With this new development, Starlink users can now use Payday’s platform to pay for their subscriptions in Rwanda. Payday’s innovative digital banking solutions aim to make digital banking accessible to all remote workers and professionals on the African continent while ensuring access to a fast and reliable internet connection.
Rwanda is making efforts to meet its targets for widespread internet connectivity and broadband reach across both urban and remote areas. In February 2023, Starlink announced that Rwandans could purchase its routers from the satellite communications corporation. This partnership with Payday is a significant milestone in Payday’s Pan-African and global expansion plans and a burgeoning working relationship as a payment processor for Starlink.
Payday CEO, Favour Ori stated that Payday’s mission is to launch across different countries in Africa with SpaceX’s Starlink. Payday customers in Rwanda will be able to use their virtual cards to pay for their routers and manage their subscription payments. They will also be able to send and receive Rwandan Francs (RWF) as well as USD, GBP, EUR using the Payday App. This latest launch is set to increase Payday’s customer base and establish a strong presence in Rwanda as well as the East African region.
Payday’s innovative digital banking solutions enable global payment processing from over 130 countries, allowing Africans to work remotely for international organizations and be paid and withdraw money in the currency of their choice regardless of location. With the country’s ambitious target of achieving 90% financial inclusion by 2024, Payday’s innovative banking solutions are expected to play a crucial role in achieving this goal.
Commenting on the development, the Acting Chief Investment Officer at Kigali Financial Centre, Jean-Marie Kananura said: “We are very happy to witness Payday’s continuous growth.
This is a testimony that Kigali International Financial Center has put in place a trusted framework for Rwandan-based startups to raise capital and scale up globally. Ahead of our Inclusive Fintech Forum in June, we aim to highlight these successes that will continuously position Rwanda as the home of fintech on the continent.”
Access to the internet is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for personal and economic growth. With this new partnership, Payday and Starlink are taking a significant step towards achieving financial inclusion and boosting internet connectivity in Rwanda.
The series of colored images were released at the launch event of the Space Day of China held in Hefei, capital city of east China’s Anhui Province.
Processed in accordance with mapping standards with a spatial resolution of 76 meters, the images include the orthographic projection of the eastern and western hemispheres of Mars, the Robinson projection of Mars, and the Mercator projection plus an azimuthal projection of the planet.
According to the CNSA, these images are based on 14,757 image data acquired by a remote-sensing camera on the Tianwen-1 orbiter over eight months from November 2021 to July 2022.
China’s Tianwen-1 mission, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, was launched on July 23, 2020 and entered the orbit of Mars after 202 days of flight.
The lander, carrying the rover Zhurong, touched down on May 15, 2021 in the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a vast plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars. Zhurong drove down from its landing platform to the Martian surface on May 22, starting its exploration of the red planet.
“The global images of Mars will provide a better quality base map for Mars exploration and scientific research,” said Zhang Rongqiao, the chief designer of China’s first Mars exploration mission.
“It is an important contribution that Tianwen-1 has made to human deep space exploration,” he added.
Zhang noted that starting from May 1 this year, the scientific data of Tianwen-1 will be open to the world.
The research team has also identified a large number of geographical entities near the landing site from high-resolution images of Mars. The International Astronomical Union has named, according to relevant rules, 22 of the geographical entities after the historical and cultural villages and towns in China with a population of less than 100,000.
“The scientific exploration data obtained by the Tianwen-1 mission will make a contribution to human’s in-depth knowledge of Mars,” the CNSA said.
According to the CNSA, the Tianwen-1 orbiter had achieved global remote sensing detection on Mars by June 29, 2022. So far, it has been operating for more than 1,000 days in good condition and continuing to accumulate remote sensing raw data. The rover Zhurong, currently in dormancy, traveled 1,921 meters on the red planet.
He emphasized the need for businesses to stay informed about the latest developments in data privacy and security, and to adopt best practices in encryption, firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, VPNs, and biometric authentication.
Kabeja underscores that any company is vulnerable to data breaches and cyber-attacks where businesses must prioritize cyber security and build their cyber security capabilities. Kabeja also offers tips on strengthening security at the workplace and for individuals, as well as how companies can balance the need to collect and use data for business purposes with the need to protect the privacy of individuals.
