African innovations Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

31Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Startups

EMERGING Valley Returns in 2024 to Connect Investors and Startups Between Europe and Africa

Aix-Marseille-Provence, elected European Capital of Innovation, will host the 8th edition of the EMERGING Valley summit on December 3, 2024. Under the High Patronage of President Emmanuel Macron, this event will take place in Marseille and at thecamp, a futuristic venue designed to foster collaboration and innovation. Historically supported by the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, the Euroméditerranée Public Development Agency, the Departmental Council of Bouches-du-Rhône, and the City of Marseille—founding partners since its inception—EMERGING Valley acts as a catalyst for digital innovations and strategic investments. Its goal is to position the Aix-Marseille-Provence region as the hub for impactful innovation and tech startups between Europe, the Mediterranean, and Africa. The su...

27Jun

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Atlas Network Names Three Finalists for 2024 Africa Liberty Award

From Burundi to Tanzania and Uganda, Africa’s freedom champions are improving the lives of millions of people Arlington, VA — Today, Atlas Network—the nonprofit organization that partners with nearly 600 independent think tanks in over 100 countries worldwide—announced its finalists for the 2024 Africa Liberty Award, which honors the region’s most outstanding freedom champion. The three finalists for this year’s award are Burundi’s Centre For Development and Enterprises Great Lakes (represented by chief executive Manirakiza Aimable); Tanzania’s Liberty Sparks (represented by CEO Evans Exaud); and Uganda’s Ethical African Organization (represented by director Lutakome Imran Kigongo), with all three organizations making innovative contributions to economic freedom and human progress. Atlas...

5Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Rwanda News, South Africa News

INNOVATIONS IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

How technology is empowering smart citizens. By Mpho Matsitse, Executive: Business & Digital Advisory at BCX There’s no question that a smart city extends beyond infrastructure and urban planning. For a smart city to work, it requires smart citizens and technology plays a pivotal role in enabling civic engagement. If a city wants to empower those who live in it, it requires initiatives that improve service delivery and technology is the solution to making e-government platforms a reality. While there are many African cities leveraging technology in different ways to benefit their citizens, Rwanda’s booming IremboGov platform is a phenomenal example of GovTech digitalisation. Since its 2015 launch, IremboGov has digitised over 100 public services from motor vehicle inspections to mar...

4May

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, Main

The African Private Equity Market’s role in the continent’s exciting transformation

By Angela Simpson and Lydia Shadrach-Razzino, Partners and Co-heads of the Corporate/M&A Practice at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg The impact of global geopolitical and economic turbulence and the challenges of the pandemic have led private equity (PE) investors to carefully assess which sectors are expected to do well in Africa and where they can find high quality assets at the right price. Healthcare, technology, media and telecommunications (TMT), energy, infrastructure and financials have emerged as the most active sectors by value in Africa in the last few years, with PE investment in general rising substantially despite economic challenges. Rapid innovative developments in these sectors have attracted the attention of PE investors, and it is clear that the continent is open for...

3Dec

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture, Nigeria News

AFEX launches $100m Food Security Fund

Financing will strengthen Africa's food security and optimise climate smart innovations across seven countries AFEX, Nigeria’s leading commodities market player, has today announced a new $100m 10-year bond called The Food Security Fund (FSF). The financing will strengthen Africa's food security and produce three million MT of food annually on the continent. AFEX’s fund will support the financing of 250,000 hectares of land for commercial and smallholder farming, initially consisting of 30,000 hectares in the Nigerian states of Kano, Kaduna, Oyo, Ogun, Cross River & the FCT, before covering markets across East and West Africa. The focus of the The Food Security Fund will be to explore and optimize climate smart innovations and high yield agronomy protocols to ensure more food is pro...

21Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

Top 5 Technopreneurs to Bring their A Game in The AYO Scaling Africa Series

After months of searching, screening, and careful selection, the final five qualifying businesses for the next round of the AYO Scaling Africa Series have been selected. In partnership with the SA Innovation Summit, the series looks to assist tech entrepreneurs in taking their Series A businesses to the next level. These five finalists have been chosen for their standout proposition within the landscape of tech business in South Africa, as well as for clearly articulating and demonstrating their potential for rapid growth and sustainability. The founders, and their teams, will now test their mettle against one another with the overall winner claiming the R100 000 cash prize from investment group AYO Technology Solutions (AYO). However, the AYO Scaling Africa Series goes beyond a single ca...

10May

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

Hack the Normal | From Africa for Africa: Meet the Winning Innovations for Sustainable Living, Healthy Living and Financial Solutions in Africa

Through the Hack the Normal initiative, Defy, Africa's stalwart home appliance company, aims to contribute to the advancement of African-led projects that seek to secure the sustainability of trade, natural resources, and life on the continent. Defy, a leading manufacturer of home appliances, recently hosted the Hack the Normal online hackathon in partnership with ATÖLYE to inspire and facilitate the development of new ideas and projects that aim to make people's lives easier. Supported by Defy’s sister company, Beko, hackathon participants had the opportunity to develop new products, services, and business models with potential for commercialisation and to address existing challenges in Sustainable Living, Healthy Living and Financial Solutions. The hackathon focused on the individual, s...

14Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy

African climate innovators lead Ashden Awards longlist

Ashden • Climate Change Charity Africa’s outstanding climate solutions lead the way in the longlist for the prestigious Ashden Awards, announced today (April 14). The annual awards, now in their 20th year, celebrate innovation that lower emissions while creating better lives and fairer societies. Areas covered by this year’s awards include energy access, natural climate solutions, regenerative agriculture, and cooling in informal settlements. 38 organisations from around the world have been longlisted for the awards, which feature three UK and six global categories. 13 of the 23 organisations on the international category longlists are from Africa. Photo:: Technical solar installers pose with their training certificates after attending a five-week solar technology course with Sendea Acade...

24Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Events, Startups

Calling African Innovators: Solutions for Sustainable Living and Economic Development in Africa Sought

Appliance giant Defy to aid in the advancement of projects that ensure the sustainability of trade, natural resources, and life in Africa From 5 - 7 March 2021, leading manufacturer of home appliances, Defy, will be hosting the Hack The Normal online hackathon with the aim of exploring how technology can be leveraged for sustainable living and economic development in Africa. Supported by Defy sister company, Beko, hackathon participants will have the opportunity to develop new products, services, and business models with commercialisation potential to address one of the following challenge areas: Financial Solutions: With Africa rapidly becoming a key player in the global economy, the continent must prepare itself for a surge of commercial activity with all the supporting services nece...

R500k up for grabs in the 2021 Joburg Smart City Innovation Challenge

16Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

R500k up for grabs in the 2021 Joburg Smart City Innovation Challenge

Are you a 4IR Start-up? Have you been in operation for 3-7 years? Are you a company developing Smart City technologies and/or innovative solutions? Do you have a pilot-ready solution for a challenge faced by our city? The City of Johannesburg’s Smart City Office, in collaboration with Tshimologong Innovation Precinct, invites you to submit proposals for smart city innovative solutions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and to share your innovative ideas on how we can go into the future together. The lockdown protocols have ignited new thinking about the future of our City and its residents. Therefore, the aim of the Smart City Innovation Challenge is to find and develop digital technology solutions that respond to urban and community challenges faced by the City in the new normal result...