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UNDP Launches $1bn Innovation Fund for African Start-ups

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To support business start-ups across Africa, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched a $1 billion innovation fund to fund their initiatives.

Named the “timbuktoo Africa Innovation Fund”, the initiative was launched together with African countries’ leaders during a special session of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, and UNDP Administrator Mr. Achim Steiner presented the initiative, which is positioned to be the world’s largest financing facility bringing catalytic and commercial capital together to support Africa’s startup ecosystem.

Attended by global corporate leaders, as well as African financial institutions, the occasion marked what is considered a major step in sparking the African Startup Revolution, harnessing the momentum of Africa’s major youth demographic and abundance of innovative talent.

According to a statement from the UNDP, Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, during the launch announced an immediate contribution of $3 million to start the ‘timbuktoo’ Africa Innovation Fund which will be hosted in Kigali.

“We cannot accept that another generation of African young people do not have the tools to reach their full potential. With timbuktoo’s billion-dollar target, we can create more opportunities for Africa’s youth to put their talent and creativity to good use,” the Rwandan President was quoted.

Also commenting during the launch of the Fund, Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, said: “For many African countries, our foremost challenge now is to ensure we put in place the right structures to enable young Africans to create innovative and compelling businesses that can contribute significantly to job creation and sustainable economic growth.

“I’m excited about the future of our continent. I look forward to seeing us create a future where innovation is encouraged, ingenuity is supported and prosperity is shared.”

Promoted by the UNDP, timbuktoo aims to address critical gaps and work with African governments, investors, corporates, and universities, to support the African startup ecosystem.

“timbuktoo is a new model of development. We are gathering key actors to push on all fronts at the same time. From startup-friendly legislation, global-class startup building, and de-risking capital to increase investment, to the UniPods – University Innovation Pods – across Africa, we aim to fill critical gaps and support the startup ecosystem. This will enable innovations to grow and benefit people in Africa and elsewhere on the planet,” said UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner.

Currently, Africa’s share of global startup value stands at just 0.2%, compared to 2% of global trade value. The vast majority, 89%, of venture capital coming into Africa is foreign capital and 83% is concentrated in four countries: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt, with over 60% of capital flowing to one sector, fintech.

According to the UNDP, timbuktoo’s ambition is to mobilize and invest $ 1 billion of catalytic and commercial capital to transform 100 million livelihoods and create 10 million dignified new jobs.

It added that what makes timbuktoo unique is its design, which blends commercial and catalytic capital to de-risk private investment, with a pan-African approach to supporting startups, while also focusing on the whole ecosystem, engaging and deepening the linkages between government policy, universities, corporates, development partners, catalytic partners, and commercial investors.

 


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E-Business

Adobe Launches AI Video Tool to Compete with OpenAI

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Adobe yesterday released the first public version of an artificial intelligence tool that can generate video clips and revealed how much it will charge, but said it will not set pricing for major users such as studios until later this year.

The Firefly Video Model, as Adobe is calling the service, will compete against Sora, a model developed by ChatGPT creator OpenAI, and startup Runway, both of which currently offer video-generation services. Facebook owner Meta Platforms has also developed a video-generation AI model but has not given a timeline for when it will be released.

Adobe’s model differs from its rivals because it is geared toward generating clips that will fit into how film and television studios use Premiere Pro, its flagship video editing software.

To that end, many of the features that Adobe is emphasizing revolve around feeding existing shots into the video model and asking it to generate clips that fix or expand on shots that were taken on a real production set but that did not come out quite right.

Adobe said the service will generate five-second clips at 1080p resolution. While that is shorter than the clips of up to 20 seconds generated by OpenAI’s service, Adobe executives said the majority of individual clips in most productions are only three seconds.

Adobe said a user can generate 20 clips per month for $9.99 and 70 clips for $29.99. That compares with 50 videos for $20 per month with OpenAI’s plan at lower resolution and a $200 OpenAI plan that can handle longer, higher resolution videos.

Adobe is also working on a “Premium” pricing plan for studios and other high-volume video users and will release those pricing details later this year. Alexandru Costin, Adobe’s vice president of generative AI, said the company is working to generate 4K video and will remain focused on quality rather than longer clips.

“We actually think that great motion, great structure, great definition scheme, making the actual clip look like it was film, is more important than making a longer clip that’s unusable,” Costin told Reuters.

 


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GSMA Launches Innovation Fund to Boost AI Solutions in Emerging Markets

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GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI has been unveiled, marking a significant initiative aimed at empowering small and growing enterprises in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) across Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.

GSMA Launches Innovation Fund to Boost AI Solutions in Emerging Markets

This fund is designed to fos­ter AI-driven innovations that tackle critical socio-economic and climate challenges, helping underserved regions unlock the transformative potential of ar­tificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence has proven its ability to address pressing global issues, from pre­cision agriculture and renew­able energy to remote health­care and financial inclusion.

Yet, LMICs remain under­served in funding and resourc­es, with only a small percentage of global grants directed toward locally-developed AI solutions.

Despite the growth of AI-driven technologies, these advancements are often not tailored to the unique needs of local populations in LMICs.

The GSMA Innovation Fund seeks to close this gap by iden­tifying, testing, and scaling impactful AI solutions that are contextually relevant and capa­ble of delivering measurable socio-economic and climate benefits.

In partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), the GSMA Innovation Fund provides a comprehensive sup­port package to selected enter­prises. Key benefits include:

Grant Funding: Ranging from £100,000 to £250,000 for projects lasting 15–18 months.

Tailored Venture Support: Guidance to strengthen busi­ness models and improve scal­ability.

Partnership Opportunities: Facilitation of collaborations with mobile operators, public sector organizations, and other stakeholders.

Peer Learning: Platforms for exchanging knowledge and best practices with other innovators.

Visibility and Exposure: Access to GSMA’s global events, publications, and online plat­forms to connect with potential investors and partners.

 


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MRA Calls for Safer Internet User Rights in Nigeria

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Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has called on the Nigerian government to take legitimate measures to safeguard the rights and safety of internet users in the country.

MRA Calls for Safer Internet User Rights in Nigeria

In a statement released ahead of Safer Internet Day (SID), the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) called on the Nigerian Federal and State governments to take measures to protect internet users’ rights.

MRA highlighted the misuse of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, initially designed to address cybercrime threats.

According to MRA, the Act has been exploited by powerful individuals to intimidate journalists, activists, and citizens, undermining freedom of expression and cybersecurity.

Mr. Ayode Longe, deputy executive director, MRA, emphasised that these actions violate democratic principles and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations. He highlighted the SID theme “Together for a Better Internet” as a call for multi-stakeholder cooperation to create a safe and accessible online environment.

Longe noted Nigeria’s progress in digital technology adoption but pointed out persistent online threats, including scams, data breaches, and misinformation.

He stressed the need for legal frameworks that protect users’ rights without compromising their privacy or freedom of expression.

MRA urged the government to review the Cybercrimes Act to ensure it aligns with international human rights standards and to establish guidelines to prevent arbitrary prosecutions.

MRA also called for digital literacy initiatives and collaboration with tech companies to promote online safety.

Additionally, they urged the courts to protect Nigerians’ rights by rejecting unfounded cybercrime cases and ensuring fair application of the law.

Longe reiterated MRA’s commitment to defending digital rights and advocating for a free and open digital environment where everyone can access information and express themselves responsibly.

Together, stakeholders can create an internet where all users, regardless of age or background, can engage safely and freely.


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