{{Excerpts: }}
{{How data privacy and data protection are intertwined and what financial implications could it have?}}
Data privacy is a fundamental right and is recognised under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and various other international covenants, whereas ‘data protection’ means the tools, mechanism, and policies to secure the data to access by a third party without its owner’s consent. The cost of data breaches has clearly impacted macroeconomies making strong security mission-critical. Business leaders face tough choices as the cost of data breaches continues to rise. If the cost of business increases due to security concerns, then goods and service prices will also rise and people lose their jobs due to breaches. Therefore, the practice of protecting digital information from corruption, theft, and unauthorised access to hardware and software devices is vital in ensuring financial wellbeing.
{{The importance of technology in cyber security, such as encryption and firewalls}}
Savvy cybercriminals use sophisticated technologies because they are more difficult for traditional cyber security tools to detect. Technology plays a crucial role in cyber security by providing tools and systems to protect sensitive information and systems from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. Encryption is a key technology that helps to secure data by converting it into a code that can only be deciphered with the correct key. Firewalls are another important technology used to control network access and protect against unauthorised access and cyber-attacks. Other technologies such as intrusion detection and prevention systems, virtual private networks (VPNs), and biometric authentication also play important roles in securing information systems and networks.
{{Are businesses doing enough to protect themselves against data breaches?}}
African businesses are not giving cyber security the priority it deserves, and this inadequate security is directly affecting business for enterprises, as well as countries. Businesses in Africa are particularly vulnerable with more than half of the countries having inadequate cyber security laws and regulations, making it a haven for cybercriminals.
Businesses operating in this environment face a dual challenge: lobbying governments for more stringent cyber security laws and protections and addressing the immediate threats. Rwanda, for example, has invested significantly in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure and applications, as a cornerstone for National economic growth. Even though the rapid development of ICT determines Rwanda’s journey towards economic development, these technologies have introduced new types of threats such as data breaches. Therefore, it is imperative that businesses in Rwanda prioritise cyber security and build their cyber security capabilities for detection, prevention and response.
{{How can businesses stay informed about the latest developments in data privacy and security and stay ahead of potential threats?}}
Businesses need to adopt a two-pronged approach against sophisticated cybercriminals. Businesses need to adopt best-practice mitigation and management protocols and continuous training and awareness programmes to protect against vulnerabilities and threats from within.
{{The types of businesses most at risk from data breaches or cyberattacks}}
Companies, corporations and businesses are especially vulnerable as most of the sensitive and confidential company information is stored online but individuals can succumb to such attacks too. That is what makes cyber security so indispensable because anyone can be exposed anywhere in this digital economy.
{{Smart tips for strengthening security at the workplace, as well as best practices for individuals?}}
Many organisation do not have sufficient resources to educate staff on data management. With this lack of awareness and resources, human error continues to be the driving force behind an overwhelming majority of cyber security compromises.
Poor password is also a significant contributor towards compromises, with not enough individuals and corporations applying best practice and taking advantage of built-in mechanisms such as group policy enforcement, strong encryption, and multi-factor authentication. It is key to have multi-layered approach to strengthen security at the workplace and organisations need to partner with a service provider with proper expertise and experience to adopt a well-tailored cyber security strategy specific to their business needs.
{{How do businesses balance the need to collect and use data for business purposes with the need to protect the privacy of individuals?}}
We at Liquid Intelligent Technologies encourage all businesses to have a formal cyber security framework aligned to their strategy and objectives which requires a continuous management and improvement of the technologies and systems and establishment of an information security management system (ISMS) and resilience control. Enterprises of different sizes have varying capacity and budgets, different information security requirements, face different threats, and have different legislative, regulatory, or industry requirements to comply with. They also have different people challenges, processes, IT footprints, services, and applications, so their cyber security frameworks need to consider all these factors.
{{How does a company’s approach to data privacy and security impact its reputation and customer trust?}}
Trust is an essential element of a customer relationship. Cyber-attacks damages reputation and erode the trust customers have for companies. This, in turn, could potentially lead to loss of customers, loss of sales and reduction in profits.
The 46.5-nanometer extreme-ultraviolet imager or Solar Upper Transition Region Imager (SUTRI), mounted on SATech-01 satellite, was launched into space on July 27, 2022, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China by a Lijian-1 carrier rocket.
SUTRI is the first solar imager in the world to work at a wavelength of 40 to 110 nanometers based on a multilayer narrow-band filtering technique, according to the National Astronomical Observatories of China under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The device is capable of taking full-disk dynamic pictures of solar regions between the solar chromosphere and corona, thus building a key bridge for solar scientists for the lower atmosphere and higher one on the sun.
