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When African Girls Congregate for ICT, People Take Notice – We Need More AkiraChix

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Tekedia Editors
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It is a Kenyan girls tech club – AkiraChix- the world is noticing. Read this press on their site:

 

Akirachix is excited to be selected as the implementing organization in Kenya for mobile social networking activities in Kenya, as part of the Creating Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economy partnership. We will be working together with the Mlab consortium (University of Nairobi School of Computing and Informatics, iHub, the World Wide Web Foundation and Emobilis) to facilitate activities in the Mlab. The grant was issued by Infodev, a donor?funded agency hosted by the World Bank to foster innovation and collaboration among different stakeholders in the mobile communications sector.

 

The objectives of the program are to:

1. Sustain the existing social networking hub, Mlab.

2. Encourage the creation of content for a mobile applications community of practice.

3. Create a competition for ideas to encourage entrepreneurship.

4. Establish mentorship opportunities for developers.

Below is a complete list of the grantees in Africa and Asia

 

On their site, they have this interesting About Us with ‘gal’ for ‘girl’

 

Akira is a Japanese word that means ‘energy’ and ‘Intelligence’, those are the two words that aptly describe this group of ladies. We are intelligent and we bring all our energy together to help and empower the greater community of galz out there (yaani in the world).

 

This is a group for ladies with interest in Information Technology. Right now we are based in Kenya but we intend to spread our wings to all corners of the world. The aim of this forum is:

 

  • to empower the gal tech community in Kenya
  • to use the Akira Chix to reach out to other gals in community and encourage them to pursue careers in the field of technology
  • to integrate use of technology in solving life’s problems
  • to facilitate collaboration and communication among the tech galz
  • to inspire gals to be transformational leaders
  • to enlighten the community on the technology sphere
  • to motivate the gal community to continue in their technology development

 

Irrespective of the style, this is the type of clubs we should encourage girls to form these days. In Kenya, they are doing real things and was actually recognized by the World Bank. They also won the IPO48 competition.

Technology For Good – Ericsson. Why There is More Good From Technology

By
Tekedia Editors
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0

The tech giant has released its annual Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility report. It is central on the ability of technology, especially ICT to solve energy, environmental and social challenges. Read the release from the corporate website of the company.

 

To mark the launch of Ericsson’s Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2010 – Technology for Good, we hear from company President and CEO Hans Vestberg on the significant role of sustainability in the Networked Society. He also outlines the company’s sustainability priorities for 2011.

 

Technology for Good is the theme of the latest Ericsson Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility report. It highlights the company’s ongoing efforts to apply innovation to market-based solutions that empower people and society to help create a more sustainable world. These efforts are central to the transition to the Networked Society – a world where everything that would benefit from being connected will be connected.

 

Vestberg addresses what he calls the three pillars, which will facilitate the sustainable transformation to the Networked Society: connectivity technology itself; the global reach of existing networks; and the socio-economic benefits delivered by broadband technology.

He talks about how solutions targeted at different sectors – such as consumers, institutions or enterprises – build on the three pillars, with resulting benefits for society and sustainability.

 

Vestberg also talks about his three sustainability priorities for 2011:

  • Developing scalable market-based solutions (in sectors such as health care and education) that can be replicated, preferably on a global scale
  • Maintaining Ericsson’s sustainability leadership position, incorporating company ways of working with Ericsson products
  • Being a voice for the role of sustainability and Technology for Good in the Networked Society through advocacy with stakeholders such as customers, governments, ICT players and other industries.

 

In his introductory letter to the Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2010 – Technology for Good (PDF version), Vestberg says broadband and mobility are revolutionizing the way health care and education are being provided.

 

“As a catalyst for more sustainable development, we have only begun to tap the possibilities of the Networked Society,” he says. “The transformational power of ICT to spur socioeconomic development and put us on the path to a low-carbon economy has never been greater.”

 

The report can also be found on Ericsson’s Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility homepage.

Open is Now Closed – Why Nothing is Open Source and How companies Are Hiding Under Open source to Further their Business Goals

By
Tekedia Editors
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2

Businessweek recently reported that Google is tightening the lids on what happens to Android. Yes, that is the open source OS for mobility computing.  Open source? Yes. But Google does not want many fragmentations.

