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Home Blog Page 7918

iHub – Go And Build One In Nigeria. Lessons From Kenya

By
Tekedia Editors
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2

 

This is iHub Kenya. It is simply a wonderful vision and we challenge Nigeria to build one. Nigeria needs one with order and funding. Kenya is reaping enormous foreign direct investment in  the web and mobile ecosystem because of what this institution is powering.

 

 

Overview

*iHub_ – Nairobi’s Innovation Hub for the technology community is an open space for the technologists, investors, tech companies and hackers in the area. This space is a tech community facility with a focus on young entrepreneurs, web and mobile phone programmers, designers and researchers. It is part open community workspace (co-working), part vector for investors and VCs and part incubator.

Here’s a rough video of the iHub. A first-look at the space, before any design or wiring was done:

 

 

Background and Info

iHub_ is an open innovation space with a 20MB internet connection from Zuku, hardwired and Wi-Fi, and it’s freely available to any tech person in Nairobi to use once they become a green member .

It is a paradigm shift towards the areas where technology approaches a barrier, and new technologies emerge to cross it. This is achieved through the idea of Open Innovation which is the process of combining internal and external ideas as well as internal and external paths to market to advance the development of new technologies.

Using syllogism, the *iHub_ can be described as follow:

  • “Mental Frame 1?: *iHub_ is an open space for the tech community in Kenya.
  • “Mental Frame 2?: The tech community in Kenya have great ideas.
  • “Mental Frame 3?: Great ideas lead to development of new technologies

Hence: *iHub_ is an open space for the tech community in Kenya with great ideas that will lead to development of new technologies in Kenya.

 

The concept of the *iHub_ is a first of kind in Kenya and there are great expectations that it will spur a revolution in the technology products and services space with its core focus to give the tech community a community facility where they can bring their ideas to life.

 

*iHub_ will be a gallery of technologies that will emerge to revolutionize the Kenyan Business scene.

 

Data connectivity is the most important aspect of the iHub, but after that comes a fresh design and an atmosphere that is conducive to techies getting cool stuff done.

 

Finally, we’re putting our networks into place to give special access to the entrepreneurs and startups who need space to meet with VCs, seed funders and local businesses. We’re trying to create the place where seeds are planted and are easily found by the people with money to help them grow.

 

A Blank Canvas

The iHub is what we as a tech community make it. It is a blank canvas, a big open room with a great view and wonderful location, but still an empty room that needs some input from people within the community to design, and create a culture around.

 

What part are you going to play?

  • Good at creating intranets for fast and easy file sharing of 1gb+ downloads like the Android SDK? Want to help us build that?
  • Maybe you’ve got great business connections. Will you help us connect the iHub and the people in it to the business community?

iHub Location

The iHub’s location is going to be on the 4th floor of the Bishop Magua Centre on Ngong Road (directly opposite the Uchumi Hyper). It’s an amazing location, with quick access to public transportation, food and the City Centre.
View iHub – Nairobi’s Innovation Hub in a larger map

 

Community Involvement

From the beginning, we’ve been working closely with a couple of people from the community to find a place and get some basic items squared away. This advisory group is made up of individuals with a long standing presence in tech locally, including:

  • Riyaz Bachani, CTO of Wananchi
  • Josiah Mugambi, Co-Founder of Skunkworks
  • Rebecca Wanjiku, Tech reporter and entrepreneur
  • Conrad Akunga, Blogger and Software Manager
  • Erik Hersman, Tech blogger, Founder of iHub, Founder of AfriGadget and co-Founder of Ushahidi

 

The space was made possible by funding to Ushahidi by the Omidyar Network and Hivos. Ushahidi covers the lease, electricity and data connections.

Mobile Money Agent Business In Nigeria – How Will It Play Out? What You Need To Know

By
Tekedia Editors
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1

This is an interesting piece from kachwanya on this topic that will soon dominate the narratives in Nigeria. The perspective was on Kenya but this will play into Nigeria also as we are just starting this game.

