Stories from and

African Startups Win FinTech for Agriculture 2015 Competition

  7 July 2015

Two African startups have emerged winners of a regional competition organised by Village Capital: Village Capital today announced the first winners of its innovative program, East Africa: FinTech for Agriculture 2015. The program supports entrepreneurs in making financial services more affordable and accessible for smallholder farmers and other underbanked individuals...

On Assisted Dying Ruling By a South African Court

  4 June 2015

Professor Pierre de Vos weighs in on the debate about assisted dying in South Africa after a South African High Court ruled that a dying person is entitled to be assisted by a qualified medical doctor to end his or her life: It is important to note that the ruling...

Second Most Spoken Languages in Africa

  20 May 2015

Don Osborne discusses a news feature on the Olivet Nazarene University website showing a map of “The Second Most Spoken Languages Around the World.” He points out key problems from the map: The first issue is assuming that “The most spoken language in any country is often obvious; usually, it’s...

Submissions Needed for White History Month 2015

  22 February 2015

Organised by Africa is a Country blog, White History month 2015 is coming next month: Last March was the inaugural White History Month here on Africa is a Country, and without tooting too loudly on our own vuvuzela, it was kind of brilliant. So we’re going to do it again....

10 African Children’s Illustrators You Should Know

  17 February 2015

Jennifer Sefa-Boakye highlights 10 of Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators’ finalists: Late last year Ghana-based pan-African literary organization Golden Baobab introduced us to a shortlist of talented illustrators, whose work ranged from 3-D Ashanti folktales to intricately drawn Moroccan cityscapes and African barbershop-inspired murals in Durban. Awarded in November,...

MTN South Africa launches FrontRow

  5 January 2015

Telecommunication provider MTN South Africa has launched MTN FrontRow, a video-on-demand (VOD) service. Tech Moran reports:    According to MTN, ” MTN FrontRow, is a premium entertainment network that brings you all the TV series and movies you love, even if you’re not an MTN subscriber – and you could get...

Conversations and Images From Highway Africa 2014

  9 September 2014

Highway Africa 2014 took place on 7-8 September, 2014 at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. The theme of the conference was Social Media – from the margins to the mainstream. Find images and conversations about the conference here.

An Election Film Week in Lebanon to Say #NoToExtension of Parliament Term

  1 September 2014

What better than the seventh art to mobilize? In another effort to push for Elections in Lebanon and prevent an extension of the Parliamentary term #NoToExtension, Lebanese NGO Nahwa Al Muwatiniya (meaning Towards Citizenship) held an “Election Film Week”. Six works from Chile, Iran, China, Ghana and the US, varying between documentaries...

Digital Media Guru Headlines Highway Africa 2014

  25 August 2014

Highway Africa organisers have announced that Dan Gilmor will be the keynote speaker for the 18th edition of the conference which takes place from 7-8 September, 2014 in at Rhodes University, South Africa: The theme of the conference is Social Media – from the margins to the mainstream and Gillmor,...

Highway Africa 2014 Extends Deadline for Registration

  29 July 2014

The deadline for registration for the 18th annual Highway Africa Conference has been extended to Friday, 08 August 2014: Due to the influx of interest in the 18th annual Highway Africa Conference, the deadline for registration has been extended to Friday, 08 August 2014. The world’s largest annual gathering of...

On Being Young, Black and Queer in South Africa

  11 July 2014

Leila Dee Dougan shares a music video from the latest album by the South African artist Umlilo: Umlilo (previously profiled on Africa is a Country here) continues to push societal boundaries, crushing the norms of sexuality and gender roles with ‘Magic Man’, a track from his latest album, which will...

Project Uses Mobile Phones to Encourage Reading

  9 April 2014

Lauri writes about a project in South Africa, FunDza Literacy Trust, that takes advantage of mobile phone technology to encourage reading among kids: What I find lovely, though, is when Africans sort out innovative solutions to their problems. FunDza Literacy Trust is one such solution. Cellphones have taken off big...

Mandela's lesson for Hong Kong

  30 December 2013

Sa Law from left21 wrote a piece on Nelson Mandela and his lesson for Hong Kong, a city where migrant workers are living in apartheid. Due to their long working hours for six days a week, they lack the chance to socialize and mingle with the rest of Hong Kong...

Mandela and Mao, Not Much in Common

  12 December 2013

Jeremiah from Jotting in the Granite Studio comments on the China's state broadcaster CCTV's attempt to draw the link between Mandela and Mao Zedong: Mandela didn’t really have much in common with Mao. Mao was an idealist in the strictest sense of the word, a man who believed that how...

On Twitter, Peruvians Remember Song Dedicated to Mandela

  6 December 2013

When South African leader Nelson Mandela was released from prison in the 90s, Spanish-Peruvian musician Miki Gonzáles [es] wrote the song “Liberaron a Mandela” [Mandela was released]. Peruvian Twitter users remembered the song when they learned about Mandela's passing: Temón de Miki Gonzales cuando liberaron a Mandela, allá x los...

Czech Crime Boss Claims South African Police “Tortured” Him

  24 November 2013

Radovan Krejcir, an alleged Czech crime boss living in South Africa, was arrested on Friday, November 22, 2013, in Johannesburg on charges of kidnapping and attempted murder, although there are rumors on social media that other charges, such as money laundering and conspiracy, will be added to the list. Krejcir,...