How African technologies improve society

Briefly discuss some technologies (at least 7) that can be apportioned to or attributed to Africa and their applications in the contemporary world. The discussion is not only limited to historical and geographic inclination of the identified technologies but you may also include the pros and cons, it’s acceptability and applicability in the modern world as well as ethical issues associated with that technology .

Technology has become a integral to the economic development initiatives of Africa. For one it has helped improve the overall quality of life for Africans by enabling a higher level of productivity within its economy. It has provided a higher quality of life to help sustain growing population and demands on natural resources. These technology innovations have also enabled Africa to embrace globalization by opening up the world to its products, goods and services. This has ultimately improved the ability of African to lift its citizens out of poverty by allowing to sell goods to the rest of the world while also improving productivity capacity internally (Austen, 1983).

The first technological innovation from Africa is Mellowcabs. As it relates to innovations from Africa directly to the world, the technology used in many renewable energy vehicles originated from this product. The first innovation from Africa directly to the world is that of V2G. This innovation occurs with electronic vehicle charging management, enabling a two-way energy exchange between the cab and the grid. This innovation helps to supply electric vehicles with energy during peak usage times throughout the day without placing unnecessary strain on the electricity grid, which in Africa, is very fragile. The cabs use kinetic energy to power the vehicle, on-board tablet computers, electric vehicle technology, and hydrogen fuel cell technology, and are made out of recycled materials. Mellowcabs using a fleet of fully electric buses to aid in the transportation of Africans in urban areas. This innovation is unique in that it helps lower the overall carbon footprint of African while also helping to improve the infrastructure of Africa. Interesting all of the rides are free, with the cabs instead relying on advertisements to maintain profitability. This initiative is helpful to society for a number of reasons. First it helps improve the ability of Africans to transport themselves within urban and rural areas. This is critical as infrastructure in Africa is lacking thus alienating the poor who often live in rural areas of the country. Their inability to find jobs and income is partially attributable to their inability to efficient transport themselves to more populous urban areas. Through the use of Mellowcabs transportation is much more efficient allow both poor and middle-class families to access more urban markets cheaply and efficiently. Having the trips be free significantly helps the poor and middle class by reducing frictional costs associated with transportation. This allows the access to the improved infrastructure at a lower cost, thus enabling them to more readily access urban markets (Burrows, 2016).

This system can also be applied to the other nations looking to embrace sustainable solutions within its infrastructure programs. These programs are designed primarily to reduced carbon emissions, improve sustatinability options, and ultimately provide convenience to consumers. The technology and business model of Mellowcabs allows countries to accomplish this. The con is that the technology will require large investments in further infrastructure such as charging stations and investment in personnel who can fix electronic vehicle’s.

Second, Jumia is the largest e-commerce retailer in Africa. As it relates to innovations from Africa directly to the world, this company was the first to develop real-time, location based mobile selling. This innovation was required as Africa does not have the large infrastructure investments required for large scale delivery. Instead the company leverages location based mobile selling to help determine the best products goods and services that can be delivered to customers in a cost-effective manner. This innovation has since been copied by Alibaba in China along with many other Asian ecommerce websites. Another innovation from Africa directly to the world, is that of voice powered shopping which is required due to the many different dialects and languages in Africa.

It is innovative in that it allows countries to better access African goods and services. It has also enabled African entrepreneurs to better access international products. The products have also improved logistics operations throughout the country to better enable transference of needed goods and services. These elements ultimately improve the quality of life for those in African will also helping to further supplement economic growth within the country. The cons associated with this product is that it requires a large capital investment and is often subject to fraud (Craft, 2017).

The third innovation is that of Sterio.me which is an education start up in Africa. This technology takes advantage of the transition to mobile devices which is occurring in Africa. As it relates to innovations from Africa directly to the world, components of augmented reality originated from this company. Here, augmented realty allowed students to improve overall education outcomes, particularly in regions ravaged by economic depression. Augmented reality allows students to better change their view and environment in a much more positive and innovative manner.

Here, the technology uses mobile devices in an innovative manner to help teach students how to learn outside the classroom. It is tool that helps reinforce learning through a constant relationship between instructor and student. Here, a teacher will upload a lecture to the platform, and the student can then access the lecture through a QR Code. First launched in Zimbabwe, Sterio.me opens up an opportunity for everyone who wants to learn in a very unique an innovative manner. There is no con related to this initiative as it helps increase access to very valuable information that can be leveraged by all of society. It helps bring down the costs of education and can be used by anyone in the world. This is particularly powerful as it provides a business model that other developing countries can use to educate their citizenry in a much more cost-effective manner. Once developed the platform can significantly reduce education costs throughout the world (Gaylard, 2005).

