Showing 16 results for:
sub-saharan-africa
Popular topics
All results
The Trump administration has repealed a Biden-era policy that guaranteed a baseline wage for workers on federal contracts, cutting the federal contractor minimum wage down from $17.75 an hour. However, the move still leaves an Obama-era rule in place that puts the minimum at $13.30 an hour. With that single change, hundreds of thousands of private-sector workers employed by federal contractors are at risk of wage reductions up to 25% — a shift that will disproportionately affect workers without college degrees and those already earning near-poverty wages, the Center for American Progress reports. The Federal Contractor Minimum Wage: A Lifeline Now Lost The now-defunct regulation, established under Executive Order 14026, raised the federal contractor minimum wage in 2021 to $15 and indexed it to inflation, bringing it to $17.75 in 2025. It was designed to ensure that janitors, cooks, maintenance workers, and other federal contract laborers earned a livable wage. More than 327,000...
In the wake of the catastrophic midair collision between an American Airlines plane and a U.S. military helicopter near Washington, DC — one of the deadliest in more than two decades — President Donald Trump has falsely pointed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies as a possible contributor to the crash. Though there are urgent questions surrounding aviation safety and regulatory oversight, Trump has suggested that DEI initiatives “could have been” to blame despite no factual connection between diversity efforts and the circumstances of the crash. Yet, just days before this devastating collision, Trump made a decision that leaves questions about his judgement. Based on a report from the New Republic, he eliminated the full membership of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a move that effectively removed key leadership that has overseen regulatory compliance and risk mitigation within the industry since 1988. He also fired...
Google continues to build on its commitment to invest $1 billion in Africa’s digital economy. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Google announced on Oct. 6, 2021, that it would focus on supporting the continent’s tech sector over the next five years to make the internet more accessible. “Today I’m excited to reaffirm our commitment to the continent through an investment of $1 billion over five years to support Africa’s digital transformation to cover a range of initiatives from improved connectivity to investment in startups,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said during a virtual event held in 2021, per TechCrunch. Fast forward to 2024, and the tech giant has already invested over $900 million since the announcement and expects to reach its goal by 2026, according to information shared on its platform. Its most recent investment includes participation in a $90 million funding round for telecom solutions provider Cassava Technologies, one of Google’s partners in building the first subsea...
Co-founders Ife Johnson and Justin Ziegler have raised millions to improve cross-border payments in Africa. The pair is behind Juicyway, a platform that makes it easier for entrepreneurs to compensate vendors, contractors, and other parties locally or internationally and exchange currencies such as NGN, CAD, USD, USDT, and USDC, its website mentions. Photo Credit: Juicyway Johnson, who was born and raised in Africa, saw firsthand the barriers faced when platforms such as Juicyway did not exist. “Without access to American banking or platforms like Juicyway, as someone born and raised in Africa, I wouldn’t be able to participate in the global economy, you know, as free as I currently do,” Johnson told TechCrunch. According to data released by Remitscope, remittance flows into Africa were $90.2 billion in 2023. Additionally, the average fee charged to remittance senders was 8.4% in the first quarter of 2024, which is considered high. Juicyway addresses these concerns by offering...
A cryptocurrency token tied to Ripple Labs is on the rise. What’s more, if you were compelled to invest in XRP following a private Consensus conference after-party hosted by Ripple Labs and featuring Snoop Dogg in May 2018, you’re likely on cloud nine. ICYMI: Snooperang @SnoopDogg #XRPCommunity pic.twitter.com/RWjBsKUVhI — Ripple (@Ripple) May 16, 2018 According to Forbes, the token has been fairing well, particularly after Donald Trump was elected as the 47th president of the United States. It also highlights optimism stemming from Gary Gensler’s planned departure as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2025, with anticipation for him to be replaced by a U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump appointee. The SEC sued Ripple in 2020, alleging that the company failed to register its XRP token as a security before selling it, reports Business Times. Benzinga states that XRP had seen a rise of 87% between Nov. 27 and Dec. 3, 2024. In a 24-hour period ending Dec. 3, it...
A long-time factor for a medical test for kidney transplant evaluations has been rectified, which has lessened a massive barrier for Black patients in need of a new kidney. Previously, the eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) test that is used for kidney transplant waitlist evaluations included race and outdated studies that inaccurately showed that Black patients’ kidney function was different than other racial groups and underestimated the extent of their illness, according to ABC News. Today, race is no longer taken into consideration. This came after reassessment from the National Kidney Foundation and the American Society of Nephrology in 2020, which determined race had no connection to kidney function. As a resulted, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network enacted the update in 2023. “That really was problematic, but it was very widely accepted,” said Martha Pavlakis, former chair of the kidney committee with the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network,...
The phrase “NEPA took the light” is something that you hear quite often in Nigeria. The acronym stands for the National Electric Power Authority, the former name for the company that keeps the power running in the country. Now, named the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, electricity cutting off sporadically continues to be an ongoing issue. In 2014, Beacon Power Services (BPS) founder and chief executive officer Bimbola Adisa launched his company to help improve electricity access in not only Nigeria but across Africa, TechCrunch reports. A report says that in 2020, 77 percent of Sub-Saharan African countries had no access to electricity, having to turn to alternatives like generators. After eight years invested in providing energy management software and analytics for utilities, BPS has recently raised $2.7 million, according to the outlet. “Africa is home to the fastest growing cities in the world, but when most people think of energy access in Africa, they think of the rural...
When used for good, technology can be life-changing! According to NPR, the first sickle cell patient to be treated with CRISPR gene editing is still thriving nearly a year following her trial of the experimental treatment. “I’m doing great,” shared 36-year-old Victoria Gray in an interview of an update of her status since undergoing the treatments. Thanks to the technology that genetically modified her blood cells to keep them working, Gray is now free from complications that have taken over her life since birth.
