August | 2011 | *iHub

Green member with a Robotics Ardor

3 months ago, we introduced an iHub Robotics Initiative. We happy to announce that our first in-house robot is up and running. It is a DFRobotShop Rover and has an arduino based controller controlling it. The project is led by Caine Wanjau an esteemed green member at the iHub for the last one year.

Caine grew up and completed his primary and high school education in Nairobi, Kenya. Upon finishing high school, he went to Japan for a year to do his pre-University course, where he also learnt Japanese. According to Caine, it was an eye-opening and fun experience and encouraged him to think big especially in robotics. His next stop was Melbourne, Australia, where he did his undergraduate studies. He graduated with a degree in Computer Technologies, with a focus on Hardware Engineering. It is here he honed his skills in Hardware programming and robotics, and as part of his studies he designed numerous robots. He moved back to Kenya in November 2010 and is currently enrolled in the Safaricom Academy/Strathmore University Masters Program.

Caine assembling the robot at the iHub:

Caine getting ready to assemble the robot

The code is written in the wiring programming language, which is similar to C++. Caine has written some sample code to give the robot some functionality.

Sample Robotics Code

Moving forward, we plan to add extra functionality, such as external sensors and wireless control so as to make it a fully mobile and self-controlling device. We would like to invite anyone interested in programming robots or who would like to learn how to program robots to let us know by dropping us an email at research@ihub.co.ke

Caine and the robot

By: Jessica Colaco

29-08-2011

Applications Community Events iHub m:lab

AppCircus – Last Call for Mobile Applications

AppCircus is pleased to setup its tents in the coming weeks in three major African cities – Cape Town, Nairobi and Accra. Participating at one of these events is a fantastic opportunity for local developers to present their app to the local mobile and tech scene and get international visibility.

Hosted by the iHub and Akirachix on the 10th of September 2011 at the iHub from 10am – 12pm, we are still accepting applications until the 31st of August 2011. Here are the rules for participation:

Submissions and presentations to the AppCircus are FREE and open to any high school/college/university student.
Applicants must send one representative person to present the app live on stage.
Apps are submitted through the appcircus.com platform.
Registration and membership on appcircus is FREE!
appcircus.com members need to add the app to their profile before applying to an AppCircus.
Each App can only present in one AppCircus, except if it receives a Runnerup Waiver.
One app in each AppCircus will be nominated for the pool of apps from which the 20 finalists for the Mobile Premier Awards 2012 will be selected.
The app with most votes after the nomination winner, will receive a “Runnerup Waiver”, which allows it to apply again to be selected at another AppCircus.

SUBMIT YOUR APP NOW!

By: Patrick Munyi

23-08-2011

Community Events iHub

Ushahidi Open Dev Community chat and Hackathon

Join Ushahidi on Saturday, August 27th, 2011 for an Open Development Community call and a Nairobi Ushahidi Hackathon.

Community Development Open Call

The Ushahidi development community open calls are being restarted and invite you to join a skype chat/ustream call. The team of developers (Mobile, Swift, and Ushahidi) will be available to answer questions, take your feedback and brainstorm with you on the best ways to open up. This chat will be focused on technical development. Future community chats will be held to focus on other topics.

The call will take place at 6:00pm and will be part of the hackathon day and is set to be time zone friendly.

The Ushahidi team is working on streamlining the communication points (wiki, blog, forums, dev chat and mailing lists) to make it easier for you to participate in features, bug fixes and more.

Nairobi Ushahidi Hackathon: Mobile, Crowdmap, Swift River and Ushahidi

The iHub will be holding a Nairobi Ushahidi hackathon on Saturday, August 27, 2011 for some braining and hacking:

Schedule:
Date: Saturday, August 27, 2011
Duration: 12:00 – 8:00pm
Pizza for 7:00pm

Some of the hacks or bugs that we will focus on include:

River id and some of its components for Openid, OAuth
Ushahidi API
J2ME app
Your plugin ideas
Web designers: we could use a hand testing a design theme process.
Non-techs are welcome to work on documentation, some communications tasks, photos and video fun

Virtual participants are welcome to join the hackathon via skype dev chat.

