Thursday, March 28

Month: December 2018

Africans in Tech, East Africa

Inside the world of a Kenyan cryptocurrency miner

Eugene Mutai is well aware of the risks of mining virtual money. "Sometimes I ask myself: will the bubble pop? "He's right to be, cryptocurrencies are volatile. That hasn't stopped him from operating in this shadowy and controversial corner of the global financial system. A few years ago Mutai was working odd jobs on farms in rural Kenya. Now he's a cryptocurrency miner in Nairobi. His apartment where he mines, is dimly lit blue and drowned with the low drone of a self-made cryptocurrency computer rig. Mutai began researching cryptocurrencies last year. "I was curious about what was making these alternative coins drive. "Bitcoin was hard to mine by that point in time," Mutai tells CNN. There were already many Bitcoin miners. Instead, Mutai started mining Ethereum, a similar but less w...
Meet Africa tech personalities of 2018
List & Guides

Meet Africa tech personalities of 2018

In this era of technology, it is exciting to see some of Africa’s sharpest minds go to work in search of life-saving solutions to myriads of problems facing the continent. In recent years, there have been local solutions to complex challenges in healthcare, finance and energy that could be relevant globally. Africa is rising and the proof is the growing number of creative digital developers and entrepreneurs who have placed technology and innovation at the forefront. Iddris Sandu Photo credit: The New York Times The 21-year-old tech guru has accomplished many incredible feats, including being responsible for algorithms that have made Uber, Instagram and Snapchat what they are today. From encouraging the study of STEM subjects in schools and at higher levels, Sandu, in 2017,...
AI, East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa

Drones driven by AI will track illegal fishing in African waters

Across the African continent, drones are finding innovative uses -- from monitoring displaced populations to delivering critical medical supplies. Moroccan technology startup ATLAN Space is developing artificial intelligence (AI) to guide autonomous drones so they can scan large areas for "environmental crimes" like illegal fishing, poaching or deforestation. In June, ATLAN Space won the National Geographic Society's $150,000 Marine Protection Prize to implement a pilot project to combat illegal fishing in Seychelles. Drones will be armed with information about illegal fishing hotspots, explains Badr Idrissi, CEO and co-founder of ATLAN Space. Once a drone detects a boat, AI will enable it to verify whether it is a cruising boat, tanker or fishing vessel. The drone will then est...
Meet the 19-year-old tech genius coding at Ethiopia’s first AI lab
Africans in Tech, AI

Meet the 19-year-old tech genius coding at Ethiopia’s first AI lab

At 19-years-old, Betelhem Dessie is perhaps the youngest pioneer in Ethiopia's fast emerging tech scene, sometimes referred to as "Sheba Valley."Dessie is coordinating a number of nationwide programs run by robotics lab iCog, the Addis Ababa based artificial intelligence (AI) lab that was involved in developing the world famous Sophia the robot. She has four software programs copyrighted solely to her name - including an app developed for the Ethiopian government to map rivers used for irrigation.And it all began when she was just 9.She recalls: "On my 9th birthday I wanted to celebrate so I asked my father for money." When her father said he didn't have any to give her that day, Dessie took matters into her own hands.Making use of the materials around her - her father sold electronics...
Space, West Africa

Why NASA chose Senegal to observe a frozen world beyond Pluto

On a night in August, an object called 2014 MU69 passed in front of a star and blocked its light. This phenomenon, called a stellar occultation, lasted just a second and was visible only in certain regions in Africa (more exactly in Senegal, Mali and Algeria) and in South America in Colombia.MU69 is an icy object of the Kuiper Belt, (informally named Ultima Thule) which was discovered in June 2014 with the Hubble Space Telescope.NASA is pursuing this object to learn more about the origins of our solar system. Senegal was chosen to observe this occultation, because of its political stability, and the existence of a community of amateur astronomers and scientists.The choice of Senegal was made despite the challenging climatic conditions in August (rainy season), which offered a proba...
How Africa’s Tech Generation Is Changing the Continent
Trends

How Africa’s Tech Generation Is Changing the Continent

DESIGNING FOR AFRICA is the objective of many new technology ventures. The continent is still a largely untapped market, particularly in remote, off-the-grid places. Mark Kamau, director of user-experience design for BRCK in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, holds a prototype for a mobile weather station.PHOTOGRAPH BY CIRIL JAZBEC Inspired by Silicon Valley, young entrepreneurs are bringing life-improving innovations to sub-Saharan communities. ONE DAY IN 2004, in the Kenyan farming village of Engineer—so named because an Englishman once ran a mechanical repair shop there—a slight and nearsighted boy was walking past the only printing shop when his eyes fell on something he had never seen: a computer. The boy watched as the owner stabbed at his keyboard. Edging closer, he saw pages ...
Why Mali has its own homegrown version of Facebook
Social Networks, West Africa

Why Mali has its own homegrown version of Facebook

Lenali is a social media app created for non-literate, oral-based communities In 2017, it was reported that Facebook had 170 million users in Africa --  seven out of every 10 Africans on the internet log into Facebook.  Platforms like WhatsApp, Viber and Instagram have become vitals tools of communication: for news, elections and, of course, selfies. Social media companies are eyeing Africa as a big growth market, with Facebook set to launch its first community hub in Nigeria this year.  However, platforms like Facebook largely center on written posts and conversation, as well as video. For those in the continent from oral-based, spoken language (non-literate) communities with little formal education, these platforms can be inaccessible. This is the case ...
Venture capital, global expansion, blockchain and drones characterize African tech in 2018
Trends

Venture capital, global expansion, blockchain and drones characterize African tech in 2018

2018 saw Africa’s tech sector become more dynamic and international. VC firms on the continent multiplied. There were numerous investment rounds. And startups pursued acquisitions and global expansion. Here’s a snapshot of the news that shaped African tech over the last year.   Surge in VC funds A notable 2018 trend was Africa’s VC landscape becoming more African, with an increasing number of investment funds headquartered on the continent and run by locals, according to Crunchbase data released in this TechCrunch exclusive. Drawing on its database and primary source research, Crunchbase identified 51 viable Africa-focused VC funds globally with at least 7-10 investments in African startups from seed to series stage. Of the 51 funds, 22 (or 43 percent) were hea...
The Technology Space Is Rapidly Evolving in Africa, and It’s Not All Good News
Cybersecurity, Opinion, Tech Policy

The Technology Space Is Rapidly Evolving in Africa, and It’s Not All Good News

The lack of technology policy and its poor implementation can lead to economic and political instability, and the effects of this are magnified in African countries with weak rule of law. One of the poorest countries in Africa is getting serious about going digital. In October, the Malawian government announced it would require businesses to offer options for digital payments in an effort to expand the digital economy and tax base. Like Malawi, many African countries now find themselves at the forefront of global conversations around how to compete in an increasingly digital economy and govern online spaces, but few are rising to the challenge of safeguarding digital rights in the process. Rapid population growth across the continent and the anticipation of millions of...