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Garbage Disposal Innovation Wins Kenyan Firm Sh4.2 Million Award
A local garbage disposal concept has won the Dell Social Innovation Award for 2011, the latest conquest by a Kenyan firm in the world of innovations with high social impact. TakaTaka Solutions, a social enterprise that collects and recycles waste in Nairobi, won the Sh4.2 million top prize in the global competition for its waste management solution, and will use the money to bankroll its recycling programme. "The team exemplifies ingenuity, passion and entrepreneurial spirit. The ...
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Safaricom ? 56% Growth in M-PESA Revenue
Last week, Safaricom announced its annual results [1] . It has confirmed an increased turnover (+12.9% to Ksh. 94.83bn). However, after several years of sustained growth, Safaricom experienced a 12.4% drop in profits before tax due to increased competition. Nevertheless, a more interesting figure to highlight is the 56% growth in M-PESA revenue for the year 2011. With almost 14 mil...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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AFDB Approves Financing for Nigerian SMEs
The African Development Bank has approved a total of $700 million worth of loan programs to support small and medium-sized enterprises in Nigeria. Of the sum, $500 million will be channeled through Nigeria’s Bank of Industry and will be available for domestic-oriented SMEs in the African country. ...
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Who Gives A Crap? Sanitation, Energy and Entrepreneurship in Kenya
By Elmira Bayrasli The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a pristine place. Situated alongside Cambridge’s charming Charles River, adorned with manicured lawns, sleek and light buildings designed by I.M. Pei and awesome abstract sculptures b...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Iko-toilet’ Wins Global Recognition
Until recently, public toilets in Nairobi and Kenya’s urban centres were an eyesore, dreaded answers to calls of nature. The dilapidated facilities were a no-go zone for many who preferred walking into hotels or offices for relief. Some private ventures came in to ameliorate the situation by providing clean, convenient facil...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Out of Africa: A Continent of Entrepreneurs
We’re used to seeing Africa as poor and helpless, and it certainly has its problems. However, it’s also a hotbed of entrepreneurship, where phone-fixers, DVD hawkers, clothes sellers and internet start-ups are thriving. MANCHÁN MAGAN visits Mozambique and finds a country more suited to investment than pity IT WAS the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio walks through a bustling African market in the movie Blood Diamond that finally o...
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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MIT Start-up Focuses on Sanitation Needs of Poor
Some 2.5 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation and a small start-up launched by MIT students is aiming to do its part to help address the global problem. Sanergy provides low-cost sanitation facilities in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, and converts the waste to salable byproducts. "Our goal is to make sanitation hygienic, accessible and affordable for the 8 million people in Kenyan slums," said David Auerbach, a co-founder and MBA candidate at MIT. Sanergy started ...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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One In 3 Africans Now Middle Class, Report Finds
One in three Africans is middle class, a rising group of consumers to rival those of China and India, researchers have found (pdf). Record numbers of people in Africa own houses and cars, use mobile phones and the internet and send their children to private schools and foreign universities, according to the African Development ...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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