The city of Johannesburg was established in 1886 after the discovery of gold. Gold is a mineral that has been deemed valuable for thousands of years. It does not rust and it is malleable. 



Gold has been used in jewelry as well as in the semiconductor industry to build electronic circuits. You can bury gold for hundreds of years and the worst it can get is accumulate dust. 



Because of its durability, gold has been used to store value in the form of money. In many countries, printed and minted money used to be linked to stored gold, which was reserved in the central bank. This way, central banks used to print as much money as they had gold reserves. There had been many attempts to move away from the gold standard beginning in the United Kingdom in the 1920s.



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="The 4IR Strategy To Move Forward (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2019/05/23/the-4ir-strategy-to-move-forward/" target="_blank">The 4IR Strategy To Move Forward</a>



However, the first successful move from the gold standard
was in the 1970s during the Nixon Administration in America. 



At this time, the United States (US) ran out of gold and
moved from the gold standard and floated the US dollar. Floated currency is
regulated by the laws of demand and supply and is closely linked to the
economic productivity of a country.



The idea of gold as the most important economic asset has
passed. Instead of entrepreneurs going to California to look for gold, as they
did in the past, they now go to Silicon Valley to create companies that exploit
the acquisition and sharing of data. 



Facebook is one such company that has connected the world
and expanded our friendships – although, in my opinion, it lowered the quality
of those friendships. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Facebook’s most valuable asset is not the software that connects people, which can easily be replicated, but the data of the over two billion active users it connects. </blockquote>



The most valuable asset of Uber, the ride-hailing service
that does not own a single taxi, is the data of the people who use it. The
prime asset of Google, the largest library, which owns no physical library, is
the index that takes customers to their desired websites. 



Therefore, the new valuable asset is not gold but it is
data. Data has become the new gold! With a population of 1.3 billion people and
a total purchasing power parity gross domestic product (GDP) of $6.74 trillion,
the population of Africa is growing at the rate of 2.6%. 



Much of Africa’s demographic is youthful. Much of this
population is increasingly connected to the internet. 



In 2017, Facebook had 170 million subscribers, which constitutes approximately 15% of the total population of Africa and this subscription is growing. Companies such as Google reportedly give accounts in exchange of subscriber data. These companies have been reported to have sold this data to entities such as advertisers, political parties etc. The exchange of personal data for an account is unfair trade because the value of personal data is far greater than the value of an account.  



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Big Data And Smart Farmers For Africa’s Agricultural Transformation (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2018/10/30/big-data-and-smart-farmers-for-africas-agricultural-transformation/" target="_blank">Big Data And Smart Farmers For Africa’s Agricultural Transformation</a>



What do we do to commercialize the vast African database? 



Firstly, we need to develop technological capacity to
gather, process and monetize the African database. To achieve these, we ought
to improve and expand our educational institutions, paying attention to the
development of programs in data science. We need to embed data science subjects
such as data analytics and software engineering into primary, secondary and
tertiary education. 



Governments and the African Union ought to expand projects
such as the Deep Learning Indaba as well as the African Institute of
Mathematical Sciences that are developing mathematics, machine learning and
artificial intelligence expertise in Africa. 



To gather data, we need to politically organize ourselves to
create economies of scale. Regionally, organizations such as the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) and Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) should create regional data banks that collect, protect and
store regional data.



&nbsp;Continentally, the
African Union should coordinate data gathering and develop data protection
policies. We need to create laws and policies that regulate data nationally,
regionally and continentally. 



– Tshilidzi Marwala is a professor and Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg. He deputizes President Cyril Ramaphosa on the South African Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

