Orbit Dive

2021-09-02 12:30:00 Tanzania plans to build Africa’s second-tallest building on the autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, a 70-storey spiraling tower.

The $1.3 billion tower will contain “luxury hotels,” 560 apartments, a golf course, a wedding chapel, and a marina at its base for yachts and cruise ships.
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2021-09-02 09:00:37 China offers 100 TVET scholarships in East Africa

A total of 20 scholarships will be awarded annually over the five-year period to support college students and teachers from Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania to pursue relevant technical and engineering masters or doctoral degrees in Chinese institutions.

The scholarships are open to both male and female students from the three countries under the age of 35 years for master’s programs, and under the age of 40 years for doctoral programs.

Contact eastrip@iucea.org for more information.

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2021-09-02 06:30:00 የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ “My Sheba Space”’ የተሰኘ የኢኮኖሚ ትኬት ያላቸው መንገደኞች በረራቸው 72 ሰዓት ሲቀረው ጀምሮ ለአንድ ተጨማሪ ወንበር በመክፈል በበለጠ ምቾት እና ነፃነት እንዲጓዙ የሚያደርግ በዲጂታል ቴክኖሎጂ የታገዘ አሰራር አስተዋወቀ።

Ethiopian Airlines, has unveiled a new digital option dubbed ‘My Sheba Space’ that enables economy class travelers to purchase one or more empty seats on board to get extra space and relax.

Remarking on MyShebaSpace, Ethiopian Group CEO, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, said, “With our agility in customer centric service offering and market responsiveness comes the need to provide convenience to those who need it. MyShebaSpace is introduced to allow esteemed clients who prefer to secure extra space and enjoy comfort while in economy class cabin. Whatever we do to make people comfortable flying again is a manifestation of our desire to stay up, to offer better and be at the fore. We believe that our customers will enjoy the feeling of being in control of their journey.”

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2021-09-01 17:30:00 Digital retail in South East Asia grew 85% year-on-year and the region is on track to see almost 80% of consumers go digital by the end of 2021

According to Facebook and Bain & Company’s annual SYNC Southeast Asia report:
• There will be 350 million digital consumers in SEA at the end of 2021 compared to around 310m at the end of 2020.
• Digital spending per person is up 60% compared to last year
• Consumers are shop-hopping across 7.9 websites before making a purchase decision — a notable increase from an average of 5.2 sites in 2020.
• Consumers are also becoming environmentally conscious with 92% of those surveyed saying they are willing to pay more for sustainable and socially responsible products, with over 80% of consumers willing to pay up to 10% premium for such products.
• 86% of in-home food delivery is expected to remain post-pandemic.

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2021-09-01 14:30:00 India: GDP grows at 20%

GDP rose 20.1% in the three months to June 30, compared with the same period a year earlier. The big jump reflects a rebound from the deep slump in activity in 2020, when lockdowns were imposed on 1.3 billion people, restricting business and travel for months and plunging the country into its first recession in decades.

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2021-09-01 12:30:00 The cost of a ride from ride-sharing apps

The cost of a ride from a ride-sharing app like Uber or Lyft increased 92% between January 2018 and July 2021, according to Rakuten Intelligence. Many riders have also noticed increased wait times for rides. The main reason is a shortage of drivers.

In fact, many drivers switched to food delivery.It was a bit like a gold rush for drivers who were not able to deliver passengers during the pandemic; while Uber’s ride-sharing revenue decreased 43% between 2019 and 2020, its delivery revenue increased 179%, according to its 2020 annual earnings report.
CNBC

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2021-09-01 10:30:00 The Netherlands-based, Prosus has agreed a $4.7 billion deal to buy Indian digital payments provider BillDesk. Prosus plans to merge BillDesk with its own #fintech business, PayU, to create one of the top online payments providers globally.

PayU is already operating in India, Latin America and Europe. But if India's regulators greenlight the BillDesk deal, Prosus (PROSY) will almost double its investment in the country.

Prosus, a spin-off by South African media and internet investment firm Naspers (NAPRF), is the top shareholder in Tencent (TCEHY), with a nearly 29% stake in the Chinese social media and gaming giant.

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https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/31/investing/prosus-billdesk-deal/index.html Open / Comment

2021-09-01 06:30:00 China goes where few parents dare to tread with strict 3-hour weekly limit on gaming

Gaming platforms from Tencent Holdings Ltd. to NetEase Inc. can henceforth only offer online gaming to minors from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, weekends and public holidays.

After these restrictions were announced, Netease slid as much as 7% in pre-market trading in New York, while Prosus NV, Tencent’s biggest shareholder, fell 1.9% in Europe.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58384457 Open / Comment

2021-08-31 14:30:00 Moderna fell 2.7% in the premarket after 1 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses were pulled from circulation in Japan on contamination concerns.

An initial withdrawal of 1.63 million doses had taken place last week after foreign substances were found in some batches, with contamination now linked to two deaths.

Spain’s Rovi, which bottles the vaccines for markets outside the U.S., said it is investigating the issue.
CNBC
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2021-08-31 10:30:00 Affirm shares pop after striking buy-now-pay-later deal with Amazon

Shares of Affirm Holdings, the recently public #fintech firm, soared more than 40% Monday morning following news that it is partnering with Amazon (AMZN) to roll out its buy-now-pay-later function for some purchases over $50.
CNN Business

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