Devils Claw's Medicinal Properties

Innovation Africa reports:

Deep in Africa’s Kalahari Desert lies the “Devil’s claw,” a plant that may hold the key to effective treatments for arthritis, tendonitis and other illnesses that affect millions each year. Unfortunately, years of drought have pushed the Devil’s claw toward extinction, so scientists are scrambling to devise new ways to produce the valuable medicinal chemicals of the Devil’s claw and other rare plants.

More here

Flavored Cooking Oils

An opportunity if there ever was one...think palm oil equivalents of Extra Virgin Olive oil etc. Fran Osseo Asare of Betumi Blog outlines some recipes:

Flavored oils are used in Ghana as a condiment that can be drizzled over starches, stews or cooked cowpeas. It is similar to the way Fulbe cattle herders in Mauritania, Mali, and Northern Senegal use the oil butter nebam sirme...[continue reading]

Quick Hits

Limangeni Alex Mankhambo receives 'Scientist of the Year Award'-Scidev
Sbts an information technology service provider.
Nile Capital readies Africa focused funds
Gapbridge Investment aims to "bridge" the "Gap" between the lower end and middle layer's of the economy."
A list of INFRACO's infrastructure projects in Africa.
Anabel Mobile a mobile communications device supplier

Kasahorow, the many tongues of Africa

In 233tech:

Kasahorow is a project spearheaded by a  Suuch Solutions to bring Africa’s languages alive. Kasahorow brings together editors and contributors from all over Africa to help create dictionaries for African languages...a commercial project, several of its end products are open source...several works from the Kasahorow project available for free download from  Google Books...(continue reading)

Engineering a better life for all

From the BIF, AIDG's Cat Laine talks about :

...how we might help communities rich in human capital, but poor in resources and infrastructure, with cleverly engineered solutions.

via TED's 'Best of the Web'

Deciphering Okra & Other Plants

Biodiversity brings to our attention the work of researchers in fields ranging from plant genetics to ethnobotany.Olagorite Adetula is presently working on screening"...500 samples of okra to assess the amount of genetic variability..." for purposes of improving disease resistance. Award winning Maryam Imbumi plans "...to pursue further research work on nutrients of the African leafy vegetables..."In addition Eunice Githae is taking a look "...at the genetic diversity inherent in Acacia senegal, the source of gum Arabic..."While Judith Nantongo has begun"...to investigate strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of Prunus africana...This tree has been much in the news because its bark contains compounds that are effective against enlarged prostate..."
Image of Maryam Imbumi courtesy Lucy Kariuki

BurkinaLait

Spore profiles the micro-dairy business and highlights a succeesful example, Burkinalait:

...As for processing, several examples of 'mini-dairies' developed in West Africa show promising results. The most successful are those located close to dairy production units. Burkina Faso's National Union of Mini Dairies has launched its own label 'BurkinaLait' and now has 23 mini-dairies as well as producers countrywide. It exercises quality controls on both producers and processors.

More here

EdoBotanics and Bitterleaf

Founded by Ernest B. Izevbigie, EdoBotanics phytoceutical and nutraceutical products include derivatives of the Bitter Leaf plant which in some cases suppressed certain cancers.ML reports:

"This plant is called Vernonia Amygdalina," Izevbigie said."When I was growing up in Nigeria my grandmother would use some of this herb for everything from stomach pains to headaches, but up until now no-one was able to show the mechanism for action or how this herb works.But, using the scientific method, we proved that the plant's extract can slow cancer growth and even kill cancer cells."
Izevbigie, who began working with the plant in 2000, exposed a very diluted amount of the plant's extract to an MCF-7 breast cancer cell and marveled at the cell's reaction.
"It's a biphasic effect," Izevbigie said."At very low concentration you retard the growth of the cancer cell.That, in itself, is significant.But if you add a little more, even a moderate amount, it completely killed it."

Yemi Awosile - Textile Designer

Real Cork writes about designer Yemi Awosile, "...The heart of her work explores material identity and traditional materials with social significance and strong links to the environment..." In an interview she answers a question on her path to using cork:

...Before I discovered cork, I worked with hard leathers. I’m interested in sustainability and natural materials. Three years ago, I came across a cork in a materials library. Someone had mentioned that it was sustainable but my knowledge was very limited. I only associated cork with wine stoppers and notice boards. After some research, I would definitely work with cork.

More here
via Yayemarieba

Maryam Kontagora-Computer Scientist

RGU News reports on Maryam Kontagora's parallel computing work:

Using the spare cycles of the computers at the University, Maryam ran a myriad of concurrent MapReduce jobs to simulate hundreds of users searching and sorting on Google at the same time, ultimately improving the results of these searches....Her work describes how to improve benchmarks of the search engine’s MapReduce environment on multiple virtual machines. Thousands of MapReduce jobs are executed on Google's clusters every day...

