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12 Tech And Telecoms Companies That Inspire Africa

12 Tech And Telecoms Companies That Inspire Africa

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Tech companies continue to inspire Africa and Africans through their unique service offering to the continent and the way in which they enhance people’s lives.

From renewable energy to telecoms and other tech firms, African consumers are benefiting from a growing tech sector throughout Africa, and certain companies are making waves as inspirational businesses contributing to better lives for the people they serve.

The London Stock Exchange has undertaken research project, in partnership with Africa Development Bank Group, CDC Group and PwC, to reveal Africa’s most inspiring small and medium-sized enterprises, producing a list of these.

Here are 12 tech and telecoms companies that continue to inspire Africa.

Sources: LSE, GhanaWeb, AllAfrica, ITNewsAfrica, EngineeringNews.

Clews helps farmers in Kenya with accurate data. Photo: BusinessDailyAfrica.com

Gro Intelligence

Operating in Kenya for the benefit of farmers and others involved in agriculture, Gro Intelligence has developed Clews, a discovery engine for data related to food and agriculture. It collects trillions of data points related to global crop production on subjects such as weather, consumption, infrastructure, transportation, trade flows, prices, socio-economic indicators and environmental measurements.

Vodafone African Mobile Tower Operators Consolidate
Helios Towers is present in four African countries. Photo: commsmea.com

Helios Towers

Helios Towers has built one of Africa’s largest portfolios of independently operated telecoms towers, enabling expanded use of mobile phones on the continent. The company’s network includes around 6,500 sites across Ghana, Tanzania, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

PEG makes clean energy available in West Africa. Image: gsma.com

Peg

Based in Ghana, clean energy company PEG makes use of pay-as-you-go technology and low-cost mobile payment systems to supply clean energy to customers in West Africa who could not previously afford it, while helping them to build a credit score.

A wallet with different currencies from East African states. (Photo: jamiiforums.com)

Bitpesa

BitPesa buys and sells African currencies from anywhere in the world, paying and receiving funds directly to and from African bank and mobile money accounts for as little as one percent in fees.

Solar Panel Leasing
A child in Kenya holds a solar light sold by M-Kopa. Photo: gigaom.com

M-Kopa Solar

M-Kopa Solar, a social-enterprise startup uses solar to reach remote off-grid consumers in East Africa with cheap electricity, which is particularly useful in rural areas thanks to pay-as-you-go add-on electronic products.

Interswitch provide effective payment systems across Nigeria. Photo: Thinkstock

Interswitch

Operating in Nigeria and recognising the need for effective payment services, Interswitch has developed a nationwide multi-channel payment network, while its Verve chip-and-pin payment card is the West African nation’s second largest card scheme.

Many Africans struggle to find affordable insurance options. Photo: ThinkStock

Bima

Millions of Africans cannot afford insurance, but thanks to BIMA mobile technology is used to provide affordable insurance and health services to low-income consumers in emerging markets, with more than 27 million subscribers and operations in 16 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Community health workers display their mobile phones and solar chargers.
Photo: World Vision Sierra Leone

 D.Light

Boosting the renewable energy sector in Kenya, D.Light offers lights and mobile phone chargers designed to be affordable for households depending on how much they earn, making it possible for poorer families to afford power.

Cellular towers across the African continent to inspire Africa. Photo: Orange

Eaton Towers

A network of transmission towers have been built across the African continent thanks to the work of Eaton Towers. This shared infrastructure investment is then used by many of the continent’s largest telecoms providers, such as Vodafone, Orange, Airtel and MTN.

Carjacking Ring That Ships Stolen Luxury Cars To West Africa
More than one million active subscribers use Tracker. Image: autoconceptsnwblogs.com

Tracker

Since it was founded 20 years ago, Tracker has become Africa’s leading stolen vehicle recovery firm. They now provide data analytics for vehicle manufacturers and dealers, insurance companies, fleet operators and consumers, generating more than 35 million telematics messages each day. Tracker have more than one million active subscribers.

Snapplify works with government and others to distribute educational content. Photo: Zoe Fox, Mashable

Snapplify

Content and media technology company Snapplify specialises in finding the best ways to distribute digital content, with a particular focus on the education sector. The business operates in South Africa and Kenya, working with government bodies, telecoms firms and hardware providers.

Solarnow provides solar energy solutions for households in Uganda. Image: SolarNow

Solarnow

SolarNow is a renewable energy provider offering five million Ugandan households that are not connected to an electricity grid an affordable solar energy solution to replace energy sources such as kerosene lights, while powering appliances that can be used to start businesses and create a livelihood.