INNOVATIONS

“The African continent has the youngest population in the world. Now, this is something that is very unique and in terms of our ability to innovate and the passion and ability that we can infuse into innovations and the processes that come with everything we are trying to do as a continent. I don’t think we have tapped into this very unique context adequately enough and seen it as the comparative advantage that it is when compared to the rest of the world. I think their socio-economic standpoint is also unique. You have individuals who come from urban and rural backgrounds and this places them in the perfect position to provide innovations or ideas that are ideally suited to the needs and the context of the community.”
– Thulani Dlamini, CEO of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa

1| RAPID TESTING:

If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that time is of the essence. And proving this rapid point is CapeBio’s Daniel Ndima and Dineo Lioma. CapeBio has created a rapid testing kit that provides Covid-19 results in 65 minutes. “The ability to obtain rapid test results allows us to gain a clearer picture of viral infections so that we can introduce interventions with greater effectiveness,” Cape Bio CEO Ndima told Cape Business News.

2| PAYMENT PROCESSOR:

Nigerian company, Flutterwave, is based on a financial application programming interface that makes it simpler to process payments across Africa. It is not just a useful tool for individuals, but also an enabling technology because it helps other businesses, including startups. And while Flutterwave is useful within countries, the unique nature of Africa makes it doubly useful across borders. Olugbenga GB Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutter-wave, speaks to FORBES AFRICA:

Q: What are some of the highlights and challenges Flutterwave has had as a company?

A challenge that came up during the early days of the pandemic and lockdown was navigating how to move a team of over 200 people fully remote. We had only tried remote work partially so it was a big test of how our remote policies will remain in effect after going 100% remote at such short notice. But we did, seamlessly. Our people now spend more time with family and friends, get to avoid the tedious commutes and more. For our highlight, we’d never seen how much our