Timbuktu Chronicles

From Design Indaba:

...what if people living in townships were empowered to take the creation of service delivery into their own hands? Design student and antenna Conference speaker Nicole Moyo’s project, Ukubutha speculates as to how this could be achieved...[more]

Wandie Kazeem in conversation with Toyin Onigbanjo, CEO of Augustsecrets.
...An innovative baby food company that uses indigenous food crops to create a variety of affordable food products aimed at solving malnutrition issues affecting children. They provide all the necessary micronutrients needed for a balanced meal to help a child’s brain development and growth.

From Wandiville:
Wandie Kazeem interviewing Tayo Ilori, Managing Director of LATC Agro. An agriculture firm in Dobi Gwagwalada, with over 250 hectares of farmland, 2.25 Ha of greenhouse and 10Ha of open field delivering premium agricultural produce to major outlets and different customers.

Wandie Kazeem interviewing Kolawole Adeniji, founder of Niji Farms. An agricultural company with the largest cassava farm in Nigeria. They operate in the whole Cassava value chain, from farming to different Cassava end products. Adeniji talks about community driven development (CDD) approach to empower communities. He also talks about demand-driven agricultural production. In this interview, Adeniji discusses business approach to agriculture. He shares insight on how to successfully establish a farm.

Headstartafrica - The School of Business & Personal Development for Africans by Africans

Building the Gel Electrophoresis Chamber

To start this science project, you will first need to build your gel electrophoresis chamber. The plastic box will be the actual gel chamber, the stainless steel wire will be the electrodes, the batteries will be the power source, and you'll use the Styrofoam to make a comb for creating wells in your gel...[more]

Building the Gel Electrophoresis Chamber

To start this science project, you will first need to build your gel electrophoresis chamber. The plastic box will be the actual gel chamber, the stainless steel wire will be the electrodes, the batteries will be the power source, and you'll use the Styrofoam to make a comb for creating wells in your gel...[more]

Building the Gel Electrophoresis Chamber

To start this science project, you will first need to build your gel electrophoresis chamber. The plastic box will be the actual gel chamber, the stainless steel wire will be the electrodes, the batteries will be the power source, and you'll use the Styrofoam to make a comb for creating wells in your gel...[more]

Building the Gel Electrophoresis Chamber

To start this science project, you will first need to build your gel electrophoresis chamber. The plastic box will be the actual gel chamber, the stainless steel wire will be the electrodes, the batteries will be the power source, and you'll use the Styrofoam to make a comb for creating wells in your gel...[more]

Building the Gel Electrophoresis Chamber

To start this science project, you will first need to build your gel electrophoresis chamber. The plastic box will be the actual gel chamber, the stainless steel wire will be the electrodes, the batteries will be the power source, and you'll use the Styrofoam to make a comb for creating wells in your gel...[more]

Building the Gel Electrophoresis Chamber

To start this science project, you will first need to build your gel electrophoresis chamber. The plastic box will be the actual gel chamber, the stainless steel wire will be the electrodes, the batteries will be the power source, and you'll use the Styrofoam to make a comb for creating wells in your gel...[more]

From Gearbox:
There is a booming informal sector in Kenya of small-scale traders, craftspeople, and entrepreneurs. A large percentage is known as “Juakali” (“in the hot sun”) because they work by the roadside, sometimes with shelter, sometimes not. Supremely adaptable, whatever you want made, copied, or created, the Kenyan informal business sector can provide it—and fast.

In a recent survey, the Juakali sector employs more than 14 million people translating to an 83.4 percent total jobs in the country and contributes 34.3 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).Making it one of the most intense sectors in the Kenyan economy.

As other countries move to adopt more advanced technologies to enhance their productivity, Kenyan artisans remain trapped in the Stone-Age applications, consequently hindering their growth and that of the economy. However ,Gearbox seeks to promote the creation of inclusive manufacturing opportunity for Kenyans by providing modern technology resources and training to curb this problem.

