@iLabAfrica IT Security Centre

@iLabAfrica partners with Innohub Group to offer Blockchain and AI trainings to Kenyan students

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For many years before the age of computers, records were stored in books but after the inventions of computers, records were stored in computers. This was not enough since it did not ensure the security of the data. Later on the cloud, computing was introduced and this made information centralized but the problem was that data could easily tampered with by anyone. People wanted a more a central and integral system so the block chain technology was formed. This technology stores information across different locations and use computer algorithms to make information more secure.

@ilabAfrica – Research and innovation Centre has partnered with Innohub Group an Abu Dhabi based company with the aim of providing trainings on block chain technology to technical students from Strathmore University. The demand for people with Block chain skills is high. Due to its many fields of application, companies are looking to hire those who have the skills set to navigate this new technology. This collaboration, is set help these technical students acquire the skills that set them apart from others throughout their career.

Mr. Olga Novykova- Chief Operating Officer, Innohub group mentioned, “The training will be in the form of online classes and webinars on how the block chain technology works and its application. Through this programs we shall invite experts from different companies to give their various expertise and experiences to the students as well as analyze case studies from different organization for better understanding.”

He further added to say, “The course is targeted at engineering students to prepare them to work with blockchain technology. This technology can also be applied in different sectors like the government and other enterprises. The management of companies is instrumental and most companies are now shifting to block chain technology as it provides additional values like data protection.”

Most large enterprises are already implementing and using block chain solutions to run their companies, governments are warming up to blockchain due to its many advantages. As companies launch this new technology, they are also looking for legal expertise on what considerations to make while investing. They are curious about the implications of their actions, about how to handle their finances, and lastly how to manage their identity.

Concluding the meeting, Dr Sevilla – Director@ ilabAfrica said, “This partnership has come at a good time when organizations are warming up to blockchain technology. Offering this trainings online will be beneficial to both students, businesses and the government.

@ilabAfrica-Strathmore University  

@ilabAfrica is a Centre of Excellence in ICT Innovation and Development at Strathmore University. The Centre spearheads Research and Innovation in Information Communication Technology for the Development (ICT4D) of ecosystems towards the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to contribute toward Kenya’s Vision 2030. The research Centre is involved in interdisciplinary research, students’ engagement and has partnered with over 800 institutions (Universities, NGOs, foundations, and government) worldwide and other funding agencies.

About Innohub Group

We are an Abu Dhabi based company with an R&D centre in the heart of Europe. Since 2015 we have been developing digital products and providing consulting services to our clients on Block chain and AI technologies. We prioritize on helping businesses and governments to streamline their daily core-operations with technological and digital solutions in Blockchain and AI technologies.

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@iBizAfrica launches initiative to increase access to financial services for Women.

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@iBizAfrica-Incubation Centre in partnership with Standard Chartered Bank have launched the Women in Tech Access to Capital initiative aimed at increasing women’s participation in business. The initiative will help women entrepreneurs access start-up financing and help grow their businesses.

As part of the Bank’s Futuremakers initiative, Standard Chartered Bank will initially provide Sh5m revolving funds that will enable Women in Tech (WiT) alumni access interest free and collateral free loans. The loans will be capped at KShs 100K for working capital and KShs 200K for capital expenditure with a 12-24 month repayment period.

Commenting during the announcement, Kariuki Ngari Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank, said, “through our Women in Tech incubation program – now in its fourth cohort, we learnt that the biggest impediment of most women-led businesses was access to financial products and services.”

“Growing a business from its inception is critical especially for women in enabling poverty alleviation and helping build better livelihoods for their families and the society at large. By making it easier for women to access financial aid, we are giving them opportunities for them to succeed,” Mr Kariuki added.

Most Women-led enterprises are unsuccessful in securing finance as a result of high collateral requirements and failure by lenders to understand their business opportunity. The initiative will provide entrepreneurs access to interest free and collateral free loans. Additionally, the bank has lined-up training and engagement sessions with the WiTs to drive banking behaviour and further understand the needs from the entrepreneurs as their businesses grow and develop.

