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GITEX Africa 2023 and Fujn Join Forces for the Representation of Women in Tech

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3 years ago

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Fujn

Fujn has a community of over 100,000 women from diverse backgrounds, educational levels, specialties, and expertise

SOUSSE, Tunisia, May 25, 2023/APO Group/ — 

Fujn might be one of the few tech startups, if not the only startup, exhibiting at GITEX AFRICA 2023 (https://GITEXAfrica.com/) with 10 women coming from 6 countries and 4 continents. It is a privilege for us to be representing women in a significant way and in a historic technology event inaugurated for the first time in the African continent. Fujn is headquartered in Boston, USA. It is a tech startup designed by women, built by women, developed by women, executed by women, and funded (bootstrapped) by women, for women’s future of work. Fujn is founded in 2022, operates with a team of 20 women across 10 countries. Our upskilling platform has 5,000 women actively learners. Our community has 100,000 women living in 22 countries. So far, the most traction we have received, is in Africa and Southeast Asia. We have launched 6 services as of today and have 10 additional services to follow. We are fusing upskilling, work, and life of women, seamlessly. Hence, the word Fujn, which stands for fusion.

When we had the idea, a few years ago, to tackle the future of work of women, generative AI was not yet in the public spotlight. However, we knew then that the digital adoption has only one expected trajectory, which is becoming mainstream, across the globe. At that moment, we understood that the AI genie was out of the bottle, and no one could stop it. We can only manage it, be innovative about it, and implement sensible guardrails for the good of humans. We only knew that we must work harder and smarter to direct this zeitgeist to a positive outcome. The mission we have chosen is to help women thrive, with or without AI.

Fujn is honored to be taking on the role of representing women in a prominent technology conference, such as GITEX AFRICA 2023. Technology has become the brain of all economies. And women represent 50% of the markets within these economies. We believe representation is a sign of civilization advancement. We are convinced that representation is the logical illustration of human rights and democracy. We pursue this mission of representing women in technology in a material way. By material, we mean to represent women in the GITEX AFRICA 2023 event as tech founders, tech architects, tech investors, tech strategists, and tech enthusiasts. We are traveling to Africa to tell our story. More importantly, we would like to inspire many more stories, even better than ours, to come. Our big picture is anchored on the belief that digitalization is women’s historic chance to achieve gender equity if they pursue it. Digital brings:

  • Learning, upskilling, knowledge, and know-how to their homes
  • Remote and flexible jobs, freelance, gigs, entrepreneurship to their homes
  • Global mentors, career counselors, and experts’ guidance to their homes
  • Role models in one big global ecosystem that will inspire them how to start and execute
  • Funding, if the idea is solid and the business plan is convincing

Gender equity, if enacted well, is estimated to boost Africa’s economy with an additional 1 trillion dollars and the Moroccan economy with an incremental $150 billion, by the year 2025.

For Company Recruiters:

At Fujn, we are working and hoping to build both a culture and a community of women who are self-aware but selfless, ambitious but balanced, expert but well-rounded in knowledge. We are working to inspire women to strive for a high IQ, but also for a high EQ. And now we are also aware of a thing called AQ, which stands for Adaptability Quotient. This word emerges with the shift happening in the future of work, accelerated with generative AI. AQ means workers must quickly adapt or inevitably become irrelevant. Fujn has a community of over 100,000 women from diverse backgrounds, educational levels, specialties, and expertise. Fujnistas, as we address our users, are doctors, architects, attorneys, scientists, psychologists, sociologists, creatives, artists, and engineers… Our community is growing fast, and we are offering recruiters access to a large pool of women talent with a high self-drive and a growth mindset that would advance any organization. Recruiters get many benefits from hiring women. They get the talent they require and the diversity they need. They get a workforce that represents 50% of their market who starts thinking with them, designing products with the right market fit for women, articulating messages that resonate with women, and setting HR policies that suit the non-linear lives of women thereby ensuring productivity, sustainable diversity, and the company’s long-term performance.

