2.1 Configure SQL

Next, configure SQL to retrieve the device status, currentTime, and lastTime from the message body. The following snapshot shows the data processing interface of the rule engine.

2.2 Configure Data Transmission RDS

The following snapshot shows how to configure the Data Transmission RDS in a data transmission interface of the rule engine.

In the device_status_history table , run SQL statements to display the online and offline statistics about the device:

2.3 Configure Data Transmission OTS

Now, configure the Data Transmission OTS as shown below.

When a device goes online, transmits service data, and then goes offline, the following records are generated in the table. The Status column indicates the device status, lastTime indicates the last communication time, and currentTime indicates the time when this message is generated, which equals to the online or offline time.

Conclusion

Tracking the status change of IoT devices in real-time helps to ensure hassle-free functioning of IoT devices. This article comprehensively outlines the steps to effectively monitor whether the IoT device is online or offline using the rule engine. For more details, visit https://www.alibabacloud.com/product/iot .

Original Source:
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Tags: Alibaba Advertising, Alibaba India, Alibaba, Alibaba Group, Alibabacloud

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Failure Fails when you Rise & Act for one more time.
By: Hbr Patel
Tags: Beyourself, Inspirational, Hard Work, Success, Motivational

Failure Fails when you Rise & Act for one more time.

Our society has a tendency to display success in all its glory. The struggles behind that success never see the light of the day.

Sometimes, all I can see is the glory and the fame that success brings but the real struggle that those successful faced in their journey is hidden.

Failures are never discussed, only success story sells.

All of these conditions me to believe that failure is bad & I have to hide it from the public eyes. It is an event that I should feel shameful about.

Such Society conditions me to wear success as a badge of honor and to hide every failure we encounter in our journey.

The current belief system revolves around an erroneous and over-marketed opinion: Success is Glorious & Failure is Fatal.

Feeling shameful or hiding a failed attempt might be the normal and accepted trend but when I look into the life of the great achievers.

Their approach to failure changed my mindset.

Instead of feeling shameful and incompetent due to failure, they utilized every failure to optimize their approach.

They overcome that failure by developing a skill or two.

They find a mentor and utilize their experience to continue on the path to success.

Even today I can see this trend common is a successful achiever.

They try, try, try and try. And if they fail, they try again until failure accepts defeat.

They were never disappointed by failure but they choose to persist a little bit more after failure.

They know that failing is not fatal if you know how to rise up to the challenge one more time.
Zero to Dream Job in 90 Days!
By: Kathy Blackwell
Tags: Friendship, Inspirational, Hopes And Dreams, Joy, Life

Zero to Dream Job in 90 Days!

Day #35 Evelyn

Picture from unSplash

Tomorrow is the birthday of a dear friend that has been through many ups and downs along the bumpy roads of life, with me. Thirty seven years ago, I wrote the following poem for her, to celebrate that birthday and here I offer it to her again, looking for another thirty seven.

Evelyn

As the sea lavender grows through summers’ reach

Time converges along the beach,

Adults become children and play by the shore

Remembering and living a time before.

Birthdays bounce in the curling seas

You can hear them as they laugh and tease,

They trumpet forth to celebrate

Another year measured by this date.

You’ve cast your imprint on this Earth

With a lilting giggle, you’ve added mirth,

The musical notes of Evelyn

Are something akin to a mandolin.

A rare precious treasure, your friendship to me

Always has been and always will be.

I wish you a year of flower strewn roads

A shoulder to lean on, a hand to hold,

A heart-fire burning, to shield you from cold.

KB 1984

55 Days to Go!
Think, Stick and just go
By: Kamna Garg
Tags: Inspirational, Women In Technology, Technology, Woman In Tech, Insights

I just finished watching the Skater Girl movie and have penned down my thoughts.

First of all, it’s really an inspiring movie. It focuses on the story of a poor village girl, who initially had no idea what to do in her life and soon introduced to the world of skateboarding by a foreigner. But she faces a rough road ahead but never gives up and follows her passion.

It really reminded me of my journey. Being a small-town girl, I faced resistance at every point in my life. But I never gave up. Even now, a lot of people do not appreciate my work, being a part of a male-dominated industry.

I too feel the scarcity of women in the tech world. To date in my career, I have been to startups where I was the only female developer. It might be due to the gender stereotype and lack of a talent pool. A very few women prefer or rather allowed to explore technology-related fields. We really need to change our mindset.

“Women bring a lot to a tech company — different perspectives and skillsets, tech companies with more women are more successful and it’s a hot industry to be in, good-paying jobs with lots of diversity in focus (dev, cybersecurity, ops, etc.) and opportunity. Don’t allow yourself to be intimidated by a room full of men.”

