- May 3 2023
How to transfer or request airtime on MTN in South Africa
There are times you may need to transfer airtime from your airtime balance to another MTN user. Or you may be in a situation whereby you need airtime but can’t recharge or buy from anywhere and your only bet is someone sending you airtime. So how do you get through to a potential sender without airtime or mobile data? No worries. Here, we’ll show you how to transfer or request airtime on MTN in South Africa. Requesting airtime on MTN in South Africa In a case where you need to request airtime from another MTN user in South Africa, the MTN Me2U service is available for you. With this service, you can ask a friend or family to send you airtime, SMSs or data straight to your line. And it’s free. To request airtime, simply dial *136*3# and follow the prompts. Or dial *136*6328*(cell phone number you’re requesting from)# Send airtime on MTN in South Africa The MTN Me2U service is also your way forward when you’re looking for how to send airtime on MTN in South Africa. Simply dial *136*3# and follow the prompts you see. You can also just dial *136*6328*(cellphone number you’re sending airtime to)*(value of airtime)#. Transferring airtime with the mobile app in South Africa If you’re an MTN mobile subscriber in South Africa, transferring airtime to your loved ones has never been easier with the MTN mobile app. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to transfer airtime: Download and install the MTN mobile app on your smartphone. Register/log in to the app with your MTN number and password. Click on the “Airtime Share” option on the main menu. Enter the recipient’s MTN number and the amount you want to transfer. Confirm the transaction and enter your MTN mobile app PIN. The recipient will receive an SMS notification with the airtime transferred. That’s it about how to send or request airtime on MTN in South Africa.
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- May 3 2023
Entering Tech #028: Five AI careers to consider
AI careers you can try out. 03 || May || 2023 View in Browser Brought to you by Issue #28 Five AI careers to check out Share this newsletter Greetings ET people We’ve all heard this ominous statement in recent times: “AI is coming for all our jobs”. What the purveyors of this sentiment may not have mentioned is that AI is a field that is actually ripe with career opportunities, if you know where to look. In this week’s edition of Entering Tech, we take a look at the field of Artificial Intelligence (beyond ChatGPT!) and some promising careers in the field. If you’re interested in getting on the machines’ good side before the eventual uprising, this is probably a good time to get in the field and learn all you can. As usual, please share this newsletter within your networks so we can grow our readership before the newsletter AI that’s probably being built right now comes for our jobs. Happy reading! by Pamela Tetteh and Timi Odueso. Tech trivia Some trivia before we begin. Answers are at the bottom of this newsletter. What’s the first AI tool launched in the world? How many people use ChatGPT monthly? What is AI? AI stands for Artificial Intelligence, and this refers to intelligent machines that can perform tasks which typically require human intelligence. For Terminator fans, think Skynet. You’ve probably used AI before. Yes, ChatGPT is currently the most prominent example of AI but before its launch, AI was already in our lives. From the use of weather apps and Google Maps to facial recognition software on phones and smart assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri, we’ve all interacted with AI at some point. As technology advances, AI is becoming increasingly prevalent in our daily lives, from voice assistants on our phones to recommendation algorithms on social media platforms. With the growing demand for AI applications, the industry is expanding rapidly, making it an exciting career option for those interested in cutting-edge technology. How AI works So how does Siri know your voice? How does Spotify recommend music based on songs you’ve already listened to? Are there people running AI? AI entails intelligent electronic systems and bots that can perceive and interpret human prompts in their environment and take actions that result in needed success. For this to work though, human beings have to train these machines in a process called machine learning—they have to teach the machine to recognise these human behaviours and respond accordingly. And they do this by feeding the machine large amounts of data and writing code—algorithms—so that it can understand that data. Image source: Harsh Aryan It’s just like raising a child, except this one does exactly what you tell it to do and isn’t sticky 80% of the time—and you can work it to the bone without human rights organisations crying child abuse. Jk, jk. The Entering Tech Shorts This edition of Entering starts with a question on if no-code development is the same as software engineering but with cheat codes. Foluso Ayodele, in 60 seconds, tells you everything you need to know about being a no-code developer. Watch the 1-minute YouTube Short here! Careers in AI Skills needed: Mathematics, Machine Learning, Programming Skills (Backend), and Data Analysis. 1. Machine Learning Engineer: Machine learning engineers build and maintain machine learning systems that can learn and improve over time. They work on algorithms and models that can analyse data, detect patterns, and make predictions. 2. Data Scientist: Data scientists collect, process, and analyse large data sets to identify trends and insights. They use statistical and machine learning models to develop predictive models and inform business decisions. 3. Natural Language Processing (NLP) Engineer: NLP engineers develop algorithms and models that can understand and process human language. They work on applications such as voice assistants, chatbots, and sentiment analysis. 