Digital Earth Africa (www.DigitalEarthAfrica.org) announces the launch of its innovative Waterbodies Monitoring Service. This service is a world-first developed in – and for – the African continent.

The service is unique among satellite-based global surface water datasets given the accessible and operational nature of the data, and the focus on providing timely, relevant and interpretable information to decision makers.

The Digital Earth Africa Waterbodies Monitoring Service has pushed the boundaries of how satellite Earth observation data can be packaged, accessed, and analysed to assess and monitor surface water across the entire African continent.

Digital Earth Africa, the world’s largest operator of the Open Data Cube (ODC) infrastructure, is a free platform for accessing satellite imagery specific to the African continent, which is also hosted on the continent. By packaging Earth observation data into accessible and free data sets, African governments, industry players, and decision-makers, can track changes across the continent in unprecedented detail.

The Waterbodies Monitoring Service identifies more than 700,000 unique water bodies across Africa, incorporating over forty years of satellite observations. Updated on a weekly basis, the service maps persistent and seasonal waterbodies and the changes in the surface area of water in each of these over time. Waterbodies includes lakes, ponds, man-made reservoirs, wetlands, and segments of river systems.

Dr Lisa-Maria Rebelo, the Lead Scientist at Digital Earth Africa, says that the Digital Earth Africa science team interrogated what the optimal waterbodies datasets might look like in terms of addressing user defined needs, and delivering the most impact, considering both where the current gaps were in existing waterbodies datasets, and how to ensure increased interoperability for users. The outcome is a robust service, co-designed with Digital Earth Africa users, that provides highly detailed and far-reaching information (both current and retrospective) on the continent’s waterbodies.  

Several key functionalities set the Digital Earth Africa Waterbodies Monitoring Service apart from other global datasets. Importantly, the service provides waterbodies statistics for every country on the African continent, and is updated weekly with the most recent satellite measurements.

While other datasets have provided important information on the presence or absence of surface water, the Digital Earth Africa Waterbodies Monitoring Service takes this a step further by providing the actual surface extent, along with the wet surface area, as a time series for each individual waterbody.

Rebelo says that a particularly exciting aspect of the Digital Earth Africa Waterbodies Monitoring Service is that it can be accessed via an API. “The service is accessible via the Digital Earth Africa interactive maps platform (https://apo-opa.co/3KDzjy3) and the sandbox analytical environment (https://apo-opa.co/3RoHTo4) – and this is standard across all Digital Earth Africa products and services. However, for the Waterbodies Monitoring Service we introduced an API to ensure that service providers and product developers could directly integrate these data into their work, thereby creating customised queries around water body extents, historical wet surface area, and changes related to these,” says Rebelo.

By way of example, a user could request data on all waterbodies in a particular area, as well as the wet surface area time series for each of those waterbodies. From this, powerful and highly customised summaries can be created to allow the close monitoring of an individual waterbody, or to understand trends and the latest status of a collection of waterbodies.

Rebelo highlights that while the Digital Earth Africa Waterbodies Monitoring Service is groundbreaking in terms of accessibility, interoperability and transparency, its full potential lies in its application. This includes providing detailed understanding of surface water availability, dry season access to water, changes in water body sizes over time, and an understanding of potential flood risks.

Over the next few months, the Digital Earth Africa team will be seeking feedback from users engaged in real-world applications of the Waterbodies Monitoring Service. Rebelo says, “The service has been developed to support Africa’s governments, policymakers, and key private sector actors in undertaking insightful planning, adopting critical risk mitigation strategies, and proactively managing Africa’s settlements, cities, communities, and livelihood activities which are dependent on, or adjacent to waterbodies. ”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Digital Earth Africa.

Click here (https://apo-opa.co/3RrojHH) to obtain an overview of Digital Earth Africa’s Waterbodies Monitoring Service.

To find out more information about the Digital Earth Africa Waterbodies Monitoring Service, please contact communications@digitalearthafrica.org

To arrange an interview with Dr Lisa-Maria Rebelo email communications@digitalearthafrica.org

Image of Dr Lisa-Maria Rebelo can be accessed here: https://apo-opa.co/3XkcSoQ

Video of Waterbodies Service can be accessed here: https://apo-opa.co/3VnYN7i

The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has appointed Lamin Barrow, an economist, as the Director General for the West Africa Region, effective June 1, 2024.

Barrow, a Gambian national, brings extensive experience and knowledge to his new role, having joined the African Development Bank in 2000. Before this appointment, he served as Director General of the Nigeria Country Department within the Regional Development, Integration&Business Development Vice Presidency. Barrow’s expertise spans policy analysis, strategic management, project finance, regional integration, and public-private partnerships.

