Green tech and internet in Benin

The Songhaï Center was founded in the mid-'80s by Father Godfrey Nzamujo, a Dominican priest and Nigerian native, on a few acres of swampland granted by Benin's former president. What began as an experiment in small-scale sustainable development to fight poverty has since become a popular institution, and a symbol of Africa's potential for self-determination and prosperity.

Africa Rice Center - WARDA

Africa Rice Center (WARDA) is an autonomous intergovernmental research association of African member states. It is also one of the 15 international agricultural research Centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Its mission is to contribute to poverty alleviation and food security in Africa, through research, development and partnership activities aimed at increasing the productivity and profitability of the rice sector in ways that ensure the sustainability of the farming environment.

Lister Hospital - Accra, Ghana

About Lister Hospital

Lister Hospital and Fertility Centre is a fully equipped ultra modern 25 bed medical centre providing extensive general and specialist healthcare and diagnostic services to residents, visiting business people as well as holiday makers.

Lake Turkana Wind Power consortium

Kenya is getting serious with wind power, here is some info on Lake Turkan wind power outfit.

From site:

Lake Turkana Wind Power consortium (LTWP) is poised to provide 300 MW of clean power to Kenya's national electricity grid by taking advantage of a unique wind resource in Northwest Kenya near Lake Turkana. Using the latest wind turbine technology LTWP can provide reliable and continuous clean power to satisfy up to 30% of Kenya's current total installed power.

Ivorian company builds tropically tolerant buses for African market

Courtesy of BBC

BBC is reporting that Sorta, the engineering arm of the national transport company of Ivory Coast is building tropically tolerant buses for the African market. Sorta plans on building up to 300 a year, this is good for getting people employed and spreading the Ivorian brand around the continent. This is a great story of African ingenuity, building and selling to the home-grown market.

Read a snippet from BBC

The engineering arm of the national transport company, Sotra, decided it could save money and create a bus better suited to African conditions.

"We want the transfer of technology in Africa, and we want to build our own buses with our own specification," says Sotra's director Mamadou Coulibaly.

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AABS - Association of African Business Schools

From AABS site:

To promote excellence in business and management education in Africa by supporting graduate business schools through capacity building, collaboration and quality improvement.

By training current and future leaders in their home markets, business schools in Africa play a critical role in laying the groundwork for private sector development. Its programmes build effective business schools in order to improve the practice of management in African organisations and to enhance the relevance and contribution of business schools to policy debate on African development research and policy development. AABS demonstrates our members’ commitment to increase significantly the contribution that business schools make to the economic and general development in the African continent.

Winafrique Technologies Limited

From Their Site

Winafrique Technologies Ltd. was incorporated in Kenya in 2002 as an integrated renewable energy resource company. Winafrique Technologies Ltd. has since then provided renewable energy solutions to Government, institutions, and public and private companies.

The alternative energy solutions provided deliver reliable renewable power that is environmentally benign and reduces reliance on fossil based power generation.. These solutions have been successfully applied in schools (remote ICT based), telecommunications base stations, water desalination, and other remote locations. In addition Winafrique Technologies Ltd. provide specialist solutions for situations where grid power is available and or unreliable.

The main solution categories at Winafrique are:

• Hybrid Remote Alternative Power Systems.
• Wind Power Solutions.
• Solar Power Solutions.
• Water Pumping Solutions.
• Power Enhancing Solutions.
• Energy Storage Solutions.

Afric Xpress - Mobile solutions provider for African markets

From their site:

Afric Xpress (AX) is a solution provider for mobile phone-based and other electronic transaction services for African communities in the continent and abroad. The company’s mission is to foster electronic–based markets in Africa by turning mobile phones and computers into commercial platforms with the ultimate goal of empowering our customers with security, speed, and convenience. We serve our international customers with online services available on our website while the primary channel for our customer in the continent is the mobile phone. 

