Tech

Zambian nuns create social enterprise startups to help local communities

Published

2 years ago

March 27, 2023

A group of Zambian nuns under the auspices of Religious Sisters of the Holy Spirit, have set up a social enterprise accelerator known as the “Start Your Social Enterprise” aimed at empowering women in local communities.

Led by Rev. Sister Juunza Christabel Mwangani of Emerging Farmers Initiative, a 2022 awardee of the Builders of Africa’s Future (BAF) by the African Diaspora Network (ADN), the group is bent on improving the lives of rural dwellers in the eastern African country.

With a $25,000 grant from the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), the nuns, according to Mwangani, decided to launching the Start Your Social Enterprise training.

While speaking at the launching in Lusaka on Monday, Mwangani said the initiative came after she participated in a Silicon Valley social enterprise accelerator which in 2019, linked with a network of African nuns to help low-income families help themselves.

Armed with previous experience in business as well as a business degree, Mwangani said she is blending her charity work with business.

Based in the southern province of Zambia, Mwangani has been a sister for the past 20 years, working as a hospital administrator and on the social enterprise sector in the country.

At the just concluded African Diaspora Investment Symposium (ADIS23), in the Silicon Valley, California, United States of America, Mwangani set the ball rolling on the opening day of ADIS23 with a fireside chat on Changemakers: Catholic Sisters on the continent.

Speaking on the significance of ADIS23, Mwangani said:

“It is an essential follow-up to the selected entrepreneurs on the Builders of Africa’s Future project, an elite list of entrepreneurs within Africa that have shown concepts and solutions that can build the future of Africa in the sense that they have come up with innovations that are likely to change the narrative and bring out what Africa needs to grow to its potential.”

“We are into education for eco-friendly agriculture and entrepreneurship skills. What we are really doing is to combine agriculture skills and entrepreneurship into education because we know that when education is solely on academics only, we are likely to have more people who are looking for white collar jobs after finishing school.”

“We are equipping them with skills so that when they walk out of class, they are not waiting for somebody to create wealth and employment for them.”

“What I took away from the conference is that the future of Africa is in the hands of Africans. It is for us to devise our own future and I am going back home as an African to chart African solutions for Africa,” she added.

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Tech

Orange Egypt earmarks $52.7m to support African startups

Published

7 hours ago

November 19, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Orange Egypt has earmarked the sum of $52.7 million to support African startups in what is going to be the largest investment to drive a youth-focused tech revolution.

According to the company, the mammoth investment will see over 40 startups benefitting from the funds, with most of them being Egyptian companies.

‘It’s a boost for Egypt’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem and a step closer to cementing its spot as a top startup hub in Africa,” the company said in a statement.

The investment is coming on the heels of the telco signing a deal with the Egyptian government to roll out the second phase of its 5G licensing.

The statement noted that with Egypt’s startup game already strong and ranking as the third most funded country in the MENA region, “the numbers speak for themselves.”

“In 2022, Egyptian startups closed 143 funding deals worth nearly $766.7 million, outpacing the $606.79 million raised the year before.

“Plus over 2,100 startups employing more than 50,000 people, the country’s ecosystem is one of the top 10 emerging startup hubs globally.

“The Egyptian government is all in on this. And since launching initiatives like Egypt Ventures in 2017, they’ve been backing startups to drive innovation and growth in the tech space.

“Orange Egypt’s latest move only adds fuel to this already blazing fire, paving the way for more opportunities and a stronger startup culture across Africa,” it added.

Tech

10 African startups selected for final of Latitude59 pitch competition

Published

1 day ago

November 18, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Ten African startups have been selected for the final round of the Latitude59 pitch competition which will see the winner qualify to pitch at the main event in Tallinn, Estonia, with the chance of winning the grand prize $1.1 million.

The Latitude59 pitch competition which is in 12th edition, is Estonia’s flagship startup and tech event and attracted over 3,500 attendees, including more than 900 startup representatives and nearly 600 investors when it was hosted in Tallinn in May.

According to the organizers,
Latitude59 is seeking early-stage startups from across Africa to compete for the chance to pitch at the next edition of its pitch competition, which will take place at next year’s edition of the event.

The event organizers said a total of 382 applications were received from 37 African countries, with the top 10 now selected and will pitch at an event in Kenya on November 28, where the African winner will be chosen.

Eight of the selected ventures are Kenyan and include Eco Nasi, which transforms pineapple pulp waste into high-quality vegan leather.

Others are Grekkon, a platform which scales up moisture sensors for smallholder farmers; NoMa, a tech platform that digitises school transportation; and Paycloud, which is building a neobank to help MSMEs in Africa to pay, get paid, and access credit through payment aggregation.

The other selected Kenyan ventures are Roadrims, which provides reliable, efficient, and cost-effective logistics; Twiva, a social commerce platform; VunaPay, which provides instant payments to farmers; and Zerobionic, which is developing a human-like robotic arm to help students with hearing impairments.

From Nigeria comes AcemyX, an LMS helping students prepare for exams with personalised learning tools and study materials, with Tanzania’s Afya Mama, which is providing answers to questions pertaining maternal care and reproductive health to women via SMS and web app, completing the list.