Last but not least, I just wanted to say — Give wings to your dreams

Few lines from the movie :

“I have touched the pinnacle,

I have realized my worth,

Now that my feet have opened up as wings , why shouldn’t I weave,

The dreams my eyes have seen, My complicated life I have to resolve,

The trust I have in me has to manifest,

I will touch the sky, immersed in joy,

I have taken flight. I know sun is gonna shine on me”
Is 2020 the right time to TikTok?
By: Niall Walsh
Tags: Tik Tok, Social Media, Local Government, Liverpool, Marketing

What is TikTok?

TikTok is the culmination of all social content platforms leading up to today – it’s mobile first, short form videos, with a heavy emphasis on music, comedy, dancing, intimacy, and trends. You can follow people, you can browse popular videos, and you can explore hashtags. Simple.

Liverpool’s results

We have spent 2 months on TikTok and are very much still finding our feet but have generated 200,000 video views and 16,000 ‘likes’ in that time. We have gained 1200+ followers and while that number isn’t huge it’s clear the majority are under 21 and local. Our mantra for this year has very much been it’s not about reach but who we reach, so while the numbers aren’t huge they are the right kind of numbers and going in the right direction.

It’s not about reach but who we reach

Slow burn

What I would say if you are starting out on TikTok is don’t get too discouraged if you feel the numbers are low to begin with. A video can go from having 10 views in 2 weeks to 10,000 in an afternoon. TikTok’s official wording is that users watch “a personalized video feed based on what you watch, like, and share” according to the app’s iOS page. Not exactly a thorough description, but you can assume that TikTok is tracking what people are watching on the app and referring people to what they think they will be interested in.

On TikTok you don’t need followers to go viral. You don’t need existing clout, or distribution, or anything. On TikTok you can record a 15 second video and you will start getting views, likes, comments, and followers.
Weeknote 3 — Finding a rhythm. I set myself a challenge to take last…
By: Emma H
Tags: Local Government

I set myself a challenge to take last week at a sustainable pace. I made sure I built in enough time to prepare for things and then reflect on them. I colour coded meetings and time blocks so I could really easily see how much context switching I was going to be doing and then added in extra time to the blocks to accommodate that. It worked. I got to Friday tired but not scraping the bottom of the energy barrel. On reflection, I was still a bit too tired but it was a vast improvement on the weeks before so I am very pleased.

A baby doing a fist pump with the caption ‘mission accomplished’

By giving myself the space and time I needed, I was able (for the most part) to add real value to the sessions and conversations I was involved in. I was particularly pleased with the stakeholder and skills sessions we had about the Intranet discovery.

Space has also let me reflect on how my passion and commitment to a thing often leads me to try and bulldoze through. I see so much value and potential in doing thething that I get fixated on doing the thing. I’m alright at catching myself doing this (and think I handle myself pretty well) in person. When it comes to non verbal forms of communication, I lose myself again. My outputs become preachy and get interpreted as critical when that’s not what I mean at all. I need t address this, especially in a new organisation as I want to be consistent in the experience people get from me. I don’t want to be frustration or confusing my colleagues by doing one thing but seeming to write another.
June (2) taking a break
By: Cate Mclaurin
Tags: Weeknotes, Change, Local Government, Leadership, Digital Transformation

This week has been ‘the one before the holiday’ when you realise you really do need a break and are digging deep to finish/move forward keys things, so this is a very short weeknote.

I’m taking a week off next week and — I’ve finished a first draft of my thesis, my supervisors are eagerly awaiting the pleasure of reading it and giving me feedback* so I can legitimately do nothing all next week.

So what happened this week (nb this is a very small set of highlights)?

Nick and I met IRL over a lovely lunch in the sunshine and set some exciting long term goals for him and his team. It felt good to both of us to be thinking ahead ambitiously rather than reacting to crisis.

I had a great check in with David with space to explore ideas and challenges. It felt great to be able to explore ideas more widely and got me thinking about what we do next.

Judith was successful in getting the new role that will lead both corporate business support and the print room, and redesign the overall service we’re providing to our users. I’m so pleased for her – and looking forward to working with her on it. That also means that Sakina will act up into her vacant role which is brilliant — two more talented women stepping into new opportunities.

Overall I’m feeling a bit more organised around teams and people – for me that’s all about coming out of crisis mode and beginning to reset. It’s going to take some time though – and it’s not to say that everything is in that place yet.

I also briefly met Steven, the new Director of Housing, on one of his getting to know Hackney days before he starts in August, and we had a really good chat about creating opportunities for transformation and change through building great tools for staff and residents. Music to my ears.

What did I read this week?

Dewbien Plummer (she/her)’s first weeknotes which are brilliant and are inspired by Philippa Newis and Lingjing Yin (who are very good women to be inspired by). Am looking forward to reading more.

