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China’s Largest Search Engine Company Baidu Plans to Debut ChatGPT-Style Application

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Baidu

Chinese multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Baidu, plans to debut a ChatGPT-style application in March this year.

Sources familiar with the development disclosed that at the start, the Open AI, a tool which is yet to be named, will be incorporated into Baidu’s main Internet search services, as the combination will allow users to get conversation-style search results much like Open AI’s popular platform.

Reports disclose that the Chinese search engine giant has spent billions of dollars, researching AI, following its efforts over the past years to transition from online marketing to deeper technology.

Currently, in China, Chatbots mainly focus on social interaction, whereas ChatGPT performs way better at more professional tasks such as writing, programming, composing emails, coding, etc which has seen Baidu make plans to incorporate chatbot-generated results when users make search requests to give a detailed answer.

Investors King understands that Baidu has been investing heavily in AI technology, including in Cloud services, Chips, and automation driving, as it looks to diversify its revenue sources. Last year, the company outlined a new strategy for AI based on feedback-driven innovation.

While speaking at the annual flagship developer conference last year, the CTO of Baidu Haifeng Wang disclosed that deep learning at the core of AI development is showing increasingly strong potential for generalized application, which is preparing AI to play a foundational role in industrial production through the deep learning plus model. He further revealed that the company is bringing AI-enhanced creativity to the next level to enhance users’ experience.

Apart from Baidu, several startups in China are also exploring generative AI, and have already attracted investors.

Meanwhile, OpenAI tool ChatGPT, which was debuted in November last year, has lit up the Internet since it was launched.

The chatbot amassed more than a million users within days and sparked off debates about the role of AI in the workplace, schools, offices, etc.

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Technology

Google Supports Nigeria With N2.8bn For AI Talent Development 

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A logo is pictured at Google's European Engineering Center in Zurich

Google, an American multinational corporation and technology company, has given Nigeria the sum of N28.8 billion for the development of Artificial Intelligence in the West African country.

The donation of the money was announced by the Federal Government.

Google, poised to accelerating AI talent development across Nigeria, made the support through a N2.8 billion grant to Data Science Nigeria.

It is believed that the support will strengthen the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in its ongoing AI-driven initiatives to empower youth including under and unemployed Nigerians, with a focus on AI skill development and education.

This grant is part of Google’s broader $5.8 million commitment to support digital skills programmes across sub-Saharan Africa.

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Dr ‘Bosun Tijani, while announcing the grant in a statement, underscored the importance of the Google’a support in driving the nation’s digital transformation.

President of Google for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Matt Brittin, in his remarks disclosed that the company’s commitment to Africa’s innovation ecosystem is to ensure entrepreneurs harness the power of technology, including AI, to proffer solutions to large-scale societal challenges.

He said Google remains committed to supporting these innovators, helping them expand their impact across the continent and beyond.

Brittin stated that Google’s efforts in Africa have always been about unlocking the digital economy’s benefits for more people, adding that the synergy with Nigeria further attests its mission.

Giving insight to the grant, he said it is part of Google.org’s broader $5.8million commitment to support digital skills programs across Sub-Saharan Africa, adding that the financial support will bolster Data Science Nigeria’s work with the Federal Ministry’s AI talent development programs, including: DeepTech Ready Upskilling Programme aimed at providing 20,000 young Nigerians with advanced technical skills in data science and AI, preparing them for careers in this rapidly growing field.

Another area he mentioned is Experience AI Programme which is aimed at equipping 25,000 educators with the tools and resources to teach 125,000 young people about AI, inspiring the next generation of AI innovators.

According to Brittin, Government AI Campus Programme is to upskill policymakers and public servants in AI policymaking, ensuring that Nigeria’s AI policies are developed and implemented responsibly for economic transformation of the nation.

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Telecommunications

MTN Nigeria Posts 33.6% Revenue Growth Despite Subscriber Drop in 2024

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MTN Nigeria - Investors King

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc’s total subscribers decreased by 0.9% to 77 million in the nine months ended 30 September 2024.

In the company’s unaudited financial statements, active data users increased by 5.1% to 45.3 million while mobile money wallets decreased by 21.8% to 2.8 million.

Service revenue rose by 33.6% to N2.4 trillion. See other details below.

