A local hero, Olumide Obafemi, once said, “Transparency and accountability are essential ingredients for the success of public procurement.” Unfortunately, as an Open Government and Open Data advocate, I have seen firsthand the devastating impact that lack of transparency and accountability can have on African public procurement. …

Step-by-Step Guide with Code Examples to Improve Your Database Queries — Once upon a time, a young developer struggled with slow database queries. Every time he tried to fetch data, the wheel spun and spun until finally, the results appeared. He tried every trick in the book, but nothing seemed to work. While browsing through the Laravel documentation, one day, he…

Don’t Let Large Numbers Obscure the Story in Your Data — When it comes to data visualisation, the devil is in the details. One small formatting mistake can make a big difference in the readability and effectiveness of your visualisations. This is especially true when dealing with large numbers, such as trillions. …

Unlock the power of data analysis and skyrocket your career with these proven techniques — Introduction: As data analysts, we’re always looking for ways to improve our skills and stay ahead of the curve. But sometimes, it can feel overwhelming to try and take on too much at once. That’s why I want to share with you some small changes you can make in your daily…

Avoid Common Pitfalls and Optimize Your Database Performance — Introduction: As a data person, it’s not uncommon to come across foreign key constraints in MySQL. These constraints are crucial in maintaining the integrity of your database, but they can also be a source of frustration when they don’t work as expected. …

Want to Build a Government Procurement Portal that Meets OCDS Standards? Here’s How (And What to Avoid) — Introduction: Building a government procurement portal compliant with the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is no easy feat. As an open data specialist, I have worked on several government procurement portals and learned much from my experiences. I remember the first time I took on the task of building a government…

Easily create beautiful, functional, and accessible code with these must-have tools. — Have you ever stared at a screen full of code for hours, trying to make sense of it all? Have you ever wished for a magic wand to make it all look neat and organised? Look no further, my friends. …

A list of key performance indicators that will help stakeholders uncover the truth and drive change — Have you ever wondered how infrastructure projects operate? How much is taxpayer money truly building better roads, bridges, and public spaces? How can we ensure these projects are carried out ethically and sustainably? As an Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard specialist, I have spent years working on transparency and…

Stop Struggling with Inconsistent Data Formats and Try Regular Expressions. — As a data analyst, I know the pain of dealing with messy, inconsistent data. I remember spending hours trying to clean and format my data, only to find that there were still errors and inconsistencies that I couldn’t fix. …