Digital Archive....

Cloud computing enabling entrepreneurship in Africa The Official Google Blog In 2007, 33-year-old Vuyile moved to Cape Town from rural South Africa in search of work. Unable to complete high school, he worked as a night shift security guard earning $500/month to support his family. During the rush hour commute from his home in Khayelitsha, Vuyile realized that he could earn extra income by selling prepaid mobile airtime vouchers to other commuters on the train. In rural areas, it's common to use prepaid vouchers to pay for basic services such as electricity, insurance and airtime for mobile phones. But it's often difficult to distribute physical vouchers because of the risk of theft and fraud. Nomanini , a startup based in South Africa, built a device that enables local entrepreneurs like Vuyile to sell prepaid mobile services in their communities. The Lula (which means "easy" in colloquial Zulu), is a portable voucher sales ...

How effective is overseas aid? | Clare Short and Ha-Joon Chang Global development news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk The government has ringfenced overseas aid, but is that the right thing to do? Former development secretary Clare Short debates the issue with economist Ha-Joon Chang At a time when almost all budgets are facing cuts, the Chancellor has ring-fenced 0.7% of GDP for foreign aid. Was he right to do so? Economist Ha-Joon Chang and the UK's former international development secretary Clare Short discuss. Aida Edemariam listens in. Clare Short: The UK spends about £8bn on aid. We spend more than £40bn on defence and £600bn on public expenditure, so £8bn is a tiny part. You've got to have funds for famines and crises – and beyond that, Britain massively exploited its colonies in Africa and elsewhere. Funding that helps countries speed up their development is just about decency, and also about the world being safer and more secure...