Original post can be found here by Heather Leson.

By: Hilda Moraa

22-08-2011

iHub-Research

GOVERNANCE IN KENYA: The role of ICTs in achieving good governance

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) hold great potential to transform citizen participation and service delivery tracking and influence government decision-making and execution. Frameworks like Huduma, built on the Ushahidi platform, can positively impact citizen-government engagement and be used as a tool to amplify citizens’ voices. However, there is still little empirical evidence on the ways in which ICTs interact with the unique structures and practices characterising good governance. Lately, the terms governance and good governance are being increasingly used in development literature, although the concept of governance has been around in both political and academic discourse for a long time. The cornerstone of good governance involves high quality service delivery, quick and efficient response mechanisms, easy access to necessary resources, and high civic engagement.

Good governance is not yet achieved in its totality in Kenya today. If Kenyans are to attain sustainable economic and social development, all must work together towards this ideal with the aim of making it a reality. The Government must lead other supporting members, such as the local administrators in the different counties, to the individuals who will identify the biggest issues at the grassroots level and communicate these issues to the Government.

Innovations in the ICT sector can extend human capacity and help in attaining good governance. It is important to remember, nevertheless, that such innovations cannot replace human communication. Thus, it is vital to understand the balance between use of such ICT tools and the limitations. Research is needed to understand the participatory value-add of such technology platforms and the real effect on improving governance. This research involves integrating first generation initiatives of E-governance with the mobile platform, thereby leading to M-governance.

The paradigm shift from E-governance to M-governance can leverage the convergence of mobile and communication technologies to usher in a multi-mode approach to delivery of government services. Such service delivery can bypass the need for traditional networks of physical interaction and communication. Bypassing physical interaction has many effects, one of which is limiting the amount of corruption that can take place.

The successful implementation of a sustainable hybrid governance requires supportive ICT infrastructure, government commitment, and active citizenry as shown in the diagram . This can be greatly achieved with the principles of subsidiarity–where matters should be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority–, and solidarity–unity that is based on common interests. If the Government can demonstrate these principles to its citizens by sharing authority with local administrators in the different counties, the citizens must also respond with full-participation and strong advocacy for important community issues. If local administrators across Kenya can serve as hubs to mobilize and engage citizens to participate in government processes, Kenya will have more effective dialogue, reporting, and a greater governance structure.

This opinion piece by Hilda Moraa (R@iHub) is based on information obtained from an “ICTs and Governance in Africa” conference held in Nairobi, Kenya from August 18 – 19th, 2011. Please contact the author for more information.

By: John Kieti

18-08-2011

Applications Entrepreneurship m:lab Start-Ups

Call for Applications Open for mLab training second wave

Time to Skill Up:

East Africa may leverage factors in its favor such as global interest and attention, having thousands of new ICT graduates every year, increased penetration of mobile phones, improved international bandwidth, and supportive regulatory frameworks to become a global hub for mobile innovation. It is this effort that m:lab East Africa wishes to contribute to through its training program. The Lab intends to increase local human capacity to pursue mobile innovations by numbers and by depth of skills.

The Lab’s training on mobile applications development and related technologies is delivered through a short course program. The training program is designed to offer individuals who already have a software development background an opportunity to hone their skills with a mobile technologies focus. It is a program targeted at the thousands of graduates of ICT related degree programs from East African universities.