Key Financial Highlights points:

● Total subscribers decreased by 0.9% to 77.0 million, impacted by the NIN-SIM regulations
● Active data users increased by 5.1% to 45.3 million
● Active mobile money (MoMo PSB) wallets decreased by 21.8% to 2.8 million
● Service revenue increased by 33.6% to N2.4 trillion
● Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased by 5.3% to N860.2 billion
● EBITDA margin decreased by 14.9 percentage points (pp) to 36.3%
● Loss after tax was N514.9 billion (Q3 2024 profit after tax of N4.1 billion)
● Profit after tax (PAT) adjusted for the net forex loss was N118.5 billion, down 59.2%
● Earnings per share (EPS) was negative N24.51 kobo (positive N5.65 kobo adjusted for the forex loss, down 59.2%)
● Closing retained earnings and shareholders’ funds of negative N723.0 billion and N573.6 billion, respectively
● Capital expenditure (capex) excluding leases was down 27.8% to N217.6 billion
● Positive free cash flow of N536.8 billion, an increase of 21.9%

Commenting on the company’s performance, MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola “In the first nine months of 2024, we sustained the growth in our underlying operating performance – underpinned by our resilient business model and operational agility –despite challenging conditions.

The inflation rate remained elevated amidst rising energy prices and naira depreciation. Inflation averaged 32.8% in the nine months (Q3 2024: 32.8%) compared to an average of 24.5% in 2023 (Q3 2023: 25.5%). To curb inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 8.5pp to 27.25% during the period, resulting in higher funding costs, although this helped reduce volatility and improve liquidity in the forex market.

The higher inflation and interest rates weighed on consumers’ spending power and impacted business activity. However, we remain focused on enhancing operational efficiency and driving the growth of our commercial operations.

Additionally, the naira closed at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) in September 2024 at N1,542/US$ (December 2023: N907/US$), exerting pressure on business activity. The improvement in liquidity in the foreign exchange (forex) market has helped us reduce our exposure to foreign currency-denominated
obligations.

We continued to manage the effects of the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) industry-wide NIN-SIM directive, which has impacted the evolution of our customer base. Having implemented the directive with all our subscribers fully compliant, we continue our drive towards reconnecting those affected to reduce churn
while extracting increased value from the market.

Sustained commercial momentum notwithstanding the macro headwinds

Our commercial momentum drove broad-based growth across all revenue segments, demonstrating the underlying strength and resilience of the business. We recorded an increase in service revenue of 33.6%, which was ahead of the average inflation rate in the period. This growth was led by data and supported by voice, fintech and digital
services.

We recorded a 9.8% increase in voice traffic and a 42.1% increase in data traffic. In addition, data usage per user grew by 31.2% to 11.3GB, supported by the rising demand for data and digital services, which has contributed to revenue growth.

In the fintech business, we focused on executing our growth strategy, prioritising increasing wallet quality, focusing on advanced services and the MoMo PSB app to enhance the user experience and engagement. We have introduced cross-border remittances with thirteen fellow African countries to boost adoption and monetisation.

Taking advantage of their interoperability, we are now leveraging the existing network of agent and merchant ecosystem in the industry to bring our services closer to our customers.

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Fintech

Moniepoint Becomes Nigeria’s Newest Unicorn with $1 Billion Valuation After $110M Fundraising

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Moniepoint

Moniepoint, a Nigerian-based fintech startup, has attained unicorn status after raising $110 million at over $1 billion valuation, according to the Financial Times.

The company now joined a small club of unicorns with members like MNT-Halan, Interswitch, Flutterwave, Chipper, OPay, and Wave.

The funding round also included a secondary sale with a discounted valuation, which was ideal for many investors.

The funding round led by the London-based private equity firm, Development Partners International, was supported by Google’s Africa Investment Fund.

According to Moniepoint, which had previously raised $55 million from investors, the new fund will be used to further its expansion.

Moniepoint and other peer-to-peer payment platforms experienced rapid growth in recent years following the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to enforce its cashless policy in order to reduce cash transactions and encourage digital transactions.

This development saw many businesses and individuals open accounts with fintech companies, especially in regions without banks, and an increase in Point of Sales (PoS) agents.

Chief executive of Moniepoint, Mr. Tosin Eniolorunda said the company planned to use the funds to expand into other countries in Africa including Kenya.

He also noted that the company will continue to invest in Nigeria, where it is headquartered.

“The opportunities that exist in Nigeria also exist in multiple countries,” Mr Eniolorunda told the Financial Times.

“They are at different scales and levels of development; some countries are 10 to 15 years behind Nigeria and very few are ahead. We are looking at options in our toolkit and finding which ones would be the best to launch into a country and that’s the work we’re doing right now.”

In 2023 alone, Moniepoint reportedly processed $150 billion in transaction value across 5 billion transactions as its transaction value rose by 205 percent.

 

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