I got my final piece of coursework back – a blog post about the power and privilege in design thinking. Publishing it feels a bit scary but also useful – I found it thought provoking to write, but I know I don’t have all the answers.
Cyber Sprint Notes #5
By: Local Digital Collaboration Unit
Tags: Local Digital, Cybersecurity, Cyber, Cyber Sprint Notes, Local Government

Covering 18–31 May 2021

Welcome back to our Cyber Sprint Notes, an opportunity to catch up on the progress of the Local Digital Cyber team.

Cyber Health

The Cyber Health team completed their Alpha Service Assessment on 19 May. This gave us an opportunity to present our work during the Alpha phase to peers from other digital teams, including what we learnt and what we plan to do next. The assessors use the Government Service Standard to suggest any changes or make recommendations for how we might be able to improve our work. You can read more about service assessments in the Government Service Manual and we expect to receive the report soon.

A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) roadmap has been developed, which shows the work that will need to be completed in the next phase.

Preliminary work on the private beta phase has also kicked off, so come along to the next show and tell on 18 June to find out more.

Cyber Support

This sprint, the Cyber Support team conducted Cyber Clinics for:

Advanced Threat Protection overview

Active Directory toolkit — with enhancements

We’ve selected 3 new councils to take part in further exploration of their cyber posture based on their answers to the Mitigating Malware and Ransomware survey.

We also held project briefings and workshops with two of those councils, and produced reports ready for collaborative review and agreement. A briefing took place with the third council and a workshop has been scheduled.

Join the Cyber show and tells

We’re changing how we run our show and tells, and you must now register to attend upcoming events on Eventbrite.

You can now register for the following confirmed dates:

Cyber Health project : 18 June, 11:30am — 12pm

: 18 June, 11:30am — 12pm Cyber Support project : 25 June, 11:30am — 12pm

: 25 June, 11:30am — 12pm Cyber Health project: 2 July, 11:30am — 12pm

If you work in a national or local government agency and would like to find out more about our work, visit the Eventbrite page to register. We look forward to seeing you there.

Thanks for reading! For more Cyber news and events, be sure to follow us on Twitter and subscribe to the cyber newsletter.
June (1) new things
By: Cate Mclaurin
Tags: Local Government, Weeknotes, Leadership, Digital Transformation

I started the working week with a swim at the lido. It felt, well normal. I’m sure I’m not the only one struggling with the dissonance between what’s ‘normal’ and what’s still not, and how we are going to collectively process the last 18 months. I don’t have the answers, but I do know it’s not going to just go away.

What happened this week?

We have three new senior delivery managers, all internally promoted and that makes me really happy – to see people grow into new roles and gain confidence. We met on Tuesday to talk about the team overall, who will take on responsibility for what, and start to think about the what next. It’s an opportunity to step back and think about the overall team – and the shifting collection of people/skills/experience that make up a team.

I had lunch with Emma H who’s leaving us to join the amazing new team at Greenwich – it was brilliant simply to see her, have time to catch up, hear about her excitement for her new role and to listen to her feedback on HackIT (I guess it was an exit interview but an more informal human centred one). We will miss her – and l’ll be keeping a close eye on the great stuff the Greenwich team do (so we can shamelessly use it).

I asked Arfah for help via Twitter with examples of communities of practice roles and within 15mins had the most amazing set of resources to use, generously shared, and with an offer of more help. I do love our wider community and the generosity of support.

I caught up with Emma McGowan and that was brilliant, really good to spend time getting to know her, thinking ahead and working out where we want to collaborate on things.

I didn’t do several things – they were important but not urgent and I’m trying really hard to notice the difference so that I also make space in my week for thinking and planning ahead. I often struggle with not doing things that are on my list, even though I know the list never ends and that it is ok if they wait.

What did I read this week?

And this from @cassierobinson on working openly – a good reminder of why I write weeknotes
Thank you, Chattanooga.
By: Andy Berke
Tags: Local Government, Chattanooga, Mayor

To the people of Chattanooga,

My time as your mayor has come to an end. Before I leave City Hall, I just wanted to say thank you.

Eight short years ago, you placed your trust in me to lead this wonderful city. Whether it was making unprecedented investments in early childcare, effectively ending veteran homelessness, bringing in great jobs through deals with Volkswagen and Nippon Paint, jumpstarting our startup sector in the Innovation District, supporting small businesses in neighborhoods across the city, or creating terrific public spaces like Southside Community Park or the renovations of Miller Park and East Lake Park, I have worked to lift the barriers that kept the people of Chattanooga from living the lives they wanted.

