PRESS RELEASE – 24 AUGUST 2022 Tech trends: What the rest of 2022 has in store for the industry Since the beginning of 2022, several trends have emerged as newsworthy front-runners. CTO Wayne Yan and architect Saša Slankamenac atSouth African specialised software development firm Dariel, take a closer look at Web3, passwordless authentication, artificial intelligence and machine learning as three trends likely to make the biggest impact in the coming months. Starting with the most sensational – Web3 Some may be disappointed to discover that Web3 is not going to yield any practical results over the next six months. Furthermore, under its broader, hyped definition, it resembles platform-centralised internet Web2.0 of Facebook, Google and Amazon notoriety mainly due to consolidation in the cryptocurrency field by exchanges dominated by Binance, Coinbase, MetaMask, and OpenSea. Conceptually Web3 remains interesting in the sense of being decentralised. However, it is five years away from practical results. While initial investment and proof of concept research dust settles, an approach for the qui bono problem is not clear. This is something all decentralisation initiatives face – namely the value needs to be to individual nodes of the network, rather than to a concentration of a small number of entities; the latter being the established model for investors. Moving next to plain ol’ security – passwordless authentication. Security – the neglected middle child stuck between its more seductive siblings hacking and crypto. Most won’t get too excited with steady improvements to security. Nonetheless, consistent to form, security steadily continues making progress with initiatives such as multi-factor authentication (MFA). Is passwordless authentication MFA? No. MFA uses more than one authentication factor to verify a user’s identity. MFA systems may use fingerprint scanning as a primary authentication factor and one-time pin message-sending as secondary. The use of two terms interchangeably has come about because many MFA login systems started using passwordless as their secondary authentication factor. Widespread passwordless adoption could become a ubiquitous industry standard and further impact web and mobile applications outside of Microsoft’s enterprise ecosystem, as user expectations are normalised with this round of adoption. Lastly, artificial intelligence and machine learning It has been five years since OpenAI announced its natural language neural network model, Generative Pre-trained Transformer in February 2018, when the world was a different place. Since then, the world and AI/ML have been through a couple of radical cycles of change. While most of us were distracted by big world events over this period, and most advances in the field of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) remained in the domain of research – AI/ML began delivering on its promise with practical applications in the market. AI/ML is close to a point at which technology is commoditised, simplified, or abstracted and finds itself in the hands of the man in the street. Within five short years, it has gone from initial investment proof of concept research to demonstrating practical, for-profit services and, what we are observing in the industry now is the ability for AI/ML to automate new kinds of customer interactions as services. This will give a competitive advantage to market players able to capitalise on subscription-based offers. The Biggest Pain Point As always, the biggest and most pressing operational pressure for large organisations remains maintaining a balance between running and upgrading in-place systems while managing projects to introduce new ones. A point complicated further with a high-demand job market and exacerbated by accelerating specialist fragmentation in the labour pool. This pain point in emerging markets is especially pronounced as the attraction of both foreign currency as well as permanent residency are huge. Specialists in different spheres are required to collaborate with more techniques and approaches for a broader set of technologies in order to keep up with increasing complexity of the modern technology stack. To illustrate, “full stack development” up until recently implied a single role responsible for the delivery of a fully functional software system, its deployment and ongoing maintenance. This designation no longer covers software delivery that additionally includes cloud, infrastructure as code, security, data engineering, data science and the governance and compliance it entails as even more new sub-disciplines continue to emerge. Technical expertise required to hone skills like this is coming from an increasingly shrinking pool of resources pressured by demand from overseas markets facing similar circumstances and looking abroad with offers of work visas and payments in dollars, pounds and euros. …
2022
Tech trends: What the rest of 2022 has in store for the industry
Google Wallet brings secure payments to South Africa
Google has launched Google Wallet in South Africa. From today, South Africans can look forward to a safer, simpler and more helpful experience when transacting. …
Africa Finance Corporation Invests in Nyanza Light Metals to drive minerals beneficiation in South Africa
