TED fellow Segeni Ng'ethe MamaMikes, hooks up Diaspora with motherland

I just read this article about TED fellow Segeni Ng'ethe's company Mama Mikes.

Written by Bob Wayne Bell Jr.

Mr. Ng'ethe (seated) and colleagues

25-July-2007: Tech firms are being established by a new breed of technology entrepreneurs who are tapping and exploiting international markets, making a profit, and making a difference in the lives of Kenyans.

MamaMikes is a local e-commerce company that allows the Kenyan Diaspora to meet the needs of their family at home without the need for money transfer services.

Kenyans abroad can pay school fees, provide vouchers for shopping or home utilities, buy stocks, or transfer mobile airtime directly through the Internet. MamaMikes is cashing in on the estimated Sh70 billion remittances industry, which catapulted ahead of Kenya’s tourism sector last year.

According to a study done by Monice Nyamwange of William Paterson University, 72.5 per cent of remittances are for consumption while 64.9 per cent are spent on school fees.

With MamaMikes focusing on consumption goods and services as well as school fees, this company is tapping a lucrative market while reducing the transactional costs.

Estimates of the Kenyan Diaspora in America vary from 40,000 to 60,000 depending on the source.

However, the average Kenyan in the US has more education and makes more money per capita than other black African immigrants as well as average Americans.

With many African enterprises bootstrapped for growth by the low incomes of their customer, MamaMikes targets customers with relatively high incomes.

The founders of MamaMikes conceived the company in Washington, DC. They are part of what Professors Barbara E McDade and Anita Spring of the University of Florida (USA) consider to be “new generation entrepreneurs.

Read more here

Somalia, a 'failed state' that functions

All that we hear and see in the press about Somalia is very depressing. However, Somalians enjoy one thing most people around the world don't have to deal with, bureaucracy. Somalia officially has no government, so one doesn't have to deal with the bureaucracy that comes with a government. When Somalia had a government there were many state owned enterprises that were monopolies, today you have many competitors in several industries.

There is no functioning national grid so entrepreneurs provide electricity on a local basis using generators bought from overseas. Wireless providers don't need to worry about buying a license to operate a Mobile network, because there is no government! In late 80's the national air carrier operated just one airplane and only a few routes. Today the airline sector has 15 firms, many aircraft, and more routes than before.

Many reading this would ask, "how is the law operated"? Disputes are settled at the clan/tribe level, by traditional systems run by elders. Security is handled by each local city itself, and it is paid by it's citizens.

Women are shaping Africa's renaissance

There is a paradigm shift going on in Africa, this shift has giving women opportunities they never had before. When the Apartheid finally came tumbling down, there was no question that the decisive blows came from South African women.

Today, women from Monrovia to Nairobi are building on African indigenous foundations. Women are beginning to flex their intellectual muscle and are beginning to lead and manage institutions and businesses across the continent. Today, Africa has the first African female President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia. Women in growing numbers are beginning to serve and be heard across Africa.

African needs to embrace and encourage equality for women. The only way Africa is going to prosper is participation from women. We need more women entrepreneurs, artists, scientist, engineers, and risk-takers.

Here is a small list of women making an impact in Africa:

Winnie Byanyima, Uganda
Director of the AU Women, Gender and Development Directorate



Samia Nkrumah, Ghana
International Journalist



Mamphele Ramphele, South Africa
Vice-Chancellor of University of Cape Town




Wangari Maathi, Kenya
Environmentlist and Nobel Peace Prize winner



Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigeria
Author



Gertrude Mongella, Tanzania
President of AU Pan-African Parliament



Alek Wek, Sudan
Model



Asha-Rose migiro, Tanzania
UN Deputy Secretary General

100 dollar laptop production begins

By Jonathan Fildes
Science and technology reporter, BBC News

Five years after the concept was first proposed, the so-called $100 laptop is poised to go into mass production.

Hardware suppliers have been given the green light to ramp-up production of all of the components needed to build millions of the low-cost machines.

Previously, the organisation behind the scheme said that it required orders for 3m laptops to make production viable.

