Musoni-MicroFinance via cellphone

From the company website:

Musoni was born out of a desire to improve both the quality and accessibility of financial services available to poor Kenyans. Based in Nairobi but planning to expand all over Kenya, Musoni will enable clients to repay their loans and deposit their savings using existing mobile money transfer products, such as M-PESA, Zap and Orange Mobile Money.

Quick Hits

Essa Nyarungunga a software developer finds success-TMCNET
Focus Nanotechnology Africa(FONAI)-A forum to look at nanotechnology and the potential impact for Africa.
Construction in Nigeria to be the worlds fastest growing
Investors Without Borders launches a SME credit rating & Impact Investing Initiative

TEDxEUSTON, continuing the TED Africa conversation

Chikwe Iheakwazu co-founder of Nigeria Health Watch is the lead organizer behind:

TEDxEUSTON which will continue the conversations started at TED GLOBAL in Arusha, Tanzania. Exploring the issues that matter to Africa and Africans.
We will stay true to the spirit of the TED conference, hosting facinating thinkers and doers to:

* Inspire a new generation of people engaging responsibly with Africa
* Bring together people that have found or are seeking innovative approaches
* Forster an environment of sharing and embracing our passion for committment

Building a Spare Parts Business-Catherine Akwir

Catherine Akwir a MYC4 funded spare parts dealer gives an overview of her endeavour:

Oluseyi Olubunmi Taylor-Designer

A finalist in the 2009 creative economy awards Oluseyi Olubunmi Taylor founder of NoAH69 Company was described thus:

Behind the brilliant, tragic-comic parody of the 'support’ available to design from the governments and banks in Nigeria, we recognised a captivating personality whose fearless optimism will take him far."

More here

A Taste of Africa in London

VoxAfrica's Sonia Hawkey presents a fly through of African restaurants in London:

Londoners find themselves looking further afield for a touch of the exotic. Stews bursting with flavour from an assortment of spices, interesting new staples: African cuisine isn't about ‘meat and two veg'!...It is about combinations of flavour and texture, knowing your ingredients inside out and mixing them up into wholesome dishes that make your mouth water, but more importantly, it's about the social aspect of food.

More here

Afrigourmet on 'Leafy Greens'

The site, 'Afrigourmet'"...features both traditional recipes from all over the continent as well as well as the authors unique interpretations. Many of those recipes come from the cook book collection which you can leaf through by clicking on COOKBOOKS..."
From a 'Field of Greens':

When I moved to Nigeria, I discovered a wealth of greens used in everyday foods. Suddenly it became much easier to increase one’s intake of green leafy vegetables. In addition to being good for you, they often were the critical element in bringing together many recipes that would otherwise simply be a mixture of boiled meat with a splash of palm oil.
I describe below three of my favorites (until I discover more):

More here

Africa take notice 'Tinkering Makes Comeback Amid Crisis'

The re-emergence of tinkering and making within the US should be food-for-thought for those within Africa pondering innovation ignition methodologies. The recently held Maker Faire Africa sought to tap into those very important existing undercurrents that exist within our societies. With regard to a developed economy the WSJ reports:

Engineering schools across the country report students are showing an enthusiasm for hands-on work that hasn't been seen in years. Workshops for people to share tools and ideas -- called "hackerspaces" -- are popping up all over the country; there are 124 hackerspaces in the U.S., according to a member-run group that keeps track, up from a handful at the start of last year. SparkFun Electronics Inc., which sells electronic parts to tinkerers, expects sales of about $10 million this year, up from $6 million in 2008. "Make" magazine, with articles on building items such as solar hot tubs and autopilots for robots, has grown from 22,000 subscribers in 2005 to more than 100,000 now. Its annual "Maker Faire" in San Mateo, Calif., attracted 75,000 people this year.

More here (reg reqd)
Photo courtesy of Justin Lahar WSJ

Engineering Ideas introduces the Open Source Freerunner phone

Engineering Ideas is a company which "...aims to take a leadership role in the development of small to medium African businesses through the use of innovative web, mobile and desktop applications..." Their products include "TradeBlack an online trading platform" and Tiddr an event promotion application. The company recently introduced the Openmoko smartphone-Freerunner a device "...with an open source software stack.Its technology allows the users to freely choose to run any operating system..."

Shea Radiance

Ladybrille profiles Funlayo Alabi co-founder of Shea Radiance, in an interview she states:

Once we began formulating our products and sharing them with friends and family, it became evident that there was a market for effective natural based moisturizers. We did some additional research and felt there was a need for luxury natural and organic products based primarily on the functions of shea butter. A lot of the large companies are begining to incorporate shea butter in their products, but use a very insignificant amount and they use refined shea butter. We wanted our products to be rich in unrefined shea butter so the customer would feel the immediate benefits to their skin.

