Innovation

Egypt says it will propel African science agenda

Tuesday, 09 March 2010 16:03

Egypt has vowed to "maintain momentum" in building African science and technology capacity when it takes over as chair of the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST) this month.

Tags: African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology - AMCOST - WHO - United Nations - US National Science FOundation - Pan-African University - Jean-PIerre Ezin - Maged Al-Sherbiny - ASTII - ANDI - Egypt

Net puts Kenya at centre of Chile rescue efforts

Tuesday, 02 March 2010 13:38

Kenya is nearly 8,000 miles from Chile and therefore not an obvious place from which to try to coordinate the earthquake relief efforts. And yet, within an hour of the massive quake, volunteers at a crisis group called Ushahidi sprang into action.

Tags: Chili - earthquake - Ushahidi - Erik Hersman - email - SMS - Twitter - Malawi - Uganda - Ghana - South Africa - US - Kenya

Network will bolster African fisheries research

Monday, 01 March 2010 13:57

A new African network is aiming to increase the number of aquaculture and fisheries scientists on the continent and boost its dwindling fish stocks.

(2 Votes)

Tags: aquaculture - fisheries - science - development - NEPAD - agriculture poverty - Africa

New maize varieties to boost output

Tuesday, 16 February 2010 14:14

Improved maize varieties, developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, will help enhance food security and incomes of maize farmers in the West and Central Africa.

(1 Vote)

Tags: maize - varieties - food security - income - farmers - IITA - West Africa

WFP, Vodafone project distributes food vouchers by text message

Wednesday, 03 February 2010 14:37

The U.N.'s World Food Program and the mobile telecommunications company Vodafone are piloting a project that will allow shopkeepers in Burkina Faso to manage food vouchers by text message.

(3 Votes)

Tags: WFP - UN - Vodafone - shopkeepers - sms - mobile - ICT - Paul McCann - vouchers - food - Burkino Faso

Malagasy labs to receive upgrade

Thursday, 14 January 2010 14:04

Malagasy science is set to receive a boost with the announcement of a $1.5 million project to improve developing country laboratories.

(2 Votes)

Tags: science - laboratory - Merieux Foundation - Madagascar

Tunisia launches first nanotech project

Wednesday, 13 January 2010 13:47

Tunisia has launched the first project applying nanotechnology in the Arab Maghreb region of north western Africa.

(1 Vote)

Tags: Arab Maghreb - nanotechnology - Medjerda River - National Agency of Environmental Protection - Belgium - Tunisian Association for Environmental Nanotechnology - Tunisia

Egypt puts archives on web to boost Arabic content

Tuesday, 15 December 2009 11:57

Egypt has begun making its national archives digitally available on the Internet in Arabic, having last month registered the world's first domain name in Arabic script.

(2 Votes)

Tags: domain name - Arabic - web - online - archive - internet - Tarek Kamel - Egypt

Nigerian project wins top award

Thursday, 10 December 2009 12:58

An innovative Nigerian project that processes abattoir water and converts the collected organic waste into fertiliser and methane, has won the 2009 Intel Environment prize at the annual Tech Awards in the US.

(3 Votes)

Tags: project - award - abattoir - water - organic - waste - Intel Environment prize - Cows to Kilowatts - Joseph Adelgan - Nigeria

Egyptian show hopes to shape science stars

Wednesday, 09 December 2009 11:44

FameLab, the science world's answer to Starmaker and The X Factor, launches in Egypt this week, marking the show's debut in the Arab-speaking world.

(2 Votes)

Tags: FameLab - Arab - China - UK - Turkey - The British Council and Egypt's Research - Development - and Innovation Programme - Doaa Hafez - Egypt

China sets its sights on African research cooperation

Monday, 07 December 2009 12:54

China is continuing to show an interest in developing African research capacity with the announcement of a cooperation programme in science and technology.

(3 Votes)

Tags: China - agriculture - growth - science - technology - China-Africa Science and Technology Partnership - Africa

Satellite insurance to pay farmers if land turns brown

Thursday, 03 December 2009 09:30

Insurers will use satellite images of vegetation to assess Kenyan farmers' claims for cattle deaths during drought, in a pilot project due to start in early 2010.

(4 Votes)

Tags: satellite - International Livestock Research Institute - insurance - drought - livestock - Andrew Mude - Kenya

Botswana tries spicy solution to keep elephants at bay

Tuesday, 24 November 2009 10:47

Tourists love to watch herds of elephants in Botswana's famed Okavango Delta, but nearby farmers watch in dismay when the animals trample their crops. Farmers now have a new, safe weapon to keep elephants at bay: chilli peppers.

(3 Votes)

Tags: elephant - chilli - pepper - export - farm - argriculture - crops - Gaseitsiwe Masunga - training - Botswana

Angolan activist launches website to expose corruption

Tuesday, 24 November 2009 10:45

An Angolan anti-graft activist on Monday launched a website to raise corruption awareness, days after President Jose Eduardo dos Santos spoke out against the scourge.

(2 Votes)

Tags: corruption - website - Jose Eduardo dos Santos - Rafael Marques - MakaAngola

Somalis get first-ever debit card

Friday, 30 October 2009 11:18

A money-transfer company has made a piece of banking history in Somalia - introducing the first-ever debit card in the breakaway region of Somaliland. The firm says Somalis have the same needs as British or Americans.

(3 Votes)

Tags: debit card - money transfer - Somaliland - Dahabshiil - Somalia

DNA tests to help slave descendants trace ancestry

Wednesday, 28 October 2009 12:27

A firm in Texas that pioneered the use of DNA tests in genealogy studies is involved in a project in Africa that could help researchers there trace migration patterns over the centuries and help African Americans to connect with their roots.

(4 Votes)

Tags: DNA - slavery - US - Texas - Africa - ancestors - DNA - Family Tree DNA - migration - AfricanDNA.com - Henry Louis Gates - Jr - Ghana - Africa

Post offices in West Africa offer electronic money transfer

Friday, 16 October 2009 13:16

Some 300 post offices in 6 West African countries have begun offering electronic money transfers as part of a UN-backed initiative to use technology to help ensure that rural populations and migrant workers have access to better services.

(2 Votes)

Tags: Post offices - electronic money transfers - UN - rural - migrant - International Fund for Agricultural Development - Universal Postal Union - West Africa

Egypt to accept patent applications in Arabic

Thursday, 15 October 2009 13:55

Egypt is set to become the first country to accept patent applications in Arabic - a move that could speed up the patenting process for Arabic speakers around the globe.

(2 Votes)

Tags: patent - Arabic - EGPO - WIPO - Mohamed Tarek Hussein - Egypt

Benin farmers unite against effects of climate change

Wednesday, 14 October 2009 12:08

Farmers in Benin are implementing their own research findings to boost the soil fertility and moisture retention of their plots. Some 300 farmers are enrolled in sixty 'field schools' across the country are working with researchers.

(1 Vote)

Tags: soil - fertility - climate change - research - PARBCC - Said Hounkponou - filed schools - agriculture - Benin

African food production on the rise

Tuesday, 13 October 2009 13:56

Food production in Sub-Saharan Africa grew in 2008 for the first time in decades, according to a new report by the FAO. The 3.5% increase, higher than the 2% rise in population, was driven in part by increased use of technology.

(5 Votes)

Tags: food production - agriculture - food security - growth - research - FOA - technology - Hilary Clarke - sub-Saharan - Africa

Sierra Leonean mobile money transfer takes off

Friday, 09 October 2009 13:19

Sierra Leone is now one of the few West African countries with a service providing mobile phone transactions. Customers can now send money using their mobile phone.