Acada Magazine

234Next interviews Biodun Caston-Dada founder of Acada magazine:

"I decided to start Acada because of my passion for publishing and educative cum entertaining magazines," he says. "I raised the initial capital we used in starting the magazine through other businesses that I do and also through family and friends' donations who I spoke with when starting up and that believed in the project. It's a passion thing. You know if you are passionate about something, it keeps bothering you until you give it a shot."

...His passion has paid off. There is hardly a major campus in the country today where Acada hasn't reached: if not with the magazine's circulation, then at least with the ubiquitous stickers, carrier bags and T-shirts. The magazine also circulates in schools with strong Nigerian communities in Ghana and the Republic of Benin.

Super Vegetable Gardens

The VOA reports on a JTS Semences project(pdf) that also has presence in Niger:

Seventy kilometers northeast of Senegal's capital, Dakar, is a long stretch of highway dotted with sprawling baobab trees, leading close to Keur Madaro village.Here, under the prickling African sun and on a land that is mostly dry and dusty, ten vegetable gardens overflow with green leafy vegetables.Last June, a new agricultural initiative known as super vegetable gardens was introduced in Senegal. Nearly a year later, there are more than 150 such gardens throughout the country...[continue reading]

Photo courtesy of JTS Semences

Financing Solar Power

Scidev on what works in the renewable energy financing space:

The two most promising ones involve making it easier for people to buy the systems and also promote some method of long-term maintenance, she says. People can take out a microfinance loan from a bank or microfinance institute and buy direct. Or a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or social enterprise installs systems in return for payments spread over an agreed period.

and what doesnt:

"Part of the reason why solar projects have failed in the past is because there is a lack of ownership. Aid can create dependency and doesn't empower people to do things for themselves, and can undermine the skills and capacity that already exist in countries."

More here
photo courtesy of Barefoot Solar Engineers

Stuart Ntlati Institute

Techcentral interviews the founder of the Stuart Ntlati Institute:

Ntlathi’s institute has its roots in a science club he started with a mate from school back in 2000. Its members would meet in the afternoons, after school, to chat about science-related subjects and to work on projects together.Ntlathi has strong views on why the SA schooling system is dysfunctional, especially when it comes to science and technology. The curriculum needs to be much more interactive, and less textbook-based, he says.“The curriculum in SA is irrelevant. That’s why we’re not winning the battle. You don’t want to be teaching out of textbooks.”

More here
photo courtesy of Techcentral

On the role of Artisans-A German view

An early Timbuktu Chronicles post "How Africa missed its industrialization" highlighted a number of steps unintended or otherwise that led the continent down an un-industrialized road. Another paper by Hal Hansen links the artisanal foundation of Germany to the subsequent "emergence of a prosperous Mittelstand " and contends that "no history of modern German economic, social, or political development can afford to dispense with artisans and or their institutions." Both papers accentuate the importance of a bottom-up approach when quantifying the issue of successful industrialization.Wolfgang Schneider-Barthold believes that the African elite should "have begun with what already existed and built up and expanded the industrial sector from the ground up and internally in pace with the development of the other sectors." Astute observations from authors whose home country-Germany-perceives industry as being paramount in their quest for long term prosperity.
photo courtesy of imjosh

Mataano

CNN covers the fashion company Mataano founded by Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim. In an interview they stated:

For our Spring 2010 collection we also used Somali references and inspirations," said Idyl."There was one silhouette that's worn by every woman in Somalia, called a 'dirac.' We didn't want to recreate it too much, we just wanted to introduce that and say 'it's relevant and you can wear it in a western culture.'"

Eric Raisina

Eric Raisina

"...has devoted himself to developing new Cambodian silk weaving and dyeing techniques. His designs are woven and bound together with new cultural threads : the raffia from Madagascar, one of Eric’s signature products, is regarded as the “African Lace” and his famous “silk fur” has become a much sought after fabric in Parisian fashion houses..."

via Diasporique

BRV Films

234Next discusses movie production with a co-founder of BRV Films Nigeria,Tokunbo Falope:

‘Silent Scandal’ was a risk. Contrary to his thinking, his talent could not compensate for organisational lapses. Pre-production was done in a couple of days. Audition and shooting were simultaneous. Location was not known before hand. His efforts at ensuring proper lighting were regarded as a waste of time and money. He learnt his lessons though and has decided to personally produce his next movie.

More here
Photo courtesy of 234Next

ValuCard

In the Vanguard, Kyari Bukar of ValuCard  discusses mobile payments vs traditional electronic cards:

"I don't believe mobile payments will replace cards," he answers, "but what will certainly happen is that it may actually enhance cards and there may be more cards issued as a result. And it would also complement the functionality of card payment because it's actually another channel of payments and therefore it would be added to other modes of payment".

More here

Freedomfone

Afrinnovator profiles Zimbabwe's Kubatana Trust's Freedomfone application:

Freedom Fone is an information and communication tool, which marries the mobile phone with Interactive Voice Response (IVR), for citizen benefit. It provides information activists, service organisations and NGO's with widely usable telephony applications, to deliver vital information to communities who need it most...