For Investors:

When we talk about a tech startup working on gender equity, it is helpful to give the context of this business. Typically, investors do not pay enough attention to understand how investing in startups like ours has a double benefit: the potential for a high IRR and ROI plus the positive social impact as an ESG business. Below are some data for Investors’ thoughts:

  •  As of March 2023, the Biden Administration has proposed the largest-ever US investment in gender equality programs, with US$3.1 billion for gender programs in FY2024. This budget proposal furthers the US administration’s aim to secure gender as a cross-cutting priority on both the domestic and global front.
  •  Assets in U.S. gender equity funds have doubled over the trailing three years to $1.3 billion, as of the end of February 2023, Morningstar found. Yet those funds represent less than 0.01% of total equity fund assets in the US.
  • The total ODA disbursements related to gender equality amounted to $30 billion, with Germany, the EU, the US, the UK, and Canada as the top 5 donors.
  • According to the UN, more than 100 countries have taken action to track budget allocations for gender equality.

We are working and hoping to build both a culture and a community of women who are self-aware but selfless, ambitious but balanced, expert but well-rounded in knowledge

We are a week away from the conference and are pleased to have piqued the attention of 15 investors who either invited us to meet or confirmed our request to meet them. The Fujn team cannot wait to tell these investors how we are executing our vision to build an insanely cool platform for an insanely cool mission of “enabling women to become economically independent skilled leaders.”

Human-Machine Equity (HME):

The time published on May 16, 2023: “Sam Altman, whose company is on the extreme forefront of generative AI technology with its ChatGPT tool, testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and echoed his previous assertion that lawmakers should create parameters for AI creators to avoid causing “significant harm to the world.”

AI presents significant benefits but also momentous risks associated with many facets of the future: bias, democracy, security, wealth and power distribution, surveillance, freedoms….etc. However, the risk of jobs loss is the most obvious and imminent one:

  • Goldman Sachs Predicts 300 million jobs will be lost or degraded by AI
  • Oliver Wyman says 50 million Chinese workers must be retrained by 2030, as a result of AI-related deployment.
  • The U.S. will be required to retool 11.5 million people with the skills needed to survive in the workforce. 
  • Wells Fargo says robots would eliminate 200,000 jobs in the banking industry in the next 10 years.
  • Well-trained doctors could be pushed aside by sophisticated robots that could perform delicate surgeries more precisely and read X-rays more accurately to detect cancerous cells than the human eye.

This leads us to think: Women have requested, for a very long time, gender equity, because women’s lives are not the same as men’s. Hence, giving men and women the same treatment at work has been NOT equitable. Life’s mysteries are now calling us to advocate for EQUITY between men and women as humans versus intelligent machines. Here is why:

  • Machines do NOT need to sleep and work 24/7
  • Machines do NOT a vacation, fall sick, take sick leave, or need a social life
  • Machines learn in weeks what humans learn in decades
  • Machines do NOT demand a salary and benefits
  • Machines do NOT require a corporate contribution to their retirement account
  • Machines do NOT join unions
  • Machines do NOT retire at their own discretion

Regulators, corporate leaders, legislators, activists, economists, and humanists, all have the duty to advocate for human-machine equity (HME) before it is too late. Fujn will continue to advocate for both, gender equity and Human-Machine equity (HME).

Strategic Partnerships:

We are now working to explain how we want to cooperate with African governments to include women in the next wave of opportunities created by technology, and how to leverage technology to include women, in the economic fabric of societies. When we say include, we mean to include women in a structural way, not as an afterthought. We mean in all sectors, in all occupations, and in all levels of responsibilities starting from the top, not the bottom. We mean to include women in the design stage of everything, technology, legislation, policies, and strategies. We have high anticipation to explore partnership opportunities with participating inter-governmental agencies from Korea, Abu Dhabi, and Japan. We respect the work that the teams at Mastercard and OCP Group are doing in the areas of upskilling and women. It will be our privilege to join forces with them to transform the lives of some women for the better.

