Eager to tap into Africa’s education sector, which has so far been less impacted by the information technology (IT) revolution, Acer is to roll out its new Acer Education Centre partner certification to 15 African countries.
Acer Education Centre is a partnership arrangement that Acer will use to certify technology partners in its drive to ensure that Africa’s education sector benefits from the latest technologies.
This type of partnership arrangement has been established by Acer in South Africa with 15 partners working with educational institutions to boost the relationship and interactions between teachers and students using the latest technologies.
Erik Blom, the education sector BU manager at Acer said the Acer Education Centre channel programme will enable the company recruit a network of regional dealers able to sell, implement and support complete solutions in the education market.
“With this new certification, we want to create a set of partners who have a deep understanding of the specific technology needs of the education market and how Acer’s products can address these requirements,” Blom said.
Programme partners will offer schools and other learning institutions access to products and solutions tailored to their needs, as well as specific expertise around technology in the educational sector. Blom was speaking following the launch of the programme in Uganda where ITec Solutions Ltd., has been appointed as the Acer partner.
Blom said the education market in Africa offers a host of exciting opportunities for Acer and its business partners with a growing number of learning institutions integrating technology into their teaching methods and curricula.
“Technology has a vital role to play in education by supplementing classroom teaching, giving learners access to information sources and preparing them for a tech-driven workplace,” Blom said.
“It also helps teachers and administrators to carry out administrative tasks more efficiently, and can fill gaps in subjects and areas where there aren’t enough teachers on hand.”
Acer showed offer a product that lets teachers interact electronically with their students using its ‘Acer Classroom Manager’ – a touch-screen white board that is linked to a projector, netbooks on student’s desks allowing for a seamless interaction between students and teachers.
Blom said class manager has been used successfully in South Africa where remote access capabilities of classroom manager have been implemented.
“As a global leader in personal computing solutions, Acer wants to play an active role in developing and cultivating the school of the future, providing innovative and extremely affordable solutions to the global education community,” Blom said.
He warned that it was vital for institutions and schools to choose the right technologies, ones that are simple to install and easy to use, reliable and affordable.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
DotConnectAfrica asks US gov’t not to delay application process
DotConnectAfrica (DCA), the not for profit organisation that is applying for the .africa “generic top-level domain”, or gTLD has written an open letter to the US Department of Commerce asking it not to delay the application process to widen the Internet space with the addition of new domains.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN’s) was on schedule to expand the Internet's domain name space in May this year.
However, last December, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) wrote to ICANN asking them to delay the process until they have finalised a risk/benefit report into further opening up of the Internet domain space.
“Yes we see delays, not by ICANN but based on the letter from the Department of Commerce to ICANN to delay the process until ICANN has finalised a risk/benefit report,” Sophia Bekele, the executive director DCA said in an email response.
The DOC asked ICANN to delay the process a day before the ICANN public forum on new gTLDs in Cartagena, Colombia in December – something that came as a surprise to everyone in the industry.
In the letter to Ms. Fiona M. Alexander, the associate administrator of the National Information Telecommunications and Administration at the DOC, copied to both the chairman and chief executive of ICANN, Bekele reiterates the three key principles why DCA has championed the .africa domain. Bekele also presented the same case during the ICANN Cartagena public forum.
She said .africa as a gTLD is long overdue given the potential it has to brand the continent’s products and services, so that the rest of the world will know what Africa does and what the continent has to offer.
“While Africa’s image has suffered through war, famine and governance issues, there is also another image that the world does not know about Africa, and that can be told through its people, when they engage in promoting their products and services for trade and investment in the new gTLD,” the letter reads in part.
The letter said this is in line with the current US administration’s policy of “focus on Africa”, to assist in increasing trade and investment.
“While, we all acknowledge ICANN is an international organization, it is also based in the US. Therefore, the dotafrica gTLD fulfills this US agenda and support for Africa’s speedy entry in the global village,” the letter reads.
Bekele, a former ICANN policy advisor said DCA has instituted a programme called ‘generation.africa’ as part of the dotafrica agenda to empower the youth to adapt to the powers of the Internet and its use.
She said just like the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a goodwill ambassador to ICANN, has championed broadband in Africa, DCA is calling on ICANN to do the same for the .africa agenda.
Bekele explained that a shift in the industry away from the original gTLDs that have served Africa like the dotcoms and dotorgs to a dotafrica will mean development of a new industry and market for Africa empowering African jobs and wealth creation.
She said Africa will be empowered in the process so that gTLDs don’t have to go to ICANN for financial support as is the case with African community gTLDs
“The dotafrica registry can instead fulfill that need, and this DCA is ready to do,” Bekele said. Africa has already missed the boat in the last many rounds; but we have seen the successes of .eu and then .asia. Now is the time for .africa.”
