Latest news with #Masiyiwa
Business Insider
03-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Zimbabwe's richest man and the world's 10th richest man push for Africa's first AI factory
Jensen Huang, the tenth-richest person in the world, and Strive Masiyiwa, Africa's 16th richest man, have collaborated on establishing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) factory in Africa, the first of its kind. Jensen Huang and Strive Masiyiwa collaborate to establish Africa's first Artificial Intelligence (AI) factory. The factory is supported by Nvidia's advanced GPUs, with initial installations in South Africa. Cassava Technologies plans to expand GPU deployment across key African countries, including Kenya and Nigeria. Via both billionaires' companies, Masiyiwa's Cassava Technologies, and Huang's Nvidia, one of the largest companies in America currently by valuation, the construction of Africa's first AI factory is now in full effect. Currently, graphics processing units (GPUs) have been deployed to South Africa, the first recipients of the units in Africa. What Strive Masiyiwa about the AI factory 'Collaborating with Nvidia gives us the advanced computing capabilities needed to drive Africa's AI innovation while strengthening the continent's digital independence,' Masiyiwa stated in a press release. Back in April, Cassava Technologies revealed that it was considering an investment of up to $720 million in the AI factory. 'The future comes from young people building apps and solutions, small businesses every day across this continent using AI,' Masiyiwa said at the Global AI Summit on Africa 2025 in Kigali in April, where he was a co-chair. 'They are the digital natives, and we have just given them the ability to do what they do best.' Founded by Zimbabwean telecoms tycoon Strive Masiyiwa, the pan-African tech company aims to roll out Nvidia's accelerated computing systems and AI software across key markets including South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco. Recent reports indicate that Nvidia will embed its AI software utilizing NVIDIA Cloud Partner reference architectures and deploy hundreds of GPUs, which power its high-performance supercomputers. 'Building digital infrastructure for the AI economy is a priority if Africa is to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution,' added Masiyiwa in the press statement. 'Our AI Factory provides the infrastructure for this innovation to scale, empowering African businesses, startups, and researchers with access to cutting-edge AI infrastructure to turn their bold ideas into real-world breakthroughs—and now, they don't have to look beyond Africa to get it.' According to Hardy Pemhiwa, president of Cassava, as seen on Forbes, 3,000 Nvidia GPUs will be installed in their South African plant in June, with an additional 9,000 to be installed throughout the following three to four years in Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, and Egypt.
IOL News
01-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Africa's struggle in the global AI race: Addressing the digital divide
Recently, Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa's Cassava Technologies announced a partnership with Nvidia to build Africa's first artificial intelligence factory. Image: Reuters Africa is lagging far behind in the global AI race. This does not come as a surprise, however, it has now been confirmed and revealed in an Oxford University report titled, AI Compute Sovereignty Infrastructure Control Across Territories, Cloud Providers, and Accelerators'. The report mapped where AI data centres are located. It claims that artificial intelligence has fractured the world between nations with the computing power for building cutting edge AI systems and those without. The report indicates that only 32 countries, or about 16% of nations, have large facilities filled with microchips and computers, which gives them 'computer power'. This revelation should serve as a wake up call to those who care about the sovereignty of different nations. It seems those who should act are more concerned about the appearance of advancement in the AI race. In Africa what we've seen so far is the continuation of what has happened in the past. Africa has just served as a shop front of tech giants and local leaders have been excited about selling global tech to locals. We are witnessing the entry of AI solutions in the form of products for consumption instead of AI development initiatives. The only promising initiative is brought to the continent by Strive Masiyiwa. Recently, Zimbabwean billionaire Masiyiwa's Cassava Technologies announced a partnership with Nvidia to build Africa's first artificial intelligence factory. This isn't just another data centre it's a specialised powerhouse designed specifically for AI computing. It's reported that Cassava plans to use Nvidia's cutting-edge AI technology in South Africa, with expansion planned across Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria. The facility will be powered by Nvidia supercomputers that use GPUs, or graphics processing units. It is envisaged that it will provide what Cassava calls 'AI as a service' across the continent, leveraging an extensive fiber-optic network and energy-efficient data centers. An AI factory is designed to power others to get the benefits that comes with AI. Coined by Nvidia's visionary CEO, Jensen Huang, an AI factory is a specialised environment equipped with the infrastructure needed to manage a complete AI life cycle. It's where raw data enters and trained AI emerges. These facilities streamline the development of AI systems by bringing together data pipelines, algorithm development, and model experimentation into one optimized ecosystem. The beauty with such a concept is that it enables local data to be put into good use for homegrown AI solutions. There's a need for more such AI factories. Clearly, not enough is being done to ensure that the African continent is on an equal footing with nations in the AI race. The current situation calls for an urgent intervention by leaders across the continent. Lack of action in this regard could lead to a situation where the continent will always beg others for just about everything. The first step in this regard could focus on the establishment of an AI Fund sourced from leading African countries for the creation of more local AI factories. Some academics in South Africa have been thinking about this issue, however, little is known about their recommendations. It's about time that all stakeholders begin open discussions about required action to address the new digital divide. Wesley Diphoko is a Technology Analyst and Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company (South Africa) magazine. Image: Supplied
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why are so few African safaris Black-owned?