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African contemporary art having a Global renaissance

Anansi Chronicles highlights a recent series of features in "..CNN’s Inside Africa which recently aired a series of features on the growing global demand for contemporary art..."

Bamako Chic

More makers, Craftzine points us to the "Women Cloth Dyers of Mali"profiled in the documentary- Bamako Chic:

In Mali, as in other West African countries, cloth has served as social-capital, equity, wealth, inheritance and articles of beauty for hundreds of years. In the early 1970s a group of Malian women dyers helped to re-invigorate the hand-dyed cloth industry throughout West Africa by producing a wider palate of vibrant colors and innovative designs, which continue to evolve even today. Their creative use of bright color-fast dyes and intricate patterns have turned hand-dyed bazin (an imported polished cotton) into popular fashion, sought after by rich and poor alike. Now a lucrative industry, hand-dyed cloth provides a sustainable source of asset building for many women. This is occurring in the context of trends towards "Cheap Chic" and disposable clothing, and the out-sourcing of garment industries through globalization that has made Western clothing all the more ubiquitous. By following the daily challenges of several Malian cloth dyers at different levels of economic attainment, we witness the power that women¹s artistry and entrepreneurial skills have to express the universal human need for beauty, identity, and indeed, survival.

See related coverage in Global Voices

Nena Hats

Bella Naija's profile of Nena Kal Hunter founder of Nena Hats:

Nena studied fashion and textile design at De-Montfort University. She then decided to focus on millinery; she built her hat making expertise when she trained with Mrs Rose Cory, a milliner to the late Queen Mother of England.Nena moved back to Nigeria 5 years ago and has established herself as one of Nigeria’s top milliners. She also has a line of home furnishing and accessories.

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Africa's Microbreweries

VOA on Fred Van Der Merwe's micro-brewing techniques:

His ingredients are steamed in “mash tanks” and then pumped into big copper kettles, where it’s stored for a few hours “to get the concentration right.” Then, it’s channeled into tanks, where yeast is added. The blend is allowed to ferment for a week, after which the beer has its required “kick” – namely a healthy percentage of alcohol. The brew’s then pumped into “conditioning tanks,” where gas is added. Van Der Merwe’s beer is now ready to be put into kegs to be served from the tap to thirsty customers or bottled for transport elsewhere...[continue reading]

Otejiri Oghoghori-Electrical Hacker

In 234Next Ben Ezeamalu reports on the work of Otejiri Oghoghori:

To ease the inconvenience usually associated with switching off generators and switching over to the national power supply whenever it is restored, Mr. Oghoghorie said he was motivated to invent the device."I invented the changeover due to the unstable power supply, and before I invented it," the 23 year old said. "I realised that most portable generator users do not know when NEPA (the power company) is on and so their generator keeps running until someone comes to tell them to switch it off."
According to him, the device, once installed, will automatically switch from generator power (when it is on) and at the same time switch off the generating set. He estimates the speed of changeover to be 0.1 seconds because, according to him, it is so fast that the switching goes unnoticed.

More here
photo courtesy of 234Next

Too Many PHD's and not enough Scientists

All the more reason for a Maker philosophy,in Africa Report:

Image via Wikipedia

Africa needs more scientists. But it is this focus on research for research’s sake that is crippling the standard of teaching at African universities and stalling real advances that can tackle some of the most urgent development challenges. 
 My food scientist was doing some excellent work – researching better and more nutritious ways for women to ground cassava into flour for gari for example. But it sounds like his priorities are being set not by the farmers he’s trying to help, but by the cycle of research he’s tied into.

More here

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Portable Solar Powered Internet Cafe

In Eweek:

Computer Aid International has finished building the prototype of a new portable, solar powered cyber café, which will give rural communities in Africa the chance to get online.The portable cyber café is a standard 20 foot shipping container, which has built-in solar panels on the roof. The idea is that it can be shipped to Africa, and dumped at any remote location, and offer a connection to the Internet...[continue reading]

Zenzele Circle-African Angel Investment Network

In Change.org Brett Shere co-founder of Zenzele Circle writes:

While Africa has an active microfinance space and emerging mid-size private equity sector, there is a gaping "missing middle" in Africa's capital markets that includes seed stage angel investment and early stage venture capital. The existence of a major gap in the financial markets of the world's second most populous continent is a serious problem: seed and early stage investment are major drivers of any robust entrepreneurial economy, and entrepreneurship is the most important force for sustainable job creation in the world...[more here]

They aim to help plug that gap by "...working to help create Africa's Missing Middle through job creation. We link start-up small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa with seed and growth capital, as well as strategic sectoral relationships..."

