*iHub_ Balcony

*iHub_ Kenya’s first public incubation and innovation centre is fired up and ready to go. Talking to iHub Manager and Founding member Jessica Colaco one can almost feel like grabbing a tent and camping here…

This is primarily because a lot of goodies await those techies with ideas in their heads and the drive to make them reality.

The iHub according to Erik Hersman(Hash) will be a place for innovators to meet investors which presents unprecendent opportunities to those fired up and ready to go.

Kenya has many talented developers many of whom, had hitherto not had any access to a place where they can nurture their ideas.

iHub will be launched by Kenya’s Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo on 3rd March 2010 i.e. (tomorrow for those reading this today

Hope to see you all at the Launch and if not at the iHub creating the next big thing.

Here is the live stream and  twitter discussion #iHublaunch…

GTUG Silicon Valley

I spent the better part of my Saturday interacting with the boys at Google Kenya.

Amhed  Maawy gave us a brief overview of what services Google is offering within the Kenyan Space.

They are:

1. Google Search
2. Google Site
3. Google Mail
4. Google Blogs
5. Google News
6. Google Chrome
7. Google App Engine

He also officially invited the members to the group. You can also join at

http://groups.google.co.ke/group/nairobigtug?hl=en

Next up was Andrew Wachira who gave a detailed description on how to use Google Sites and AppEngine, in that single session we learnt how to make simple Forms and collect data in SpreadSheet and CSV format.

We also learnt how to install and develop applications using Python and Google OS Databases.

We discovered that google basically offers huge space and bandwidth for you to develop your web applications.

Jeremiah Kamau showed us how to integrate and manipulate the Google Maps Engine and also announced that Google maps .co.ke for Kenya had been launched.

http://maps.google.co.ke

All in all the GTUG meeting was succesful with many questions and discussions on how Kenyans can succesfully use the google cloud.

For more details do join the group and learn new skills that could help you in future.

China Africa March

China continues to do business with Africa and this had led to an acrimonious debate on whether this is good or bad for the continent.

Many protagonists of the China Africa relationship say that Africans after so long are finally tired of the endless manipulations of the west which for many years have led to the beefing up of African dictators and despots mainly through AID and subsequent derivatives of AID such as Civil conflict, corruption and ethnic power plays.

Consequently a distablized Africa has allowed the west to take its minerals and exploit is people.

Now the west increasingly shows Chinese Investments(which is NOT Aid) in bad light by alluding to the the invasion of Chinese workers.

Obviously to build those roads and buildings you don’t expect the untrained Angolans who have never seen such structures to all of a sudden know how to build sky scrapers.

Incidentally aren’t there millions of Chinese all over Europe doing the exact same thing.

However the Angolan government as well as other African governments should ensure that there is a transfer of technology and that should be the responsibility of the African people and their governments.

Here are two videos outlining this relationship in the last year which I hope shall put into perspective what is happening across the African continent.

Whive.com - Connecting Africa

Whive.com Kenya’s social network and the 1st Winner of Nokia’s Open Screen Fund in Africa is set to launch its mobile application for WAP and Nokia s40 and s60 mobile phones.

John Karanja at MWEA2010

Opening  Remarks
Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the second day of the first Mobile Web Conference in East Africa. Technology today, in particular Mobile and Web technology is increasingly becoming an essential part of our life. Today more than 30 percent of East Africans have access to mobile phone technology. Internet adoption in this region is also amongst the fastest growing in the world.

This has improved the livelyhoods of many citizens of EA by allowing them to interact more easily with other individuals, many whom are in far flung areas of the region.

The mobile phone for example allows us to  conduct business at an interpersonal level which is crucial for the economic development of the entire region as a whole.

Today we have a line up of fantastic speakers, in many different sectors that make up social life in Kenya as well Africa.

Closing Remarks
Many of you might recall, when just 11 years ago Kenya and much of the region was at the cusp of the mobile revolution, communication was difficult and our telecommunications infrastructure at the time was unreliable, if it existed at all in many parts of this region.