gettyimages-1058381926-170667a

Data Is The New Gold

Perhaps most famously, Route 128 and Silicon Valley in the United States developed around the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford universities, while key European knowledge regions developed at the Sophia Antipolis high-tech park in Côte d’Azur, France, and the Leuven region in Belgium.
In Africa, however, it is a relatively new phenomenon. But some universities on the continent are working towards setting themselves up as catalysts of innovation and entrepreneurship. Notable mentions must go to the University of Nairobi and the American University in Cairo, but South Africa is leading the charge.
The likes of Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town (UCT) and University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) are focusing more than ever on equipping their students to be entrepreneurs, primarily in response to unemployment issues in the country. Almost 50% of those aged between 15 and 24 in South Africa are without a job, and some tertiary institutions are adapting by equipping them to become job creators.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/30-under-30/2018/06/04/under-30-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Forbes Africa Under 30 Technology Entrepreneurs</a>
Bakang Moetse is Impact Investing Project Manager at the Bertha Centre, a dedicated entrepreneurial unit within the Graduate School of Business at UCT. She says high youth unemployment had made the promotion of entrepreneurship an imperative for many African governments.
“Whilst government may be responsible for creating an enabling environment for the development of businesses, universities play a key role in delivering skills and expertise, as well as creating enabling environments for incubation of entrepreneurs,” says Moetse.
Universities also stand to gain. At a time when the relevance of university degrees has come into question due to the number of unemployed graduates and lack of employment readiness of those graduates who do enter the workforce, promoting entrepreneurship provides a way of ensuring universities continue to be recognized as key to the development of societies and economies.
“For universities interested in taking on a more active role in this regard, there is a competitive advantage to be gained in becoming leaders within this field of research, which can further bolster their credentials,” says Moetse.
Stellenbosch University runs its own incubator – LaunchLab – and also invests in some student-run tech startups. Head of Incubation Brandon Paschal says universities that do so will produce more employable and resilient graduates, and their reputations will grow as such.
“Also, with the current student fee climate, if universities are not backing and pursuing commercializing university technology, their financial sustainability and broader access to tertiary education is in jeopardy,” he says.
So how have startups incubated by universities benefitted? G-J van Rooyen was an associate professor at Stellenbosch, and launched his bitcoin-based anti-piracy startup Custos Media Technologies out of LaunchLab. He says it had been a great space from which to grow an early-stage company.
“At a startup, you&#8217;re constantly juggling concerns and issues. Being in a supportive environment where space and facilities are one less thing to worry about makes a huge difference,” Van Rooyen says. “Since LaunchLab is a hub for startups and investors, it directly impacted our fundraising efforts, and introduced us to our angel investor.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-36756 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94-1024x679.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="679" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94-1024x679.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94-600x398.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Michael-John Dippenaar’s on-demand storage space startup Sxuirrel first encountered LaunchLab after winning a competition run by the incubator, earning funding and support.
“Amongst other intangibles thereafter, and in the period leading up to then and now, we gained help in the form of advice, community and networks,” Dippenaar says.
“We had support in finding lawyers, connecting to additional entrepreneurs to learn from, and access to soft-skill building resources.”
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2018/06/05/investment-marketplace-coming-to-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Investment Marketplace Coming To Africa</a>
Training students – and professors – in entrepreneurial skills and providing them a safe space from which to launch their ideas in one thing, but universities also need to ensure they have solid links with corporates and funders to help incubated startups scale. This can be a challenge.
However, Tine Fisker Henriksen, Senior Project Manager, Innovative Finance, at Bertha Centre, says the credibility associated with university brands lends itself to bringing in new partnerships and streams of funding entrepreneurs on their own would not be able to tap into.
“We are seeing increased interest from the corporate sector to get involved in supporting entrepreneurship, and we have managed to establish partnerships that have been valuable in this regard,” she says.
“From our point of view, there is great potential to expand this beyond mere sponsorship of events and once-off fundraising, as is commonly the case, and move in the direction of more sustainable partnerships approaches for rising entrepreneurs.”
The initiatives at places like Stellenbosch and UCT are well developed, with a track record of helping startups launch and raise funding for their next stage of development, but are enough universities following their lead?
Paschal says there is some evidence of this, but it takes time to transform very traditional and conservative institutions. Part of the challenge is that “startup skills” are intangible, EQ-related things that you cannot learn in a classroom.
“The push for universities spinning out companies, and supporting startups and SMEs, is disrupting the traditional role of universities. The trend is going in this direction, but generally universities are battling to get beyond the academic side,” he says.
Henriksen agrees more needs to be done.
“We have seen the top universities develop more entrepreneurial courses, hubs and initiatives. But there is definitely room for greater involvement, and coordination of efforts in this space to create a synergized impact,” she says.
&#8211; Tom Jackson