The fourth technology is that of Obami which is a South African based social learning platform. As it relates to innovations from Africa directly to the world is the concept of gamification. This is a strategic initiative to combine the learning environment with that of a gaming environment to make learning much more engaging for younger students. This is innovation is particularly unique as it combined the benefits of social networking with those of education networks. This social media website allows students to receive news from schools, submit schools work and even engage in communication with other students. Launch in 2008, the technology is heavily utilized by nearly 400 organizations across Africa. What is interesting about this technology is that it benefits from network effects. The more organizations that use the program, the more users will be attracted to the platform. This platform can be leveraged by other organizations around the world has it uses artificial intelleigence to lower misinformation and lies on the platform. It also looks to combine education in an social media platform that allows users to better learn and engage with one another. This ultimately helps to reduce the overall cost of education while also improving student outcomes. The improvement in student outcomes ultimately helps to provide society with a much more viable and highly trained workforce (Graham, 2016)

The fifth technology is that of M-PESA. This technology which was founded in Africa in 2007 is a mobile-based money transfer organization. As it relates to innovations from Africa directly to the world is the concept of biometrics and a mobile wallet. This concept originated in Africa due to the higher inflationary pressures many countries on the continent face. As a result of the decline in purchasing power, consumers required an alternative that would allow them to store and convert currency to other, more stable currencies. Here biometric and mobile wallet innovations allow for same day transfers to foreign banks along with currency conversions online to help lower the influence of inflation on the country. It also allows customers to store money on mobile accounts and make transfers using SMS messaging. This is a very critical technology for Africa as the country is currently experiencing large currency devaluations due to massively accommodative monetary and fiscal policy. The accommodative policy of money printing has devalued many of the nation’s currencies requiring residents to transfer their money into U.S. dollar denominated assets. By doing so, Africans can help preserve their overall purchasing power and maintain their standard of living. This technology allows Africans to do so in a much efficient and productive manner. Through proper transfers, residents are also better able to send money to relatives living within or without Africa in a much timelier fashion. This speed and efficiency allow Africans to better pay for bills or other necessities. This technology can be used by other nations as well, particularly those that are developing and rely on mobile payments. Developing nations for example have a large degree of dependence on mobile payments and money transfers from family members. By using this technology, money can move much more efficiently throughout society. The cons related to this technology are associated with criminal organizations. In Africa, where conflict is frequent, quick money transfers can be used to fund criminal organization and other illegal activities much quicker. Here the technology will need to evolve in a manner that mitigates the use of its platform for nefarious or illegal means (Nagar, 2016).

The six technology is one of the most unique innovation that have come form Africa. Here, the company Charging Shoes has devised a method in which consumers can charge their phones while walking. As it relates to innovations from Africa directly to the world, the method uses ultra-thin chips of crystal inserted into the sole of a shoe, which prior to its invention, had never been done before. The technology was invented by Anthony Mutua from Kenya, technology generates electricity through the pressure exerted when it is stepped on. This is very unique technology that relates heavily to the sustainability initiatives permeated throughout society. Here, through using shoes to charge phones, the country is slightly less reliant on the electrical grid for energy consumption needs. This technology if adopted further can also provide other use case applications. For one, the technology can be used for other routine activities such as working out, running, playing as sport or so forth. The world can benefit from such innovations in technology. This ultimately can help reduce the reliance of other countries on fossil fuels. This technology can therefore improve the overall movement towards sustainable energy solutions The con to using this technology is that it could lead to much more costly shoes or other products due to the technology thus placing financial pressure on the consumer (Olawuyi, 2017).

The seventh and final technology is that of sleep out. Sleep Out is a website for adventurers and travelers who are looking for accommodations in Africa. As it relates to innovations from Africa directly to the world is the concept of home sharing. This concept was later copied by Airbnb with its launch of its platform in America. Launched in 2011 in Kenya, the online portal leverages technology to allow visitors to use safe and secure lodging solutions. These solutions cover hotels, private hosts, resorts and other elements of lodging. The technology also allows users to pay directly to the host via mobile, cash, card or transfer. This technology is important as it allows consumers to reduce information asymmetry and find the best lodging solutions that fit their needs. It also provides a much more cost-effective means for visitors of Africa to leverage the vast network of lodging solutions. These benefits can allow consumers to find compelling value propositions when visiting the continent of Africa. The con of this technology is related to the security of the home or private residence being provided. It also is important to properly gauge the users of the application to make sure they are not using lodging in a nefarious or criminal manner (van der Merwe, 1987).