"A view of Africa and Africans with a focus on entrepreneurship,innovation,technology,practical remedies and other self sustaining activities.".....Emeka Okafor
Business Partners specializes in providing small businesses with risk capital,and at reaching large numbers of small companies. Over the past few years BPI has provided thousands of SMEs with equity, quasi-equity and - crucially - hands-on advice. One of the key products which BPI offers is the so-called "royalty loans" whereby the entrepreneur is provided with a low interest loan, but with a "royalty" payment if it reaches certain targets. This form of risk-sharing is very attractive to small businesses. BPI is one of the few managers in emerging markets to have demonstrated a successful track record in reaching large numbers of SMEs.
Emeka Okafor is an entrepreneur who lives in New York City.He was the director for TED Global 2007 that took place in Arusha, Tanzania and is the TED Africa Director. His interests include sustainable technologies in the developing world and paradigm breaking technologies in general. His blog, Timbuktu Chronicles seeks to spur dialogue in areas of entrepreneurship, technology and the scientific method as it impacts Africa.
"Timbuktu is a city unsullied by the worship of idols...a refuge of scholarly and righteous folk, a haunt of saints and ascetics, and a meeting place of caravans and boats" -Al-Sa'Di
The Brie that ate Sheboygan
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How could I resist something called "Blowing Up Cheese With Nitrous Oxide"?
It's a piece, in Po...
Ghana to Obama
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A few million of Obama’s closest friends are blowing up his mobile… Mr Obama
will answer a number of texts - which will be selected by journalists from
Sen...
Ghana's most irreverent!
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Ato Kwamena Dadzie, a journalist who bills himself as "Ghana's most
irreverent," has a great take on the effort by Alfred Vanderpuije, Accra's
new mayor, ...
The Kazang for Mobile Commerce
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I visited the guys from Psitek this week. They are the inventors of that
trusted voice access device that anyone that ever travelled to Africa would
know a...
Great Quotes to Ponder
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Some great quotes I came across this week:
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us
by what we have already done.
-Henry...
Lake Naivasha to dry faster than anticipated
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The rate at which flower firms around Lake Naivasha is not only putting the
health of people living around it at risk but also threatening the life of
the ...
What would you like to hear about??
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We have been noticing a steady increase in our subscriber base and are
curious to know what types of things you would like us to blog about. What
are you...
Join the Debate: 1:1 vs. Shared Access Computing
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[image: Join the Debate: 1:1 vs. Shared Access Computing]
*Authored by: Mark Beckford*
Infodev and UNESCO have developed a new discussion and debate forum ...
Zain vs MTN? You Decide!
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It's been a while, I know. Have not yet mustered up the courage to write a
piece on VODAFONE's "Red Day", and how deceptive it is. While you wait with
bait...
Zain: Going, Going, Going… to Vivendi?
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BusinessDay reports that French telecoms operator, Vivendi, has won the bid
for African network, Zain. Another re-branding nightmare for Zain Nigeria?
Hist...
Wrestling with Jefferson’s Moose
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Some months back, I had the pleasure of hearing an old friend give a talk at
Harvard Law School. I met David Post a dozen years back, when his research
at ...
RapidResponse, a m-health platform
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RapidResponse is a mHealth platform built on RapidSMS developed for the
Millennium Villages Project with support from the UNICEF Innovation Group.
RapidR...
Has African capitalism failed? (video)
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Is Africa's version of capitalism failing? That is the question many
African's in and outside of the business world continue to ask as many
countries on th...
MJ (The Media Experience) Remembered
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A short essay on the MJ media experience here. Bangkok does a pretty compelling gridlock. Tokyo skips to the rhythm of subways and cyclists. Los Angeles? It ...
CHICHIA LONDON
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The ladieswear brand Chichia London was established in 2007 by London based
designer Christine Mhando. Each of their collections consists of an eclectic
ra...
Fun for kids in Kenya
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During my last trip to Kenya, I realized that next time around I need to do
more fun stuff with the kids instead of just shuttling them around to visit
one...
Simon Mwaura’s Mobile Remote Control Inventions
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Simon has hardwired a way to open and lock his door remotely via his phone,
as well as get tea brewing and other manual and remote tasks. The video
speaks ...