Via Loy Okezie

Gozi Fashion

Uchenna Ezenna in 234Next profiles Ngozi "Gozi" Ochonogor, founder of Gozi Fashion:

Like her role model, Balenciaga, Gozi's designs are primarily focused on her pattern construction coupled with her love for the arts. Having worked and studied under some celebrated contemporary artists in London like Richard Billingham and Mark Wallinger, Ngozi launched her fashion label "Gozi". "I am inspired by art, especially Picasso, having worked in an art gallery. I am also inspired by architecture. Whenever I travel, I try to pick up souvenirs of where I have been to create my own world and culture."

More here

Ameenah Gurib Fakim-Cataloguing Traditional Plants

Yayemarieba reports on Ameenah Gurib Fakim's "...work which centers around the medicinal and pharmacological properties of local Mauritius plants...In fact with her team counted 50 000 medicinal plants on her island, they also spoke to the elders of the island who knew and shared some of the secrets of these plants..."Ameenah discusses her research in a recent interview.Watch related interview(Fr) below

Ny Tanintsika-Wild Silk

Full Circle Trade profiles Ny Tanintsika:

Wild silk is an ancient handicraft, playing an important role in Malagasy culture. Before the advent of other textiles and sources of silk, native silk was used as burial shrouds as well as for clothing, scarves and wraps. However, in recent years unsustainable wild silk cocoon harvest practices and widespread conversion of tapia woodlands to subsistence agriculture have placed the tapia woodlands and their rich biodiversity at grave risk.
Working with Ny Tanintsika, villagers are planting tapia trees in plantations, improving protection of the tapia forests, and are revitalizing the traditional silk industry.

More here
Photo courtesy of Feedback Madagascar

GeoQinetiq

Founded by Jerome Okolo GeoQinetiq provides "...geophysical, geospatial and logistics..." solutions, its products include:
-Satellite imagery
-Geospatial products
-Geodetic services
Recent projects include Real-Time GPS for Lagos state.

'Live Mechanics' A fashion company

Osa Odiase founder of Live Mechanics discusses the company's growth etc:

One To Watch: Live Mechanics Interview with SoJonesTV from SoJones.com.

One of our favorite 2009 apparel collections seen at MAGIC last month was Live Mechanics. As we watched LM’s charismatic frontman and owner Osa Odiase run us through his 2009 spring and fall collections, it was hard not to catch the designer’s infectious enthusiasm. Osa gives the impression that Live Mechanics is much more than [...]

Read related interview:

...We started Live Mechanics in 1999. I am originally by way of Nigeria and I have been in America for over 20 years.
Bossip: Where did you guys start?
LM: Well, we are not your average clothing company. We started on the underground London street scene, Melrose stores, and spots like that. We just grinded for 10 years with an ultimate vision.

More here

TED2010 Fellows Announced!

From the TED website:

Meet the TED2010 Fellows...The TED2010 Fellows will join the TED community in Long Beach for a Fellows pre-conference and for TED2010: "What the World Needs Now."

they include...

Mubarak Abdullahi (Nigeria/UK) - Aircraft engineer who, at 24, built a homemade helicopter out of old car and bike parts
Hugo Van Vuuren (South Africa/US) - Co-founder of Lebone, a social enterprise working on off-grid technologies and the promotion of dirt-powered batteries
Ndubuisi Ekekwe (Nigeria/US) - Scientist and founder of the African Institution of Technology, an organization seeking to establish integrated chip design and manufacturing facilities across the African continent

Sam Kodo-Robot Enthusiast

MSNBC's Dara Brown reports on student 'Maker' robotocist Sam Kodo:

via Grandiose Parlor

HCI - Sustainable Real Estate Developers

The BBC profiles founders Tunji Abdul and Kabir Audu of the HCI group:

They're real estate developers, building modern homes - and the first sustainable skyscraper in Lagos.It will harvest its own rainwater and be powered by solar energy."We want our architecture to shape the way people feel about their space, their community," says Tunji."Great buildings, inspirational buildings, don't just have to be in the UK or the US.

"

M'Baye Ousmane-Designer

'Maker' M'Baye Ousmane in his own words:

I create furniture made of barrels and galvanised iron. Selfmade man, I think design is freedom, a "do what you want" way to express my dreams and my hopes.

via Yayemarieba

Veda Computers

A computer hardware manufacturing startup, Veda led by Bode Pedro:

"...aims to assemble up to 500 units of hardware a day...their products include a 14 inches notebook, 12 inches notebook as well as desktop and laptop computers of various colours including white, black, blue, yellow and pink to match different customers’ taste and fancy..."