Vimbai Masiyiwa was on a family safari in Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls National Park when a guide made an offhand remark that stuck with her. 'Don't worry, it's a lot more beautiful when we get to the lodge,' the guide said. The comment—meant to gloss over the poverty outside—left Masiyiwa unsettled. Why was the reality of local communities something to be ignored? Masiyiwa, now 30, decided to change the narrative and opened her own safari company, Batoka Africa. As the first female safari lodge owner, Masiyiwa loves her home country of Zimbabwe and ensures her company focuses on the human element. 'Once you look after people, and people see that they're important, they see the value of the wildlife around them and protecting that wildlife,' she says about their first luxury lodge, Zambezi Sands River Lodge, which opened in June 2023. But Masiyiwa remains an outlier. Despite the safari industry generating over $12 billion annually, only 15 percent of the Africa Travel and Tourism Association's safari businesses are Black owned. However, a small but growing group of African entrepreneurs is working to change that—redefining who benefits from Africa's wildlife and reshaping the future of safaris. For more than a century, safaris have been shaped by outsiders. 'The underrepresentation of Black ownership in the safari industry is rooted in historical, economic, and systemic challenges,' says Naledi Khabo, CEO of the Africa Tourism Association. 'Historical land dispossession has resulted in limited land ownership opportunities.' The safari industry began in the late 19th century, during the colonial era, when European explorers and American adventurers traveled to the interiors of East and Southern Africa for cartography and game hunting. To this day, many safari lodges and camps are primarily owned by white male individuals, mainly serving white, affluent international travelers. (Meet Zimbabwe's formidable female rangers.) Khabo explains that establishing and running safari lodges demands substantial capital for land acquisition and infrastructure, and access to funding remains extremely scarce. The movement for more Black-owned safaris extends beyond representation, she adds. 'African-owned camps will result in stronger cultural representation and integration in the guest experience, making for more meaningful experiences,' says Khabo. 'By engaging with the community, conservation efforts will be deepened because the local community will have a vested interest.' While most safari-goers only see Africa's glamorous side, the unglamorous parts inspired Zimbabwean entrepreneur and former guide Beks Ndlovu to open African Bush Camps (ABC). This award-winning safari company is known for its high-end lodges and camps near protected areas that focus on conservation and empowering local communities through its foundation. 'The abject poverty on the outskirts of these beautiful national parks, the horrible onslaught of wildlife year after year in certain areas that disappear, and the shirking of habitats really got to me,' he shares. (These five trends are transforming traditional safaris—for the better.) In 2006, Ndlovu opened his first camp—Somalisa Camp—in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park with just 16 staff members, hoping to create ambassadors in the industry and inspire others. Today, ABC operates 17 luxury bush camps across Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia, employing 700 residents. But breaking into the industry wasn't easy. Zimbabwe's economic collapse and political instability scared off early clients. Another challenge he endured, and some continue to face, is building trust. At the beginning, potential clients did a double take and wondered how secure it was to do business with an African-owned property, says Ndlovu. But what helped was that he had come from the very fabric of the industry as a reputable guide. Masiyiwa echoes this experience, noting that she heard from one agent recently that a guest didn't choose their lodge because they weren't secure about the level of service they would receive. 