The Dogon people of Mali believe they are the descendants of an extra-terrestrial race from the Sirius B star system, and the Zulu in South Africa trace their name and origin story to somewhere just beyond the heavens.
Since its founding last year, one of Quartz Africa’s goals has been to tell some of the many stories of homegrown innovation that is shaping the continent. We chose more than 30 people for their creative vision, entrepreneurship, and problem-solving to honor in Nairobi on July 20 at the Quartz Africa Summit.
Africa’s booming youth population don’t just represent a new workforce or market of consumers. They are a new breed of innovators who will solve the continent problems, but first the continent has to become a home that will help them thrive. Bill Gates outlined his blueprint for a thriving Africa when he delivered the annual Nelson Mandela lecture on Sunday evening (July 17).
Germany will finally apologize for its other genocide. In a landmark admission of historical guilt, chancellor Angela Merkel said her country will formally recognize and apologize for the systematic murder of Namibia’s Herero people more than a century ago.
Evan Mawarire, a Zimbabwean pastor instrumental in organizing recent mass anti-government protests in the country, was released from prison yesterday (July 13) after protests over his arrest mounted on social media. Mawarire’s quick release, one day after his arrest, was no small feat in a country known for crackdowns on activists.
Who was president Yoweri Museveni talking to? Why did he pull over on the side of a rural road to take a call? And why did he have to be stationary to talk on a mobile phone? These were just some of the questions trending in Uganda on Tuesday (July 12) when the country’s leader stopped his motorcade, unfolded a what looked like a deckchair (or likely, he’s aides did the heavy lifting) and took a call on the side of the road. His press secretary Lindah Nabusayi tweeted these puzzling photographs:
Johannesburg, South Africa
The Zimbabwean government allegedly tried to block WhatsApp on Wednesday (July 6) to stop protesters from mobilizing. If true, the effort did little to stop countrywide demonstrations against a worsening economic situation. Protesters succeeded in shutting down the main cities in what has been the most brazen display of public dissatisfaction in Zimbabwe since the violent contested election of 2008.
Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison today (July 6) for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Since he is a first-time offender, judge Thokozile Masipa deviated from the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years for the man she described as a “fallen hero.” The new sentence is one year longer than his original sentence, which he started serving in October 2014. Pistorius will not appeal today’s ruling, according to reports. He is expected to return to the Kgosi Mampuri prison in Pretoria.
Celebrated Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has had a baby. There was no press statement, no Instagram announcement, not even a tweet. Instead, the news came via an interview with the Financial Times’ “Lunch with the FT” series (paywall), during which the author orders a syrupy sweet mocktail because she is breastfeeding.
South Africa wants to be a digital economy, but someone has to build it. In recent years, South Africa has tried to build its version of Silicon Valley at the tip of Africa, creating hubs in Cape Town and Johannesburg for startups and tech innovators. But, like Silicon Valley itself and more advanced economies, South Africa has a chronic shortage of developers, the would-be architects of this digital economy.
The largest diamond discovered in over a century failed to sell at an auction on Wednesday (June 29). The hammer went down on a disappointing $61 million bid, the highest price on offer at Sotheby’s in London, the BBC reported. Its owner was hoping for $70 million.
MTN Group’s shareholders might have welcomed the appointment of a new CEO to head Africa’s largest telecoms company, but in South Africa, where race still influences every sector of society and where the company got its start, the fact that it was a white man was viewed by many as a step backward.
Zambia’s largest independent newspaper, the Post, has been shut down over a dispute with the country’s tax authority. Critics say it’s a ploy to silence the newspaper ahead of the August 11 general election.
Jacob Zuma is a man surrounded by scandal, but you wouldn’t know that from watching the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The public broadcaster will no longer air any negative coverage of the president, according to local newspaper City Press, which quoted an SABC source saying Zuma “deserves a certain degree of respect as president of the country.”
Once lauded by the international community for a peaceful election in 1994 while other voting African nations devolved into violence, South Africa is now contending with pockets of deathly unrest directly linked to local elections to be held throughout the country on Aug. 3.
After nearly a year in corporate limbo, foundering in uncertainty created by a record regulatory fine, MTN, Africa’s largest telecoms company, looks ready to turn the corner with a future in financial services.
On South African screens at least, the sand has finally run through the hourglass for beloved soapie Days of our Lives, which will no longer be broadcast in the country from mid-July.
Africa’s largest telecom is appointing a new CEO, and shaking up its board and top executives. After settling a record fine in Nigeria for failing to disconnect unregistered sim cards, South Africa-headquartered company MTN recruited Rob Shuter from rival Vodafone, the company announced today, June 20.
The statistics are well known and they are grave. One in four South Africans are unemployed. Even worse, half of all young South Africans are without a job. The numbers only improve when those who have given up the search are excluded from the count.
The old image of Oscar Pistorius, as the triumphant athlete who defied his own physical impediments to compete on the world stage, slipped further from memory today (June 15). In a bid to avoid 15 years in jail for the murder of his girlfriend, Pistorius took off his prosthetic legs and walked around a South African courtroom on his amputated stumps.
South Africa’s economy contracted by 1.2% in the first quarter of 2016, the country’s statistics agency announced (PDF) Wednesday (June 8), sparking fears of an impending recession. The number was worse than expected, as analysts predicted the economy would grow by 0.1%—not shrink.
There’s a reasonable chance of a terror attack in South Africa, say analysts. South Africa was on alert this past weekend after the U.S. Mission to South Africa warned American citizens against attacks targeting places where Americans congregate, like shopping malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
This post has been corrected. A previous version of this story incorrectly listed the projected price of electricity generated by the proposed solar projects in Zambian kwacha. The correct figure is in US cents per kilowatt. The headline has also been corrected to reflect that solar power will not be less expensive than other forms of electricity.