First Wave Of Students:

The first wave of students under m:lab East Africa’s training program started in March 2011. For this first lot of 20 students, tuition fee was fully subsidized through a grant from infoDev. Examples of achievements by the students include Fomobi – a start up company created by a group of students. Throughout the program all the students created a number of mobile applications, one of which was a PIVOT25 finalist. The students will be showcasing their applications in their graduation event scheduled for September 2011 (dates to be announced)

James Losikany, one of the graduating students is currently working on an application he calls “mavuno”. He is designing it to be “a mobile application that will help farmers and buyers communicate or connect directly without the intervention of the middle men who normally take advantage of the farmers”. He is also in the process of forming a new company, a vehicle to market and sell his innovative product.

: James Losikany – was in the first lot of students

According to James, m:lab East Africa “is the home that natures and brightens people in the world of technology and offers a great chance to (pursue) entrepreneurship in a world where mobile is the order of the day in any activity.”

Carolyne Kimani has also been in the same class as James. She holds a Bsc. Information Technology from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agricult and Technology. Her current project is called Wedding links254. It is an application which aims to make planning for a wedding hustle free by linking you up with contacts of the product and service providers as well as a preview of the products they have and their prices.

According to Carolyne, “Learning to develop Mobile Applications on a variety of platforms and technologies: J2ME, Android, USSD, Mobile Web” was her benefit for attending the course. She adds, “I have learnt to not only develop (applications) but also be business-minded.” She also reckons that the training helped her to appreciate better the value of working with and interacting with many people in a team setting.

: Founders of Tecular: Phyllis Mutinda (left), Allan Onguru (middle) and Carol Wanjiru (right)

Phyllis Mutinda, another student due to graduate from the training holds a Bsc degree in Software Engineering from Kenyatta University. She is working on a hairstyle app on android that aims to help ladies makes decisions on what hairstyle to try out. She is thankful for the opportunity to go through the Lab’s subsidized training and says, “I have learnt to develop mobile applications in different platforms for instance j2me and android. I have also learnt about sms, ussd, ivr, user experience as well as some tips on how to run a business.”

Tecular Limited is a new company formed by mLab training classmates Phyllis, Carolyne and Allan Onguru. Allan holds a BSC in Computer Science from Egerton University. One of the company’s undertakings is a schools application that is meant to improve communication between teachers, guardians, and students. The app is meant to notify parents whenever their child is absent from school, as well as get report forms, and important term dates without having without having the student as the middle man. Phyllis and her friends believe that this will help guardians monitor their children’s progress in school and take necessary measures in case of misconduct. The company’s handle on Twitter is @tecular.

Second Wave of Students – Call for Applications Open!

A new lot of 25 students is expected to join the training in September 2011. The 4 month training worth over Shs 100,000 per student is subsidized by The Lab’s infoDev grant. A commitment fee of Shs 10,000 will be required from successful applicants and Shs 5,000 of the fee will be refundable depending on attendance and course performance. The online application process opened on 18th August 2011 and closes on 28th August 2011. More details can be found on the Lab’s website www.mlab.co.ke

By: Patrick Munyi

17-08-2011

Community Events iHub

Digital futures and African local agricultural content – can you help?

How can digital technology support story telling and other forms of African local agricultural content?

This question wil be discussed next week on Friday the 26th of August,2011 in Nairobi at the iHub by a small group of people, mainly from Eastern and Southern Africa, who work with rural communities encouraging the capture and dissemination of Local Content, that is relevant to rural livelihoods, are meeting along with the iHub tech community to reflect and plan.

For years experimentation has been done with different digital and other ICTs to support that work. One of the issues that sparks interest is how to capture and share narrative – stories – in ways that makes them accessible to communities. It is well known that there are tools already being used – YouTube, iTunes, projects using radio, such as www.telradio.org, and loads of others – but they often aren’t easily available in rural areas. People have been experimenting with videos and sound on mobiles, but the capture and exchange of the content is laborious – so expensive – and slow. Things are changing with mobiles so now is a good time to think about different futures.

They are preparing concept notes to attract grant funding since we have all been working in development for years and know there are funders who are interested in this area. But none of us are actively building software platforms or developing new tools so our ideas aren’t driven by a deep grasp of technology.

