Konza City is now 10 years old
Hello listers, Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants?? Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> · It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere. <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216?__tn__=%2CdH-R-R&eid=ARD-GjetXsxKA5gn9sTexDGe7PznmLamh6o5fIO4X1fsoJQoac7z4TdB7LZtN_bg_tSxxFa0kEQS7LIa> -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-)
Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years. Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors. Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach. Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ? Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> ·
It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input. Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time. So far, what's going on in Konza?? On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote:
Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years.
Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors.
Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach.
Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ?
Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth.
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#m_-7887585263603868150_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> ·
It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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.
-- Samson Oduor
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#m_-7887585263603868150_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think. https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e... Regards, Mildred Achoch. Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input.
Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time.
So far, what's going on in Konza??
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote:
Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years.
Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors.
Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach.
Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ?
Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth.
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#m_-6238454097282376175_m_-7887585263603868150_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> ·
It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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.
-- Samson Oduor
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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.
The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access. The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment. In developing countries the focus should be on *effectiveness* (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor. The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a mega employer creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed. Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with tax on-boarding (e.g. via a "Taxation Sandbox" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come mega taxpayers. The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers. Macroeconomic stability is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions. As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the quality of FDI matters. We shouldn't market our people as slave labor. This could have worked in China and India but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take modern trends into consideration and identify high-value niches where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition. Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. Flipkart in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate new streams of foreign exchange. The other mistake that I see is reliance on academia / professors for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same book-smart academia that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the street-smart practitioners on the ground who have transformed the industry... "It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts." So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt practitioner stakeholders who understand the real issues in an industry and who have a desire and vision of a thriving ecosystem. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball! In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at policy and strategic projects level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a desire to improve things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all. Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction. Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019! Rgds,Patrick A. M. Maina. On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think. https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e... Regards,Mildred Achoch. Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input. Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time. So far, what's going on in Konza?? On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote: Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years. Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors. Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach. Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ? Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth. | | Virus-free. www.avast.com | On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Hello listers, Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants?? Brian Gitonga Marete shared a post. 12 hrs · It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere. -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-)_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sam.oduor%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. -- Samson Oduor | | Virus-free. www.avast.com | _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mildandred%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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pmaina2000%40yahoo.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.
Hi Patrick, Many thanks for the great points. I totally agree with you. That said all is not lost. I attended the launch of Konza by his Excellency President Kibaki. The former President in his off the cuff remarks alluded to the fact that the project had faced a lot of opposition from the onset by those who felt it was a misplaced priority. He actually compared it to those that never believed that the country would have free primary education. In his opinion Konza was an idea whose time had come. Its unfortunate that the change in government came with new priorities. That said, there is still hope for Konza, the dual carriageway to Mombasa and the SGR will literally bring the City closer to Nairobi thus solving mobility issues. One just needs to drive to Machakos to see where Nairobi is expanding to. The Government also needs to prioritize the project and fund it just as it has done with the SGR. I agree with you that there is need for broader stakeholder engagement. The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the relevant government arm that deals with Technical and Vocational Education. I would have hoped to see visionaries like Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Nyaki Adeya and even the former President Mwai Kibaki play an active advisory role on the Konza project. Regards On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 4:42 PM Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access.
The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment.
In developing countries the focus should be on **effectiveness** (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor.
The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a* mega employer *creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed.
Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with *tax on-boarding* (e.g. via a "*Taxation Sandbox*" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come *mega taxpayers. *The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers.
*Macroeconomic stability *is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions.
As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the *quality of FDI matters*. We shouldn't market our people as *slave labor.* This could have worked in *China *and *India *but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take *modern trends* into consideration and identify *high-value niches* where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition.
Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of *FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. *This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. *Flipkart *in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate *new streams* of *foreign exchange*.
The other mistake that I see is reliance on *academia / professors* for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same *book-smart academia* that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the *street-smart practitioners* on the ground who have transformed the industry...
*"It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts."*
So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt *practitioner stakeholders* who understand the* real issues* in an industry and who have a desire and *vision *of a thriving *ecosystem*. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball!
In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at *policy *and *strategic projects* level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a *desire to improve* things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all.
Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction.
Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019!
Rgds, Patrick A. M. Maina.
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think.
https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e...
Regards, Mildred Achoch.
Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input.
Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time.
So far, what's going on in Konza??
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote:
Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years.
Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors.
Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach.
Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ?
Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth.
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On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> ·
It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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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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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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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Thanks Barrack, well noted. Personally I would wish for Konza to succeed... maybe the vision should be broadened initially e.g. pitching it as a general SEZ where people can buy low priced duty free goods (like a "little dubai") provided they are locally manufactured. Gov could recover the taxes indirectly e.g. through PAYE for the new jobs created. Hence a win/win. Price of rent and core services would have to be controlled (kept below market) for an initial period - say 10 years b4 gradually transitioning to "free markets". Incentives that boost regional demand for outputs could be what is missing. If business people know they will make money in Konza, they will set up. The grandiosity would need to be scaled down initially with focus being in foot traffic. Why not do the roads then install tents and run a section of it as a trading SEZ for existing local manufacturers (anywhere in Kenya) - say for an initial 1 year trial and those that want to continue past that period would be asked to locate the manufacturing of those products on site... Real incentives minimise risk perceptions making it a no brainier.... Brgds. On Friday, January 4, 2019, 12:38:56 PM GMT+3, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote: Hi Patrick, Many thanks for the great points. I totally agree with you. That said all is not lost. I attended the launch of Konza by his Excellency President Kibaki. The former President in his off the cuff remarks alluded to the fact that the project had faced a lot of opposition from the onset by those who felt it was a misplaced priority. He actually compared it to those that never believed that the country would have free primary education. In his opinion Konza was an idea whose time had come. Its unfortunate that the change in government came with new priorities. That said, there is still hope for Konza, the dual carriageway to Mombasa and the SGR will literally bring the City closer to Nairobi thus solving mobility issues. One just needs to drive to Machakos to see where Nairobi is expanding to. The Government also needs to prioritize the project and fund it just as it has done with the SGR. I agree with you that there is need for broader stakeholder engagement. The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the relevant government arm that deals with Technical and Vocational Education. I would have hoped to see visionaries like Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Nyaki Adeya and even the former President Mwai Kibaki play an active advisory role on the Konza project. Regards On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 4:42 PM Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access. The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment. In developing countries the focus should be on *effectiveness* (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor. The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a mega employer creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed. Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with tax on-boarding (e.g. via a "Taxation Sandbox" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come mega taxpayers. The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers. Macroeconomic stability is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions. As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the quality of FDI matters. We shouldn't market our people as slave labor. This could have worked in China and India but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take modern trends into consideration and identify high-value niches where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition. Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. Flipkart in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate new streams of foreign exchange. The other mistake that I see is reliance on academia / professors for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same book-smart academia that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the street-smart practitioners on the ground who have transformed the industry... "It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts." So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt practitioner stakeholders who understand the real issues in an industry and who have a desire and vision of a thriving ecosystem. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball! In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at policy and strategic projects level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a desire to improve things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all. Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction. Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019! Rgds,Patrick A. M. Maina. On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think. https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e... Regards,Mildred Achoch. Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input. Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time. So far, what's going on in Konza?? On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote: Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years. Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors. Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach. Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ? Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth. | | Virus-free. www.avast.com | On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Hello listers, Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants?? Brian Gitonga Marete shared a post. 12 hrs · It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere. -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-)_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sam.oduor%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. -- Samson Oduor | | Virus-free. www.avast.com | _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mildandred%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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pmaina2000%40yahoo.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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/otieno.barrack%40gmail... 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. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
So, in conclusion, Konza is dead?? I can only see suggestions, but nobody is answering the question. On Fri, 4 Jan 2019 at 14:47, Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Thanks Barrack, well noted. Personally I would wish for Konza to succeed... maybe the vision should be broadened initially e.g. pitching it as a general SEZ where people can buy low priced duty free goods (like a "little dubai") provided they are locally manufactured.