Nyanza Light Metals (“Nyanza”) has announced that Africa Finance Corporation (“AFC”), the leading infrastructure solutions provider on the African continent, has become a co-developer and early stage investor in its 80,000tpa titanium dioxide pigment (TiO2) plant in South Africa. South Africa is the world’s second largest producer of titanium ores but imports almost all its value-added titanium products. This transformational project will be the first of its kind in South Africa and the African continent producing titanium dioxide pigment for international and South African manufacturers of products including, paints, plastics, pharmaceuticals and building materials. AFC is making an initial US$3 million investment which will go towards the completion of the project development activities that will take the US$550 million project to financial close in H1 2023. In addition to its role as a co-developer, AFC is also a co-Mandated Lead Arranger alongside African Export- Import Bank (“Afreximbank”) whom have co-funded the project. Given its high socio-economic impact, the project has received strong support from the Government of South Africa through its Department of Trade Industry and Competition (“DTIC”) which, since 2020, has co-funded the feasibility studies with the sponsors, Arkein Capital Partners (“Arkein”) and DBF Capital Partners (“DBF”). Athari Capital Partners also acted as the lead transaction advisor to Nyanza Light Metals. Nyanza’s Chief Executive Officer, Donovan Chimhandamba said, “We are delighted to have AFC come aboard our flagship project, a milestone that supports our commitment to developing an impactful mineral beneficiation and diversified chemicals manufacturing plants on the African Continent. This investment sets up Nyanza as Africa’s Largest titanium value addition industrial complex. Nyanza’s pioneering journey into mineral beneficiation is a trail blazing initiative that will hopefully be a model for value addition in minerals processing across the continent.” AFC’s Senior Director and Head of Project Development and Technical Solutions, Mr Amadou Wadda said, “AFC is proud to be part of this landmark deal for South Africa and Africa as it is closely aligned with our investment strategy which focuses on the in-country value-accretive beneficiation of Africa’s natural resources. South Africa being one of the world’s largest producers of titanium ore makes this project a key example of moving Africa higher up the value-added manufacturing supply chain whilst creating local jobs and driving economic development on the continent.” In March 2022, Nyanza completed the construction of the first phase of the project which is located in Richard’s Bay Industrial Development Zone in KwaZulu Natal Province. This culminated in the commissioning of the Product Testing and Development Center (“PTDC”) with a capacity of 700tpa of titanium dioxide pigment. The PTDC’s TiO2 production will be offered to paint and pigment market players to test and co-develop different paint formulations based on Nyanza’s pigment quality while 80,000tpa main plant is being constructed. “Financial close for the US$550m main pigment plant is expected to be achieved in the first half of 2023 with production from the main plant to ramp up from early 2025. Nyanza’s current focus is on appointing the right EPC contractor to construct the main plant.” Chimhandamba added.
THE HEALING POWER OF INDIGENOUS SOUTH AFRICAN HERBS
In recent years there has been a resurgence in traditionally used medicinal plants to improve health – either alone or in combination with conventional medicine. One of the main reasons for seeking herbal therapy or other alternatives to conventional medicine, is the belief that it will promote healthier living. Herbal medicines are, therefore, often viewed as a balanced and moderate approach to healing[1]. With the many side-effects of modern medicines and growing antibiotic resistance, people the world over see herbal medicine as a safe way to stay healthy and to treat and prevent illness. Dr Caren Hauptfleisch, Chairperson of the SA Association of Registered Phytotherapists (SAARP), who has more than 30 years of herbal medicine experience, says the steady increase in the use of herbs can be seen throughout the world. “The introduction of modern healthcare as we know it has led to the disappearance and displacement of many indigenous health practices, however scientists worldwide are now looking to plants and herbs to formulate new phytotherapeutic agents (plant-based treatments) to prevent and treat disease. “South Africa, and in particular the Western Cape’s floristic region, is home to a wide variety of indigenous medicinal plants that have been used safely and effectively since time immemorial. Science and clinical use are confirming their medicinal value.” These herbs include Rooibos, Honeybush, Buchu, Aloe ferox and Devil’s claw, among others. Marketers all over the globe are clamouring to include them in their products as the demand for herbal medicine and natural health products grow. Dr Hauptfleisch highlights the benefits of some of our local herbs and how they can be used to maintain health. Rooibos (Aspalanthus linearis): Rooibos is a herb of great significance. It is rich in antioxidants, also referred to as polyphenols, which are compounds that allow plants to resist infections and insect infestations. Drinking it regularly may help to: – Enhance immunity. – Reduce the incidence of cancer due to its cytoprotective effect. – Regulate blood glucose. – Protect the heart from degenerative damage. – Slow the ageing process, since it is able to reduce oxidative stress, and in turn reduce free radical damage. – Prevent certain skin cancers. – When used topically, its anti-inflammatory properties can soothe skin irritations, such as eczema and dermatitis. “Rooibos is a good daily supplement to improve overall health in combination with a healthy lifestyle.” Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens): Dr Haupfleisch notes that herbal medicine should only be used if it is able to be sustainably grown. Human use and trade in a plant should never threaten its existence in the wild. “Herbs like Devil’s Claw, that has been used in the treatment of pain associated with arthritic diseases, liver and kidney problems, fever and malaria was nearly made extinct by its export to the overseas market, which led to the commercial farming of the herb.” Devil’s claw is also used in an ointment to treat various skin problems such as sores and boils. …