At the moment, the Internet contains just 21 gTLDs, from the most famous, dot-com to lesser known extensions like dot-name or dot-travel.
The dotafrica registry has so far received endorsements from the African Union, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and recently the International Domain Resolution Union (IDRU).
In its letter of endorsement on December 5, 2010, the executive director of IDRU, David Allen, stated, the IDRU endorses your efforts for the “dotafrica” initiative.
“IDRU stands ready to assist DotConnectAfrica in its gTLD application for '.africa' in regard to the various African languages that it would support. At the international level, these include Arabic and French and Portuguese; at the local level also - for example - Amharic and Swahili,” the IDRU endorsement reads in part.
Uganda moves to implement BPO model
Uganda has moved to implement her Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) strategy and model, which has so far cost some Ush5b (US$2.1m).
The strategy will see some 3,000 young Ugandans acquire BPO skills through training that has already commenced with some 500 youth at Makerere University’s Faculty of Computing and Information Technology (FCIT).
FCIT has partnered with National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) to develop an international BPO training programme that will be used to provide BPO training in the country and also act as a benchmark for other training institutions, which may wish to develop competencies in BPO training.
Mr. James Saaka, the executive director NITA-U said the BPO training programme at Makerere is aimed at addressing the BPO skills gap that Uganda is facing compared to leading BPO destinations like India, Malaysia, South Africa, Egypt, Mauritius and other BPO emerging markets.
“Once the programme commences, the country will stand to benefit from a critical mass BPO skilled personnel and a wealth of BPO skilled managers and entrepreneurs that are key in attracting global BPO business,” Saaka said.
According to Saaka, the Uganda government is developing the capacity of BPO operators in the country to cope with the competitive nature of the industry while positioning Uganda as a BPO destination.
He said the goal of the programme is to develop BPO skills, to build, demonstrate and establish a BPO incubation centre with a 300 seat-call centre as a BPO centre of excellence to provide direct and indirect employment opportunities for 1000 Ugandans within 2010/2011 financial year for starters.
Government will provide rented space for BPO operators that are not in the call centre category, provide bandwidth for BPO operators and clean power with backup power as incentives for BPO operators who will operate in the incubation centre.
Government will also provide a training facility for BPO trainers, to brand and market the BPO industry in Uganda and to develop BPO governance frameworks.
Government’s decision to support the BPO industry through the provision of incentives is intended to make the industry grow, mature, become globally competitive and deliver the expected benefits.
The expected benefits Saaka talks about include creating employment, increase in government revenue, increased economic development and further investment in infrastructure to support the BPO industry and marketing Uganda as a preferred BPO destination.
Business Process Outsourcing is the strategic use of the third party service providers to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff in a company or an institution.
It is common in the airlines, insurance, banking and energy sectors.
Information Communications and Technology Minister Aggrey Awori said there is a growing demand for ICT outsourcing in Africa that Uganda needs to capture.
“BPO has two categories including; back office outsourcing which involves internal business functions such as billing or purchasing, and front office outsourcing which includes customer-related services such as marketing or technical support,” Awori said.
Awori said that with the ever increasing number of graduates from Ugandan universities, of whom only 40% are absorbed in the formal job market coupled with Uganda’s use of English as a language of instruction, the BPO industry would be able to employ a large number of university graduates.
Minister Awori said in India, the BPO market is massive, generating revenues of US$30b per year, but that rising costs mean it is a less cost effective option for basic outsourcing services.
Management costs he said are approaching US levels, employee costs rising at 10-15% per year, and it is becoming difficult to attract/retail talent – justification he said for countries like Uganda to join the BPO industry.
He warned that BPO and ICT services are very competitive and companies that provide these services will require strict adherence to set standards as well as strict operating procedures that cannot easily be met without dedicated top-tier infrastructure and support from the host governments.
A BPO technical working group has been set up to spearhead the activities of the BPO roadmap.
Ends…../
The strategy will see some 3,000 young Ugandans acquire BPO skills through training that has already commenced with some 500 youth at Makerere University’s Faculty of Computing and Information Technology (FCIT).
FCIT has partnered with National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) to develop an international BPO training programme that will be used to provide BPO training in the country and also act as a benchmark for other training institutions, which may wish to develop competencies in BPO training.
Mr. James Saaka, the executive director NITA-U said the BPO training programme at Makerere is aimed at addressing the BPO skills gap that Uganda is facing compared to leading BPO destinations like India, Malaysia, South Africa, Egypt, Mauritius and other BPO emerging markets.