Sourced from StartupsNigeria

Anupam Mishra on Traditional Water Harvesting

At TEDIndia Anupam Mishra discusses traditional water harvesting:

Kere Architecture

Francis Kere's Kere Architecture draws its inspiration from his earlier'Bricks for School' project.The firms focus is:

...housing and urban development, strategies of climatically advantageous building, sustainable utilization of materials, integration of local labour force, and local construction techniques.

Finesse Diamonds and adding value

Alex Twersky of Finesse Diamond Company outlines the challenges and benefits of manufacturing finished stones in Namibia, where ninety percent of their globally sourced stones are cut.Regarding the beneficiation strategy he stated:

The biggest thing to be aware of is it is going to take a lot longer than you think it will, even if you have the best people working on it, to make beneficiation work. There are so many obstacles—to manage it and oversee production in a place with no history of it—it keeps the operation not as competitive globally and that takes a lot timeStill, that’s where the future is, and in some ways, it will create more balance and equity of wealth distribution in Africa, which has contributed much to our diamond industry.

More here
Photo courtesy of Fair Trade Jewelry

Training SME Bankers-Africa SME Finance Academy

We need more of these!The"...SME Finance Academy focuses on quality strategic and technical knowledge and skills for SME bankers and financiers..." they hope to "...address the financial needs of the growing number of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), financial organizations are focusing on offering products tailored for these enterprises. To succeed in building a viable SME lending business, and to stay ahead of competition, there is need to enhance the capacity of individuals working in these institutions to maximize on SME financing and lending activities..."

Lets Use Indigenous Ornamental Plants!

Emmanuel Obot (Nigerian Conservation Foundation) in Farafina contends that local plants are better suited to the indigenous environment:

In 1906, significant shipping activities were underway in coastal Nigeria following the introduction of palm oil into the international commodity market. Authorities were convinced that this heightened activity would lead to coastal erosion. To forestall this, the authorities introduced the Nypa Palm (Nypa fruticans) from the Singapore Botanic Gardens to the Calabar and Oron regions between 1906 and 1912, purportedly to stabilize the shoreline and prevent erosion. At present, this horizontal growing Gregarious Palm has become invasive, actively displacing the indigenous mangrove species in both urban and rural waterways especially in Calabar, Oron, Port Harcourt and Warri.

The native mangrove is more diverse: made up of a mosaic of woody plants, palms, shrubs and attractive herbs such as Aframomum sp. and Vanilla africana (the source of the delectable vanilla essence used in ice creams and cakes). These plants also support diverse fauna which sustain the human populations living around them and the food base of the complex food web of the marine organisms including valuable estuarine and near shore fisheries. The beauty of these native wildflowers is breathtaking; Nypa stands, on the other hand, are sterile.

More here
Photos courtesy of Farafina

Snail Pies

EurekaAlert reports on food developments in the mini-livestock arena:

...Ukpong Udofia(a nutritionist) and her research team baked pies of both varieties and asked young mothers and their children to try the tasty meal. Most of them preferred the taste and texture of the pies baked with the snail Archachatina marginata to those made with beef. The kids and their mothers judged the snail pies to have a better appearance, texture, and flavor.

More here
via Treehugger
Photo courtesy of Treehugger

Technology for Tomorrow

From T4T, a platform for distributing locally designed products:

T4T products are designed to promote health and safety for urban as well as rural areas in Africa. It has people dedicated to ensuring proper and sustainable application of the Appropriate Technologies...Many of the products work with the culture and behaviors of the people which allows the technologies to be easily assimilated into communities.

Image:MAK IV incinerator

Re-Embracing Thatch as a Roofing material

From Archiafrika a paper(pdf) by Rexford Assasie Oppong which highlights Thatch, a construction material whose benefits include"...its availability, unique climate modification capability and generally inherent high economic potentials of replenishability, natural and eco-friendliness..."

Djorwe Temoa-Software Developer

27months interviews software developer Djorwe Temoa:

BZ: Describe for me what it’s like working as a software entrepreneur in Maroua. Are there others like you?
DT: I work from home. I can say, I don’t know anyone else in Maroua making mobile applications. As for the environment, it’s very hot—especially in March and April. So the best time for me to work is during the night. The good thing is it’s calm, so there’s no distractions. For an internet connection I use Camtel 128k ADSL, but it can go down for 1-2 days at times.

More here
Via Pambazuka
photo courtesy of 27months

Amanne Jewelry

A jewelry design company "...The Amanne Collection features 12 symbols. These 12 symbols comment on African history and culture and reflect faith, nature and society. We have recently added Coptic style crosses from Ethiopia. These crosses are an African style interpretation of the traditional cross. They are stylish and a beautiful conversation piece..."

Afri-Pads

Afri-Pads objective "... is to produce and distribute low-cost, washable menstrual pads to schoolgirls in rural Uganda. By providing girls with an affordable sanitary product, we aim to empower girls with the confidence to stay in school school during their monthly period..."
via Naijablog