We also provide mobile banking solutions in partnership with the telecom providers and various banks. Our current target for these services is the local Ghanaian population with cell phone connectivity and a local bank account. These mobile phone services are solely for local use and country specific. They are not available online and do not require any credit card processing. For more information about this service, visit www.txtnpay.net 

DMT Mobile Toilets

DMT mobile toilets was founded in 1992 . DMT is a pioneer mobile toilet company in Nigeria and at present the only manufacturer in the West African sub-region.

DMT at inception manufactured wagon toilets locally, but in 1999 the company complemented its locally produced wagon toilets with about 30 plastic portable toilets imported from the United Kingdom . 

ALC - African Laser Centre

About ALC

The mission of the ALC is to enable African nations to collaborate with each other and to play a major role internationally in utilising light to advance science and technology, thereby contributing to the strengthening of their economies, their global competitiveness, education and welfare of their people. This co-operation will take place in the spirit of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the African Union.

The African Laser Centre, a virtual centre of excellence focusing on laser research in Africa, was established in 2002 to provide a platform through which Africa can pool its resources to become globally competitive. The Centre is an open, non-exclusive partnership aimed at stimulating innovative research and technology development in the field of lasers and laser applications.

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa - AGRA

About AGRA

AGRA is a dynamic, African-led partnership working across the African continent to help millions of small-scale farmers and their families lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. AGRA programs develop practical solutions to significantly boost farm productivity and incomes for the poor while safeguarding the environment. AGRA advocates for policies that support its work across all key aspects of the African agricultural “value chain”—from seeds, soil health, and water to markets and agricultural education. AGRA is chaired by Kofi A. Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations. AGRA, with initial support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, maintains offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Accra, Ghana.

Magadi Soda Company - Kenya ash manufacturer

From their site:

The Magadi Soda Company is one of Africa's largest soda ash manufacturers and employs over 450 people in Kenya. The company recovers trona from one of the purest surface deposits in the base of the Rift Valley and converts it into sodium carbonate (soda ash). 

The operations at Lake Magadi are situated 120kms south west of Nairobi. Product is transported by rail to the Port of Mombasa for onward shipping to the markets. 

Soda ash is an essential constituent in the manufacture of glass and important in the production of detergents and industrial chemicals. Over 95% of the company product is exported to its principal markets of South East Asia, Indian sub-continent, Africa and the Middle East. 

Travant Capital

From Site:

Travant's investment region spans 22 countries in West and Central Africa with a key focus on seven countries - Angola, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal. With offices in Lagos, Nigeria and Douala, Cameroon, we are never more than a few hours from any location in our region. In addition, our multilingual professionals were born in or have lived in six African countries. We believe this presence in our investment region gives us better access to investment opportunity and better enables us to add value to our portfolio companies.

Group Azbane

Group Azbane is a consumer products conglomerate that makes personal care products. It's products are used in the hotel and hospitality industries. Azbane makes and tests it's own products.

Lilayi Housing Estate - Lusaka, Zambia

From their site:

Situated within the Lusaka city limits, approximately 10km south of downtown Lusaka; the Lilayi Housing Estate offers you the luxury of owning your own home in a secure and well-planned environment with quick access to the city centre.

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The Lilayi Housing Estate will be constructed in seven phases over a period of approximately 3 to 4 years. Construction will started in May 2007, and the first houses will be in October 2008.

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Approximately 3700 fully serviced, housing units will be constructed in a planned community development which will include a full range of facilities and services. Features of the Estate include:

Web 2.0 in Africa - Agriculture and New Technologies

Here is a video on the use of Web 2.0 applications in the development sector, specifically among farmers in Africa.

New Heights - Nigerian Micro Finance bank

From their site:

To become the most preferred provider of microfinance and related services in Nigeria with sustained world class performance in all aspects of our business.

To build a microfinance bank that is driven by the desire to economically empower its clients to greater heights.

African Solutions to African problems - Video

As an African, it's proud to see and hear stories of African ingenuity. This video celebrates that spirit of enterprise, technology and ingenuity, while also taking a deeper look at the paradox of progress on the African continent.

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African version of Google Maps - Developers from Ghana

Group of developers and friends from Ghana have designed an African version of Google Maps, called Africa on Map. The site is currently showing the Capital, Accra, Ghana. As for funcitonality, it allows you search real estate and election results from the upcoming Ghanaian elections.