“Once the programme commences, the country will stand to benefit from a critical mass BPO skilled personnel and a wealth of BPO skilled managers and entrepreneurs that are key in attracting global BPO business,” Saaka said.
According to Saaka, the Uganda government is developing the capacity of BPO operators in the country to cope with the competitive nature of the industry while positioning Uganda as a BPO destination.
He said the goal of the programme is to develop BPO skills, to build, demonstrate and establish a BPO incubation centre with a 300 seat-call centre as a BPO centre of excellence to provide direct and indirect employment opportunities for 1000 Ugandans within 2010/2011 financial year for starters.
Government will provide rented space for BPO operators that are not in the call centre category, provide bandwidth for BPO operators and clean power with backup power as incentives for BPO operators who will operate in the incubation centre.
Government will also provide a training facility for BPO trainers, to brand and market the BPO industry in Uganda and to develop BPO governance frameworks.
Government’s decision to support the BPO industry through the provision of incentives is intended to make the industry grow, mature, become globally competitive and deliver the expected benefits.
The expected benefits Saaka talks about include creating employment, increase in government revenue, increased economic development and further investment in infrastructure to support the BPO industry and marketing Uganda as a preferred BPO destination.
Business Process Outsourcing is the strategic use of the third party service providers to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff in a company or an institution.
It is common in the airlines, insurance, banking and energy sectors.
Information Communications and Technology Minister Aggrey Awori said there is a growing demand for ICT outsourcing in Africa that Uganda needs to capture.
“BPO has two categories including; back office outsourcing which involves internal business functions such as billing or purchasing, and front office outsourcing which includes customer-related services such as marketing or technical support,” Awori said.
Awori said that with the ever increasing number of graduates from Ugandan universities, of whom only 40% are absorbed in the formal job market coupled with Uganda’s use of English as a language of instruction, the BPO industry would be able to employ a large number of university graduates.
Minister Awori said in India, the BPO market is massive, generating revenues of US$30b per year, but that rising costs mean it is a less cost effective option for basic outsourcing services.
Management costs he said are approaching US levels, employee costs rising at 10-15% per year, and it is becoming difficult to attract/retail talent – justification he said for countries like Uganda to join the BPO industry.
He warned that BPO and ICT services are very competitive and companies that provide these services will require strict adherence to set standards as well as strict operating procedures that cannot easily be met without dedicated top-tier infrastructure and support from the host governments.
A BPO technical working group has been set up to spearhead the activities of the BPO roadmap.
Ends…../
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Google extends Maps to 29 Sub Saharan Africa countries
The Google Africa team has extended its Google Maps application to 29 other countries on the continent following the successful introduction of the application in South Africa and Kenya last year.
Uganda is one of the new 29 African countries where the application has been launched.
“This is a very exciting pan-African launch and we are delighted to be improving our maps functionality for Africa, helping to make information about the continent readily available,” Joe Mucheru, Google’s Regional Lead, sub Saharan Africa said.
Right now, new detailed maps of especially the major cities and towns in the 29 countries are accessible on Google Maps through any web browser or via Google Maps for mobile on data enabled handsets.
“We have seen huge interest in the product and we are collecting some interesting feedback from the users,” Rachel Payne, the country manager, Google Uganda said in an email response.
Mucheru said Google Maps isn't just searchable digitized maps helping one to find a local place, service or product, but rather it is about making information with a geographical dimension available to everyone and allowing users to update the maps and develop on top of them.
“We believe that more accurate, representative local information can greatly improve the breadth of information available about a given area and in turn can help efforts to bolster tourism and business investment in Africa," Mucheru said.
Payne said users will now be able to search up to date online maps, look up businesses, advertise for free via Google Maps local business centre, create their own maps and check locations while they are on the move.
She said Google Maps combines maps, local business search, satellite imagery, street-level search, in one unified service. In addition, Maps provide satellite imagery for the entire world at varying levels of resolution.
Payne said the service helps people find business locations and contact information all in one location, integrated on the map.
“For example, if you search for "hotel in Kampala", locations of relevant listings and phone numbers appear on the map,” Payne said. “You can also view additional information such as opening hours, types of payment accepted, and reviews. With the Local Business Centre, businesses can add their listings for free.”
Payne said the launch of the application across 29 countries followed earlier launches of Google Maps in Kenya and South Africa, as well as Google Street View in South Africa alone.
“Building on the launch of Google Earth Outreach Africa and our Google Maps training sessions....., this is a sign of progress in localising our geo products, and of further exciting things ahead,” Payne said.
“We want to show that the Internet is not just a place to find and consume information, but a place for Africans to create and contribute their own.”