Make no mistake — Chattanooga faces some real challenges in the months and years ahead. It will take a long time to recover fully from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the most vulnerable households in our city the hardest. I have every confidence in Mayor-elect Tim Kelly and will do everything in my power to make sure he succeeds in helping lift all of Chattanooga to even greater heights.

We hear a lot about resilience these days, and the last year has taught me what that really looks like: investing in the systems that protect people. Sometimes that looks like remarkably innovative energy projects like our new public safety microgrid. Sometimes it means making sure people going through eviction proceedings have adequate legal protections. Sometimes it means helping people literally pick up the pieces of their lives after a natural disaster comes through their neighborhood.

In Chattanooga, we always show up for each other, take care of each other, and do what’s best for each other. I take great comfort in knowing that will continue to be the case as I move on.

My thanks to the administrators and members of my staff, whose dedication, creativity, and passion for service inspired me every day. Thanks also to the Chattanooga City Council for their partnership and shrewd oversight of our budgets. Mayor Jim Coppinger and Hamilton County Government were outstanding allies in so many projects that brought great jobs and big infrastructure investments into our community. The churches, neighborhood associations, and grassroots organizations throughout this city who welcomed me, challenged me, and helped me be a better leader will always hold a special place of gratitude in my heart.

I am proud that I was lucky enough to grow up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Serving as your mayor has been the honor of my lifetime. Thank you.
You’re focusing on the wrong level of government.
By: State Government Nerd
Tags: Outrage Culture, Federalism, Media, Local Government, Politics

What do you remember about the 2016 election?

Maybe you remember Trump’s tweets, Hillary’s emails, or Bernie’s call for political revolution. Perhaps you were glued to your social media feed or preferred cable news channel, forming opinions about the latest national political controversy.

Easy enough. But let me ask you another question: What do you remember about local and state issues from that same election? If you can’t remember much, you’re not alone.

Americans have a massive interest in the White House (and, to a lesser degree, Congress). We think “the other” guy or gal winning the POTUS race spells doom for the Nation — how often do people say they’re moving to Canada when their side falls short? The news media caters to us by shining an intense spotlight on Washington, complete with coverage that makes everything sound apocalyptic.

I’d argue, however, that Americans would be better served by dedicating most of their political attention to supposedly “lower” levels of government.

I live in Reno, Nevada. In 2016, folks in my community voted on the following ballot initiatives:

Increasing the sales tax by a penny on the dollar for school construction and repairs.

Marijuana legalization.

Whether to break up the monopoly of our State electric utility (NV Energy).

Universal background checks for guns.

These were decisions that affected Nevadans on a day-to-day basis. We worried about electric rates, schools converting to day/night blocks because of low capacity, and whether possessing cannabis was a punishable offense. These ballot measures weren’t abstract or distant like many of the debates centered on Washington are.

Think of the issues you face everyday. Is there a street you walk at night that doesn’t have sufficient lighting? Does your child’s school have inadequate ventilation and air conditioning? Is there a traffic hazard on a nearby intersection? Has there been an increase in crime in your neck of the woods?

None of these problems will be solved by a President. They can and should be solved by a city council, a school board, or a sheriff’s department. That’s where your attention should be.

Do yourself a favor and turn off CNN and Fox News. Stop checking the Twitter feeds of NYT pundits. Instead, subscribe to your local newspaper, carefully research candidates for non-federal offices, and pay attention to what’s happening in your neighborhood.
Weeks 10, 11 & 12 — Holidays and focus
By: Emma H
Tags: Weeknotes, Local Government

There has been a holiday! It was camping in Dorset with my other half’s family and it was glorious. In the spirit of continuous improvement, we identified gadgets that would improve our next camping experience and I will be busy sourcing those for next year.

The view from the dog walking area at the campsite wasn’t half bad

Back in work land, I have been focussing.

A change to support this is rolling off the intranet project. Overall, I can add more value to other work going on in the Council at the moment so that’s what I am going to do! This week has been my last week with the intranet team and they’re moving toward a really good place. Eleanor has completed the stakeholder interviews. The user research plan is complete and Lorna is well into recruiting. Jaco and Alysia are doing great things with process mapping and content mapping. Mark & Niall are steadily building up data we can use to understand current usage trends, Philippa is building up the comms plan and Alex is steering the ship wonderfully. They’re full steam ahead.

In the world of backup, things are slower but progressing. This week, we got through some commercials and proposed solutions to review. We’re going to need to go back to the supplier to run through these in detail but probably for a week as most of Sukh’s time is needed for recruitment next week.

Speaking of Sukh’s recruitment, I’ve been assisting with that. It’s been the first time I have ever invigilated technical tests or sat in on technical interviews. I have been both pleased and surprised that I do actually understand what is being discussed and could even answer some of the technical questions! It’s been a really valuable, but brain draining, experience to see just how different recruiting technical roles is. I have a whole new appreciation for the process and effort involved.

