African Skylines..The Other Africa

I am prompted to make this thread mainly about modern Africa and it's development because it has dawned on me that many here think Africans lived exactly like their ancestors did without change or is stagnant and starving in need of constant aid instead of investment yes Africa even in the best of times is not without problems that beset all other continents poverty corruption civil strife etc.. but not all is doom and gloom in fact I am losing many of my African friends in Japan who are leaving for better pickings in their home countries , to be sure ancient Africa had it's urban centers for example the Yoruba are among the most anciently urbanized people in Africa most of modern day African urban centers are out growths of earlier settlements just like other urban settlements the world over, they adopted modern techniques and architectural styles found in every nation in the world so in this they are not unique welcome to globalization,this will mainly be a picture essay with some vids thrown in.





Nairobi Kenya

Middle class sprawls in Nairobi, Kenya




The in crowed Lagos Nigeria



Family time Dakar, Senegal


Abidjan , Cote D'ivoire



Luanda, Angola work in progress built by oil money
AGAIN THIS IS NOT MEANT TO IGNORE THE MASSIVE PROBLEMS THAT EXIST ON THAT CONTINENT THIS IS JUST ONE SIDE OF THE STORY..

The young who want to succeed met-up with one who has.

I would love to goto Kenya one day, I have met many Kenyans and they are such lovely happy people, always have time and a smile for others.

Here is a song about Kenya.



S&F dude.

reply to post by boymonkey74

reply to post by Spider879


Shopping malls and bank ads, big houses and mortgages. Hmm.

Why is it considered a progress? Does our Western cities looks so happy from the outside?

reply to post by boymonkey74


There are no native tigers in Kenya. Tigers are Asian. the only wild tigers are impaneled in South Africa. But I understand it is a fun [but stupid] song.

This is place is booming, I can't believe how many skycranes there are in that photo.

Young Ivorians learn how to use a computer in Abidjan in 2004. Internet penetration in South Africa, the continent's economic powerhouse, is low compared to other leading economies in Africa due to high broadband cost and a lack of infrastructure, a study said Tuesday.

Read more at: phys.org...

phys.org...

A Congolese (Congo-Brazzaville) inventor living in France, Edgar Hardy has developed a solar lamp he has named Mona, which means "to see" in Lingala. This inventor has studied at the Ecole Centrale de Paris, and it is in partnership with the latter that he has developed the Mona lamp as an entrepreneur. Indeed, Edgar Hardy is heading Solar21, his own company.

www.kumatoo.com...

The smartphone promised by Congolese inventor, after the Way-C, is now available. Just like the Way-C, Verone Mankou has designed his smartphone in Congo-Brazzaville and was then assembled in China (like other many electronics devices in the world).

The name of the smartphone is "Elikia" which means "hope" in Lingala language, and will be sold under the VMK brand (a company owned by Verone Mankou). The smartphone should be sold about $160. It took Verone Mankou about a year to design the device with an investment of about $120,000.

Here are some of the phone's characteristics:
3.5-inch touchscreen
Memory of 512 MB
Internal memory of 256 MB is expandable to 32 GB
650 MHz processor
GPS
5 megapixels camera
WiFi and Bluetooth (Built-in WiFi hotspot)

Verona Mankou represents a generation of young competent Africans who are showing that Africa is not only about misery. It is also full of exceptional talents who will become the future captains of industry in Africa

www.kumatoo.com...

Verone Mankou, a young Congolese inventor aged 25, is the designer of a touchpad called "Way-C" for which the entire design and architecture have been conceived in Congo-Brazzaville.

The Way-C uses a customized version of the Android open source operating system and will be sold for about 150,000 CFA francs (228 Euros). Compared to the first generation Samsung Galaxy sold about 400,000 CFA francs (610 Euros) in Brazzaville, and the iPad 600,000 CFA francs (914 Euros), the Way-C is more affordable for the African market.

Update on Arthur Zang's works

August 13, 2012
---
Arthur Zang completed in June 2012 the assembly of 30 copies of the Cardio Pad with the financial support of the Cameroonian State (something rare enough in Africa not be noticed and applauded). Indeed, the Cameroonian government has allocated 20 million CFA francs (305,000 euros) to the engineer to materialize part of his project.

After traveling to China to acquire the necessary components for the manufacture of his invention, Arthur Zang managed to assemble 30 Cardio Pads in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The electrodes which are equipped with Bluetooth and that will be connected to the patients' chest have been manufactured, too. This system is important because it allows the transmission of heart rates to the Cardio Pad. Arthur Zang and his team must now succeed in connecting the Cardio Pad to operators' mobile networks with a license in Cameroon: MTN and Orange.

