Deborah Bless, all known as Deborah Ogwuche, has made history today as one of the world’s first AI romance co-authors. The partnership between Deborah Bless and Chat GPT 3 to Co-author the book “Love Envoy” is among the first creative collaboration between an artificial intelligence and a human. The collaboration is unique because it explores boundless opportunities and how AI will shape  innovation in the writing profession.

According to Deborah Bless, the incorporation of AI in the writing of “Love Envoy” was like having a mentor to keep her focused and build a captivating piece that surpasses readers’ standards. In addition, she mentioned that the lucidity provided by AI in word selection and developing excitement was extraordinary and beyond her expectations.

Titled “Love Envoy,” the book tells the story of an immigrant Nigerian single mother on a journey of self-discovery and budding romance with an unlikely character. This book is expected to be the first of many AI co-authored works that will take the literary world by storm.

“Love Envoy” is launched today, April 1st, 2023 and will be made available to the public through Deborah Bless’s website, as well as notable book platforms. 

Deborah Bless expressed her excitement about the launch of “Love Envoy,” saying, “I am thrilled to have worked with OpenAI’s Chat GPT 3 on this groundbreaking project. I believe that this collaboration will inspire other writers to explore the possibilities that AI presents in co-authoring works of literature. I also cannot wait for readers to experience this captivating love story.”

For more information on “Love Envoy” and Deborah Bless’s works, visit her website and other leading book and social media platforms.

Marius Botha, Group CEO of aYo Holdings 

The past couple of years have been brutal for the African continent. We’ve been through Covid-19, and now we’re living through turbulent socio-economic times, with high inflation and rising prices causing untold consumer hardship in most countries. But despite this, the fintech industry is booming, thanks largely to exponential growth in mobile network coverage and smartphone use.

Indeed, Briter Bridges’ Africa Investment Report 2022 paints a picture of Africa as an increasingly viable investment destination, with growing numbers of major deals over the past 12 months alone. Needless to say, fintechs continue to dominate the market, grabbing up to 60% of all deals over the past half decade, including the highest value and highest profile deals.

As a result, African consumers are rapidly becoming more used to using digital financial products like Mobile Money (MoMo) and payments from the palm of their hand. And this is good for related industries like insurtech, which is surging as consumers transition to a world where financial services are easily accessible via mobile phone and transacted via apps and other channels.

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What’s particularly encouraging is the growth in early-stage support networks, which involve angel networks, seed funds and accelerator cohorts. Many promising start-ups, especially those in less glamorous parts of the fintech market, fail in their early stages precisely because of a lack of funding, and a greater appetite by funders to take on these risks can only benefit the continent’s fintech sector.

One of the major success stories for us has been the appetite for microinsurance in Africa, which has traditionally been the world’s most uninsured, and underinsured, continent. As its name suggests, microinsurance is small, rapidly underwritten financial protection that offers consumers financial protection against specific risks – like hospital cover for accidents, for example – for tiny premiums. Typically, policyholders can buy cover and claim directly from their mobile phones.

According to the IMARC Group’s latest report on global microinsurance trends, the market will grow to more than US$111 billion worldwide by 2027. A sizeable chunk of this growth will take place in Africa, where we’re only just scratching the surface of the demand for financial services products that make people’s lives easier and bring them into the financial mainstream.

What’s important about the growth of microinsurance is its impact not only on individuals and communities, but on entire economies. The impact of being insured is transformative: it not only drives greater financial inclusion, but it shields people with lower incomes from the economic shocks that would otherwise keep them locked into an endless cycle of poverty.

The kicker is that in spite of massive growth in investment into the continent in the past few years, all of Africa’s venture capital still only makes up around 1% of the world’s VC money. We’re still in our baby shoes. The phenomenal growth we’ve seen in fintech and start-ups in Africa in the past decade is only the beginning. We are still just exploring the potential of fintech and microinsurance to transform the lives of our people. 

Our continent is hungry for financial inclusion. We’re increasingly ready to take our place at the world’s top economic tables. In spite of the uncertain economic times we’re dealing with, the only way is up. It’s a great time to be in Africa.