The last 10 years has seen a rapid growth of not only mobile technology but internet use of which many in this room rely on for their day to day livelyhood.

Today, we face a new challenge, albeit not very different from the one we faced 10 years ago. We find ourselves situated once again at the cusp of  what is surely a revolution , a revolution that we will not only participate in, but lead as well.

At stake is the economic fortunes of not only the countries in this region but our very own individual fortunes. So, we are called to define the path for this journey we are about to take.

Ladies and Gentlemen in this regard i wish you all the best of luck as you seek out to achieve your dreams and the dreams of this country and continent.

Thank you all once again.
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Dr Kahindi Shedrach

Due to popular demand I have posted Dr Kahindi Shedrach’s presentation on. I have also attached famous Blogger Bankelele’s notes on Kahindi’s presentation seeing that i have not had time to post my own.

Dr Kahindi Shedrach, Medical Director, Angelic Missions Mobile Hospital (e-mail kahindig_at_yahoo.com, info_at_angelicmissions.org) spoke about how can medical professional can use mobile phone to deliver information and bridge health gaps

Health care gaps in Kenya
- Lack of medical specialist in rural area
- Lack of medical information to prompt people to visit hospital early
- Lack of health to stop abuse of over the counter drugs (have headache, but take anti-malaria drugs OTC which later results in increased drug resistance)
- Poor doctor patient ratio – 1 doctor serves 7,100 people

They will use three technology channels:
(i) Mobile SMS (ii) web (iii) call centre
website and mobile has disease protocols, and a disease registry African Pixel
- have a central data processing centre (CDPC) that will improve prognosis and clinics will consult specialists to make right diagnosis and treatment (by phone or internet)
- increased health seeking behaviors, and get patient present selves to hospital early

Challenges:
- No legal framework for ICT in health innovation – had to open medial center first
- Lack of funding
- Reluctance to embrace mobile and web in health care
- And fear of job loss by clinicians
- Language barrier
- Political interference

Download PDF Presentation: http://bit.ly/bDEORq

Whive.com - Connecting Africa

Here is the Whive.com Mobile Web East Africa Presentation.

MOBILE WEB TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL PROGRESS

Social Progress Social Media

Manuscript Below

INTRODUCTION

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, and thank you for coming to my presentation, which is about mobile/web technology and social progress in East Africa.  As you have heard i am John Karanja the Founder of Whive.com a web and mobile social media platform for Africans.

FIRST SLIDE

On my first slide, there is an overview of the 6 main points of my talk. Let me go over them so that we are on the same page from start to finish.

• Where are we with regards to mobile/web technologies and social progress in East Africa?
• Where are we going?
• How can we get there?
• How long will it take to get there?
• What do we do when we get there?
• How do we remain competitive in the global market?

SECOND SLIDE

So let’s consider my first point Where are we?

• East Africa has 3% Internet use and between 30-40% telephone use. So there is a huge gap between access to mobile and web technologies.
• 10,000 KM of fibre optic cable throughout Kenya for example. The rest of the region is following this example to provide the crucial backbone for internet growth.
• East Africa also has on the one hand a AVERAGE 70% literacy rate in both English and Swahili which is  good  but on the other hand a poverty rate of 50% which is an undesireable obstacle to future growth.
• This mismatch between our literacy and poverty rate has to be addressed because this region has a potentially large market of about 120 million people, 60% of whom are under 24 years of age.

THIRD SLIDE

Now let’s move on to my next slide where I pose the question, where are we going?