 

Do not be deceived. There is nothing open in these systems except having a strategy that enables quick and fast adoption. When it comes down to what matters, you will notice that Google does not make Android open. Only the best customers get to see the newest versions and they have the opportunity to profit before anyone else.

 

The truth is that companies are hiding under this mantra of open source to project different business agendas. With a market share of 34%, Android would not have been there, within this short time, without this strategy. When they acquire the OS, they knew that was the only way to compete with Blackberry, iOS and Symbian. It is largely surviving and dominating and not open-sourcing a platform for any good.

 

Another example is WordPress which is an open platform for blog. Unfortunately, the best of the platform goes to the VIP account holders who can put ads in their accounts. They pay around $2,500 per month to license the wordpress platform.  Why is that possible? Because they make the wordpress.com open and many people use that platform and based on that population, they can make money at the top of the ceiling. If they say it is open, let them allow this blog to enjoy the benefits of the VIP account.

 

Of course, we should be happy that they make some parts “open”, yet, they must thank us for taking them. Why? Without us, they will not be making the kills on top of the pyramid. The web and mobile system have the network effects. The more people are in a platform, the better. So companies are ready to appear to be making something free to get the masses, but when a true premium value comes, they know those that deserve it – the paying customers.

 

Android does it as it determines winners by giving their OS to whom they choose on time before others.  Wordpress does the same by providing classes of accounts in an open space. But we know one thing: nothing is open – firms are just advancing their business agendas in a model that works best for them.

 

 

Mobile Banking – The Beginning of Credit Scoring System in Nigeria. And The End of Informal Economy

By
Tekedia Editors
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0

As the likes of Pagatech and mpesa go into action in Nigeria, one thing remains clear  – there is no credit scoring system in the nation. People are still making loans based on human networks and collaterals which may not be optimal.

 

A key barometer for these players will be using that massive data they will collect to make sense of people’s credit worthiness. This has eluded the banks for ages, but these mobile payment system can easily do that. It has to begin by following the people financial patterns and using that information to build a risk profile on them.

 

These are key things that must happen in the mobile payment system:

– Aggregate data,interprete and build credit profile

–  Help people better manage their finances. We need to get mint in the phone

– credit process and supply chain platforms for startups, rampups and speedups and indeed SMEs

– share with government (yes, it is possible that informal economy will be collapsing as government can track financial health of farmers and others via mobile payment platform. As governments build that data, these informal sector folks may be targeted and required to pay taxes, etc. (Afraid of tax? Do not be scared to get a mobile payment account – we are just theorizing here. Government has not said anything)

 

Tekedia Innovation Forum Announces Prizes – Top Comments and Topic Each Gets N10,000/month

By
Tekedia Editors
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0

Today, we announce the opening of our Forum which will support this blog as we continue to provide coverage on technology, innovation, entrepreneurship and other areas. We listened carefully and now we have made this platform available.

 

Visit the Forum and post anything – technology, innovation, sports, Nollywood, political, etc. At the end of the week, we will summarize the ideas on a blog. Let this be an idea farm. Products, gadgets, reviews, anything, visit Tekedia Innovation Forum. We hope this will become a platform for creative discussion and we challenge everyone to make it informative and progressive.

 

To show our appreciation for your time, we are immediately launching two prizes.

 

Highest Commenter Prize

Every month – the  top poster will be announced and you will go to our Lagos Office and collect N10,000 cash. If not living in Lagos or Owerri, we pay into your account. Check our address at Fasmicro website (our parent company).  We will contact you and also announce it (only your username) in the Forum. You need at least 30 comments to qualify every month.

 

Topic with Highest Comments Prize

The Topic needs at least 30 comments to qualify. We award to the person that started the topic. So, if you start a topic that brings better comments, you get rewarded.  You will be paid the same N10,000 per month as described above.

 

The month of April 2011 is already gone, we are not going to award anything for it. Rather, we will aggregate April and May for these prizes. Subsequent months will  run on themselves – the first day starts on the 1st of every month (0.01am) to 11.59pm Nigerian time of the month. This promotion is ongoing.

 

Go in there and start writing….

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