More here

Bijagós Guinea-Bissau

The NYTimes reports on a largely unspoiled tourist destination:

The Bijagós, with their rich, abundant and untroubled flora and fauna, are classified a United Nations World Heritage Biosphere Reserve: apart from the remarkable hippos, there are 155 species of fish, making the islands a premier though rarely frequented destination for adventurous sport fishermen; and there are dolphins, manatees, crocodiles, monkeys and striped antelopes. Of the world’s eight species of tortoise, the World Heritage Center says, five are found there.

More here
photo courtesy of the NYTimes

Juju Films

From the website:

Juju Film's vision is a result of our passion in film, music, quality delivery and meeting the needs to provide an outlet for uniquely talented artists. As a global recording and multimedia venture we offer a broad array of local and international artists, as well as an impressive catalog of documentaries, short films, and rare footage. In all areas of our services our audience receive an additional benefit of gaining insight into socioeconomic and cultural awareness in Africa and its Diaspora.

Mofaya-A musical

In Haiya, Eric Wainaina’s traveling musical Mofaya:

...is based on a ghetto story. The musical play which was showcased in New York City during the New York Musical Theatre Festival, run for almost two weeks featuring singers Valerie Kimani, Dan Aceda, Joshua Mwai, actress Mumbi Kaigwa and actor Peter King among others.

HT Ory!

Solution for Nairobi(or Lagos) Blackouts

In Afrigadget:

I love my juakali lamp and everyone that I know in Nairobi needs one of these lamps. Everything about it is so true to the juakali spirit – hand crafted using colourful recycled tins, and designed for a real purpose with a handle so you can move it around from room to room or hang it up.

More here

Health Tourism opens up-Holy Trinity Spa & Health Farm

Gadling reports:

...health tourism involves more than recharging your batteries on some serene beach. It's a chance to get medical treatment while getting away from it all. One place to do that in Ghana is the Holy Trinity Spa & Health Farm. Set along the Volta River, it's a cross between a resort hotel, ranch, and hospital, where you can take a dip in the pool, ride horses across African countryside, and have a physiotherapy session all in one day.

More here

PesaPal

Hash on PesaPal:

Start local, then Africa, then the world. That’s the mantra app developers in Africa should be repeating to themselves as they build their game changing tools. That’s what Agosta Liko and his team at Verviant are doing with their new web and mobile payment platform: PesaPal...PesaPal is an eCommerce platform focused on Kenya. It’s built to work seamlessly with Kenya’s main mobile payment services; Zain’s Zap with approximately 300,000 users and Safaricom’s MPesa with around 2 million users.

More here

Related articles by Zemanta

• The truth about mobile banking in Africa (guardian.co.uk)
• 'Laptop Ni Lazima'-Laptop Financing (timbuktuchronicles.blogspot.com)

Enugu Golf City

NIDF points us to an impending development in Southeastern Nigeria-Enugu Golf City:

The development team has been able to start with a clean slate and design a fully self-contained community in Nigeria, that seamlessly integrates luxury living with industrial and commercial activities within a conserved natural habitat that retains the indigenous flora and fauna in an ecstatic marriage of man and nature.

More here

Exotix

From their site:

Exotix is a frontier market investment banking boutique specialising in illiquid bonds and loans, equities, structured finance, asset management and capital raising.
Exotix’s core competences are a specialist understanding of illiquid, distressed or undervalued debt and equity, skills in raising structured finance or capital and alternative investments.

Madecasse Chocolate

Jill Santopietro of the NYTimes profiles Madecasse, a chocolate company:

These days my favorite chocolate isn’t U.S.D.A. organic certified and it’s not Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance stamped. It’s Madécasse, made from cacao grown in Madagascar’s naturally organic forests. It’s traded fairly and is environmentally friendly. Best of all, the new Madécasse 63% and 70% chocolate tastes so good — a refreshing anomaly in a sea of astringent bitter chocolates with trendy (and often misleading) labels.

More here

Gahaya Links

In Bacher's Blog:

Joy Ndungutse and Janet Nkubana are Rwandan women who were born in a refugee camp in Uganda. In 2003 they started a business assisting women to manufacture their own goods and sell them internationally. They began with six women working under a tree. Their task was to weave baskets of a quality that would stand the scrutiny of the international market...From that small group, the cooperative called Gahaya Links (after Janet and Joy’s grandfather), has grown to over 3,000 women! In one week, an average woman can make a set of three bowls, or two small friendship baskets.

