Nigerian-American engineer Yinka Ogunbiyi and co-founder David Afolabi created HaloBraid, the world’s first automated hair-braiding robot. Built to work alongside stylists, the device promises to braid sections up to five times faster.

The invention, described as the world’s first automated hair-braiding robot, was designed to speed up protective hairstyling. Its first public demonstration, shared in October 2026, showed the device carrying out the repetitive weaving involved in braiding.

Unlike a machine designed to take over an entire salon appointment, HaloBraid works alongside a stylist. The professional sections the hair and starts each braid by hand before the device takes over the finishing process. The stylist then completes the final touches. According to the company, the technology can help stylists braid individual sections up to five times faster.

Ogunbiyi’s idea came from personal experience. During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, she attempted to make knotless braids herself after she could not leave home for a salon appointment. The process took her four days. The experience prompted her to ask why no device existed to make braiding faster.

As a biomechanical engineer with degrees from Harvard University, Ogunbiyi teamed up with David Afolabi to develop the technology. The pair spent years refining the invention, building more than 600 prototypes and consulting braiders to understand the demands of the industry.

Their work earned them Harvard University’s President’s Innovation Challenge in 2025. Ogunbiyi announced the achievement on LinkedIn, where she said the team was honoured to have been selected from a competitive group of startups and to present its mission before an audience of about 2,000 people. The win came with a $75,000 grand prize.

The founders say the device is intended to reduce the physical strain that comes with hours of repetitive hand movements, which can contribute to pain and injuries among professional braiders. It also aims to shorten appointments for customers who often spend several hours in salon chairs.

HaloBraid has since secured $7 million in seed funding to support its commercial rollout. Its development places Ogunbiyi at the intersection of engineering, beauty and technology, with an invention built around a familiar task for millions of people who wear braids.

Mo Abudu has opened a London cinema dedicated to African and Black films, saying her experiences growing up in England inspired her to help change perceptions of Africa.Abudu opened EbonyLife Place London on Thursday, 8 October, in south-west London near Nine Elms, with a 160-seat auditorium for films, performances and cultural events. AFP describes it as the UK’s first cinema dedicated exclusively to African and Black films. London Mayor Sadiq Khan joined the opening. The centre will also showcase African food and fashion.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Africa shared on X on Friday, Abudu recalled that when people were asked what came to mind at the word Africa, the answers she heard were “poverty” and babies with flies on their faces. She said those images came largely from what people read in newspapers and saw on television.

Growing up in England, she said, she found herself acting as an ambassador for everything African or Nigerian and was often asked “the most pathetic questions.” She said people sometimes said hurtful things and she learned to swallow them and move on. Racism is real, she said, and the way to deal with it is to offer a different narrative.

She described the cinema as a permanent, round-the-clock home for African and Black films, food and fashion. She stressed that it isn’t meant to keep those films off other platforms, but that because the community is underrepresented, it needs spaces where it feels safe and can share its own content while inviting the rest of the world in. The only way to do that, she said, is to be in charge of the narrative.

Membership will be open to everyone, with no ethnic or nationality restrictions, though details of the scheme have not been announced.

The programme is still being finalised, but Abudu has said it will include films from across Africa and movies that celebrate Black actors and storytelling, alongside the centre’s own productions and the next Black Panther film. She told AFP she would like to open a similar space in Paris, possibly through a partnership.

The wedding of TikTok stars Habeeb Hamzat, popularly known as Peller, and Elizabeth Amadou, better known as Jarvis, was filled with memorable moments. Beyond the glamorous outfits, celebrity guests, and cultural displays, it was the extravagant gifts presented to the newlyweds that became one of the biggest talking points.

Even before the wedding day, gifts had already started pouring in, while several admirers promised to present theirs during the ceremony. Peller’s longtime TikTok supporter, Gregory, kicked off the celebrations with a generous wedding gift of $20,000.

Gregory travelled to Nigeria specifically for the wedding and expressed excitement about being part of the occasion. Speaking during the event, he also revealed his interest in investing in Nigeria. “I can’t relocate, but Peller and Peller are going to work on some investment opportunities in Nigeria. One of the things that I really wanna do is open a school here. Hopefully we can do it; that would be my dream

One of the biggest surprises of the day came from Delta based billionaire Mohammed Ochacho, who presented the couple with a mansion worth ₦400 million in Lifecamp, Abuja.

While announcing the gift, the businessman explained that his children encouraged him to make the presentation. “On behalf of my children, I am presenting a brand new house for you worth ₦400 million in Lifecamp, Abuja.”

The gesture came just days after Peller met Ochacho at music executive Soso Soberekon’s event. During that meeting, the billionaire introduced the content creator to some of his associates and had earlier promised him 10 cows as part of his wedding gifts. Peller later jokingly called him out for not fulfilling that promise before the mansion was eventually unveiled.

In June 2026, Peller proposed to Jarvis during a private beachside ceremony at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Ghana

Just weeks later, he paid her bride price during a traditional introduction ceremony in Edo State, after which they had a court wedding.