The maps will offer users information on streets, addresses and local businesses and services will now be accessible via a users’ mobile phone when they are on the road or in places a user may not know. Google Maps for mobile can be downloaded for free at m.google.com/maps.
With the maps tool, users will be able to access detailed maps of a total of 32 African countries (including South Africa and Kenya where Maps is already available) and other parts of the world whilst on the go.
The application should be a hit in sub Sahara Africa in countries where the major cities and towns are crowded.
Companies can enter for free information about their business, including their address, hours of operation, phone number and photo. They can also place advertisements on Google Maps even if they don't have their own website.
Users have the option to make searches for companies with similar business in a neighbourhood, both via PC or mobile phone - and then they can access provided links and contact details to the respective services.
Uganda is one of the new 29 African countries where the application has been launched.
“This is a very exciting pan-African launch and we are delighted to be improving our maps functionality for Africa, helping to make information about the continent readily available,” Joe Mucheru, Google’s Regional Lead, sub Saharan Africa said.
Right now, new detailed maps of especially the major cities and towns in the 29 countries are accessible on Google Maps through any web browser or via Google Maps for mobile on data enabled handsets.
“We have seen huge interest in the product and we are collecting some interesting feedback from the users,” Rachel Payne, the country manager, Google Uganda said in an email response.
Mucheru said Google Maps isn't just searchable digitized maps helping one to find a local place, service or product, but rather it is about making information with a geographical dimension available to everyone and allowing users to update the maps and develop on top of them.
“We believe that more accurate, representative local information can greatly improve the breadth of information available about a given area and in turn can help efforts to bolster tourism and business investment in Africa," Mucheru said.
Payne said users will now be able to search up to date online maps, look up businesses, advertise for free via Google Maps local business centre, create their own maps and check locations while they are on the move.
She said Google Maps combines maps, local business search, satellite imagery, street-level search, in one unified service. In addition, Maps provide satellite imagery for the entire world at varying levels of resolution.
Payne said the service helps people find business locations and contact information all in one location, integrated on the map.
“For example, if you search for "hotel in Kampala", locations of relevant listings and phone numbers appear on the map,” Payne said. “You can also view additional information such as opening hours, types of payment accepted, and reviews. With the Local Business Centre, businesses can add their listings for free.”
Payne said the launch of the application across 29 countries followed earlier launches of Google Maps in Kenya and South Africa, as well as Google Street View in South Africa alone.
“Building on the launch of Google Earth Outreach Africa and our Google Maps training sessions....., this is a sign of progress in localising our geo products, and of further exciting things ahead,” Payne said.
“We want to show that the Internet is not just a place to find and consume information, but a place for Africans to create and contribute their own.”
The maps will offer users information on streets, addresses and local businesses and services will now be accessible via a users’ mobile phone when they are on the road or in places a user may not know. Google Maps for mobile can be downloaded for free at m.google.com/maps.
With the maps tool, users will be able to access detailed maps of a total of 32 African countries (including South Africa and Kenya where Maps is already available) and other parts of the world whilst on the go.
The application should be a hit in sub Sahara Africa in countries where the major cities and towns are crowded.
Companies can enter for free information about their business, including their address, hours of operation, phone number and photo. They can also place advertisements on Google Maps even if they don't have their own website.
Users have the option to make searches for companies with similar business in a neighbourhood, both via PC or mobile phone - and then they can access provided links and contact details to the respective services.
Friday, March 26, 2010
EASSy fibre optic cable lands at Kenya coast
The East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) has landed in Mombasa, Kenya – bringing the construction phase of the project closer to completion.
The fibre optic cable, which was brought ashore on Monday (March 22) morning from the cable laying vessel Ile de Sein was connected directly into the landing station at Telkom Kenya’s telephone house.
It is from Telkom Kenya’s telephone house that this third undersea optic cable will interconnect with domestic and international networks.
“We witnessed the landing of both TEAMS and SEACOM cables and though both are operational stakeholders, the public is yet to experience any remarkable changes in the pricing of bandwidth as had been expected,” Samuel Poghisio, Kenya’s Information and Communication Minister said.
A press statement issued from the EASSy headquarters in Mauritius quoted Poghisio as saying that as government, they expect that when EASSy is operational, it will create a competitive environment where bandwidth prices will fall, so that service providers pass the benefit onto users.
Chris Wood, the chief executive of WIOCC, the EASSy investment vehicle said his company was delighted to be partnering with Telkom Kenya in delivering an improved online experience to consumers in Kenya to improve the country’s connectivity across the East African region and the rest of the world.
