When you think “Africa” and “tech”, what comes to mind? Kinetic soccer balls? A rapper turned energy supplier? What about smart boards, intelligent classrooms or tech partnerships? How about mobile payment systems? If you thought “none of the above”, then it’s time for you to reassess your perspective of the so-called dark continent. Far from being backwards, Africa is, in fact, leading the way for many technology advances designed to resolve uniquely African problems.
A few months ago, I was invited by the Council of Young African Leaders to the 5th annual CUNY Young African Leadership Symposium (YALS) at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, New York. The theme for the symposium was Transforming Africa through Partnerships: it focused on the importance of public and private partnerships within the African community and abroad. I sat on a panel with other technologists, discussing the transformative nature of technology. We were each given five minutes to present prior to the Q&A session following our respective presentations.
In preparation for the session, I decided to conduct a survey of the various apps developed by Africans touching the banking, health and energy sectors, since I had experience working on those kinds of apps here in the United States for brands like CVS, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and PSE&G utility company.
I expected to find a few apps here and there, but nothing like the overwhelming breadth and variety of apps I ultimately discovered in my research. There were so many apps of all kinds that I realized that I needed to scale back and focus on one area (versus the multiple areas I had planned to cover.)
It was in that moment that I had to acknowledge just how ignorant I was about the state of technology in Africa. And it was in the spirit of erasing the ignorance surrounding African tech that “Tech Tuesday” was born.
Each week, I’m going to take a deep dive into African tech: the players and entrepreneurs, the technical advances and the innovations, the hits and misses. Tech Tuesday will shine a light on the amazing things taking place in Africa, and hopefully end the perception that African is anything short of a cradle of innovation.
We’re going to talk with innovators like Jessica O. Matthews, the founder of Uncharted Play, the makers of the kinetic soccer ball and other technology harnessing the power of movement. We’ll profile entrepreneurs like Akon, whose initiative ALA (Akon Lighting Africa) is providing solar energy to 600 million Africans who were living without reliable energy. And we’ll examine technical advances like M-pesa, which is revolutionizing money transfer and mobile payment in Africa.
But Tech Tuesday isn’t intended to be a one-way street. If you’ve got an idea or think there’s someone out there doing something truly remarkable, we want to hear about it. Feel free to drop us a line. If you see something in social media you think we should know about, post or retweet it and add the hashtag #techtuesday and we’ll check it out!
Anthony Madu, the 14-year-old Nigerian dancer from Lagos who gained admission to a prestigious ballet…
Actor-host Wayne Brady recently opened up about his early financial struggles in his now thriving…
Mia Arianna, also known as @mia.ariannaa on TikTok, helped her son become an honorary team…
Alvin Gauthier, a Grand Prairie USPS postman, recently went above and beyond to brighten a…
Maj. Gen. Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed is the first female commander of the air force and…
Benjamin E. Mays High School brought together its 272 senior class members for a meeting…
Afrika Owes' emotional response to learning that she had passed the bar exam on her…
A 49-year-old New York attorney was on April 26 sentenced to 10 years in federal…
During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Wednesday, pop legend Cher opened up…
Authorities in Florida said an 11-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed by his 14-year-old…
The famous Taylor Schlitz family is making headlines once more as the youngest of the…
Sony Pictures Entertainment has appointed Tahra Grant as its Chief Communications Officer. She replaces Robert…
Meet Ashley M. Fox, the founder of Empify and the first in her family to…
Tyra Banks, the iconic former host of Dancing With the Stars, has made a delightful…
A Brazilian woman named Érika de Souza, 42, is under investigation for manslaughter after authorities…