Fear the Greeks and their Gifts.

I fear I may have already used this tile on one of my blogs but the weeks events will serve the purpose well. 

The first is the decision to create and give our free Internet for users in the Kampala and Entebbe area. The second is the release of the state of the Internet report 2015. 

All this has taken place at a time when the candidate for the Forum for Democratic Change made his way back to the Homeland after a very tough year (and a bit of a break with some travel to Europe and the U.S). 

We did struggle a little during the elections when the Internet was disconnected. The new ICT minister went on to lament about government's inability to control the Internet (making reference to Virtual Private Networks-which Ugandan users have made use of to bypass the local Security measures). 

The business community and users such as myself raised concern about this development knowing well that our businesses from blogs to web site design and hosting depend heavily on having online access. We were troubled too when the budget was released and it become clear that which the exception of the backbone authority and it's roles in regulation,  there would be very little money devoted to Information Communication Technology. The best we could do, I argued was to make sure we leveraged our skills in other sectors which were heavily dependent on technology to at least keep afloat. 

The decision to give out free Internet therefore is received with some measure of suspicion. The aforementioned report in Internet freedom shares a lot regarding each east African country and it's perception of surveillance from its government. So the primary concern regards surveillance and monitoring for users but it also creates an strange battle between government and private sector and telecoms in particular especially with the drives that they have had to reduce the costs of their services and the roll outs that they have had of free Facebook and some other social media tools. 

This is why the brief questionnaire has been viewed with suspicion (name, date of birth, gender, address- is asking for a lot just to use the network). 

I suspect that we might see a wedge between telcos and government with the possibility of the former fighting on behalf of citizens in defense of their rights to privacy.  

But users need to be careful using wireless networks wherever they are. These networks are perhaps some of the most vulnerable and those who access them often do so at their own risk.  The mobile device and its sim card also stores and makes available basic searches by identifying the provider and other details that can be traced back to the user. The difference is that you do enjoy some measure of protection based on a written or unwritten agreement with your service provider. 

The text below shows you some of what can be derived from a basic search and the informaiton that is shared in a standard browser under the HTTP (hyper text transfer protocol). In the search below I simply ask my search engine for Information about renewable energy infographics. 

http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=ipad&p=renewable+energy+infographic&pcarrier=MTN-UGANDA&pmcc=641&pmnc=10

As you can see from the link given above, everytime you perform a search using a device, the device identified the carrier based on the sin card installed. The sim card is usually configured to work with a certain carrier and to use a defined APN. The same card also usually connects to the Internet using a set of pre-defined networks masts that corresponds to the provider. 

CARRIER:

PMCC:

PMNC

The most important law in this regard is the interception of Communications act 2010 which used in conjunction with anti terrorism legislation stand to be misused unless challenged by practitioners. 

But we are also hoping that businesses will be allowed to thrive whatever their political affiliations so that people can invest in more secure platforms for themselves instead of depending in handouts from government and telcos but that as far as we can see is a long shot. 

Career Imagination Program

The blog is long overdue. Considering the event I am describing took place almost three weeks ago. Most of my Sunday mornings are spent attending and church (via TV) and watching NBS TV, which has an exciting new show called the MixUp. 

It features two gorgeous hosts who tackle a wide range of issues but with a focus on young people. 

It is this same show that was talking about rather interesting event that was talking place that week that was going to be about technology, design and animation. The event was designed to take place right at the start of holiday season. It was slated for about tree days of that week. What got my interest was the animation part as well as the climax of the week which would be a training session for those who want to learn how to operate simple drones. 

The ride to w venue was just as interesting. I had the privileges of sharing a good part of the public transport system with some bubbling yuan people who filled the Taxi with a language only decipherable by Computer Scientists. And yes a healthy mix of expletives. 

I still find it very hard committing to events before hand and so it was easier to just wait until the opportunity came. That week a window opened up and I chose to take it. The event was held at Kitante Primary School.

I was not there long enough to attend but managed to speak to one of the representatives with whom I was also able to trade contacts. 

From that I saw, the event had a reasonable attendance with plenty of advertising from additional partners. They deal with robotics, animation, coding, graphics and video editing. They focus on school and teenage centers helping young people to begin to think about future careers in these specific areas. 

A simple online search will lead you to a well designed website that will supply you with a host of valuable information. (WWW.cipafrica.org)

The Coe values of this groups are:

Integrity, honesty and excellence as well as a very strong belief in young people. 

The objectives of this group are:

1. To create a critical mass of skilled young people

2. To advocate for a more skilled based education 

3. To provide training opportunities for young people

4. To become a hub of Information for youth regarding employment opportunities

To achieve these goals the program focuses on four major areas:

A) Hands on skills with very practical small business projects that can be started at low manageable costs. 

