Hello, Briefing reader!
Here is what’s happening in the tech world
Safaricom to face off with Jumia, DHL
Telecommunications giant Safaricom will next year expand its e-commerce platform beyond Kenya.
Dubbed Masoko, the platform is currently only operating in Kenya. By opening it to the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020, it will now be competing with online giants like Jumia and DHL African eShop.
Reports indicate that there will be over 525 million smartphone users in Sub-Saharan Africa by the end of 2020.
Read the full report here
Tony Okao retains UCMP job
Tony Okao Otoa has been reappointed to the advisory board of the Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (UCMP).
Okao, who is also head of enterprise development at Stanbic Bank’s Business Incubator, says that he “will advise on Local Content until 2021.”
Police upgrades app
Uganda police have upgraded their mobile application, adding a map to help in locating police posts. They also added phone contacts so you can easily reach the nearest police post.
Dubbed UPF MOBI APP, you can find it on the Play Store.
Read more about its features here
Is FaceApp safe?
Concerns are being raised regarding the mode of operation of FaceApp, the Russian-grown application that uses AI to turn your face to your older or younger version.
Major concerns are about why the company doesn’t alert the user whether their original photo has been uploaded to the cloud, its policies not specifying whether your photo is retained or what FaceApp can do with your photo.
The company not facilitating photo access permissions is also seen as a major cause for concern since some people take screenshots of sensitive information.
Read more here