Wood said that several organizations interested in securing direct international connectivity to key internet exchanges in Europe and the US were already in discussions with WIOCC and its partners.
“We can confidently assure the stakeholders that we will be able to meet such demands in Kenya and other African countries, including landlocked countries,” Wood said. “We are happy with the progress being made on the vital construction phase of EASSy.”
He said the project continues to run as planned, with nearly 70% of the cable now laid in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
“We expect to start testing the system at the end of April 2010, in readiness for the System Ready for Service date on 30th June 2010,” Wood said.
Donald Nyakairu, the chief legal counsel, Uganda Telecom, which is a partner in the EASSy project said the cable would have landed earlier if there had been no internal interference.
“We will pass on the benefits we intended to our customers,” Nyakairu said.
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Secretary General Dr. Hamadoun Toure said the landing of EASSy was timely, as it will enhance the telecommunications development in Africa, positioning Africa at par with other developed nations.
He said he was optimistic that the internet connection costs would drastically come down, with increased competition in tandem with international trends.
“If this does not happen, then there is a big problem in regulation which must be addressed to ensure fair competition,” Toure said.
In June last year when the SEACOM fibre optic cable went live; followed later by the TEAMS cable, internet users expected a drop in prices, not to mention the super speeds that were promised, but this largely has not been the case.
Internet service prices have remained more or less the same while the speeds and efficiency have barely improved.
The director general of Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), Mr. Charles Njoroge, who was present, said that he believed that the industry would self regulate, with the consumer demand and market forces determining the price.
He however was quick to add that the commission will keenly keep an eye to ensure a level playing field, where the user will be the end benefactor.
WIOCC is the largest investor in EASSy with 30% shareholding.
WIOCC is owned by Botswana Telecommunications Corporation, DALKOM Somalia, Djibouti Telecom, Gilat Satcom Nigeria Ltd, the Government of Seychelles and the Lesotho Telecommunications Authority.
Others are ONATEL Burundi, Telkom Kenya, TDM Mozambique, U-COM Burundi, Uganda Telecom Ltd and Zantel Tanzania.
Wood said that upon commissioning, EASSy will have the highest capacity of all submarine cable systems along the east coast of Africa, with a 1.4Tbps, 2 fiber-pair configuration.
Mombasa is the fifth landing for the cable, having already landed in Sudan, Djibouti, Mozambique and South Africa.
Of the 10,000 kilometres, 4,000 kilometres of cable have been laid. Two ships are laying the cable, one going south from the Red Sea while the other is going north from South Africa.
The fibre optic cable, which was brought ashore on Monday (March 22) morning from the cable laying vessel Ile de Sein was connected directly into the landing station at Telkom Kenya’s telephone house.
It is from Telkom Kenya’s telephone house that this third undersea optic cable will interconnect with domestic and international networks.
“We witnessed the landing of both TEAMS and SEACOM cables and though both are operational stakeholders, the public is yet to experience any remarkable changes in the pricing of bandwidth as had been expected,” Samuel Poghisio, Kenya’s Information and Communication Minister said.
A press statement issued from the EASSy headquarters in Mauritius quoted Poghisio as saying that as government, they expect that when EASSy is operational, it will create a competitive environment where bandwidth prices will fall, so that service providers pass the benefit onto users.
Chris Wood, the chief executive of WIOCC, the EASSy investment vehicle said his company was delighted to be partnering with Telkom Kenya in delivering an improved online experience to consumers in Kenya to improve the country’s connectivity across the East African region and the rest of the world.
Wood said that several organizations interested in securing direct international connectivity to key internet exchanges in Europe and the US were already in discussions with WIOCC and its partners.
“We can confidently assure the stakeholders that we will be able to meet such demands in Kenya and other African countries, including landlocked countries,” Wood said. “We are happy with the progress being made on the vital construction phase of EASSy.”
He said the project continues to run as planned, with nearly 70% of the cable now laid in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
“We expect to start testing the system at the end of April 2010, in readiness for the System Ready for Service date on 30th June 2010,” Wood said.
Donald Nyakairu, the chief legal counsel, Uganda Telecom, which is a partner in the EASSy project said the cable would have landed earlier if there had been no internal interference.
“We will pass on the benefits we intended to our customers,” Nyakairu said.
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Secretary General Dr. Hamadoun Toure said the landing of EASSy was timely, as it will enhance the telecommunications development in Africa, positioning Africa at par with other developed nations.
He said he was optimistic that the internet connection costs would drastically come down, with increased competition in tandem with international trends.
“If this does not happen, then there is a big problem in regulation which must be addressed to ensure fair competition,” Toure said.