Gov could recover the taxes indirectly e.g. through PAYE for the new jobs created. Hence a win/win. Price of rent and core services would have to be controlled (kept below market) for an initial period - say 10 years b4 gradually transitioning to "free markets".
Incentives that boost regional demand for outputs could be what is missing. If business people know they will make money in Konza, they will set up.
The grandiosity would need to be scaled down initially with focus being in foot traffic. Why not do the roads then install tents and run a section of it as a trading SEZ for existing local manufacturers (anywhere in Kenya) - say for an initial 1 year trial and those that want to continue past that period would be asked to locate the manufacturing of those products on site...
Real incentives minimise risk perceptions making it a no brainier....
Brgds.
On Friday, January 4, 2019, 12:38:56 PM GMT+3, Barrack Otieno < otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Patrick,
Many thanks for the great points. I totally agree with you. That said all is not lost. I attended the launch of Konza by his Excellency President Kibaki. The former President in his off the cuff remarks alluded to the fact that the project had faced a lot of opposition from the onset by those who felt it was a misplaced priority. He actually compared it to those that never believed that the country would have free primary education. In his opinion Konza was an idea whose time had come. Its unfortunate that the change in government came with new priorities. That said, there is still hope for Konza, the dual carriageway to Mombasa and the SGR will literally bring the City closer to Nairobi thus solving mobility issues. One just needs to drive to Machakos to see where Nairobi is expanding to. The Government also needs to prioritize the project and fund it just as it has done with the SGR. I agree with you that there is need for broader stakeholder engagement. The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the relevant government arm that deals with Technical and Vocational Education. I would have hoped to see visionaries like Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Nyaki Adeya and even the former President Mwai Kibaki play an active advisory role on the Konza project.
Regards
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 4:42 PM Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access.
The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment.
In developing countries the focus should be on **effectiveness** (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor.
The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a* mega employer *creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed.
Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with *tax on-boarding* (e.g. via a "*Taxation Sandbox*" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come *mega taxpayers. *The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers.
*Macroeconomic stability *is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions.
As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the *quality of FDI matters*. We shouldn't market our people as *slave labor.* This could have worked in *China *and *India *but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take *modern trends* into consideration and identify *high-value niches* where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition.
Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of *FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. *This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. *Flipkart *in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate *new streams* of *foreign exchange*.
The other mistake that I see is reliance on *academia / professors* for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same *book-smart academia* that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the *street-smart practitioners* on the ground who have transformed the industry...
*"It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts."*
So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt *practitioner stakeholders* who understand the* real issues* in an industry and who have a desire and *vision *of a thriving *ecosystem*. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball!
In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at *policy *and *strategic projects* level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a *desire to improve* things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all.
Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction.
Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019!
Rgds, Patrick A. M. Maina.
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think.
https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e...
Regards, Mildred Achoch.
Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input.
Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time.
So far, what's going on in Konza??
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote:
Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years.
Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors.
Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach.
Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ?
Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth.
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On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> ·
It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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Hi John, Many thanks for your prompt response and for taking this discussion seriously. I think there is need for greater engagement with stakeholders to ensure this picture remains ingrained in our hearts and minds. You have certainly started of on the right path. From the interview with Capital FM , it appears you have managed to raise significant funding (KES 39 Billion). I have noticed that you have had special days for Policy Makers to make site visits. Can you organize something similar for the Policy and Tech practitioners on KICTANet and Skunkworks in partnership with KICTAnet?. This is a great conversation that should continue. From the Interview, you say that the critical thing for the project is to take off and not completion which i beg to disagree with even though it answers the question Washington is asking on whether Konza is dead or alive. Thank you once again for your respone Regards On 1/4/19, John Tanui via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Sent from my Huawei Mobile Great comments and suggestions are noted here. The interest is appreciated and we look forward to engaging all our stakeholders especially the tech community.
As the person leading the team on implementation of this project, let me give a brief status on the project.
Konza Technopolis project is on, it's now moving from planning to implementation stage. In 2018 two key progress made is the start of the implementation of the horizontal infrastructure on phase 1, first building approaching completion and bringing onboard a design consultant for the research institute to be based at Konza.
Below are two recent interviews capturing the latest on the project
https://hapakenya.com/2018/12/07/ceo-fridays-kotdas-john-tanui-on-konza-city...
Just like the growth history of some of the world leading innovation spaces/science parks, Konza Technopolis has a long way to go, it's journey is still at the early stages but now taking shape.
Below is some lessons from one of the world's leading science and technology park - the research triangle park
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~jtscott/Papers/00-22.pdf
There are other different examples of how such innovation and technology spaces have developed which we can learn from as we fast track bring the dream of Konza Technopolis into reality. Some include the great and long history of of the silicon Valley, the shenzhen city of China and the Korea's great transformation journey which happened in one generation.
Regards
Eng. John Tanui
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [kictanet] - proper representation during vision formulation is what is missing - Konza City is now 10 years old From: Odhiambo Washington via kictanet To: tanuijohn@gmail.com CC: Odhiambo Washington
So, in conclusion, Konza is dead??
I can only see suggestions, but nobody is answering the question.
On Fri, 4 Jan 2019 at 14:47, Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Thanks Barrack, well noted. Personally I would wish for Konza to succeed... maybe the vision should be broadened initially e.g. pitching it as a general SEZ where people can buy low priced duty free goods (like a "little dubai") provided they are locally manufactured.
Gov could recover the taxes indirectly e.g. through PAYE for the new jobs created. Hence a win/win. Price of rent and core services would have to be controlled (kept below market) for an initial period - say 10 years b4 gradually transitioning to "free markets".
Incentives that boost regional demand for outputs could be what is missing. If business people know they will make money in Konza, they will set up.
The grandiosity would need to be scaled down initially with focus being in foot traffic. Why not do the roads then install tents and run a section of it as a trading SEZ for existing local manufacturers (anywhere in Kenya) - say for an initial 1 year trial and those that want to continue past that period would be asked to locate the manufacturing of those products on site...