Meta’s (formerly Facebook) Head of Network Investments Emerging Markets Aaron Russell has worked for the tech giant for nearly seven years. In his current role, he manages and helps develop strategic partnerships to address and create solutions for the connectivity barriers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Russell is on a mission to better connect the world to faster and reliable internet. “Connecting the world is really one of the fundamental challenges of our generation. And that’s an idea that we really embrace,” Aaron Russell told AfroTech. “We work with partners to develop innovative technologies around the world that help some of the biggest connectivity challenges and solving them, and together we’re bringing more people online to a faster internet.” Russell and Meta think Internet connectivity issues can be solved by tapping into subsea cables. But what are those? Subsea cables are fiber optic cables that are laid in the ocean and connect two or more landing points. Ships drop these...
Since Twiga Foods’ launch in 2014, the startup has been using technology to build more efficient supply chains in food and retail distribution in Kenya. With the announcement of their latest funding, the company aims to take their mission across the African continent. Twiga Foods raised $50 million on Nov. 1 in a Series C round, TechCrunch reports. The round was led by private equity firm Creadev and majority of the participants from their previous Series B round invested in Twiga. New investors included OP Finnfund Global and Endeavor Catalyst Fund. “We are deeply convinced in Twiga’s potential to revolutionize informal retail across Sub-Saharan Africa, ” said Pierre Fauvet, Africa director at Creadev, in a statement. “Tapping into a $77 billion urban market on the continent, Twiga has gained significant traction since inception, leveraging on technology to optimize the food supply chain in African cities and constantly innovating to better tackle logistics, commercial, social and...
African mobility is taking on a new meaning thanks to fintech startup Moove and its company mission. Today, the Nigerian tech-based vehicle financing platform — also Uber’s exclusive car financing and vehicle supply partner in sub-Saharan Africa — announced the raise of a $23 million Series A funding round to help empower more African drivers to buy and own their own cars. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Moove (@mooveafrica) According to a press release, the round was led by Speedinvest and Left Lane Capital, with participation from other investors such as DCM, Clocktower Technology Ventures, thelatest.ventures, LocalGlobe, Tekton, FJ Labs, Palm Drive Capital, Roka Works, KAAF Investments, Spartech Ventures, Class 5 Global, and Victoria van Lennep, co-founder of Lendable. Additional investors also include Africa specialist, Verod Kepple Africa Ventures and existing Moove lender Emso Asset Management. For many of its U.S.-based venture capital backers, Moove is their...
While it may be faster for African businesses to trade goods with other partners outside of the continent, it also makes them more dependent on exports and prevents new markets from being created. To combat this, Ghanaian-based company Jetstream is proposing its own solution. Jetstream — which operates as a vertical broker between the fragmented and often-hidden segments of cross-border supply chains in Africa — uses technology in order to simplify the process of moving cargo across borders, per its company website. Today, its mission has become focused on “white labeling the systems built internally to manage shipments and financing for customers,” according to TechCrunch, and the startup just closed a $3 million seed round to continue this work. The outlet reports that the funding round included both local and international investors as participants, such as Alitheia IDF, Golden Palm Investments, 4DX Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Asia Pacific Land, Breyer Labs and MSA...
Zing Health has a new chief medical officer! According to PR Newswire , Trent Haywood, MD, JD has been named chief medical officer of the Chicago-based provider of Medicare Advantage plans. Dr. Haywood previously served as senior vice president in the Office of Clinical Affairs and chief medical officer for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) Association where he represented the BCBS system on clinical matters that affected over 106 million of its members. During his time with BCBS, he also led the development of clinical programs, medical policy, and technology platforms. “Dr. Haywood is a true clinician executive with deep experience in technology and population health innovation,” said Dr. Eric E. Whitaker , Zing Health’s CEO in an official press release. “During his 20-plus year career in healthcare, Dr. Haywood has focused on improving population health, and his values align perfectly with Zing Health’s mission to address social determinants of health at scale.” Throughout...
Audrey Esi Swatson’s story is nothing if not inspiring, and proves that Black women continue to shatter glass ceilings all over the world. Black News is reporting that Swatson, a native of Ghana, has become the country’s youngest female pilot at the young age of 21. Swatson is a First Officer with Passion Air in Ghana, operating the Dash 8 Q-400 aircraft. Swatson is also the CEO of her own company, Excel Aviation, which aims to help other aspiring female pilots in Ghana, like her. Audrey Esi Swatson was first inspired to become a pilot at the age of 18. Against all odds, she reported for training at the Mach1 Aviation Academy in South Africa. Just one year later, she was competent enough to complete her first solo flight. And at age 21, she received her commercial pilot’s license after completing more than 200 hours of flight training. “Apart from God and my parents, I owe everything I am and everything I hope to be to school,” she said to Black News. “Without the education I have...
Africa’s health-research landscape has been steadily growing as of recently, but in order to keep this momentum going healthcare must become decentralized. For Ghanaian medtech startup Redbird, its company believes there is a better way to make medical testing in the country an easier process for both patients and doctors by introducing a simple health monitoring system. By partnering with pharmacies, Redbird is able to bring Ghanaian doctors proven rapid test technology for chronic and acute conditions that allow them to give patients a more convenient way to monitor their health wherever they are, its website reports. In order to continue Redbird’s vision of making modern healthcare more efficient, the startup has just announced a raise of a $1.5 million seed investment that will ultimately help scale the company. Participating investors in the round include Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Newton Partners (via the Imperial Venture Fund), and Founders Factory Africa, according to...