As part of our work with the Africa Open Data Fellowship Program under the Africa Open Data Network we’re conducting a study on the drivers for success for data for development (D4D) initiatives in Africa. The study seeks to identify human capital, financing, enabling environment and infrastructure needs for sustainable and mainstreamed data for development […]
The Local Development Research Institute is conducting a research study on the state of big data for development in Africa. This is an extensive project to identify existing and current uses of big data and its technologies relating to social and economic development of the continent. Analysis on its application in key sectors such as […]
Africa’s agricultural sector is the continent’s best bet to achieve sustainable development and a return on investments. The sector is a source of livelihood for over 70% of the population and is the largest contributor to total gross domestic product (GDP). It is therefore imperative that a sector as crucial as this is driven by […]
Food security is highly ranked in every government’s development agenda globally. As such, agriculture remains Africa’s undisputed investment in growing inclusive economies for both domestic and commercial purposes. It is with this regard that African Heads of State and governments signed the first declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in Maputo, Mozambique in July 2003 […]
In Africa, 80% of agriculture production comes from smallholder farmer, about 50% of which come from rural women (FAO, 2011). However, women continue to face constraints that hinder them from realizing their full agricultural production potential. They include: poor land tenure, lack of access to credit facilities, lack of participation in agricultural decision making processes […]
The importance of gender equality and women’s rights has become a familiar chorus and African countries have made progress over the years by signing up to and implementing progressive continental conventions and legislation at the national level. However, there is not much to show for sustainable progress in gender equality and enforcement of women’s rights […]
Among the Greek and Roman gods imbued with superpowers is one called Janus. He would have been a terrifying being to behold if he ever physically appeared to humans. Unlike normal beings who take the expected anthropomorphic form, he had two faces; one at the front and the other at the back of his head. […]
The International Open Data Conference (IODC) 2018 came to a close on 29th September, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. More than 1,500 participants from 70 countries descended on the Usina del Arte, an early 20th-century electrical power plant-turned-arts venue whose auditoriums and gallery space were home to this year’s 2-day event. Among the participants were […]
The worldwide push for gender equality has and continues to gain momentum to bridge existing and emerging gaps that continue to perpetuate inequality. Beyond the moral incentive there exists a huge development incentive for gender equality. In Africa alone, the exclusion and or ineffective participation of women and girls in development processes sets back the […]
Smallholder farmers in low-income contexts face a variety of challenges while attempting to boost their productivity so as to escape subsistence-level farming and poverty. One of these is access to affordable key agricultural inputs (seeds and fertilizer) in a timely fashion. This access, unfortunately, is often the exception rather than the norm which then leads […]
While gender equality continues to be a problem across the world, there has been a coordinated effort globally to work towards bridging inequality even though there is still to be done. Bridging this gap would ensure that women and girls achieve their full potential since it eliminates barriers that limit this. The global push to […]
With 90% of the data in the world today having been created in the last 2 years this, it appears, is the era of data revolution. According to IBM, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are collected every day. The presence of this data is important for necessary development to effectively take place in any country. […]