The first machines should be ready to put into the hands of children in developing countries in October 2007.

"There's still some software to write, but this is a big step for us," Walter Bender, head of software development at One Laptop per Child (OLPC), told the BBC News website.

The organisation has not said which countries have bought the first machines.

Continue reading story

Must read articles from African Executive

Anyone interested on business in Africa needs to subscribe to the African Executive eNewsletter. This online magazine has a weekly newsletter on business, development, and technology in Africa. It's basically the African version of Business Week.

China: Not All that Glitters is Gold!
By Yemisrach Kifle

Over the past several weeks, unsafe Chinese goods have made world headlines. Countries such as the United States are taking action to ensure that their citizens are protected by inspecting goods coming from China closely and banning some types completely. Read more here



Is the United States of Africa Already Here?

By Ken Teyie

The proposal to officially create a United States of Africa may not have come at a better time than now when international trade is dictating the pace of development. Thanks to technological innovation. Recent trends indicate that the unity is already here. Through various communication technologies, Africa has transformed into a large business unit.

Over the past 5 years, the cost of communication in Africa has come down to manageable levels providing a wide menu of communication technology to choose from. The cost factor has largely dictated the choices made with an aim of bridging the digital divide. Read more here

How do we help other William Kamkwamba's in Africa?

Myself and others have paid a lot of attention to William Kamkwamba's Windmill. William deserves all this attention, and I'm sure his family is grateful to him and all the support they are getting. However, how do we spurn grassroots education and risk-taking across Africa? You can ask the same question in another way. How do we spurn millions of Williams to also be risk-takers and inventors?

One of my favorite two invention type of magazines I've been reading for years is Popular Science and Popular Mechanics. These two magazines show how to make and repair almost everything. Next time I go back to Africa or my own country Ghana, I will be giving away all old magazines: business, technology, and others.



We as Africans need to look at small tipping points that make a big difference. I want anyone reading this blog to think about your own respective countries and think of ways you can make a difference by sending old textbooks or computers you don't use anymore.

Where to invest in Africa

I was talking to an old friend of mine a couple days ago about business in Africa. During our short conversation about this subject she asked, "where are the investment opportunities and what sectors should one invest if they had minimal funds." I just realized she was being very serious and said, "there are all kinds of opportunities," but before I gave her anymore answers I suggested she Google Africa Open for Business and watch the video. I told her we can talk more in a few days about where to invest, but she had to watch the video.



You see, we humans are a unique species; we learn better by watching or witnessing something. I called her a couple of days later and she told me she watched the video and she wants to invest in media and the stock market, I replied those are very good markets to invest in right now. My friend then told me how astonished she was that Carol Pineau was able to film and interview all the African business owners. I made her watch Africa Open for Business, because if I told her where to invest without her actually seeing the opportunity she may have not really believed me.

For those reading this, if you are interested in investing your money in Africa these are the sectors I would be focusing on.

1. Health - water purification, generic pharma

2. Media - Africa's has a growing middle class and many are starting to watch African generated content. Nigeria leads the continent for it's films.

3. Energy -Solar energy, Wind power, bio-compost

4. Stock Market - talk to your broker to see if there are any ADR's listed on your home country's stock exchange.

5. Education - there is a lot of money one can make in education, especially for the growing field of information technology.

Does the BOP address wealth creation?

C.K. Prahalad's book, Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, The: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits is a great book with many opportunities for global companies who are trying to reach the 4 billion humans living on less than a dollar a day. The BOP (Bottom of the Pyramid or Base of the Pyramid) has enabled a new thinking among people in the development field, and has business schools re-writing their curriculum to adopt some practices from Mr. Prahalad.

As great as the BOP is, the current theory about the BOP is a little flawed in that it does not really address the most important issue in development - how can the poor make a sustainable living in emerging markets? I was discussing this issue with a colleague of mine, Dr. Reuben Abraham. Reuben is with the Cornell University’s Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Johnson School of Management and a visiting faculty at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad. Speaking with Reuben we both agreed the theory behind BOP is great for companies who are trying to reach a underserved market, it is also good for the 4 billion at the bottom of the market to buy smaller quantities of a product they normally couldn't buy. However, how can we enable the poor to generate income and make it a sustainable revenue stream?

