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Renowned e-learning experts to headline Learning Indaba and Articulate Roadshow in South Africa

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Tom Kuhlmann, a renowned e-learning expert, believes that South Africa’s learning economy could be the bridge between more established economies and the opportunities in developing economies. The democratization of online learning has allowed anyone and any market to access information and educational material, enabling developing economies to catch up quickly. Kuhlmann, who is the Chief Learning Architect at Articulate, maker of the world’s most popular apps for online learning, says that South Africa plays a significant role in this transformation. Articulate serves 120 million learners in over 170 countries, with a customer base of more than 120,000.

Kuhlmann will be the keynote speaker at the Learning Indaba, a free-to-attend conference series that provides Human Resources and Learning & Development (L&D) professionals with insights on resources, latest trends, and best-practice methods in the eLearning space. The conference, started in 2013, also provides attendees with the opportunity to network and collaborate with peers from various industries. This year’s Learning Indaba will take place on 1 June at Johannesburg’s Bryanston Country Club and will also be streamed online.

Kuhlmann notes that real learning is a solution process, and a lot of it is self-directed. He adds that technology has changed the dynamic of organisations and their training teams’ role as gatekeepers to critical content and learning experiences. As a result, instructional design needs a radical shift towards impactful learning experiences. He further notes that many organisations are repackaging content as instructional design, whereas anyone can access content easily. With more AI-driven tools emerging, it will become even easier to access content.

The Articulate Roadshow, a pay-to-attend event that will follow the Learning Indaba, will take place on 2 June at Bryanston Country Club and on 6 June at the Cape Sun Hotel in Cape Town. Kuhlmann, who is excited about the Articulate Roadshow’s first-ever appearance in South Africa, says that the event is an opportunity for attendees to learn and connect with their peers and Articulate’s training team. The Roadshow provides hundreds of tips and tricks and offers take-home resources in a fun and informal environment. Kuhlmann says that he tries to keep things practical and achievable, regardless of where one is in their learning journey.

Attendance at the Learning Indaba is open to all, and access to previous session recordings is included. Registration also allows access to upcoming events in the series.

Tickets for the New Leaf Technologies Learning Indaba and Articulate Road show can be booked at 2023 – New Leaf Technologies and Articulate Roadshow – New Leaf Technologies

The role of satellite technology and services in Africa’s journey of growth

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By Scott Mumford,

Chief Commercial Officer Liquid Dataport & Chief Executive Officer Liquid Satellite

Besides drumming up fascination on social media as people share photos and debate the “strange strings of lights in night’s sky,” satellites play a vital role in bringing connectivity to more than half of Africa’s 1.3 billion people who live in rural communities. This is because, despite Africa having come a long way in its connectivity journey, it still faces many challenges.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to improving connectivity on the continent. Africa has tricky terrain and lower population density in large rural areas, making it more expensive to build traditional terrestrial networks. Factor in affordability, a shortage of digital skills, and a lack of devices, and you will understand why a range of different technologies and approaches are needed to meet the diverse needs of different regions and populations.

Satellite services have always driven connectivity in Africa. Over the past ten years, we’ve seen a huge number of advancements in the industry as a whole, with hundreds of billions of dollars spent on innovations such as the utilisation of multi-orbit satellites and the deployment of low-earth orbit (LEO) and medium-earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellations. These types of satellites orbit much closer to the Earth than their geostationary counterparts, so that they can offer much higher throughputs and speeds. That means users enjoy faster, lower- latency connectivity, which is important for many reasons, with the ability to transition to digital and the benefits that bring being top of that list.

Across Africa, individuals, businesses, organisations, and governments now understand the value that digitalisation offers. While there has always been a need for connectivity, the increased desire of many to start their transformation journey has resulted in a spike in demand for solutions and a choice of connectivity options.

Satellite services are playing — and will continue to play — a vital role in supporting Africa’s growing digital economy, ensuring that no African is left behind. As more businesses and organisations move online and onto the cloud, enormous possibilities will open up for Africa. Access to digital tools and services will help them achieve greater efficiency, scalability, and innovation, which will drive growth and development across the continent.

