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Can Kenya (and Africa emulate the IIT (India Institutes of Technology) Strategy?
by Ali Hussein 23 Apr '13

23 Apr '13

Listers It seems like the new President heard our pleas of stopping the conversion of all mid-tier colleges and polytechnics to full blow universities. Or maybe our thoughts coincidentally aligned, http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Government-plans-technical-colleges-for-… How can we ensure the rhetoric moves from theory to practice and beyond? To actually strengthen the polytechnics and colleges to become world class reminiscent of the Indian Institutes of Technology? These should be engrained into an act of parliament and the Departments of Science & Technology should work in tandem with the ICT Ministry to make them a reality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Institutes_of_Technology THE IITs were a key pilar in making India the Technology Powerhouse it is today. I hope the incoming ICT Ministry senior team makes a deliberate and concerted effort to make this a reality. And I do hope that the rest of Africa follows suit. We must step on the shoulder of giants to realize our dreams. Ali Hussein CEO | 3mice interactive media Ltd Principal | Telemedia Africa Ltd +254 713 601113 "The future belongs to him who knows how to wait." - Russian Proverb Sent from my iPad

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FW: Growth in internet subscription outpaces voice.doc
by Wambua, Christopher 22 Apr '13

22 Apr '13

Listers, P R E S S R E L E A S E E [cid:image003.jpg@01CE3C49.88BCD940] 18th April 2013 Growth rate of internet/data surpasses voice The number of internet users in Kenya increased to 16.2 million in the period between October 1 and December 31 last year, representing a growth of 11.6 %. According to the CCK Sector Quarterly Statistical Report (2nd Quarter of 2012/13 FY) released today, the number of Internet subscribers in the country rose from 8.5million in the 1st quarter of this financial year to 9.4 million by the end of December 2012, posting an increase of 11.5%. The number of Internet subscribers increased by 75.1% compared to same period in the previous year. Mobile data/internet continued to dominate the Internet market contributing 99% of the total internet/data subscriptions in the country. Internet penetration went up by 4.3% to reach 41.1% up from 36.8% recorded during the previous period. However, the number of broadband subscribers declined to 1,002,701 from 1,006,071 posted during the previous period mainly due to a reduction in the number of fixed terrestrial broadband subscribers. The report attributes the growth in the Internet/data market segment to international internet connectivity (used) bandwidth that has continued to spiral upwards. During the quarter under review the international internet used bandwidth rose to 328,641 Mbps from 278,329 Mbps posted during the previous period, representing an increase of 18.1 percent. Meanwhile, the total number of mobile subscribers in Kenya rose to 30.7 million, representing a marginal growth of 1.0 percent from the previous quarter. As observed during the previous period, the rate of growth has slowed down as the market appears saturated and tending towards maturity. Pre-paid subscribers continued to dominate the mobile sub-sector contributing 99% of the total number of subscribers. Mobile penetration on the other hand increased to 78% during the same period up from 77.2% recorded during the first quarter. All mobile operators recorded positive growth in service subscription beside Telkom (Orange) which lost a total of 609,321 customers, representing a decline of 19.7% during the quarter under review. The number of letters sent locally declined by 2.0 percent to reach 17.3 million down from 17.7 million letters sent during the previous period. Compared to the same period of the previous year, a decline of 11.8 percent was recorded. The number of international incoming letters grew by 20.9 percent during the period to reach 191,672 letters from 158,549 received during the previous period. Similarly international outgoing letters reached 1.9 million from 1.6 million during the previous period, representing 18.1 percent increase. The full report is attached. Christopher Wambua Manager/Communications Consumer and Public Affairs Division Communications Commission of Kenya P.O. Box 14448, NAIROBI 00800 KENYA

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Re: [kictanet] Posta Kenya closes 56 outlets
by Paul Roy Owino 22 Apr '13