Real incentives minimise risk perceptions making it a no brainier....
Brgds.
On Friday, January 4, 2019, 12:38:56 PM GMT+3, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Patrick,
Many thanks for the great points. I totally agree with you. That said all is not lost. I attended the launch of Konza by his Excellency President Kibaki. The former President in his off the cuff remarks alluded to the fact that the project had faced a lot of opposition from the onset by those who felt it was a misplaced priority. He actually compared it to those that never believed that the country would have free primary education. In his opinion Konza was an idea whose time had come. Its unfortunate that the change in government came with new priorities. That said, there is still hope for Konza, the dual carriageway to Mombasa and the SGR will literally bring the City closer to Nairobi thus solving mobility issues. One just needs to drive to Machakos to see where Nairobi is expanding to. The Government also needs to prioritize the project and fund it just as it has done with the SGR. I agree with you that there is need for broader stakeholder engagement. The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the relevant government arm that deals with Technical and Vocational Education. I would have hoped to see visionaries like Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Nyaki Adeya and even the former President Mwai Kibaki play an active advisory role on the Konza project.
Regards
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 4:42 PM Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access.
The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment.
In developing countries the focus should be on *effectiveness* (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor.
The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a mega employer creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed.
Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with tax on-boarding (e.g. via a "Taxation Sandbox" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come mega taxpayers. The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers.
Macroeconomic stability is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions.
As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the quality of FDI matters. We shouldn't market our people as slave labor. This could have worked in China and India but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take modern trends into consideration and identify high-value niches where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition.
Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. Flipkart in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate new streams of foreign exchange.
The other mistake that I see is reliance on academia / professors for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same book-smart academia that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the street-smart practitioners on the ground who have transformed the industry...
"It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts."
So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt practitioner stakeholders who understand the real issues in an industry and who have a desire and vision of a thriving ecosystem. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball!
In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at policy and strategic projects level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a desire to improve things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all.
Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction.
Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019!
Rgds, Patrick A. M. Maina.
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think.
https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e...
Regards, Mildred Achoch.
Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input.
Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time.
So far, what's going on in Konza??
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote:
Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years.
Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors.
Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach.
Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ?
Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth.
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On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > > Hello listers, > > Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City > or it's one of those big white elephants?? > > Brian Gitonga Marete shared a post. > 12 hrs · > > It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. > Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly > just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That > is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles > of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere. > > > > -- > Best regards, > Odhiambo WASHINGTON, > Nairobi,KE > +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 > "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sam.oduor%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.
-- Samson Oduor
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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.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-)
-- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
We shall continue with this conversation, we appreciate your input, comments and suggestions. We can arrange to host you at Konza Technopolis site in February. We look forward to getting a confirmation of a date for KICTANet visit to site for a further engagement. Regards John Tanui
On 4 Jan 2019, at 20:12, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi John,
Many thanks for your prompt response and for taking this discussion seriously. I think there is need for greater engagement with stakeholders to ensure this picture remains ingrained in our hearts and minds. You have certainly started of on the right path. From the interview with Capital FM , it appears you have managed to raise significant funding (KES 39 Billion). I have noticed that you have had special days for Policy Makers to make site visits. Can you organize something similar for the Policy and Tech practitioners on KICTANet and Skunkworks in partnership with KICTAnet?. This is a great conversation that should continue. From the Interview, you say that the critical thing for the project is to take off and not completion which i beg to disagree with even though it answers the question Washington is asking on whether Konza is dead or alive.
Thank you once again for your respone
Regards
On 1/4/19, John Tanui via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Sent from my Huawei Mobile Great comments and suggestions are noted here. The interest is appreciated and we look forward to engaging all our stakeholders especially the tech community.
As the person leading the team on implementation of this project, let me give a brief status on the project.
Konza Technopolis project is on, it's now moving from planning to implementation stage. In 2018 two key progress made is the start of the implementation of the horizontal infrastructure on phase 1, first building approaching completion and bringing onboard a design consultant for the research institute to be based at Konza.
Below are two recent interviews capturing the latest on the project
https://hapakenya.com/2018/12/07/ceo-fridays-kotdas-john-tanui-on-konza-city...
Just like the growth history of some of the world leading innovation spaces/science parks, Konza Technopolis has a long way to go, it's journey is still at the early stages but now taking shape.
Below is some lessons from one of the world's leading science and technology park - the research triangle park
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~jtscott/Papers/00-22.pdf
There are other different examples of how such innovation and technology spaces have developed which we can learn from as we fast track bring the dream of Konza Technopolis into reality. Some include the great and long history of of the silicon Valley, the shenzhen city of China and the Korea's great transformation journey which happened in one generation.
Regards
Eng. John Tanui
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [kictanet] - proper representation during vision formulation is what is missing - Konza City is now 10 years old From: Odhiambo Washington via kictanet To: tanuijohn@gmail.com CC: Odhiambo Washington
So, in conclusion, Konza is dead??
I can only see suggestions, but nobody is answering the question.
On Fri, 4 Jan 2019 at 14:47, Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Thanks Barrack, well noted. Personally I would wish for Konza to succeed... maybe the vision should be broadened initially e.g. pitching it as a general SEZ where people can buy low priced duty free goods (like a "little dubai") provided they are locally manufactured.
Gov could recover the taxes indirectly e.g. through PAYE for the new jobs created. Hence a win/win. Price of rent and core services would have to be controlled (kept below market) for an initial period - say 10 years b4 gradually transitioning to "free markets".
Incentives that boost regional demand for outputs could be what is missing. If business people know they will make money in Konza, they will set up.
The grandiosity would need to be scaled down initially with focus being in foot traffic. Why not do the roads then install tents and run a section of it as a trading SEZ for existing local manufacturers (anywhere in Kenya) - say for an initial 1 year trial and those that want to continue past that period would be asked to locate the manufacturing of those products on site...
Real incentives minimise risk perceptions making it a no brainier....
Brgds.
On Friday, January 4, 2019, 12:38:56 PM GMT+3, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Patrick,
Many thanks for the great points. I totally agree with you. That said all is not lost. I attended the launch of Konza by his Excellency President Kibaki. The former President in his off the cuff remarks alluded to the fact that the project had faced a lot of opposition from the onset by those who felt it was a misplaced priority. He actually compared it to those that never believed that the country would have free primary education. In his opinion Konza was an idea whose time had come. Its unfortunate that the change in government came with new priorities. That said, there is still hope for Konza, the dual carriageway to Mombasa and the SGR will literally bring the City closer to Nairobi thus solving mobility issues. One just needs to drive to Machakos to see where Nairobi is expanding to. The Government also needs to prioritize the project and fund it just as it has done with the SGR. I agree with you that there is need for broader stakeholder engagement. The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the relevant government arm that deals with Technical and Vocational Education. I would have hoped to see visionaries like Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Nyaki Adeya and even the former President Mwai Kibaki play an active advisory role on the Konza project.
Regards
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 4:42 PM Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access.