4. Computer Vision Engineer: Computer vision engineers develop algorithms and models that can analyse visual data such as images and videos. They work on applications such as facial recognition, object detection, and self-driving cars. 5. Robotics Engineer: Robotics engineers design and build robots that can perform tasks autonomously. They work on applications such as industrial automation, medical robots, and drones. Start your AI career here Unlike other careers, AI and machine learning are best learnt by those with some knowledge of backend engineering and math. Check out this edition to learn more about backend engineering. Machine learning on Coursera Price: Free ($79 for certificate) Duration: 4 months Tools Needed: Internet + Laptop Level: Beginner Get Course Deep Learning Specialisation on Coursera Price: Free ($49 for certificate) Duration: 4 months Tools Needed: Internet + Laptop Level: Intermediate Get Course Machine Learning Crash Course on Google AI Price: Free Duration: 15 hours Tools Needed: Internet + Laptop Level: Intermediate Get Course Machine Learning Specialisation on EdX Price: Free ($300 for certificate) Duration: 12 weeks Tools Needed: Internet + Laptop Level: Intermediate Get Course Introduction to Machine Learning for Coders on Fast.AI Price: Free Duration: 12 weeks Tools Needed: Internet + Laptop Level: Beginner (for coders) Get Course Attend the Africa Teen Tech Festival Explore the future of tech and kickstart your career at the Africa Teen Tech Fest! Gain valuable guidance on job hunting and identify career paths aligned with your interests. Participate in Drone Soccer, e-Sports and Virtual Reality exhibits. Teens can win ₦250,000 in cash prizes! Register for the festival now! Tech trivia answers Although AI programmes have been in development since the 1950s, the first one that could give output was a programme launched in 1996 called ELIZA which could respond based on a set of commands. ChatGPT presently has about 100 million users globally. It achieved this status within five months of launch! Jobs Tek Experts – Technical Lead – Software Developer – Full time, Lagos Nigeria Venture Builder – Founder’s Factory – Full-time, Kenya Kuda Technologies Limited – Technical lead, Backend Engineer – Full time, Lagos, Nigeria Vocalysd – Technical Co-founder – Full-time,
Read More- May 3 2023
Kenya boosts payments interoperability with state-backed QR codes
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has announced the Kenya Quick Response Code Standard 2023, also shortened as KE-QR Code Standard 2023. The service seeks to boost digital payments, which are offered by multiple financial institutions in the country. These companies usually have in-house payments solutions, meaning customers can only use a channel that has been implemented by a vendor. To this end, the CBK wants to eliminate that friction through this latest collaboration. The issue Kenyans have been using till and paybill numbers for an extended period when paying for goods and services. However, and for a long time, many payments companies, including banks and mobile money institutions, failed to work together to make their products interoperable. This issue has since been addressed following the CBK’s intervention, which forced Safaricom’s hand to accept other players to use its M-PESA paybill and till numbers (Airtel Money and T-Kash). The move was welcomed by customers, but it was only limited to mobile money products. Lender Equity attempted to fix the issue with another product named Equity One Number, which allows merchants to receive payments from multiple payment channels or mobile money wallets via a single till number. Equity’s approach appears to be what the CBK has adopted, but instead of using till numbers, customers will now be required to scan a QR code to make a payment. Kenya Quick Response Code According to the CBK governor, Patrick Njoroge, merchants will now be able to receive payments from multiple channels, be it banks (Equity, KCB, Cooperative Bank, Absa, and more), mobile money wallets, and other payment processors such as VISA and Mastercard. “The Standard, which is based on the EMVCo QR Code Specification, has been developed through collaboration between the CBK, payment service providers, banks, and card schemes, among others,” a statement from the CBK reads. “The Standard will be rolled out in a phased approach as these players align their operations to requirements set out in the Standard and increase customer awareness,” the statement continues. This means that merchants no longer need to install multiple paybill or till number systems for their businesses. Customers, on the other hand, will enjoy a fairly direct and secure digital payment option, with more payment choices and better protection. They can make payments quickly using their preferred payments channel, without having to carry cash. According to a statement, they can trust that their payment information is secure and won’t be shared with merchants. “QR payments use an EMV standard for QR codes which mitigate many of the risks commonly associated with QR payments today. Consumers are in control throughout the process, from initiating the payment, confirming the transaction amount, and authorising payment. The consumer does not have to hand over their payment device to a clerk during a QR transaction,” reads the aforementioned statement from CBK. To accept QR code payments, merchants will present the code to the customer, who will scan it to initiate the transaction. However, it is not clear whether merchants will implement QR codes for payments at their places of business. This is because they already have other channels (paybills for mobile money wallets and POS machines for card payments) that have proven quite popular among Kenyans. Equally important is that many locals use M-PESA services and have become accustomed to settling their bills using the platform. At the moment, more than 600K businesses have till/paybill numbers for payments.