Take Back The Tech-Liberia

Naomi Griggs constructing with others a computer lab for F-Sham Girls Academy Monrovia with seed equipment provided by computer aid

continue watching slideshow here

Enspire Incubation

Loy Okezie on Enspire:

Enspire is an incubation programme that creates a conducive (physical) environment whereby sustainable small businesses can be birthed. The programme, which also looks to support the creation of business entities out of the groups of individuals who graduate from the incubation, will equip you with the necessary skills (and pay a monthly allowance) to grow your entrepreneurial wings.

More here

Flemil (Flexible Mobile Interface Library) by Solomon Kariri

Developed by Kenya Mobile World Consulting "...Flemil offers more user friendly and intuitive widgets on a device independent manner while utilizing the least resources therefore leaving the user and the developer of an application with a lot of resources for use with business logic implemetation..."
In an interview software engineer Solomon Kariri explains:

Flemil is a Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) library for creation of user interfaces that are appealing to the user. Many users are familiar with applications such as E-Buddy, Trutap, Mig33, Nimbuzz and many more which have good looking user interfaces. To develop an application that is likable by a user, you need to make it appealing to the user and easy to use. Flemil achieves this while making sure that it uses minimal resources on your device. This makes it usable in all ranges of Java enabled devices. Java enabled phones are on the increase everywhere in the world and are quite affordable.

A Call for Simplified Sewerage

In the Sanitation Blog:

A third of Africans continue to practice open defecation, and half rely on unimproved latrines, the health effects of which are largely unknown. Despite this sobering picture, progress has been made in recent years by individual households eager to protect their health and improve their quality of life. The immediate sanitation challenge differs depending on prevailing practice. Where open defecation prevails, the policy focus should be on hygiene education. Where there is already widespread adoption of latrines, the challenge is how facilitate upgrading to improved models. Where improved sanitation is already prevalent, the key question is how to develop low-cost sewerage in the most densely populated areas

More here
Image of 'simplified sewers' from Akvo.org

Quick Hits

Indian 'Govt. to set up incubators in Africa for SME skill development'
Emerging vegetable boom takes hold in African sahel
A lift for Call Centres as improved communications take hold
House of Makeda founded by Teni Olafisoye
Earth Spark a quality energy supply provider.

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Easyware

Founded by Victor Amokeodo Easyware builds "...powerful, yet easy-to-use and affordable business and consumer software targeted at Nigerian companies..."Their product lineup includes 'Payroll and HR systems' and a 'B2B Commerce and Shopping Cart' application.

Pepper Eater

"...The Pepper Eater is a hand-cranked spice grinder. It offers continuous processing, and grinds dried red peppers into ¼-inch flakes with the turn of a handle. The seeds are then separated from the flakes by simply shaking the sifter. With the Pepper Eater, there is limited skin contact with the peppers and minimal exposure to pepper dust. Overall, the Pepper Eater processes peppers four times faster than by hand. Once adopted, these economic and health benefits of the Pepper Eater will lead to greater empowerment of women..."website
via NextBillion

MakaaZingira Enterprise

"... MakaaZingira eco-charcoal briquettes are made from fast growing indigenous shrubs which are sustainably harvested, carbonised, mixed with waste cassava and coconut fibre and then compressed. They are eco-friendly, ethically produced and FSC certified, but also burn longer, are easy to light and are clean...they employ more than 40 farmers with another 180 expected to join by 2011. MakaaZingira products will be sold in two large supermarket chains totalling some 36 outlets and generating valuable income..."-Seed Initiative

Fusion Kevlar

Bella Naija profiles Fusion Kevlar:

Funfere incorporates his distinctive futuristic and preppy style which we all loved in his BN “My Style” feature into this collection, which is seen in his T-shirts which carry logos to represent the prestige and royalty of African class. “My t-shirts are unique at first sight because they use striking emblems and motifs, they are usually representative of a person’s background and my most popular example is my “I LOVE NIGERIA’’ T shirt” says the designer...[continue reading]

Rwanda Biodiesel Express

The BBC reports:

The Rwanda 'Biodiesel Express' runs entirely on oil plants, animal fats and even used cooking oil from restaurants..."Using 100% biodiesel reduces carbon monoxide emissions by 48%," says Jean Baptiste Nduwayezu, head of the Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (IRST)...researchers estimate that 225,000 hectares of oil plants - such as avocado, moringa and jatropha - would be needed to supply the whole of Rwanda with bio-diesel.

More here
via Innovation Africa

Arguments against the OLPC model

Image by wallyg via Flickr

Jon Gosier writing in Appfrica:

I have had a handful of conversations with the staff from OLPC and presented the idea of locally manufacturing parts or assembling entire machines in-country, and rather than only distributing through governments at the disruptive cost of ‘free’, selling to governments at a premium and selling to small private sector companies at cost. My complaint echoing Teddy’s that there need to be local stake holders who AREN’T just governments. This model has a double bottom line, supporting local business while also offering the same immense social benefit that Nicholas Negroponte originally aimed for.

I sometimes wonder whether the OLPC folks understand the importance of building local productive capacity. And the futility of relying on largely inept governmental agencies.