Africa’s youth see a future for Bitcoin beyond speculation

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Africa’s youth see a future for Bitcoin beyond speculation

Staff Writer - August 1, 2019

Paxful is on a mission to increase access to the bitcoin economy for the people of Africa through education CAPE TOWN, South Africa, August 1,...

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The inspiring career journey of two Muslim women who founded a thriving law practice By George Marenya By Amos Wachira In the bustling city of Nairobi, a small office hums with purpose. Here, Ludfia Maalim and Kheira Farah, co-founders of Farah & Maalim Advocates, pore over case files, their hijabs contrasting with sharp blazers. Their mission? To empower people through fast, efficient and cost effective legal services—one client at a time. Farah and Maalim Advocates is a tale of two young women brought together by a giant dream. In the beginning though, their circumstances and interests would not be more different. Soon after completing her O Levels, Kheira Farah was totally in love with business, she kept her ear to the ground about financial trends and what was moving the markets at any one time. Because of her love for the business world, she really wanted to plunge herself into the world of entrepreneurship right after her secondary school education. Her greatest mentor who is also her uncle had other ideas though. To him she was a perfect fit for law school, no amount of protesting would dissuade him. And so she was set for university, on one condition that if she fails the exams, she will not continue with her studies and would opt for business. When she joined Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and technology’s law school, she had made peace with her uncle’s choice of law. “I reasoned that a law firm was like a business, so I was good to go. I immediately loved the course as I was excelling in exams.” She says. After joining the law school, she met and became fast friends with Ludfia Maalim, who was also pursuing a law degree at the institution. After graduating with a bachelor of laws degree in 2020, kheira wanted to join the NGO world, instead of proceeding to the Kenya School of Law. Again her uncle would hear none of it. "But only ten percent of Kenya Law School graduates make it," she lamented. "Well," replied her uncle, "You will be among the ten percent. Who says you cannot be?" he told her. And that way, kheira was destined for the Kenya Law School, where her mettle and ambition to be a lawyer would be thoroughly tested. The duo’s “lightbulb moment” came during their oral exams at the Kenya School of Law. Kheira says, “Recognizing how tough the oral exams were, I told ludfia that if we make it to the end, we should vow to found our own law firm, Farah and Maalim Advocates. For Ludfia, the road to Law School and a Law Office was made of more rough pebbles. Having excelled in their academics, she wanted to pursue any course that revolved around gender and women empowerment. After completing her O levels in 2015, Ludfia went back to her native Matarajio Primary School, her former school to greet her former teachers. That’s when they told her they had a vacancy for teachers and she bought into the idea, rolling her sleeves and taking up chalk and books to teach grade four, five and six pupils. Her favorite pupils were in class four. With her love for the pupils still burning inside, she approached one of her mentors and told her how she wanted to follow her passion-teaching. The mentor gave her a reality check telling her that in this country "Passion does not pay," concluding, "Do not do anything merely for passion." So when the admission letter to join university came along, Ludfia was off to Murang’a University for a course in Maths and Economics. Not contented with the course, she did not last long as she immediately embarked on researching and applying to various Law schools to pursue law, her newfound course. Ludfia’s father, a retired Chief wanted her to be a banker. The thought of walking into a bank and finding his daughter minding peoples’ money was the old man’s dream job for Ludfia. It took quite some time for him to come around. While her parents thought she was busy studying at Murang’a University, Ludfia was moving around law schools in Nairobi looking for a vacancy. Her first stop was in Karen, at the JKUAT Law school. She paid for the admission fee and left. She then approached