BANNER-LaunchLab-12-of-67

Africa’s New Silicon Valleys

It’s early evening at a five-star hotel in Accra in Ghana, where a group of delegates from the European Union and Ghanaian government are meeting to discuss bilateral trade agreements. In the elegant lobby, an attendant mans the helpdesk, trying to resolve the queries of agitated guests who seem unimpressed with the long queues.
At one end of the room, a group of camera-toting journalists saunter aimlessly waiting for an opportunity to snap Ghana’s economic power brokers as they arrive.
Shortly after 7.30PM, the vice president of Ghana strolls in with his security detail and in one stroke, the lobby is bustling, flashes pop like corn and requests for sound bites are hurled in the air.
As the frenzy reaches a feverish pitch, we leave the commotion and make our way past an impressive art piece of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, part of the collection of over 1,500 pieces of art in the hotel. Our destination is the fifth floor where we meet Bozoma Saint John, Silicon Valley darling and Uber’s Chief Brand Officer since last year.
Hired to turn Uber back into a brand people love, Saint John has a daunting task ahead. The company has been hit with a number of scandals and allegations which led to the resignation of CEO Travis Kalanick last year, and the #deleteuber campaign.
In South Africa, Uber drivers have had several clashes with taxi drivers prompting the company to hire private security forces to protect them.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2017/08/29/ubers-ceo-pick-adds-pressure-resolve-boardroom-brawl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ: Uber’s CEO Pick Adds Pressure To Resolve Boardroom Brawl</a>
On meeting her, thoughts of Saint John’s herculean task are replaced with impressions of her imposing yet warm personality. Towering at five foot eleven, even without her pink stilettoes, which she teams with a silver jumpsuit, braids and earrings made of Ghanaian Adinkra symbols, her presence is hard to ignore in any room, which can surely be an advantage in the male-dominated corporate space.
“So a good friend of mine called me to come to the Consumer Electronics Summit in Vegas saying they were having a cool kids’ dinner and he needed me to be there. So I stroll into the dinner and Arianna Huffington is sitting there. She looked at me and she said you are the most interesting person in the room right now, what is your name? She told the CEO of JP Morgan Chase who sat next to me to get up and she sat down and said tell me everything about yourself and that is how our friendship started,” says Saint John.
That conversation with Huffington (a founder of The Huffington Post) led to an introduction to Kalanick in Huffington’s home in Los Angeles.
“At the time Uber was going through a lot of challenges and she was on the board and she asked me what would I do. I told her about my experiences taking Ubers and she said you should meet Travis Kalanick. She invited us to her house and what was supposed to be a meet and greet turned out to be a whole day of conversation and brain-storming ideas.”
And the rest is history. Saint John’s list of qualifications, which includes the former head of Music and Entertainment Marketing at PepsiCo and head of marketing for Apple Music, made her the woman for the job. She is one of the few black women to land a senior position at a billion-dollar company. For Saint John, that comes with both positives and negatives.
“If you want to shine like a diamond, you have to be willing to get cut and there has been lots of cuts along the way, in small ways and in big ways. The small ways are about the micro aggression, the comments people make about you and the doubts about your talent; the assertion that your greatness is by accident. It takes a toll on you and your spirit and your self-confidence.
“So having to constantly remind yourself that I am actually talented at this and I do this better than anyone else. In the beginning, people will often remark like, ‘you celebrate yourself so much on Instagram’, but I’m like who else is going to do it? Then all of a sudden, other people start joining the bandwagon and praising the work I do and I’m like ‘I told you I was great’,” says Saint John.
The big cuts along the way have been the most life-changing for Saint John; like losing her husband to cancer in December 2013, four days before his 44th birthday.
“I had never considered that we could die early. It was only six months between his diagnosis and his death so it was not enough time to prepare. Our daughter was only four years old. After his death it really shook me. I was afraid because I did not know if there was ever going to be a recovery in my confidence. Not confidence in work because I knew I could do the job but confidence in life.”
But she turned what was her worst day into her best asset and developed a new philosophy in life.
<div id="attachment_35873" style="width: 693px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-35873" class="wp-image-35873 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/bozoma-3-683x1024.jpg" alt="" width="683" height="1024" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/bozoma-3-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/bozoma-3-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/bozoma-3-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/bozoma-3-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/bozoma-3-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/bozoma-3.jpg 1211w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" />Bozoma Saint John. Photo supplied.</div>
“It absolutely lit a fire in me to say that, we don’t know how much time we have and I am going to be great today. I am not waiting for 10 years or 15 years to be great; I am going to be great right now. All the dreams have to happen today, not tomorrow!”
It is that philosophy that Saint John brings to her daunting role at Uber while challenging the world via her Instagram page to #watchmework.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2015/10/01/young-over-qualified-and-a-woman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Young, Over Qualified And A Woman!’</a>
“Uber is facing several challenges but I think the addition of Bozoma who happens to be black, a woman and an immigrant is a very strategic move by the brand to help fight some of the negative publicity the company faced last year and that worked. Obviously it helps that Bozoma is an accomplished marketing professional who has a solid track record with some of the world’s prestigious brands,” says John Tawiah, an economist in Ghana.
For Saint John, this is more than a job. It’s about sending a very clear message to three distinct audiences.
“The first is my daughter who I really want to embody for her, what a role model can be. I hope she is going to see the things that I do and that become The Normal for her and she will do better than I have. The second audience is African women and black women. That we can show up as ourselves and still succeed. We don’t need to be like anybody else and I can show up in cornrows, weaves and still be able to let my work speak for itself.
“We talk about cultural appropriation all the time so I find it important to send that message. We need to see each other and know it is ok. The third audience is to show the world that there is an inner intelligence beneath this exterior that we have and you are in charge of your own success.”
Saint John is no stranger to hard work and breaking boundaries. Her innovative ideas at PepsiCo led to the company’s foray into the music festivals and big deals with powerhouse celebrities like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. In spite of the media buzz and speculation about Uber’s future, the lady who calls herself “superexecumummy” is ready to roll up her sleeves and show the world just how great she is, today.

