▎AFRICA DAILY UTILITY · power · money · status · USSD

What is Africa Daily Utility?

A free, data-light utility panel for daily life in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. It puts four things on one fast page: power outage information (South African load-shedding stages explained, with EskomSePush, Eskom, KPLC and ECG official links), money tools — live mid-market exchange rates for NGN, KES, GHS and ZAR, a currency converter and a remittance true-cost checker that reveals the hidden exchange-rate margin on top of the fee (Sub-Saharan remittances average ~8%, the world’s most expensive corridor), official status portals — JAMB results, WAEC result checkers, NIN services, Nigerian passports, SASSA SRD grant status, matric results, KNEC and eCitizen — and verified USSD codes, including Nigeria’s NCC-harmonised codes (*310# balance, *312# data, *996# NIN-SIM) and bank codes (*737#, *901#, *919#, *966#, *894#). No app install, no account — it works on cheap data and old Android phones.

Notable African tech companies

A curated cross-section of the continent’s tech economy (not a ranking — see the FT’s annual “Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies” list for formal rankings):

Give back — high-impact charities working in Africa

How to donate: use each organisation’s official donation page (card or PayPal; some accept M-Pesa locally). Never give through unofficial collectors:

Power users: open the >_TERM tab for a terminal with 32 commands — help, convert 100 usd ngn, remit 200 5 1340, code balance, startups, donate givedirectly and more. All figures are for information only; official sources are always authoritative.

How to use

  1. Pick your country — Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana or South Africa. Your choice is remembered on this device only.
  2. Switch tabs — ⚡ POWER for outage information, 💱 MONEY for rates, the converter and the remittance checker, 🗂 GOV for official status portals, 📟 USSD for verified dial codes, and >_TERM for the command terminal.
  3. Check the source — every card links to the official portal (Eskom, KPLC, ECG, JAMB, WAEC, SASSA, NCC and so on) so you can verify before acting.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free? Do I need an account?
Completely free, no account and no app install. Settings such as your country choice are stored only in your browser’s localStorage and are never sent to a server.
How fresh are the exchange rates, and why does my bank quote differ?
Rates shown are live mid-market rates from public APIs — the midpoint between global buy and sell prices. Banks, apps and street bureaus add their own margin on top, so their quote will always be slightly worse. Use the mid-market rate as your benchmark to judge how fair an offer is.
What is load-shedding, and what do the stages mean?
Load-shedding is South Africa’s scheduled rotational power cut, used when electricity demand exceeds supply. Each stage roughly corresponds to how much national load must be shed — higher stages mean longer and more frequent outages in your area. Always confirm your suburb’s schedule on EskomSePush or your municipality’s page, which this panel links to.
Why does my remittance cost more than the advertised fee?
Because of the hidden exchange-rate margin. A transfer that advertises a “low fee” may convert your money at a rate several percent worse than mid-market. True cost = fee + FX margin, and the remittance checker on the MONEY tab computes exactly that. Sub-Saharan Africa averages around 8% — comparing two or three providers before sending routinely saves real money.
Are the USSD codes official and safe?
The codes listed are NCC-harmonised network codes and the banks’ own published shortcodes. Dial them from your registered SIM only, and never enter your PIN into a code someone sent you in a message — banks never ask for that.
Does it work on slow data and old phones?
Yes — that is the design goal. The page is a single lightweight document with no images and no framework payload, so it loads on 2G/3G connections and old Android browsers.