Ethiopian shoemaker takes great strides
Eight years ago Ethiopia's Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu decided to sell cool colourful shoes made of recycled materials, including car tyres. The company which she started, SoleRebels, would soon become the planet's first fair trade green footwear firm - certified by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) - and is now one of Ethiopia's most thriving businesses. At the moment it sells...
Nigerian music producer on the advantages of being blind
Nigeria's Cobhams Asuquo is one of his country's leading music producers and has helped propel to stardom singers like Asa, whose 2007 debut album became an international hit. In addition to producing the album, he wrote and co-wrote several of its songs. Blind from birth, he says he always had a keen ear for music and would coax a tune...
African coffee champion takes on Uganda challenge
Although the stimulating properties of coffee are thought to have been discovered in Africa - according to legend, by an Ethiopian goatherd - the consumption of the beverage is not as widespread in the continent as it is elsewhere in the world. That has been a major problem for Africa's champion barista Roberts Mbabazi from Uganda, a nation of tea-drinkers,...
The Ghanaian woman who made millions fighting skin-bleaching
Ghana's Grace Amey-Obeng, one of West Africa's most successful businesswomen, made her fortune promoting products which emphasised the beauty of the black skin, at a time when many of her competitors were selling dangerous skin-bleaching formulas. The business empire she started a quarter of a century ago with around $100 (£63) now has an annual turnover of between $8m and...
A Kenyan eye clinic with a long vision
Kenya's Hurlingham Eye Care Services - a company founded in 2007 by three female doctors - started with small steps but with a long vision. In the last six years the firm, which opened with just a few patients, has become East Africa's leading eye clinic and offers a wide range of services, from eye tests to laser surgery. "Right from...
A Malawian fashion designer's colourful dreams
Malawi's Lilly Alfonso dreams about her future in colours as vibrant as those of the clothes she makes. New York, London, Milan and Cape Town are some of the cities that come to her mind when asked where she would like to see her designs 10 years from now. As a matter of fact, some of her clothes were already shown...
Zambian open window gave restaurant lift-off
Sylvia Banda is one of Zambia's most enthusiastic champions of local food and has been using her business, Sylva Professional Catering, to promote her cause. By purchasing her ingredients from regional, small-scale farmers, she showcases the country's bounty to the upscale clientele who employ her catering services. Based out of the University of Zambia's Great East Road campus in Lusaka, the...
Putting the Bang! into business in Tanzania
Bang! is Tanzania's first lifestyle magazine. Nine years ago, without any experience in journalism, Tanzania's Emelda Mwamanga started her country's first lifestyle publication, Bang! magazine, which now also reaches audiences in neighbouring Uganda, Kenya and Zambia. She had returned home from South Africa shortly after completing a degree in Industrial, Organisational and Labour Studies at the University of Cape Town,...
Guyana boasts a remarkably rich ecology, but also has one of South America's poorest economies.
Guyana boasts a remarkably rich ecology, but also has one of South America's poorest economies. Tropical rainforests - filled with distinctive plants and trees, teeming with exotic birds, insects and mammals - are a big draw for eco-tourists. But political troubles, ethnic tension and economic mismanagement have left the former British colony with serious economic problems. The only English-speaking country in...
A programmable audio computer that shares locally-relevant knowledge and improves literacy
Literacy Bridge saves lives and improves the livelihoods of impoverished families through comprehensive programs that provide on-demand access to locally relevant knowledge. At the heart of the programs is the Talking Book – an innovative low-cost audio computer designed for the learning needs of illiterate populations living in the poorest areas in the world. Simple and actionable instructional messages that...