In CK's book he does give some examples of how Proctor & Gamble and Coke help entrepreneurs with making a living. In one example in the book, Coke supplied refrigerators to vendors as long as they use Coke products and P&G helps with logistics in India. Reuben even told me that the best selling product made for the BOP market in India is a skin-bleaching cream. This cream is so popular for this consumer-products multinational it is marketing this product and people are lining up to buy it. When I heard this I thought of my own country of Ghana...people to this day, try to bleach their skin and don't know the health implications of such actions.

Speaking with Reuben, we came to the conclusion the best way to help the world's poor is through investment and micro-financing. Reuben is a Cheetah that is doing some great things; he serves on the global board of directors of George Soros’ Economic Development Fund, a $140 million fund which is involved in catalyzing growth in emerging markets. He founded and runs the International Private Enterprise Group (IPEG), a New York based network of professionals, which promotes the role of the private sector, capital markets and technology in catalyzing economic development in emerging markets.

When you get a chance check out his blog: ZooStation

Links for Fri 13th

From AllAfrica.com

Southern Africa: SADC to Set Up Gas, Petroleum Body

The Southern African Development Community is setting up a Regional Petroleum and Gas Association to promote trade in the respective products.
The project will also harmonise standards and regulations in the sector.


Kenya: Brokers to Accept Plastic Money

Stockbrokers can now accept card payments for shares bought by retail investors.
The move is expected to increase access to the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) by overseas retail investors.

Also check out Reuters Africa - very good for African business news.

http://africa.reuters.com/

This is belated, but thanks TED and Emeka Okafor

Chris Anderson, Emeka Okafor, and David McQueen

I was sitting in the subway today and was thinking how fortunate it was that I was invited to TED. Organizing that event was not that easy, I organized the 2003 Ghana Outsourcing Conference a few years ago in Philadelphia and that was hard. Multiple my event times 1000 and you have TEDGlobal 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania.

First, I owe a lot of people thanks to. I want to thank Bono, who had the vision of bringing this event to our continent and for even showing up. I want to thank Chris Anderson the owner of TED for putting his resources and time into organizing a wonderful event. I want to thank the TED staff, for without their help we probably would be stranded in Arusha or Nairobi (I believe some did actually...like me). I want to thank the all the sponsors, especially Google and Dan Shine from AMD on giving the Fellow's a choice of our own laptop (PC or Mac).

The last person I want to thank was very instrumental in getting many of the speakers. I've talked to this person via email a couple of times before we actually met at the annual Wharton African Business conference. I want to thank Emeka Okafor for a brilliant, masterful, and diverse speaker line-up for TEDGlobal2007. If Emeka hadn't told me to apply for a Fellowship I might not have made it to TED.

Many know Emeka as the face behind his blog Timbuktu Chronicles, jokingly I introduced Emeka to a friend of mine Derrick Ashong, at the Wharton Conference last November as the Walter Cronkite of Africa. No, Emeka is not a journalist. I think if you would talk to Emeka, he would say he is an entrepreneur with a journalist itch of spreading the word every now and then. Emeka in every sense is an entrepreneur, he is co-owner of specialty Food company called Caranda foods. Caranda specializes in Coffee, Tea and specialty foods.

African Union meeting - Hippos are not being relevant!

The recent African Union meeting in Accra, Ghana was what I would call a bunch of Hippos talking about irrelevant items. This meeting was really to address pressing issues such as; Darfur, economic development and energy crisis. What happened instead... most of the summit was focused on a United States of Africa. I have to say, these Hippos did talk a little about other issues effecting Africa, but the focus on this United States of Africa seem to be the topic for the whole conference.

I do agree we need a unity trading block like the European Union, the African Union should just be that and nothing more. Furthermore, Africa is quite diverse with divisions in language, customs and religion. One Hippo in East Africa mentioned that the official language for this new republic should be Swahili, I laughed when I heard that. Over time I believe we will see a single currency, Ecowas in West Africa is actually planning on having the "Eco" currency by 2012...whether this happens time will tell.