Satellite services offer a cost-effective and scalable solution and are primed to fill the connectivity gap – providing coverage in areas where terrestrial services won’t reach. They can enable connectivity of outlying communities, schools, businesses, mines, and off-the-beaten-track tourist destinations, bringing the connectivity needed to compete in the global marketplace.

Satellites, for example, enable the gathering of earth observation data, which can be paired with new digital technologies such as IoT sensors to help answer some of Africa’s biggest challenges, such as illegal mining, deforestation and poaching. As a result, farmers in rural areas can connect to digital services that allow them to receive valuable and accurate information such as reliable weather forecasts, water availability, and crop development trends—ultimately helping them to increase crop yields, which, in turn, not only improve socio-economic growth in communities but also helps to provide food security.

Thanks to satellite connectivity, mines in remote areas can connect to their head offices in urban and international centres more efficiently, enabling real-time information sharing and decision-making. This connectivity further facilitates the running of operational cloud-based software and storing critical information safely in the cloud, allowing for business continuity if something happens onsite.

Governments, too, can benefit from satellite services. The African continent experiences many climate-change-related crises like droughts and floods that can have massive effects on the daily lives of a country’s people and take a significant toll on its economy. Access to Satellite Earth Observation data will allow for more robust and efficient disaster monitoring, management, and mitigation. Added to this is the ability to drop in high-speed internet services and temporary 4G and 5G networks as a part of the disaster relief efforts.

The role that satellite services can play in Africa’s journey to sustainable growth, inclusivity, and economic prosperity cannot be understated. When you combine the power of satellite technology and services with powerful cloud computing and analytical tools, you can democratise data innovation, enabling and empowering governments, businesses, communities, and individuals while uplifting entire continents in the process.

The role that satellite services can play in Africa’s journey to sustainable growth, inclusivity, and economic prosperity cannot be understated. When you combine the power of satellite technology and services with powerful cloud computing and analytical tools, you can democratise data innovation, enabling and empowering governments, businesses, communities, and individuals while uplifting entire continents in the process.

How to hire Java developers right: 5 ideas for a business owner

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In this age of online businesses, having an online app for your business is very important. These apps are created using programming languages like Java, C++, etc. Some programming languages, like Java, are in more demand than others. 

Java is a go-to programming language for developing complex apps and websites. Many programmers use it because of features like platform independence, garbage collection, memory management, and many others.

If you are a business owner, you should get an app developed for your business. For that, you either need to hire Java app developers, or you can consult with agencies like EPAM Anywhere Business that provide app development services. 

However, if you want to hire Java engineers in-house, then you should choose the right one.

Easy Steps to Hire Java App Developers For a Business

Here we will tell you how to hire a Java developer easily that will be great for your business. If you follow the given steps, you will have the right developer. 

Know What You Need 

Before you hire a developer, you should know what the needs of your business are. Like what kind of app you want to be developed and what functionalities it should have. What are the long-term objectives of the app? 

You should know all this before you start hiring so that the goal is clear. This makes hiring easy when you know what you need, and also, development is easy for the developer when they know what they need to do.

Draft a Job Description

Now that you know the needs of your project, it is time to create a brief outline of the job description. It is very crucial to draft a simple job description that contains all the details like the job role, objectives, required skills, salary, required experience, and technical skills. 

A good job description, when posted on the right job portals, makes the hiring process easier. As the applicants will already know what they are opting for and what they are required to do. Hence one should take the proper time to create an outstanding job description when one wants to hire a Java programmer.

Experience/Specialization in a Vertical

The next step when hiring a Java programmer should be to check the amount of experience the applicant has. You should hire someone who has a good amount of experience with Java projects before. You can ask for their previous work as well. 

You should also find someone who has specialization in a specific vertical. Let’s say you need a secure and fast-working app for your business; hire someone who has already made apps like that before. You should avoid hiring someone who has worked on the development of websites and frameworks that you don’t need.

Good Communication Skills

When hiring a Java developer, make sure that they have good communication skills. As if you are a big organization, the developer may have to communicate with other departments as well. If they are unable to communicate properly with other people, there will be delays and hindrances in the development process. 

Hence make sure that they are able to communicate properly. 

