Archives For Kenya ICT Board

connected kenya_mbugua njihia

The county citizen served: time for some hard and fast action

May 27, 2013 — 2 Comments

Today sees public and private sector invested in technology descend into the coastal city of Mombasa for the third installation of the Connected Kenya Summit, with the theme – the county citizen served. There has been a build up to this since the inception of the summit, and while output may not have been well articulated or shared with  various publics, I feel that it is growing in both seriousness and relevance.

What I hope to see this year however is more solid output informed by panels and presentations from previous summits. In the past, we have celebrated future thinking and debated what could be. The time is now ripe to move from concept to implementation and further on to sustainability. I have some baseline expectations from the summit. Continue Reading…

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big data_mbugua njihia

Technology, data and the lost essence of Kenyan politics

March 7, 2013 — Leave a comment

The past few months have seen us treated to political debates and impressive shows of financial might as politicians crisscrossed the country trying to woo the electorate’s votes. The political landscape here is one that has been underpinned by group think rather than individuality that would form the basis of pure democracy, where the collective carries the day but an emancipated individual makes the decision.

I believe that technology can unlock this purer form of democracy by creating relevant and personalized information channels that if used well will bring down mental walls that keep our politics, governance and policy issues intertwined with matters ethnicity and other factors. Continue Reading…

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edutech_mbugua njihia

Rethinking education in a connected Kenya

March 1, 2013 — Leave a comment

The business of education has many players from the outfitters who kit our children every school term, the book maker who churns out thousands of ruled books for note taking, the schools who offer varied curricular, unions that ensure the rights of our teachers , the education institute that plans out our syllabus to government – who by looking at the many plans fronted in the battle for votes want to make it (the learning bit ) free in its entirety.

The new players in this ecosystem, who combined should change our model of knowledge dissemination are mobile and internet service providers who are often times synonymous, device manufacturers ,mobile application developers and government. Continue Reading…

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online commerce_mbugua njihia

Taking a stab at online commerce.Many in the deadpool but the quest continues

February 21, 2013 — Leave a comment

The latest numbers from the Julisha ICT Survey report released early this week by the ICT Board, having been carried out by the International Data Corporation show  that the online opportunity  is growing  with over 17 million internet users up from under 10 million only three years ago.

The value extraction from this online audience will obviously be from mobile and electronic commerce that has seen quite abit of activity over recent years, with the creation of marketplaces where users can buy and sell physical good to online directories where consumers can find contacts from validated businesses. Many have tried to get a piece of the action and many have fallen by the way side – both from well heeled initiatives and the bare bones startup ideas. Continue Reading…

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measure mobile_mbugua njihia

Challenges taking mobile mainstream – a problem with measurement

February 21, 2013 — Leave a comment

Smart phones are all the rage now. Increasingly consumers are upgrading their devices and subsequently getting introduced to more variety and utility. Marketers are however still playing catch-up as marketing budgets on mobile are still relatively small compared to other engagement channels. We cannot blame them though, as the spend per brand across board has reduced and there is a perpetual fight to defend the use of a particular channel, which often times is directly proportional to goods moved or service requests received.

The biggest issue that I see, is that the metrics that need to be measured are unknown and hence it is difficult to justify spend on mobile. In a differentiated market environment, not every action directed to the consumer needs to directly translate to movement of product. This is where mobile strategy comes in, with the creation of campaign objectives, determining what qualifies as campaign success, and identifying the tools to measure these results. Continue Reading…

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Reflections with Michael Joseph from Al Kags on Vimeo.

Posted on February 14, 2013 In Business, People, Technology, TV , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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The missing links in technology business models

January 31, 2013 — Leave a comment

Another well executed technology start up showcase by way of Demo Africa  was held in Q3 of 2012 and another opportunity to scope the lay of the land and establish what is missing or out of place in our growing ecosystem. { With a startup I am proud to be associated with securing an investment of USD 50,000 soon after, and in advanced statges of closing another round at an impressive valuation :-) }

I had the honor of moderating a number of sage panels, composed of thought leaders, opinion shapers and individuals who are invested in the technology and entrepreneurship space in Kenya. Each panel was hosted after a number of presenters had put for the case for the business or product that they were launching. Continue Reading…

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Technology entrepreneurs are no different from athletes

January 28, 2013 — Leave a comment

The value and state of the technology space in Kenya and Africa at large has come under close scrutiny and criticism over the past months from those invested in it, those looking to invest in it and those who tend to keep an eye on what’s happening. From claims that there isn’t enough money, to there is a good idea glut, to skills deficits, to we are working towards grants and hackathon prize money and the big one that says we are all about hype with no meat on our bone.

We may choose to look at it negatively from the get go, but I always suggest looking through a different pair of eyes to derive perspective and context. During the Olympics or any other global sporting event where we send our athletes, we are united by this invisible bond of pride; knowing and feeling that we are the best of the best. I wish to use this analogy to quell the disquiet among those who think that technology showcases and competitions  are a waste of time and effort. Continue Reading…

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Impression of the making of the Annual Meeting 2011 of the World Economic Forum in Davos

Adapting the Davos model to address our issues and drive innovation

January 24, 2013 — Leave a comment

This week the world descended in Davos Switzerland to take a swipe at the world’s most pressing issues  under the auspices of the World Economic Forum; which in the words of it founder  – Klaus Schwab  is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. The motto is equally ambitious, “committed to improving the state of the world”, which in this age is rife with variables that are much less predictable as they are controllable.

Technology is embedded in every facet of our lives, which we may not appreciate as we are still locked into the frame of mind that equates technology to computers or the internet. I consider technology best deployed when it adds value transparently, in the background and not drawing attention to itself. As a technology entrepreneur, what I have mentioned above always brings to the fore that technology cannot exist independently and this I have proven having interacted with numerous professionals and specialists from different fields in my day to day work. Continue Reading…

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Startup Accelerator Nailab goes live with $1.6 million tech business incubation program

January 24, 2013 — Leave a comment

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Kenya aims to grow its ICT sector and become one the top 10 ICT hubs in the world. As part of this master plan, the Kenyan government today launched a $1.6 million public-private sector partnership with Nailab to create a Tech Business Incubation program that supports Kenyan ICT startups.

Nailab (www.nailab.co.ke) is a Kenyan tech business incubator based in Nairobi that was launched two years ago. Nailab looks to lowering  the entry barriers for ICT entrepreneurs who want to start and scale their businesses in Kenya. Business Incubation provides entrepreneurs with access to critical information, education, contacts, capital and other resources crucial to the growth of the business that may otherwise be unaffordable, inaccessible, or otherwise unknown to the ICT Startups in Kenya. Continue Reading…

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