Next year when they have this summit they should talk about these pressing items.

1. Economic Development
2. Energy (Nuclear, Solar)
3. Human rights (Darfur, Congo, etc)
4. Education
5. Capital Markets
6. Last, but most important Health!

Read more about the conference here

Softtribe's SMS payment agnostic service for developing countries

Herman Chinery-Hesse

Developing countries have scarce capital, credit or loans available to them to engage in commerce. So when the CEO of Softtribe spoke at TedGlobal2007 about his agnostic sms payment service I was overjoyed with pleasure (I'll explain this later).

There are quite a few sms mobile payment options out there in the world; Kenya has M-pesa by Vodafone, Indonesia, India, and now I hear Paypal is getting into the mix. All these payment systems are OK Herman says, but they are a closed systems. Softtribe's system Herman claims will be totally agnostic.

I called Herman a few weeks ago in Accra, Ghana where he is based. We talked a bit about TED, the weather in East Africa compared to West Africa and about this SMS payment service he is working on. Herman sees this service being the Gold standard in Africa and other developing markets.

The mobile phone has disrupted the landline phone service, has enabled Africans and others in developing countries to communicate with the outside world. Now the mobile phone is getting ready to disrupt another industry credit/debit cards. This is already taking place in Japan, Japanese use their Mobile phones to pay for Metro/subway fares, movie tickets, a cup of green tea and other items.

As an entrepreneur, I want to see Herman's service and other uninhibited payment systems flourish. Many Africans such as myself are Internet entrepreneurs, we are embracing alternative payment systems that allow consumers in Africa to be able to buy things through our websites.

Softtribe's service comes out later this year, be on the look out!

Zimbabwe: Rand Set to Prop Up Zim Dollar

The crisis in Zimbabwe is very depressing and shameful. Zimbabwe used to be the bread basket of South Africa. I just read this article on how the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will use the RAND to curb the high inflation rate in Zimbabwe.

However, President Robert Mugabe would first have to agree to fundamental political reforms in talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) which are due to start near Pretoria tomorrow.

Read more from All Africa.

Africans to Bono: 'For God's sake please stop!

I just read an interesting article written by TED fellow Jennifer Brea. Jennifer basically summarizes the discussion about aid and Bono and Africans wish of more trade then aid for the continent.

Please read Jennifer Brea's article here.

African Tigers Re-Born

Some scientists believe that there were tigers in Africa a million years ago, but some species died out. The more recent hopes that the continent would generate tiger economies have been equally blighted.

Think of Ghana. When the former Gold Coast gained independence in 1957, its prospects were bright. The new country was rich in cocoa and gold and its population was relatively well-educated. But a long series of coups and persistent corruption dashed those hopes. Ghana is still resource-rich, but it relies on foreign aid for 11% of gross domestic product, and 60% of the population still toils away in subsistence agriculture.

An oil discovery and some changed thinking may be giving Ghana another chance. As John Kufuor, Ghana's president, put it, 'We're going to really zoom, accelerate.'

Oil alone certainly won't work miracles, despite a local newspaper's enthusiastic headline: 'Thank God, Oil at Last, Thank God.' In Nigeria, Angola and Venezuela, huge oil wealth has been disastrous, thwarting the nonoil economy and fertilizing corruption. Fortunately for Ghana, the country's oil revenues are expected to be more moderate -- a little less than the current flow of foreign aid.

A few brave global investors claim that some African countries, including Ghana, are finally learning the lessons of African failure and Asian tiger success. What makes economies successful isn't gifts from foreigners or royalties from oil producers, but bourgeois virtues: education, infrastructure, honest government, middle-class savings, a widespread work ethic, small families and so forth.

The newfound optimism may be a triumph of hope over experience, or a misreading of the effects of the current boom in resource prices. But it does look like a smaller portion of the windfall revenue is being wasted than in the past. That goes along with growing middle classes and more economically responsible governments.

