Africas

In February, just before the AU’s AI policy draft came out, Shikoh Gitau, a computer scientist who started the Nairobi-based AI research lab Qubit Hub, published a paper arguing that Africa should prioritize the development of an AI industry before trying to regulate the technology.  “If we start by regulating, we're not going to figure out the innovations and opportunities that exist for Africa,” says David Lemayian, a software engineer and one of the paper’s co-authors.   Okolo, who consulted on the AU-AI draft…

In Tanzania, farmers are using an AI-assisted app that works in their native language of Swahili to detect a devastating cassava disease before it spreads. In South Africa, computer scientists have built machine learning models to analyze the impact of racial segregation in housing. And in Nairobi, Kenya, AI classifies images from thousands of surveillance cameras perched on lampposts in the bustling city’s center. The projected benefit of AI adoption on Africa’s economy is tantalizing. Estimates suggest that four…

Deel is on an acquisition march. On Tuesday, the HR startup announced it is acquiring African-based payroll and HR software and services company PaySpace in a deal that marks its largest acquisition to date. The move comes less than one week after Deel announced it had picked up Munich-based Zavvy, an AI-based “people development” startup building tools for personalized career progression, training and performance management. Financial terms of the PaySpace acquisition were not disclosed.  Johannesburg-based PaySpace…

New research reveals the adverse effects of misdirected reforestation projects in Africa, where tree planting in non-forest ecosystems like savannas and grasslands threatens biodiversity and local communities. The study urges a revision of reforestation definitions and practices to prevent ecological and social harm, highlighting a global challenge. Credit: Kate Parr, University of LiverpoolA new study conducted by the University of Liverpool has brought to light challenges associated with reforestation and restoration…

Hainikoye hits Accept and a young woman greets him in Hausa, a gravelly language spoken across West Africa’s Sahel region. She has three new cows, and wants to know: Does he have advice on getting them through the lean season? Hainikoye—a twentysomething agronomist who has “followed animals,” as Sahelians refer to herding, since he first learned to walk—opens an interface on his laptop and clicks on her village in southern Niger, where humped zebu roam the dipping hills and dried-up valleys that demarcate the northern…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Knowledge matters. It informs how we think about the world around us. It informs our decisions and government policies, supporting economic growth and development. Knowledge is also power. Certain types of knowledge are given more value than others. This is driven by histories of privilege. In South Africa, apartheid…

Battery swapping for electric motorbikes isn’t new technology, but its adoption rate has proven to be remarkably inconsistent around the world. One of the biggest surprises recently has been one of the places where such technology has grown rapidly: Africa. Electric motorbike battery-swapping often takes hold in areas where car usage is outnumbered by motorbikes, meaning any advances in electrification have a much bigger impact on the population and the environment. Battery swapping allows an electric…

Respected US Institute of Peace expert, Tom Sheehy, discusses the complex issues surrounding critical minerals in Africa, including the role of China and the need for responsible mining practices. In the shadows of the African mining sector, a complex web of great power competition, security concerns, and conflicting interests unfolds. Amidst this backdrop, the fate of critical minerals hangs in the balance, shaping not only the continent’s development but also the delicate balance of geopolitical power. In an…

Telecom powerhouse Airtel Africa was only a breath away from loss-making in the nine months to December after net profit crashed by 99.6 per cent. A free fall in the value of the naira in Nigeria, its biggest market for mobile service, battered earnings, according to details of its unaudited financials Thursday. Multinationals in Nigeria are grappling with the hard times created by the downside of a raft of foreign exchange reforms introduced shortly after President Bola Tinubu took office last May. The move set…

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain South African justice minister Ronald Lamola led a top legal team to argue the country's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 11 January. South Africa argues that Israel's indiscriminate retaliatory bombing and siege of Gaza contravenes the Genocide Convention. More than 23,000…