12/3/2017 0 Comments Angola takes innovation to another level with Fábrica de Sabão, Jean Claude Bastos de Morais projectJean Claude Bastos de Morais’ brainchild, The African innovation Foundation has announced the seventh edition of the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA). This initiative has instilled hope in young African innovators. However, this is not the only project in Mr Bastos de Morais’ bag as he has painted a bigger picture for Africa’s economic and technological progress. The champion of Jean Claude Bastos de Morais’ crusade against Africa’s poverty and economic deficiency is Angola, and it is taking innovation to a whole new level. Fábrica de Sabão, Angola’s first hybrid innovation hub, is a big reason for this leap. This is a temple of learning and innovation that was once a soap factory, in the middle of an Angolan Slum. Fábrica de Sabão is in a shantytown populated by 800,000 hardworking people. The directive of this hub is to overlap the formal economy with its informal counterpart through need-based inventions. Fábrica de Sabão cultivates the creative skills of budding entrepreneurs, engineers, and young economists under the same roof. They all are mentored by experts who help them develop problem-solving devices and strategies. The hub has 11 sections which include makerspace, office space, perma garden, an exhibition venue, and a sports area where worked up entrepreneurs can relax. The ‘makerspace’ is a sector where engineers can innovate with the help of tools, such as smelters, CNC machines, welding machines, weighing scales, calipers, and marking tools. The 3D printer is their most valued tool as it helps them develop prototypes through computer-aided designs. Angolan youngsters have independently created solar-powered mobile chargers, alarm system prototypes, and various other useful gadgets with the help of these facilities. A small push from Jean Claude Bastos de Morais built a lot of potential in the Angolan youth. Angola is counted as Africa’s third largest African economy. The last 15 years have been instrumental in Angola’s development as its government started reforming the infrastructure heavily. Widespread privatization and liberalization has made Angola into a beacon of investment in Africa. Angola’s GDP reached a growth rate of 22.5% in 2013, which was earlier 10.7% between 2007 and 2010. Although Angola is not Jean Claude Bastos de Morais’ blue-eyed boy, the Quantum Global Group’s founder has done a lot to put this southern African country on a fruitful path. The eyes are focused on IPA 2018 as no Angolan entry has yet made it to the winners list.
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11/6/2017 0 Comments Africa needs commercial drones, Jean Claude Bastos de Morais’ Fábrica de Sabão can help with infrastructureJean Claude Bastos de Morais’ brainchild, Fábrica de Sabão, is right now focused on generating clean and renewable energy for Angola and the rest of Africa. However, they also need to work on a better transport system, especially when it comes to emergency channels. Angola’s health statistics aren’t doing too well. Malaria cases require urgent blood supplies that can take a lot of time to reach via road. If it’s delivered through commercial drones instead, they’ll be able to save a lot of time and avoid a casualty. Surprisingly, the first commercial drone service was started in Rwanda by a San Francisco-based robotics company to deliver blood to hospitals and transfusion centers. The orders are made through phone and the Internet. Their drones are capable of delivering blood packages in an average of 20 minutes. Drones carry blood bags in a biodegradable paper box and follow a fixed route from the headquarters to the hospital and back. While many foreign companies are using Africa as a launch pad for their drone services, they lack the infrastructure and support to keep the services running. Jean Claude Bastos de Morais is planning to open a Fábrica de Sabão in every African country. These co-working spaces are rife with innovative people who can further evolve the drone services and build a proper infrastructure for drones. Africa is proving to be a continental test lab for foreign countries because it doesn’t restrict the use of drones. The US forbids people from operating drones if it leaves their line of sight. On the other hand, African countries like Angola, Kenya, and Rwanda are welcoming and investing happily on commercial drones. They are being used in tourism, e-commerce, and health services. But most importantly, since a huge section of Africa is dependent on agriculture, commercial drones are helping with agriculture. Precision agriculture is the highlight of drone-aided cultivation. Drones are able to map the terrain and variability in the crops. They can also help African farmers plan out their farms by giving them a full view of the land, so that a blueprint can be created. Japan has been using this technology for years to grow rice. Jean Claude Bastos de Morais might find commercial drones as a perfect investment opportunity for the Quantum Global Group. The statistics aggregated for all the African countries in the Africa Investment Index can swell if drone services are used properly. |
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