excentricyoruba:

Qui a dit que l’Afrique ne pouvait pas proposer une alternative technologique ? Avec sa marque VMK, le congolais Verone Mankou se jette dans l’arène avec la Way-C, une tablette Android bientôt suivie d’un smartphone.

Brazzaville based entrepeneur and founder of the company VMK, Verone Mankou has created a Andriod tablet, the Way-C. Verone Mankou aimed at creating a product that would be at par with Western tablets quality wise and at the same time be affordable for the African market.

As for technical details; Way-C is equipped with a 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor (512+ MB RAM), 4GB internal storage space, a micro SD slot, WiFi and screen definition of 800 x 480 pixels. It is sold for CFA 150,000 (€228).

Way-C is manufactured by a Chinese company based on plans provided by VMK. The Way-C is now on sale in the Republic of Congo and 11 other African countries. Verone Mankou hopes to start manufacturing smartphones soon and for his products to enter the Western market.

Or, as my host mom said when she called last night, “The people are refusing!” (“Ñit ñi dañu lank!”)

dynamicafrica:

Anti-government protestors march past burning tires in Dakar on Friday, Jan. 27, 2012.

Protesters hurled rocks at police who retaliated with tear gas in Senegal’s capital Dakar on Friday after a top legal body said President Abdoulaye Wade had the right to run for a third term in elections next month.

Local television said one policeman died from head injuries after clashes in the capital Dakar.

Toure Behan / AFP - Getty Images

“Experience the familiar perils of office politics in a world eerily different from our own in “The Situation,” an original comic story created by Jeff VanderMeer and Eric Orchard.”

good:

So You Think You Can Be a Social Entrepreneur? Reality TV Meets the Impact Economy

Read More on GOOD→ 

There is a lot to unpack in this article, but I found this comment and approach to be noteworthy:

“You’re talking about selling ideas to get people to do things, [w]hether it’s buying a product or getting addicted to a show or movie, it’s about an intrinsic motivation, a desire to want to be a part of something. And not being lectured into feeling guilty about not doing something.”

Now is as good of a time as any to revisit Democracy in Dakar, a documentary (in Wolof, English, and French) about hip-hop culture and politics in Dakar, Senegal around the 2007 presidential elections. All episodes are available on Nomadic Wax’s Vimeo channel.

Senegal gets trounced 2-1 by Equatorial Guinea in the Africa Cup of Nations + Constitutional Court deciding whether Abdoulaye Wade can run for a 3rd term in February’s elections = It could be an interesting weekend in the Land of Hospitality. Ndank ndank over there, okay?

Take a 4 minute break (full screen for full effect) Accompanying article at The Atlantic.