We are happy to share that Khadija Khartit, Fujn’s founder, will be speaking on behalf of Fujn team on the stage of GITEX AFRICA 2023 about two topics:

Panel 1-The Importance of Equality, Inclusion, and Diversity in Tech​:

On this topic, She will be share her thoughts on the inclusion of women, immigrants, and minorities. She would like to raise awareness about the inclusion of the neurodiverse and the disabled as the mother of an autistic child and an advocate for special needs individuals. She also wants to raise awareness about the benefits of diverse expertise in tech design: humanities, art, law, social sciences, behavioral sciences, regulation, public administration….and more, in addition to hard science and tech expertise. Tech design done by cross-functional teams who consider eventual unintended consequences is a MUST with AI to avoid major harm to humans.

Panel 2- Building Technical Growth Communities for Women in Tech​: ​

This topic is core to Fujn as our main mission is to help women “be in the know” about technology and to train them on how to leverage it to build minds, hearts, wallets, and better lives. We see technology as a magic tool for women to reimagine their possibilities. When the word technical is mentioned, some women get intimidated when they should not. Women can be senior directors in tech startups without knowing how to code, but it is a plus, if women code. Mrs. Khartit is hoping to inspire women to get curious, to immerse themselves in tech, its landscape, players, and lingo because, after that, their horizons will inevitably expand.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GITEX Africa.

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Zambia–Lobito Railway Moves Towards Financial Close as President Hichilema Meets Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) Leadership

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1 day ago

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November 7, 2026

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Zambia

Project advances towards financing with preferred EPC bidders selected and letters of intent covering approximately 2 million tonnes a year signed

LUSAKA, Zambia, November 6, 2026/APO Group/ –His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia, has received a delegation from Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) (www.AfricaFC.org), led by its President and Chief Executive Officer, Samaila Zubairu, to review progress on the Zambia–Lobito Railway Project. AFC, the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, is the lead sponsor and developer of the project.

The approximately 830-kilometre railway will connect Chingola in Zambia’s Copperbelt to Luacano in Angola, where it will link with the existing Benguela Railway and provide direct access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Port of Lobito.

 




 
 

A strategic component of the broader Lobito Corridor initiative, the project has reached several important development milestones. AFC last month announced preferred bidders for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the Angolan and Zambian sections, following an international competitive tender. The project has also signed memoranda of understanding and letters of intent with prospective railway users covering approximately 2 million tonnes of freight a year.

Every tonne that leaves Zambia unprocessed takes jobs away with it

In addition to providing a direct Atlantic export route for Zambia’s copper and critical minerals, the project is being developed as an integrated economic corridor supporting agricultural exports, petroleum logistics, manufacturing and regional trade. Transit from the Copperbelt to the Port of Lobito is expected to take approximately seven days.

The project’s commercial strategy targets approximately 5 million tonnes of annual freight at steady state, comprising petroleum products, agricultural commodities, copper, cobalt, zinc and other industrial cargo. AFC is targeting financial close in 2027.

Discussions focused on continued collaboration between AFC and the Government of Zambia on the project’s next steps, including the railway’s right of way and land for associated agricultural, petroleum and freight-handling facilities. The meeting also considered rail sector policy measures to support the corridor’s long-term competitiveness, including integration with the Zambia Railways network and the Chingola–Ndola line.

President Hichilema reaffirmed the railway’s importance to Zambia’s economic development and regional integration. He said: “The Zambia–Lobito Railway is central to our vision of transforming Zambia into a competitive regional hub for trade, manufacturing, agriculture and mineral value addition. By connecting our productive sectors to international markets more efficiently, we can reduce logistics costs, attract investment and create jobs. We welcome AFC’s progress and will continue working closely together to advance this strategic project.”

Samaila Zubairu, President and Chief Executive Officer of AFC, said: “Every tonne that leaves Zambia unprocessed takes jobs away with it. This railway changes that. Starting in Chingola, it gives Zambia a seven-day route to the Atlantic and every reason to process, manufacture and add value at home. With preferred EPC bidders selected and strong interest from freight users, we are now working with the Governments of Zambia and Angola, the African Development Bank, the Government of Italy and our other partners to reach financial close. We are building a railway. Zambia will build an economy on it.”