Shortlist and Interview

Once you have posted the job on different job portals, you will start receiving many applications. The next step is to shortlist those applications. The applications that do not meet the job description should be immediately deleted. 

Once you have shortlisted the candidates, the next step is to interview them. Invite the shortlisted candidates for an interview and ask them questions to know if they understand the project tasks, do they have enough understanding of the programming language and its frameworks, whether they will be able to meet the deadlines, and most importantly, whether they are okay with the quoted salary. 

If you like more than one candidate in an interview, you can invite them for a second round as well. This will help eliminate the less deserving ones. 

Conclusion

In today’s time, there are many Java developers available in the market. However, you should choose only the best Java developers so that you get the best out of your money and time. If you follow the above-given steps, you will be able to hire Java app developers that will make the development process very easy and smooth. 

Raxio Data Centre Hosts CEOs and IT Specialists from Uganda’s Insurance and Brokerage Firms on Facility Tour

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Members of UIA and Raxio Data pose for a group photo

Raxio Data Centre, the premier provider of data centre services in Uganda, is thrilled to announce that it hosted CEO’s and IT specialists from all insurance and brokerage firms in Uganda on a tour of its state-of-the-art data centre facility.

They included RIO Insurance, CIC Insurance Group, Alliance Africa General Insurance, Liberty Uganda, Mayfair Insurance, APA Insurance, ICEA Uganda, and Excel Insurance amongst others.

The visit, which took place on 13th April 2023 provided the insurance and brokerage sector professionals with an opportunity to witness firsthand the world-class infrastructure and services offered by Raxio Data Centre. The tour showcased the company’s commitment to supporting the digital transformation of Uganda’s insurance sector through the provision of secure, reliable and scalable data centre services.

James Byaruhanga, General Manager of Raxio Data Centre, said, “We are delighted to host the CEO’s and IT specialists from Uganda’s insurance and brokerage firms. We believe that Raxio’s state-of-the-art data centre facility, with its robust infrastructure, multiple redundancies and excellent connectivity, will offer the insurance sector an unparalleled level of security, resilience, and reliability that is critical to their operations.”

The tour provided the visitors with an opportunity to see the benefits that Raxio Data Centre can offer to the insurance and brokerage sector. The benefits include:

  • Unmatched reliability and uptime
  • Increased data security and protection
  • Cost savings through shared infrastructure
  • Flexibility to scale IT infrastructure as needed
  • Improved disaster recovery and business continuity planning

Part of what was emphasized was that Raxio Data Centre can help customers reduce their total cost of ownership by allowing them focus on their core business while leaving the data centre to manage everything else.

Bengo Badru, a Technical Officer at the Uganda Insurers Association said, “The visit to Raxio Data Centre was an eye-opener. The infrastructure is world-class, and we were impressed by the company’s commitment to providing top-notch data centre services. We believe that this partnership will be beneficial to the insurance sector, and we look forward to exploring how we can leverage Raxio’s services to improve our operations.”

Finally, James Byaruhanga spoke on the importance of digital transformation in the insurance industry and how Raxio Data Centre is equipped to support the industry transformation. ‘Raxio Data Centre is set to transform the insurance sector in Uganda through the provision of reliable, secure and cost-effective data centre services. The company’s state-of-the-art facility is a game-changer for the sector and will help insurance companies and brokerages to stay ahead in a rapidly changing business environment,’ he said.

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: PSFU and Mastercard Foundation Host Women’s Day Katale

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Women's Day Katale

The Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and Mastercard Foundation recently hosted the second annual Women’s Day Katale 2023 event at the UMA Multi-purpose Hall. The two-day event was designed to empower women and girl entrepreneurs and recognize their contributions and potential as entrepreneurs.

The event featured a range of business clinics facilitated by industry experts and focused on various topics such as business planning, financial management, marketing, and customer service. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in the One-Stop-Centre facilitated by URA, URSB, UNBS, and Opportunity Bank which offered financial skills, business development, tax education, access to finance, and business registration among other services.

Other clinics included the Beauty Clinic facilitated by Movit Uganda, The Boss Babe Business clinic facilitated by Claire Muhire, the Creative Business Clinic facilitated by Zeus the Agency, and the Tech Clinic facilitated by SafeBoda. Each clinic provided unique insights and resources to help attendees improve their business operations.

