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Africa’s digital business: The women swapping shops for smartphones – BBC

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The BBC profiles three African women – a former shop owner, a teacher and a taxi driver – who have boosted their income since they embraced digital platforms.

The coronavirus pandemic forced many people to rethink how they earn a living.

Independent research group Caribou Digital has found that women in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana are benefitting from the digital economy’s low barrier to entry and flexibility – which allows them to earn their own money while maintaining childcare duties.

Sharon Tarit

Ms Tarit (pictured above) did not expect to double her income in nine months.

The Covid pandemic had forced the closure of her baby clothes shop in Eldoret in western Kenya, and subletting properties through online platforms like Airbnb seemed like a handy stop-gap measure.

But Ms Tarit, 29, is now among a growing number of African women finding new careers using platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and ride-hailing apps like Uber and Bolt.

She launched her business with one property nine months ago and now has seven – taking on long-term rent agreements and subletting on Airbnb.

“I’m making much more money than the business I had before the pandemic,” Ms Tarit told BBC Business Daily.

People who use her business are mostly tourists booking holiday accommodation and business people who would rather stay in an Airbnb than a hotel.

“During Covid a lot of my friends lost their jobs and started using digital platforms to earn money. Now they are selling groceries online and working as delivery drivers,” Ms Tarit said.

Josephine Adzogble

A normal day for Ms Adzogble, 32, starts by posting adverts for products on WhatsApp and Facebook from her home in Ghana’s capital, Accra.

She is taking advantage of one of the biggest shifts in the African economy – the rise of online market places.

She sells mobile phones, air-conditioning units and televisions by advertising and posting on groups she has made on WhatsApp and Facebook, as well as existing ones such as her church group.

Ms Adzogble gave up a job teaching French to concentrate on her online business.

“It pays better than teaching. I can sell one item and earn more than a month teaching. I am a mother. I need to give my children the best education possible and they motivate me to get my financial independence,” she said.

For Ms Adzogble, building strong relationships with customers is key to making money online.

“That way they will buy from you and give a good review,” she said.

Ayobami Lawal

Ms Lawal, 34, works for ride-hailing firms Uber and Bolt in Nigeria’s main city, Lagos.

However, it has not been easy – the single mum of four said some men refuse to be driven by a woman.

“When I started driving taxis in Lagos all the men cancelled their trips when I arrived to pick them up,” Ms Lawal said.

“Lagos is a bit rough and you have to be very strong to drive around the town. Men don’t think I have the strength. I have to convince them to get in the car,” she added.

The study by Caribou Digital also found that many women using digital platforms to earn a living worry about their safety.

“A lot of the women we spoke to said they have been sexually harassed when picking up rides,” lead researcher Grace Natabaalo told the BBC.

“While governments encourage young women to take up this work they need to recognise the other side – that there are dangers and they should be taken seriously by the police and government departments,” she said.

But Ms Lawal said the positives outweigh the negatives.

“It’s important to earn a living for yourself but also I want to contribute to the wider economy by paying taxes. I want to grow myself and Nigeria’s economy,” she said.

  • You can listen to the three women telling their stories to Sam Fenwick here.

