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Win cash and material prizes each and every passing day! While we help you learn new things and connect with new friends, WINNING great prizes is also a premeditated component of LaaWin for you. You will appreciate the uniqueness of Africa and Africans, the strength of our diversity, the abundance of our resources and the vastness of our territory. Keep learning, keep winning!

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Connect with your clime at a deeper level. Share your experiences, make new friends, grow your network and cross-fertilize ideas... LaaWin provides that environment where you can engage and interact with fellow vibrant Africans at varying degrees of interests across the globe. Feel like home, from wherever you are!

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Whether you are 16 or 60, if you have something to share, LaaWin is there for you. Not only will you be empowering others intellectually, you will also be rewarded for your contribution here and now. So, go ahead, and create! Your contents can be in any context or format; articles, blogs, researches, documentaries, movies, trainings (DIY), expositions, interviews, and so on. Share your story, your way.

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Education& technology

LAAWIN- Changing the Narrative

Laawin is an educational app leveraging Africa's budding tech ecosystem to enlighten the young African demographic on everything that concerns Africa. Laawin seeks to solve a social, psychological, and economic need in today's society via education and its inbuilt reward system. To get the best of the app one has to read through the daily articles, purchase quiz credit, participate in the quizzes and earn your rewards. Click below to read more.  WHAT IS LAAWIN? Laawin is an educational and social engagement platform that's leveraging the tech ecosystem in Africa to educate young Africans on everything that concerns the African continent. It is a product of Laawin D’Afrique Limited, a company incorporated under the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The name LAAWIN is an acronym and stands for "Learn Africa And Win". The main focus of Laawin is repositioning Africa in the minds of Africans. It intends to achieve this by leveraging technology to restore the interest of Africans in reading, studying, researching and appreciating African History, culture, and values. A wise man once said the recipe for success is to first recognize a need and then reach out to meet that need. Laawin is positioned to meet various needs currently present within the African society. These needs can be grouped into: Social Needs Psychological Needs Economic Needs SOCIAL NEEDS Human beings are social beings. The need to have social interactions is essential for human mental, psychological and total wellbeing. When people experience problems, emotional concerns, or life challenges, the first instinct is usually to reach out to someone else for support. Social needs are essential for the progression of the human tribal nature after other basic needs such as the need for security have been met. The importance of social needs which includes a feeling of belonging, connection, love, relationships, is very obvious as no man is an island and we all need people to succeed in life no matter how intellectual we are. This fact has been corroborated by several researchers and explained in various theories of socialization such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs concept and Durkheim's theory of collective representation. Via various social media apps and innovations, humans have tried to satisfy the human need for socialization. In Africa, there is a gawking chasm in satiating the social needs of the African people. This is because few exclusively Pan-African Social platforms satisfy the social needs of Africans as a people. There is a deep-seated need for an Afrocentric platform where African youth can cross-fertilize ideas and values that are peculiar to them.  There seems to be a gross deficit of social and cultural connection among African youths. The gap is so pronounced that young people in neighboring countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon have no understanding of how deeply connected they are culturally, historically, and otherwise. The invisible bond that holds Africa together has been downplayed for far too long as there is no social platform for Africans to realize, express, and explore their interconnectivity while having fun and creating new well-meaning relationships and connectivity.  A social platform where African like-minds are discussing and making resolutions that will bring advancements and solutions for themselves in a way only Africans can understand is the solution to the problem. LAAWIN is the answer. PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS “The pot calling the kettle black.” This is the very expression that describes the psychology of a lot of Africans. Why would a Nigerian boy with big black lips call his Ghanaian brother ugly because he has a big wide nose? For the same physical features which they share. There is an error in our identity. As Africans, we must be united in our mindset; both young and old because everything we see begins from within. Why do racism, xenophobia, and discrimination exist in the world? MINDSET. That’s where alignment starts. Many African youths are not proud of their countries, accents, food smells, clothing, and skin color. Many of us look down on our fellow Africans because of an