Finally, in AWS migration work, Mo has been driving along the connections needed to be able to talk between our data centre and AWS. These are motoring along and we’re hoping to start testing in the next few weeks!

And that’s me. Another week under my belt.
Kagame took South Africa for a fool and received a shock – the Rwandan strongman tried to make a deal with South Africa to fight in Mozambique but instead got a lecture on territorial integrity and na
By: David Himbara
Tags: Government, Kagame, Rwanda, South Africa, Politics

Kagame took South Africa for a fool and received a shock – the Rwandan strongman tried to make a deal with South Africa to fight in Mozambique but instead got a lecture on territorial integrity and national sovereignty. David Himbara Jun 5·2 min read

After the Southern African Development Community (SADC) rejected General Paul Kagame involvement in SADC affairs regarding Mozambique, Kagame came up with what he thought was a clever scheme. He would lobby SADC leaders on an individual basis. That is how Kagame sent his foreign minister Vincent Biruta on a mission to lobby SADC leaders to allow Rwanda to fight in Mozambique. Biruta first jetted to Tanzania where he lobbied Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Biruta then jetted to South Africa. He was in for a shock. First, he was not received by President Cyril Ramaphosa. He had to lobby South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor who delivered a lecture to the Rwandan visitor. Biruta was reminded that Rwanda and South Africa ceased to have bilateral relations years back when Rwanda killed people on the South African soil, an issue that has yet be addressed by Rwanda. Therefore, before talking about joining forces to fight in Mozambique, the long road of normalizing relations between South Africa and Rwanda must begin first. The South African lecture to Kagame is contained in the statement issued at the end of Biruta’s visit to South Africa which reads in part as follows:

“The ministers agreed on a roadmap that will support the normalization process, predicted on agreed times. Both countries must value and respect the international laws and regulations that govern relations between countries, including territorial integrity and national sovereignty.”

The South Africans further lectured Kagame and his regime that before relations can normalize, a mechanism must be established to engage “the spectrum of issues affecting the bilateral relations.” Over to you – General Kagame.
Holidays in South Africa…now with even better value for money!
By: Earthstompers Adventures
Tags: Travel Post Covid, Multi Day Tour, Budget Travel, South Africa, Garden Route

By now we have all heard enough about the damage wrecked on the tourism industry and indeed the global economy by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But what if we look at this in a positive light, in terms of what it means for travel to South Africa in the future?

The Rand has weakened at a frightening rate against the US Dollar, the Euro, and the British Pound — the three currencies most of our guests pay in. This means that South Africa is just about the best value for money destination you can find if your home currency is Dollars, Euros, or Pounds.

Let’s illustrate what this means for our Group Garden Route tours.

In 2011, the price of our 6 Day Garden Route & Addo Tour was R5600. The price has increased annually between 5–10%, in line with inflation. In 2020, the same tour, with the same inclusions, costs R8600. This is an increase of R3000, or 54%, in 9 years.

HOWEVER, if you look at the tour price in other currencies, our tour is actually…. quite a bit cheaper than it was in 2011?!

* Prices based on the dorm tour rate, and the yearly exchange rate for 31 March.

The SAME Tour, SAME inclusions… 25–42% cheaper than it was NINE years ago?! South Africa hasn’t gotten any less beautiful…but our currency has gotten a lot less valuable with time. This is bad news for South Africans, but great news for people with Dollar, GBP, or Euro accounts. You are now paying $478 for a tour that includes 5 nights accommodation, most meals, approximately 2300 km of transport, 4 National Parks AND activities…you can’t even stay home for that price!

This amazing exchange rate carries on once you arrive in South Africa — accommodation, meals, world-class WINE — you will find all of these at a great quality, and an amazing price.

One small illustration, but an important one for holiday — the price of a local beer. We wrote about this in 2013, and it is more true than ever:

So, there you have it, come drink local beer in Cape Town at a fraction of the price that you would pay in your home country!

When the COVID-19 pandemic is over, we are looking forward to welcoming you to South Africa.
Top seven 2020 Fintech trends in South Africa
By: Georgia Wilson
Tags: South Africa, Trends, Fintech

Top seven 2020 Fintech trends in South Africa

Dominique Collett, Senior Investment Executive at Rand Merchant Investment Holdings and the head of AlphaCode details her predictions for the financial services market for 2020 based on global and local industry knowledge.

SME banking

With 2019, seeing the introduction of consumer digital banks, 2020 will see the focus shift to the SME market. Following a US$186mn takeover of Mercantile by Capitec Bank, the industry has shown that it views SMEs and entrepreneurs as vital for growth opportunities.