During the opening ceremony, Ms. Minsa Kabanda, the Minister for Kampala and Metropolitan, highlighted the challenges that women entrepreneurs still face despite progress being made towards gender equality in business. She pledged to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to develop and implement policies and initiatives that encourage the expansion and development of enterprises owned by women and girls.

PSFU CEO, Mr. Stephen Asiimwe, emphasized the importance of empowering women entrepreneurs, stating that it not only benefits individuals but also contributes to the growth and development of the economy as a whole.

Over 250 women and girl entrepreneurs showcased their businesses at the Women’s Day Katale 2023 event. The exhibitors alluded to the opportunity provided to showcase their businesses, network, access the market, and acquire other skills such as financial management, marketing, tax education, and leadership skills among others.

PSFU intends to make the Katale event regional and more digital beginning in western, northern, and eastern Uganda. They are also conceptualizing a digital women entrepreneurs’ marketplace that is always open, providing more opportunities for women and girl entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses.

Overall, the Women’s Day Katale 2023 event provided a platform for dialogue and collaboration towards achieving gender equality in business. The event not only empowered women and girl entrepreneurs but also highlighted the importance of supporting and enabling them to reach their full potential.

Adult Content, Streaming, and Video Hosting Sites Pose the Highest Security Threats – Research

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NordVPN, a prominent cybersecurity company, has found that adult content, streaming, and video hosting websites pose the greatest security and privacy risks due to malware, intrusive ads, and trackers. NordVPN’s Threat Protection feature, designed to safeguard against these threats, prevented 344 million trackers, 341 million intrusive ads, and 506,000 malware infections in December 2022 alone, according to the research.

Here are the findings from the research

“The online world is challenging people in every single move they make. Want to read an article? Dozens of ads and pop-ups are ready to immediately cover your screen. Another privacy threat – malware – is lurking for you on websites and in files you are about to download. Websites you browse are also full of third-party trackers that analyze your browsing history to find out what you do online. It depends on you to stop it,” says Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity advisor at NordVPN.

Adult content sites contain the biggest amount of malware

Malware is malicious software that seeks to damage or compromise a device or data. Malware’s scope varies from relatively harmless to extremely dangerous. Malicious software can track people’s data, steal sensitive information, or even delete it without your consent.

NordVPN research shows that adult content sites (21%), as well as cloud storage providers (14%) and entertainment sites (11%), contain the biggest amount of malware. In December, Threat Protection blocked 60.4K, 40.1K, and 30.9K domains of these categories respectively.

Among the most common types of malware  are viruses, spyware, worms, trojans, adware, scareware, ransomware, and fireless malware.

Streaming media sites have the most intrusive ads

Intrusive advertising refers to pushing invasive and irrelevant ads in front of consumers. They irritate users by popping up unexpectedly, blocking the host page, opening new pages and windows, or playing video and audio at inopportune times.

As for intrusive ads, the majority of them were found on streaming (23%), adult content (16%), and online shopping (9%) sites. Threat Protection detected and blocked millions of them: 552M, 389M, and 226M respectively.

“Today, ad blockers are essential for both security because they block ads that can infect people’s devices and privacy because annoying ads rely on collecting data from web activity and violating people’s privacy. Also, if a website is loading slower than usual, you can blame intrusive ads. Free apps filled with unwanted ads could also drain your device’s battery faster,” explains Adrianus Warmenhoven.

Video hosting sites have the biggest number of trackers

While many trackers are a tool for advertising and improving user experience, they may also become handy for online spies. Internet service providers (ISPs), marketing agencies, social media companies, and governments can access your online actions and breach your privacy.

NordVPN’s Threat Protection showed that video hosting sites (22%), cloud storage providers (16.31%), web email (16.25%), and information technology sites (12%) have the most trackers. Video hosting sites alone had 239 billion trackers blocked by Threat Protection in December 2022.

It’s worth adding that earlier NordVPN research showed that the average number of trackers per website is highest in Hong Kong (45.4 trackers), Singapore (33.5), the United States (23.1), and Australia (18.6).