During his tenure as Director General for Nigeria, Barrow significantly enhanced the Bank’s development cooperation with the Federal Government of Nigeria and established strategic partnerships with key stakeholders. He managed the Bank’s $4.5 billion portfolio in Nigeria and spearheaded the rollout of flagship initiatives. Notable initiatives include the launch of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (https://apo-opa.co/45tk9VG) and the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) (https://apo-opa.co/3yV5J4u) program.

Since joining the Bank as a Senior Financial Analyst in the Infrastructure Department, Barrow has held several progressive positions, including Principal Country Programme Officer in the Rwanda Country Office, Resident Representative in Ethiopia, and Manager of Operations, Technical Support, and Regional Approaches at the Transition States Support Department. He also served as Manager of the Cabinet Office of the President with the rank of Director, and as Director of the Joint Secretariat Support Office for the African Development Bank, African Union Commission, and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Before joining the African Development Bank, Barrow worked at the Gambia National Investment Board as Head of the Project Development Unit and Division Manager of Export Promotion and Development. He also served as Principal Economist at the Policy Analysis Unit in the Office of the President of Gambia, and the Company for Habitat&Housing in Africa (Shelter Afrique).

He holds a Master of Arts in Economic Policy from Boston University, USA, and a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is also an alumnus of executive programs in finance from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and investment and risk analysis from Queen’s University, Canada.

Commenting on his new role, Barrow stated: “I am grateful to President Adesina for his confidence and this great opportunity to serve in this new role and further contribute to the implementation of Bank initiatives in support of the development programs of West African countries.”

Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina praised Mr. Barrow’s appointment, stating, “Mr. Barrow has extensive knowledge and wealth of experience in managing Bank operations, handling country dialogues, and engaging with senior government policymakers. His strong experience as Director General of the Nigeria Country Office Department positions him well to lead the West Africa team, which has the largest portfolio in the Bank. He will bring his wealth of experience to drive and ensure greater operational efficiency and effectiveness, improving the overall quality of the Bank’s portfolio across the West Africa region to achieve significant developmental impacts.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Contact:
Kwasi Kpodo
Communication and External Relations
media@afdb.org

About the African Development Bank Group: 
The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org

CardPay, an emerginbg  fintech company, is proud to announce its participation in GITEX Africa 2024 (https://GITEXAfrica.com/), the continent’s premier technology and innovation event held in Marrakech, Morocco, from May 29th to 31st.

CardPay showcased its innovative suite of secure and accessible payment solutions designed to empower students with financial wellness across Africa. Attendees had the opportunity to explore CardPay’s offerings, including:

* **Seamless Mobile Payment Solutions:**  CardPay’s mobile payment solutions focus on the use cases of students. As such, they have developed a host of features covering maximum cash touch points to truly provide for cash-lite eductaional campuses.

* **Banking-as-a-platform solution:**  While mantaininbg their own expertise in the payments vertical, CardPay has partnered with fintechs operating in different verticals to allow its student user base access to a complete suite of financial products and services, thus ensuring their true financial well-being.

* **Financial Literacy Objectives:**  CardPay is committed to imparting financial literacy objectives in creative and practicle ways more suited to the Gen Z population.

**[We envision CardPay to be a students’ first and forever mobile wallet account.]** “[Through CardPay, we aim to raise a new generation of students, with a focus in their financial well-being, who understand the fundamentals of personal finance, and are able to make decisions which are in their best longterm interest]”, said [Mr. Shamsi], [Founder and CEO] at CardPay. “[It has been a wonderful event so far, we are excited to see so many players in the Fintech industry trying to make an impact].”

” Innovators, policymakers, consumers, and investors – all stakeholders are present under one roof trying to work on a better sustainable future. Events like these are very important to foster the ecosystem.]”, concluded [Khuzaima Saeed, CTO – CardPay].

“[We really enjoyed the panel talks and discussions with the industry experts. Their insightful conversation has been really beneficial for young aspiring entrepreneurs. We eagerly look forward to the next GITEX!]”, concluded [Mr. Anas Siddiqui].

CardPay’s participation in GITEX Africa 2024 underscores the company’s commitment to driving innovation and financial inclusion across the emerging economies. By providing secure, convenient, and accessible payment solutions, CardPay is empowering businesses and consumers to thrive in the digital age.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GITEX Africa.

Contact:
[Abdur Rehman Shamsi]
[Founder and CEO]
[ar.shamsi@cardpay.com.pk]

About CardPay:
CardPay is an emerging fintech company that provides secure and innovative payment solutions for youth and studenst based on their unique use cases and cash touch points. The company is committed to driving financial inclusion and empowering growth across emerging markets.