BioPAD - Growing Biotechnology in South Africa

From the site:

BioPAD believes that South Africans should own the process of developing an active and sustainable biotechnology sector in SA; we encourage broader participation by all stakeholders and BioPAD will continue to play a prominent role in facilitating the process.

Build economic and social value of the industry through sustainable commercial entities locally and internationally within the focus areas of animal health and production, mining biotech, environmental biotech, industrial biotech and human health.

Offer access to high quality financial, business and scientific resources to commercial entities through developing and nurturing strong partnerships with BioPAD personnel.

Made in Africa - PopTech 08 Talk by Erik Hersman

Africa Wind Energy Association - AFRIWEA

The site states:

AfriWEA promotes and supports wind energy development on the African continent by facilitating the exchange of political and technical information, expertise and experience in the wind energy sector. It aims to further the wind energy interests of Africa in particular and developing countries in general.

Factors that boost the prospects of the wind market in Africa include a high future demand for electricity generating capacity, and the enthusiasm of international donors to invest in clean energy schemes. However, the political priorities of governments, their policies on energy, electricity and climate change, as well as their ability to act on such policies remain a huge issue for wind energy projects in all African countries.

BarcampGhana 2008 - Dec 22nd Accra, Ghana

• BarCampGhana 2008 will be a gathering of the most innovative minds in business, science and technology in Ghana
• Hear industry leading Ghanaians speakers talk about their experiences
• Meet and interact with like minded people in a fun and interactive environment
• Discuss Ghana's role in the global village

BarCamp is simply an ‘unconference’ - an ad-hoc gathering of people with the simple desire to share and learn in an open environment. Unlike a conference, at a barcamp everyone is both a speaker and a participant. The content is provided by all attendees based on their interests.

TEDGlobal 2007 - Ernest Madu: Bringing world-class health care to the poorest

Dr. Ernest Madu runs the Heart Institute of the Caribbean in Kingston, Jamaica, where he proves that -- with careful design, smart technical choices, and a true desire to serve -- it's possible to offer world-class healthcare in the developing world.

ARM - Nigerian Asset managers

From the Site:

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ARM is one of Nigeria’s leading asset management and financial advisory firms with a global perspective in investment management. We provide a wide range of services worldwide to a diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.

ARM was established in 1994 as an asset management firm with a global perspective.

MRM - Kenya Steel rolling manufacturing

MRM dominates the steel roofing industry in Kenya. The company pioneered the ultra thin gauge rolling for galvanized steel and cold rolled drawing materials for tube making, drum manufacturing and steel fabrication.

Economist - Is the financial turmoil an opportunity for africa?

Economist offers a unique view of the global financial crisis and the impact or opportunity that may effect Africa.

Oct 9th 2008
From The Economist print edition

With world markets in turmoil, an unexpected and overlooked continent may benefit from its very isolation

TAKE a snapshot of the main news stories around Africa. In Nigeria, its most populous country, the insurgency in the oil-producing Delta region grows fiercer by the day. Zimbabwe’s agony continues as President Robert Mugabe and the new prime minister, his opponent in the last election, Morgan Tsvangirai, fail to agree on the composition of a face-saving coalition government; meanwhile, the country’s official rate of inflation has topped 11m%, with the unofficial rate put at more than 531 billion%. The president of Sudan, Africa’s largest country, has officially been accused of genocide and war crimes by the International Criminal Court. In Somalia, the tragedy of a lawless and ungoverned country only gets worse. Even in South Africa, the continent’s biggest economy, political uncertainty has set in after the ousting of the former president, Thabo Mbeki, in a bitter political feud.

Yet all this has been accompanied by a steady drumbeat of optimism about the continent, and confidence in its prospects. Despite the litany of problems, the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa (hereafter referred to as plain Africa) are, by several measures, enjoying a period of unparalleled economic success. And despite the turmoil in the world’s financial markets, international investors still think they can make money there.