“You can become less trackable online by declining third party cookies, because the website can sell your browsing data to third parties; using a VPN, which will hide your real IP address and location; installing a tracker blocker, which will stop your browsers from collecting information about you; and using privacy browsers, which can obfuscate your browser fingerprint, or ditching Google, which tracks a lot of data about you,” says Adrianus Warmenhoven.

Threat Protection scans your files before you download them, identifies threats, and blocks them before they can harm your device. The feature is free with every NordVPN subscription – and it allows you to go online without leaving a trace, protecting your privacy and improving your digital security.

Methodology: The statistics mentioned above were acquired by analyzing aggregated data gathered by the NordVPN’s Threat Protection service in January 2023. No identifiable user information was collected, reviewed, or otherwise involved when the research and compiled results were conducted.

Dixon Kagurusi is not a director of Petrom Limited- Lawyer Speaks Out

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David Kamukama, a lawyer to city Journalist and entrepreneur, Dixon Kagurusi Ampumuza has come out to dispel rumours that his client is a director of Petrom Limited, one of the companies that was involved in a syndicated move to siphon over USD1.8m from a Stanbic Bank account of Nile Energy Ltd.

Speaking to our correspondent, Kamukama of Byamugisha Advocates said that Police Spokesperson, Fred Enanga erred when he read out his client’s name during the Monday press briefing indicating that he (Kagurusi) is a director in one of the companies (Petrom Limited) involved in the fraud case.

“My client is a law abiding and hardworking citizen. We are therefore shocked that police is citing him as a director of Petrom Limited.

Kagurusi has been pursing a Master’s Degree in International Relations at Makerere University where his research is; “Understanding Key Drivers in Illicit Financial Flows” and therefore he can be an asset to this nation,” Kamukama said.

A simple company search done by our family lawyer proves otherwise,” the family member said before showing us proof.

Company documents at URSB filed in 2019 show that Oscar Rapheal Lutaaya is the sole director of the company.

This therefore dispels any rumours that Dixon Kagurusi Ampumuza is a director in Petrom Limited.

We shall keep you posted.

Make Your Valentine’s Day Even More Special with Huawei

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As Valentine’s Day draws near, Huawei is introducing an unique celebration of this season of love. Huawei is spreading the spirit of love by sharing its customers’ interest in social events all year long. The new Huawei P40 Pro+ is one of the best gadget to commemorate this event since it has several technological features that are ideal for both young people’s and adults’ everyday use. The device’s four cameras will record your unique moments during this romantic season and keep lovely recollections from these days for all time. This engaging occasion will get much more thrilling with the 18 fascinating built-in filters.

What You Need To Know About Huawei?

A third of the world’s population uses Huawei’s goods and services, which are offered in more than 170 nations. One of Huawei’s three business divisions is the Huawei Consumer BG, which includes wearables, cloud services, PCs, and tablets. The worldwide network of Huawei is committed to bringing the most recent technology advancements to customers all over the world and is founded on over 30 years of telecom industry experience.

HUAWEI’s emergence as a well-known premium brand on a worldwide scale was a result of year over year growth. HUAWEI ranked 88 on Forbes’ list of the world’s most valuable brands in 2017, 49 on BrandZ’s Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, and 40 on the Brand Finance Global 500 Most Valuable Brands lists. With sales of $78.51 billion, Huawei moved up the Fortune 500 ranking to 83rd position from 129th last year, becoming the first Chinese company to rank in the top 100 worldwide.

Leading technology giant HUAWEI has created 16 research centres throughout the world and devotes a sizeable portion of its yearly sales income to research and development. The HUAWEI Aesthetics Research Center in Paris is one of these facilities. The Max Berek Innovation Lab in Wetzler, Germany, is where HUAWEI and Leica are collaborating to study solutions to enhance the camera and picture quality of mobile devices.

Top Reasons To Choose Huawei On Valentine’s Day

 Let’s go through some of the top reasons on why one should choose Huawei Valentine’s day:

  • The HUAWEI Great battery life

2 Days of Use, with a 4200 mAh battery that can keep you going all day on a single charge. Your smartphone may be charged up to 70% faster with 40W HUAWEI SuperCharge support in under 30 minutes.