unconsciously internalized hate for ourselves. Psychology explains that any hate for another person is a projection of our unhealed traumas. As individuals, the way we see ourselves creates an identity. In the world we live in, relationships are created from the little conversations with market sellers, colleagues, neighbors, etc. In these relationships, there is either a dominant and subordinate relationship or mutual respect for one another. Yes, many colonial states and businesses have benefitted from Africa and have taken the dominant role in the relationship by insisting on their ideas and system of doing things. For so long, Africans have taken the subordinate role and patterned their lifestyles to fit into the acceptable practice of the West, while losing the very thing that made Africa great in History- their strong sense of identity and national pride. The first step is to accept that there is a problem. For example, “My name is Serwa and I don’t like my kinky hair because I don’t think it’s cool.” Okay, you’re an African girl with kinky hair but you don't appreciate the texture of your hair. Now, we understand that this is a social problem for Serwa. She wants to be cool to fit into social standards but as an individual, she needs to be seen, appreciated, and valued; in other words, “cool”. Laawin would say to Serwa through short interesting articles; “Three healthy ways to style your kinky hair.” It introduces ways Serwa can love herself and wear on her confidence because that is the core ingredient to beauty, power, and handling every uncomfortable thing in life. It is the role of Laawin to point out these little psychological and identity problems we often overlook intending to change the narrative in our minds. Sometimes, all we need is a little talk, a little read, a little support, and the Laawin app provides a social hub and safe space to learn and discuss the African identity, uniting us and making Africa stronger than ever. ECONOMIC NEEDS The economic sector of many African states is not strong enough to cater to the adult masses which are from the age of 40 and above let alone to cater for the youth (40 and below). A lot of African youths are currently in survival mode. Several platforms have taken advantage of this hunger to succeed and pushed the young population into various Ponzi schemes and non-sustainable survival methods which only succeed in aggravating their already desperate situation. LAAWIN meets the yearning of all African youth as it creates a means of earning that will help one cater for himself and the immediate family. LAAWIN is a platform that is focused on solving many financial challenges via its inbuilt reward system which in turn would boost the economic quality of any African youth that actively participates on the platform.   HOW DOES LAAWIN WORK? To get the best of what LAAWIN has to offer, you have to understand how it works. DAILY ARTICLES & QUIZZES Every day on the Laawin app, articles are populated by our team of seasoned content creators. These articles are stories on various broad categories of interest in Africa. The broad categories include African history and culture, Lifestyle, Human and Natural resources, Education& Technology, Entertainment among others. You can read these articles on the app at any time during the day. You can learn something new each day from any of the articles on the app. Quizzes are attached to each article and are set for certain times of the day. The duration for a quiz is 5 mins and winners are selected by the system based on who finished the quiz in the shortest possible time. You can enter a quiz at any time within the 5 minutes timeframe but you can only win if you finished in the shortest time. Winners are rewarded immediately via a payment into their registered bank accounts. Runners up are also rewarded daily. To participate in a quiz, you have to purchase quiz credit. One quiz credit goes for fifty Naira (N50) and you can buy a maximum of ten quiz credits at any point in time via the pay stack portal on the app. You can also earn quiz credit via our referral system. To earn one (1) quiz credit you would have to refer 5 people to download the using your unique referral code. MEGA QUIZZES Mega quizzes are the weekly highlights of the LAAWIN platform. These quizzes come up every Saturday and are based on all the articles that have been populated on the app within the week. To participate in a Mega quiz would cost you five (5) quiz credits. The rewards on the mega quizzes are grand cash prizes ranging from a hundred and fifty Naira (N150000) to seven hundred thousand Naira (N700000). Academic scholarships can also be won during a Mega quiz. Now you know why we say this quiz is the highlight of the week. BE A LAAWIN CONTENT CONTRIBUTOR You can contribute stories from wherever you are in Africa by signing up to be a LAAWIN contributor. The stories would have to meet the LAAWIN criteria. The LAAWIN criteria for article selection are that articles must be Afrocentric, Original (not plagiarized), Simple, not inciteful, Authentic, and Interesting. Articles that are accepted will attract a fixed remuneration to the writer. LAAWIN is aiming at creating the largest archive of articles about Africa and you can be part of making that come true. 4. ENGAGE OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS Become a Top fan on our social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and be the first to know about any juicy details about the LAAWIN app. LAAWIN has come to stay and we are changing the narrative one article at a time.    