In 1990-94 annual GDP growth was a weak 0.9%; since then, growth has averaged closer to 5% (see chart 1). Before this autumn’s financial meltdown, the IMF was predicting GDP growth of 6.6% this year; now it is predicting only a slightly lower rate. Annual GDP growth per person was 1.1% in the late 1990s; from 2004 to 2006 it was around 4%. In 1990 47% of Africans lived in poverty; in 2004 41% did and, if present trends continue, only 37% will by 2015. Zimbabwe apart, most African countries have been bringing inflation down, even if the trend is now creeping up again, in line with the rest of the world.

PharmAccess - Building sustainable health systems in Africa

Since its inception in 2001 PharmAccess operates at the cutting edge of health sector support in Africa, pioneering innovative approaches. PharmAccess works closely with the public and private health sector and companies, aiming to alleviate the healthcare burden of African governments through the establishment of public-private partnerships. PharmAccess always works with local organizations in Africa in order to avoid brain drain.

Through its activities PharmAccess contributes to the building of sustainable integrated health systems with upgraded hospitals and clinics, well-trained African doctors and nurses, sufficient beds, reliable diagnostics, an accountable financial and administrative organization and improved access to quality basic health care.

Cordiant Capital

Established in 1999, Cordiant is a pre-eminent fund manager of emerging market, private sector investments. With USD1.4 billion in subscriptions since inception and a solid record, the firm counts a number of the world's top institutional investors amongst its clients.

Drawn from around the globe and with over 150 years of collective experience, Cordiant's investment professionals manage top quality private equity and debt deals throughout the emerging and high growth markets. Adept at filtering deal flow, quantifying risk and navigating the challenges inherent in these markets, the Cordiant team is able to provide institutional investors with efficiently managed and cost effective access to emerging market assets.

African GIS Kenya video: Earthwatch Puts Clean Water on the Map in Africa

Research ICT Africa

Research ICT Africa seeks to fulfil a strategic gap in the development of a sustainable information society and knowledge economy on the African continent by building information communication technology (ICT) policy and regulatory research capacity in Africa needed to inform effective governance.

Research ICT Africa! is hosted by the Edge Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa. RIA! is divided into three regions-Southern Africa, East Africa and West Africa regions. The manager for the West African region is Dr Olivier Nana Nzepa while Dr Lishan Adam is the East Africa regional manager. The North Africa region is in the final stages of being set up. Professor Alison Gillwald is Research ICT Africa! Director.

Ethan Zuckerman - Explains 7 rules of innovation based on constraints

Too many times we think technology can just fix a problem. Ethan Zuckerman offers a great post of how he sees innovation come from constraints. This post actually reminds me of a book I read in business school called, "The Goal". The goal is operational book about the theory of constraints. 

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My Hearts in Accra

So I offered a talk about some very different types of innovation - African innovations including the zeer pot, William Kamkwamba’s windmill, biomass charcoal, and endless examples of innovation using mobile phones. My argument was that innovation often comes from unusual and difficult circumstances - constraints - and that it’s often wiser to look for innovation in places where people are trying to solve difficult, concrete problems rather than where smart people are sketching ideas on blank canvases.

I offered seven rules that appear to help explain how (some) developing world innovation proceeds:

- innovation (often) comes from constraint (If you’ve got very few resources, you’re forced to be very creative in using and reusing them.)

- don’t fight culture (If people cook by stirring their stews, they’re not going to use a solar oven, no matter what you do to market it. Make them a better stove instead.)

- embrace market mechanisms (Giving stuff away rarely works as well as selling it.)

- innovate on existing platforms (We’ve got bicycles and mobile phones in Africa, plus lots of metal to weld. Innovate using that stuff, rather than bringing in completely new tech.)

- problems are not always obvious from afar (You really have to live for a while in a society where no one has currency larger than a $1 bill to understand the importance of money via mobile phones.)

- what you have matters more than what you lack (If you’ve got a bicycle, consider what you can build based on that, rather than worrying about not having a car, a truck, a metal shop.)

- infrastructure can beget infrastructure (By building mobile phone infrastructure, we may be building power infrastructure for Africa - see my writings on incremental infrastructure.)

