Innovate Africa: the 12 finalist projects

From among them, ' Innovate Africa' has chosen to support 12 journalists, developers and IT professionals, who have all come up with innovative ideas, ranging from news platforms to social media, and from web and mobile applications to image and data-viewing tools.

Ka Koadb Kibaya: the Voice of the farmers

What can be done to provide Burkinan farmers, who are often illiterate, with training and information in an increasingly connected Africa?
Boukari Ouedraogo is a Burkinan journalist with a passion for new media. Together with four other Burkinan journalists and developers, he had the idea of creating a platform for training farmers through audio messages received on their smartphone.
All information relating to training, awareness-raising and trade will be disseminated via the interface Ka-Koadb Kibaya in the national Mossi, Dyula and Fula languages.
Further information.

GCAM_Kukusanya: Africa in a single clic

GCAM (Géo Center applications for Africa media) Kukusanya is a wide-ranging project led by Cameroonian developer Vanessa Linda Kapche and 12 young Africans from eight different countries.
This French-speaking African media tracking project aims to instantly disseminate diverse information from a variety of sources via a single application.
Further information.

Pan-African web and radio application: expanding the audience of local radio stations

Togolese journalist Aristide Kawele champions this project, the aim of which is to create a web and mobile platform dedicated to the rural and community elements of French-speaking Africa.
This platform will relay programmes from local rural radio stations, giving them not only an additional source of income but also the opportunity to expand their audience and benefit from digital broadcasting.
Further information.

Niouz: the Malagasy social media tool

Journalist, photographic reporter, presenter and programme designer Tantely Rasoanaivo has joined forces with a team of developers and engineers to work on theNiouz project, a socially oriented media outlet for young Malagasy citizens. Madagascar is a very young island: 50% of its inhabitants are under the age of 20. It also has a highly urban population which makes significant use of social networks.
The aim of the project is to educate these young people, in particular through web documentaries broadcast via social networks and podcasts in the island's public transport system. The issues addressed include drugs, sexuality, abortion and unemployment.
Further information.

Okema: keeping the economic sector better informed

In Africa, and more specifically Côte d'Ivoire, the private sector is cruelly deprived of reliable, up-to-date economic and financial information. This has driven Edmond Kouame and Virgile Mael Yapo, an Ivorian journalist-and-developer team, to create the Okema project, which has been set up to fill the gap by seeking out this information.
Using a network of correspondents active in all economic sectors, Okema aims to compile, process and distribute reliable, exhaustive, up-to-date information to economic operators via a mobile application linked to a website.
Further information.

Reines d'Afrique: honouring African women

In most French-speaking African countries, news items in the media are dominated by men. The project Reine d'Afrique (Queen of Africa) is seeking to redress this imbalance by creating an information site focusing exclusively on news relating to women in French-speaking Africa.
It is led by Beninese journalist Bismarck Soussa, together with a journalist from the Democratic Republic of Congo and two developers from Senegal and Cameroon.
The project also aims to provide a range of freely accessible audio and video resources for media outlets and a mobile application on health issues for teenagers.
Further information.

Kionesha: beautiful images for Africa

The project Kionesha was set up to counter the problem faced by most African news sites of having no high-quality images to illustrate their articles. Guy Muyembe, a journalist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is seeking to offer these sites not only beautiful photos but also data visualisation solutions (infographics, maps, graphics, etc.). Together with two developers from Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire, he aims to set up an image and data bank on a site specially designed for African online media.
Further information.

Kakwaoro: a burkinabe communication multi-platform

Promoting agricultural products and non-timber forest products ( NTFPs) is the prime focus of Burkinan communication multi-platform Kakwaoro.
Noël Somé, the engineer, developer and blogger who came up with the project, intends to launch a web platform, an SMS platform and a voice kiosk in regional languages in order to communicate with people about these products, in particular in rural communities.
Further information.

Under Dakar: the first african smartzine

Winner of the Innovate Africa hackathon in Dakar in May 2015, the project Minute Actu has since been developed and is now called Under Dakar. Its aim is to offer a condensed cultural news bulletin via a one-minute video viewing application. Through the application's functionalities it will be possible to find information, reserve or purchase tickets, connect an audience to an offer or generate unique video content and share it with individual communities.
This project is led by Senegalese developers Djibril Cissé and Alioune Niang and Malian journalist Christine Traoré.
Further information.

Africamediaflow: experience African information differently

Africamediaflow is an interactive African information platform compiling external media flows. It is aimed at distributing information about Africa from international sources to African journalists, citizens, public authorities, communities and NGOs.
The project was set up by Ivorian developer Aubin Zoh together with six journalists and developers from Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and Gabon.
Further information.

Le Carrefour des médias: information accessible to all

Journalist and developer Joëlle Rebecca Andi champions the project Le Carrefour des médias (The Media Crossroads), a web and mobile application seeking to make information accessible to as many people as possible, anywhere, at any time.
Featuring an interactive information platform, an MP3 newspaper kiosk, a news channel, advertising space and a community portal, this project, supported by a four-person team, will initially be launched in Côte d'Ivoire, but is hoping to expand internationally.
Further information.

KomKonso: a consumer information site

In Senegal consumers currently lack information on the products they buy. Similarly, potential foreign investors need information on the Senegalese consumer economy.
Led by Senegalese journalist Aminata Thior, KomKonso is a project based on a website which aims to provide information on Senegalese products and the country's consumer sector, while also promoting local consumption.
The project is seeking to combine an e-commerce site selling goods commonly purchased by Internet users with a quarterly magazine on Senegalese consumer culture.
Further information.

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