Meet Elizabeth Benson, Computer Scientist and Mawazo Scholar
Traffic congestion is a major problem in urban areas globally. As cities grow, their infrastructure is strained as the rate of population increase outpaces that of infrastructure development. In Nairobi, a growing middle class means that car ownership is within the reach of more residents, and this increasing number of private cars must then share […]
Tackling Nairobi’s Traffic Congestion Through Data Mining And Machine Learning
Traffic congestion also impacts transportation costs, which are very high in Nairobi compared to a commuters’ average income. For example, average bus fare during peak hours locations within 10km and 20km from the city center is Ksh. 50 and Ksh. 100 respectively, compared to the current minimum employee wage that ranges between Ksh. 270 to […]
Meet Winnie Nyamboki, Health Economist and Mawazo Scholar
The economics literature identifies health as having both direct and indirect effects on the population as well as a country’s output. Economists have argued that a healthier workforce is more productive and this is an illustration of the direct effect. The indirect effect is mostly analysed from a long-term perspective. For example, healthy individuals are […]
The Economic Burden of Poor Health in Kenya
The Government of Kenya, through its ‘Big Four’ agenda , is keen on providing universal health coverage by 2022 to guarantee quality and affordable health care for all. While such an initiative goes a long way in redistributing health resources, Kenya is struggling to cope with the burden of traditional communicable diseases, which continue to […]
Meet Melisa Allela, Storyteller and Interactive Media Design Maven
Human beings are storytelling animals; this is how we make sense of the world. In a rapidly changing world, how do we leverage the capabilities of emerging technologies to preserve African oral traditions of storytelling? Infusion of Artificial Intelligence with immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), which enable social interaction between users and animated […]
Re-imagining the Traditional Forms of Storytelling in Africa
We communicate through stories, but also use stories to entertain, educate and inform. Presentation of events within a story can take the form of either of the three main types of narrative structures. The first is a linear narrative, in which events are presented in a chronological order and the user has no control over […]
Mawazo Scholars Participate in Open Africa Power Initiative Training
It featured in-depth sessions covering core technology, policy and business aspects of the electricity sector, as well as their interactions with broader societal issues such as sustainable development goals, climate change, and urbanization. The training course is part of a four-month intensive leadership development programme for 34 postgraduates who were competitively selected from across the […]
Meet Jacqueline Owigo, Migration Policy Expert and Mawazo Scholar
International migration is increasingly seen as a high-priority policy issue by governments, practitioners, scholars and the public at large. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in human displacement, which has resulted from conflict and environmental factors. Further, UNHCR cautions that the number of displaced people has continued to soar and it is […]
Linking Return Migration and Development in Somalia
Return migration is a component of international migration. The main forms of return migration include voluntary return and involuntary return associated with, for example, deportation of migrants to their country of origin. Governments and international organizations have adopted policies that are aimed at improving return processes and outcomes, such as linking return with national development. […]
Meet Edinah Song’oro, Molecular Geneticist and Mawazo Scholar
Mawazo Scholar Edinah Song’oro authored the following blog post on her research as part of the global DNA Day celebrations. Learn more about DNA Day and the ‘15 for 15’ Celebration here. The science of genomics is the application of genetics and molecular biology towards studying genetic materials of organisms. The field of genomics is […]