Read More- May 3 2023
Exclusive: A fire incident at Zenith Bank’s primary data centre is causing a network downtime
Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s biggest bank by market capitalisation, is experiencing a total infrastructure downtime after a fire at the company’s primary data centre. The downtime affects Zenith Bank’s services, leaving millions of customers in the lurch. At one of the bank’s branches, a security official could be heard telling a customer that the network was down. The security official did not provide further information. Multiple sources told TechCabal that the downtime began around 7 a.m. this morning. One source confirmed that the incident started after a backup power system caught fire, triggering a power cut to the data centre. According to sources with knowledge of the matter, the bank is now attempting to switch to its disaster recovery infrastructure to get all services up and running. It is standard practice for big organisations to have disaster recovery protocols, but Zenith could not switch to its recovery infrastructure at the time of this report. One source told TechCabal that the delay in switching to its disaster recovery is connected to the fact that not all banking service were running in an active-active deployment. It means that the services running active-standby now have to be switched manually. The source told TechCabal that, despite the delays, the bank expects to have its infrastructure up and running before the end of the day. TechCabal sent emails to Zenith Bank’s corporate communications department and didn’t get a response at the time of this report. A member of the communications team who spoke to TechCabal on the phone said that she could neither confirm nor deny the incident. The bank has also not shared any information with customers on social media channels or acknowledged that it is experiencing a downtime. Today’s incident will bring conversations about moving banking infrastructure to the cloud to the front burner again. While some may argue that it may not wholly solve reliability issues, it could go some way in helping to prevent day-long downtimes when unexpected incidents happen. *This is a developing story.
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- May 3 2023
Unpacking Africa’s fastest growing companies list
Yesterday, the Financial Times, and research company, Statista released a report on Africa’s fastest growing companies 2023. The list highlights how the top 100 African businesses from across different sectors—fintech, renewable energy, healthcare, commodities and agriculture—kept their businesses afloat while most of the world’s businesses shut down. Topping the list is Nigerian-based startup Afex Commodities Exchange and Moniepoint. Other companies on the list include Wasoko, from Kenya, which topped the list the previous year, and Altech, an Energy company from the Democratic Republic of Congo. This article highlights some of the talking points of the report. The list shows a balanced representation of all sectors Although fintech and agriculture hold top spots, Africa’s fastest-growing companies list shows a balanced representation of companies across different sectors. Companies from across IT & Software, Logistics & Transportation, Real Estate, Energy & Utilities, Construction & Engineering, Food & Beverages, Media & Telecommunications, Agriculture, Retail, Hospitality, Professional Services, E-commerce, Management & Consulting, Manufacturing, Education, Metals & Mining, were all on the list with varying degrees of representation. Image source: Faith Omoniyi/ TechCabal Fintech and IT companies had the highest number of representation on the list, with nineteen and sixteen businesses, respectively. Agriculture, with a representation of nine countries, comes in third and is closely followed by the Metal and Mining sector, with eight companies contributing to the list. Sectors with the lowest number of representation include manufacturing, hospitality& travel, employment services, and professional services, with one entry apiece. Image source: Faith Omoniyi/ TechCabal The big four lead the pack The Africa’s Fastest growing companies list saw representation from fourteen different African countries: Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Morocco, Tanzania, Ghana, Mauritius, Zambia, Malawi and Namibia. Image source: Faith Omoniyi/ TechCabal Companies from the big four—South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya—heavily dominated the list. Leading the pack were South Africa and Nigeria, with thirty-three and twenty-seven businesses, respectively. Kenya and Egypt both polled twelve and nine businesses, respectively. Zambia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, DRC, Tanzania, and Malawi polled the least number of entries, with one entry each. Image source: Faith Omoniyi/ TechCabal Regions. Southern Africa produced the most number of entries in the list, with 37 companies, hugely boosted by figures in South Africa and just four in Namibia. Western Africa comes in second with 30 entries across Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Eastern Africa had a show of nineteen company contributions. Middle Africa contributed the least to the 100 fastest growing company list with just one entry. Image source: Faith Omoniyi/ TechCabal Eastern Africa had the highest number of countries on the list, with 5 countries, closely followed by West Africa, with three. Middle Africa had the least with one, while South Africa and North Africa had two countries each on the list.