By-lined by Marius Botha

Financial Realism in 2023 by Nchimunya Muvwende

It is the beginning of a new year, a fresh start that allows people to make resolutions and plans that can improve their lives. Many people’s lives have been ruined by a lack of realistic financial planning, which makes plans appear to be mere wishes. In our day, living beyond means has increasingly become a major cause of financial burdens that has affected individuals, marriages, businesses and countries. As you make your plans for this year, what factors should you put into consideration?

Societal pressure

Since we are all products of society, it stands to reason that the people we live with will have the biggest impact on how we choose to live. A lot of people have become indebted as a result of trying to appease society. Society will try to dictate what it views people should have or acquire but not provide the financial means for it. We find people hosting weddings beyond their financial means hence resorting to debt, people living in areas they can’t afford, buying cars which they can’t maintain, eating in expensive places and post on social media, all in a name of showing off that they too can afford.

In making 2023 plans, we should realize that living lives that aim to impress others but are beyond your financial means only serves to mess up your life. You should reflect how societal pressures has broken down marriages, depressed many and ruined the good plans that should have been implemented overtime. It is never a good idea to live above your means, get married on credit, rent a house that takes up practically all of your salary, or simply borrow for showoff. Remember that an expensive wedding is not a key to a successful marriage nor do expensive rentals guarantee good homes. The sad reality is that the lack of being real with ourselves has led people in a loop of debt that is increasing becoming impossible to escape and has in some unfortunate situations led to suicide cases.

Regardless of the pressure society exerts, if it is not supplying the resources, it should not promote notions that would only worsen people’s financial situations. As you plan your activities, realistically consider your financial situation, budget within your means and independently ensure that your future is not compromised by the desire to appease society. Do not buy things you do not need to impress people who may not even value you.

Life adjustment

According to the adage that life is full of ups and downs, there will be periods when things go as planned and when they don’t. Accepting that things have changed and the need for adjustment to a different environment has become a challenge, hence causing financial burdens. People are resisting adapting to changes in their circumstances. A person continues to live in an expensive rented home, drives an expensive car, maintains their children in an expensive school, and otherwise continues to lead a lavish lifestyle even after losing their job or having their business fail. Failure to adjust to circumstances and living a borrowed life only serves to create a stressful life.

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To sustain a lifestyle after a reduction in income, borrowing of money becomes an alternative. A lesson can be learnt from chameleons, creatures that change their color to suit their environment and this serves to protect them from certain dangers. You need to understand that downgrading your expenditure when your income changes serves to protect you from further worse financial repercussions arising from maintaining the status quo. Surely, why should you continue accumulating rental arrears when you can shift to a cheaper house, why incur higher fuel expense when you can move to a more fuel efficient vehicle and why should you keep faking your life to appease people who won’t help improve your financial situation? It is time that you realize that life has its own twists and turns that require us to adjust as you figure out a way to come out even stronger.

As you plan for this year, live life according to your means, buy what you can afford and borrow only when necessary. Remember that life is not a race, it is thus important that you are realistic in your planning and execution of them. A borrowed life is both never good and is only a time bomb. 

Prioritization 

The money that we are able to generate limits the standard of life that we can comfortably afford. In this New Year, we all should evaluate how we have lived in the past, whether we are living a genuine life and what has caused financial constraints. We should prioritise our spending to areas that matter the most. Instead of borrowing for showoff, why don’t you use that car for business? Why not focus on reducing financial pressure in marriage by hosting a wedding that is within your means? Why not shift to a cheaper house, downgrade your car or phone and use that excess money for investment? Why should you continue holding on to debt, borrowing from whatever means you can and end up living a depressed life? In this New Year, let us all focus on what is important, postpone what can be done and prioritise what improves our welfare. Simple rule, if it’s not a necessity, don’t borrow to get it. 

Since the New Year promises a fresh start, may this be the year that we are honest with ourselves by objectively assessing our financial condition and developing a budget-friendly strategy as we explore ways to increase our financial security. We should restructure our spending in 2023, only borrow when absolutely necessary, and instead save, invest, and generate wealth.