The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment.
In developing countries the focus should be on *effectiveness* (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor.
The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a mega employer creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed.
Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with tax on-boarding (e.g. via a "Taxation Sandbox" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come mega taxpayers. The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers.
Macroeconomic stability is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions.
As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the quality of FDI matters. We shouldn't market our people as slave labor. This could have worked in China and India but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take modern trends into consideration and identify high-value niches where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition.
Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. Flipkart in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate new streams of foreign exchange.
The other mistake that I see is reliance on academia / professors for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same book-smart academia that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the street-smart practitioners on the ground who have transformed the industry...
"It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts."
So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt practitioner stakeholders who understand the real issues in an industry and who have a desire and vision of a thriving ecosystem. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball!
In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at policy and strategic projects level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a desire to improve things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all.
Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction.
Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019!
Rgds, Patrick A. M. Maina.
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think.
https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e...
Regards, Mildred Achoch.
Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input.
Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time.
So far, what's going on in Konza??
> On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote: > > Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature > over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years. > > Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from > techies like us and investors. > > Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 > - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach. > > Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw > 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - > this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in > considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I > cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> > this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from > ? Virtual loans ? > > Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I > have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of > things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable > exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating > more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable > economic growth. > > [image] > Virus-free. www.avast.com > > On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet > <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >> >> Hello listers, >> >> Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City >> or it's one of those big white elephants?? >> >> Brian Gitonga Marete shared a post. >> 12 hrs · >> >> It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. >> Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly >> just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That >> is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles >> of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere. >> >> >> >> -- >> Best regards, >> Odhiambo WASHINGTON, >> Nairobi,KE >> +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 >> "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sam.oduor%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. > > > > -- > Samson Oduor > > [image] > Virus-free. www.avast.com
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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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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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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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Hi John Many thanks for your email; so looking forward to February - maybe you can make arrangements pick-up and drop off locations; of-course at a fee to help ferry as many techies and investors who are interested. Regards <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> On Fri, Jan 4, 2019 at 9:29 PM John Tanui via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
We shall continue with this conversation, we appreciate your input, comments and suggestions.
We can arrange to host you at Konza Technopolis site in February. We look forward to getting a confirmation of a date for KICTANet visit to site for a further engagement.
Regards John Tanui
On 4 Jan 2019, at 20:12, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi John,
Many thanks for your prompt response and for taking this discussion seriously. I think there is need for greater engagement with stakeholders to ensure this picture remains ingrained in our hearts and minds. You have certainly started of on the right path. From the interview with Capital FM , it appears you have managed to raise significant funding (KES 39 Billion). I have noticed that you have had special days for Policy Makers to make site visits. Can you organize something similar for the Policy and Tech practitioners on KICTANet and Skunkworks in partnership with KICTAnet?. This is a great conversation that should continue. From the Interview, you say that the critical thing for the project is to take off and not completion which i beg to disagree with even though it answers the question Washington is asking on whether Konza is dead or alive.
Thank you once again for your respone
Regards
On 1/4/19, John Tanui via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Sent from my Huawei Mobile Great comments and suggestions are noted here. The interest is appreciated and we look forward to engaging all our stakeholders especially the tech community.
As the person leading the team on implementation of this project, let me give a brief status on the project.
Konza Technopolis project is on, it's now moving from planning to implementation stage. In 2018 two key progress made is the start of the implementation of the horizontal infrastructure on phase 1, first building approaching completion and bringing onboard a design consultant for the research institute to be based at Konza.
Below are two recent interviews capturing the latest on the project
https://hapakenya.com/2018/12/07/ceo-fridays-kotdas-john-tanui-on-konza-city...
Just like the growth history of some of the world leading innovation spaces/science parks, Konza Technopolis has a long way to go, it's
is still at the early stages but now taking shape.
Below is some lessons from one of the world's leading science and technology park - the research triangle park
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~jtscott/Papers/00-22.pdf
There are other different examples of how such innovation and technology spaces have developed which we can learn from as we fast track bring the dream of Konza Technopolis into reality. Some include the great and long history of of the silicon Valley, the shenzhen city of China and the Korea's great transformation journey which happened in one generation.
Regards
Eng. John Tanui
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [kictanet] - proper representation during vision
what is missing - Konza City is now 10 years old From: Odhiambo Washington via kictanet To: tanuijohn@gmail.com CC: Odhiambo Washington
So, in conclusion, Konza is dead??
I can only see suggestions, but nobody is answering the question.
On Fri, 4 Jan 2019 at 14:47, Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Thanks Barrack, well noted. Personally I would wish for Konza to succeed... maybe the vision should be broadened initially e.g.
it as a general SEZ where people can buy low priced duty free goods (like a "little dubai") provided they are locally manufactured.
Gov could recover the taxes indirectly e.g. through PAYE for the new jobs created. Hence a win/win. Price of rent and core services would have to be controlled (kept below market) for an initial period - say 10 years b4 gradually transitioning to "free markets".
Incentives that boost regional demand for outputs could be what is missing. If business people know they will make money in Konza, they will set up.
The grandiosity would need to be scaled down initially with focus being in foot traffic. Why not do the roads then install tents and run a section of it as a trading SEZ for existing local manufacturers (anywhere in Kenya) - say for an initial 1 year trial and those that want to continue past that period would be asked to locate the manufacturing of those products on site...
Real incentives minimise risk perceptions making it a no brainier....
Brgds.
On Friday, January 4, 2019, 12:38:56 PM GMT+3, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Patrick,
Many thanks for the great points. I totally agree with you. That said all is not lost. I attended the launch of Konza by his Excellency President Kibaki. The former President in his off the cuff remarks alluded to
fact that the project had faced a lot of opposition from the onset by those who felt it was a misplaced priority. He actually compared it to those that never believed that the country would have free primary education. In his opinion Konza was an idea whose time had come. Its unfortunate that the change in government came with new priorities. That said, there is still hope for Konza, the dual carriageway to Mombasa and the SGR will literally bring the City closer to Nairobi thus solving mobility issues. One just needs to drive to Machakos to see where Nairobi is expanding to. The Government also needs to prioritize the project and fund it just as it has done with the SGR. I agree with you that there is need for broader stakeholder engagement. The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the relevant government arm that deals with Technical and Vocational Education. I would have hoped to see visionaries like Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Nyaki Adeya and even the former President Mwai Kibaki
an active advisory role on the Konza project.
Regards
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 4:42 PM Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in
boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access.
The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment.
In developing countries the focus should be on *effectiveness* (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor.
The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a mega employer creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed.
Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with tax on-boarding (e.g. via a "Taxation Sandbox" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come mega taxpayers. The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers.
Macroeconomic stability is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions.
As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the quality of FDI matters. We shouldn't market our people as slave labor. This could have worked in China and India but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take modern trends into consideration and identify high-value niches where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition.
Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized
IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. Flipkart in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate new streams of foreign exchange.