'Changing that takes generations—it's about shifting mindsets and dismantling institutional racism,' she says. Praveen Moman, founder of Volcanoes Safaris, faced a different set of challenges in 1997 when he opened his first lodge, Mount Gahinga Lodge, near Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in southwestern Uganda, bordering Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). His venture came just three years after the Rwandan genocide during a period marked by upheaval and instability as rebels and refugees moved across the region. When Moman searched for a lodge site in Rwanda a few years later, he saw refugees returning from the DRC with nothing to eat. Having experienced displacement himself—his family fled Uganda during the 1970s Asian Expulsion—he returned decades later to establish Volcanoes Safaris, just as Rwanda's national parks were reopening and tourism was reviving. But finding skilled staff was nearly impossible since they 'either left the country or died, or there'd be nobody to teach them,' Moman says. Though this was a difficult start, it led to a philosophy of not relying on outsiders. 'We had to build up our own people's skills and abilities. We just set about empowering, training, and making our staff believe they could be managers, be part of the leadership team, and grow and learn,' says Moman, adding that what makes the lodges unique is that 'there's genuine warmth and spirit of welcome that make us be part of the family.' Today, Volcanoes Safaris is a leader in great ape ecotourism and conservation, operating three gorilla lodges and two chimpanzee lodges across Uganda and Rwanda, with 300 staff members from the surrounding areas. Wildlife protection is a key tenet for many top safari companies. After all, without wildlife, tourism falters. Many safaris also support local communities through jobs, training, and guest donations. Still, Khabo says African-owned lodges go further, ensuring their impact is more deeply rooted in the surrounding communities. (Here's how luxury safaris make a difference.) One of the most striking examples is the Batwa people, some of Central Africa's earliest inhabitants. For 60,000 years, they lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. During the 1990s, they were evicted without compensation from their ancestral rainforests in Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC when governments began opening national parks to protect mountain gorillas. Having no agricultural traditions, land titles, or alternative livelihoods, the Batwa suffered a devastating loss of cultural identity and were left with nothing. When Moman was setting up his first lodge, he saw firsthand how the Batwa struggled to survive in nearby shantytowns. Initially, he brought guests to witness their plight—but he quickly realized he didn't want to exploit human misery as a tourist attraction. Instead, he took action and decided to build Gahinga Batwa Village near Mount Gahinga Lodge—providing permanent housing, a community center, and farmland for over 100 people. Lodges 'should not exist as isolated islands and isolated places for the rich without connecting to the world,' he says. Beyond housing, Volcanoes Safaris also helps the Batwa with healthcare and education. 'Some Batwa kids from our Batwa Village are coming top of the class,' Moman says. The company has also created the Kyambura Buffer Zone, a protected area that prevents chimpanzees from being poached and stops wildlife from encroaching on farms. (Here are the four best safari trips that support local communities.) Other African-owned safari companies are making a difference in other ways. Since the beginning, Batoka Africa has integrated community projects to support local economies. For example, one staff member belongs to a women's sewing collective that crafts the lodge's amenity kits, bags, and napkins, some of which are available for guests to purchase. ABC assists with alternative livelihoods so people can generate income without burning trees and selling charcoal for revenue. The company also trains and encourages female guides, bringing more women into an industry historically dominated by men. Through the African Bush Camps Foundation, Ndlovu ties conservation to community empowerment—but for him, the goal is more than sustainability; it's regeneration. 'It's the holistic full picture where we tell and live our story,' he says. 'A story told by somebody who speaks like them, looks like them, and has the same background as them to inspire others to believe this is an industry and a career that we can build and have a meaningful and impactful agenda around the places we operate.'
National Geographic
25-03-2025
- Business
- National Geographic
Why are so few African safaris Black-owned?
