Africa changes Africa. Fast Company, the international magazine that talks about digitization and technology in the entrepreneurial class, has compiled the list of the 10 most innovative companies in Africa. It is a way of talking about Africa differently, leaving the clichés that depict only its poverty and pointing out the experiences of people who have been able to “fulfil themselves”.

The result of it is a survey of far-sighted entrepreneurs working in various fields, and in many cases they provide the weakest areas of the population with essential services.

We can cite M-KOPA (Kenya) as an example who devised a system, based on solar-energy technology, to supply electric energy to the rural areas where it is still lacking, with the aim of offering to the poor families a cheaper and safer alternative involving kerosene.

Other services for the most underdeveloped areas in Africa are those provided by One Acre Fund which offers on credit, seeds and fertilizers, to small and medium farmers. It is a new idea of “loan”, not of money but of raw materials, which up to now has helped more than 200 thousand people.

Jobberman (Nigeria) and Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology, however, devote themselves to the world of work. The former tackles the problem of unemployment, with a web platform that helps the meeting between the labour demand and supply. The latter furthers training courses for young entrepreneurs and directly backs the best start-ups.

Even Konga (Nigeria) contributes to the entrepreneur growth and runs an e-commerce platform that can be accessed by companies which mean to sell their products online.

Technology for education and culture. In the top ten compiled by Fast Company, there are many organisations working in the fields of education and culture. Such as Praekel Foundation writing open source software, available from cheap mobile phones, which provides useful information in the health, educational and financial fields.

A similar experience, although it is more focused on the children’s needs, is that of Eneza Education which produces educational contents in Kenya; they are also available from low-cost mobile phones and have been designed for the children of low-income households in the rural areas, who cannot attend school. This way, the students aged 11 to 18 have access to a real “virtual class”, with lessons, tests and an interface to connect with their teachers.

Children are also the target audience of two other companies: Ubongo (Tanzania) and Leti Arts (Ghana). Ubongo is the company producing “Ubongo Kids”, an educational cartoon, broadcasted on the Tanzanian television, which teaches elements of science and mathematics. Whereas Leti Arts, makes applications, plays and books that focus on African stories and legends, with the aim of revitalizing the folkloristic aspects of the continental culture, in opposition to the western models.

This line, in support of the African cultural potential, also includes the action of iROKOtv, an on-demand video company which releases all films of Nollywood and Ghallywood, that are the film industries in Nigeria and Ghana.