  • Sexy And Modern Style

The Huawei P40 Pro+ is flawless in every way. It is svelte, beautiful to grasp, and sleek and slender. With a huge screen-to-body ratio of more than 92% and a 6.58-inch display, the smartphone is ideal for photographers, videographers, gamers, and movie buffs.

The sleek, square camera configuration is encircled by an outer ring that resembles Saturn’s rings and was inspired by four-point headlights.

  • High Image Quality

With its quad-camera configuration, which includes a 50MP primary camera as well as wide-angle, and Octa PD autofocus, macro, and depth effect cameras. Also, a built-in video chat tool is made available that provides better image quality with less Internet connection use, are two more unique features.

  • Engrossing show

Immerse yourself in the outstanding immersive display of the Huawei P40 Pro+. Your viewing experience is improved with this phone in every millimetre. By designing a selfie camera that appears when you need it, Huawei has eliminated the top notch region. This design is widely recognised as the greatest front camera implementation to date.

  • Substantial and extendable storage

8GB RAM and 128GB of storage are included and in comparison to other smartphones in the same price range, Huawei’s remarkable 8GB smart internal storage engine can run more programmes in the background thanks to its cold data.

  • Higher Ability To Charge

This battery can handle 44 hours of voice calls, 117 hours of music playback, 12 hours of internet browsing, 10 hours of video viewing, and 9 hours of nonstop gaming on a single full charge.

The bottom line

If you’re still looking for a present, the Huawei P40 Pro+ will be on sale starting next week. It combines the FullView Display technology with cutting-edge four cameras to capture the greatest and most stunning images of you and your loved ones.

Create Professional Websites with Ease using Strikingly

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Strikingly
A screenshot of the strikingly website

Strikingly is a web-based platform that offers an easy and affordable solution for individuals and businesses to create and host professional-looking websites. Launched in 2012, Strikingly has since become a popular choice for people who want to create a website without the need for technical skills or coding knowledge.

One of the key features of Strikingly is its user-friendly interface. The platform offers a variety of templates that can be easily customized to suit your specific needs. Users can choose from a wide range of pre-designed templates or create their own from scratch. The templates are designed to be mobile-responsive, ensuring that your website looks great on all devices, including smartphones and tablets.

Another advantage of using Strikingly is its ease of use. With its drag-and-drop interface, users can quickly and easily add elements to their website, such as text, images, videos, and buttons. The platform also offers a range of tools and features, including a blog, an e-commerce store, and the ability to embed external content, such as videos from YouTube or social media feeds from Instagram.

Strikingly also offers a range of payment and subscription plans, allowing users to choose the best plan that meets their needs and budget. The platform offers both free and paid plans, with paid plans starting at just $8 per month. The paid plans offer additional features and resources, such as unlimited storage, custom domains, and access to more advanced design tools.

In addition to its user-friendly interface and affordable pricing, Strikingly is also known for its exceptional customer support. The platform offers a comprehensive knowledge base, as well as email support and a 24/7 live chat service to assist users with any questions or issues they may have.

Overall, Strikingly is a great solution for anyone looking to create a professional-looking website without the need for technical skills or coding knowledge. With its user-friendly interface, affordable pricing, and excellent customer support, Strikingly is an excellent choice for individuals and businesses looking to establish a strong online presence.

Netflix to Begin Streaming Nike Training Club Fitness Classes

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Netflix has announced that it will begin streaming Nike Training Club classes on its platform starting next week. The streaming service will release 30 hours of exercise sessions in two batches, with the first batch consisting of 45 episodes launching on December 30 and the second batch releasing in 2023.

The classes, which cater to all fitness levels and will be available in multiple languages on all Netflix plans, include Kickstart Fitness with the Basics, Two Weeks to a Stronger Core, Fall in Love with Vinyasa Yoga, HIIT & Strength with Tara, and Feel-Good Fitness.

Users will be able to search “Nike” to access the classes. This marks another expansion for Netflix beyond its core TV shows and series, following the launch of Netflix Games and the addition of mindfulness and meditation content from Headspace. Depending on its success, Netflix may add more fitness content to its platform or even produce its own fitness content.

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