Vimbai Masiyiwa was on a family safari in Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls National Park when a guide made an offhand remark that stuck with her. 'Don't worry, it's a lot more beautiful when we get to the lodge,' the guide said. The comment—meant to gloss over the poverty outside—left Masiyiwa unsettled. Why was the reality of local communities something to be ignored? Vimbai Masiyiwa, co-founder and CEO of Batoka Africa, is reshaping the safari experience as one of the first Black woman to own a safari lodge group in Africa. She launched the company to blend luxury with local impact, using tourism to empower communities and support long-term change. Photograph By Kleinjan Groenewald via Batoka Africa and Zambezi Sands Lodge Production and Styling By Happy Go lucky Masiyiwa, now 30, decided to change the narrative and opened her own safari company, Batoka Africa. As the first female safari lodge owner, Masiyiwa loves her home country of Zimbabwe and ensures her company focuses on the human element. 'Once you look after people, and people see that they're important, they see the value of the wildlife around them and protecting that wildlife,' she says about their first luxury lodge, Zambezi Sands River Lodge, which opened in June 2023. But Masiyiwa remains an outlier. Despite the safari industry generating over $12 billion annually, only 15 percent of the Africa Travel and Tourism Association's safari businesses are Black owned. However, a small but growing group of African entrepreneurs is working to change that—redefining who benefits from Africa's wildlife and reshaping the future of safaris. Guests at Batoka Africa can explore handcrafted art and jewelry made by local artisans—an invitation to connect with and support the surrounding community's creative talent. Photograph By Kleinjan Groenewald via Batoka Africa and Zambezi Sands Lodge Production and Styling By Happy Go lucky Who benefits from Africa's safari industry? For more than a century, safaris have been shaped by outsiders. 'The underrepresentation of Black ownership in the safari industry is rooted in historical, economic, and systemic challenges,' says Naledi Khabo, CEO of the Africa Tourism Association. 'Historical land dispossession has resulted in limited land ownership opportunities.' The safari industry began in the late 19th century, during the colonial era, when European explorers and American adventurers traveled to the interiors of East and Southern Africa for cartography and game hunting. To this day, many safari lodges and camps are primarily owned by white male individuals, mainly serving white, affluent international travelers. (Meet Zimbabwe's formidable female rangers.) Khabo explains that establishing and running safari lodges demands substantial capital for land acquisition and infrastructure, and access to funding remains extremely scarce. The movement for more Black-owned safaris extends beyond representation, she adds. 'African-owned camps will result in stronger cultural representation and integration in the guest experience, making for more meaningful experiences,' says Khabo. 'By engaging with the community, conservation efforts will be deepened because the local community will have a vested interest.' At Zambezi Sands, communal spaces open out to the wilderness, blending into the landscape with locally made furnishings and natural materials. Photograph By Kleinjan Groenewald via Batoka Africa and Zambezi Sands Lodge Production and Styling By Happy Go lucky An enhanced safari model While most safari-goers only see Africa's glamorous side, the unglamorous parts inspired Zimbabwean entrepreneur and former guide Beks Ndlovu to open African Bush Camps (ABC). This award-winning safari company is known for its high-end lodges and camps near protected areas that focus on conservation and empowering local communities through its foundation. 'The abject poverty on the outskirts of these beautiful national parks, the horrible onslaught of wildlife year after year in certain areas that disappear, and the shirking of habitats really got to me,' he shares. (These five trends are transforming traditional safaris—for the better.) In 2006, Ndlovu opened his first camp—Somalisa Camp—in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park with just 16 staff members, hoping to create ambassadors in the industry and inspire others. Today, ABC operates 17 luxury bush camps across Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia, employing 700 residents. But breaking into the industry wasn't easy. Zimbabwe's economic collapse and political instability scared off early clients. Another challenge he endured, and some continue to face, is building trust. At the beginning, potential clients did a double take and wondered how secure it was to do business with an African-owned property, says Ndlovu. But what helped was that he had come from the very fabric of the industry as a reputable guide. Up-close wildlife encounters are at the heart of the safari experience—but who leads them is changing. Companies like Batoka Africa, African Bush Camps, and Volcanoes Safaris are investing in local talent, training some of the continent's top guides to ensure safaris are not only immersive, but rooted in African expertise. Photograph By Kleinjan Groenewald via Batoka Africa and Zambezi Sands Lodge Production and Styling By Happy Go lucky Masiyiwa echoes this experience, noting that she heard from one agent recently that a guest didn't choose their lodge because they weren't secure about the level of service they would receive. 