Shared finances

Stokvels — something which has become an integral part of society in South Africa, serving as a savings scheme. Many insurers are working with the National Stokvel Association of South Africa (NSASA) to offer financial services products. As a result this concept of mutual services will see strong growth.

Bitcoin

Making a return, 2020 will see Bitcoin come into focus. For countries that typically have political instability, a volatile market, high exchange controls and expensive money transfers Bitcoin could be the best use case where cryptocurrencies can deliver significant disruption.

Insurance

Smart insurance — as the use of data continues to evolve, insurers such as Discovery and OUTsurance are harnessing data to reward good driving behaviour, using telemetry data to improve and more fairly calculate their premiums.

Financial inclusion

Expanding financial inclusion, organisations are working to make it easier for informal traders to sell their products. Innovators are bringing alternative channels and platforms to easily connect merchants to suppliers and customers.

Proptech

Proptech, the use of information technology and platform economics in real estate markets. Organisations are harnessing tech-enabled platforms to better rental management, with new innovations expected to emerge in 2020.

Alternative Fintech partnerships

Within South Africa, the region has seen many new partnerships investing in innovations driving the fintech industry. Including Root and Investec launching a programmable bank account for software developers. While Lulalend and Vodacom have partnered to provide SMEs with finance through a digital portal.

SEE ALSO:

For more information on business topics in Africa, please take a look at the latest edition of Business Chief EMEA.

Follow Business Chief on LinkedIn and Twitter.
What’s Happening in South Africa
By: Siqi Lin
Tags: Innovation, Silicon Valley, Startups, Technology, South Africa

During the Plug and Play Summer Summit in Silicon Valley, we had a special guest from South Africa, Rhenier de Beer, Head of Innovation at Motus Group. Motus is one of the biggest automotive groups in South Africa with businesses in Import and Distribution, Retail and Rental, Motor-Related Financial Services, and Aftermarket Parts.

After the Summit, Karen Airola and I from Plug and Play sat down with Rhenier to discuss what’s happening on the other side of the world and why South African corporations are flying over 15 hours to Silicon Valley.

Here are some highlights and thoughts of our conversations.

1. Digitalization is key

The country can easily be updated by using all things digital, ranging from e-payment and e-commerce to digital claim processing in insurance. The successful IPO of Jumia, an e-commerce startup founded in 2012, validates how digitalization can go a long way in South Africa. More and more South Africa corporates are coming to the Silicon Valley to find digitalization models or solutions.

2. Transportation is a constant headache.

Less than 5% of the people in South Africa own a car. Uber is an expensive option. Most lower working class people go with the Minibus, which is a vehicle you literally need to jump on at a chaotic crossroad and jump out in two seconds when the car stops for your destination.

This is what a Minibus looks like in South Africa

Minibuses like this don’t follow traffic rules. This does not mean simply driving through red lights, it means going in the opposite way on a freeway! With wild violations of traffic rules, car crashes are taking place at a rate that is out of our imagination. That leaves lots of room for financial services companies to create more technology enablers to record and prevent car crashes. For example, Rhenier loves Owl Camera, a Silicon Valley startup that provides real-time video protection for people, cars & trucks. Any technology solution like Owl Camera that can provide value-added products for the local South Africa market will have strong potential to thrive.

3. Very little local innovation

Big corporations are doing innovation internally with R&D. Economic conditions are uncertain after the country’s political election, and people are afraid to invest money to build something new and unknown. Limited mentorship network is another hurdle for local startup innovation because people have very little clue about how to build a game-changing tech company.
How To Send Money To Nigerian Banks From South Africa with Mama Money
By: Mama Money
Tags: South Africa, Remmitance, Nigeria

How To Send Money To Nigerian Banks From South Africa with Mama Money Mama Money Jun 8·2 min read

The Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced new measures for remittances. Funds sent from outside of Nigeria will no longer be received as Naira and must be sent in US Dollars for cash collection at all major banks or to a domiciliary account.

We have created this guide to help you with the process of opening a domiciliary account from Nigeria and South Africa.

What is a domiciliary account?

This is a type of bank account that allows you to receive and make payments in foreign currencies, including US dollars. All money in a domiciliary account is valued at the current naira exchange rate.

What are the benefits of a domiciliary?

There are many benefits in having a domiciliary account, we have covered a few below:

The opportunity for you and your recipient to save money in foreign currency.

You’re able to do online and international transactions.

A domiciliary account offers a stable financial status for the account holder especially for visa applications when applying to study abroad.

Your recipient may get a higher Naira value when exchanging USD in Nigeria.

What do you need to open this type of account?

The process will depend on your current country of residence, South Africa or Nigeria.

Generally, the banks will require the following documents:

The application form

An identity document

Proof of address

Proof of an active Nigerian bank account

Depending on the bank, you may need to prove more documents.

