Appfrica facilitates, mentors and incubates software entrepreneurs in software in Uganda.  It also gives the young guys a physical space with good network capabilities for them to work. We do not know if the name is Appfrica or AppAfrica or Appfrica Labs, but no matter what, this is a place for young guys in Uganda to spend time. They provide resources in servers, computing power and helps visionary developers get their ideas off and when the funds are needed, they play roles to make sure it happens. From their website, they explain themselves thus:

Since 2008, Appfrica Labs’s work has been rewarded with a reputation for innovative and technologically sophisticated projects in a diverse range of commercial and cultural settings. Our work is often exemplified for it’s ‘hacktivist’ nature, meaning it’s technically compelling motivated by altruism and global change. We work with a surprising range of clients on diverse projects: translation, mobile apps, facebook apps, software development, market research and reports, data analysis and visualization, infographics, graphic design and more.

 

Our client work and the research projects we pursue present us with a variety of design challenges from a real-time feed of questions from people deep in rural Africa, or visualizing user interaction with social networks, to backend software development. We design systems that scale both technically, and internationally. We specialize in globally aware projects, with work taking us around the world from Africa to Asia. The above map illustrates just where we’ve done work.

 

We think that guys must step up and replicate this type of quasi social and business ecosystem system across the continent. That way we can train more people quicker and efficiently.

Established in 2004,  AfriHUB Nigeria provides human capacity-building technologies, including satellite and wireless Internet access, telephony and US instructor-led technical training to universities and polytechnics throughout Nigeria, as well as to the country’s businesses and government sectors. This goal received a lifeline with the opening of its first two ICT Centres on Nigerian campuses in 2004.

Across some university campuses, one can see the influence of AfriHUB. For instance, in the prestigious Federal University of Technology, Owerri, one can see the huge AfriHUB structure. They are delivering services under solid world calss infrastructure.

Mission and Action Plan
Our mission is to provide the critical combination of infrastructure, services and training, along with American-style management and service quality, required to unleash the power of Information and Communications Technologies (“ICT”) in Nigeria and other African countries for human capacity building and economic empowerment.

 

Infrastructure: AfriHUB is building state-of-the-art ICT Centres at universities and polytechnics throughout Nigeria , each with its own backup power, robust C-band satellite connectivity to the Internet, mega-cyber centre, calling centre, classrooms for technical training and wireless extensions for campus-wide “hot-spots”.

Services: AfriHUB’s ICT Centres offer a full range of affordable, pre-paid services, including super-fast, always-on Internet access, VoIP telephony and support services for students and businesses including printing, photocopying and facsimile. Training: AfriHUB offers a unique set of blended training solutions, tailored to meet the needs of every kind of computer user – from beginners to students and professionals looking for advanced career tracks. AfriHUB’s courses are taught by highly qualified instructors from the USA , with the aid of computer-equipped classrooms and computer labs for hands-on study support between classes.

AfriHUB’s “systems approach” -combining infrastructure, services and training-is based on years of experience in designing, implementing and operating telecommunications and IT-related projects in more than 15 African countries.