AFC continues to work with the Governments of Angola and Zambia, the European Union, the United States Government, the Government of Italy and the African Development Bank, alongside Italian development finance institution CDP and Italian export credit agency SACE, to bring the Zambia–Lobito Railway into construction.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

 




 

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Mukuru Partners with Flash to Add 170,000 Cash Pay-in Points Across South Africa

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1 day ago

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November 7, 2026

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Mukuru

New partnership brings remittance payments into township, peri-urban and rural spaza shops nationwide

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 6, 2026/APO Group/ –Mukuru (www.Mukuru.com), a leading financial services provider, has partnered with Flash, a payments technology company with an extensive network of spaza shops across South Africa, adding 170,000 cash pay-in points where customers can now pay for their Mukuru remittance orders. The network includes Flash’s broader merchant footprint, giving Mukuru access to locations through Flash and its partner networks. These new locations are now operational, reducing the time and distance many customers currently travel to make a payment.

Previously, customers often had to travel to banks or dedicated payment outlets to pay for their Mukuru orders. Now, they can simply visit a spaza shop close to home, work or where they usually shop.

For people in townships, peri-urban and rural areas who rely on cash and have traditionally had limited access to formal pay-in points, particularly South Africa’s migrant communities, this change removes a real barrier and makes it easier to send money home. With these pay-in points inside spaza shops, Mukuru’s services become part of places people already go, meaning fewer extra trips and more timely payments.

Every additional pay-in point represents one less barrier for a customer trying to send money home

“Every additional pay-in point represents one less barrier for a customer trying to send money home,” said Erone Kyte, Commercial Manager: Cross-Border Remittances at Mukuru. “Our partnership with Flash gives us the scale to bring Mukuru’s services into the everyday spaces our customers already know and trust. It’s a meaningful step in making remittances simpler, more accessible and genuinely closer to the communities we serve.”

For Mukuru, working with Flash means reaching even more customers in underserved urban, township, and rural areas. By leveraging Flash’s established network, Mukuru can now offer cash pay-in options where they didn’t exist before. The expanded network is expected to help more people access Mukuru’s services, support growth in its South African customer base, and make cross-border payments more convenient.

Rens Rezelman, General Manager for Flash’s Merchant Division, commented, “Flash works to bridge the digital product and payments gap between businesses and consumers across the country. Launching Mukuru across our network presents another opportunity to bring a familiar brand closer to the people who need it most.”

The sector is now recognised as a R750 billion  industry. According to data tracked by Trade Intelligence, total turnover recently reached R197 billion, growing at roughly 15% annually. Research confirms that traditional trade and spaza shops are growing faster than large supermarket chains, with almost 80% of South African households shopping at these traditional trade outlets regularly. (https://apo-opa.co/4iDwZr8) Bringing Mukuru payments to these stores is a natural fit and helps shop owners draw in more customers and offer more services to their communities. Mukuru and Flash will build awareness of the new pay-in option through store, digital, and community promotions in the coming months.

This partnership is part of Mukuru’s ongoing drive to make cash pay-ins easier and improve access to remittance services for people living and working in areas with limited formal financial services. Over the past two years, the company has made similar moves to make its payment network bigger and more accessible across the region.

Mukuru customers looking to pay closer to home can easily find their nearest participating Flash pay-in point using the Mukuru app or website.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Mukuru.

 

 




 

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How CESI is helping shape Africa’s next-gen power grids

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1 day ago

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November 7, 2026

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CESI

CESI, a global engineering and consulting company specialising in power systems and energy transition, has supported utilities, transmission system operators and public institutions

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, November 6, 2026/APO Group/ –Across Africa, power systems are undergoing a profound transformation. Rapid population growth, urbanisation, industrial development and ambitious electrification goals are increasing pressure on networks that must improve reliability, integrate growing volumes of renewable energy and strengthen regional interconnections.

 




 
 

For utilities, regulators and governments, this creates a dual challenge: planning future power systems while modernising the infrastructure required to operate them safely and efficiently.

Drawing on projects delivered across the continent CESI, a global engineering and consulting company specialising in power systems and energy transition, has supported utilities, transmission system operators and public institutions in addressing both long-term planning requirements and grid modernisation challenges. These experiences highlight how strategic planning and operational modernisation are becoming increasingly interconnected.

