A detailed reflection on our recent symposium “Cultures of Platformization in Africa” is now available in the Society for Social Studies of Science Backchannels: 4sonline.org/news_manager...

How will Africa make use of AI? | D+C - Development + Cooperation Artificial intelligence is increasingly framed as Africa’s next leapfrogging opportunity – a way for the continent to bypass traditional development stages and accelerate social inclusion. Yet Africa ...

Africa’s #AI trajectory may depend less on capital-intensive infrastructure and more on smaller, context-specific systems. Locally grounded applications designed for constrained environments may be more inclusive and adaptable dandc.eu/en/article/a...

It was a pleasure to participate in our co-organized symposium "Cultures of Platformisation in Africa." Discussions explored how digital platforms shape economic & social life across the continent, while navigating the balance between innovation, security & local realities tinyurl.com/culturesplatf

Pleased to have contributed a chapter, "Rotating Credit Associations and Debt", to the forthcoming Routledge Handbook on Debt, out later this year.

Working People Speak: Oral Histories of Neoliberal Africa This book presents a re-engagement with oral histories as a way of documenting, understanding, and discussing experiences of work and economic life in Africa under neoliberal capitalism. It draws on s...

Through oral histories of #work across four #African countries, this thought-provoking new book uncovers how decades of economic change have reshaped people’s biographies and livelihoods www.routledge.com/Working-Peop...

This highlights the importance of the informal economy, where data generated by mobile money use, savings groups, and market vendors feeds AI systems that translate social trust networks into new forms of algorithmic creditworthiness.

How DPI Determines the Shape of Sovereign AI As the sovereign AI race heats up, countries are now seeking to implement and integrate AI within their preexisting digital public infrastructure (DPI). At first blush, it may appear to be artificial ...

The integration of #AI into digital public infrastructure depends on institutional inheritance. In many developing countries, existing design and governance of identity systems, payment rails, and data exchange platforms shapes how AI is adopted in practice blog.mondato.com/how-dpi-dete...

a groundhog is holding a red ball in its mouth ALT: a groundhog is holding a red ball in its mouth

Happy Groundhog Day!

High Court Upholds WhatsApp Agreements as Proof of Contract | The Kenyan Wallstreet The High Court in Siaya has upheld a ruling that affirms that business agreements can be confirmed through WhatsApp and text messages

A recent High Court ruling from #Kenya signals that business agreements reached through WhatsApp and SMS can be legally binding, with digital communication increasingly treated as standard commercial infrastructure rather than informal conversation. kenyanwallstreet.com/high-court-u...

Alternative remittances to Venezuela: ad hoc technological diffusion and monetary pluralism Venezuelan migrants have historically been excluded from formal money transfer systems. Consequently, the diaspora has a strong culture of using alternative remittance methods. This article examine...

An interesting new article by Daniel Robins discusses how Venezuelan migrants, historically excluded from formal money transfer systems, have created new #remittance modalities and financial networks using #FinTech @financeandspace.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Icy snow at Crater Lake National Park #Cold #Photography #CraterLake #Oregon #Snow #Trees 📷

Exciting update: Our edited volume “Land and the Mortgage” is getting a fresh paperback release in April 2026 @berghahnbooks.bsky.social www.berghahnbooks.com/title/rodima...

Global internet prices 2025: Where Africa stands in a rapidly connecting world - African Business As global internet prices diverge in 2025, Africa shows both progress and persistent gaps—emerging as a mobile-data bright spot while high costs in other markets continue to constrain digital inclusio...

Africa is seeing significant growth in digital connectivity. Investments in submarine cables, satellite internet, and data centers are reshaping the digital landscape, and continued focus on mobile-first solutions facilitates affordable internet access african.business/2025/12/inno...

AI Risk Management in Digital Finance: Protecting Africa's Underbanked from Invisible Threats AI-powered lending tools offer new opportunities to reach the underbanked — but they also introduce new risks that lenders need to manage.

Rather than treating #AI risk in digital lending as a purely technical issue, new perspectives from #Africa argue for collaborative governance among regulators, investors, #fintechs & civil society, framing ethical AI as shared institutional responsibility nextbillion.net/ai-risk-mana...

https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/elgar-encyclopedia-of-economic-anthropology-9781035312566.html?srsltid=AfmBOop2bGGQVIJPRa5doD5wuwJLSGz21Z5A4UDANDNwCS-LsHgajI05

Pleased to contribute to this insightful collaborative publication from @elgarpublishing.bsky.social. Many thanks to the volume editors and the publishing team!

Entrepreneurship as a way out of poverty? Study in rural Kenya shows why it doesn’t always work Development agencies should be careful about creating tensions between existing cultural norms and new concepts and behaviours they are introducing.

A recent study from Kenya shows that adopting entrepreneurial roles is not only a matter of skills & incentives but also of reconciling deeply rooted identities. Cultural and religious values often shape how new economic practices are embraced or resisted theconversation.com/entrepreneur...

Digitizing Trade Stumbles on Costs, Standards | The Kenyan Wallstreet Report identifies interoperability gaps, regulatory inconsistencies and implementation challenges as the most significant obstacles to digitising trade.

As East African countries push for digital integration, Rwanda and Tanzania connect their payment systems to reduce transaction costs. This could pave the way for a regional digital payments zone, though overcoming interoperability and reg. challenges is crucial kenyanwallstreet.com/trade-digita...

that’s lame. What they need here is a transporter. Even a beekeeper. They need a mechanic. Definitely, a working man. A short while later, he walked into what was obviously a trap, and emerged soon after, with not much happening to him (I am clearly not very familiar with the genre).

I recently happened to see an episode of a new vampire series. The protagonist was staking out a high-level meeting of telepathic vampire bosses by obnoxiously staring at them thru a restaurant window. Wow, I thought,

Competing frames and policy change: Greece's land administration reform from the mid-1990s to the economic crisis (2009–2018) Land administration is a multidisciplinary process that records and manages spatial and legal data about land to improve tenure security. However, cur…

A new study of Greece’s land administration reform traces how competing institutional logics—legal, technical, and supranational—were aligned under financial duress, producing a centralized digital cadastre whose technological modernization remains contested www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Safaricom HY26 Profit Up 52% to Hit Record KSH 42.8Billion | The Kenyan Wallstreet Safaricom reported a record HY26 profit of 42.8Bn, driven by M-PESA and mobile data growth in Kenya, while Ethiopia continued scaling despite FX-driven losses.

As Safaricom’s data revenue overtakes voice, #Kenya enters a new digital phase. Beyond record profits lies a deeper shift: telecom, finance, and daily life are converging. M-PESA and mobile data now define access to both connectivity and financial services. kenyanwallstreet.com/safaricom-ha...

The #WAU 2025 begins today @waucongress.bsky.social! Browse our #OpenAccess #Anthropology: bit.ly/3UgEPeI

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Backbase’s report reveals digital transformation as African banks bet big on SMEs A new report by Backbase and African Banker magazine reveals how Africa’s banks are making a bold digital pivot to serve small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With mobile-first platforms, AI-powe...

Small and medium-sized businesses are finally a core focus for many African banks. The shift to mobile-first solutions shows promise, but only 42% of banks offer full digital account opening. Investment in customer education and bridging digital divides is essential. african.business/2025/10/afri...

Delighted to be part of the CURA Fellows collective www.bu.edu/cura/2025/08...