Read More- May 3 2023
Wi-flix streaming service launches in Zambia
Wi-flix, one of Africa’s fastest growing streaming services, has launched in Zambia in partnership with MTN Zambia. Zambia is the fourth country in which the service is available on the continent, joining Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria. Speaking at the launch, Louis Manu, the co-founder & chief commercial officer of Wi-flix, stated that the move forms part of the company’s audacious ambition to become the leading content provider for the African continent and the diaspora. “We witness another exciting milestone as we launch in Zambia and bring to the public the most exciting premium content on demand and at the most affordable rate which is exactly what many Zambians are looking for…Customers can now enjoy the best African and foreign movie titles, TV shows, sports, and a variety of the very best of entertainment anytime, anywhere and on whatever device, ” Manu stated. Speaking for MTN Zambia, Richard Acheampong, chief consumer officer, stated that the move takes Zambia one step closer to achieving its Ambition 2025 objective of digitalisation. “I am delighted to see the successful partnership between Wi-flix and MTN Zambia, providing our customers access to a variety of premium content. We are taking a step towards achieving our Ambition 2025 of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress, harnessing the power of our leading brand, its footprint, connectivity infrastructure and technology platforms. With Dolby Atmos and updated catalogs, coupled with our 5G high-speed internet connectivity, customers now have access to an unbeatable entertainment experience,” he said. MTN Zambia customers can access the Wi-flux service with daily, weekly, and monthly data packages at K1, K5 and K20 respectively.
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- May 3 2023
New tax is set to make phone calls and data more expensive for Nigerians
The Federal Government of Nigeria has reintroduced a 5% excise duty on telecom services as part of the fiscal measures to be implemented this year. The announcement came as a surprise to many, as in September last year, the Federal Government suspended the proposed excise duty on telecommunication services and eventually exempted the sector from the duty in March. Image Source: LinkedIn In September, the government suspended the implementation of the tax, apparently under pressure from the minister of communication, Isa Pantami. Pantami stated that the telecoms industry was under threat from excessive and multiple taxes, pointing out that the number of taxes paid by ICT firms at both the federal and state levels had increased from 39 in August to 41 in September 2022, in just one month. In March, Pantami announced that the government had exempted the sector from tax duties following his convincing argument. However, the recent Fiscal Policy Measures for 2023, as revealed in a Circular dated April 20, 2023, and signed by the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, suggests otherwise. According to the circular, the government is set to proceed with the implementation of the five per cent excise duty on telecom services. The document reads, “The excise duty rate on telecommunication services remains as approved by Mr President and published in the Official Gazette No. 88, Vol. 109 of May 11, 2022.” The tax is applicable on mobile telephone services, fixed telephone services, and internet services, both postpaid and prepaid. Telecom providers had asserted that their customers would have to bear the cost of the new taxes. This walk back by the government has left consumers concerned, and rightfully so, as the policy is coming at a time when the country’s inflation rate has risen to 22.04%—the third consecutive increase in 2023.
