Tech

Sacked African Twitter staff threaten lawsuit

Published

6 months ago

November 4, 2023

Sacked Twitter staff members in Africa have threatened to file a lawsuit against the company for failing to pay out the redundancy money they were promised at the time of their disengagement.

Last year, some other disengaged staff from Africa had also filed a lawsuit against the company after billionaire, Elon Musk bought it and changed its make to X, and immediately went about sacking thousands of staff without paying them compensation.

According to some of the affected staff, most of them had only been in the job a matter of months when the social media platform told them they were fired last November.

“It’s difficult when it’s the world’s richest man owing you money and closure,” one of the sacked workers told the BBC Africa on Saturday.

The sacked African had only just moved into X’s new office in Accra, Ghana, following about eight months of working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic when the company announced the termination of their appointments.

They are now saying the ill-treatment they got from the company has “harmed their mental health and their family finances.”

One of the staff told BBC that they were initially told that although their contracts were being terminated, they would be paid to work for one more month. But they were immediately locked out of their emails and no further salary payments were made.

Since then, the staff said they had been involved in a frustrating year-long struggle with X for compensation.

A confirmation of the bad treatment was gotten from Agency Seven Seven, the company providing legal representation to the staff.

“Every time we get close, they go silent for weeks on end with no explanation. It has been one year since they were all laid off, defeating the entire purpose of a redundancy package, which is meant to cushion employees against the adverse effects of being laid off,” Carla Olympio, an official of the agency said.

“In September, both parties agreed that all discussions and a settlement would need to be concluded by 5 October at the latest. But this was the latest of many deadlines X has ignored.

“Some of them had been employed from neighbouring countries like Nigeria. Their contract termination meant they were left stranded in Ghana after having moved their families,” Olympio added.

Related Topics:Elon Musk Featured Lawsuit Twitter X

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Tech

RepAir, Cella partner to launch carbon capture in Kenya

Published

9 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Global Direct Air Capture (DAC) firm, RepAir, has entered into a partnership with carbon storage technology company, Cella, to launch a first-of-its-kind innovative Carbon Capture and Storage venture in Kenya.

In a statement on its website on Friday, RepAir said the venture will see a replication of its “cultivating partnerships” with storage firms in Europe, U.S. and Africa.

“This storage agreement will streamline the sale of high-quality carbon credits to off-takers, enabling corporations to meet evolving ESG standards, manage offsets and advance towards net zero goals,” the statement issued by RePAir CEO, Amir Amir Shiner, stated.

“Our solution sets a new standard, requiring only 600 kWh per ton of CO2 captured, marking the lowest energy consumption on the market.

“This agreement is perfectly aligned with the launch of our commercial demonstrator in 2025, empowering RepAir to offer high-quality carbon credits to our customers.

“It will see to the establishment of a storage partnership with Cella aimed at creating dedicated value chains for extracting CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently storing it underground through in-situ mineralization.

Corey Pattison, CEO, Cella, who also issued a statement on the partnership, said “by partnering with Cella at our first demonstration site, RepAir can capitalize on two critical resources: the potential for truly permanent, highly verifiable carbon storage via mineralization combined with Kenya’s abundant renewable energy sources.

“Together these resources provide a comprehensive solution for capturing and storing CO2 for off-takers. This collaboration represents an extraordinary opportunity to nurture mutual growth.”

Tech

Intel Liftoff Hackathon 2024 calls for applications from African AI startups

Published

1 day ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Applications for the 2024 cohort of Intel Liftoff Hackathon has opened for African AI startups designed to bring together aspiring tech entrepreneurs, software developers, and AI enthusiasts to collaborate, innovate, and create solutions to concrete African challenges.

In its second edition, the hackathon welcomes pioneering early-stage AI startup teams from the African continent, delving into experiments with LLM technology, a statement on the website of the organiser stated.

It added that the Intel Liftoff Hackathon for African AI Startups, which will be held online on May 27-31, is themed “Hack and Connect”, and will take place in partnership with Modus Africa, University Mohamed VI Polytechnic, Morocco

Other partners include TUT Hub of Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa, Prosper Africa, UM6P Ventures, FAST Accelerator, Innov8 Technology Hubs, and Open Startups International.

“The hackathon will feature hands-on workshops that will allow learning of AI essentials; three days of challenges with mentors to test skills; exhibition opportunities to showcase startups and forge partnerships with industry leaders; and networking opportunities to engage with fellow startups and gain insights from domain experts in the AI ecosystem,” the statement said.

“Winners will be invited to join the Intel Liftoff for Startups programme, and receive unique mentoring sessions with ecosystem partners and marketing opportunities with blog articles,” it concluded.