You can follow these steps below from each bank:

First Bank of Nigeria: Click here for more information.

Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB): Click here for more information.

United Bank of Africa (UBA): Click here for more information.

Access Bank: Click here for more information.

Zenith Bank: Click here for more information.

Union Bank: Click here for more information.

Need help? Mama is here.

Should you have any questions that are not covered above please contact Mama via WhatsApp on 066 104 1097 or call us at 021 202 5420.

Follow Mama Money online via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn to be the first to know when new promotions are launched.

Mama Money is licensed by the South African Reserve Bank and our transfer service is safe and secure.
CoinCola Giveaways $100,000 Bitcoin in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa
Tags: Ghana, Bitcoin, South Africa, Kenya, Giveaway

CoinCola Giveaways $100,000 Bitcoin in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa CoinCola Follow Jun 8 · 2 min read

Dear CoinCola traders,

CoinCola is launching a $100,000 giveaway in the P2P/OTC FIAT trading market of Ghana, Kenya and South Africa from 10:00 June 8 to 10:00 July 7, 2021, UTC.

New users in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa can win $ 100,000 BTC through the following ways.

For Retail Traders:

Invite and sign up for $2 BTC

Win a $2 BTC reward by registering a CoinCola Account.

Win a $5 BTC reward by completing the first (Minimum deposit: 0.0001BTC)

Win an extra $2 BTC reward by completing the first P2P/OTC FIAT trade.

Win an extra $5 BTC reward by trading more than $200 during the promotion period.

Win up to 20% commission.

For P2P/OTC FIAT Vendors:

Create an offer

Win a $10 BTC reward by registering a CoinCola account, completing one trade, and being online at least 10 days in the P2P/OTC FIAT trading market.

Win a $5 BTC reward by making a vendor

Enjoy zero fees for trading in the P2P/OTC FIAT market.

All bonus for retail traders.

Terms & Conditions

This promotion is only eligible to new users in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. Timeline:10:00 June 8 to 10:00 July 7, 2021, UTC. All rights are reserved by CoinCola including rights to cancel the qualification in cases of any cheating behavior.

How to register a CoinCola account and win $2 BTC?

Step1: Tap the campaign banner in CoinCola App to enter.

Step2: Tap【Share to Get Bonus】to get the referral link and share the bonus with friends.

Step3: Your friend will get a $2 BTC bonus by registering with the phone number.

When and how to receive other rewards?

After you finish the first transaction in the P2P/OTC FIAT trading market of Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The bonus will be manually reviewed and sent to your CoinCola wallets by us within 5 working days.

How to contact us?

If you want to know more about this giveaway, please reach us through WhatsApp:+852 90653442.

Thank you for your support. Enjoy your trading at CoinCola.

Click here to get more

CoinCola Team

June 7, 2021
How your behaviour affects your money 💸
Tags: 22seven, Spending Habits, Finance, Slice, South Africa

A successful investor is not necessarily a person with a team of analysts and all the fanciest prediction tools. No — a successful investor can be someone who makes sensible decisions, and who can control their behaviour when managing their money.



Here’s how to do it.



Define your goals

Success is the accomplishment of a goal. You can’t be successful if you don’t have a goal! Whether you’re saving for retirement, a family holiday or your wedding, having a clearly defined goal will help you stay the course.



Your goal will also help determine what kind of investment you’ll need. You can start off with something easy and accessible like a money market account or a tax-free savings account, but in time you’ll probably want to meet with a financial advisor, who will be able to make sure you’re invested in the right products to meet your goals.



Be patient!

Investments take time to deliver good returns. We all know that sinking feeling when the market isn’t performing — it’s so tempting to cash out and limit further losses. But that kind of short-term decision-making is detrimental: if you disinvest, you will lose out big time when the market picks up again.



Markets rise and fall all the time, but if you wait long enough the general trajectory is up. The bumps along the way are unavoidable. Try to block out the noise and remember why you invested in the first place. Then hang in there, ride it out and watch your money grow.



Beware of lifestyle creep

Lifestyle creep is when you increase your standard of living as you earn more. Your thinking pattern starts to change — you begin to regard luxuries as your right, not as a privilege! It’s basically self-generated inflation, which doesn’t do anybody any good.



If you’ve just been promoted at work, don’t go and buy a brand new car. Rather lock in long term happiness by using the extra money to increase the contributions to your retirement fund or other investments. While you’re at it, set your investment debit orders to increase automatically each year. That way you’ll make sure to grow your savings along with your salary.



Spread the load

Diversification is key to a healthy investment portfolio. It means spreading your money across different assets classes and industries — and even different countries. In other words, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.