The other mistake that I see is reliance on academia / professors for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same book-smart academia that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the street-smart practitioners on the ground who have transformed the industry...
"It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts."
So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt practitioner stakeholders who understand the real issues in an industry and who have a desire and vision of a thriving ecosystem. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball!
In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at policy and strategic projects level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a desire to improve things at ecosystem level for
benefit of all.
Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction.
Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019!
Rgds, Patrick A. M. Maina.
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that
is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think.
https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e...
Regards, Mildred Achoch.
Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > > Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white
> somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your > long input. > > Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, > IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. > ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) > after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by > time. > > So far, what's going on in Konza?? > > > >> On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote: >> >> Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature >> over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years. >> >> Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from >> techies like us and investors. >> >> Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 >> - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach. >> >> Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw >> 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - >> this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in >> considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I >> cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> >> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from >> ? Virtual loans ? >> >> Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I >> have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of >> things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable >> exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating >> more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable >> economic growth. >> >> [image] >> Virus-free. www.avast.com >> >> On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet >> <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>> >>> Hello listers, >>> >>> Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City >>> or it's one of those big white elephants?? >>> >>> Brian Gitonga Marete shared a post. >>> 12 hrs · >>> >>> It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. >>> Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly >>> just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That >>> is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles >>> of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere. >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Best regards, >>> Odhiambo WASHINGTON, >>> Nairobi,KE >>> +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 >>> "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) >>> _______________________________________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>> >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sam.oduor%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
>>> respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or >>> qualifications. >> >> >> >> -- >> Samson Oduor >> >> [image] >> Virus-free. www.avast.com > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mildandred%40gmail.com > > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder
> 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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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.
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-- Samson Oduor <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
Probably too early for a site visit... but I could be wrong - depending on the specific objectives of the trip and what can be expected to happen after the visit (and the timelines for post-visit milestones). As Konza is a "pull-type" project, stakeholder site visits ought to be initiated by the Konza biz-dev team (when they are ready) - according to their implementation plan... and probably targeted at specific groups with a compelling value prop.. imo. But my take is from a time-constrained perspective. Keeping an open mind... On Friday, January 4, 2019, 9:36:12 PM GMT+3, Sam Oduor via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Hi John Many thanks for your email; so looking forward to February - maybe you can make arrangements pick-up and drop off locations; of-course at a fee to help ferry as many techies and investors who are interested. Regards | | Virus-free. www.avast.com | On Fri, Jan 4, 2019 at 9:29 PM John Tanui via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: We shall continue with this conversation, we appreciate your input, comments and suggestions. We can arrange to host you at Konza Technopolis site in February. We look forward to getting a confirmation of a date for KICTANet visit to site for a further engagement. Regards John Tanui
On 4 Jan 2019, at 20:12, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi John,
Many thanks for your prompt response and for taking this discussion seriously. I think there is need for greater engagement with stakeholders to ensure this picture remains ingrained in our hearts and minds. You have certainly started of on the right path. From the interview with Capital FM , it appears you have managed to raise significant funding (KES 39 Billion). I have noticed that you have had special days for Policy Makers to make site visits. Can you organize something similar for the Policy and Tech practitioners on KICTANet and Skunkworks in partnership with KICTAnet?. This is a great conversation that should continue. From the Interview, you say that the critical thing for the project is to take off and not completion which i beg to disagree with even though it answers the question Washington is asking on whether Konza is dead or alive.
Thank you once again for your respone
Regards
On 1/4/19, John Tanui via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Sent from my Huawei Mobile Great comments and suggestions are noted here. The interest is appreciated and we look forward to engaging all our stakeholders especially the tech community.
As the person leading the team on implementation of this project, let me give a brief status on the project.
Konza Technopolis project is on, it's now moving from planning to implementation stage. In 2018 two key progress made is the start of the implementation of the horizontal infrastructure on phase 1, first building approaching completion and bringing onboard a design consultant for the research institute to be based at Konza.
Below are two recent interviews capturing the latest on the project
https://hapakenya.com/2018/12/07/ceo-fridays-kotdas-john-tanui-on-konza-city...
Just like the growth history of some of the world leading innovation spaces/science parks, Konza Technopolis has a long way to go, it's journey is still at the early stages but now taking shape.
Below is some lessons from one of the world's leading science and technology park - the research triangle park
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~jtscott/Papers/00-22.pdf
There are other different examples of how such innovation and technology spaces have developed which we can learn from as we fast track bring the dream of Konza Technopolis into reality. Some include the great and long history of of the silicon Valley, the shenzhen city of China and the Korea's great transformation journey which happened in one generation.
Regards
Eng. John Tanui
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [kictanet] - proper representation during vision formulation is what is missing - Konza City is now 10 years old From: Odhiambo Washington via kictanet To: tanuijohn@gmail.com CC: Odhiambo Washington
So, in conclusion, Konza is dead??
I can only see suggestions, but nobody is answering the question.
On Fri, 4 Jan 2019 at 14:47, Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Thanks Barrack, well noted. Personally I would wish for Konza to succeed... maybe the vision should be broadened initially e.g. pitching it as a general SEZ where people can buy low priced duty free goods (like a "little dubai") provided they are locally manufactured.
Gov could recover the taxes indirectly e.g. through PAYE for the new jobs created. Hence a win/win. Price of rent and core services would have to be controlled (kept below market) for an initial period - say 10 years b4 gradually transitioning to "free markets".
Incentives that boost regional demand for outputs could be what is missing. If business people know they will make money in Konza, they will set up.
The grandiosity would need to be scaled down initially with focus being in foot traffic. Why not do the roads then install tents and run a section of it as a trading SEZ for existing local manufacturers (anywhere in Kenya) - say for an initial 1 year trial and those that want to continue past that period would be asked to locate the manufacturing of those products on site...
Real incentives minimise risk perceptions making it a no brainier....
Brgds.
On Friday, January 4, 2019, 12:38:56 PM GMT+3, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Patrick,
Many thanks for the great points. I totally agree with you. That said all is not lost. I attended the launch of Konza by his Excellency President Kibaki. The former President in his off the cuff remarks alluded to the fact that the project had faced a lot of opposition from the onset by those who felt it was a misplaced priority. He actually compared it to those that never believed that the country would have free primary education. In his opinion Konza was an idea whose time had come. Its unfortunate that the change in government came with new priorities. That said, there is still hope for Konza, the dual carriageway to Mombasa and the SGR will literally bring the City closer to Nairobi thus solving mobility issues. One just needs to drive to Machakos to see where Nairobi is expanding to. The Government also needs to prioritize the project and fund it just as it has done with the SGR. I agree with you that there is need for broader stakeholder engagement. The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the relevant government arm that deals with Technical and Vocational Education. I would have hoped to see visionaries like Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Nyaki Adeya and even the former President Mwai Kibaki play an active advisory role on the Konza project.
Regards
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 4:42 PM Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access.
The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment.
In developing countries the focus should be on *effectiveness* (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor.
The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a mega employer creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed.
Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with tax on-boarding (e.g. via a "Taxation Sandbox" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come mega taxpayers. The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers.
Macroeconomic stability is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions.
As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the quality of FDI matters. We shouldn't market our people as slave labor. This could have worked in China and India but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take modern trends into consideration and identify high-value niches where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition.
Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. Flipkart in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate new streams of foreign exchange.
The other mistake that I see is reliance on academia / professors for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same book-smart academia that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the street-smart practitioners on the ground who have transformed the industry...
"It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts."
So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt practitioner stakeholders who understand the real issues in an industry and who have a desire and vision of a thriving ecosystem. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball!
In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at policy and strategic projects level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a desire to improve things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all.
Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction.
Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019!
Rgds, Patrick A. M. Maina.
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think.
https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e...
Regards, Mildred Achoch.
Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input.
Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time.
So far, what's going on in Konza??
> On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote: > > Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature > over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years. > > Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from > techies like us and investors. > > Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 > - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach. > > Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw > 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - > this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in > considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I > cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> > this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from > ? Virtual loans ? > > Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I > have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of > things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable > exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating > more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable > economic growth. > > [image] > Virus-free. www.avast.com > > On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet > <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >> >> Hello listers, >> >> Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City >> or it's one of those big white elephants?? >> >> Brian Gitonga Marete shared a post. >> 12 hrs · >> >> It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. >> Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly >> just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That >> is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles >> of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere. >> >> >> >> -- >> Best regards, >> Odhiambo WASHINGTON, >> Nairobi,KE >> +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 >> "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sam.oduor%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. > > > > -- > Samson Oduor > > [image] > Virus-free. www.avast.com
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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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-)
-- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sam.oduor%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. -- Samson Oduor | | Virus-free. www.avast.com | _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pmaina2000%40yahoo.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.
I think it’s dead. So many alternatives are currently in place. Regards, Alex From: kictanet <kictanet-bounces+awatila=yahoo.co.uk@lists.kictanet.or.ke> On Behalf Of Odhiambo Washington via kictanet Sent: Friday, January 4, 2019 4:36 PM To: awatila@yahoo.co.uk Cc: Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] - proper representation during vision formulation is what is missing - Konza City is now 10 years old So, in conclusion, Konza is dead?? I can only see suggestions, but nobody is answering the question. On Fri, 4 Jan 2019 at 14:47, Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> > wrote: Thanks Barrack, well noted. Personally I would wish for Konza to succeed... maybe the vision should be broadened initially e.g. pitching it as a general SEZ where people can buy low priced duty free goods (like a "little dubai") provided they are locally manufactured. Gov could recover the taxes indirectly e.g. through PAYE for the new jobs created. Hence a win/win. Price of rent and core services would have to be controlled (kept below market) for an initial period - say 10 years b4 gradually transitioning to "free markets". Incentives that boost regional demand for outputs could be what is missing. If business people know they will make money in Konza, they will set up. The grandiosity would need to be scaled down initially with focus being in foot traffic. Why not do the roads then install tents and run a section of it as a trading SEZ for existing local manufacturers (anywhere in Kenya) - say for an initial 1 year trial and those that want to continue past that period would be asked to locate the manufacturing of those products on site... Real incentives minimise risk perceptions making it a no brainier.... Brgds. On Friday, January 4, 2019, 12:38:56 PM GMT+3, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com <mailto:otieno.barrack@gmail.com> > wrote: Hi Patrick, Many thanks for the great points. I totally agree with you. That said all is not lost. I attended the launch of Konza by his Excellency President Kibaki. The former President in his off the cuff remarks alluded to the fact that the project had faced a lot of opposition from the onset by those who felt it was a misplaced priority. He actually compared it to those that never believed that the country would have free primary education. In his opinion Konza was an idea whose time had come. Its unfortunate that the change in government came with new priorities. That said, there is still hope for Konza, the dual carriageway to Mombasa and the SGR will literally bring the City closer to Nairobi thus solving mobility issues. One just needs to drive to Machakos to see where Nairobi is expanding to. The Government also needs to prioritize the project and fund it just as it has done with the SGR. I agree with you that there is need for broader stakeholder engagement. The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the relevant government arm that deals with Technical and Vocational Education. I would have hoped to see visionaries like Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Nyaki Adeya and even the former President Mwai Kibaki play an active advisory role on the Konza project. Regards On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 4:42 PM Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> > wrote: The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access. The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment. In developing countries the focus should be on *effectiveness* (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor. The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a mega employer creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed. Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with tax on-boarding (e.g. via a "Taxation Sandbox" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come mega taxpayers. The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers. Macroeconomic stability is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions. As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the quality of FDI matters. We shouldn't market our people as slave labor. This could have worked in China and India but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take modern trends into consideration and identify high-value niches where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition. Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. Flipkart in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate new streams of foreign exchange. The other mistake that I see is reliance on academia / professors for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same book-smart academia that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the street-smart practitioners on the ground who have transformed the industry... "It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts." So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt practitioner stakeholders who understand the real issues in an industry and who have a desire and vision of a thriving ecosystem. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball! In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at policy and strategic projects level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a desire to improve things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all. Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction. Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019! Rgds, Patrick A. M. Maina. On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> > wrote: Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think. https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e... Regards, Mildred Achoch. Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> > wrote: Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input. Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time. So far, what's going on in Konza?? On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com <mailto:sam.oduor@gmail.com> wrote: Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years. Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors. Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach. Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ? Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Hello listers, <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants?? <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Brian Gitonga Marete shared a post. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> 12 hrs · <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sam.oduor%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. -- Samson Oduor <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mildandred%40gmail.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> 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. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pmaina2000%40yahoo.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. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/otieno.barrack%40gmail... 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. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> -- <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/odhiambo%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. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> -- <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-)
Your views are spot on especially on MSMEs on job creation and payment of taxes. Question is how NOW to influence government opinion/position on the already formulated policies - and laws - on the project. On Thu, 3 Jan 2019, 16:43 Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote:
The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access.
The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment.
In developing countries the focus should be on **effectiveness** (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor.
The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a* mega employer *creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed.
Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with *tax on-boarding* (e.g. via a "*Taxation Sandbox*" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come *mega taxpayers. *The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers.
*Macroeconomic stability *is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions.
As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the *quality of FDI matters*. We shouldn't market our people as *slave labor.* This could have worked in *China *and *India *but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take *modern trends* into consideration and identify *high-value niches* where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition.
Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of *FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. *This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. *Flipkart *in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate *new streams* of *foreign exchange*.
The other mistake that I see is reliance on *academia / professors* for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same *book-smart academia* that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the *street-smart practitioners* on the ground who have transformed the industry...
*"It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts."*
So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt *practitioner stakeholders* who understand the* real issues* in an industry and who have a desire and *vision *of a thriving *ecosystem*. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball!
In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at *policy *and *strategic projects* level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a *desire to improve* things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all.
Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction.
Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019!
Rgds, Patrick A. M. Maina.
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think.
https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e...
