Kelly Ann Collins

𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮'𝘀 𝗦𝗠𝗘 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗴𝗮𝗽 Our startup reporter caught up with Tanzanian fintech Black Swan, to find out how they are leveraging alternative data from the informal economy to help unlock an estimated 700-billion-dollar credit gap across Africa. 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 Across East Africa and much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs) rely heavily on mobile money to receive payments, pay suppliers, purchase inventory and settle utility bills. While these transactions reflect real economic activity, they are rarely captured by traditional banks, leaving many viable businesses financially invisible and unable to access loans for growth and expansion. It is this disconnect between economic participation and financial visibility that the Tanzanian fintech is working to address. CEO and co-founder Derick Kazimoto says the company was founded on the belief that Africa’s greatest financial opportunity lies in those who have been overlooked by conventional banking systems. Read the full article on The Citizen website

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For $12 a month (₦6,500 for Nigerians), users get 60 hours of adaptive learning, unlimited access options, and a system built to strip away redundancies. Its aggregator runs personalised content searches in five to 10 minutes, collapsing what would normally take Google Gemini twice as long. Features like calendar integration, WhatsApp reminders, and AI-led instruction aren’t bells and whistles; they’re designed to make upskilling continuous and frictionless. The market is responding with serious recognition. Compas AI has won Pitchfest 2024, the World Summit Awards for the most innovative learning platform from Nigeria, and regional victory in the Data Mellon Pitch AI battle. More significantly, the platform secured a Federal Government partnership with the Times-profiled 3 Million Tech Talent (3MTT) program to power learning initiatives across Nigeria—a chance to scale training programs to millions through AGT’s personalised approach. David-Bobola Ojoawo #EdTech

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The West African nation is making bold strides in its digital revolution, with infrastructure expansion, innovation investments, and skills development converging to create an inclusive digital future. During a recent TechCabal interview, the Minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation Salima Bah outlined the country's comprehensive strategy to establish itself as a technology leader in the region. Read More: https://lnkd.in/eNNE5fVj

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Moonshot 2025 closes in Lagos: Nigeria champions intra-African digital trade! This year’s Moonshot Conference, hosted by TechCabal, gathered Africa’s most innovative founders, investors, and policymakers under one roof, all united by a shared goal: building momentum for a stronger, more connected digital future. In this edition of Business Africa, we spoke with Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO of Big Cabal Media, about the key takeaways shaping Africa’s tech landscape: 💡 Investor interest is surging — from Japan to the U.S. and across Africa — in sectors beyond fintech, including clean energy, health, and edtech. 🌍 Intra-African collaboration is deepening, with delegations from Ghana, Senegal, Benin, and Cameroon driving new digital trade connections. 📊 Policy impact is tangible — Nigerian and Lagos State officials are already working to translate conference insights into action plans. 💬 The next frontier: smarter, more local capital, founders building for exits, and cross-sector partnerships fueling Africa’s next wave of innovation. Tomiwa summed it up perfectly: “There’s smarter capital coming in — more local, more intentional. Africa’s tech ecosystem is maturing, and gatherings like Moonshot help shape that evolution.” 🎥 Watch the full interview and episode here: 👉 https://lnkd.in/esYNurE3 #BusinessAfrica #TechCabal #Moonshot2025 #DigitalAfrica #Innovation #IntraAfricaTrade #StartupEcosystem #AfricaTech #Lagos Africanews Euronews

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I just watched a compelling keynote by Celina Lee, CEO and co-founder of Zindi, at the World Summit AI in San Francisco, and it left a lasting impression on me about the transformative power of AI in Africa and beyond. Celina opened by asking a simple yet profound question: “What if ordinary Kenyans could own a slice of the infrastructure powering social media, streaming, e-commerce, and even AI?” This question frames the mission of Zindi, a platform that is not only democratizing access to AI and data science but also creating a vibrant ecosystem of problem solvers across the Global South. She shared the inspiring story of Stephen Kolesh, a young man from Kajiado, Kenya, whose first exposure to technology was through sci-fi shows like Mr. Robot. That inspiration led him to move to Nairobi to study computer science. It was at a hackathon that Stephen discovered Zindi, and since then, his journey has been remarkable. Stephen has built AI models to interpret Kenyan sign language, developed mental health chatbots for students, and even launched a live streaming show where he solves community problems in real time. Celina revealed that Zindi now hosts 90,000 mostly young data scientists and AI developers from 180 countries, creating a truly global community focused on solving local problems. Through industry challenges posted by governments, nonprofits, and companies, participants build AI solutions tailored to their contexts while growing their professional portfolios. She explained, “Some of the young people on the platform are some of the most creative, curious, driven, and brilliant young people that I’ve met.” One standout example she shared was a live challenge with PATH, a nonprofit working in healthcare. The task was to develop a language model that replicates the question-and-answer interactions between doctors and nurses in rural Kenyan clinics to improve antenatal care. The solution needed to work on edge devices with limited internet connectivity, a crucial requirement in many rural areas. Over 1,500 data scientists are currently competing to build models that will help serve thousands of new mothers, a powerful illustration of AI’s potential to save lives in resource-limited settings. Celina highlighted a biodiversity monitoring project for the Mexican government, where AI models identify 150 species of vegetation. She recounted the story of Gift, who after five years working as a portfolio analyst at a South African energy company, SASL, used a Zindi challenge to prove her data science skills and secure a new role as a data scientist, despite previously being overlooked in traditional hiring processes. Watching this talk was a powerful reminder that the future of AI is not confined to traditional tech hubs. It’s being built by passionate, talented individuals worldwide, solving problems that matter deeply to their communities. Watch here: https://lnkd.in/dMeH2K2v

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