Yasmine E-Mehairy doesn't have children yet. No doubt this is the reason that, one day in in the fall of 2010, she was struck by the stresses of her sister-in-law's pregnancy, by the difficulty in finding useful information, and the impossibility...
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Winch 5
Latest posts
Journal - Why I left San Francisco
Winch 5, my global tour of innovation, is actually the natural continuation of the 16 years I spent in Mexico, and the 14 years in California after that. In each case I was looking for things that could change the world. Maybe I got stuck in a May...
Read moreInformation Dissemination
I was joking when I said that The Economist,The New York Times and Foreign Policy were following Winch 5's trail, celebrating innovation coming from regions beyond those normally covered. I also found a lot of useful things in the articles. The most...
Read moreLearning from Silicon Valley and Africa
As you know, Winch 5 is on the search for the innovations coming from other places, with the hope of finding the most interesting things being done in in the world today. The idea came to me after I realized that Silicon Valley was losing momentum....
Read moreRobots in Kenya
Hidden in one of the University of Nairobi's buildings, Fablab is a veritable treasure trove. One that I describe in more detail in my column published this week's Le Monde's Sciences&Technos supplement.But I also have some photos to share.First,...
Read moreWhen Winch 5 Beats The Economist, The New York Times and Foreign Policy to the Story
I'm joking, obviously, but this makes me happy nonetheless. The value of my investigation/reportage into innovation off the beaten path has just been confirmed by three publications.The cover of this week's Economist is dedicated to "Africa Rising."...
Read moreJournal – Be zen and charge ahead
The surgery was "a little bit over two weeks ago", and I'm still in bed like an idiot, leg up on a pillow, since it's still a bit swollen. I don't feel bad, but I really don't like this bluish foot and its sick and fatty toes.Right now, I should be...
Read moreA pause for surgery, but I carry on
Facts first: I just had an emergency operation on my Achilles tendon, for the second time in six months. It hasn't been a serious problem, but it is rather disabling. Since the first operation wasn't successful, I had to accept that a second was...
Read moreCan an African eBay Save the Continent?
Herman Chinery-Hesse was described to me as "the African Bill Gates," but what he's launching is more like the continent's eBay. He lacks the Microsoft founder's fortune and power, but he did launch a software company serving SME's in Ghana, where he...
Read moreOn Innovation: Omar Christidis, Lebanon.
I met Oman Christidis during my stay in Cairo. Christidis, of Greek, Palestinian and Syrian origin, is the founder of ArabNet, a conference for Middle Eastern startups and investors.His goal: "Connect the region's leaders and give them a chance to...
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