NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Startups Grow in Africa, But Ecosystems Need More to Flourish

Obamania has gripped Kenya as the 44th U.S. president lands in Nairobi, the country’s capital, for a visit. From t-shirts, mugs, and caps with Barack Obama’s name and image to “Obama themed ringtones,” (“Yes we can!”) it will not be hard for the U.S. president to find entrepreneurs in Kenya.

Source

TechCrunch (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Technology

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

GE in $14.7M Vows to Build EA Healthcare Skills

Ahead of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, announced a series of new commitments aimed at addressing some of the most critical health challenges in East Africa through a sustained focus on skills development and capacity building.

Source

East African Business Week (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Health Care

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

impact investing

Ghana: Bamboo Bike Ambulances for Dawea Community Health Center

The Bright Generation Community Foundation (BGCF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has scored a first in its effort to utilise locally available and sustainable materials to manufacture an easier means of transport for the health sector.

Source

allAfrica (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Health Care

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

transportation

Social Entrepreneurs That Are Changing the Developing World

Corporate Social Responsibility is a trend that has been gaining more attention in recent years.

Source

Business.com (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, social enterprise

TechLab Wants to Mentor Africa’s 10 Best Financial and Health Tech Companies

African financial tech and health tech companies can improve their businesses through a new program aimed at providing mentorship to the 10 most innovative companies in those sectors.

Source

htxt (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Health Care, Technology

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

healthcare technology

Africa Makes Leap in Cross-Border Mobile Payments

New partnerships aimed at getting a bigger slice of the $48 billion Africans sent and received last year.

Source

Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

digital payments, financial inclusion, mobile finance

Meet the Kenyan Startup Trying to Change Bill Gates’ Mind on Bitcoin

Bill Gates has been publicly skeptical about the future of the payment technology in the developing world.

Source

CoinDesk (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

digital payments, remittances

Obama’s Top Initiative to Aid Africa Is Now in Jeopardy

As President Barack Obama returns to Africa this week, his major initiative to help the continent double access to electricity is in jeopardy, undermined by Congress.

Source

The State Newspaper (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

public policy