In June last year when the SEACOM fibre optic cable went live; followed later by the TEAMS cable, internet users expected a drop in prices, not to mention the super speeds that were promised, but this largely has not been the case.
Internet service prices have remained more or less the same while the speeds and efficiency have barely improved.
The director general of Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), Mr. Charles Njoroge, who was present, said that he believed that the industry would self regulate, with the consumer demand and market forces determining the price.
He however was quick to add that the commission will keenly keep an eye to ensure a level playing field, where the user will be the end benefactor.
WIOCC is the largest investor in EASSy with 30% shareholding.
WIOCC is owned by Botswana Telecommunications Corporation, DALKOM Somalia, Djibouti Telecom, Gilat Satcom Nigeria Ltd, the Government of Seychelles and the Lesotho Telecommunications Authority.
Others are ONATEL Burundi, Telkom Kenya, TDM Mozambique, U-COM Burundi, Uganda Telecom Ltd and Zantel Tanzania.
Wood said that upon commissioning, EASSy will have the highest capacity of all submarine cable systems along the east coast of Africa, with a 1.4Tbps, 2 fiber-pair configuration.
Mombasa is the fifth landing for the cable, having already landed in Sudan, Djibouti, Mozambique and South Africa.
Of the 10,000 kilometres, 4,000 kilometres of cable have been laid. Two ships are laying the cable, one going south from the Red Sea while the other is going north from South Africa.
World Bank, Nokia to fund mobile innovators in Africa
The World Bank in partnership with mobile handset maker Nokia is set to fund the establishment of mobile applications laboratories in Africa in a move that will boost innovations in mobile telephony on the continent.
“We hope to increase the competitiveness of innovative enterprises in the mobile content and applications area, and to ensure that locally relevant applications are created to meet growing developing country user demands,” Dr. Tim Kelly, the lead ICT specialist at infoDev, the World Bank said in an interview via email.
Dr. Kelly said the bank is committed to developing technology entrepreneurship in all fields, especially in mobile applications development, where the barriers to entry are relatively low.
“With support from the Finnish government and the Korean ICT for Development Trust Fund, we hope to support similar initiatives elsewhere in Africa, using the tool of social networking to encourage industry collaboration and entrepreneurship,” Kelly said.
He was speaking at the official launch of the Mobile Monday Kampala chapter. The World Bank and infoDev have supported the establishment of the Mobile Monday Kampala chapter. Mobile Monday is the global community of mobile industry professionals, startups, developers and visionaries.
The mobile phone is already becoming the main means of communication for people in Africa – particularly the youth – to access the Internet.
“They will be hungry for local content, for things relevant to their personal success, an outlet for their creativity, really interesting news and more and the bank thinks there is need to innovate locally,” Dr. Kelly said.
The mobile laboratory will help assist mobile applications entrepreneurs to start and scale their businesses.
Through the laboratories that will be set up, the bank and Nokia will work to leverage an existing organisation in a host country.
The laboratory will offer training and testing facilities, identification and piloting of potential applications, incubation of start-ups, business and financial services and linkages with operators.
Dr. Kelly said entrepreneurs will be recruited through incubation networks and mobile social networks like Mobile Monday Kampala, given the role this forum is expected to play in mobile telephony.
The project will grow in geographical scope over time, but the aim is to cover Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. The laboratories project is part of the US$18 million “Creating sustainable businesses for the knowledge economy.”
Dr. Kelly said the funds will be awarded through a competitive tendering process aimed at potential host organisations.
“We will work with the successful candidate in defining a suite of services to be offered by the lab with the aim of becoming self-sustaining within three years,” he said.
infoDev has a network of around 300 different business incubators around the world, some of which are multipurpose and others of which are specialized in areas such as agriculture and Information Communication Technology (ICT).
This he said will be the first lab the bank has established that is specific to mobile applications.
He said there will be beneficiaries at different levels including the mobile industry in Africa, which will be a direct beneficiary, in terms of operators, equipment manufacturers and other stakeholders.
More specifically, the applications development community will benefit from the services the lab will offer, such as training and accreditation, certification, and mentoring of start-ups.
Dr. Kelly said mobile users in Africa as a whole should benefit from a richer suite of applications available to them.
The project will ride on the back of Mobile Monday chapters and infoDev is looking to have launched the project in four Mobile Monday chapters by the end of this year.
There are two Mobile Monday chapters (Johannesburg and Kampala) in existence on the continent today with a third (Nairobi) due for launch this month.
“We hope to increase the competitiveness of innovative enterprises in the mobile content and applications area, and to ensure that locally relevant applications are created to meet growing developing country user demands,” Dr. Tim Kelly, the lead ICT specialist at infoDev, the World Bank said in an interview via email.