B) ICT knowledge 

C) Environmental awareness 

D) Personal development with specifics like leadership, management, communication and much more. 

Partnership with international groups (above).

Additionally there are opportunities for those who have made some headway to volunteer and take part in a transfer of skills. You will also find a refreshing link with Barklays Bank (readytowork.barklays.com) Ready to Work. Their program enhances this one by identifying four areas of interest. Work, Entrepreneurship, Money and People skills. 

The program was co-started by Kato Jonan a few years back and had continued to invest in young people as well as create partners with other international groups. 

YouTube Video with co-founder (above).

Innovation Village Uganda

It's taken some time since my visit to innovation village. As you are probably aware I run a blog that covers innovation hubs in the city with a view of identifying suitable models that can be replicated and used by small business people. 

This hub is located in Ntinda (opposite St. Luke's church) on a busy road that leads to Nakawa-a local industrial center also connecting Bukoto and Kamwokya-probably famous for its NGOs and technology related businesses. 

Carry out a search online and you will find other international innovation hubs in Italy, Baltimore, Maryland and also one in California Polytechnic Pomona (a city where I spent a significant amount of my time in the U.S working and learning alongside young people of the faith from varied backgrounds). 

My attention was drawn to the innovation hub after some work that i did with the RAN labs in Kololo (mainly social media coverage). These events were covered under what we described as two challenges on two floors. The day was spent designing and creating solutions using GIS on the second floor as well as another competition which took place between high schools and higher education institutions. 

While my primary focus has been on some of the original hubs, a chance meeting with a vibrant young mentor at RAN labs helped open my eyes to a host of other innovation hubs in the city. 

So here is what I have distilled from that visit and conversation with the PR lead Whitney as well as from some Information gathered from social media. 

Innovation village has set itself up as the destination for the NEXT BIG IDEAS. They are therefore focusing on:

Fintech

Climate

Agriculture

Health-health meet-ups

Diversity-a focus on women with coding for girls. 

Education 

Media

The thing you notice most when you arrive is the amount of work that has gone into creating a space that makes you comfortable. There is snack center with coffee, tea and a host of other drinks. There are well designed paintings that cover the walls as well as some very well designed articles of furniture. The lady at the front desk was bubbling with life. 

The focus areas were good because they personally represented some of the major themes in most competitions and so they should form the core of the basic hub at least if it wishes to engage with international players with the view of participating and winning these events. While we recognize that organizations ought to be created to function beyond competitions, these challenges are often useful in testing and evaluating design skills of students. 

The recognition of the various stages that small businesses go through is also appreciated. The seed stage, the growth stage and harvest. A place where businesses can be evaluated and built is therefore quite welcome. 

To this end, there are accelerator clinics and mentorship packages that are designed depending on where the business stands. 

The existence of a complete TV (IDEA TV) channel for the benefit of innovators is also great. There are often a large number of events that take place in the city. Being there for all of them is now a possibility at least it is here. There was an idea cafe on the 16th of September-videos about the Internet of things and other discussion that were held are available on the innovation village uganda Facebook site. A health meet-up is planned for the 24th of September. 

The closest I ever got to this was with Mara (located at Ham Towers opposite the main gate of Makerere University). They provided a link to a live stream for people to view an event that was held a few years back. 

I was also glad to hear that the people here were working on making sure that young people that had previously participated in competitions were being absorbed or at least given a chance to stay in the mix. This was a major concern of mine after the exit of orange from the Ugandan market even if MTN to some extent has attempted to fill the gap. To to end I am working towards creating a database of local application solution providers similar to what ThoughtWorks does with its TechRadar. 

I also got a chance to some insights into business practice, and the importance of values for growth and sustainability of local businesses. 

An intense and very well spent day. 

A tale of Two challenges

Two floors, two innovation challenges and two broad themes-climate and technology. 

This week we are privileged to report about yet another innovation challenge that has been put together by the RAN Lab. This as you may have seen from my previous discussion regarding innovation centers in Uganda is the third of a few categories which make up the well represented technology space in the country. 

RAN Lab falls in the third category which is where innovation labs work closely with Universities for with very specific themes at heart in this case-health. The lab is a collaborative effort between technology innovators and the school of Public health at Makerere University. The other two very prominent innovation spaces (and there are others coming up) are Hive Colab and OutBox Hub. Hive Colab falls in the second category that is driven mainly by Business. This innovation lab was created and driven broadly speaking by some young enthusiastic technology advocates who quickly made the transition into mentoring and raising other young men and women. From this space others emerged like Women in Technology (WITU). 