22 Apr '13

Worked on Botswana Post and I concur its a success story in the continent. Think we got weak leadership at Posta Kenya. Sent from my Windows Phone ------------------------------ From: Brian Munyao Longwe Sent: 4/22/2013 10:09 AM To: Paul Roy Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Posta Kenya closes 56 outlets Whata travesty and a lost opportunity. Two years ago I spent time working on a project to help Botswana Posts introduce their own mobile money product as a service. They had already (as part of their strategic plan) established partnership with Govt to handle payment of social grants (pensions, social security, welfare etc).... There are many other ways of being sustainable. Best regards, Brian On Mon, Apr 22, 2013 at 5:06 AM, Ali Hussein <ali(a)hussein.me.ke> wrote: > Listers > > Hidden among the statistics released by CCK is the state of Posta Kenya. > > > http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Postal-Kenya-closes-56-ou… > > Yet despite the dire straits the state corporation seems to be in it still > could reinvent itself. Posta is in dire need of re-inventing itself ala > Deutsche Post which reverse took-over DHL and benefited from its logistics > and savvy managerial skills. Is the semi-privatization of Posta Kenya > imminent? Is it the only thing that can save it? Should the > Government/Posta seriously look at this option? I dare say we must move > poste haste (pun intended) or be confined to the fate of the US Postal > Service which seems incapable of getting out of its morose state. > > The article below Wikipedia gives a good background to the Deutsche Post > story. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Post > > > Ali Hussein > CEO | 3mice interactive media Ltd > Principal | Telemedia Africa Ltd > > +254 713 601113 > > "The future belongs to him who knows how to wait." - Russian Proverb > > Sent from my iPad > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. >

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Impact of the Internet in Africa: The Dalberg Report
by Gideon 22 Apr '13

22 Apr '13

The Dalberg Report : An Interesting report for policy makers http://www.impactoftheinternet.com/ The Internet is a tremendous, undisputed force for economic growth and social change. This report intends to help policymakers capture the potential of the Internet for social and economic development - to help them understand how their constituencies already use the Internet, where the opportunities lie, what future potential for social impact the Internet offers, and what their countries need to get there. Based on a survey of more than 1300 businesses, including nearly 1000 SMEs and extensive interviews with experts across Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Nigeria this report arms policymakers with data on the social and economic benefits of broadband and Internet. It also uses extensive secondary research and qualitative and quantitative analysis to support policymakers in harnessing the Internet’s potential. Finally, it provides actionable recommendations across policy portfolios. Gideon Rop,

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Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)
by ICT Researcher 20 Apr '13

20 Apr '13

Talk Begins of Online ‘Blackout’ in CISPA Protest Posted 2013-04-19 18:08:42 (NEW YORK) -- No sooner had the House of Representatives passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), on Thursday, than word began spreading of an online protest. Some are suggesting the protest take the form of a “blackout” – going offline for 24 hours, displaying censorship bars over content or posting statements of opposition to Internet censorship — similar to last year’s opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Supporters on Twitter have begun tweeting the hashtag #CISPABlackout to promote the proposed April 22 “blackout.” Though proponents see the bill as a strong measure to fight cyber threats and better protect citizens, organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, The Internet Defense League and the Electronic Frontier Foundation oppose CISPA because of the jurisdiction it would provide for the federal government to procure personal information shared with private-sector entities such as Google or Facebook. ( Read more at: http://kticradio.com/news/business/?more=33414201 )

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Kenya’s ICANN Rep Dents Africa Union Relationship, Foreign Affairs to Intervene
by Grace Githaiga 19 Apr '13

19 Apr '13

Last week, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) held its meeting in Beijing. These meetings are held in every region, and discuss emerging technical and policy issues relating to the internet. ICANN has several bodies but one of the key one and probably the most controversial is the Government Advisory Committee. Controversial because private sector, internet manager types feel that governments have nothing to do with internet management while governments feel they should be at the center of it because of public policy concerns. For a long time, ICANN has worked hard to show that its international and that there are many other governments involved in decision making and it is not only the US. Well, the US has the “Kiwi” share, and we all know how that goes. http://www.wanjiku.co.ke/2013/04/kenyas-icann-rep-botches-up-africa-union-r…

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Kenya's position at ICANN embarrasses the African Union
by Rebecca Wanjiku 19 Apr '13

19 Apr '13

Just in case you follow matters at ICANN, here is the update http://www.wanjiku.co.ke/2013/04/kenyas-icann-rep-botches-up-africa-union-r… Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog: wanjiku.co.ke

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WHO NEEDS THE ITU WHEN WE HAVE THE GAC (Governmental Advisory Committee at ICANN) & KENYA'S SHENANIGANS AT ICANN 46
by Ali Hussein 18 Apr '13