her brother for more cash to fund her endeavor. The following day, she approached her dad, who was shell-shocked. he told her to give him time to think about it as it was a family matter. When she finally got admitted at the Karen campus, she vowed to do her best, at least to appease her father. At the university, she met Kheira and they became best of friends. Four years later, they graduated and were admitted in the bar in March of 2023, one of their defining moments. Employment beckoned and as fate goes, the two women went their separate ways, each getting gainfully employed in plum law firms. Even as they worked in different parts of Nairobi, they kept in touch and kept their dream of opening their own law firm alive. After each of them had gathered enough work experience they met again in December 2023 and decided to get serious about opening a Law firm. That is how Farah and Maalim Advocates, situated in a bespoke and stylish office at the 4th floor of St. Ellis House came to be. But launching a private practice was never going to be a walk in the park. While Kheira really wanted to be her own boss, Ludfia was comfortable in her job which provided her with enough perks. “I had gotten comfortable at the law firm. The money was good, and I was looking forward to a pay-slip every month.” “Kheira told me that I should desist from getting comfortable as I could be replaced at any given moment. I thought it was just another quote. Then it hit me.” Not one to break their vow at the KSL, she accepted that the time had come for them to start and grow their own firm. But when rubber met the tarmac, they realized first hand that they did not have enough resources to establish the kind of law practice they desired. There were no funds for that. Unbowed, they put together any savings that they had and asked a friend to help them get an office space in the CBD. “We had a name but no cash. Nonetheless, we vowed to do it,” says Kheira. Once they had secured an office space, the next step was to partition it. They were halfway through the partitioning process when the cash they had ran out. Not one to be discouraged by setbacks, Ludfia approached her mom for a small loan. She was given Kshs 300 000 to complete the partitions. As for Kheira, she couldn’t get any loans from family members as they all knew she was working as a lawyer at a big law firm. They started with the bare minimum. In 2024, they opened their doors to clients, provide a wide range of legal services. These include, property and real estate, commercial and corporate law, banking, finance and tax laws, dispute resolution and debt recovery, family law and succession. Others are labor relations law, intellectual property law and insurance law. A Meeting of Minds Both daughters of Kenyan-Somali families, they witnessed firsthand how women and youth in their community grappled with legal voids. Navigating Kenya’s plural legal system, which intertwines civil, customary, and Islamic (Kadhi) courts, is no small feat. Early on, skepticism met their youth and gender. “Some clients asked, ‘Where’s the real lawyer?’” Kheira laughs. Undeterred, they leveraged their deep cultural understanding to bridge gaps. Challenges and Triumphs Funding remains a hurdle. Bootstrapping their firm, they are keen on organic growth, adding one client at a time. For any new lawyer, getting clients is a big challenge. For a start, there are many lawyers so competing with established firms for clients is a tough undertaking. Gender challenges The duo admits that sometimes gender plays a significant role in the career. A good example is when dealing with patriarchal communities who believe that men should be the ones to lead. When looking for lawyers, some get disappointed to find two Muslim women handling their case, while their expectations were that men could be the ones to do their bidding. Like any other business, challenges abound, but the duo deals with them accordingly. Yet their impact is undeniable: banks, financial institutions, NGOs, construction companies, private hospitals and property management companies form part of their clientele. The Road Ahead Looking forward, Ludfia and Kheira dream of expanding their team to reach more Kenyans. As dusk settles over Nairobi, the two pore over their diaries before calling it a day. Their journey, Kheira reflects, is about more than legal victories: “It’s about showing the world that young Muslim women can lead—and lift others as we rise.”