Outbox Hub was created with a core of directors chosen from a broad range of personalities with varied experience. Located on Lumumba Rd. at Solis House. The place offers office space at a range of costs as well as wireless internet. The core team has managed to bring together business interests as well as other student led projects such as google developer days and Mozilla. So it could be a hybrid that manages to blend the broader interests of government with those of private business. 

The First Floor (Technovation Uganda) 

@africaresilient

@globaldevlab

The participants were split up into two groups with High school students represented as well as Universities. In the intense three minute activity the participants are supposed to describe their idea, it's financial viability, profits, marketing plan all this in the presence of three qualified and experienced judges. 

The High School teams

Bwerangi Senior Secondary School (4 teams)

MaryHill Secondary School (2 teams)

Rock Hight School (2 teams)

Nabisunsa Girls (1 team)

Luzira Senior Secondary School (2 teams)

Gulu High School (2 teams)

Gayaza High School (2 teams)

Lira Town College (1 team)

The official High School Score Card

The score card that was used by the judges will help shed some light on what the leadership and development team was looking for when they organized the Technovation Event. 

1. Ideation: the process by which information is processed and solutions emerge.

2. Technical: understanding demonstrated by the team of the problems and challenges.

3. Entrepreneurship: the keenness of the business sense and the recognition of opportunities. 

4. Impression: overall poise and presentation. 

My Independent Expectations

Having been part (at least in attendance) of previous competitions (Demo Africa and Pivot East), I noticed that the average competition normally has about four members. The first is a coder (the technical guy), the second is the finance guy (his task into make sure that the numbers make sense), the third person creates and gives the presentation while the fourth demonstrates an understanding of the nature of the concept. This is therefore what I expected for both the High School and the University team as well as the climate change solution group event that was the culmination of a few weeks of training in Geographic Information Systems. 

The University teams

Mbarara University of Science and Technology

International University of East Africa

APTECH

Uganda Martyr's University

The official Criteria for Judgement

We noticed a difference in the Criteria that was was used to judge the presentations at the University. 

1. Pitching Quality

2. Problem that the group is Solving 

3. Solution that the group is giving

4. Implementation of the plan 

5. Nature of the business model 

The mentors and their advice

The young people that designed and worked and visited with the students praised the process and spoke about the development that takes place as young people learn and add to their knowledge, build teams as well as work in groups. There was growth for the duration of the project which normally functions in five year cycles. The team appreciated the evidence of growth and development in the young teams over the years as well as the expansion of similar models of learning that have been rolled out over the last few years. 

The sponsors

A very well represented Vodaphone praised the group for making the event happen.

The teachers (from participating schools).

A word from the teachers and an encouragement with the hope for more events. A little bit of a lamentation from one of the instructors at the absence of representation from men. 

Perhaps one of the pitfalls of opening up the space for women. 

But a thumbs up for those who are fighting for inclusion and the RAN Lab program for designing and creating programs with women in mind. 

There was praise for the schools as well as the students for taking time out especially during a season of Mock (major exams that are done in preparation for the final year exam) exams. 

The Leadership Team (RAN Lab Executives).

The leadership team helped ease the tension and created an atmosphere that was great for the competition...and yes there was a drum roll and characteristic closed envelope reminiscent of an award ceremony in Hollywood. There was plenty of generosity as well as a broad set of categories that ensured that people were awarded for standing out and creating unique products. 

The Second Floor (Climate Change Challenge)

Geographic Information Systems 

So the guys upstairs have created an event around Geographic Information Systems. Remember those. They are tools that gather data and layer it into different types. For example, you have an area where you live. There are electricity poles for power, there are lines for your phone, there is a drainage (there should be) system that handles waste water, there are latrines, communal toilets, there are under ground cables for fibre optics, there are under ground water lines, there are homes, some finished others unfinished, there are roads and pathways, rivers and lakes. The system then helps you aggregate all this data so that you can use for crime prevention, disaster preparedness, military precision, and marketing for business purposes. 

The Core team

In our view the challenge therefore needs about four parts. The money guy (financier), the expert (geographer or public health expert if you wish to merge the two), the marketing person (someone with great presentation skills and a keen ind for financials) and the developer to create the application. 

Support and Judgement.

The judges vary but should probably include. Experts in various fields, business people in need of great ideas and veteran design personalities. 

The value of the process.

It is foolhardy to think that we can create a solution for a challenge as vast as climate change or health or anything that broad but the process by which we develop these ideas is at the heart of why these events ought to take place. The winners are important but the process by which we find them and the ideas that illuminate the final product ought to have much more of our attention. 

My interaction with the competitors and the RAN Lab Core Group.