Right now, the only tigers in Africa are a few specimens imported from China. But Mr. Kufuor may be right in his hopes for an indigenous species: 'You come back in five years, and you'll see that Ghana truly is the African tiger.'

Source: StreetInsider

George Ayittey conversation about a Cheetah sustainable fund

George Ayittey & Bono

I had a wonderful conversation with George Ayittey last friday about the recent TED conference in Arusha, Tanzania. I have profound respect for George because he is a old-school pragmatic thinker. Dr. Ayittey is trained as an Economist, but he doesn't talk like most Economists who talk about Africa such as Jeffrey Sachs or others.

During our 30 minute conversation about the TED conference, George asked, "so Nii how do we get you TED Cheetah's to contribute to African development"? I thought about it for a second and said, "I would be nice if TED sponsored fellows to their respective countries to use their professional work experience to help a business for a month or so. I heard a pause, and George said, "well that is nice, but what about a fund, called a Cheetah Fund that is sustainable was set-up to help TED fellows or other African Cheetahs with funding for their respective businesses".

Wow, I said to myself, how come I didn't think about this before. African chiefs have been using this system for centuries before colonialism, we just have to go back to some of our indigenous roots. George mentioned that the fund would be sustainable by having the Cheetah's repay the fund the amount giving to him or her, this way the fund would be sustainable.

In Africa, before there was European colonialism, African tribes taxed each other to fund small-scale businesses. If a business would fail that tribe would pull it's resources together to help that particular business. African countries had these types of systems in place years before any Wall Street Hedge Fund, or a Silicon Valley venture capitalist like, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) were around.

We as Africans have to be progressive with our future and start addressing African opportunities. This Cheetah Fund is a good start to address African opportunities.

Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania

If you have never been on a safari, I highly recommend for you to go to Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. I'm native to West Africa and we unfortunately don't have the Safari's or the scenic mountains East Africa have. I was astonished to see once a mountain, a crater with 30,000 animals stuck within it, it reminded me of Jurassic Park the movie.

Just getting to Ngorongoro is a adventure in itself, you drive through many towns and villages to a top elevation of about 6000 ft sea level. To reach the Ngorongoro crater you have to travel about 2000 ft down to reach the floor, reaching the floor are about 30,000 animals living and evolving.

Check out these links to learn more on Ngorongoro.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngorongoro_Conservation_Area

http://www.pbs.org/edens/ngorongoro/

It's noble for you celebrities to adopt African babies

People have been adopting African babies for years now, now the celebrities are trying to help out dear old Africa. While I applaud these celebrities and their noble efforts to help African babies find a better life in Western countries, maybe they should put their resources into other areas.

Most celebrities are in the entertainment industry. Why not have an African entertainment fund to help African entrepreneurs develop African entertainment content for African audiences? Better yet, fund projects directly. There are thousands of artisans, and musicians that could use collaboration and some western know-how to entertainment.

China: Developing Giant and Emerging Development Actor

I took time out of my busy management consulting schedule to attend an event about China development in Africa by Center for Global Development here in Washington, DC. I actually learned a few things about China's development, (some of you know I very passionate about China's investment in Africa). David Dollar, the country director for China and Mongolia for the World Bank, shared his thoughts and views about the Chinese approach to infrastructure development.

David mentioned that China uses full-cost recovery for most infrastructure projects, that's how the Chinese have been able to grow their infrastructure at break-neck pace. Full-cost recovery in public infrastructure works like this; when a highway is built there are tolls levied so that the costs of the highway project can be recouped and used to fund other public works projects. China is even selling some of it's infrastructure to the securities markets and getting a second return of their monies. David said, that this Chinese approach is a novel and interesting idea that the Chinese are not even initiating in Africa. In Africa, the Chinese ask governments what they want and they fund and build the projects according to that countries particular need.

Callisto Madavo a Zimbabwean, said that it's noble for the Chinese to invest in Africa and build projects. However, the Chinese are not allowing knowledge transfer to take place. For most projects in Africa they import their own Chinese workers and they do all the engineering and the design. The work the African natives do are mostly labor type of activities.