“As a bank, we are alive to the fact that women economic empowerment is fundamental in helping achieve gender equality and sustainable development for the country,” Mr Kariuki concluded.

Dr. Joseph Sevilla, Director @iLabAfrica Research and Innovation Centre, Strathmore University said, “Our incubation Centre @iBizAfrica is delighted to see startups that have passed through the Women in Tech Program experience business income growth of over 1100% in a period of over 2 years. These success stories show the progress of the program in the last four years and we look forward to growing more successful enterprises that have a global impact.”

Out of the top five companies from last year’s WiT incubation program, Bena Care which provides home nursing services to people with life-limiting illnesses across the country experienced a 1224% increase in revenue and in the process doubling its staff numbers since starting the incubation program. Additionally, the company also raised Sh6.5 million as follow up funding in January 2021 from an international body for their placement platform in Ehealth funding.

On the other hand, Nature’s Touch, manufactures of nature-based skin care products recorded a 566% increase in revenue, doubling its staff numbers since the start of the program. Taste Afrique which processes agricultural produce and spices into natural food seasoning products called Chibundiro and Siri Spices, has so far increased its revenue fivefold and in the process increasing its staff by a quarter. The company received a grant of Sh1.3 million from Swiss Re Foundation.

Women in Tech program is part of the Bank’s community engagement strategy, Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, that aims at tackling the issue of inequality and promoting greater economic inclusion for young people in various communities and economies, with a focus on girls and women. The program is partnership with @iLabAfrica – Strathmore University’s Incubation Centre known as @iBizAfrica.

Each year the program trains more than 10 small and medium businesses leveraging on technology by offering mentorship, advisory, coaching, networking opportunities, access to seed capital and investor forums that help mould their businesses to international standards. 30 start-ups have participated to date, and 15 have been awarded one million each in seed funding. 41 businesses have so far gone through the incubation process with the first four cohorts attracting 1,150 applications.

– ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

For more information, contact:

David Lawrence

Head of External Communications, Standard Chartered

Email: David.Lawrence@sc

Mobile: +254758695280

Diana Mutua

PR Officer, @iBizAfrica- Strathmore University 

Mobile: 0721 93 94 37

Email: dmutua@strathmore.edu

About Standard Chartered.

We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 59 of the world’s most dynamic markets and serving clients in a further 85. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good.

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.

For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About @iBizAfrica, Strathmore University

@iBizAfrica is the business incubation Centre of @iLabAfrica Research and Innovation Centre -Strathmore University, a leading private University in Kenya. The incubator since 2012 provides a nurturing environment that builds on the potential of the youth to develop innovative solutions and businesses that work for the common good in society. @iBizAfrica over the years has provided over 400 startup companies with training, advisory, mentorship, coaching, networking opportunities, access to seed capital and investors.  We prepare startups to be investor-ready and launch into the market through our custom incubation and acceleration programs. 

For more information, please visit www.ibizafrica.co.ke.

Follow us on our social media pages @iBizAfrica on Twitter and Facebook

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@ilabAfrica-Strathmore University partners with Ukraine company to train students on block chain solutions.

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THE DAWN OF A NEW PARTNERSHIP

@ilabAfrica-Strathmore University has partnered with 482.solutions, Odessa, Ukraine with the aim of providing trainings on blockchain solutions development to students at Strathmore University and other interested professionals. This training is set to equip Kenyan students with skills that will set them apart from others and provide the Kenyan market with highly skilled professionals in blockchain.

The establishment of partnerships between Strathmore University and 482.solutions became possible thanks to the assistance of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Kenya.

Blockchain technology has proven to be a catalyst across a wide variety of industries and the demand for people with Blockchain skills is very high. Many companies are looking to hire those who have the skills set to navigate this new technology. Its features of immutability, distributed nature and provenance guarantee data safety and integrity. Because of the nature of blockchain technology, hackers will have a tough time reaching all the networked nodes to tamper with any records. Blockchain technology is perfect for securing information, storage and sharing.

