Africans in Philanthropy

Came across this article today tweeted by @InnovateAfrica. It’s great to see so much creativity and tech innovation coming out of the continent.

I’m excited to see how this boom will impact/influence the NGO sector; many of the apps being designed by Young Africans are solving real problems with minimal resources, and online fundraising may very soon have to reckon with the mobile banking boom.

With Africans being able to send and receive money via mobile, will the large, western foundations that drive the non profit industrial complex (and neo-imperialism in Africa) conform to this new standard or still their old ways of directing grantees to seek western donors (for their credit card donations)? 

I’m determined to do my part to help us get to even asking this question. 

From Kenya to Madagascar: The African Tech-hub Boom

There’s a buzz, a palpable energy, running through the corridors of Africa’s capitals and urban areas, and much of it revolves around tech.

What happens when smartphones outsell computers four to one, and 50% of a continent’s population is below the age of 20? You have a technology-literate mobile generation unlike any that has come before.

African governments aren’t fast or savvy enough to build the infrastructure needed to support this type of entrepreneurial tech activity. Academic institutions are woefully behind in teaching skills for computer science and design. So where do people like Pule and Katy go? What mechanisms support their start-ups and connect them to capital, businesses and their peers?

Incubators and accelerators

If you had asked that question two years ago, the answer would have been: “Very little.” But in the past two years there has been an interesting phenomenon in Africa - the proliferation of tech hubs and incubators.

Read the full story here.