At an event to launch the new programme, Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said: “At Vodacom, our purpose is to build better futures and create productive societies. Core to this is the belief that technology must help bridge divides and improve equitable access to services. We believe that technology coupled with the country’s enabling environment and political will – has the potential to support African nations realize transformation in healthcare, agriculture, education, financial services and other priority sectors.”

Vodacom Tanzania’s Managing Director, Sitholizwe Mdlalose confirmed: “Too many pregnant women, women in childbirth and newborns die each year from largely preventable causes.  For nine years, we have been working with the Government to develop a practical, sustainable and scalable solution to reduce maternal and newborn deaths in the country.”

He added that they have built a system that strengthens health care delivery and connects the community and lower-level health facilities to …

The programme which produces briquettes from agricultural waste is expanding beyond Tanzania and has already started in Kenya as United For Green. Cameroon is the other country that the programme is launching next.

To produce organic charcoal, women are trained to convert biomass to charcoal which also happens to be reusable.

CR Hope Foundation partnered with Exeter University to produce the charcoal briquettes. The briquettes are produced using pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is the thermochemical decomposition of organic matter resulting in no condensable gases, condensable liquids and a solid residual coproduct, charcoal or biochar in an inert environment in the absence of oxygen.…

Wachira’s dream was propelled by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw many schools closed and thus left many pupils with a lot of time in their hands.

To make the most out of the situation, Wachira kept himself busy fixing computers and other electronic devices for his peers so they could be able to learn online. He also conducted sharing sessions among underprivileged student communities in Kenya during the pandemic.

At the same time, Wachira completed advanced level training in robotics and various STEM disciplines under the mentorship of the STEM.org-accredited Unique World Robotics in Dubai.…

• Social commerce may seem like a more foreign concept but it is widely used across Africa
• Online shopping has gained more popularity during the Covid-19 crisis, turning social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram into business tools
• Social commerce- which is abbreviated as s-commerce- represents the integration of shopping and social media

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit back in 2019, a majority of individuals were forced to turn to social media platforms in search of goods and services. 

While most people view this as the growth of e-commerce across the globe, it also gave rise to the growth of social commerce. 

Social commerce may seem like a more foreign concept but it is widely used across Africa. 

Online shopping has gained more popularity during the Covid-19 crisis, turning social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram into business tools. 

Social commerce- which is abbreviated as s-commerce- represents the integration of …

• A report by the African Development Bank notes that today, at least a quarter of the continent’s population has internet access, a nearly fifty-fold increase in internet usage since the turn of the millennium.
• Mobile technologies alone have already generated 1.7 million jobs and contributed US$144 billion to the continent’s economy, or roughly 8.5 percent of GDP
• Accelerating digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, robotics, and 3D printing – have obvious and important implications for education, employment, and the future of work

Leaders on the African continent must work harder to harness emerging technology to boost government performance, transparency, and inclusivity as the continent recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.

They also need to ensure that the growing technological advancements across the continent are not used as a tool of repression, division, and conflict.

According to a study by the World Health Organization, 13 percent of all new or modified …

Digital disinformation is becoming an increasingly common feature of Africa’s political landscape.

Africa’s technological space has grown exponentially over the past decade, largely driven by the increased access to mobile devices and internet.

The number of mobile phone users in Africa, 650 million, outnumbers the population of the United States or Europe.

How Africans are using mobile phones

Mobile phone use has increased exponentially as more people in African countries own a cell phone than clean water, a bank account or power.

Communication, radio listening, money transfers, online purchasing, and social media networking are all done via mobile phones in Africa. Many of the disparities between urban and rural areas, as well as the wealthiest and poorest, have been reduced or eliminated.

Similarly, internet prices are coming down while speeds are going up.

With high internet speeds, it is easy for anyone looking, or even sometimes not looking to stumble …