18 Apr '13

Listers For those who followed the goings on at ICANN 46 in Beijing there seems to be a concerted effort from Governments worldwide to endanger the freedoms we have enjoyed on the internet. See GAC communique attached. While I applaud the GAC for having reached consensus to object to two applications, one of them dot Connect Africa, my personal opinion is that the same (in my opinion) retrogressive elements who derailed WCIT12 are at play again with some GAC members trying to introduce/recommend to ICANN a complete redesign of the underlying policies for approving new top level domains. To quote from the article below (see link) *'The GAC has interpreted the task of providing advice on public policy as a mandate to start from scratch and revisit every policy issue related to the use of domain names that has been debated since 1999. Six years of work by the Generic Names Supporting Organization, which is supposed to develop policy, has been ignored.' * http://www.internetgovernance.org/2013/04/11/who-needs-the-itu-when-you-hav… I understand though that various ICANN constituents requested that the GAC advice on safeguards be put under public comment and I think this will be a good thing in protecting the multistakeholder model of policy making at ICANN. But all the same, what should we make of this? Is the Multi-Stakeholder model under attack? As it was in Kenya during deliberations towards WCIT12 in Dubai? And what is Kenya's position on the safeguards? Can the new Kenya GAC Rep please enlighten us? Talking of the Kenya GAC Rep, we understand there have been some very embarrassing situations where he contradicted the Kenya Government Stand on the African Union Commission (AUC) .Africa gTLD application. He is purported to have supported a competing application from DotConnectAfrica (DCA) against the AUC application which is supported by African countries including Kenya. See attached letter from our former Minister of Information, Mr. S. Poghisio. By the way, how is the Kenya GAC Rep appointed? We had Alice Munyua and Michael Katundu and then now it seems there is Sammy Buruchara who was recently appointed to apparently replace Alice Munyua, whose term was ending after the Beijing meeting having been the vice chair of the GAC. This is a terrible mess that points us as amateurs without an inkling of where our heads are at.. The link below paints a sorry picture of a country at odds with itself. The gist of the matter is this:- http://tandaabiashara.com/icann-gac-ignores-kenya-advice-on-dotconnectafric… Who should we believe? Michael Katundu and Sammy Buruchara or the former minister of information who attended the African Union Ministerial summit in Abuja and other summits which clearly mandated AUC to initiate the process to acquire the dot AFrica TLD. The Minister had following these summits sent a clear message to ICANN regarding Kenya's support for the AUC application for .Africa (see letter attached) and there is also our former President who attended the African Union Heads of State summit that yet again mandated the African Union Commission to pursue and implement an Africa TLD. Listers, I invite you to make your own conclusions based on the evidence and documentation attached and linked to this posting. The link below is telling:- http://tandaabiashara.com/icann-gac-ignores-kenya-advice-on-dotconnectafric… Note that on this link DCA also claims to have an endorsement letter from the same minister. What a mess! [image: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif]I make a personal appeal to Dr. Ndemo to right this situation quickly as we risk the good name of our country. This is serious as it paints the country in very bad light in the international community and needs to be put to a stop. Should Kenya's Representative be going against government positions? Were they briefed regarding the government position on the AUC dot Africa application? Lastly listers this also begs a question that has been burning me for a while:- Who is responsible for Policy Formulation in the ICT Space? Is the CCK or the Wider Government through the Ministry of Infocom? It is important that we interrogate this issue since we are seeing a slow creep of CCK Apparatchik in policy processes and engagement as opposed to regulation, enforcement and enablement. If this is the case then it needs to be very clearly mandated through new law. Or am I missing something? I stand corrected though if I am wrong in my assumptions. We are leader in Africa in this space and we must act the part. We shouldn't be seen to stumble and look like fumbling teenagers when it comes to our engagement in international fora. The Kenyan Private Sector, Non-Profits and Government must be seen to move in tandem like a well-oiled machine. We should strive to avoid another disaster like WCIT12 and now our GAC involvement in ICANN 46, Beijing. *Ali Hussein* *CEO, 3mice interactive media ltd* *Partner, Telemedia Africa Ltd * Tel: +254713601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> Blog: www.alyhussein.com Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.