bozama

Uber’s Chief Brand Officer – ‘I Am Going To Be Great Right Now”

Back in early July, San Francisco employment law firm Altshuler Berzon LLP posted Facebook and <a href="http://go.equalpayforgooglewomen.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LinkedIn</a> notices seeking women currently or formerly employed at Google for possible inclusion in a planned class-action lawsuit alleging gender pay discrimination.
Several dozen came forward in a matter of weeks. &#8220;That&#8217;s a pretty high level of dissatisfaction,&#8221; said James Finberg, a civil rights lawyer and the partner at the firm in charge of the matter.
Then <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2017/08/08/google-fires-anti-diversity-memo-writer-drawing-ire-in-right-wing-circles/#2c6ad9205b07" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">came this week&#8217;s news</a> that Google fired an engineer who wrote a memo questioning women&#8217;s suitability for tech jobs, which thrust the ongoing debate around diversity, women and discrimination in Silicon Valley back onto the headlines.
&#8220;The phone has been lighting up today,&#8221; said Finberg. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t have any control of that guy and his memo or the media firestorm. We&#8217;re going public a lot earlier than we&#8217;d hoped or expected.&#8221;
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2017/08/07/google-ceos-visit-nigeria-means-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What The Google CEO&#8217;s Visit To Nigeria Means For Africa</a>
Finberg has heard from more than 70 women so far. He has confirmed four for the planned suit, which he has not yet filed, and several others are considering joining, he said.
The class-action would follow a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/07/google-pay-disparities-women-labor-department-lawsuit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">suit against the tech giant</a> filed earlier this year by the United States Department of Labor, which said it found evidence of an &#8220;extreme&#8221; gender pay gap at the company. Finberg said the class-action case will draw on the DOL analysis, which found between six and seven standard deviations between wage rates of men and women based on a snapshot of the salaries of 21,000 workers at Google&#8217;s Mountain View headquarters.
&#8220;How do you explain that?&#8221; Finberg asked. &#8220;The chance of that occurring randomly is one in 100 million.&#8221;
Of the 70-plus women who&#8217;ve so far shared their stories of employment at Google with Altshuler Berzon, common threads have emerged, according to Finberg.
<blockquote>&#8220;Women are channeled into &#8216;softer&#8217; jobs, like design or user experience, versus coding,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Coding is the best compensated.&#8221;</blockquote>
He&#8217;s also heard concerns that women&#8217;s prior salaries were used to calculate their new wages at Google.
&#8220;That&#8217;s institutionalizing gender discrimination, and it&#8217;s against California law,&#8221; he said.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2017/06/20/want-expose-googles-mistakes-russian-hacker-blamed-big-android-fraud-problem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8216;I Want To Expose Google&#8217;s Mistakes&#8217;: The Russian Hacker Blamed For A Big Android Fraud Problem</a>
Google did not respond to a request for comment on this or other points in this story. But the company has <a href="https://www.blog.google/topics/diversity/update-department-labor-lawsuit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vehemently disputed</a> the Labor Department&#8217;s allegations saying its own analysis &#8220;shows no gender pay gap at Google.&#8221; The company has also sought to explain <a href="https://www.blog.google/topics/diversity/our-focus-pay-equity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it ensures pay equity across its ranks</a>.
The company scored a victory in July, when a judge ruled that the government&#8217;s demand for data on its 21,000 Mountain View workers, which Google had called a &#8220;fishing expedition,&#8221; was &#8220;over broad&#8221; and &#8220;intrusive.&#8221;
Finberg intends to file the equal pay class-action suit &#8220;within the next few weeks,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s more likely than not.&#8221; &#8211; Written by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Clare O&#8217;Connor</a>, FORBES STAFF