Planning for growth in a changing energy landscape

Many African countries are updating power sector strategies to reflect changing demand patterns, evolving technologies and new regional opportunities. National master plans in countries including Angola, Mozambique and Liberia are examining how generation, transmission and distribution systems can evolve over the coming decades while remaining technically feasible and financially sustainable.

A key trend is the growing emphasis on integrated planning. Rather than treating generation, transmission and distribution separately, stakeholders are increasingly assessing investments across the entire value chain to meet future demand efficiently and reliably. Demand forecasting methodologies are also evolving, considering industrial development, electric mobility and broader electrification trends.

Renewable energy integration is another central consideration. Africa possesses significant solar, wind and hydropower resources, but integrating these technologies requires careful assessment of transmission capacity, system flexibility, reserve requirements and grid stability. In this context, CESI has contributed to power sector master plans and network studies evaluating future development pathways while addressing reliability, economic and energy transition objectives.

Regional interconnections as strategic infrastructure

Regional integration continues to play an increasingly important role in Africa’s electricity sector. Future Interconnection projects linking countries such as Ethiopia and Somalia, Uganda and Tanzania, and Uganda and South Sudan demonstrate how cross-border infrastructure can enhance energy security and optimise the use of available generation resources.

Delivering these projects requires more than engineering analysis. Technical, economic, regulatory and operational considerations must be aligned among participating countries. Through its involvement in several interconnection initiatives at different stages across Africa, CESI has supported stakeholders in assessing feasibility, network performance and operational requirements for cross-border electricity exchanges.

As regional power markets continue to develop, interconnected systems are expected to contribute further to reliability, operational flexibility and efficient resource utilisation.

Modernising grid operations for greater reliability

Alongside long-term planning, utilities are investing in modern operational technologies to improve management of increasingly complex power systems. Control centres, SCADA systems, energy management systems (EMS) and telecommunications networks are becoming essential components of modern grid operations.

In countries including Mozambique and Angola, projects are supporting the development of advanced control centres capable of monitoring generation facilities, transmission networks and interconnections through integrated operational platforms. These systems provide operators with real-time visibility and decision-support capabilities that strengthen system reliability and operational efficiency.

Meanwhile, programmes in Tunisia and Nigeria illustrate how utilities are upgrading ageing SCADA and EMS infrastructures to meet evolving requirements. Modern solutions increasingly incorporate

  • cybersecurity,
  • wide-area monitoring capabilities and
  • renewable energy management functions.

CESI’s experience in control centres, SCADA/EMS systems and power system operations reflects the growing importance of digital technologies in enabling more resilient and responsive electricity networks.

Building resilience and technical capacity

Environmental and social considerations are becoming increasingly important across both planning and modernisation initiatives. Climate resilience now plays a central role in infrastructure development, particularly in countries exposed to extreme weather events or heavily dependent on hydropower resources. As a result, environmental and social assessments are increasingly integrated into project design and investment decision-making processes.

Capacity building is equally important. New technologies and analytical tools require utilities and public institutions to continually strengthen technical capabilities. Training and knowledge-transfer programmes have therefore become integral components of many planning, interconnection and grid modernisation projects, helping organisations develop the expertise needed to manage increasingly sophisticated power systems.

An integrated approach to Africa’s power future

Several common themes are emerging across Africa’s electricity sector. Utilities are adopting longer-term planning horizons, renewable energy is becoming a central driver of network development, regional interconnections are expanding opportunities for power exchange, and digitalisation is transforming power system operations.

Together, these trends point towards a broader evolution of African power systems. The challenge is no longer simply expanding infrastructure, but ensuring that future networks are planned, operated and modernised in a coordinated manner. Achieving this objective will require continued collaboration among utilities, governments, regulators, financiers and technical stakeholders.

Experience across the continent suggests that integrating sound planning with targeted grid modernisation can support the development of more reliable, resilient and adaptable power systems, helping meet Africa’s long-term economic and social development goals.

CESI is a partner of ESI Africa, the power, energy, water, transport and utility multimedia platform that forms part of VUKA Group.

Read the article and access more information: https://apo-opa.co/47Xr1g3

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of VUKA Group.

 

 




 

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