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Nigeria Communications Commission Data Shows That Nigeria Has 121m Mobile Lines

By
Tekedia Editors
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2

According to Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), the telcos in the country have a total of 120,969,740 mobile lines with 12,083,190 new subscribers added in February.  In these numbers,  active lives grew from 88,804,952 in January to 89,568,668 in February.   This shows that SIM card registration has not undermined the rate of mobile lines activation in Nigeria, though that is too early to call. There is that fear that subscriber base will drop as the dealine looms, as was experienced by MTN in South Africa where it lost 4.7% of its user base in the exercise  The total mobile lines is broken into GSM lines of 108,564,834 and CDMA lines of 12,404,906 lines. This shows that GSM is the leading platform with CDMA only enjoying marginal growth.

 

Nigeria will be moving into number portability which will enable anyone to change telcos while retaining the old number. So, people can practically have one number despite moving from one network to the other. Portability will possibly be another cost overlay for the telcos. This freedom can cause loss of market share to those that are not improving these services. Kenya and other African nations are going through the portability policy as well.

 

For more, visit NCC website and click February 2011 Subscriber Data Available

Wholesalers – We Know the Prices Also. How A Kenyan Startup Is Empowering Farmers With Realtime Prices via SMS

By
Tekedia Editors
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1

M-Farm , a Kenyan startup,  has  a simple mission – empower local farmers with prices of produce. They even compensate for regional price changes. How it is done?

Send sms to 3535 to get market prices for fresh produce in Kenya SMS formart: price crop location. Example: price potatoes nairobi

 

This is not too much innovation, but the impact will be appreciated by the farmers. When they are armed with prices, they can bargain easily with wholesalers. How? They can also text for prices in the city and know how much the wholesalers are selling. Oh yes, the era of paying our farmers nothing to go to town and make big money is coming to and end as mobility is breaking that distance and lack of price awareness.

The good aspect is that everyone benefits as sellers will be sure that buyers are paying fair good market prices. This is a system that should be replicated in Nigeria across villages.

MFarm Solution to Cooperatives and Suppliers

1.Market Price Inquiry
The farmers inquire current market prices of different crop from regions or specific markets via SMS. This assist farmers getting a higher bargain platform/power and being aware of market prices before they market their produce.

2.Web/SMS Customer Relationship Management
This particular module is target for cooperatives and big suppliers that want to manage their clients queries and response. It is a web based application that connects with SMS from clients and by a click of a button the administrator can reply ti a group of clients via SMS. The application is customized according to clients needs .

MFarm Solution to Farmers and Retailers

1.Selling together
In order to get a platform in the market, the farmers need to produce large quantities and sell to exporters,large scale retailers among other buyers. Through M-Farm the farmers/suppliers will connect to the buyers/market via sms.

2.Buying together
Grouped farmers get connected to suppliers hence get 30 to 50 percent off the farm input such as fertilizers, pesticides,equipments among others the suppliers have to offer. This will be done via sms through M-Farm.

3.Mapping farmers
Via our website the market will get to view farmers directory which will include their crops they produce, production rate and location. Through this the farmers can be able to expand the visibility of their farms and business world wide.

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

By
Tekedia Editors
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0

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.

 

 

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