Dr. Kelly said the bank is committed to developing technology entrepreneurship in all fields, especially in mobile applications development, where the barriers to entry are relatively low.
“With support from the Finnish government and the Korean ICT for Development Trust Fund, we hope to support similar initiatives elsewhere in Africa, using the tool of social networking to encourage industry collaboration and entrepreneurship,” Kelly said.
He was speaking at the official launch of the Mobile Monday Kampala chapter. The World Bank and infoDev have supported the establishment of the Mobile Monday Kampala chapter. Mobile Monday is the global community of mobile industry professionals, startups, developers and visionaries.
The mobile phone is already becoming the main means of communication for people in Africa – particularly the youth – to access the Internet.
“They will be hungry for local content, for things relevant to their personal success, an outlet for their creativity, really interesting news and more and the bank thinks there is need to innovate locally,” Dr. Kelly said.
The mobile laboratory will help assist mobile applications entrepreneurs to start and scale their businesses.
Through the laboratories that will be set up, the bank and Nokia will work to leverage an existing organisation in a host country.
The laboratory will offer training and testing facilities, identification and piloting of potential applications, incubation of start-ups, business and financial services and linkages with operators.
Dr. Kelly said entrepreneurs will be recruited through incubation networks and mobile social networks like Mobile Monday Kampala, given the role this forum is expected to play in mobile telephony.
The project will grow in geographical scope over time, but the aim is to cover Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. The laboratories project is part of the US$18 million “Creating sustainable businesses for the knowledge economy.”
Dr. Kelly said the funds will be awarded through a competitive tendering process aimed at potential host organisations.
“We will work with the successful candidate in defining a suite of services to be offered by the lab with the aim of becoming self-sustaining within three years,” he said.
infoDev has a network of around 300 different business incubators around the world, some of which are multipurpose and others of which are specialized in areas such as agriculture and Information Communication Technology (ICT).
This he said will be the first lab the bank has established that is specific to mobile applications.
He said there will be beneficiaries at different levels including the mobile industry in Africa, which will be a direct beneficiary, in terms of operators, equipment manufacturers and other stakeholders.
More specifically, the applications development community will benefit from the services the lab will offer, such as training and accreditation, certification, and mentoring of start-ups.
Dr. Kelly said mobile users in Africa as a whole should benefit from a richer suite of applications available to them.
The project will ride on the back of Mobile Monday chapters and infoDev is looking to have launched the project in four Mobile Monday chapters by the end of this year.
There are two Mobile Monday chapters (Johannesburg and Kampala) in existence on the continent today with a third (Nairobi) due for launch this month.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Mobile Monday Kampala (Uganda) chapter takes off
By Edris Kisambira
Following its take off in Johannesburg, South Africa last November, Mobile Monday, the global community of mobile industry professionals, innovators and users, has opened its second chapter on the continent in Kampala, Uganda.
The launch of the Kampala chapter will be quickly followed by the Nairobi, Kenya chapter.
Dr. Madanmohan Rao, the research projects director for Mobile Monday said there is progress in other mobile communications markets to set up chapters.
The Kampala chapter, which has been named MoMoKLA, was founded by representatives that were drawn from Uganda’s mobile telephony industry, product vendors, media representatives, the academia as well as enthusiasts across the information and communications technology sector.
Speaking at launch of MoMoKLA, Rao who is based in Bangalore (India’s IT capital) said the chapter would bring together stakeholders in the Uganda mobile industry to discuss new developments in the sector.
“What we would like to do is create a social movement in Kampala like we have done elsewhere that brings people together on a Monday of their choice to discuss and debate issues in the sector,” he said. Rao said the Kampala chapter in partnership with other global partnerships would help promote mobile start-ups and innovation in Uganda by bringing their founders and international venture capitalists together.
During the inaugural MoMoKLA meeting on Monday, Dr. Idris Rai, the EuroAfrica-ICT regional coordinator said Mobile Monday could be the catalyst for deeper exploration of mobile telephony and its impact on users of the gadgets and services in general.
Rai chaired the first thematic meeting, which discussed the ‘Future of Mobile Broadband in Uganda’ – looking at the new trends and expected innovations in the mobile broadband segment of the industry.
Eduord Blondeau, the Orange Uganda chief officer strategy broadband, who was one of the speakers for the event Orange Uganda hosted revealed Orange Uganda has completed work on a High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) network – the first of such a network in Uganda.
Blondeau said HSPDA is a superior network to the 3G networks. He said it offers better service to users in terms of delivering on the different technology platforms. HSDPA also means Orange can launch advancements and new services on top of what they offer today.