They are the real force behind the growth of mobile money across Kenya.  Probably you are like me and you are wondering what really make them tick. Yes, I am talking about the mobile money agent business and I was happy when I came across the presentation by  Piet Biemans during AItec Conference Banking and Mobile Money COMESA.

Here  are the  nine drivers to the agent Business Case based on research in Brazil, Kenya and India according to CGAP:

•  Role-related

1. Up-front capital ‘acting as an agent can be a very capital-intensive business. CGAP’s research found M-PESA agents needed to acquire an average of US$ 1600 in capital in order to start operating as an agent.’

2. Liquidity management ‘liquidity management has two components: (1) accumulating adequate e-float and cash, and (2) the act of rebalancing the two’

3. Rigid staff and space expenses ‘a rigid cost “floor” that leaves the agent with much less flexibility on how many transactions are needed for the agent business to be attractive’

•  Exogenous

4. Security risk ‘robbery risk has two implications for agent costs. The amount of upfront capital an agent requires to begin operating can be increased by the cost of security improvements. But much more substantial is the expense from actually being robbed’

5. System reliability ‘losing a few days of business may be enough to make the month unprofitable’

6. Effect on other line of business ‘the bulk of agents will have a pre-existing business that continues to be important ‘

Time-specific

7. Adequate revenue at start-up ‘sufficient capital to fund losses until the cash flow turns positive’

8. Major costs with growth ’as the level of customer activity grows, agents will incur additional expenses like extra staff member and improved premises’ 

9. Fragmented demand across too many agents ‘the ratio of customers to agents is a key driver of agent network revenue, but the ratio can deteriorate even after it reaches an optimum point’

Mobile Number Portability Is Due in Nigeria – NCC Finish SIM Card Registration and Start This

By
Tekedia Editors
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0

In North America, when you buy a phone from one telecom company, you have the right to retain the number when you move to another. That is called portability. It practically makes it possible for you to keep using one number even when you are moving across different service providers.

 

In Nigeria, it has not gone mainstream. NCC is doing something very important now – to register SIM cards in order to reduce crimes and other vices associated with anonymous SIM cards. Unfortunately, in a nation with no social security number, anyone can provide any identity and government cannot validate that. There is a big question mark on the effectiveness of that Sim card registration process.

 

Yes, back to number portability.  This needs to happen to give freedom to mobile users in Nigeria. But let Nigerians know that this will be a very hard thing since competition has eaten into the profitability of these telcos and any further burden on them will not be easily accepted.  It is easier in U.S. to port since new contracts will cover the new company taking the service. They will benefit from you coming into their network. In the prepaid world in Nigeria, that may not work well without some costs to the telcoes. But NCC has the power to do anything.

 

Now, while will people want to port their numbers? Many reasons and some are

 

– Poor service from some networks. Some are just not reliable.  Owerri sometimes is forgotten by MTN.  The service there is just bad.

 

–  Calling rates disparity for very price sensitive customers. They can move to other networks that charge a little lesser.

 

– Provision of new features like mobile money, drug verification (think mPedigree), etc

 

Good enough, this is within the radar of NCC and who knows, it can begin this May.

Text2Fly Enables Customers To Search Flight Schedules via Mobile Devices. Can They Add Booking Interface?

By
Tekedia Editors
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0

Text2Fly is a mobile service that lets you search for Nigerian flight schedules by sending a text message from your mobile phone. Text2Fly carries the flight schedules of all Nigerian domestic airlines. And making sure flight schedules are accurate is a serious issue at Text2Fly.

 

This is the number to text 33057 and the charge is N50.Text2Fly – Search for any flight schedule with a single text while on the move and it is very convenient. Yet, they must figure out how to enable customers to make bookings with this era of m-payment. That will bring the convenience to the next level.
It has a detailed Q/A section and all your questions will be answered.

The Social Media Bubble? Report – Next Week

By
Tekedia Editors
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0

 

We want to focus in the next few days to get the reports from our Kenyan editors as we focus on Kenya and what is happening there. We will continue to cover Kenya. Accordingly the Social Media Bubble Report is pushed to next week. Next week, we will also cover Uganda and what is happening in the emerging technology ecosystem.

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