Gearbox’s approach is also decidedly future-facing, meaning that the technologies and methodologies it avails are consistent with the 4th industrial revolution. Gearbox also goes further to ensure that the assistance provided is end-to-end by partnering with others who complement their work. The African Innovation Ecosystems Group (AfricaIEG) is a business resource network that brings together various parties interested in proactively designing, developing and deploying new innovation ecosystems across Africa to create a pipeline of investment-ready, technology driven businesses...[more]

Should you go to graduate school?

If so, why?

If not, what are your alternatives?

Millions of young adults across the globe — and their parents and mentors — find themselves asking these questions every year.

Earlier this month, I explored how exponential technologies are rising to meet the needs of the rapidly changing workforce.

In this blog, I’ll dive into a highly effective way to build the business acumen and skills needed to make the most significant impact in these exponential times.

To start, let’s dive into the value of graduate school versus apprenticeship — especially during this time of extraordinarily rapid growth, and the micro-diversification of careers...[more]

Mamamoni is a Fintech Social Enterprise that is closing the credit gap for low-income female entrepreneurs in rural and urban slum communities in Nigeria through instant Mobile Loans.

Wee Tracker reports:
There’s a fast-rising tech company that is building high-tech drones from start to finish in their own backyard and there’s a certain 26-year-old that is making all of it happen.

And interestingly, the said individual cannot exactly tether his expertise and the success he has so far achieved to some sort of deep-rooted background in IT and Robotics.

That individual is William Elong who calls the shots at Will & Brothers; a company he founded in his home country, Cameroon, back in 2014 and dragged by the bootstraps to its current position as one of the continent’s foremost, indigenous drone-producing company.

Will & Brothers prides itself as a pioneer in Africa’s nascent drone-making segment. Through its flagship project, DroneAfrica, the startup is known to churn out a number of smart technology-driven Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from its sixth-floor workshop in downtown Douala, just a couple of minutes away from the Atlantic seafront that is a key feature of Cameroon’s economic capital...[more]

With the advent of Blockstream Satellite and widely broadcasted, passively-receivable Bitcoin data, a new era of Bitcoin adoption can occur. Areas without access to fast broadband connections can now trustlessly verify Bitcoin blocks and transactions, and receive BTC discreetly with common cheap hardware. With the Satellite API, those same areas can now receive arbitrary data — current market data, private messages, and data from exciting new use cases not thought of yet. All free. The broadcasts are free and the software is free with code available for auditing and improvement by the community...[more]

54gene describes itself as Africa's first online consumer genetics platform providing reports in Health, Fitness & Weight Loss, Ancestry and more

From Kumatoo:
Made in Congo Flight Simulator by Congolese Dany Pepa and Ilithe Ongagnia, two professional pilots.

Exporting opportunities for Africa food products? Food for Mzansi profiles founder of Eden Blessing House a restaurant in Beijing China:
...Gilanda being from DRC and his girlfriend from Tanzania, his restaurant mainly serves Central and Eastern African foods. “My goal is to expand my menu to an all-African menu, which will cater for people from all 54 African countries,” he promises...Gilanda smiles and says: “The Chinese are getting addicted to African dishes. They are surprised that we use the same vegetables, but with different flavours. They just love it!”

Beijing residents seem to love Cassa Leaf, a popular West African dish. What do the Chinese commonly order? Cassa Leaf, an original Liberian dish. Cassava leaves are the main ingredient of this popular dish, also known as Saka Saka and Pondo in other African countries. Liberians are quick to point out that the dish is specifically known as Cassa Leaf (and not “leaves”), based on the Liberian pronunciation...[more]

Spore reports:
Farmers in Nigeria are accessing soil data in real-time to better manage their crop growth and access financing that was previously out of reach. Zenvus, a precision farming company, has created electronic sensors with in-built GPS, which are placed in the soil to measure pH, nutrient content, moisture level and temperature. The data collected from different farms is aggregated and analysed according to location, and the appropriate advice is then provided to farmers via a ‘SmartFarm’ web and mobile app. Using this data, farmers are able, for instance, to apply the correct fertiliser and optimally irrigate their farms, leading to enhanced farm operations, reduced input waste, and improved productivity...[more]