GOOD MORNING CHOP FAMILY!
We all must die. What a sentiment to start off on a Monday, right? Well, it is just a reminder for you to not forsake the fleeing vapor that is life. So take that trip, call that girl, call your mom, and reveal your inner gift to the world.
Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi
"It is not taboo to go back and get what you have forgotten."
There has been a little pause in the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, but don’t you worry, there were other incidents of violence that filled the void. Four Palestinians and two Israelis died, during attacks in the West Bank, mosques were damaged and tensions are high. There was also a terror attack in Europe that left one person dead and many injured.
Depressing times we are in.
MARKET MOVES
BUSINESS
Data Center Revolution
Next Africa, had a great segment on Data Centers a couple days ago, and it made me think deep. Data centers are a lighting rod of late (at least in the U.S.), where many locals are vehemently opposed to their construction - at least in their neighborhoods. And it makes sense. Who wants a massive structure in their backyard, that sucks up gobs of water and electricity?
But whether the public wants it or not, construction companies are on go mode, to erect data centers anywhere they can and the African landscape are in their crosshairs. Cassava Technologies has a $700 million partnership with Nvidia to build AI enabled Data centers across the continent. Raxio, which operates in six African countries is getting more funding to continue their spread.
But has anyone asked local African communities if this is what they actually want, and or need? Do they even have a say? Or is it just up to local leaders and deep pocketed foreign tech companies?
Africa hosts around 160 data centers today, roughly 5.5% of the global total, on a continent with nearly a fifth of the world's population.
Africans suffer from extreme energy poverty, and now they want to invest billions to energize (24/7) data centers for the AI craze? Why isn’t there the same energy to energize all communities in Africa? It can be done. And I argue it would be far more beneficial for EVERYONE if Africans were lifted out of poverty.
I know we can talk and chew groundnut at the same time, but I think we should do the basics first - bring light to all corners of the continent and then focus on data centers are other tech needs. Will this mean we will be left behind in the AI race?
We already are.
FINANCE
Gif by FutureYouthZone on Giphy
AI Scammers are outside
We have all received those emails from a distant Nigerian relative that wants to leave us their fortune, and all we have to do is send them some money first to get things moving - you know the one - right?
Well these email actually were effective (not sure how) but they fleeced millions from unsuspecting Westerners - mumu. Now with AI in the mix, these scammers are getting better and harder to detect.
While recent reports claim that financial frauds may have fallen of late, it warns that a wave of new scams are coming or are already out there. AI makes it easier to imitate websites, family voices and images so it behooves all of us to have a plan to fight it.
Create a family code word or phrase (that only you and your family will know), to ask scammers when they reach out to you. Banking and financial institutions are also having to overhaul their security and verification systems to help mitigate this problem.
It’s hard to know what is real anymore, so please take the time to improve your own personal, physical and digital moat.
Quick Bites [AI Summary]
🔋South African solar and battery storage developer Nesa Power picked up R150 million ($9.2 million) in mezzanine debt from Maia Capital. Quiet money, loud implications for the country's energy transition. Source
🚀Tunisia's Open Startup accelerator landed backing from KfW's AfricaGrow Fund to launch a $3 million vehicle offering local-currency SAFE notes to African health, climate, and AI startups. Source
🌾The Nairobi Business Angel Network backed Nuru Solutions, a startup turning smallholder farm data into insurance and credit products. Unglamorous, quietly essential. Source
What Else is Cooking? [AI Summary]
🌍At a Shanghai AI conference, Xi Jinping positioned China as the answer to a world where unequal AI access creates what he called "new historical injustices," an unmissable pitch aimed squarely at markets like Africa where chip and compute access remains scarce. Source
📊The World Bank is sounding alarms that Africa's labor force is on track to nearly double by 2050, and governments are increasingly nervous about the kind of youth unemployment already fueling Gen Z-led protests across several countries this year. One for the diaspora dinner table debates. Source
Dish of the Day 🥘
Todays chop is a throwback. Yeah, I am feeling nostalgic. And that means we are going to eat Cabin Biscuits! Does anyone remember these? As a kid I loved these, and thought they were the best thing ever. I would eat them with tea in the morning. But I recently tried some, for nostalgias sake, and they didn’t hit the same! They are hard, dry and not sweet at all. But I still ate them!
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