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Elections tallying remains digital in Venezuelan elections
by robert yawe 18 Apr '13

18 Apr '13

Hi, Venezuelans went to the polls on 14th and by the morning of the 15th April they knew who their new president is, hope this can be what happens in 2017. The winner got 50.7% of the votes cast, does that number look familiar? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22149202 http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/7177 Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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Laptops promise feasible if revenue collection goes digital
by Grace Githaiga 17 Apr '13

17 Apr '13

N SUMMARYPS says adopting electronic methods will seal existing loopholes so that all the cash goes to the TreasuryNdemo says converting to digital payments will lead to revenue going up by about 60pc http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/Laptops-promise-feasible-if-revenue-c…

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A home for KICTANET
by robert yawe 17 Apr '13

17 Apr '13

Hi, Please find attached the details on the Kenya ICT Federation, I believe this is the answer to our getting a real platform. The organisation is going through a revival and there is a ready opportunity to take over control. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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Re: [kictanet] kictanet Digest, Vol 71, Issue 79
by Michael Bullut 17 Apr '13

17 Apr '13

*@Ory:* If the model is also adopted here in Kenya, I see a lot more people (youth included) taking up agriculture as a source of livelihood... On 11 April 2013 17:32, <kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > Send kictanet mailing list submissions to > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > You can reach the person managing the list at > kictanet-owner(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of kictanet digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: kictanet Digest, Vol 71, Issue 78 (Ory Okolloh) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:30:36 +0200 > From: Ory Okolloh <ookolloh(a)gmail.com> > To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] kictanet Digest, Vol 71, Issue 78 > Message-ID: > <CABWH-6q7qHjQP_eoxVTVZ2kkkyMzR3PPDApM9SCYDV8= > n36qow(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Meanwhile away from the "Silicon Savannah" noise, guys are quietly building > regional IT businesses and doing big things e.g. Cellulant has > impressed me< > https://twitter.com/bytebandit/status/322237172604354561/photo/1> > . > > > On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 4:14 PM, <kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > >wrote: > > > Send kictanet mailing list submissions to > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > kictanet-owner(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > than "Re: Contents of kictanet digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. Innovationville: Where all the good money making African > > start ups go to die (Andrea Bohnstedt) > > 2. Re: Innovationville: Where all the good money making African > > start ups go to die (Ali Hussein) > > 3. Re: Innovationville: Where all the good money making African > > start ups go to die (Agosta Liko) > > 4. Re: Fwd: Laptops for 2014 class 1 entrants (robert yawe) > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:29:34 +0300 > > From: Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt(a)ratio-magazine.com> > > To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > > Subject: [kictanet] Innovationville: Where all the good money making > > African start ups go to die > > Message-ID: > > < > > CAFaobUCR1g4kz3Cre3FpCAf4B6qf5RmOAZGtKx5EmufLXg2zFg(a)mail.gmail.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > > > Fun read: > > > > > > > http://ventureburn.com/2013/04/innovationville-where-all-good-money-making-… > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > Message: 2 > > Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:57:21 +0300 > > From: Ali Hussein <ali(a)hussein.me.ke> > > To: Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt(a)ratio-magazine.com> > > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Innovationville: Where all the good money > > making African start ups go to die > > Message-ID: <2E4A336C-BAE2-4C64-95BE-AEFD260C20D7(a)hussein.me.ke> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > > > Interesting read Andrea. And of course Africa is no different from most > > start up environments..there is the hype and then there is the > > business..both feed on each other.. > > > > Thanks for sharing. > > > > Ali Hussein > > CEO | 3mice interactive media Ltd > > Principal | Telemedia Africa Ltd > > > > +254 773/713 601113 > > > > "The future belongs to him who knows how to wait." - Russian Proverb > > > > Sent from my iPad > > > > On Apr 11, 2013, at 3:29 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt < > > andrea.bohnstedt(a)ratio-magazine.com> wrote: > > > > > Fun read: > > > > > > > > > http://ventureburn.com/2013/04/innovationville-where-all-good-money-making-… > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > kictanet mailing list > > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com > > > > > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and > development. > > > > > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and > bandwidth, > > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. > >

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Kenya as perceived in the Caribbean press
by Paul Kukubo 17 Apr '13