Last 9 days for 2010 TED Prize nominations
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There are nine days left to submit your nomination form for the 2010 TED
Prize. Learn more about what we are looking for here. Then check out the
guideline...
How To Choose A Web Hosting Company
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How To Choose A Web Hosting Company If you are wondering how to choose a web
hosting company, then read this article. There are thousands of web hosting
co...
Six Firms Declare Dividend
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A review of the company news released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange on
Friday 3rd July, 2009 indicates that more companies are resolving to
corporate acti...
A Job Board Aimed at African Devs and Designers
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This week I launched a little side project: JOBS.whiteafrican.com I think of
it as a place to connect freelancers and small teams with gigs and project
wor...
Runway Report Arise Africa Fashion Week 2009
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As the designers ripped the runway for a week of African creativity we
mark the trends on display. Assymetric Dresses A big trend on most of the
catwalks...
The Choice of Cities
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Cities are technological artifacts, the largest technology we make. Their
impact is out of proportion to the number of hu...
$1.2 billion in debts canceled to help Haiti
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Jonathan Katz (AP) via Washington Post Three international organizations
canceled $1.2 billion of Haiti’s debt Tuesday, freeing up millions of
dollars each...
Aqua Port - easy transportation of Water
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From Site
The Aquaport is a modular design that allows the user to attach and detach
different parts of the device depending upon the amount the user can...
If you educate a girl, Part II
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While there are some role models for African women scientists and engineers,
these pioneers need much more visibility and more public acknowledgment of
the...
Evolutionarily ill-adapted.
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Our business leaders need to update their skills in order to effectively
lead their companies in a world that is fundamentally changing at
extraordinary sp...
Economist Magazine monitors XoutTB
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The latest issue of the Economist magazine's Technology Monitor has a
profile of our smart therapeutic compliance system - XoutTB.
A Curious Summer
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We’re big fans of the new summer program for kids by Bryan Welch and Marina
McDougall. Tinkering School gets a lot of requests for other programs nearby
th...
How To Make Sadza Batik - A tutorial
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Here are some simple instructions for the sadza batik technique. Let us know
how your project goes:
*INTRODUCTION*
*A. History of Sadza Batik
*So far we ha...
Bio Degradable Insulation
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A cutting edge Bio degradable Insulation for Construction and other purposes
has appeared in the market.Their website says "...Greensulate™ is an
afforda...
Strange Perspectives on the Welfare State
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Yesterday, the Cato Institute was hosting an event on the Welfare State, so
Claudia and I thought it would be a good opportunity to hear some
alternative v...
MicroFranchise Toolkit available again
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I received a notice today that the MicroFranchise Toolkit, published out of
BYU's Center for Economic Self-Reliance, is available again for purchase
after...
VEDA.com.ng Has Gone Live!
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Just about one hour ago, VEDA Technology launched their homepage which
features the 4 products they’ll be launching tomorrow at the Civic Centre in
Victori...
Nokia and education, part one
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Met some really interesting students who are designing and exploring
education delivery on handheld devices. ‘Project Nokia.Expand aims to create
a learnin...
Spore - Free Online Food Processing Information
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Spore is the monthly publication of CTA, an ACP-EU institution working in
the field of information for development, that focusses on smaller scale
agricult...
Chanel Iman
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According to Wikipedia "...Chanel Iman Robinson (born November 30, 1989),
better known as Chanel Iman, is an American fashion model.Robinson was born
in A...
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1. India -Tanzania trade volume now at $750 million
2. Nigeria bails out its textile industry
3. South Africa in growing trade conflict with EU
4. Time to...
Samasource featured in the Stanford Daily
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A reporter from the Daily discussed Samasource in her piece on the Social E
Challenge Business Plan competition, published on the front page of today’s
pap...
Nairobi: Recycling center overwhelmed
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The Karen Langata District Association (KLDA) runs a bottle bank at the
Langata Link complex where residents of Karen and Langata can drop off empty
glass ...
Botswana's Tourist Trade Roars
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Wide-open skies, teeming wildlife, well-developed infrastructure, and a
stable political scene combine to make Botswana one of Africa’s fastest
growing tou...
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