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Africa Rising by Vijay Mahajan

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With more than 900 million consumers, the continent of Africa is one of the world's fastest growing markets. In Africa Rising, Vijay Mahajan, a marketing professor at The University of Texas at Austin, reveals this remarkable marketplace as a continent with massive needs and surprising buying power.

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Crossing thousands of miles across the continent, he shares the lessons that Africa's businesses have learned about succeeding on the continent...shows how global companies are succeeding despite Africa's unique political, economic, and resource challenges...introduces local entrepreneurs and foreign investors who are building a remarkable spectrum of profitable and sustainable business opportunities even in the most challenging locations...reveals how India and China are staking out huge positions throughout Africa...and shows the power of the diaspora in driving investment and development

U.S.-Africa Private Sector Health Forum - Nov 21st - 22nd DC

The 2008 U.S.-Africa Private Sector Health Forum will focus on opportunities for private sector investment in health care and delivery in Africa, including medical franchising, leveraged partnerships, innovative financing mechanisms, risk pooling and health insurance, policy and regulatory incentives, human capacity development and social entrepreneurship.

eTranzact - online payment service

eTranzact is the first online real-time payment system that allows account holders to pay for goods and services purchased from merchants, transfer funds to any bank account, cell phone, any card, pay bills, order products e.t.c without stress.

Web (using any internet browser in a secured transaction)

Mobile Phones (GSM, CDMA or Analog)

POS (Point of Sale)

ATM (Automated Teller Machines)

Other Mobile Devices

Bank Branches

BarCamp Africa - At Google Campus Oct 11, 2008

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BarCampAfrica 2008 will be held at the Google Campus in Mountainview on 11 October 2008 as a way to bring people interested in Africa, on a variety of levels and topics, together in one place for a day of exploration, connection and enjoyment.

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BarCamp Africa/Silicon Valley brings people, institutions and enterprises interested in Africa - as a topic, an opportunity, or a place of action - together in one location to exchange ideas, build connections, re-frame perceptions and catalyze action that leads to positive involvement and mutual benefit between Silicon Valley and the continent of Africa.

Africa: A New Emerging Markets Frontier? (OECD) - Video

Interesting thoughts from OECD about Africa's emerging markets.

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In the past five years Africa's emerging markets have increasingly attracted major global investment. But the continent faces important human capital and infrastructure challenges. The International Forum on African Perspectives provided a unique opportunity to discuss these and other key issues in achieving sustainable growth in the region. In this video, Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank, Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the OECD, Javier Santiso, Director of the Development Centre, Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, South African Minister of Education and Neil Harvey, CEO of Africa and New Markets Renaissance Capital, talked to OECD TV.

More on www.oecd.org/dev/africanforum

2008 USAID Development 2.0 Challenge

USAID is proud to announce the upcoming launch of the 2008 USAID Development 2.0 Challenge. The Challenge will reward the best ideas with an invitation to present them before senior officials at USAID and a grant of as much as $10,000 for the winning solution.

Mobile technology, including everything from inventive applications for smart phones to simple text messaging, is increasingly ubiquitous in the developing world. USAID challenges you to explore its potential through an innovation for maximum development impact in areas such as health, banking,education, agricultural trade, or other pressing development issues.

An Open Source Competition

For the next two months, innovators can submit project ideas or comment on submissions. Once the submission process closes, an online community vote will select the top fifteen projects. Those projects will then go in front of a panel of USAID-selected judges who will pick the winner and two runners-up.

Go to http://www.netsquared.org/usaid and submit your ideas!

Meet the Bill Gates of Ghana - Herman Chinery Hesse, Inc.com article

Great article on Herman and his new service called BSL, a hybrid of Paypal and Amazon.com. Herman is well-known for co-founding Softtribe, Ghana's 1st software house. For those that don't know Herman, he is a story teller and a character to boot. He is a funny and passionate man, that sees potential in sectors many would consider mundane.

