Hive Colab is a place where East African technologists can go to cut their teeth, work together, and share ideas. They also get insights from people from the NGOS, and universities. Simply,  it  is an open, collaborative, community owned, work environment for young tech entrepreneurs  that provides a platform to develop ideas. It is called a “hive” because it’s a place with lots of activity. Early this year, Hive Colab received funding from Indigo Trust. The Indigo Trust awarded a grant of £10, 000 to the Hive Colab in Uganda.   The grant covered training of volunteers, general operational costs, development of technical platforms and a number of specific interventions.

Pamoja FM, a community radio station in Kibera slum, Nairobi came to the fore during the 2007-2008 election violence, where they acted as a calming influence on the citizens in Kibera, which was in stark contrast with many comparable stations, which incited violence over this period.  In this way, they remained true to their name which means ‘Unity’ in Swahili.  Pamoja is working closely with FrontlineSMS Radio to enable two-way communication with their listeners in real-time.  The Indigo Trust awarded Pamoja FM a grant of £2213 for equipment which will enable the effective execution of this intervention.

FrontlineSMS Radio also received a grant of £10, 200 grant from Indigo Trust to fund a part-time Project Manager to coordinate between the developer team, researchers, partners and users on the ground.  FrontlineSMS combines laptops with mobiles to bridge a crucial information gap between grassroots organisations and their staff or constituents. This could be very helpful to health care delivery intervention.

Africa Gathering provides a space to bring technophiles, thinkers, entrepreneurs, innovators and everybody else together to talk about positive change in sustainable development, technology, social networking, health, education, environment and good governance in Africa. Late last year, The Indigo Trust  awarded a grant of £10, 000 to Africa Gathering (£5000 towards ICT4D conference costs and £5000 for business support).

There is also an award of £5,000 to the Co-Creation Hub team to cover prize money and some project management costs for a Tech-in Governance ‘Living Lab’ event in Lagos. Recently, together, with Omidyar Network, they are funding a ccHub in Nigeria. Of course, we covered iCow few days ago on Tekedia. We think Indigo Trust is making progress and we like the small pieces they make this.