Starting operation on Aug. 30, 2022, SUTRI obtained over 200,000 pictures within four months. The data released in its first group were acquired between September 5 to November 5 last year.
Now, the device in orbit is in good working order and is expected to produce more data.
It is for this reason that you would hear a lot of talk about online privacy but what exactly is that?
Well, online privacy is the level of privacy protection an individual has while connected to the Internet and it covers the amount of online security available for personal and financial data, communications, and preferences.
You might think it is not as serious until it happens to you but my mother got to experience something like it. In a generation of Facebook usage, her account was breached and there were a lot of things posted that were not decent or anything she would ever post herself.
Unfortunately, she did not know about it until people started messaging her that her posts were not appropriate and hence she started to dig in her feed to find what they were talking about, which she found and then went through the process of how to reverse the whole thing.
At least my sister was able to find a way to delete the posts and though my mom wanted to just give up completely on all things online with a few protection measures in place, she felt assured enough to keep using them.
Now you may wonder, what did those protection measures entail? We did the basic things.
For one, we changed passwords and created stronger ones that were not in use by any other of her socials and she had to keep remembering to log out of her account after using it.
Apart from the measures we took though, there are so many more these days to make sure that using the internet is safe.
So these are a few tips to protect your online privacy, using stronger passwords different for each account you have on different platforms.
Commit to sharing less personal data because the less you share, the safer it is for you.
Check your privacy setting. With many social networks today, you have some options to limit the ways data is collected or used, who can contact you or see your posts which can help to keep your personal data personal.
Limit sharing of location, even though it can help to find your way and such but leaving your location on often can give access to third parties and is often used to tailor ads and recommendations based on locations you have recently visited. So, feel free to deny whenever it is not necessary to turn on your location.
Keep your devices and apps up to date, keeping software current and up to date is the only way to make sure that your device is protected against the latest software vulnerabilities. By enabling automatic updates on your devices, you can be sure that your apps and operating system are always up to date which can be done in any phone settings.
And last but not least, be careful where you keep your passwords and what kind of links you open.
Chen Dong, the commander of the Shenzhou-14 crew, opened the hatch at 7:33 a.m. (Beijing Time). The three space station occupants greeted the new arrivals with warm hugs and then they took a group picture with their thumbs up, shouting in chorus — “China’s space station is always worth looking forward to.”
The space reunion kicked off the first in-orbit crew rotation in China’s space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The six astronauts are projected to live and work together for about five days to complete planned tasks and handover work, said the CMSA.
{BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) — The Shenzhou-14 astronauts successfully entered the Mengtian lab module of China’s space station Tiangong at 3:12 p.m. (Beijing Time) on Thursday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.}
Following up, the Shenzhou-14 crew in the space station will welcome the subsequent arrival of the Tianzhou-5 cargo craft and Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship, the agency said.
The Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 crew members will then conduct the first in-orbit crew rotation in China’s space history.
China launched the space lab module Mengtian on Oct. 31, taking the construction of the country’s space station into the final stage.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft roared off Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at noon Eastern Time Wednesday.
Shortly after the liftoff, NASA confirmed the main engine cutoff and stage separation.
The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket completed its descent and successfully landed on SpaceX’s drone ship, Just Read the Instructions, off the coast of Florida.
The Dragon Endurance spacecraft has separated from the second stage, and headed to the ISS.
The mission carries NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the ISS.
NASA said the crew has safely reached orbit. The spacecraft will dock with the space station at approximately 4:57 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday.
During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct over 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations in areas such as human health and lunar fuel systems, according to SpaceX.
After the Dragon spacecraft docks to the orbiting lab, another four station crew members, the Crew-4 mission, will end their mission and return to Earth just over a week later, according to NASA.
The Crew-4 mission will undock from the space station and splash down off the coast of Florida.
The satellite, Zhongxing-1E, was launched on Tuesday at 9:18 p.m. (Beijing Time) by a modified version of the Long March-7 carrier rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. It will provide high-quality voice, data, radio and television transmission services.
This was the 437th mission for the Long March series carrier rockets.
The CentiSpace-1-S3/S4 test satellites were launched by a Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket at 10:24 a.m. (Beijing Time) and they have entered the planned orbit successfully.
This was the 17th flight mission of the Kuaizhou-1A rockets, according to the launch center.