17 Apr '13

Listers Following my recent visit to represent Dr Ndemo in Kingston Jamaica, on invitation from faculty at the University Of West Indies, Mona School of Business, the following article appeared in their leading local daily and online. The visit included presentations to the Business Leaders including meetings with CEOs of some of their leading companies, (including publicly listed Gracekennedy), visits to their university campus, meetings with the software developer groups including sitting through presentations by applications developers and an evening at the national stadium to watch the Technology Univeristy track and field games. (Incidentally the story of their athletics development is another story on its own, considering that Mona Campus hosts Usain Bolt's training track and the schools is developing a sports science and sports management degree). Jamaica GDP per capita 9100usd. Kenya 1200usd. Country feels and looks like Kenya in the 80s. One marked thing was the university students ability to articulate suggested that their English language instruction was very good and the University student lecturer relationship was very respectful. The quality of technical skills seemed very high, our developers see, a lot more business savvy from most of the tech fests I have attended here. We agreed to conclude partnership that would allow us to expose our developer community to theirs and vice versa. They have a deep interest in Kenyan developers and entrepreneurs who's have mobile application experience because they are just finalizing their regulations to allow mobile payments. It was an eye opener with respect to where opportunity may lie. Anyway, here is a link to the story. http://www.ict-pulse.com/2013/04/5-key-takeaways-ict-development-caribbean-… I shared this on tweeter and Facebook quite widely as it happened. Paul Kukubo CEO, Kenya ICT Board -- Paul Kukubo Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board PO Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya 12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960 Fax: +254 20 2211962 website: www.ict.go.ke local content project: www.tandaa.co.ke, www.facebook.com/tandaakenya twitter:@tandaaKENYA BPO Project: www. doitinkenya.co.ke Digital Villages Project: www.pasha.co.ke personal contacts _______________ Cell: + 254 717 180001 skype: kukubopaul googletalk: pkukubo personal blog: www.paulkukubo.co.ke personal twitter: @pkukubo ____________________ Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment

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Google Kenya hacked?
by Brian Munyao Longwe 16 Apr '13

16 Apr '13

Hi folk, This trend is getting worrying.... full story on Standard at http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000081625&story_title=Kenya-Goog… "Global technology giant Google<http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?searchtext=Google&searchbutton=SEARCH> has been the victim of a cyber-attack. On Monday morning, their Kenyan domain google.co.ke did not have the usual doodle and search bar, instead the page splayed a black background âhackedâ stamped in red across it." [image: Inline image 1]

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Scramble for Fibre Optic Infrastructure in Kenya. When will Telcos embrace the Frenemy Concept and stop individual build out?
by Ali Hussein 15 Apr '13

15 Apr '13

Listers Am I naive in thinking that the Telco sector needs to come together and stop individual build out of fibre optic networks across the country? We should be concerned because the normal Return on Investment principals suggest that for them to recoup the cost of this infrastructure the customer needs to pay for it? Is this a case for a Private Public Partnership? Does the Information Ministry have an opinion on this? Does TESPOK have an opinion on this? Wasn't the government involved in this at some point? Or is my memory not serving me right? I know these are many questions...Which need to be answered.. http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/MTN-Kenya-drops-partners-and-lays-… *Ali Hussein* *CEO, 3mice interactive media ltd* *Partner, Telemedia Africa Ltd * Tel: +254713601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> Blog: www.alyhussein.com

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Digital Stealing
by Edith Adera 15 Apr '13

15 Apr '13

Forwarded Message Are you aware of this? "I locked my car As I walked away I heard my car door unlock''.I went back and locked my car again three times.Each time, as soon as I started to walk away, I could hear it unlock again!! Naturally alarmed, I looked around and there were two men sitting in a car next to the Store. They were obviously watching me intently, and there seemed no doubt they were somehow involved in this very weird situation. I quickly abandoned my errand, jumped into my car and sped away. I went straight to the police station, told them what had happened, and found out I was part of a new, and very successful, scheme being used to gain entry into parked cars. Two weeks later, my friend's son had a similar experience... While traveling, he stopped at a motorway service area to use the toilet. When he came out to his car less than 5 minutes later, someone had managed to get into his car and had stolen his mobile phone, laptop computer, sat-nav, briefcase and other belongings. He called the police and since there were no signs of his car having been broken into, the police told him he had probably been a victim of the latest robbery tactic - there is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your remote locking device. They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside the Store, restaurant, or whatever and that they now have a few minutes to steal and run.* The police officer said always to lock your car manually with the key when parking in a public area. That way if there is someone sitting in a car nearby watching for their next victim, it will not be you. When you lock up with the key upon exiting, it does not send the security code, but if you walk away and use the remote button, it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be easily intercepted by the device" This is very real. Be aware of what you just read and pls pass this information. Thanks

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China – The Sleeper Awakens (innovation in china)
by John Gitau 15 Apr '13

