5 inspiring stories from Africa

Innovation, equality, entrepreneurship — here are 5 stories from Africa you may not have heard.

News stories from Africa that you should have heard about, but probably didn't


Slashing wait times for medicine in South Africa


Neo Hutiri, a young engineer from South Africa, was being treated for tuberculosis and got tired of spending hours in line every time he picked up medicine at a healthcare facility. So, he invented Pelebox — a locker that holds medicine until a patient opens it with a mobile app. It can cut wait times from 3 hours to 36 seconds and offer patients more privacy in areas where healthcare facilities are scarce.


A win for gay rights in Botswana


Botswana's High Court effectively decriminalized same sex relationships. Botswana's government appealed the ruling in July. But LGBTQ activists remained hopeful that the ruling could influence countries like Nigeria, Sudan, and Somalia where homosexuality remains illegal based on stats from BBC.


The youngest author on the continent lives in South Africa


Stacy Fru published her first book when she was 8 years old. By age 11, she had published 2 more. Now she's encouraging other kids to take up reading and to tell their own stories.


Building eco-friendly homes with ancient technology in Ghana


Rammed earth construction consists of forcing clay or mud into a wooden frame until it forms a wall. The traditional technique has been used from West Africa to China but long fell out of favor. Kwame de Heer and Joelle Eyeson and their company Hive Earth are bringing the technique back because it uses local materials and uses low amounts of toxic cement, making it eco-friendly.


Promoting female entrepreneurs in Nigeria


Countries in sub-Saharan Africa have some of the highest rates of female entrepreneurship in the world according to the United Nations. But most of those businesses have few employees and no room for growth. She Leads Africa is changing that. It's a platform that provides training and financing to promising women-led businesses. It was founded by Afua Osei and Yasmin Belo-Osagie. They also host networking events that bring together thousands of businesswomen every year.


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