Regards, Mildred Achoch.
Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input.
Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time.
So far, what's going on in Konza??
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote:
Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years.
Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors.
Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach.
Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ?
Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth.
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#m_-2234150209267906105_m_-5849034059015030394_m_-6238454097282376175_m_-7887585263603868150_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> ·
It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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.
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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.
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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.
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You can follow a public lecture at University of Nairobi by Prof Shin the 16th President of Korea KAIST a world leading innovative university. Sharing Korea's miraculous transformation journey within a half a century Yesterday we had a kick off for architectural and curriculum design. Korea KAIST leads the consortium https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=402248483913613&id=105983259496 Regards John Tanui
On 7 Jan 2019, at 06:39, florence mwangangi via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Your views are spot on especially on MSMEs on job creation and payment of taxes. Question is how NOW to influence government opinion/position on the already formulated policies - and laws - on the project.
On Thu, 3 Jan 2019, 16:43 Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote: The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access.
The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment.
In developing countries the focus should be on *effectiveness* (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor.
The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a mega employer creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed.
Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with tax on-boarding (e.g. via a "Taxation Sandbox" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come mega taxpayers. The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers.
Macroeconomic stability is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions.
As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the quality of FDI matters. We shouldn't market our people as slave labor. This could have worked in China and India but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take modern trends into consideration and identify high-value niches where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition.
Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. Flipkart in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate new streams of foreign exchange.
The other mistake that I see is reliance on academia / professors for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same book-smart academia that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the street-smart practitioners on the ground who have transformed the industry...
"It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts."
So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt practitioner stakeholders who understand the real issues in an industry and who have a desire and vision of a thriving ecosystem. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball!
In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at policy and strategic projects level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a desire to improve things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all.
Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction.
Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019!
Rgds, Patrick A. M. Maina.
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think.
https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e...
Regards, Mildred Achoch.
Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input.
Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time.
So far, what's going on in Konza??
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote: Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years.
Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors.
Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach.
Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ?
Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth.
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On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete shared a post. 12 hrs · It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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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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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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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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.
Dear John, We were to organize a visit to Konza for interested listers for an update on the project. The idea seems to have fallen through the cracks. Regards On Wed, 13 Feb 2019 18:21 John Tanui via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote:
You can follow a public lecture at University of Nairobi by Prof Shin the 16th President of Korea KAIST a world leading innovative university. Sharing Korea's miraculous transformation journey within a half a century
Yesterday we had a kick off for architectural and curriculum design. Korea KAIST leads the consortium
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=402248483913613&id=105983259496
Regards John Tanui
On 7 Jan 2019, at 06:39, florence mwangangi via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Your views are spot on especially on MSMEs on job creation and payment of taxes. Question is how NOW to influence government opinion/position on the already formulated policies - and laws - on the project.
On Thu, 3 Jan 2019, 16:43 Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote:
The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access.
The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment.
In developing countries the focus should be on **effectiveness** (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor.
The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a* mega employer *creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed.
Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with *tax on-boarding* (e.g. via a "*Taxation Sandbox*" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come *mega taxpayers. *The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers.
*Macroeconomic stability *is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions.
As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the *quality of FDI matters*. We shouldn't market our people as *slave labor.* This could have worked in *China *and *India *but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take *modern trends* into consideration and identify *high-value niches* where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition.
Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of *FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. *This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. *Flipkart *in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate *new streams* of *foreign exchange*.
The other mistake that I see is reliance on *academia / professors* for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same *book-smart academia* that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the *street-smart practitioners* on the ground who have transformed the industry...
*"It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts."*
So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt *practitioner stakeholders* who understand the* real issues* in an industry and who have a desire and *vision *of a thriving *ecosystem*. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball!
In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at *policy *and *strategic projects* level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a *desire to improve* things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all.
Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction.
Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019!
Rgds, Patrick A. M. Maina.
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think.
https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e...
Regards, Mildred Achoch.
Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input.
Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time.
So far, what's going on in Konza??
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote:
Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years.
Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors.
Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach.
Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ?
Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth.
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#m_1425284414074791292_m_8959564272604170049_m_-2234150209267906105_m_-5849034059015030394_m_-6238454097282376175_m_-7887585263603868150_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> ·
It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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.
-- Samson Oduor
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#m_1425284414074791292_m_8959564272604170049_m_-2234150209267906105_m_-5849034059015030394_m_-6238454097282376175_m_-7887585263603868150_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
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Barrack, We shall share soon a proposed visit date Regards Eng. John Tanui Wise Warriors are mightier than strong ones and those who have knowledge than those who have strength; for by guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory
On 14 Feb 2019, at 08:26, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear John,
We were to organize a visit to Konza for interested listers for an update on the project. The idea seems to have fallen through the cracks.
Regards
On Wed, 13 Feb 2019 18:21 John Tanui via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote: You can follow a public lecture at University of Nairobi by Prof Shin the 16th President of Korea KAIST a world leading innovative university. Sharing Korea's miraculous transformation journey within a half a century
Yesterday we had a kick off for architectural and curriculum design. Korea KAIST leads the consortium
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=402248483913613&id=105983259496
Regards John Tanui
On 7 Jan 2019, at 06:39, florence mwangangi via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Your views are spot on especially on MSMEs on job creation and payment of taxes. Question is how NOW to influence government opinion/position on the already formulated policies - and laws - on the project.
On Thu, 3 Jan 2019, 16:43 Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote: The root cause is a lack of proper indigenous MSME representation in the boards and committees that come up with these kinds of visions. Currently where representation exists, it is skewed either in favor of multinationals / bigCorp or to lobbyists beholden to multinationals /bigCorp simply because they have networks for (or can buy) access.
The (flawed) argument in favor of BigCorp is that they represent the big employers or large taxpayers - and I'll explain why its flawed. Big companies operate at higher levels of efficiency compared to smaller companies (because they can leverage automation for example). This is good in the developed world with single-digit unemployment and where where a middle-class already exists - but *terrible* in developing countries with high levels of poverty and >25% unemployment.
In developing countries the focus should be on *effectiveness* (not efficiency). For example if you want to create jobs, you know the biggest employer from a macro perspective is the MSMEs because their low levels of operational efficiency forces them to hire more workers for a given economic endeavor.
The gap is exponential such that an economic activity that big corp achieves with 10 employees may require 50 startups - each with 2-5 employees. If you look at it from an activity perspective, the MSME sector suddenly becomes a mega employer creating jobs at exponential rates (greater than 1000% per economic activity!!!). These are the hidden insights that don't get considered at the right platforms when incentives are being developed.
Further, the MSMEs can't afford armies of specialized tax accountants and offshore tax havens. This means that Government can tailor incentives with tax on-boarding (e.g. via a "Taxation Sandbox" for indigenous startups) so that as these MSMEs grow, the Government would be able to collect more taxes from them (and on a broader - more macro-economically stable scale). So MSMEs as a collective also have potential to be come mega taxpayers. The goal should not be to milk taxes today - but to create a robust group of future (3-7 years) taxpayers.