Read More- May 3 2023
SafeBoda gets a new CEO
The Kampala-headquartered mobility company has appointed former chief financial officer, Rob Sanford as CEO as former co-CEOs and co-founders, Alastair Sussock and Maxime Dieudonné seem to be stepping back from day-to-day operations at the company they founded 8 years ago. On Tuesday, Sanford announced his appointment as CEO of SafeBoda on LinkedIn. Separately, a SafeBoda representative confirmed the news to TechCabal. Rob Sanford joined SafeBoda in 2019 as Head of Finance, before serving as the company’s global VP of finance between 2020 and 2021. He was chief financial officer for just under 2 years before stepping into the CEO role. “As CFO, I’ve had the opportunity to work with an amazing team of professionals who are passionate about our mission and dedicated to making a positive impact. Special thanks to Maxime Dieudonné and Alastair Sussock for giving me the opportunity to witness first-hand the dedication and hard work that goes into making SafeBoda a success. They will be big boots to fill!” Sanford, SafeBoda’s new CEO enthused. Sussock and Dieudonné could not be immediately reached for comments. However, Sussock’s LinkedIn indicates that he is taking up the role of non-executive chairman at SafeBoda. The pair founded SafeBoda in 2015 as an on-demand motorcycle taxi service focusing on safety as boda boda (regular motorcycle taxis in Kampala) were seen as driving recklessly. SafeBoda grew quickly, and launched its services in Kenya in 2018, followed by an entry into Nigeria, where it commenced operations in Ibadan. But it was forced to shut down its Kenya operations due to the negative effects of COVID-19 on its business, SafeBoda said. Last year, the company announced its departure from Nigeria to focus on “bringing the company to profitability by deepening its core transportation offering” in Uganda, its largest market. In October, SafeBoda announced car-hailing pilots in Kampala. It was a precursor to SafeCar, a car taxi service that is now operating in Kampala.
Read More- May 3 2023
Exclusive: Nigerian VC firms are considering collaborating to check unethical founders
“Nobody here can check him. He is the founder; and to him, that means that he is God.” That’s Pearl, the co-founder of an Africa-focused fintech firm speaking to me about the startup’s founder. Pearl asked to be identified by a pseudonym to avoid clashes with this founder. “He is always at loggerheads with investors,” she adds. “But we have to keep up with it. We are in a fragile ecosystem and cannot avoid the bad PR. That will be bad for everyone.” Days later, I listened to a recorded meeting between this founder and an employee. With a barrage of cuss words, he asked that the staff keep quiet or get fired instantly. “Employees and investors are at the receiving end of terrible founders—bad actors who are taking advantage of the high-trust ecosystem to live selfishly. So, when I heard that investors were collating a list of bad actors, I was excited; and I’m happy to support such a move because it has become necessary,” an anonymous general partner at an African-focused VC firm said to me. The Checklist According to three corroborating sources in the local venture ecosystem, VC firms have begun conversations about sharing information. The thinking is that sharing information will help stop rogue founders from replaying their scripts for several investors. The common thread from these sources, all of whom asked to remain anonymous, is that VCs have borne the brunt of unethical founders who see venture money as a private chest and a ticket to a better life. ”Why would I raise capital for a founder to build personal houses abroad in the name of offices?” the aforementioned GP asked. When asked how VC firms are unable to spot such questionable founders during their due diligence processes, the GP said, “Most VCs only do their due diligence before they invest. Then they throw in money and hope the founder multiplies it for them. What we fail to realise is that it’s a huge temptation for founders to have sole access to the kind of money they have never managed before. That’s when strange thoughts and ideas come, and it takes a high degree of integrity to stay in line. Sometimes, it’s not even their fault. There should be checks and balances to help these founders.” A general manager at a top African VC firm who spoke to TechCabal on the condition of anonymity shared how VC firms are learning and adapting to the behaviours of founders. “VCs are becoming more involved in the day-to-day operations of startups. We are learning every day and approaching due diligence with more sophistication and collaboration. In extreme cases, such as one I am privy to, a board sued the founder for squandering funds.” Wavering ecosystem trust Prior to 2015, several foreign investors looking to invest in emerging markets sidestepped Africa for several reasons, ranging from competence to integrity issues. However, the tide changed soon enough. Some African founders globally demonstrated integrity to match their competence. It took a few success stories to get the job done, but the ecosystem eventually opened. Investors rushed in, and a high-trust ecosystem flourished on the back of the “Africa rising” narrative. “Trust is fragile and takes a while to build. The high-trust ecosystem we have today was built over time. It’s critical that the founders that are coming on