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The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) on Thursday launched its electronic certificate of origin system in Kenya, aiming to digitize trade procedures and ease intra-regional trade by cutting costs and delays linked to manual certification. Christopher Onyango, director of trade and customs at COMESA, told journalists in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, that the new digital system is expected to streamline customs procedures, reduce red tape, and boost intra-regional trade by allowing exporters and customs authorities to process certificates of origin electronically. “The electronic certificate of origin will replace manual certificates and reduce clearance times at border crossings,” Onyango said, adding that goods originating from COMESA member states qualify for preferential tariff treatment. Josephine Makokha, rules of origin manager at the Kenya Revenue Authority, said Kenya joins Eswatini, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe in rolling out the system. She noted that the platform simplifies the application, issuance, exchange, and verification of certificates. Makokha added that the online certificates will be transmitted in real time among COMESA member states, enabling customs authorities to reduce the bureaucracy involved in cross-border trade. Visited 115 times, 7 visit(s) today

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Liquid C2, a business of Cassava Technologies, a global technology leader, has launched Africa’s first Partner Experience Centre powered by Google Cloud in Johannesburg, South Africa. The state-of-the-art facility is designed to empower partners and resellers to move beyond traditional distribution, providing the immersive, hands-on environment needed to architect and deploy cloud and AI solutions tailored specifically to African market needs. Through the Centre, partners will be onboarded to a structured journey that guides them in securing official Google Cloud accreditation and certification. Beyond technical training provided by both Liquid C2 and Google, the centre will also serve as a collaborative hub, allowing them to work alongside specialist engineers to architect bespoke solutions. Once finalised, these solutions will be brought to market through Liquid’s robust distribution network. This expansion not only opens new commercial avenues for partners but also acts as a catalyst for high-value job creation and the rapid maturation of Africa’s technology ecosystem. The Partner Experience Centre provides the partner and reseller ecosystem in Africa with direct access to enterprise-grade technologies such as Gemini Enterprise, and the "Gemini Playspace" for rapid AI experimentation. It also provides specialist expertise to prototype, test, and scale digital solutions in real-world environments. The centre is a testament to Liquid C2’s commitment to strengthening its role within the partner ecosystem in Africa, as it supports partners in overcoming infrastructure constraints, skills gaps, and complexity barriers that often slow digital transformation efforts across the continent. As demand for advanced digital capabilities grows, the Partner Experience Centre serves as an innovation hub where enterprises, startups, academic institutions, developers, and public-sector stakeholders can co-create locally-relevant solutions, fostering a sense of shared progress and community across Africa. The facility also provides industry-specific platforms tailored to sectors including financial services, healthcare, and retail. These platforms demonstrate how AI-enabled solutions can reduce operational risk, improve efficiency, enhance customer engagement, and unlock new growth opportunities across African markets. “At Cassava Technologies, we believe the future of Africa’s digital transformation will be shaped through strong ecosystems that combine global innovation with local infrastructure and expertise,” said Ziaad Suleman, Senior Vice President, Cassava Technologies and CEO, South Africa & Botswana. “The Partner Experience Centre powered by Google Cloud creates a practical environment where organisations can explore, test, and scale solutions that deliver real business value. By combining our infrastructure, expertise, and continental reach with Google Cloud’s advanced technologies, we are helping to democratise access to AI and cloud capabilities for enterprises across Africa.” “This is a pivotal moment in our commitment to Africa’s digital future,” said Tara Brady, President, Google Cloud EMEA. “The Partner Experience Centre is a testament to our belief in the power of a strong partner ecosystem. By combining our advanced AI capabilities, including our Gemini models, with Liquid C2’s localised expertise, we are not just building a facility; we are building a hub for innovation that will empower businesses, create jobs, and deliver the benefits of digital transformation to every corner of the continent.” The collaboration will focus on three core pillars of transformation: Accelerated Partner Enablement: The centre acts as a dedicated Proof-of-Concept (PoC) hub designed to dismantle historical market barriers. It provides localised training, hands-on technology interaction, and business support, leveraging Liquid’s capabilities to offer local currency billing and credit to manage financial complexity for resellers. AI and Technology Innovation: A primary focus is empowering partners to build and deploy advanced AI solutions. The facility features a dedicated "Gemini Playspace & AI Solutions" to certify technical staff, alongside integrated "Solutions Pods" where partners can demonstrate complete technology stacks to win complex enterprise bids. Economic Growth and Job Creation: The partnership is a direct investment in Africa’s tech workforce. By strategically broadening the partner network, the initiative will foster deep, localised expertise and act as a catalyst for new economic opportunities, creating a significant ripple effect of job creation for certified engineers and other tech professionals across the continent. As a business of Cassava Technologies, Liquid C2 has always been at the forefront of bringing cutting-edge digital technologies to African businesses, both directly and through its partner ecosystem. This first-of-its-kind Partner Experience Centre is yet another milestone that reflects the company’s commitment to partnerships that leverage its continental footprint to serve a broader base of organisations. Aligned with this, Cassava continues to expand digital inclusion across Africa through its integrated portfolio of connectivity, cloud, cyber security, and digital solutions, ensuring that a broad spectrum of organisations, regardless of size or sector, can access and benefit from advanced technologies, thereby enabling more inclusive participation in Africa’s digital economy.

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Incomedia (www.Incomedia.eu) is excited to announce its participation in Gitex Africa 2026, the leading trade fair for technology and innovation hosted in Marrakech, Morocco, from April 7th to 9th. The power of AI in a no-code webisite builder for businesses and entrepreneurs As Africa’s digital economy accelerates, and millions of small and medium-sized businesses are looking to go online, Italian software company Incomedia is taking the opportunity represented by Gitex to introduce WebSite X5 to African businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups. The tool is an all-in-one website and e-commerce builder designed to simplify and speed up the creation of online businesses. A key innovation is the integrated AI assistant MagicSite, which helps users generate complete and easily customizable websites through a simple conversation. Expanding WebSite X5 presence in Africa Within the last few years, Incomedia has been expanding its network in the African market such as Ivory Coast, Kenya, Niger or South Africa and contributed to the digital transformation in this area. Following this successful trend, Incomedia is actively expanding its presence across Africa and is looking to collaborate with local distributors, digital agencies, training centers and government institutions involved in digital transformation. Join Us at Gitex Africa 2026 “Digital access should not be complex or expensive”, says Federico Ranfagni, CEO of Incomedia. “Our goal is empowering African entrepreneurs to launch and grow their businesses online, unlocking new possibilities across the continent.” Visitors and partners can meet Incomedia at: GITEX Africa 2026 Hall 20 – Stand B-56 (Italian Area) The team will provide live demos and explore partnership opportunities across African markets.

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Africa’s youth see a future for Bitcoin beyond speculation

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