13 July 2021
Education& technology

MELANIN CHEMISTRY

Melanin and Melanin popping is a trending cool phrase and reality that has majestically gained its way into mainstream entertainment and pop culture. The Melanin popping hashtags on social media would almost make up an ocean. The huge celebration of melanin seemingly dawned magically on the entire universe as it should, because for years melanin and melanin-loaded people have ignorantly been stigmatized and made to feel ashamed while it should have never been so. Melanin is a biological magic and protective blessing of nature responsible for much of skin color in humans, especially dark skin. And beautiful dark skin is synonymous with only Africa! Nothing speaks Africa as much as the dark melanin-popping brown skin girl. But just what is melanin, is melanin worth all the hyping, is it worth the international mesmerizing and sensational waves it's making. The simple answer is found in the chemistry of melanin and it is a firm positive! Melanin is a chemical produced in our body by skin cells called melanocytes. Melanin is a naturally occurring pigment that comes in several forms, it exists in a broad spectrum of pigments found in hair follicles, eyes, on the epidermis (the lowest layer of the skin), and other vital organs of most organisms. It does not exist in the skin alone. The chemical constituents of melanin include a mixture of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. The chemical formula of melanin is C18H10N2O4, giving melanin a molecular weight, or molar mass, of 318 grams per mole (g/mol). A mole of Melanin is a three-dimensional configuration of over 200 individual atoms. Melanin is a life chemical with charges, its absence or deficiency in the body could pose serious skin conditions such as albinism, an autosomal recessive gene, or vitiligo. Melanin is produced in the body through a multistage chemical process known as Melanogenesis. In Melanogenesis, the chemical reactions and biosynthetic pathways where the oxidation of the amino acid tyrosine is followed by polymerization ends in the release of melanin into a specialized group of cells; the keratinocytes and the melanocytes The synthesis of melanin is followed by its storage in the melanosomes, a body within the melanocytes. Melanin comes in various spectrums but the most common type of melanin is eumelanin, the “good melanin’’. Melanin is one of the most significant, though not the only determining factor of skin color. When melanin is present in higher quantities, a darker, more brown skin color results, whereas a low level of melanin means lighter skin. The more melanin you have the darker you are, and the less melanin you have the lighter you are, this explains the melanin popping and glistening of the African skin. This difference in skin color due to the melanin content is determined by the level of chemical reaction and activeness of an individual’s melanocytes. Some people’s melanocytes are more active than those of others hence producing more melanin. Another melanin triumph for  Africa is its ability to protecting our skin from Ultraviolet rays (UV rays) that we get from the sun. Excess UV radiation is associated with an increased risk of malignant melanoma, a cancer of melanocytes (melanin cells), Which results in skin Cancer. But With more exposure to the sun, our bodies produce more melanin because it's melanin's job to protect us from the potentially harmful effects of excessive sunlight. The body's production is specific to our requirements. The more the pigment, the more is the protection from sun rays. That is why black skin has a lesser susceptibility to skin cancer when compared to lighter skin. Its presence in the nervous system, glands, brains, DNA, the intestines, heart, liver, and even plants sustain life. Asides from its deficiency, oxidative stress, an unhealthy diet, and low pH levels can reduce Melanin production in the body. Melanin also increases the transmission rate of neurons and signals throughout the body’s nervous system. Melanin in the blood circulative system of Blacks as well as other factors causes blood crystallization patterns positively different from Caucasians. These are some of the many reasons why Blacks have unique nutritional, medical, and dietary records and also needs. The perspective on skin tones especially from an international viewpoint has been restructured due to Africa discovering the magic chemistry of Melanin. Africans have chosen to showcase and celebrate this knowledge of the abilities and value of Melanin flowing in abundance in the African brown skin. It is a thing of pride as the African color, in all its shade is beautiful and worth celebrating every day!

11 May 2021
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