15 Apr '13

a great 5 part series describing the chinese innovation/funding process. http://steveblank.com/2013/04/10/china-the-sleeper-awakens/ http://steveblank.com/2013/04/11/chinas-torch-program-the-glow-that-can-lig… http://steveblank.com/2013/04/12/the-rise-of-chinese-venture-capital/ http://steveblank.com/2013/04/13/zhongguancun-in-beijing-chinas-silicon-val… http://steveblank.com/2013/04/14/china-startups-the-gold-rush/ Some interesting statistics like: For a hundred years the fantasy of global marketers was, “ if only everyone in China would buy one…” That day is final here. The numbers of mobile subscribers are staggering – 1.18 billon, 260 million are 3G<http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&la…>. Chinese Internet companies live in a large closed, self-contained ecosystem with 564 *million* web users with *420 million* having mobile web access. 309 million use microblogs and 242 million shop online..... While not running a startup myself, Steve Blanks books have been an interesting read. With thanks, John Gitau

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Orange to stop hosting non .ke domains
by robert yawe 15 Apr '13

15 Apr '13

Hi, Just in case there are people as crazy as me to have hosted their domains with orange please note that they will not be renewing hosting for any domains that are not .ke. It is not life threatening as Safaricom and GoDaddy still do but doesn't this go against the objective of keeping local content local? What is the take on this by the Government of Kenya and the CCK? Regards PS. Just in-case I am missing a point here can somebody explain to me what the difference is between hosting a .ke or .com domain. Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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Opinion split on whether laptops are a priority in schools
by Grace Githaiga 14 Apr '13

14 Apr '13

IN SUMMARYCritics say the idea is noble but many schools lack basics and laptops are a mere luxuryReport shows that as high as 90 per cent of teachers are computer illiterate; who will aid pupils?http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Opinion-split-on-whether-laptops-are-a-priority-in-schools/-/1056/1747588/-/item/1/-/sxhoh3/-/index.html

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Software Developers stick to your proffession
by Paul Roy Owino 13 Apr '13

13 Apr '13

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/04/the-25-tech-companies… Sent from my Windows Phone

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Innovationville: where good money-making African startups go to die
by Gideon 13 Apr '13

13 Apr '13

+1 on the article its quite a sobering write up on innovation and technology, here is an interesting video Hardly Working: Start-up Guys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMmdl4VltD4 "So for one unthinkable moment let’s forget building the next Facebook, Google or Apple. Think about using your vast technical knowledge to for example, solve the simplest problem Africa faces — service delivery. Think of the innovation that would come with that." Gideon Rop. > Message: 2 > Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:25:23 +0300 (EAT) > From: "Bitange Ndemo" <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> > To: "Andrea Bohnstedt" < > andrea.bohnstedt(a)ratio-magazine.com> > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Innovationville: Where all the good money > making African start ups go to die > Message-ID: > <86f4368bc72c3c848f90f5230290b458.squirrel(a)mail.jambo.co.ke> > Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1 > > Talk about innovation. > > < > http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_turere_a_peace_treaty_with_the_lions.html? > ?utm_medium=social&source=email&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=ios-share> > > > Ndemo. > > > > > > Fun read: > > > > > http://ventureburn.com/2013/04/innovationville-where-all-good-money-making-… > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bitange%40jambo.co.ke > > > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and > > development. > > > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and > bandwidth, > > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > ------------------------------ > > End of kictanet Digest, Vol 71, Issue 88 > **************************************** >

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Innovationville: Where all the good money making African start ups go to die
by Andrea Bohnstedt 13 Apr '13

13 Apr '13

Fun read: http://ventureburn.com/2013/04/innovationville-where-all-good-money-making-…

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School visit
by Mark Elkins 12 Apr '13

