Timbuktu Chronicles

Seyi Taylor writes:
I wrote down a few thoughts on Facebook's cryptocurrency efforts, and how they might affect their work in developing markets. I welcome all criticism and arguments.

Spend a minute looking at Facebook’s Q1 2019 Report and you’ll find a healthy business firing on all cylinders. In spite of all the negative news on Facebook, it seems to be doing well - profits are up, user numbers are growing and all is well with the world. On deeper examination, one sees the justification for some of Facebook’s recent moves...[more]

Beard & Butter is...


View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Beard&Butter (@beardxbutter) on May 21, 2019 at 12:01pm PDT..."a premium cosmetic brand that focuses primarily on beard grooming and styling."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LaunchX (@launchxed) on Apr 19, 2019 at 8:15am PDT

Our summer program taps into the potential of ambitious high school students, supporting you through the process of launching an actual startup.

Join a highly-curated group of promising young entrepreneurs from around the globe for four intense weeks. You'll learn from industry experts and work in a group of peer co-founders to build real products and solve business challenges in viable ways.

LaunchX isn't a business plan competition - students start real companies. These startups are driven by using the design thinking process to discover innovative opportunities, backed by extensive market research, multiple iterations of prototypes and user testing, and gaining traction through getting real customers and partnerships.

via VentureBurn:
CapeBio Technologies (Founded by Daniel Ndima) develops, manufactures and supplies life science laboratory reagents enzymes sourced from the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots ubiquitous in South Africa

Food for Mzansi reports:
An award-winning dairy farmer in Howick, KwaZulu Natal has changed the lives of hundreds of aspiring young farmers in Mzansi. Through her Future Farmers Foundation she has opened international doors for new entrants to the industry...[more]

From Okay Africa:
This 21-Year-Old Entrepreneur Is Bringing Nigerian Palm Wine Into the Future One Bottle At a Time With her bottled palm wine company "Pamii" Daniella Ekwueme is improving on tradition and filling a void in the Nigerian spirits market.

In 2016, Daniella Ekwueme, the founder of the Nigerian palm wine company Pamii, had a casual thought when looking out at her mother's land in Abuja. "She just had this farmland and she wasn't doing anything with it," she recalls. "So I was like 'Oh, have you ever thought of planting palm trees and getting palm oil or palm wine and boxing it up?"...[more]

Nature reports:
Do-it-yourself projects give researchers the equipment they need at bargain prices. But making your own technology requires commitment and time, and it is rarely easy...[more]

Nature reports:
Do-it-yourself projects give researchers the equipment they need at bargain prices. But making your own technology requires commitment and time, and it is rarely easy...[more]

VentureBurn reports:
The Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi) has announced the names of nine SA and Zimbabwean biotech entrepreneurs that have been selected to take part in BioCiti, a six-month training programme in Cape Town.

The programme, which will run at the Bandwidth Barn, is being run in partnership with SA’s OneBio and The TechVillage from Zimbabwe...[more]The selected companies are:

• CapeBio Technologies 
•  Gourmet Grubb 
•  MyBiome 
• PharmaHealth Technologies
•  Tryad 
• WNNR Biotech 
•  My BluePrint
•  D Chem Group
•  AlphaKymeric

Cloudline leverages lighter-than-air technology and the latest developments in unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver essential goods and services to the 1 billion people without direct access to roads and runways

From Africa Power Platform:
The “Africa Power Access Accelerator” program by the African Power Platform (APP) bridges the existing gap between project developers and consultants / technology providers / financiers.

The APP brings in to this program the efforts of different stakeholders to partner for the successful implementation of power projects in Africa.

Bringing together the expertise of a range of partners, the "Africa Power Access Accelerator" program creates a platform where developers can access everything required to get their project to implementation. From development expertise and funding, equity and debt providers, consultants, technology and equipment providers to full EPC and O&M services, we put viable projects on a success track...[more]

CBC reports:
A Vancouver company is bringing high-nutrient African farm foods to grocery store shelves, while aiming to improve the lives of female farmers and their families in Mali, West Africa.

Food company Farafena (founded by Oumar Barou Togola) works with about 1,000 women from nine different villages in Mali, paying them directly for the crops they grow.

As a result, the African women have been able to start micro-businesses, build homes for their families and educate their children...[more]

LUTCHA is a digital podcasting company that aims to change the African Millennial narrative through digital content. LUTCHA was founded in 2017 and is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Our commitment is to create empowering, engaging & valuable digital content, to build immersive audio experiences for African millennial audiences.

VentureBurn reports:

The Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi) has announced the names of nine SA and Zimbabwean biotech entrepreneurs that have been selected to take part in BioCiti, a six-month training programme in Cape Town.

The programme, which will run at the Bandwidth Barn, is being run in partnership with SA’s OneBio and The TechVillage from Zimbabwe...[more]

From Dominic Kahumbu Wanjihia:

From Trep Labs

REALDRIP, a non-invasive device that prevents thrombosis during drip treatment by continuously monitoring flow rate, volume administered and automating the drip treatment process. REALDRIP eliminates the guesswork in setting IV flow rate and tells the user precisely how fast the fluid is flowing, which allows the healthcare worker to know how much medication the patient is receiving.

This is a lower-cost, simpler solution that maintains the ability to safely administer precision infusion.

A paper by Maria Johansson & Hanna PalmérABSTRACT

This article reports on an educational design research study exploring the potential of combining entrepreneurship and mathematics – two of the key competencies stressed as important in a society of lifelong learning. The aim of the study was to explore what happens when entrepreneurship is integrated into mathematics lessons. Eight Swedish primary schools were involved in the iterative design wherein researchers and teachers together planned, implemented, and evaluated lessons. The results indicate that combining entrepreneurial and mathematical competencies may produce a win-win situation. Entrepreneurial competencies can be of value when students are learning mathematics, and at the same time mathematics teaching can be organised so that students develop both mathematical and entrepreneurial competencies.

How We Made It reports

From the African Management Initiative

via Innovation Village
BreastIT (Kampala, Uganda) is a portable, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered diagnostic tool for breast anomalies such as cancer. The handheld, pocket-sized ultrasound imaging system helps radiologists to make focused assessments and accelerate treatment decisions at the point of care.