Young, urban African consumer generation on the rise.
There is tremendous potential in Africa and most investors and businesses know this by now. Africa is the world’s second fastest growing region, second to Asia. And it may come as a surprise to most that Africa’s single-largest business opportunity is the rising consumer market.
Continue reading… “The rising consumer markets in Africa”
We are seeing more and more where the mom has the anchor job in the family and the dad either doesn’t work or works in a flexible job.
After Gail McGovern’s daughter Annie was born, she and her husband established what came to be known as the “kitchen calendar rule.” McGovern worked for AT&T overseeing 10,000 employees; her husband ran a large unit of Hewlett-Packard. They both needed to travel regularly for work, but one of them also needed to be home for Annie.
Suneet Tuli with the Aakash 2 tablet.
The 44-year-old CEO of UK/Canadian/Indian startup Datawind, Suneet Tuli, is having a taxing day. He says he is “underwater” as he struggles to find a cell signal outside a restaurant in Mumbai. On Sunday Nov. 11, the president of India, Pranab Mukherjee, will unveil the seven-inch Aakash 2 tablet computer Tuli’s company is selling to the government for distribution to 100,000 university students and professors. (If things go well, the government plans to order as many as 5.86 million.) In the meantime, Tuli is deluged with calls from reporters, and every day his company receives thousands of new orders for the commercial version of the Aakash 2. Already, he’s facing a backlog of four million unfulfilled pre-orders.
Continue reading… “Aakash 2 – The $20 tablet that could transform computing as we know it”
Pebble watch has been wildly successful.
People hoping to get their business ideas funded by peers are posting their projects on Kickstarter more and more. But that doesn’t mean their ideas are finding any more success on the crowdfunding site.
Continue reading… “How many Kickstarter projects are funded successfully: Chart”
Mobile health becoming more popular among smartphone owners.
Mobile health is starting to become popular in the U.S.. In 2010, the Pew Internet and American Life Project reported that just 17 percent of cell phone owners used their devices to look up health information. But the organization said that figure has climbed to 31 percent in a new study released last week.
Volkswagen’s flying car
Seeing a flying cars in a sci-fi movie is a common site. The flying car has won hearts of many science fiction fanatics. Be it the glass bubble from “The Jetsons” or the cab from “The Fifth Element,” all these vehicles have mesmerized audiences for a long now. (Video)
Continue reading… “Volkswagen’s futuristic flying car concept”
Transplanting some leafy green seedlings at the grand opening of Singapore’s first commercial vertical farm.
Singapore is taking local farming to the next level by opening of its first commercial vertical farm.
Vertical farming is like skyscrapers with vegetables climbing along the windows or like a library-sized greenhouse with racks of cascading vegetables instead of books.
Continue reading… “Singapore opens world’s first commercial vertical farm”
As you well know, pigs make the birdman very, very angry!
Quote of the Day: “My wife was afraid of the dark… then she saw me naked and now she’s afraid of the light.” – Rodney Dangerfield
Continue reading… “Top 10 Photos of the Week”
Futurist Thomas Frey: It may sound silly to walk into a bar and order up a beer with a weed chaser or to open a late night box of cereal called “Weedies” to help you sleep, but that is exactly the era we’re entering.
Taiwanese entrepreneurs have begun to seek market opportunities outside the U.S. in the phenomenon called the reverse brain drain.
Many foreign entrepreneurs clamor at America’s gates to get a piece of the innovation incubator of Silicon Valley. But Jerry Chang, a serial entrepreneur and Taiwanese immigrant, has done what most hopeful incomers would consider the unthinkable and taken his business offshore. In 2009, he established mobile payment company Mobile Radius. Rather than found the company in the U.S., let alone his native Taiwan, Chang decided to take his business to China. To many, his decision is a surprising one. Chang does not face the typical obstacles most immigrant entrepreneurs encounter. He acquired U.S. citizenship over two decades ago and has significant experience in the tech field. His first company, Clarent Corp., had boasted a client list of big-named companies like AT&T Worldnet, China Telecom, and Telstra.
The term ‘human enhancement’ encompasses a range of approaches that may be used to improve aspects of human function.
The Royal Society looks at Human enhancement and the future of work. The project explored potential enhancements arising from advances in science and engineering that are likely to impact on the future of work.
Continue reading… “How human enhancement will impact the future of work”
Tomorrow’s IT department will likely look very different to today’s.
Meeting business demands to save money while supporting delivery of better products and ways of working will be key to the future of IT. The IT department is under pressure to change if it is to meet conflicting demands to support innovation while also saving cost.
Continue reading… “Four possible roles of the IT department in the future”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
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