12 Apr '13

Today, Thursday 11th April, 2013, I visited the Sunward Park High School, Sonskyn Rd, Sunward Park, Boksburg (Johannesburg). The school has recently embarked on a one tablet per child project. My purpose was to simply visit the place to satisfy my own curiosity. The School is an old Model-C school, teachers are generally white or indian and the lerners are about 90% black. It is by no means a rich school. There are about 1250 children - excluding the matric learners. There are three double story blocks of classrooms and a further block which houses administration and a school hall. Classes are usually just under 40 learners. This school has achieved some interesting goals. They have a very active soccer program with an on-site dormitory for 20 or so learners. I understand the team has travelled around Europe and that a number of the learners are already pre-signed to play at various clubs in Europe. I understand that the Teachers were all equipped with Laptops a year or so ago. The Classrooms all seemed to have VGA projectors and there is a smart white board as well as a traditional blackboard in every classroom. Towards the end of last year, a plan was formulated by a businessman to provide a Wifi access point in every classroom and to provide every learner with either a 7" or 10" Android tablet. There was initial Headmistress and staff buy-in followed by parent buy-in to the project. The Wifi units are switched back to a central server via UTP copper cable. The Server provides the content. There is a localised e-mail server. A Firewall connects just the staff to the public Internet. The Businessman arranged with various publishers to obtain all the learners curriculum in an electronic format. For example, McMillian, one of the primary publisher, has provided a three year licence for half the price of paper based books. There is also a lot of other electronic media available, Wikipidia, Learn channels video content, Mindset Learning material and educational media from more than twenty other sources. I first spoke to the business man and the vice head of the school. Hardware costs were: Server R70,000 Wifi R250,000 Other R50,000 Total R320,000 or just under R300 per student. The E-Media costs are R300 per student per year and the 7” Tablet R1000. The cost thus for the first year is R1600 followed by R300 a year for two years. The usual fee cost for a student was given as R2000 a year using traditional methods - so fees have actually come down by half if you look at a two year cycle. There was some initial theft of tablets in the first day or two. Since then, no theft. After a month, only a handful of students had not purchased tablets so these students were "loaned" devices. About one third of students purchase the 7" tablet, the remainder purchased a more expensive 10" tablet. The choice of device is governed more by security and the ability to hide a smaller tablet than of cost. There have been breakages - Tablets dropped or used in lieu of a book to hit a fellow learner over the head. I then visited some classes. In a "Life Science" classroom, the teacher was presenting a class on the water cycle (sea->evaporation->rain->river). He presented from his laptop via the VGA projector and the students were looking at two equivalent presentations via their Tablets. Some of his comments were: End of class tests are easy, I get instant feedback on whether my teaching is being effective and so can react immediately. I spend more time teaching and less time doing administration and marking. I can teach in short bursts to match the learners attention span rather than give a half hour monologue from the front of the class and instead of spoon feeding them, I get them to research the subject. Its easier to handle learners of different ability, the quick I can give more work to and the slow can continue the work in their own time. He also believed that learners were becoming smarter and more interested in what was being taught. I then entered a History lesson where Martin Luther King was being discussed. The learners (a class of boys, one of the most difficult classes due to the presence of a large proportion of the successful football team) were using the Tablets as book-readers. This teacher also was in full support of the Table. She claimed the boys were much easier to keep in control than before (last year). She indicated that some work has still to be written in text books to comply with the educational department rules but students now have much thinner text books - saving money. I then talked to a small gathering of learners outside who seemed to have a spare lesson. They were Matric learners. As they are leaving at the end of this year, they are not a part of the Tablet program - though about 60% of them have Tablets. One, who has a younger sibling, remarked that she is envious of her sister. Homework seems much easier and more interesting now. Also, she still has to carry a full bag of books where as all the non-matric learners just carry Tablets. All of this crowd had Tablets and do use them unofficially at school. The "experiment" has only been running for three months but the results so far look very promising. I would like to visit the same school in a year. Mark Elkins -- . . ___. .__ Posix Systems - (South) Africa /| /| / /__ mje(a)posix.co.za - Mark J Elkins, Cisco CCIE / |/ |ARK \_/ /__ LKINS Tel: +27 12 807 0590 Cell: +27 82 601 0496

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Re: [kictanet] Laptops for 2014 class 1 entrants
by Paul Roy Owino 12 Apr '13