‘One In 100 Million’ Chance Alleged Gender Pay Gap At Google Is Random, Says Class Action Lawyer

They call themselves Geeks on a Plane and they landed in Africa with hope and money in the middle of uncertainty. Many of these investors and entrepreneurs are based in Silicon Valley, one of the biggest US business hubs, known for its start-up ecosystem, high-tech innovations and scientific developments. They have been touring Africa looking for investments.
“Successes are infrequent, maybe 20 to 30 percent of our investments will probably return some capital but the majority of the significant outcomes will be less than 10 percent of our portfolio and the really big outcomes will be under one and two percent,” says Dave McClure, the founding partner of 500 Startups, the venture capital and seed fund accelerator that organized Geeks on a Plane.
The company was launched seven years ago. It has created business opportunities for about 18,000 companies, making around 500 investments a year, says McClure.
“This is our eighteenth trip around the world. We usually take between 20 and 40 people to the different markets in the world and try to expose them to what is happening. We learn about the local market, we meet entrepreneurs and investors, and we tell them what is happening back in Silicon Valley. It’s a great way to get to new markets and meet new people.”
It has been four years since the first investment in Africa. Since then there have been at least 10 investments in sub-Saharan Africa, in payment infrastructure, mobile technology and services. The investment, per company, ranges from $25,000 to $100,000. McClure says some of their investments have failed, but they encourage companies to work hard to break even, as soon as possible, to attract other investors.
<div id="attachment_31484" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31484" class="wp-image-31484 size-medium" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/3W0A0759-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/3W0A0759-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/3W0A0759-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/3W0A0759-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/3W0A0759.jpg 683w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />Dave McClure</div>
“To create the right risk appetite [is all] about hope and trust. When you think about trust, it’s when you sort of build a network of investors together… We have investors coming in and spending three weeks with us and we showcase some of our start-ups and what we have seen is that those people that are meeting for the first time are creative, so of a similar interest. One of the companies didn’t raise the money before, but with the class they raised $500,000,” says Bedy Yang, the Managing Partner at 500 Startups.
“You often see that intersection with a local founder and a local investor, it is not only among people on the same trip and same small circle, but the idea we open those circles. The reason we come to Geeks on the Plane is we want to map up those circles and narrow the trust quickly and say ‘I want to do something people believe in and write the cheques’.”
Monique Woodard, one of the first black female venture capital partners in the United States, says the best women in business are African women. Despite this, they are often rejected by banks and investors.
“I would say they need to start [considering women entrepreneurs] because I am coming to take those deals… The position of women in business in Africa is quite good when you look at large corporations or family run businesses. When you look at start-ups, we are still at the very beginning of seeing women entering,” she says.
Woodard says in a developing market they first look at telecoms, transportation, broadband, financial services, e-commerce and media.
“The sub-Saharan ecosystem is still emerging and developing market. There’s a playbook of how the developing markets of sub-Saharan Africa can grow and we have done it in other areas as well. I expected it to be different but not impossible,” says Woodard.
Woodard acknowledges fewer girls are taking science and mathematics at school but says she’s hopeful that will change. They have partnered with companies, like Andela in Kenya, to train and place women in the software development industry.
“That’s not something unique to Africa, that’s very much across the board. So, there are things we should be doing, figuring out how to encourage girls to continue with computers science degrees and then continue to be in the tech industry and start their own companies. When it comes to education, we play are role in investing in companies that provide education outside the public school system,” she says.
The company has helped many in Africa, including Hanan Abdel Meguid, an Egyptian businesswoman. In the early 1990s, Meguid, then a student at the American University in Cairo, took a leap of faith when she enrolled for a computer science degree despite not being familiar with computers. She discovered the field was male-dominated, but she stayed in the course.
“I started my first company with friends, right after university, because our dreams and our capabilities were much bigger than the opportunities in the market. A similar experience is happening for Arab youth this day. IT has become a catalyst for change,” says Meguid, who’s now based in Silicon Valley and mentoring in advisory and seed investment programs.
500 Startups has an appetite for risk – amid the turmoil of the week they landed in South Africa, it was just as well.

Tag: Silicon Valley

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Data Is The New Gold

Africa’s New Silicon Valleys

Uber’s Chief Brand Officer – ‘I Am Going To Be Great Right Now”

‘One In 100 Million’ Chance Alleged Gender Pay Gap At Google Is Random, Says Class Action Lawyer

Risk? So What?