More here

Chembe Ventures

Chembe Ventures:

...provides seed capital to mobile application developers, social media start-ups and web ventures in East and Southern Africa...its focus is on pre-revenue mobile value added services, digital payment solutions and emerging local social media web ventures.

'Kilonshele' - “what’s going on”?

LoyOkezie reports:

Kilonshele is a new e-commerce site that provides ticket sales, marketing and distribution services as well as connects the world to live entertainment events in Nigeria by providing up-to-date information on live events and giving fans opportunity to buy tickets conveniently.
The word “Kilonshele” (pronounced – kee-lone-sheh-leh) is a Yoruba word meaning “what’s happening?” or “what’s going on”?

More here

I.B.Bayo

From their website:

Featuring one of a kind handmade wearable art and home decor designed by I.B.Bayo. He uses appliqué and quilting techniques with African fabrics hand woven, dyed, and embroidered by his family in Osogbo, Nigeria.

Quick Hits

NPR reports on Jekaben a board game that posits a United States Of Africa.
IBM opens an innovation centre in Lagos.
Foglamp provides "...research service for overseas investors focused on governance, transparency and regulatory dynamics..."
African banks spread their wings-Africa report.

'Laptop Ni Lazima'-Laptop Financing

Bankelele reports on a Laptop financing initiative:

A new promotion dubbed laptop ni lazima [Swahili for a laptop (computer) is a must] brings together two corporate titans of Kenya – Safaricom and Equity bank. The former is the dominant mobile phone company in Kenya, while the latter is Kenya’s fastest growing bank for the last 5 years, albeit at a slowing pace. Equity Bank has a history of financing some unusual loans ...

More here

Related articles by Zemanta

• Kelele African Bloggers Conference 2009 Postponed (socialmediatoday.com)
• Kenyans to buy air, bus tickets through M-pesa (textually.org)
• UK to Kenya Mobile Money Transfer - M-PESA to Safaricom (pindebit.blogspot.com)

Another "Lost Crop" found-Tigernuts

More on indigenous 'lost crops', this one I remember having while growing up. Betumi Blog reports:

There is a grass-like sedge, cyperus esculentus, from ancient Egypt, whose nut-like fruit, actually the root, grows underground like a peanut (or groundnut) and that is known in Ghana as tigernut, and in Mexico and Spain as chufa (where they are used to make a drink called horchata (or orxata) chufa . Apparently, the Arabs took the sedge from Egypt to Spain between the 8th and 13th centuries, especially to Valencia. The Spanish took it to Mexico.

More here

HBD Venture Capital

From their site:

HBD Venture Capital is a Cape Town based venture capital firm founded and wholly funded by African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth’s objective, when starting HBD in 2000, was to reinvest a portion of the funds received from the sale of his company, Thawte, into South African companies. This objective was driven by his belief that entrepreneurs in South Africa have the potential to start businesses with global impact.

We need more innovators like Mr Shuttleworth to do the same. Sustainable Venture Capital ecosystems have largely been built by those who were once successful entrepreneurs themselves.

A Versatile Legume-The Cowpea

The base ingredient in dishes ranging from Akara to Moi-Moi, the IITA profiles the Cowpea:

Is a grain legume grown mainly in the savanna regions of the tropics and subtropics in Africa, Asia, and South America. The value of cowpea lies in its high protein content, and ability to tolerate drought. As a legume, cowpea also fixes atmospheric nitrogen, allowing it to grow on, and improve poor soils. All the parts of cowpea that are used for food are nutritious, providing protein, vitamins, and minerals. Cowpea grain contains about 25% protein, making it extremely valuable where many people cannot afford protein foods such as meat and fish.

More here

Multifacetted Bamboo

Spore reports:

With a tensile strength even greater than that of steel, coupled with an extremely light weight, bamboo is well-suited to a vast range of purposes. New technologies have developed bamboo as a strong and attractive construction material for entire buildings. Bamboo houses in Rarotonga, South Pacific stood up to hurricanes with winds up to 275 kph. Bamboo flooring can be made of pieces that have been steamed, flattened, glued together, finished, and cut. In the Caribbean, especially Suriname and Guyana, it is widely used for furniture production. More recently, bamboo has gained popularity as a product for making textiles. Bamboo fibre makes clothes with excellent wicking qualities, UV protection and odour absorption, making it ideal for the booming fitness sector. Tests show the fibre kills 98% of bacteria, so the fibre is especially suitable for socks.


More here
photo courtesy of Cempaka Nature

Spot One Global

From their website:

Spot One Global founded by Mariéme Jamme specialises in helping technology companies in Africa, Europe and America to develop their business, enter new markets, find partners in new territories and win new profitable business...we focus on technology markets. This gives us the vital knowledge to really accelerate your growth and take you into new territories.