Timbuktu Chronicles

The BBC reports
Charles Ofori Antipem...created a science set, a small black box the size and price (at $15) of a textbook packed with electrical kit.

"Being able to put the sets on the desks of the students and see that glow in their eyes when they build that first electrical circuit," he says. "That is what keeps us going."

Charles set up his company Dext Technology 18 months ago. He now has nine members of staff, and has so far sold more than 5,000 sets to government and private schools across Ghana.

The idea started with his roommate, Michael Asante Afrifa, in their dorm room at university. They want every child in Ghana to have access to one in the next two years.

"Getting the knowledge from the book is one thing but being able to experience it with experimentation is what is really important," he says...[more]

CSM reports:There are nearly 1 million dairy farmers in Kenya but only a small percent can connect to the national electricity grid to refrigerate their milk. Some of the rest rely on 50 solar milk-cooling plants to store their milk safely, which ensures more reliable profits.More here

From Battabox:

CNN reports:
It’s often assumed that the Chinese in Africa ‘bring their own’ and don’t hire locals. In Ethiopia, that’s not the case -- but will it lift the country out of poverty? More here

Kola A. writing in Medium:
MDaaS.io, is building a network of tech-enabled diagnostic and primary healthcare facilities for clinically underserved communities in Africa, starting with Nigeria. By introducing software, being smarter about process design, investing heavily in an integrated supply chain, and sharing resources across locations, MDaaS has significantly dropped the cost of setting up and operating each center.More here

Michael Kimani writing over at Kioneki:
Why is the digitization of Chama groups so valuable for Fintechs and Telcos and Banks? And more interestingly, why is it such a tough nut to crack?More here

From the SmartMonkey Newsletter:
Two local Nigerian companies have set out their stall for engaging with innovation and start-ups. This is something that would have been unimaginable five to ten years ago. Russell Southwood talks to Tomi Otudeko, Head of Innovation, Honeywell Group and Toro Orero, CEO, Zone Tech Park about what they are doing and why...[more]

From Makerfabs:
Use acoustic waves to hold in mid-air samples such as water, ants or tiny electric components. This technology has been previously restricted to a couple of research labs but now you can make it at your home.

via Afrocultur'Elle:

Graphic Online highlights Spring and Bolts which
....manufactures U-bolts, Leaf Springs, Trailer Suspensions and Bolts & Nuts and mainly exports to the West Africa Sub-Region and also sells on the Ghana market

Founded by Austin Okere founder of CWG:
The Ausso Leadership academy was set up to mentor Entrepreneurs to Institutionalize and Scale their businesses geometrically. We believe that the Ausso Leadership Academy fills a huge vacuum in practicalizing and democratizing entrepreneurship so that differentiation is majorly through intuition, acumen and luck rather than by a lack of basic knowledge of a workable methodology.

Founded by Constance Swaniker:
The Design & Technology Institute (DTI) is a hub for engineering and design practice at Accents & Art Limited (AAL). Formally launched in March 2016, the Institute seeks to provide the platform for students from the various universities, polytechnics, technical and vocational institutions gain industry experience by working closely with artisans on a factory floor and supported by experienced instructors. Students are further exposed to field/site visits to enable them experience first-hand what transpires in industry.

Constance Swaniker covered earlier on Stanford's Profiles of Purpose series :

Titan Metalfab a fabrication company whose products include:
Access Panels
Security Doors
Machined Components
Welded Assemblies
Evidence Lockers
Pistol Lockers
Shower Accessories

Over at Okay Africa:Susy Oludele is the founder of Hair by Susy Salon. Watch her share her story and talk about how she protects her magic.

Africa News reports:

Nigerian entrepreneur Blondie Okpuzor makes what she calls ‘birthday cake soaps’ at her beauty store in Lagos, Nigeria.

She is the founder and chief executive of BathKandy, a cosmetics line that makes food-inspired bath and body products like soaps, scrubs, polishes, scented oils and home fragrances among others.

Blondie’s products are all made by hand and purposed to look and smell like desserts...[more]

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Dessert-Inspired Skincare (@bathkandy) on Aug 15, 2018 at 1:49pm PDT

A BattaBox report on the DIY Space:

Tomi Davies writes:
As DEMO Africa gears up for the final stage of this year’s competition, Africa will once again come on the radar of many early stage investors’. Taking place in Casablanca, Morocco this October, the launchpad event will as in previous years select five winning ventures from the 30 shortlisted to join the Lions@frica Innovation Tour of Silicon Valley as DEMO Ambassadors early in 2019...[more]

PorkMoney is
...a pig farming enterprise in West Africa. By farming pigs, we are able to compensate our financial partners with up to 35% returns. PorkMoney business works like this: we farm pigs till maturation. They are chopped, processed, packaged and sold.

This farming and commerce happen for 11 months. This enables us accrue profits, from which we then compensate partners with 20% - 35% returns on capital.

Over at the Ozy:
...In 2017, India, Bangladesh and Zambia joined a growing number of countries with national policies on fecal sludge. Social enterprises, such as Sanergy in Nairobi and X-Runner in Lima, gather waste from dry, container-based toilets in urban slums before turning it into products like fertilizer, animal feed, compost and biogas. In Durban, public utilities are building decentralized wastewater plants to treat waste close to the source instead of expanding existing sewerage networks...[more]