• Would we not like to see 100% web and mobile coverage?
• Universal Literacy  will enable us to achieve 100% web & mobile coverage and this in turn will help achieve Universal Banking (e.g. MPESA). Equity has identified a niche whereby the will be banking the unbanked through Mpesa thus becoming the largest network of Mpesa in East Africa.
• If we achieve these goals this will allow us to deploy more web and mobile solutions such as social networks (Whive.com) to more people, which in turn will enhance social connectedness.
• One of the central keys which will be pivotal to the cost effectiveness of services will be to achieve the goal of universal banking through services such as mpesa. This will allow for the efficient flow of capital and ease of business transactions. Reduction of corruption because systems reduce the number of loopholes for corrupt practices.
• Building Distributed services for Health and Agriculture for example Brookside has developed a mobile distribution system for monitoring milk distribution.
• Only 10% of Kenyans are insured we need to develop these systems for them.

FOURTH SLIDE

Now How can we get there?

This can be achieved through Crowd sourcing and social mapping tools (e.g. USHAHIDI).

• I suggest using existing Networks both Social and Digital (e.g.  Mobile social networks like Whive.com can be utilized by existing social groups such as small investment clubs).
• Building Digital villages for capacity building.
• Increased competition in the ICT sector. Incentives for SME’s involved in ICT (e.g. Tax incentives and access to affordable technologies).
• Universal Primary Education in Basic Computing Skills. Youth are most creative. Rwanda is doing it so can we!
• Where is all this money going to come from to achieve this almost utopian dream. The Money to do this is in the pockets of Kenyans(Stock & Bond Markets, Private Equity and Venture Capital) .

FIFTH SLIDE

How long will it take to get there?

• Starting the journey is the hardest part!
• India achieved recognition in software development in 10 years.
• Kenya is already  earning a 1/5th of what India earns annually!!!
• Which means in essence we can compete with India in software development.
• More Social/Tech gatherings and building capacity for research in order to solve local problems and meet the computing needs  of people throughout the region.  e.g. This can be done through incubation centres such as iHub and ICT parks such as Sameer Business Park will be crucial in the short term.
• Concept ideas such as Malili Technopolis which is a city being built in Athi River modelled on Malaysian and Egyptian Digital cities will attract interest in this region in the long term.

SIXTH SLIDE

How do we remain competitive?

• Laying a stable foundation will enhance future growth.
• Technologies to connect villages (fibre optic, WI-MAX and 3g networks) are essential.
• We have to get the youth into the electronic and digital sectors  at the higher levels of education. This is because our Youth are the wealth of our nation and we should offer them Better employment opportunities.
• Expanding our own markets by localizing software (Whive.com).
• Increasing competition in ICT sector to get best prices possible(Regulation and Licencing such as CCK).
• Research, map social problems as they exist now to monitor social progress in the future (Ushahidi).

SEVENTH SLIDE

Conclusion
Just to recap my 5 main points…

• We need to assess where we are, our strengths and our weaknesses.
• We need to determine what we would like to achieve.
• We need to analyse what technologies and policies to implement to achieve these goals.
• We need to define a time line to achieve our desired goals.
• We need to establish how we shall remain competitive through giving incentives to SME’s and regulation to establish fair trade/play.

Have a look at www.Whive.com to see our social media project.
Download this presentation at www.JohnKaranja.com More content and analysis is available on the same website.

Mobile Web Applications

The Mobile Web East Africa conference will be held in Nairobi on 3rd and 4th February at the Hotel Intercontinental. I will be giving a lecture on Web/Mobile technologies and social progress.

Also speaking will be a whole host of leading experts and businessmen from the East African region and beyond. You can see the full list here [Faculty Speakers]. They include the Kenyan Minister for ICT  Mr Samuel Pogishio.

JOIN US

All Amber has negotiated a special rate at the venue for all Mobile Web East Africa attendees.  This allows you to secure a Superior Room for $205 instead of the normal price of $320.  To take advantage of this special rate please contact Elias Rachier on the telephone number above or email - Elias.Rachier@icnairobi.com

We also plan to set up a Live Stream for those who shall not be able to make it to the event.