12 Apr '13

Am happy we are entertaining tablets this is the way to go. I believe we can do local assembly of these tablets further creating jobs for thousands. In anyway if one has a market for over 1million users why shouldn't they setup assembly operation locally? Sent from my Windows Phone ------------------------------ From: robert yawe Sent: 4/11/2013 6:07 PM To: Paul Roy Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Laptops for 2014 class 1 entrants Hi Brian, It seems that we have a consensus that the traditional laptop is not the way to go, touch is critical and rich multimedia. I took the next step and searched for a sub $100 tablet and got very many http://www.ainovo.com/elfii.html, http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/president-launches-low-cost-aakash-2-tabl… is a major issue but I am sure someone out there will offer a workable solution preferably based on solar. We do not need to try and bring manufacturing in initially as the we still cannot get to the economies of scale that China has achieved but KQ could offer free shipping. The critical issue will be what will come pre-installed in device and how do we make sure that the headmasters or teachers do not decide to keep them in safe custody? Definitely a very feature rich drawing and painting program is essential with a photo editor. I believe a local app-store will be another essential component with local developers throwing out applications in the thousands and then leave the rest to the children. regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 ------------------------------ *From:* Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe(a)gmail.com> *To:* robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> *Sent:* Thursday, 11 April 2013, 11:01 *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Laptops for 2014 class 1 entrants Hi Edith, "Failure" in the context of the OLPC project needs to be clearly defined. I think that what the media have largely trumpeted as a failure was that the goal of coming out with a sub $100 laptop was not achieved. The costs of producing the OLPC devices is higher than $100 per piece. However, the fact that these devices are designed *from the ground up* with children (and learning) in mind has been a huge success in terms of yielding devices that are more appropriately suited to the vagaries of youth, both in terms of ruggedness as well as look and feel. The examples I gave earlier where countries like Uruguay with a tiny population of 3m have rolled out 500,000 over the past 5 years is a resounding success to me. Rather than reinvent the wheel - let us take one that works, modify it to better suit us, and fit it into the right mix of complementary hardware, software and systems to make the overall undertaking a success. Best regards, Brian On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 11:47 PM, Edith Adera <eadera(a)idrc.ca> wrote: Brian,**** ** ** It appears the “one laptop per child” program (OLPC) failed as widely touted, so important to learn lessons from that failure. **** ** ** Edith **** ** ** *From:* kictanet [mailto:kictanet-bounces+eadera= idrc.ca(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke] *On Behalf Of *Brian Munyao Longwe *Sent:* April 10, 2013 9:34 AM *To:* Edith Adera *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Laptops for 2014 class 1 entrants**** ** ** Hi Robert,**** Good points. We actually don't need to look very far. The "One Laptop per Child" program has been on this issue for a while now and has a few models of laptop (including a tablet) that can be offer at a price of +/- $100.**** The OLPC project has already delivered over 200,000 laptops in Rwanda and over 500,000 in Uruguay via government driven programs. Considering these are relatively small countries (7m and 3m total populations respectively). The goal of 1 million laptops per year for std1 entrants is not unnattainable.**** As for content - this is where the opportunity lies. All of the current education materials exist in soft form with the varioius printing presses, it would not take much effort to process these into eBook format and push them onto a digital library along with related material such as story books, dictionaries, encyclopediae etc.**** In addition to the above, there is a huge opportunity to create educational games for all school going ages. Research has shown that children learn much faster when the knowledge is conveyed in a "fun" way.*** * Kazi kwetu?**** Brian**** ** ** On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 7:56 AM, robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote:**** Hi, I like the confirmation by the President - sworn and his deputy on the issue of laptops for class 1 students from next year, it is commendable and quite easily achievable but as ICT experts are laptops the ideal items or would low power touchscreen tablets be more practical and appropriate? However .com that the two principles are I suspect that they might not be up to speed on devices. Here again for the umpteenth time the opportunity for us to become relevant presents itself, shall we take action or sit back to carry out a forensic analysis when only 80% of the students get the devices? Regards PS. A new dispensation, a new dedication and new vigor **** ** ** **** Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya**** Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696**** _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.**** ** ** _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/robertyawe%40yahoo.co… The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.

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PIVOT East Application Deadline Extended to 22nd April 2013.
by Moses Kemibaro 12 Apr '13

12 Apr '13

Everyone, Good morning. Over the last few weeks, the team from PIVOT East 2013 has been conducting weekly outreach workshop for applicants in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania. The last workshop was in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania earlier this week at KINU. Based on the feedback we have received from numerous PIVOT East 2013 applicants after each workshop, it became apparent that more time is needed to prepare their applications. On this basis, we are pleased to announce that we are extending the application deadline for PIVOT East 2013 by one more week from the 15th of April 2013 to the 22nd of April 2013. The additional week will enable PIVOT East 2013 applicants to submit their applications on time, as well as be as complete as possible. In addition, a good number of mobile developers throughout East Africa have only recently become aware of PIVOT East 2013 and as a result the extension of the deadline will assist them in finalising their applications for the competition in good time. Entries for PIVOT East 2013 are being received at http://entries.pivoteast.com Best regards, Moses Kemibaro Producer - PIVOT East 2013 www.pivoteast.com

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