Meet Abake Adenle and Gokada in Ibadan as they celebrate access to information and a home for the homeless
Meet Abake Adenle and Gokada in Ibadan as they celebrate access to information and a home for the homeless
Today is International Day for Universal Access to Information.
Is there such a thing as a "thing"? Yes, that is correct. The International Day for Universal Access to Information was established by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly at its 74th session in 2015.
What is it for? You might wonder. The right to access information is a crucial component of the fundamental right to freedom of expression in the United States. I mean, how do you express yourself if you don't have access to information?
There's an issue here. From January to August of this year, Africa is estimated to have lost $454 million in revenue due to government-imposed internet and social media blackouts varying in severity across the continent. When you combine this with zero transparency in government activities, you have a situation in which freedom of access to information is dragged through the mud.
Keep your eyes peeled for it. According to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, which was passed by the National Assembly in 2011, Nigerians have the right to know the budgets for projects that are being carried out by their local government chairmen and commissioners. This also includes the money collected in taxes and the manner in which it was used. Unfortunately, that is not the case today.
In this report, our reporters Oluwanifemi and Emmanuel go into great detail about the right to access information, with opinions from senior journalists from various companies thrown in for good measure. See this page for more information.
The initiative of a foundation to empower homeless children in Nigeria
It is the twenty-first century, the technological age. The availability of information is still a reality; however, there are still homeless people struggling to survive from one day to the next. The number of homeless people in Nigeria alone is estimated to be 24.4 million, according to recent reports. Unfortunately, this figure takes into account children.
Statistics don't bleed in any way. When numbers are thrown around, there is a tendency to downplay the gravity of the situation. When one is in the comfort of one's own bed, it is easy to believe that homeless statistics are just numbers. These figures, on the other hand, refer to real people — both adults and children.
The Destiny Trust Children Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to helping children in need. Abimbola Ojenike, a practicing lawyer in Lagos, Nigeria, noticed children roaming the streets during school hours in 2012, and after some investigation, he discovered that they were unaccompanied by their parents. After enlisting the support of their friends, they co-founded a foundation to assist in housing, educating, and empowering these children with technology skills.
Six years and three Nigerian cities later, the foundation has established two innovative hubs and has reached out to approximately 15,000 children in Nigeria through its various outlets.
Meeting Abake Adenle, an African speech recognition engineer, was a memorable experience.
If you're like most of us, you've probably been asked the question "what do you want to be in the future" a zillion times while growing up. The fact that people ask with good intentions does not change the fact that the future is not set in stone; adventure, curiosity, and diversity are unavoidable aspects of life that cannot be avoided.
After studying electrical engineering and working 9-5 at a UK-based investment bank, Nigerian-American software engineer Abake Adenle decided to take the road less traveled and create a speech recognition API that can be used to recognize five African languages in real time. Add to that a desire to teach, a desire for adventure, and a desire to solve problems.
The accolades began to pour in. The Women in Voice (WiV) organization recognized her for her outstanding contributions to the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the voice industry in July 2021.
Oluwanifemi had an exciting conversation with Abake on yesterday's episode of The Experts, a bi-weekly series in which tech career specialists take us on their journey from newbie to expert. You can read more about her here.
Gokada hopes to replicate the success he has had in Lagos in Ibadan
Is this the same Gokada? The same Gokada, that is, if you mean the bike-hailing and last-mile delivery platform whose expansion into the Lagos motorcycle transport market was halted in mid-flight by the state government's imposition of a bike ban in February 2020, then yes, it is the same company.
What's the latest news? Well, the Nigeria-based startup has announced its expansion to the Southwestern city of Ibadan, where it will begin operations. For the time being, residents can use the Gokada SuperApp to access food delivery (GFood) and logistics services (GSend) while they wait for ride-hailing services and a proposed eCommerce store to be launched later this year.
Replication and competition are two important concepts in business. According to the company, it has completed more than 1.5 million deliveries on behalf of 30,000 merchants in Lagos, indicating that its logistics services have gained traction there. The startup hopes to replicate that growth in Ibadan, both in terms of logistics and in the form of upcoming public transportation services.
The presence of SafeBoda in Ibadan has sparked speculation about whether the city will witness a power struggle, or whether the sky is big enough for all the birds to fly?
