Civic Tech in Africa with Nathi Mcetywa

In this episode, Nathi Mcetywa interviews Dr William Derban from Opportunity International about how artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to fight poverty in Malawi. Opportunity International is an international NGO that provides financial solutions and training to help people out of poverty. They have developed an AI application called Ulangizi, which is available on WhatsAp

In this episode, Afua Bruce discusses the connection between technology and social equity and explores the factors beyond technology that contribute towards a more equitable and inclusive society. She emphasizes that technology alone cannot create equity, but it can be used to support and advance equity. Afua also critiques the current development of technology and highlights the i

In this episode, the host, Nathi Mcetywa, and guest, Kavisha Pillay discuss the impact of misinformation and disinformation on the democratic process, particularly during elections. They explore the role of social media platforms in combatting these campaigns and the need for ethical development of AI. They also discuss the challenges of identifying and combating disinformation, th

In this episode, Nathi interviews Paul Plantinga, a senior research manager at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in South Africa, about e-participation in governance. They discuss the landscape of participatory governance in South Africa and Africa, the use of digital platforms for public participation, and the challenges of online participation. Paul also shares insights

In this episode, the host, Nathi Mcetywa introduces the new feature of the podcast, What in the Civic Tech?, and discusses the possibility of moving Africa's election process from a paper-based voting system to an electronic voting system. The guest, Dr. Maxwell Masago, talks about the readiness of South Africa and the African continent for e-voting. They explore the benefits and c

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made significant strides in various fields such as agriculture, technology, and digital health, and it has now made a grand entrance into government systems. Considering the current state of democracy in Africa, African governments cannot afford to lag behind in adopting this innovation. The introduction of AI in government systems stems from the gr

Yosr Jouini is an interdisciplinary researcher studying emerging technologies and their social implications in the global South. She is the director of Technoloxia, a technology & innovation centre based in Tunis. She is also the host of the 'Digitally Yours podcast', which specialises in digital rights. Technoloxia is a North African-based collective with a mission to provide comm

Financing and funding civic technology activities take up a significant portion of most organisations’ worry hours. Often, when there are shortages of funds, this is viewed as an organisational failure. But instead of looking at funding and financing as a reflection of innate value, it should rather be viewed as one of the tools that allow us to reach our social impact. It is a s

The Ushahidi Platform helps communities turn information into action with an intuitive and accessible crowdsourcing and mapping tool. By enabling the rapid collection, management and analysis of crowdsourced information, Ushahidi empowers everyone—individuals, community groups, governments, activists, organizations—to create meaningful change. In this episode, we spoke to Danie

Parliamentary monitoring sites allow citizens to keep an eye on the people in power. They make it easy to find out who represents you, what’s being debated, and how members have voted. Mzalendo Trust, located is a non-partisan entity that keeps an eye on Kenyan Parliament with a mission to facilitate public participation in Parliamentary processes through Information Sharing, Res