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Africa

Donors raise more than 2 billion euros for Sudan aid a year into war

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April 16, 2024

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PARIS/CAIRO, April 15 (Reuters) – Donors pledged more than 2 billion euros ($2.13 billion) for war-torn Sudan at a conference in Paris on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said, on the first anniversary of what aid workers describe as a neglected but devastating conflict.
Efforts to help millions of people driven to the verge of famine by the war have been held up by continued fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), restrictions imposed by the warring sides, and demands on donors from other global crises including in Gaza and Ukraine.
Conflict in Sudan is threatening to expand, with fighting heating up in and around al-Fashir, a besieged aid hub and the last city in the western Darfur region not taken over by the RSF. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have sought refuge in the area.
“The world is busy with other countries,” Bashir Awad, a resident of Omdurman, part of the wider capital and a key battleground, told Reuters last week. “We had to help ourselves, share food with each other, and depend on God.”
In Paris, the EU pledged 350 million euros, while France and Germany, the co-sponsors, committed 110 million euros and 244 million euros respectively. The United States pledged $147 million and Britain $110 million.
Speaking at the end of the conference, which included Sudanese civilian actors, Macron emphasized the need to coordinate overlapping and so far unsuccessful international efforts to resolve the conflict and to stop foreign support for the warring parties.
“Unfortunately the amount that we mobilised today is still probably less than was mobilised by several powers since the start of the war to help one or the other side kill each other,” he said.
As regional powers compete for influence in Sudan, U.N. experts say allegations that the United Arab Emirates helped arm the RSF are credible, while sources say the army has received weapons from Iran. Both sides have rejected the reports.
The war, which broke out between the Sudanese army and the RSF as they vied for power ahead of a planned transition, has crippled infrastructure, displaced more than 8.5 million people, and cut many off from food supplies and basic services.
“We can manage together to avoid a terrible famine catastrophe, but only if we get active together now,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding that, in the worst-case scenario, 1 million people could die of hunger this year.
The United Nations is seeking $2.7 billion this year for aid inside Sudan, where 25 million people need assistance, an appeal that was just 6% funded before the Paris meeting. It is seeking another $1.4 billion for assistance in neighbouring countries that have housed hundreds of thousands of refugees.
The international aid effort faces obstacles to gaining access on the ground.
The army has said it would not allow aid into the wide swathes of the country controlled by its foes from the RSF. Aid agencies have accused the RSF of looting aid. Both sides have denied holding up relief.
“I hope the money raised today is translated into aid that reaches people in need,” said Abdullah Al Rabeeah, head of Saudi Arabia’s KSRelief.
On Friday, Sudan’s army-aligned foreign ministry protested that it had not been invited to the conference. “We must remind the organisers that the international guardianship system has been abolished for decades,” it said in a statement.

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SA users of Starlink will be cut off at the end of the month

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April 16, 2024

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Starlink users in South Africa are facing a major setback as the satellite internet service provider has issued a warning that their services will be terminated by the end of the month.

In an email sent to many South African users, Starlink stated that their internet access will cease on April 30 due to violation of its terms and conditions.

The email emphasized that using Starlink kits outside of designated areas, as indicated on the Starlink Availability Map, is against their terms. Consequently, users will only be able to access their Starlink account for updates after the termination.

Starlink, a company owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, operates a fleet of low earth orbit satellites that offer high-speed internet globally. Despite its potential to revolutionize connectivity, Starlink has been unable to obtain a license to operate in South Africa from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

Icasa’s requirements mandate that any applicant must have 30% ownership from historically disadvantaged groups to be considered for a license. However, many in South Africa resorted to creative methods to access Starlink services, including purchasing roaming packages from countries where Starlink is licensed.

However, Icasa clarified in a government gazette last November that using Starlink in this manner is illegal. Additionally, Starlink itself stated in the recent email to users that the ‘Mobile – Regional’ plans are meant for temporary travel and transit, not permanent use in a location. Continuous use of these plans outside the country where service was ordered will result in service restriction.

Starlink advised those interested in making its services available in their region to contact local authorities.

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Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso agree to create a joint force to fight worsening violence

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2 months ago

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March 8, 2024

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BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A joint security force announced by the juntas ruling Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to fight the worsening extremist violence in their Sahel region countries faces a number of challenges that cast doubt on its effectiveness, analysts said Thursday.

Niger’s top military chief, Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou said in a statement after meeting with his counterparts Wednesday that the joint force would be “operational as soon as possible to meet the security challenges in our area.”

The announcement is the latest in a series of actions taken by the three countries to strike a more independent path away from regional and international allies since the region experienced a string of coups — the most recent in Niger in July last year.

They have already formed a security alliance after severing military ties with neighbors and European nations such as France and turning to Russia — already present in parts of the Sahel — for support.

Barmou did not give details about the operation of the force, which he referred to as an “operational concept that will enable us to achieve our defence and security objectives.”

Although the militaries had promised to end the insurgencies in their territories after deposing their respective elected governments, conflict analysts say the violence has instead worsened under their regimes. They all share borders in the conflict-hit Sahel region and their security forces fighting jihadi violence are overstretched.

The effectiveness of their security alliance would depend not just on their resources but on external support, said Bedr Issa, an independent analyst who researches the conflict in the Sahel.

The three regimes are also “very fragile,” James Barnett, a researcher specializing in West Africa at the U.S.-based Hudson Institute, said, raising doubts about their capacity to work together.

“They’ve come to power through coups, they are likely facing a high risk of coups themselves, so it is hard to build a stable security framework when the foundation of each individual regime is shaky,” said Barnett.

—-

Associated Press writer Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria contributed.

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