board understand this and act carefully not to break it. Also, as an ecosystem, we have to be careful of bad actors and weed them out fast, because if the trust is gone, it affects everyone.” Oo Nwoye, TechCircle’s founder and long-time African tech pundit, said to Techcabal. VCs may have their hands tied From the outside, one can imagine VCs at the top of the ecosystem pyramid, controlling the flow of funds and immune from the antics of founders. But that picture is hardly correct. VC firms rely on the accountability of founders to thrive and make critical decisions. Where accountability and integrity become questionable, VCs are backed into really tight positions—and bleed a lot of dollars. According to the general manager quoted above, VCs’ contracts with founders—term sheets—only protect the investments made by the VC firms, but do not hedge against scams and other unethical practices. “This puts VCs in a difficult situation, and the checklist is a response to these concerns,” he said. For the local VCs involved, collaboration has become key as they strive to attain the common goal of evading bad actors. Their move mirrors a recent coalition by 13 African fintechs—including Flutterwave—who are teaming up to stop fraud and share data of “individuals and groups that have attempted or made fraudulent transactions.” Read also: Nigerian fintech startups want to collaborate to fight fraud While this move may add an extra layer of due diligence for investors, there are brewing concerns about how easily such a coalition could drift into gatekeeping. Some founders that spoke to TechCabal argued that VC firms on this coalition train must realise that they too owe the ecosystem the transparency they seek from founders. The truth is: VCs, especially when they work together, can unlock opportunities for founders and overcome challenges with bad actors. However, the African tech ecosystem is nascent and bad actors are in the minority; so the necessity of a checklist at this stage largely remains debatable.
Read More- May 3 2023
Tanzanian startup NovFeed wins $1 million grant from Milken Institute & Motsepe Foundation
Tanzania biotech startup NovFeed has been announced as first prize winner of the “Milken-Motsepe prize in Agritech”. The company scooped a $1 million prize for their success. A $300,000 award for second place was presented to Karpolax, a Uganda-based company. The startup’s nanotechnology solution that helps fruits and vegetables stay fresh longer without losing nutritional value earned it the prize. Meanwhile, IRRI-AfricaRice came third for its biotech innovation to help rice farmers protect their crops from flooding, winning $150,000. The Milken-Motsepe prize in agritech is the first of a series of multiyear, multimillion-dollar innovation competitions and programs to advance technological progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The prizes were awarded at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, California. Bonus prizes of $100,000 each were also announced. Kuronga , based in South Africa, took the bonus prize for the most creative use of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies for its machine learning and machine vision mobile app. The solution uses AI to connect farmers with buyers and making it easier to validate the quality of crops. COOL LION , a Côte d’Ivoire-based start-up, took home the People’s Choice bonus prize for the most transformative idea according to the public. The company provides cooling-as-a-service solutions for different industries (agriculture, fisheries, etc.), powered by renewable energy. “Varied solutions were considered during the competition, and this contributes to current and future efforts to understand and resolve challenges facing agriculture,” said Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, co-founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation. “Making progress towards the SDGs is crucial. We are truly impressed by the participants’ ideas and thank each of them for their dedication to finding viable and scalable solutions.” After launching the competition in April 2021, more than 3,300 people from 105 countries across six continents registered for the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech. An independent panel of expert judges selected 25 finalist teams to receive $10,000 to develop and test their innovations to improve economic value for small and medium-sized farms in Africa. Each of the teams took part in a judging process, which assessed their innovation’s potential to increase farm productivity and/or decrease post-harvest loss. Teams also received a variety of special benefits, including participation in a tuition-free, experiential learning program offered by Global Innovation Catalyst in collaboration with Stanford Online, where they received mentoring from industry experts, pitch coaching, and feedback sessions. “The winners exemplify the fact that bold, scalable, transformative ideas can come from anywhere,” said Dr. Emily Musil Church, senior director at the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy. “Bringing talent to the fore and supporting entrepreneurs is an intentional goal of the competition. It doesn’t end there. The expanded network of investors and stakeholders built into the program offers the winning teams continued opportunities to innovate and thrive.”
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