During the virtual MOU signing ceremony Ms. Eunice Maingi- Project coordinator in the IT Security Department and lead of the Blockchain research team, @ilabAfrica-Strathmore University said, “We are looking forward to have our first workshop in April. It will be a virtual workshop and we will have an option of making it a hybrid course for students who want to attend the course physically @iLabAfrica Strathmore University.”

Mr. Richard Otolo- Manager of the IT security research, @iLabAfrica-Strathmore University said, “After this training we can see our students engaging in projects that are focused on the industry. There are several challenges that blockchain can address like fraudulent certificates, title deeds among other key records that face major threats of fraud and tampering. The training will be a forum to upscale existing techies and to increase the number of professionals who can use this technology to combat the mentioned challenges.”

Over the years counterfeiting has become a global issue that affects a wide range of industries. Proving or disproving the authenticity and quality of an asset can quite difficult because traditional supply is complex and lacks transparency. However, if a producer or manufacturer’s goods are placed on blockchain, their origin and trail throughout the entire supply chain can be easily tracked and verified, making it difficult to pass off counterfeit products for genuine ones.

Mr. Leonid Khatskevych – Strategic Partnership Manager at 482.solutions said, “The training will offer theory and practise. Theory will be about blockchain systems in general, cryptography and about bitcoin protocol while practise will be about smart contract. Students will have an option to choose between creating of Ethereum  ERC-721 token or “Voting smart contract”. He further added, “There will be our demo solution “Woden”, based on Hyperledger Fabric, where students can realize the electronic document workflow and digital voting”

Dr. Joseph Sevilla- Director @ilabAfrica, Strathmore University mentioned, “I am happy about this collaboration and I look forward to the outcomes of these trainings which will provide the Kenyan market with highly skilled professionals in blockchain. We are also looking at partnerships with government institutions to help them solve local problems by implementing blockchain solutions.” 

To register for the training, Click here

Others in attendance during the signing of the MoU included; Mr. Ivan Balashov- co-founder & CFO at @482.solutions; Roman Kravchenko co-founder & CEO at 482.solutions; Alexander Kryvoruchko – co-founder & COO at 482.solutions and Ms Diana Mutua – PR and Marketing Manager @ilabAfrica- Strathmore University

@ilabAfrica-Strathmore University  

@ilabAfrica is a Centre of Excellence in ICT Innovation and Development at Strathmore University. The Centre spearheads Research and Innovation in Information Communication Technology for the Development (ICT4D) of ecosystems towards the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to contribute toward Kenya’s Vision 2030. The research Centre is involved in interdisciplinary research, students’ engagement and has partnered with over 800 institutions (Universities, NGOs, foundations, and government) worldwide and other funding agencies.

About 482.solutions

482.solutions is an international software engineering provider specializing in innovative solutions using decentralized technologies. 482.solutions has offices in Ukraine and Singapore.

The key competency of 482.solutions is creating solutions for “Industry 4.0” issues; Blockchain, Future of Energy, Digital Identity, Decentralized Asset Management, Financial Products, and Services.

482.solutions mission is “We harness decentralized technology solutions that empower business and society evolution to reach a global impact.”

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What is TAI Security Operations Centre?

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Globally cybersecurity issues are becoming a day-to-day struggle for businesses. Despite significant cybersecurity investments, organisations are forced to face security challenges with limited or zero in-house cybersecurity expertise.

TAI SOC is a Security Operations Centre as a Service (SOCaaS) provider that aims to address cybersecurity issues facing businesses in Fintech, Insurance, Government, Medical and other institutions that rely on Information Technology to power their operations.
TAI — a Swahili word for Eagle – symbolises the team in the Security Operations Centre which is fearless in the face of adversity, conquerors with a powerful ability to monitor, detect and respond to cyber threats against its clients in real-time.
The SOC’s ultimate goal is to establish a more proactive attitude towards security issues, while locating and responding to cyber threats to an organisation.
TAI SOC is a collaboration project between three institutions: ACPM IT Consulting Ltd. (ACPM) based in Hungary, BCK Kenya Limited and @iLabAfrica-Strathmore University.