Blondeau demonstrated to the audience an internet television service on his iPhone and said the HSDPA network guarantee them faster internet speeds. Orange has also set up the first WAP portal for users to access news on sport, entertainment as well as other services.
Close to 100 professionals in the mobile industry, regulators, academia and the media turned up.
Daniel Stern, the interim head of MoMoKLA who was the chief organizer of the meet said the theme for the inaugural Mobile Monday was chosen because of the increase in telecom connectivity via undersea fibre optic cables to East Africa as well as the fact that the internet segment of the market is developing very fast in that direction.
“Broadband adds a whole new level of richness to mobile media, at different cost points. This can be a game-changer in terms of multimedia content for consumers, organisations and government,” he said. “Mobile users could surf the net on their mobiles and download video and audio content at faster speeds.”
MoMoKLA is scheduled to be officially launched on March 8, prior to the opening of the Digital Africa Summit 2010 that will be held in Kampala.
Rao said start-ups like MoMoKLA, can find partners, markets and advisors from around the world, which creates a good chance to tap into the expertise from around the world.
“There is a lot of excitement in the mobile industry about the emerging potential of markets like Uganda, and MoMoKLA is perfectly positioned as a hub for such discussion and growth,” said Rao.
Mobile Monday, founded in 2000 in Helsinki, Finland now has about 100 city chapters around the world.
Following its take off in Johannesburg, South Africa last November, Mobile Monday, the global community of mobile industry professionals, innovators and users, has opened its second chapter on the continent in Kampala, Uganda.
The launch of the Kampala chapter will be quickly followed by the Nairobi, Kenya chapter.
Dr. Madanmohan Rao, the research projects director for Mobile Monday said there is progress in other mobile communications markets to set up chapters.
The Kampala chapter, which has been named MoMoKLA, was founded by representatives that were drawn from Uganda’s mobile telephony industry, product vendors, media representatives, the academia as well as enthusiasts across the information and communications technology sector.
Speaking at launch of MoMoKLA, Rao who is based in Bangalore (India’s IT capital) said the chapter would bring together stakeholders in the Uganda mobile industry to discuss new developments in the sector.
“What we would like to do is create a social movement in Kampala like we have done elsewhere that brings people together on a Monday of their choice to discuss and debate issues in the sector,” he said. Rao said the Kampala chapter in partnership with other global partnerships would help promote mobile start-ups and innovation in Uganda by bringing their founders and international venture capitalists together.
During the inaugural MoMoKLA meeting on Monday, Dr. Idris Rai, the EuroAfrica-ICT regional coordinator said Mobile Monday could be the catalyst for deeper exploration of mobile telephony and its impact on users of the gadgets and services in general.
Rai chaired the first thematic meeting, which discussed the ‘Future of Mobile Broadband in Uganda’ – looking at the new trends and expected innovations in the mobile broadband segment of the industry.
Eduord Blondeau, the Orange Uganda chief officer strategy broadband, who was one of the speakers for the event Orange Uganda hosted revealed Orange Uganda has completed work on a High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) network – the first of such a network in Uganda.
Blondeau said HSPDA is a superior network to the 3G networks. He said it offers better service to users in terms of delivering on the different technology platforms. HSDPA also means Orange can launch advancements and new services on top of what they offer today.
Blondeau demonstrated to the audience an internet television service on his iPhone and said the HSDPA network guarantee them faster internet speeds. Orange has also set up the first WAP portal for users to access news on sport, entertainment as well as other services.
Close to 100 professionals in the mobile industry, regulators, academia and the media turned up.
Daniel Stern, the interim head of MoMoKLA who was the chief organizer of the meet said the theme for the inaugural Mobile Monday was chosen because of the increase in telecom connectivity via undersea fibre optic cables to East Africa as well as the fact that the internet segment of the market is developing very fast in that direction.
“Broadband adds a whole new level of richness to mobile media, at different cost points. This can be a game-changer in terms of multimedia content for consumers, organisations and government,” he said. “Mobile users could surf the net on their mobiles and download video and audio content at faster speeds.”
MoMoKLA is scheduled to be officially launched on March 8, prior to the opening of the Digital Africa Summit 2010 that will be held in Kampala.
Rao said start-ups like MoMoKLA, can find partners, markets and advisors from around the world, which creates a good chance to tap into the expertise from around the world.
“There is a lot of excitement in the mobile industry about the emerging potential of markets like Uganda, and MoMoKLA is perfectly positioned as a hub for such discussion and growth,” said Rao.
Mobile Monday, founded in 2000 in Helsinki, Finland now has about 100 city chapters around the world.
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