Africa is now at a interesting point in history: growth rates are high, turmoil and war are down, and Mobile handset penetration is high. We also have developing countries looking at our continent for resources and returns for their capital, mostly China, India, some Middle east countries. What I think is going to happen in Africa for the next 10-15 years in extreme growth fueled by natural resources (hard metals, and oil) and telecoms (Mobile phones and broadband). However, we will need to address the negatives of this growth; disposable income, public health reforms and sustainability.

Oil in Ghana, be carefull!

Oil companies have been exporting Oil out of West and Central Africa for years. Now the country of Ghana can finally say it will be a net exporter of this Black Gold. We all know that Oil is in great demand around the world and countries have used this commodity to help with development.

I just hope when the oil starts flowing the Government of Ghana doesn't abuse it's new source of revenue.

Read more from Ghanaweb.com

Africa needs comprehensive development package!

The biggest topic of TED was AID, and it's impact on development and corruption. Speaking with many none Africans or first time visitors, many asked, "so Africans don't want help or Aid". My reply was a little bias because I consider myself a Capitalist. My reply was, Africans want the ability to showcase their products or services on a world stage.

Throughout the conference I think many Africans came to the conclusion that we don't need AID or help, we need access to capital and markets, however one speaker who kind of closed out the conference was the Ex. Finance Minister of Nigeria and what she said left me thinking in a completely different way.

Here is a synopsis of what many speakers said:

Dr. George Ayittey

Africa needs young leaders whom he calls Africa's saviors or Cheetah's. Africa needs to go back to it's indigenous roots and rely on those institutions to fuel the growth for Africa. The Hippos or the Fufu leaders should be ashamed for squandering Africa's resources and should stop complaining about colonialism and it's after-effects. George is an old school intellectual who pulls no punches, he doesn't care what people think of him or whom he disregards.






Andrew Mwenda

Says aid makes African leaders complacent and dependent. This dependency makes Africa lazy and always reliant from the West. He asks why African governments haven't allowed entrepreneurs to market their services or products to international markets. Andrew is in favor of sustainable development for Africa.


James Shikwati

Has the same sentiment when it comes to aid and dependence. Andrew and James are microcosms of each other with some subtle differences. James is an economist and deep thinker and Andrew an journalist that has been jailed in Ugunda for telling the truth. James however goes into more depth about the African mindset and impressions about it. At TED he says if you give someone aid, you create a mindset of dependence and this dependence will only teach begging. James also says if the West really wants to help us, they should open up their markets to our products and services.




Herman Chinery Hesse - Africa's Bill Gates

Herman is a dear friend of mine, anytime he opens his mouth people sit down and watch him in action. Herman is a story teller, his stories always have humor and that humor is what sets him apart from most. At TED, he told some short stories about misery and triumph of Softribe. One thing that he mentioned that I never heard anyone say before is that he expected ministers to take bribe if they were not getting paid adequately. His quote, "how can you expect a minister with a masters education, who sees all this money cross his desk, not line his pockets, it's inevitable! Herman from his experience says what Africa needs is empowerment from people in the "Bush", this empowerment should allow these people to grow, make, or ship their products to earn a good wage so they can buy his software services.



Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Dr. Ngozi the first Finance and Foreign Minister of Nigeria spoke with such conviction at TED that the curators were afraid to stop her speech after it went over 18 minutes. I don't know if putting her last was done on purpose or because she was probably the most important speaker at TED.

Synopsis: Dr. Ngozi said Africa needs comprehensive development package. A hybrid package that includes investment, development and aid. She says Africans should be proud they get aid, AFRICA USED TO GIVE AID AND WASN'T COMPENSATED FOR IT! The aid she is talking about is slavery and natural resources used to grow and build Europe and America. Dr. Ngozi also says Ireland and Spain receive aid from the European Union so why shouldn't Africa receive aid. She also says, aid needs to be classified as SMART AID! Aid that has accountability and goes to grassroots organizations and public programs that are closely watched. Dr. Ngozi tells a story about when she was little she carried her little sister on her back to a clinic to be treated, she says without aid her sister would have died. This Sista is on point!

