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FCDO Answered 78 Questions. Digital Development Came Up Zero Times.

FCDO Answered 78 Questions. Digital Development Came Up Zero Times.

Published on: Oct 06 2026 by Wayan Vota - Leave a Comment
On 15 September, Kirsty McNeill sat for her first scrutiny session as Minister for International Development and Africa. Across 78 questions, nobody in the room...
Apply Now: $1 Million for AI EduTech Startup Coalitions

Apply Now: $1 Million for AI EduTech Startup Coalitions

Published on: Oct 05 2026 by Wayan Vota - Leave a Comment
UNESCO estimates that 57% of the world’s children lack basic skills. Sub-Saharan African economies pay the steepest price. UNESCO projects they will lose...
The Next Billion Users Will Not Read Your Consent Notices

The Next Billion Users Will Not Read Your Consent Notices

Published on: Sep 24 2026 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
The privacy consent model assumes a person who reads the notice, understands it, and chooses. For the hundreds of millions of people coming online for the first...
How to Evaluate Artificial Intelligence Systems for LMIC Usage

How to Evaluate Artificial Intelligence Systems for LMIC Usage

Published on: Sep 22 2026 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
Are we building AI systems backwards, evaluating them wrongly, and then wondering why our multi-million dollar algorithms fail to deliver the outcomes we promised...
Apply Now: $10,000 African AI Drug Discovery Fellowships

Apply Now: $10,000 African AI Drug Discovery Fellowships

Published on: Sep 21 2026 by Wayan Vota - 2 Comments
Early-career African drug discovery researchers writing in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry put Africa’s share of global scientific output at 2 to 3 percent,...
Are Your Publications Creating PDF Graveyards and Failing the Poor?

Are Your Publications Creating PDF Graveyards and Failing the Poor?

Published on: Sep 17 2026 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
I have a philosophical question for you to ponder: If a research paper is published, and its hypothesis is proven, but no one acts on it, did the paper even exist? I...
Use This Simple AI Framework to Stop Drowning in AI Governance

Use This Simple AI Framework to Stop Drowning in AI Governance

Published on: Sep 15 2026 by Wayan Vota - Leave a Comment
Here’s what I find maddening about the current state of AI governance in humanitarian organizations: we’ve got 80% of aid workers using AI tools daily...
Apply Now: $200,000 and Coaching for African AI Startups

Apply Now: $200,000 and Coaching for African AI Startups

Published on: Sep 14 2026 by Wayan Vota - Leave a Comment
AI-native African companies took less than 2% of the continent’s startup funding in the first half of 2026, Grégoire de Padirac, CEO of Digital Africa, told...
FCDO Promises to Halve the Digital Divide. Where Is the Money?

FCDO Promises to Halve the Digital Divide. Where Is the Money?

Published on: Sep 10 2026 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
The UK’s Digital Development Strategy 2024 to 2030 is still live on GOV.UK. Four years from its deadline, I cannot find a published pound behind it. The comfortable...
Demand Side Efforts Can Breach 6 Universal Barriers to SME Technology Adoption

Demand Side Efforts Can Breach 6 Universal Barriers to SME Technology Adoption

Published on: Sep 08 2026 by Wayan Vota - Leave a Comment
The conventional wisdom about small and medium enterprises in developing countries sounds reasonable enough: build more fiber optic cables, expand mobile coverage,...