There were two groups that I met with. One had a solution with an emphasis on the Environment. The other wanted to deal with the challenge of Landslides Floods. Both teams sought to make use of the statistical data that exists online and that an be accessed and used and built on to create solutions to common problems. The second team stood out because they had an idea that was built around a problem they identified and wanted to tackle it primarily as a policy problem. I encouraged them to split the team as I have previously described and of ensure that they work in a finance model that would at least keep them in the loop of things. The temptation to create a costly product would have to be avoided so that instead an affordable product could be created that could still provide revenue streams in other means such as training and support. There were additional discussion around identifying key contact people in the ministries and ensuing that the sponsors and supporters in development of the solution were well represented. 

Those present and involved in some way in the funding of the event. 

Vodaphone, Plan Uganda, USAID, NITA. 

Movie Night-Resilient Africa

The director essentially gives us a dual view into the young women's world. We watch as she begins parts of her Iife in Rural Somali setting living a typical herdsman's existence. Soon she begins to deal with the challenges of growing up and maturing in a world that is hostile towards her as a young woman and that is strictly speaking supposed to protect her. When she is confronted with some of the negative parts of her culture she does what anyone in distress has to do to survive. She flees into the barren and unforgiving landscape for better pastures. She is not searching for better grazing land for her sheep, instead she has become the lamb than has no shepherd. The landscape has character and is as hostile as it is protective. As long as she can keep walking she has hope of fining solace in a city or in the hands of a distant relative. Soon the ruggedness of the land leaves a mark on her delicate feet and it is this battle between human and nature that will shape her into the fighter she will need to be in defense of her rights. 

She manages to find relief in a truck...one of the many eighteen wheelers that snake their way across the few well made roads that scar the untouched landscape of Somalia. She is safe for a while until a human snake attempts to relieve itself with this untouched prepubescent. Presence of mind saves her and she makes use of some large rocks to quickly dispatch this miserable creature into the next world where doubtless unquenchable fires will serve to heal him from his lustful drives. 

As fate would have it she makes it into the city where she pounces on a plate of food in an unsuspecting household. Mercy prevails and she is given a chance to work in service of an older wealthier woman. 

You move back and forth from past to present with modern occurrences in London being used to shed some light on her thinking and her challenges in current age. 

She is in a modern shop and latches onto a young woman who happens to work in the trendy urban space. The two then find themselves drawn together in a complex multiracial community where they must depend on each other for sustenance although the ignorance of one is used to mask her hidden drive and spirit. Nurtured in part by the experiences she has gone through in rural Africa. What features next is a dance of sorts between two protagonists and those who will prove of benefit to both of them as time progresses. 

A chance encounter in a coffee shop presents the young Somali lady with an opportunity that will change her life or at least give her an opportunity to chart her own path. A friendship blossoms between her an her reluctant host as they build upon a strange and troubled union knit together by loose linguistic links and in another sense gender. 

The conservative Muslim girl then begins to engage with her English companion-liberal as can be and expressive in a big city which cares little what and who she entertains in the privacy of her dwelling. 

Again we see the young lady dealing with a hostile environment (except this time the hostility is of an different nature. Plenty of friction drawn from a variability of experiences foreign to hers but just as abrasive). She might as well be in a desert-of experiences and people. Hungry and thirsty and yet unable to draw water or eat in a place so isolating and unfriendly. All this except for the young stranger who allows her to spend one night in her single room apartment and who along with other are willing to break the rules on behalf of needy stranger. 

We could say a lot more but then you would probably accuse us of ruining the movie. 

RAN Lab

Uganda has several different types of innovative spaces. I have written before about the types of competition from the Demo African to Pivot East which strictly speaking are international events that have been hosted by local spaces. To understand the local innovation/incubation setting you need to split them into three parts. The first is Hive Colab, it is possibly the oldest space in the country and initially focused on space for the young people in Kampala as well as creativity in mobile solutions with an emphasis on very specific competencies such as in Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Python, HTML, CSS and many others. The space was started by Jon Gosier and is currently located in Kanjokya. The Hive Colab space has run now for quite a while and has gone on to produce known personalities such as Barbara Birunji who now runs and mentors other young women. This is the first category of innovation and incubation space and found its support from creative business people and companies. In addition to this the space benefited greatly from previous associations with Universities that were located in its vicinity (Nakawa Area).

The Second is OutboxHub which is located on Lumumba Avenue, this space was created by a different set of people with a thrust toward some of the same interests that drive the others except there was a greater emphasis (at least in the ealier days on Mentorship). The group created linkages with ICT groups in government. The idea was to give entrepreneurs a place where they could be equipped with the whole gamut of skills that are necessary for effectiveness in the technology space.    

The third type of space in my view is where the RAN lab comes in. It is located in several countries in the African Region and makes full use of its links with the University to create systems and applications that deal with challenges that are identified by professionals in the Education Space.

The offices are located in Kololo where there are the standard services including wifi, space and mentorship in business practice.