For most organisations establishing and operating an in-house Security Operations takes up a lot of time and effort to establish the infrastructure they need. A complete SOC requires: expert staff, carefully selected hardware and software, recurring trainings, international compliance and a 24/7 operation. This set up to proves to be time consuming, expensive and requires significant effort for most organisations, with little or no pay–
off in the long term.
We at TAI SOC understand the challenge of hiring the best cybersecurity talent in the industry and the costs of setting up an in-house SOC. For this reason, we offer our SOC as a Service (SOCaaS) which provides.

NETWORK VISIBILITY

We present the information obtained through log analysis to our security
analysts in a comprehensible manner. This enables the security analysts
to determine the current security posture of the organisation.

FAST DETECTION & RESPONSE

We have a pragmatic approach to achieve security: When a threat penetrates a network’s defences, our strategy is to identify and isolate it
early in the “kill-chain” in order to minimise its impact.

CONTEXTUAL AWARENESS

We deliver contextual awareness through the aggregation, association,
and contextualisation of all the log data generated by your IT infrastructure. This results in a holistic view of the security posture of your organisation.

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

Several cybersecurity related regulatory standards have emerged such as the PCI DSS, the EU GDPR and the Kenya Data Protection Act. TAI SOC will help you comply with these regulatory standards in a detailed and systemic way.
TAI SOC provides an end-to-end cyber security solution combining powerful software with a suite of SOC services that delivers:
• Foundational security and highly advanced protection.
• 24/7 threat analysis and detection, mitigation, remediation.
• Constant monitoring of the IT infrastructure logs, devices, networks and critical applications.
• Continuous scanning and analysis of multiple events.
• Automatic and human assisted threat analysis and ranking with risk–scoring and alert
thresholds.
• Enhanced reporting capabilities.
• Compliance assurance to industry standards with audit ready reports.
• ISO 9001/270001 accreditation.


Having TAI SOC as a service means that your organisation need only provide a single point of contact (usually Head of IT Security, IT Operations, or other relevant position) who can be reached in the event of a serious security incident discovered by our SOC personnel.

HOW WE WORK

Before every personalised proposal, we provide an expert to assess your company’s needs based on the following areas:
• Targeted infrastructure components.
• Number of infrastructure endpoints.
• Log storage retention requirements.
• Number of Events Per Seconds (EPS).
• Coverage hours and response time SLAs.
• Compliance requirements.
We provide you with a free-of-charge assessment of your organisation’s IT Security and SOC needs.

Please contact us at: info@tai-soc.co.ke

Or Visit https://www.tai-soc.co.ke/

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A Date with IT Forensic Security Guru!

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@iLabAfrica will hold a short workshop on IT forensic Security from the 16th to 18th January 2014. We shall be hosting a guest expert IT Forensic Security , Hans-Peter Merkel (Eng.) who will conduct a live demo on hacking as well as a hand-on training on hacking and computer security.

hans

Hans is an Expert in Computer and Data Forensics. He is a lecturer at the University of Cooperative Education, Lörrach, Faculty of Information & Software Technology, as well as a Consultant in his area of expertise. Hans has published widely in the Linux Magazine on various topics in Computer Forensic. He is also the founder of Linux4africa Project. More Information: www.hpmarkel.de

The workshop is open to Students in Computer Science and Information Technology, software developers, IT and Network Security professionals and law enforcement agencies.

Venue: Strathmore University

Dates, Cost and Time:

  • 16th January 2014

              Time: 9am-12pm

  1. Setting up a hacking platform (Command and Control Centre)
  2. Taking over victims camera and microphone to monitor confidential meetings
  3. Countermeasures

 Cost: KES 1000/=

  • 17th to 18th January 2014

          Time: 9am-4pm

  1. Detecting Malware like high-end trojans (Stuxnet/Zeus).
  2. Getting access to password protected computers and smartphones.
  3. Detecting forensic evidence (pictures, documents, GPS coordinates etc.) in Android based systems.

Cost: KES 5000 per person per day. Total cost of day 2 and 3 KES 10,000/-

 Registration Fees must be sent to M-Pesa Number: 0725 422 498 . Kindly click on the register button below to sign up for this workshop.

  register

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