Remarkable speakers, remarkable talks, remarkable though-provoking discussions!

Quintessential Quote: I saw, I make

I get an awaking every time I come back from Africa. We should appreciate things we take for granted everyday; running water, reliable electricity or even getting Movies On Demand from Comcast. An African Cheetah I met at TED, which I'm helping sponsoring his education spoke at TED about his electric windmill.





William Kamkwamba was 14 when he picked up an old donated Science textbook from the states, which showed how to make a electric windmill. His small town in Malawi where he grew up didn't have much electricity, William was able to build from scratch a windmill out of scrapes wood, and corrugated aluminum shingles. On stage at TED Chris Anderson the Curator of TED asked William how he got the idea for this windmill. His response, "I saw, I make". This is a remarkable African ingenuity story, in any case William is quite lucky that he was profiled in a magazine and was able to come to TED.

Africa has many William's, ingenuity has always been ingrained in Africans DNA. We sometimes need what Malcolm Gladwell would call, a Tipping Point. In William's case that Tipping point was an old discarded textbook from the states that was considered expired! I can't wait till MIT's Nicholas Negroponte launches his One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). What if this computer had an elearning science/technology model that showed students how to make small simple devices/gadgets into everyday uses?

Africa needs a lot right now, in terms of education I think we need to really change our curriculum to a more of an entrepreneur fun model. This curriculum should allow risk-taking and thought-provoking learning. As soon as we figure ICT infrastructure costs the OLPC will still be nothing but a machine that awesome tasks without the ability to connect to the global Internet.

Ted Global &Tanzania the best experience of a lifetime!

I just got back from Ted Global in Arusha, Tanzania. I'm still trying to comprehend what I witnessed and heard last week, the thought-provoking and speaker line up was very good. I would also like to congratulate the TED staff on a wonderful organized conference. I can't imagine what it took to manage people, logistics and safety for all who attended. I want to thank Chris Anderson for having the foresight into putting his resources and energy into this endeavour, last but not least, I want to thank Emeka Okafor for organizing a good speaker line-up and picking to attend this conference.



TED Global as Dr. George Ayittey would call it was full of "Cheetahs". His definition of a Cheetah is someone who is provoking change, challenging old thinking and taking calculated-risks in Africa, I believe I fall in this category. This conference is a small step in changing mindset and debate about sustainability, accountability/governance, and overall growth on the African continent. Mark my words, the Africa's Cheetah's welcome the challenge of growing Africa!

I'm speaking at TED in Tanzania

I'm honored to have been chosen to speak at TED Global in Arusha, Tanzania. This conference
is a who's who of African influencers. I'm particularly interested at networking and brainstorming on how we get Africa to become more sustainable, and growth oriented.

Here is more www.ted.com

OLPC - Rwanda is participating!

Forward from Wayan.

The government of Rwanda has now announced it will be participating in the One Laptop Per Child roll out sometime in the next five years with yesterday's press release:

[T]he government of Rwanda has committed to provide one laptop per child to all primary school children within five years. This commitment was confirmed as H.E. President Paul Kagame met with Prof. Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairperson of One Laptop per Child (OLPC) at Urugwiro Village on Tuesday.

OLPC will provide test laptops plus support to fully test the concept at no cost in Rwanda, as well as coordinate knowledge exchange with other participating nations.

Greg Wyler of Terracom

Of all the OLPC countries, Rwanda seems the most technologically advanced and pedagogically prepared for One Laptop Per Rwandan Child. President Paul Kagame has embraced ICT as the key to his country's future and Rwanda has amazing entrepreneurs like Greg Wyler of Terracom who is providing affordable Internet access for all Rwandans.

When I met Greg last year, I was amazed by his energy, vision, and dedication to President Kagame's Vision 2020. As Romain Murenzi, Rwanda's Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Scientific Research says:

"We have almost no natural resources and no seaports in Rwanda, which leaves us only with the knowledge-based society.[...] We intend to quadruple the average income by [2020], and communication networks can help us achieve that goal,"

And from my experience with the Kigali Institute of Science and technology and local Rwandan entrepreneurs, they are taking the government at its word, building the most advanced and aggressive information and communication-based economy south of the Sahara and north of South Africa.

