Note: This is a reposted review, from the lost post archives.

Maneno is a multilingual blogging platform.

Maneno which means “words” in KiSwahili, is a blogging platform which allows you to translate your entire post easily into several languages without a lot of hustle. At this point, a visit to the homepage allows you to read the posts in a few langauges which include Spanish, French, KiSwahili, Lingala and a few others.

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This is a reposted review, from the lost post archives.

KuKuRooKu is a  microblogging platform based around bird terminology.

A 160 limit microblogging post is called a cluck, and to follow someones’ posts is to flock. Then you get popular clucks, and cluckers. You get the whole idea.

As a microblogging platform Kukurooku is unique in that at this point it is populated by a majority of non tech types. When you go to other African related microblogging services like Twyka and Gatorpeeps the atmosphere is thick of tech, business and self promotion

Kukurooku is still relatively small and new to the scene but it is interesting to watch what type of community forms as they develop.

Nubley is an aggregrate and online directory of Nigerian microbloggers.

At Nubley you can pull in all your updates on different platforms and share them with the community on the service. You can also send an update to one or more accounts on popular microblogging platforms like Twitter or Naijapulse via Nubley.

However the best feature offered by Nubley is their public timeline, which aggregrates all of the feeds into one public stream.

Ghana cybercity seems to be a technology hub which is currently in construction in Ghana. The technology hub or park will be the first of its’ kind in Western Africa, built in the centre of the university of Ghana.

Ghana cybercity will be designated a Free Zone according to Ghanaian laws which means it will get benefits from the tax incentives associated with that status.

Due to lack of alternate souces to verify this post,we basically included below the original story posted by Ghana News Agency

A ceremony to begin work on Ghana’s first Technology Park at Adako-Jachie in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality of the Ashanti Region was held on Thursday.

It is always great to stumble upon a blog which explores the beauty of the motherland. MyWeku can be described as a blog which does this in style.

MyWeku existence is based on the simple premise of showcasing “All Thing African.”  From this simple premise the blog writes on different topics from hair to sculptures all in one breath.

The one aspect which however makes MyWeku stand out, with a respectable 509 followers on facebook is their aesthetics and design which sets itself apart from the other African content providers.

Ushahidi the crisis crowdsourcing platform developed in Africa is receiving  solid media coverage.

After being featured on CNN, Ushahidi made it to another influential American media company The New York Times.

The site collected user-generated cellphone reports of riots, stranded refugees, rapes and deaths and plotted them on a map, using the locations given by informants. It collected more testimony — which is what ushahidi means in Swahili — with greater rapidity than any reporter or election monitor.

Bill Gates recently took a trip to South Africa and Kenya where he surveyed the work of his foundation: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

During the trip he first visited a clinic in Durban South Africa, which works to improve the quality  of water and sanitation. Then he visited Bophelo Pele a male circumcision centre.

In Kenya he went to the small town of Eldoret where he learnt about M-Pesa the successful mobile transfer service, ending the trip in the town of Kabiyet where he learnt all about dairy farming.

Quoting Mr Gates post at The Gates Notes concerning the trip

Youtube seems to have rolled out its new interface to selected Youtube users who use Google Chrome. The new Youtube Interface is pretty cool, and I actually have to say I am a fan.

If you can not view this interface, it may be because you are using a browser other than Google Chrome.

Pictures are below

MyScoop the South African aggregrator and Afrigator the Pan-African aggregrator has recently gone realtime. The two start-ups owned by two different companies implemented the changes to their platforms earlier this month which makes it possible that once you publish a post the aggregrators will be aware of it, like immediately.

The changes are made possible through the use of something called Pubhubsub which was implemented by the guys over at MyScoop first.

Afrigator made the changes known yesterday through their blog

Mammaput is a interesting idea which is still on the drawing board.  The idea is to create a crowd-sourced directory of eateries in Nigeria.

This has potential since no big one exists in Nigeria, so there is most probably a market for such a product.

The team behind Mammaput has not released much information concerning the finished product except the information which can be found at their front-page.

The SoleRebels shoe factory is located on the edge of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. The company produces handcrafted shoes from local and often recycled materials, and has risen to become Ethiopia’s leading footwear exporter to the United States.

They have done this through pure entrepreneurship, and leveraging the Internet to market, communicate and sell their products both locally and internationally.

SoleRebel has since risen to become one of Ethiopia’s largest shoe manufacturers, acquiring a work force of about 50 full-time and 75 part-time employees.

According to TechCentral, a South African technology news content provider, Paypal is to soon launch in South Africa through collaboration with a bank called First National bank.

We have not confirmed this, but if it is true then at long last South Africans would be able to securely receive payments for their goods online via the popular service. You could in the past make payments via Paypal from South Africa but because  T.I.A you were not allowed to receive payments through Paypal.

Crowdfund is a venture capitalist start-up from South Africa which has made a small impact on the African cyberspace. Crowdfund promises to invest in local South African entrepreneurs by raising money through a community based model.

The idea in their own words is that

1. 1000 people get together and invest R1,000+ each by pooling the money into the Crowdfund.

We have not written much about Côte d’Ivoire, but we now have a reason thanks to the Barcamp Abidjan 2010 which occurred from the 5th till the 7th of March.

A few notable speakers took part in the Barcamp, they include

• Google
• Paul Sika,
• Jean Patrick Ehouman
• Ameyah Debrah
• E-tranzact
• VIPnet
• Web4Africa,

Uche Eze, the founder of Bellanaija a blog which is can be described as a  TMZ for Nigeria, was recently featured on Oprah.

She was interviewed via Skype for a show called “Beauty Around the World”

Ms. Eche said the following about the incidence

At the beginning of the year, I was having a conversation with my best friend – we were discussing our aspirations for the year and beyond. I can’t remember the specifics of the earlier part of the conversation but I remember the end. I said something along the lines of “…I really want to be on Oprah!…that’s the ultimate” I remember him saying “Well, you better hurry up because she is retiring her show next year”. So the conversation ended and life went on.

Naijalingo is an online dictionary of Nigerian pidgin founded by two Nigerians.  The main idea behind Naijalingo is to provide definitions of Nigerian pidgin or slang terms.

Signing up to NaijaLingo provides you with the ability to actually add and modify content on the platform. Your level of authority is proportional to your contribution/participation.

Members of Naijalingo have rankings like

Noel Hwande is a tech entreprenuer who founded one of my favourite Southern African start-ups, Qiqima.

Qiqima call to fame is the heavy emphasis they place on SMS and text. This concept is especially attractive since mobile penetration is higher than internet penetration in some areas in the continent.

TechMasai: What is Qiqima and what inspired the project?

Mr. Hwande: Qiqima is a micro blogging platform that is built around mobile communication and promotes interactions in both public and private virtual communities.

The Kenyan media has taken a liking to iHub the Kenyan incubation hub. iHub was  featured in a local television channel KTN.

The fact they were profiled is surprising since the Kenyan (African in general) media previously had a policy to not show any local content concerning tech.

Application developers, web designers and other techies in Nairobi now have a place to meet, network and get connected to the right people to further their causes.

According to African American film maker Joy daily, Hip Hop has a complexion obsession. The idea of colorism is that people who are of mixed background; as in with one Caucasian parent are treated better on a social level than people who are not mixed.

The idea has powerful implications since it seems to affect women, and young children. Since the hip hop culture is global it is important for parents worldwide, and especially those in Africa to pay special attention to the images their children are exposed to through the art form.