One will notice, among others, the quality of the design of the Cardio Pad which is a success. This shows that young Africans can combine performance, ergonomics and aesthetics in their work.

www.kumatoo.com...

Now these useful everyday stuff is not so remarkable there is no Nobel prizes to be gained here but it shows industriousness and ingenuity in a matter of fact kinda way of ordinary everyday Africans.

Eco Atlantic- Largest human works project in African history since time of Egyptians

The need for a development like Eko Atlantic City has arisen because Lagos has reached its limits in terms of infrastructure, energy supply, mobility and economic growth. Royal Haskoning is responsible, as consultants to the project, for the master plan and the urban design of this new city that will be just off the coast of Lagos. “This includes environmental impact assessments, supervising the implementation of the maritime operations and above and below ground infrastructure”, explains Urban van Aar. “All disciplines within Royal Haskoning have been involved to coordinate the various roles, interests and technical issues.”

In a class of its own
The master plan and the urban design are now complete. The next task is to fill in the details of the design and layout. “Eko Atlantic City will be a new type of living and working environment in a class all of its own”, explains Urban. “In our European cities, interests are partitioned up with the environment, drainage, energy supply, etc. all in different camps. A new city like Eko Atlantic City opens up opportunities for new, interesting and sustainable combinations, such as a large, single utility company that would supply water and energy and be responsible for waste water removal and treatment. You could even include use of the tram on the island in the service costs.”
www.royalhaskoning.com...

Eko Atlantic City Half Way To Complete

I donno the capitalist in me is saying make that move man,but all that noise from up north (Boko Haram) is making me uneasy.

jthreat21
reply to post by Spider879

 

Waste for thread staring ability, sorry

Could you expand please I don't get it what you are saying.

reply to post by Spider879


Just ignore! Did you notice that jthreat has been a member for over four years and has managed to glean, COUNT IT, 1, ONE star! In four years! Way to go jthreat!

Africa is the continent of the future, no question about it!

wiser3
reply to post by Spider879

 

Just ignore! Did you notice that jthreat has been a member for over four years and has managed to glean, COUNT IT, 1, ONE star! In four years! Way to go jthreat!

Africa is the continent of the future, no question about it!

Oh ok got it..he just trolling then

Just tonite I was discussing development in Africa with an ex-pat friend of mine an ethnic Tutsi who although born in Uganda and lived in Kenya have family relations in Rwanda and other near by states,he told me he took a Japanese business colleague who was looking for opportunities in Kenya and Uganda and he took him to Rwanda to visit fam because they had a lil time..he said the Japanese dude was blown away from the minute he touched down at the airport ,I asked why??.. for it has got to be a s...hole, a place of very recent dark memories, he said noo!! I haven't been keeping up, he said the place is booming!..I asked what the hell do they have?? he said not a damned thing but coffee and other agro goods ,but they have a vision of what they want to do,they are going to enter into the service industries like Banking and IT, he said kids in grade school are connected to the world wide Net in school, corruption is not tolerated by the strong man Kagame a dictator by anyone's standard,he said former colleagues who fought with him during the war had to flee the country because they wanted to be rewarded for their efforts by fleecing the newly liberated and Kagame is having non of that, I asked about ethnic tension, he said everyone is proud to be Rwandan and relations is pretty much repaired,he said the country has changed alot and to expect dramatic results in 10yrs when those kids come of age,the vid below he said is part of the vision and alot of work is underway many of the communities seen in this vid has already been built.

Sad part is Africa is being exploited by the super powers of the world.

Skorpy
Sad part is Africa is being exploited by the super powers of the world.

Exploited??..no doubt superpowers will try to get their way but,for the first in the longest time Africans have the chance to set their own prices for their goods rather than having being told what others will pay for those goods the prices formally being set in places like London, Brussels and NY,the difference is there are new players on the block,not just the west it is up to them to make good on their new found opportunities..the world has changed, trade not aid is the key phrase being used now.


Vid of what they are doing.

It's happening for real, I'm African and I can tell you that every 5 years are going to be a massive step forward for Africa. For example now Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa, in 14 years from 1999 to 2013 it grown 8 times. I can only advice to educated Black Americans to move ASAP


Luanda, Angola

This is an important thread because so many have been brainwashed to think of Africa as some starving and wounded child. Such posters and snapshots of course don't represent the day to day reality of Africa and its wonderful to see Africas many pleasantries.

Big thumbs up for posting this.

IBM opens its first Africa research lab in Nairobi

read more

reply to post by Kilwa

I can only advice to educated Black Americans to move ASAP

Don't want to derail what is an excellent and informative thread, but why specifically Black Americans, wouldn't educated people of all races and nationalities be welcome if wishing to become an active and positive part of the development of the African continent?

This is the first history show made by Africans, this is possible in these times of economic boom