DATE

3rd and 4th February 2010

THE VENUE

INTERCONTINENTAL NAIROBI
City Hall Way
City Square,
Nairobi
00200
Kenya

Google Earth on Nexus One

Having spent almost 4 days including today moving up and down London’s High street shops looking for the best mobile phone around, and having finally settled on Nokia N97 and the iPhone 3GS as the most likely candidates to meet that requirement.  Google needed to pull one out of the hat to convince me that better was out there.  THEY  DID !!!

Just have a look at the new Nexus One Google smart phone which is in all likelyhood a piece of googles long term strategy of setting up a cloud computing network based fundamentally on its operating system and google ethos of giving everything for free.

In my view the main motivation for google going forward was to mitigate against the damage mobile computing was doing to its internet search(advertising) business. Mobile Apps particularly on iPhone App Store and Nokia Ovi store had the potential of significantly reducing the usefulness of search engines on mobile computing devices hence the reason google joined the game albeit in spectacular fashion.

Indeed the first thing google has done is to place a search bar in the home interface of the Application OS to ensure that search remains a key feature of the phone.

Peter Chou, the CEO of HTC, the company that created the hardware of the Nexus One,  explained the genesis of the phone together with members of the Nexus One Google team.

Technical Specifications:

The specs match previous leaks. It’s a 3.7 AMOLED display with a trackball.

• It comes with features such as a light sensor, GPS, and accelerometer. These are all features pioneered by Apple’s iPhone.
• It’s 130 grams in weight and 11.5 mm in width, about the width of a standard #2 pencil.The camera is 5MP with LED flash.
• The audio has received an upgrade. It has two microphones, one of which is used for noise cancellation.
• Customization is a key to the Nexus One. There are five home screens to cusotmize your interface.
• Google showed off some of its dynamic touchscreen features of the software. For example, one of the wallpapers is a lake with leaves. When you touch it, it has a nice rippling effect.
• They worked with the team at CoolIris to visualize photons on the Nexus One in a 3D environment. If you tap on an album, you’ll be able to quickly scan and load photos. You can also tip and dip photos based on your hand motions and the accelerometer.
• Text fields are voice enabled. Every time you speak, it will process your speech into text. It gets better and better the more and more you use it.

You can find the Google One Nexus at www.google.com/phone

View Video Leak Below

Kenya's growing infrastructure

Kenya’s  economy in the past decade has made great strides despite numerous challenges  most notably the 2007-2008 Post Election Violence as well as endemic  corruption, cronyism,  and elitism that make up some of the systemic challanges and failures of Kenya’s political and social setup.

Kenya Business 2009 Round Up

Despite this challenges Kenya remains a country with great potential, remarkable innovation and hard working citizens. These attributes have led the Kenyan Gross Domestic Product(G.D.P) tripling in size within  a space of nine years. Analysts have attributed this success fundamentally to the lazier faire or hands off approach of the current Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki who is credited with implementing reforms that have seen widespread investment in education, infrastructure as well as opening up credit and the financial sector to local players.

While the Kibaki Administration can be credited with the above. It is important that we deliberately set out in the new constitution to enforce the principle of subsidiarity which protects smaller institutions like small business from unfair competition from larger corporates whether local or foreign. We should also create an environment that allows larger enterprise to set up cheaply and pull as much human resource from Kenya and the East African region to make Kenya a hub for technology and innovation in the region.

Kenya should also take advantage of the world food shortage and curve a niche for itself in exporting more food to the rest of the world. This is dependent on Land Reform as well as developing food processing capabilities in the medium and long term.

Below are some of the early indications that this is indeed happening.

• What next after the Mobile revolution in Kenya? - http://bit.ly/cOX4l
• Kenya’s Tech Scene 2010 (KTS 2010) - http://bit.ly/5qfCoS
• Ali Khan’s 2 cents on how to be RICH! - http://bit.ly/pb3VY
• Nairobi’s Toilet Malls. - http://bit.ly/3vZznr

If you have a business start up in Kenya tell us about it in the section below and lets get Kenya moving forward.

For Business Funding and Venture Capital visit http://www.afrineurs.com