OLPC + Children Worldwide

In other words, a perfect environment for millions of Children's Machine XO's. Granted, there is a serious question of cost. Rwanda is not rich, it cannot afford to buy a OLPC for ever child, even at $100 dollars per laptop, but I for once am cheering on a recipient country.

Which brings us to a pertinent question: Just who is in or out of the OLPC roll out? We have confirmation that Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, Uruguay, and maybe Pakistan are in, but Thailand, India and China are out.

Reading CNN we hear that the Palestinian territory is in and reading Yahoo News we find that Egypt and Massachusetts are out. Yet there isn't any independent confirmation about Pakistan, Egypt, Massachusetts, or the Palestinian territory.

Oh, and before you look, who knows what reality the OLPC country map exists in.

Greg Wyler OLPC Rwanda One Laptop Per Rwandan Child President Kagame Romain Murenzi Terracom

Links for 1/12 - Outsourcing links

Here are some links for Outsourcing news and resources.


The best==> http://www.outsourcing-center.com/

Independent Outsouring research firm neoit.com

Independent financial outsourcing researcher http://www.fsoutsourcing.com/

Good for getting Outsourcing/bpo contacts www.outsourcingcentral.com

Africa Outsourcing

Over the years I've spoken at conferences and seminars about Outsourcing in Africa and

other developing markets. It's not a question if Africa will grow as an Outsourcing destination, it's a when. Right now outsourcing in Africa is minuscule at best compared to the likes of India, Philippines or Russia.

Here are some key things Africa needs to grow into a outsourcing destination.

1. We need redundant and reliable Internet broadband infrastructure.
ex. Eassy fiber cable and SAT-3 cable are starters, also we need more Internet
infrastructure.

2. We need the Diaspora to come back and start building the Infosys, Wipro's and Tata's of
Africa.

3. We need Governments to earmark or allocate IT parks or Tax free zones only for science, Hi-tech or outsourcing related businesses.

4. We need more IT education, we simply lack this right now. Africa needs more programmers in Java, html, and other related IT fields.

5. Last but not least, we need to change or mind-set or frame of vision. Nations are not built
overnight, nor can we always depend on the government for handouts. Entrepreneurs are the
ones that build markets and nations. America was built by industrialists and business men!

Mobile payments coming to Africa

Mobile payments is becoming a reality in Africa, particularly in Kenya. BBC has a video link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolavconsole/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_6240000/newsid_6243500/bb_rm_6243527.stm

Visa International wants to go global with their systems. Although it looks like it will be a closed system for Visa customers.
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/01/08/tech-visa.html

The Chinese are coming to Africa!

The China-Africa summit in 2006 was an indication that China needs resources and Africa is still being used for it's minerals. The Europeans in the past 400 years have been the conquistadors and robbers...Today we have the Chinese. I have to add that the Chinese are in no ways the same as our past European masters.

For the sake of dialogue I would say the Chinese are what I would call the worst of two evils. As Africans what we require is growth! Growth in infrastructure, healthcare, and telecommunications. Unlike the Europeans I think we can learn and adopt some of China's practices(obviously Human Rights isn't included). China is the only nation in our history to shift from being heavily dependent on Agriculture to a impressive Industrial state. This striking shift is what some would call a Paradigm Shift!

I'm going to give what I call my Proud African views on this Chinese investment in Africa.

1. China signed deals for infrastructure projects with low interest loans or grants. China is doing this partially because it requires good infrastructure in place, if it's going to take Africa's mineral resources back to Asia. Plus, the Chinese firms are going to be doing most of the engineering of Africa's infrastructure not the European or the Americans.

2. We can learn from China because it has been poor, and in some ways it is still a poor country in it's interior. If Africa is going to survive in needs partners from developing nations not Developed nations.

3. The Chinese are Hyper-capitalist and go where they see opportunity. They are investing in industries and sectors that our European masters wouldn't.