Hard to believe that this month it has been 5 years since I visited Africa for the first time. I volunteered for a span of two months setting up solar-powered satellite Internet stations in South Sudan. These stations were to be used by local NGO’s, government, schools, etc for communication and educational purposes. Over the [...]
Archive for the ‘Africa’ Category
Rant: Why I believe African tech needs an ombudsman
First, what in the world is an ombudsman? By traditional definition, an ombudsman is a person who attempts to hear out complaints between two entities and investigates whether or not there is a case to be heard. Many newspapers (remember those?) have an ombudsman that receives letters to the editor that are usually submitted by [...]
6/10/2010 Update
The glorious nature of a blog is that you can write whenever and whatever you want. However, that comes with its fair share of consequences. You cannot expect to gain a “following” if you don’t blog often and frequent. But, then again, maybe that’s not your intention of blogging in the first place. My intention [...]
What of the elections currently underway in Sudan?
Having kept my thumb on the political pulse of Sudan since the days of the admirable John Garang, yes, I’m keeping an eye on the elections currently underway. My thoughts? Well, considering that these are the first multi-party elections to happen in Sudan in nearly 24 years, I’m more surprised by how many people are [...]
African Centre for Mobile Financial Inclusion gearing up for launch
Since late 2009 I have been working with an international group of ambitious mobile technology professionals in areas ranging from mobile banking to microfinance. We are banding together to form an organization called “African Centre for Mobile Financial Inclusion”. Our official launch is coming in May 2010, with our founder, Emmanuel Okoegwale from Nigeria, leading [...]
How to get started in Africa: Lessons for the everyday person
This post has been needed for quite some time, but now I’m finally getting around to writing it. I started writing thinking that I would have a few tips here and there to offer, but now I’m finding out that it’s becoming this colossal blog post of epic proportions full of life lessons I’ve learned [...]
Are you a programmer? The Kasumi Project needs your help
The Kamusi Project has been an online living and breathing Swahili dictionary for some time now. I have used it numerous times myself. The project is a collaboration of two organizations, the Kamusi Project International (KPI) and Kamusi Project USA (KPUSA), “dedicated to the creation of dictionary and learning resources for African languages.” Lately, the [...]
Have you heard? Tech incubators growing in Africa
In case you haven’t heard, tech is growing across the continent of Africa. And, no, not just the typical innovation hubs of South Africa and Nigeria. Tech is spreading all over the place to varying degrees, the latest being the new iHub in Nairobi that opens this week. Computerworld starts the conversation: “Availability of affordable [...]
Ecological innovation coming from Factor e Farm = Concepts applicable to Africa
I recently discovered the website of Factor e Farm, which started out as a 30-acre soybean field in rural Missouri and is now a bubbling source of ecological innovation. What makes Factor e Farm so unique is that they are completely self-sustaining in every regard, from energy production to drinking water. This project is truly [...]
Hey London, your books are needed for Sudan
As reported by Roving Bandit, one of my favorite bloggers from Sudan: “This looks like a great project. There is a container at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London waiting to be filled with academic books for Juba University. Get down there if you have any and you are based in London; [...]