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Hippo Water Roller - easy transportation of water

The Hippo Water Roller Project aims to improve global access to water by making it possible to collect 24 gallons (90 liters) of water- five times the amount possible using traditional methods - in less time and much more easily. The Hippo's innovative design allows water to be placed inside its "wheel," transforming 200 pounds (90 kg)of water to an effective weight of just 22 pounds (10 kg). This means that almost anyone can easily manage a full roller over most types of terrain.

Barefoot Power

Barefoot Power is a social entrepreneurial business. They design and manufacture technology products specifically for poor people that have the potential to reduce poverty in developing countries.

They believe that energy access is one of the key building blocks of economic development. Their first area of focus, therefore, is on the most basic use of electricity - lighting.

Coast Coconut Farms

About Coast Coconut Farms

Coast Coconut Farms is dedicated to producing the highest quality extra virgin coconut oil through a Direct Micro Expelling process. Our coconut oil is made on the beautiful coast of Kenya from wild organic coconuts, using a fully sustainable and earth friendly process. Our goal and mission is to produce the finest oil on the market while providing sustainable employment in the rural areas of Kenya.

Dimagi - Technology for a Developing World

About Dimagi

Dimagi is a dedicated group of clinicians and programmers who pride themselves on building deployable systems that produce immediate results. We focus on providing the best possible user experience and impact on the ground while also implementing a system that can scale up - to a national level if necessary.

We design our systems with careful attention to the available technologies on the ground. We have experience working in areas with limited resources, unreliable power, and limited or intermittent network connectivity. Using a wide array of technologies, we are able to provide the appropriate solution in nearly any environment.

SASSI - The Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative

About SASSI

SASSI was initiated in November 2004 in order to inform and educate all participants in the seafood trade, from wholesalers to restaurateurs through to seafood lovers. The initiative builds on an earlier project started in Kwazulu-Natal Province which sought to educate restaurant dealers about the MLRA and other marine conservation issues. It has WWF-SA (via funding from The Green Trust) and the South African Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism (DEAT) as primary funding/support partners, and Ezemvelo KwaZulu Natal Wildlife, Two Oceans Aquarium, TRAFFIC , Sea World at uShaka, The South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) as implementing partners.

mPedigree - drug supply chain distribution

The mPedigree program is en route to establish national enhanced drug supply chain protection systems for all 48 sub-Saharan African countries in ten years, before expanding the program to other developing countries in South Asia, South America, the Middle East and North Africa, resources permitting.

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Banking the Unbanked: Going Mobile in Africa

From African Executive

Home to nearly a billion people, the 54 countries that make up the African continent are ushering in an era of liberty, democracy, and robust economic development. An important partner in this growth is mobile telephony.

The mobile phone is having a dramatic effect on the lives of Africans and is proving to be a life transforming device.

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Grand Inga Dam - Can it Power all of Africa?

This is old news, but for those that are not in the know. The Grand Inga dam is a gigantic infrastructure project that would make the Three Gorges Dam look like a tree house.

Here is what the BBC says about it

Financiers and African politicians will look at how to finance the $80bn (£40bn) cost of the Grand Inga project.

The plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo would generate twice as much energy as China's Three Gorges dam.

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AIC - African Advisory firm

The AiC's goal is to be the leading investment advisory firm identifying finance and investors for strategic projects, market access and opportunities on the African continent. AIC's vision is the development of Africa through the creation of long-term widespread strategically-placed business investments made in the spirit of strategic partnerships

Click Diagnostics - telemedicine via Mobile Phone

ClickDiagnostics, Inc. is a global tele-health company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. We provide a mobile technology-based infrastructure to connect community-based health-workers to remote medical specialists. They develop solutions that enable local entrepreneurs with limited medical training to serve as health-workers, providing remote consultation service to patients or gathering critical health-related data. ClickDiagnostics brings together public health, technology and entrepreneurship in a unique way.

Minaj Group - Nigerian Conglomerate

About Minaj

Minaj Group is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria and is principally engaged in the real estate, media, and energy sectors. Its holding company Minaj Holdings Limited is a private company owned and controlled by the Ajegbo family in Nigeria.