Author Archive:

Apply Now: £150,000 for Digital Ventures Ready to Scale

Apply Now: £150,000 for Digital Ventures Ready to Scale

Published on: Oct 12 2026 by Wayan Vota - 2 Comments
In January 2012, Uganda’s Ministry of Health issued a moratorium halting new eHealth projects. Donors and NGOs had piloted up to 80 different mHealth applications...
We Have Not Yet Built The Capacity to Absorb AI Philanthropy

We Have Not Yet Built The Capacity to Absorb AI Philanthropy

Published on: Oct 08 2026 by Wayan Vota - Leave a Comment
Large philanthropic money moves to organizations that can take large philanthropic money. Everything else about grant making is downstream of that. In August, I...
FCDO Answered 78 Questions. Digital Development Came Up Zero Times.

FCDO Answered 78 Questions. Digital Development Came Up Zero Times.

Published on: Oct 06 2026 by Wayan Vota - Leave a Comment
On 15 September, Kirsty McNeill sat for her first scrutiny session as Minister for International Development and Africa. Across 78 questions, nobody in the room...
Apply Now: $1 Million for AI EduTech Startup Coalitions

Apply Now: $1 Million for AI EduTech Startup Coalitions

Published on: Oct 05 2026 by Wayan Vota - Leave a Comment
UNESCO estimates that 57% of the world’s children lack basic skills. Sub-Saharan African economies pay the steepest price. UNESCO projects they will lose...
The Next Billion Users Will Not Read Your Consent Notices

The Next Billion Users Will Not Read Your Consent Notices

Published on: Sep 24 2026 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
The privacy consent model assumes a person who reads the notice, understands it, and chooses. For the hundreds of millions of people coming online for the first...
How to Evaluate Artificial Intelligence Systems for LMIC Usage

How to Evaluate Artificial Intelligence Systems for LMIC Usage

Published on: Sep 22 2026 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
Are we building AI systems backwards, evaluating them wrongly, and then wondering why our multi-million dollar algorithms fail to deliver the outcomes we promised...
Apply Now: $10,000 African AI Drug Discovery Fellowships

Apply Now: $10,000 African AI Drug Discovery Fellowships

Published on: Sep 21 2026 by Wayan Vota - 2 Comments
Early-career African drug discovery researchers writing in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry put Africa’s share of global scientific output at 2 to 3 percent,...
Are Your Publications Creating PDF Graveyards and Failing the Poor?

Are Your Publications Creating PDF Graveyards and Failing the Poor?

Published on: Sep 17 2026 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
I have a philosophical question for you to ponder: If a research paper is published, and its hypothesis is proven, but no one acts on it, did the paper even exist? I...
Use This Simple AI Framework to Stop Drowning in AI Governance

Use This Simple AI Framework to Stop Drowning in AI Governance

Published on: Sep 15 2026 by Wayan Vota - Leave a Comment
Here’s what I find maddening about the current state of AI governance in humanitarian organizations: we’ve got 80% of aid workers using AI tools daily...
Apply Now: $200,000 and Coaching for African AI Startups

Apply Now: $200,000 and Coaching for African AI Startups

Published on: Sep 14 2026 by Wayan Vota - Leave a Comment
AI-native African companies took less than 2% of the continent’s startup funding in the first half of 2026, Grégoire de Padirac, CEO of Digital Africa, told...