Research - Afrikan Heroes

Next Einstein Forum announces new cohort of 25 Fellows, Africa’s top young Scientists

August 6, 2019

The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) today announced its third Class of NEF Fellows, 25 strong scientists, all under 42 years, whose research and innovations are contributing to solve Africa’s and the world’s most pressing challenges.

“I am excited to announce the 3rd class of NEF Fellows for two reasons. The first is that we are almost at parity, with 11 women in the class. The second is the variety of fields and countries from where the Fellows come from. The selected Fellows are doing cutting-edge research in renewable energy, nanomaterials, and nanotechnology, food security, precision medicine, health systems, climate science, and urban planning.

Also a first for the Fellows cohort is the two social scientists selected in this class. We strongly believe their current and future discoveries will solve global challenges and we are excited to introduce you to them,” said Thierry Zomahoun, Founder and Chair of the Next Einstein Forum and President and CEO of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS).

An initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), the NEF will award the NEF Fellows at its NEF Global Gathering 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya on 10 March 2020, under the patronage of President Uhuru Kenyatta. The NEF Fellows will continue the tradition of presenting their groundbreaking research at the global gathering.

NEF Fellows are selected by an International Scientific Program Committee, using a rigorous process that comprises academic and scientific merit, a strong publication record, patents, awards and a track record of funds independently raised for research. Fellows are also required to demonstrate the relevance of their research or innovations to humanity’s grand challenges, as well as a passion for raising Africa’s scientific profile and inspiring the next generation of scientific leaders.

“We are tremendously pleased to welcome the new class to the growing NEF Community of Scientists, and the thirty-five Fellows that preceded this cohort. This Class was selected in record timing because of the quality of their profiles and we look forward to their contributions to our foresight work and public engagement programs like Africa Science Week,” said Dr. Youssef Travaly, Vice President of Science, Innovation, and Partnerships.

The second class has been at the forefront of groundbreaking research in Blockchain for micro-credits, bioinformatics for improving agricultural outputs, non-invasive malaria detection among other innovations. Several Fellows received million-dollar awards for their research. NEF Fellows lead the editing of the NEF’s Scientific African journal which is on its fourth volume since March 2018. In recognition of their achievements and scientific excellence, three fellows have joined the NEF’s International Scientific Programme Committee.

Meet the 2019-2021 NEF Fellows

Dr. Badre Abdselam (Morocco) seeks to contribute to the design and implementation of regional policies on young scientists’ intentional mobility within Africa to optimize brain circulation.

Dr. Ademola Adenle (Nigeria) is leading research in science and technology policy in addressing sustainable development challenges such as climate change, food insecurity, energy and health innovation in Africa.

Dr. Fanelwa Ajayi (South Africa) seeks to develop various nanoparticles particularly with the use of edible substances, such as fruits and vegetables and finding additional applications for them.

Dr. Daniel Akinyele (Nigeria) is immersed in unveiling deeper insights into planning, developing and managing new electrification systems for energy-poor communities using the social-technical-economic-environmental-policy, or STEEP.

Dr. Zaheer Allam (Mauritius) investigates the dynamics shaping urban life in the Anthropocene to better build policies enhancing both livability and economic levels in future cities, set to host the majority of humans on earth.

Dr. Ibrahim Cissé (Niger) is interested in developing high-resolution methods of microscopy that go directly inside living cells, and single bio-molecules which could decode human genome from DNA into RNA.

Dr. Menattallah Elserafy (Egypt) studies DNA repair mechanisms, working to understand cellular processes which deciphered will change diagnostics and pave roads for personalized therapies.

Dr. Obidimma Ezezika (Nigeria) is studying processes that help contribute to developing new industrial models for effectively taking health interventions to scale in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Jesse Gitaka (Kenya) works on malaria elimination, prompt diagnosis, and management of sub-clinical maternal bacterial infections that eliminate stillbirths, prematurity, maternal and newborn sepsis, and mortality.

Dr. Alpha Keita (Guinea) hopes to develop, together with his team in the Guinea and France, the reservoirs of viruses to better understand the natural history of Ebola virus spread.

Dr. Agnes Kiragga (Uganda) hopes to merge data science and machine learning methods to available “large data” and existing health records to predict and prevent HIV among high-risk groups in Africa.

Dr. Eric Lontchi (Cameroon) investigates ways of combating the burgeoning epidemic of obesity and diabetes, hoping to uncover new insights into the pathogenesis of and potential treatments for diabetes.

Dr. Salome Maswime (South Africa) leads a research initiative to scale up the implementation of the perinatal problem identification program model to four other healthcare systems in Africa.

Dr. Blesssing Mbabie (Nigeria) seeks to cover the real-time status of antimicrobial resistance and social factors that drive it, discovering natural drugs with high potential inhibitors of an antimicrobial resistance mechanism.

Dr. Ebele Mogo (Nigeria) is involved in research that aims to transform societal systems that recognize African contextual realities when designing healthy communities and preventing non-communicable diseases.

Dr. Vidushi Neergheen-Bhujun (Mauritius) is determined to connect the dots between the role of functional food and cancer prevention.