'Changing that takes generations—it's about shifting mindsets and dismantling institutional racism,' she says. Praveen Moman, founder of Volcanoes Safaris, faced a different set of challenges in 1997 when he opened his first lodge, Mount Gahinga Lodge, near Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in southwestern Uganda, bordering Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). His venture came just three years after the Rwandan genocide during a period marked by upheaval and instability as rebels and refugees moved across the region. When Moman searched for a lodge site in Rwanda a few years later, he saw refugees returning from the DRC with nothing to eat. Having experienced displacement himself—his family fled Uganda during the 1970s Asian Expulsion—he returned decades later to establish Volcanoes Safaris, just as Rwanda's national parks were reopening and tourism was reviving. But finding skilled staff was nearly impossible since they 'either left the country or died, or there'd be nobody to teach them,' Moman says. Though this was a difficult start, it led to a philosophy of not relying on outsiders. 'We had to build up our own people's skills and abilities. We just set about empowering, training, and making our staff believe they could be managers, be part of the leadership team, and grow and learn,' says Moman, adding that what makes the lodges unique is that 'there's genuine warmth and spirit of welcome that make us be part of the family.' Today, Volcanoes Safaris is a leader in great ape ecotourism and conservation, operating three gorilla lodges and two chimpanzee lodges across Uganda and Rwanda, with 300 staff members from the surrounding areas. Why investing in people and wildlife matters Wildlife protection is a key tenet for many top safari companies. After all, without wildlife, tourism falters. Many safaris also support local communities through jobs, training, and guest donations. Still, Khabo says African-owned lodges go further, ensuring their impact is more deeply rooted in the surrounding communities. (Here's how luxury safaris make a difference.) One of the most striking examples is the Batwa people, some of Central Africa's earliest inhabitants. For 60,000 years, they lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. During the 1990s, they were evicted without compensation from their ancestral rainforests in Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC when governments began opening national parks to protect mountain gorillas. Having no agricultural traditions, land titles, or alternative livelihoods, the Batwa suffered a devastating loss of cultural identity and were left with nothing. When Moman was setting up his first lodge, he saw firsthand how the Batwa struggled to survive in nearby shantytowns. Initially, he brought guests to witness their plight—but he quickly realized he didn't want to exploit human misery as a tourist attraction. Instead, he took action and decided to build Gahinga Batwa Village near Mount Gahinga Lodge—providing permanent housing, a community center, and farmland for over 100 people. Lodges 'should not exist as isolated islands and isolated places for the rich without connecting to the world,' he says. Beyond housing, Volcanoes Safaris also helps the Batwa with healthcare and education. 'Some Batwa kids from our Batwa Village are coming top of the class,' Moman says. The company has also created the Kyambura Buffer Zone, a protected area that prevents chimpanzees from being poached and stops wildlife from encroaching on farms. (Here are the four best safari trips that support local communities.) African-owned companies like Batoka Africa and African Bush Camps are opening doors for more women to become professional guides, challenging long-held norms in an industry long dominated by men. Photograph By Kleinjan Groenewald via Batoka Africa and Zambezi Sands Lodge Production and Styling By Happy Go lucky Other African-owned safari companies are making a difference in other ways. Since the beginning, Batoka Africa has integrated community projects to support local economies. For example, one staff member belongs to a women's sewing collective that crafts the lodge's amenity kits, bags, and napkins, some of which are available for guests to purchase. ABC assists with alternative livelihoods so people can generate income without burning trees and selling charcoal for revenue. The company also trains and encourages female guides, bringing more women into an industry historically dominated by men. Through the African Bush Camps Foundation, Ndlovu ties conservation to community empowerment—but for him, the goal is more than sustainability; it's regeneration. 'It's the holistic full picture where we tell and live our story,' he says. 'A story told by somebody who speaks like them, looks like them, and has the same background as them to inspire others to believe this is an industry and a career that we can build and have a meaningful and impactful agenda around the places we operate.'