If you’re just starting out, you’ll choose one investment vehicle like a retirement annuity, but over time you can choose other investments in other areas to balance your portfolio.



The important thing is to enjoy your money journey. Use all the tools at your disposal to help you make the right choices on a daily basis. All those little behavioural changes over time will put you on the right path to financial freedom.
Anatomy of a Twitter-augmented crypto scam
Tags: South Africa, Social Media, Crypto, Twitter

By Jean Le Roux

A cryptocurrency investment scam using a network of Twitter-based sockpuppet accounts is targeting South African users by leveraging fabricated “testimonials” posted on the platform.

Since the start of the year, the network has posted more than 43,000 of these tweets, usually in reply to high follower accounts such as celebrities, news publications and journalists. A rise in the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies since late last year has made cryptocurrencies an attractive lure to get users to part with their cash.

The network consists of two parts. The first layer is scores of sockpuppets that promote these accounts using tweets styled as fake “testimonials.” These accounts portray themselves as South African and are used to give the rest of the network credibility. This consists of several sockpuppet accounts that resemble successful U.S. based forex and cryptocurrency traders.

Despite claiming they hail from the U.S., the DFRLab has identified several links to West African countries, including Nigeria, Uganda, and Tanzania.

When a victim engages with the successful-seeming forex trader networks, they are ushered off-platform to instant messaging apps and websites where they are inevitably prompted to deposit cryptocurrency into the scammers’ cryptocurrency wallet address. These sites are little more than window dressing; despite the impressive looking dashboards, their only functionality is providing the user with the wallet address to complete the “investment.”

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), South Africa’s financial watchdog, issued two warnings against these cryptocurrency exchanges this year alone. On February 4, 2021, the financial regulator issued a press release cautioning South Africans and institutional investors against scams dressed as cryptocurrency investments, and deemed it necessary to issue a follow up on March 18, 2021, noting with concern increasing volumes of crypto assets related losses.

There are strong parallels between the tactics used by these scammers and those deployed by bad actors pushing other forms of disinformation. The accounts were given a veneer of credibility by employing inauthentic and coordinated testimonials, the use of sockpuppet accounts and artificially inflated follower numbers gained through follow-trains. The motive here was financial, but could easily be adapted for political and other forms of disinformation.

Trails from the Crypto

The majority of the tweets in this scam are published by the accounts meant to funneling users towards the crypto trader accounts. They do this using copy/paste testimonials posted in reply to large-following Twitter accounts, such as news publications and celebrities.

To identify the accounts operating in this network, the DFRLab identified three recurring tweets used by various accounts to lure users into the scam. The phrases in these tweets were used to perform keyword searches and create three datasets, one for each keyphrase.
Local “Resident Tourists” Exploring Johannesburg, South Africa
By: Tourism Geographic Editor
Tags: Social Media, Tourism, Travel, South Africa, Life

“Dark Tourism” in Johannesburg

In episode 6 (Africa) of the popular Netflix series ‘Dark Tourist’ the creator and host, New Zealander David Farrier, visits Johannesburg. In the opening dialogue to this sequence, he notes how tourists avoid the city due to its reputation for crime and violence.

Johannesburg, South Africa, by Roger Marjavaara, used with permission, © all rights reserve

Instead, tourists simply pass through “Joburg” on their way to safari parks.

However, for the dark tourist the reputation is catnip rather than a deterrent.

Farrier visits the Alexandra Township — an area of Johannesburg with a notorious popular reputation as a violent and lawless ‘ghetto’ — according to the narration by Farrier.

During his visit, and despite (or even because of) the perceived danger of Alexandra, Farrier takes a bicycle tour through the township with local tour operator and resident, Jeff.

At the start of the tour Farrier makes the rather innocent remark (‘faux pas, ’as he calls it) in stating that he has never been on a ‘slum tour’. While Farrier later apologizes, Jeff acknowledges that this term is “almost offensive” (see Hoogendoorn and Giddy, 2017; Hoogendoorn et al, 2020).

After the tour, Farrier admits that while Alexandra is a very poor part of Johannesburg, his experience was very different from what he initially thought it would be. He acknowledged the community’s heritage (Nelson Mandela stayed in Alexandra when he first arrived from the Eastern Cape province in 1941), the sense of community pride, the welcoming nature of residents, and the general relaxed atmosphere.

Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, South Africa — by Marc Smith (Flickr.com cc-by)

At the end of this part of the episode, Farrier admits that his perception of Alexandra and Johannesburg has changed for the better, acknowledging the differences between reality and the media representation of South African townships as being dangerous (Hammett, 2014).

Farrier’s experience is by no means novel. In recent years a growing number of local white suburbanites have started to explore their home city of Johannesburg — not only the townships but the central business district — as a tourist destination.