Dr. Marian Nkansah (Ghana) focuses on developing public knowledge on toxic chemicals from unusual places, and the associated risk on local communities, strengthening the intersection of scientific evidence and policy.

Dr. Eucharia Nwaichi (Nigeria) leads to research projects that aim to find sustainable and safe sanitation strategies for the remediation of petroleum-impacted environments in the Niger Delta.

Dr. Cecil Ouma (Kenya) leverages current research on energy materials and associated technologies, with hope to innovate cheap and small-scale off-grid technologies for rural and peri-urban settlements in Africa.

Dr. Dyllon Randall (South Africa) hopes to change our modern sanitation systems to focus on resource recovery rather than mere treatment, moving communities to rethink “waste” as valuable resources.

Dr. Samson Rwahwire (Uganda) is using his knowledge of material science and nanotechnology to modify bitumen for road construction utilizing green nanoscience as a crosslinker for plastic waste.

Dr. Cheikh Sarr (Senegal) is interested in developing a prototype of a self-driven vehicle, equipped by a lot of sensors networks in order to facilitate the mobility of people with disabilities.

Dr. Geoffrey Siwo (Kenya) hopes to combine artificial intelligence with genetic data and scientific knowledge as a means of accelerating the discovery of fundamental principles that could enable equitable development of precision medicine.

Dr. Sara Suliman (Sudan), co-inventor of a four-gene biomarker, investigates why genes involved in electrolyte regulation across mammalian cell membranes might confer susceptibility to the world’s deadliest pathogen: Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Dr. Jessica Thorn (Namibia) uses social-ecological system modeling and participatory scenario planning to investigate and measure the impact of development corridors in land use, livelihoods, ecosystem, and social coherence.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

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New Findings Show Entrepreneurs Who Go Alone Survive More

April 30, 2019

Entrepreneurs who slug it out alone appear to have the upper hand in running startups that survive than their counterparts who run startups as teams.

Jason Greenberg, assistant professor of management and organizations at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business, and Ethan Mollick, associate professor of management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in their recent working paper, once again brought to light a strongly debated question among academics and entrepreneurs over which approach is more suited for long-term success. Solo-founded companies or team-led ventures?

The Research Took Seven Years To Arrive At This Conclusion

Jason Greenberg and Ethan Mollick found over the course of seven years during which the study lasted, that solo-founded ventures were more than 2.6 times more likely to remain in business than companies with three or more founders.

The researchers also found that solo founders were 54% less likely than teams of three or more to dissolve or suspend business functions without actually closing, and about 41% less likely to do so than two-person teams.

Also See: Best Ways To Carry Out Market Research As A Startup

The study also found that the solo ventures generated more average revenue than ventures with two founders—and they brought in at least as much revenue, and often more, than those with three or more.

Key Highlights of The Findings

The researchers focused on a group of 3,526 companies that crowdfunded using the Kickstarter platform.
Collectively, these companies raised $151 million in crowdfunding cash and generated about $358 million in total revenue between 2009 and 2015.
Dr. Greenberg notes that the solo-run companies, as a group, raised less money initially—even though they often went on to generate more revenue and last longer than their counterparts.

Reasons For Reaching This Conclusion

Although the findings needed more testing, according to Dr. Greenberg. The data shows that:

“The more cooks you put into the kitchen, the more likely there is to be disagreement about what ingredients you should use and so forth,”

“It’s too early to form conclusions about the extended data. But preliminary analyses suggest that the solo ventures in this group are also more successful in terms of revenue and long-term survival than team-built businesses.

Single entrepreneurs remain the ultimate decision makers and bring in help only when they need it. By contrast, with team-led companies, decision-making holds the possibility of becoming contentious.’’ Dr Greengberg says.

Consequently, the research team has expanded its research to include a variety of sources, including the Crunchbase business database, the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II startup survey and a proprietary survey of more than 1,500 high-potential Wharton graduates, according to Dr. Greenberg.

The Disagreement And The Argument

A case would be made for why a high number of highly successful companies that started out as teams, such as Microsoft ,Apple , Google, eBay , Netflix , and Facebook

Also See: How International Organisations Are Helping Startups In Africa

But Alden Zecha, executive in residence at the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, was quick to point out that the reason may not be far-fetched: these team-founded startups survived and ended up more successful because there was the presence of that single dominant team member.

However, critics say both methods have their respective pros and cons, and that there’s no easy answer to the question. Rather, they say, the long-term success of a business can depend on factors such as:

The size of the venture
The industry
Founder experience
The number of collaborators
The dynamics of the founding team, if there is one.

The Research Is Already Changing The Way Things Are Done.

It seems Dr. Greenberg is not readily buying into any further tests, even if there has to be one. He has, consequently, adjusted his classroom approach. Instead of allowing students to work in groups to develop business concepts, he has shifted to teaching them the skills they need to be successful on their own, such as how to hire the right people to balance their skill set and hire quickly, if necessary.

“Given the choice, many students are opting to go the solo route,
Indeed, for some entrepreneurs, the solo approach may be prudent,” he says.

“While teams might be great once a venture is established and off the ground, starting a company requires decision-making speed and the authority to take chances, which can be harder with a team,” says John Bly, chief executive officer of LBA Haynes Strand, a provider of accounting, audit and advisory services.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.