Macroeconomic stability is another benefit inherent in MSMEs. Rather than relying on all-or nothing all-eggs-in-one-basket approach that is inevitable with big-corp FDI, the government can build entire ecosystems across a diverse range of sectors. The benefits of this are innumerable. One example is that MSMEs don't bully/bribe the government bureaucracy for unproductive or harmful concessions.
As elucidated in Kachwanya's insightful article, the quality of FDI matters. We shouldn't market our people as slave labor. This could have worked in China and India but that era of cheap is now over (AI / Robotics / IoT is quickly making that obsolete). There are technologies that can fully automate basic BPO services (e.g. end user support via NL AI). A proper strategic policy would take modern trends into consideration and identify high-value niches where Kenya can offer a strong global value proposition.
Another thing Government planners appear to have overlooked is the idea of FDI via acquisition of indigenous startups. This strategy has been executed very well in China and India - which have contextualized their IP and industry laws to give an edge to indigenous clones of trending technologies (e.g. Flipkart in India). Governments all over the world subsidize their startups in order to generate new streams of foreign exchange.
The other mistake that I see is reliance on academia / professors for policy guidance... As much as the academia is trying, the reality is that these are the same book-smart academia that churns out half-baked graduates who are out of touch with industry. The local music industry in Kenya is now worth several hundred million shillings as an industry (with potential for billions) and they don't have any professors running their show. Its the street-smart practitioners on the ground who have transformed the industry...
"It is the shoe wearer who know where the shoe hurts."
So to avoid well meaning initiatives like Konza mutating into unintended flops, the government should co-opt practitioner stakeholders who understand the real issues in an industry and who have a desire and vision of a thriving ecosystem. People who can see far ahead - like Kachwana... I am totally blown away by how his 2013 article is so *spot on* - it's like he had a crystal ball!
In business they say the most valuable customer is the one who complains, because that's how you genuinely know where to improve. I believe the same applies at policy and strategic projects level. We want our country to get it right so that everyone can succeed. It's not negativity - its a desire to improve things at ecosystem level for the benefit of all.
Thankfully our President is on board with the need for MSME incentives and that makes me optimistic that the Country's vision is evolving in a good direction.
Happy new year everyone and may you have a prosperous and successful 2019!
Rgds, Patrick A. M. Maina.
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, 3:24:00 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Interesting conversation. Odhiambo Washington, you mentioning that there is a white paper about Konza prompted me to search for it online. I came across this instead. Written 6 years ago but very pertinent today, I think.
https://www.kachwanya.com/2013/01/23/konza-city-meet-the-design-of-a-white-e...
Regards, Mildred Achoch.
Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input.
Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time.
So far, what's going on in Konza??
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote: Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years.
Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors.
Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach.
Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ?
Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth.
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On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete shared a post. 12 hrs · It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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.
-- Samson Oduor
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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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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.
Something to watch -> https://youtu.be/-FhR7abe2LY <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 3:05 PM Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo@gmail.com> wrote:
Errr, Sam Oduor - I have a feeling that there's a strategy/white paper somewhere on this Konza thing that might not be in agreement with your long input.
Usually techies are not historians like you seem inclined. Konza was, IMHO, supposed to be an ICT hub, not a museum project. ICT stuff are supposed to be fully functional within months (not years) after the groundwork has been laid down, lest they become obsoleted by time.
So far, what's going on in Konza??
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 14:41 Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com wrote:
Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years.
Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors.
Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach.
Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ?
Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth.
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#m_-4825158106914686651_m_-7887585263603868150_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> ·
It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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.
-- Samson Oduor
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#m_-4825158106914686651_m_-7887585263603868150_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
-- Samson Oduor
Good afternoon, Unfortunately as they take the long term you have recommend competition catches up with them. I am always amazed when I visit the Sameer park on Mombasa road and see the amount of IT happening. We are also seeing lots of other innovation and IT hubs coming up in other locations Regards, Alex Watila From: kictanet <kictanet-bounces+awatila=yahoo.co.uk@lists.kictanet.or.ke> On Behalf Of Sam Oduor via kictanet Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2019 14:42 To: awatila@yahoo.co.uk Cc: Sam Oduor <sam.oduor@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Konza City is now 10 years old Personally I do not think it was a white elephant; great ideas mature over the long term -> cant take 10-50 years. Rome was not built on a single day - the project needs support from techies like us and investors. Konza being of National interest should be a phased 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 .... year planned development approach. Partly I would blame the land/property rush experienced in Kenya btw 2009 - 2012 ; guys inflated prices and no one was there to regulate - this might have had negative effects some investors planning to go in considering investors look at ROI which is key to any investment. I cannot see the math of buying land for 50k and selling it at 800k -> this was obviously not sustainable; where does such capital come from ? Virtual loans ? Konza and many other projects are still very viable in Kenya and I have high hopes my only plea is for the Govt to be at the core of things like Land, Property and Infrastructure from unjustifiable exploits -> this way it will encourage investors to settle creating more Jobs which equates to good security, a healthy and sustainable economic growth. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> www.avast.com On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:06 PM Odhiambo Washington via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> > wrote: Hello listers, Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants?? <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> Brian Gitonga Marete shared a <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216> post. <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> 12 hrs · It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere. <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216?__tn__=%2CdH-R-R&eid=ARD-GjetXsxKA5gn9sTexDGe7PznmLamh6o5fIO4X1fsoJQoac7z4TdB7LZtN_bg_tSxxFa0kEQS7LIa> <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216?__tn__=%2CdH-R-R&eid=ARD-GjetXsxKA5gn9sTexDGe7PznmLamh6o5fIO4X1fsoJQoac7z4TdB7LZtN_bg_tSxxFa0kEQS7LIa> -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sam.oduor%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. -- Samson Oduor <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> www.avast.com
How long did silicon valley take? I also think Konza city was a hoax and its sad that kenyans rushed to buy land around the city with a promise of development only to find white smoke! Best Regards, Karanja Marigu, 'Purpose fuels passion' On Thu, 3 Jan 2019 at 14:06, Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> ·
It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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Hello Brian, please say more - where in particular are the real battles in realising something like "a real " Konza techno city? Some infrastructure is coming up. I know we need more than just buildings, roads ext Let's discuss. On Thu, 3 Jan 2019, 14:06 Odhiambo Washington via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote:
Hello listers,
Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants??
Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu-AVTq2tSur2OCUGtnmMsdgUP3xrD20zMn9qPhQz8UZ91C69teeOsHHj5A-1&hc_ref=ARSPvPuQ5gkS1YOj6-3UVPsmbTYbrxEWJdhG8AE5jwEuELkVLzgaUBQrTqwjEnDtTQc> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> ·
It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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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.
participants (9)
-
Alex Watila -
Barrack Otieno -
florence mwangangi -
John Tanui -
Karanja Marigu -
Mildred Achoch -
Odhiambo Washington -
Patrick A. M. Maina -
Sam Oduor