They would like to present our problems and ideas to a new audience, technical activists – geeks – and hear from some different brains who have a vision of how digital tools are evolving and can be adapted to support people’s livelihoods in rural areas.

They would like to meet people who might be interested in partnering to develop new ideas for prototypes and projects as well as people who are simply interested to exchange ideas.

A Brief Bio on the honored guests

Pete Cranston is an ALIN trustee and has been working for the past 25 years at the convergence of knowledge, information, digital technology, international development and learning. A significant part of his work in the past 10 years has been with tele-centres and local content exchange while his most recent research has been into global social media trends, with special reference to health communications, and the impact of convergent mobile technologies in rural development.
Charles Dhewa, a Knowledge Sharing Specialist based in Zimbabwe with a keen interest on helping organisations to document and share their knowledge. Charles has been thinking and writing about the role of narrative in Africa in community and individual sense-making.
Roselinie Murota works for the Zimbawean NGO, SAFIRE, which promotes development in rural communities through the sustainable utlisation, commercialisation and management of natural resources. Rosleinie has been working on integrating Local Content into their programmes, working a lot with women’s groups
Ednah Karamagi is the ED and Maria Nakirya a programme manager from BROSDI (Busoga Rural Open Source and Development Initiative) in Uganda. They have been working for seven years collecting, sharing and documenting traditional knowledge in rural communities in several parts of Uganda. BROSDI is known for it’s innovatory approach to the use of ICT and Social Media.
The Arid Lands Information Network, based in Nairobi is collaborating in the running of the workshop. ALIN has been working with Local Content and technology for 12 years – and has just become the first African winner of the Gates Foundation ATLA award.
With them will be James Nguo, Anthony Mugo and Susan Mwangi from the management team as well two activists from ALIN’s Maarifa Centres – Flora Nzambuli from Mutomo and Francis Kiarahu from Ngarua. Damas Ogwe from Kenta Telecentre Network completes the home team.

To attend this discussion, register here

By: Patrick Munyi

17-08-2011

Community Events iHub

In-depth look on Patents in East Africa by Dr. Henry K. Mutai of KIPI

On the 17th of August, 2011, Dr. Mutai, Executive Director of the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) and Dr. Isaac Rutenberg, patent agent will be at the iHub giving an in-depth talk on patents and trademarks. During this talk, They will be focusing on how to obtain patents in Kenya, East Africa and Europe. Here’s what will be covered:

Introduction to IP and review of previous seminar.
Utility Patents - What they cover, how to get them, when and why one should get them - Requirements for a patent - Overlapping patents, infringemen - How patents can help entrepreneurs - What patents can NOT do.
Obtaining patents in Kenya, East Africa, Europe, the US.
Other types of patents – design, plant.
Special topics in patents – computer software, hardware, and mobile technology.
Patents in the news.

A brief bio of Dr. Henry K. Mutai

Dr. Henry Kibet Mutai is a lawyer and an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. He received his LLB from the University of Nairobi. He also has LLM degrees from Temple University in Philadelphia, USA and the University of Melbourne, focusing on international law and intellectual property. He obtained his PhD in international trade law from the University of Melbourne in 2006.

Prior to his appointment as the Managing Director, Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI), he worked as a senior lecturer at Moi University School of Law where he was Head of the Department of Private Law. His research interests are in the areas of international trade law and intellectual property.

Dr. Kibet will be coming along with one of his patent examiners, Janet Kisio.

To attend this intense talk, register here

By: Patrick Munyi

16-08-2011

Community Events iHub

iHub Fireside Chat with Mary McDowell

Mary McDowell, Nokia’s Executive Vice President, Mobile Phones Division will be giving a talk on mobile innovation and the importance of Africa in Nokia’s strategy at the iHub Nairobi on the 23rd of August, 2011 from 5:30pm. She will be sharing her insights on Nokia’s vision of connecting the next billion consumers, which is a key pillar within Nokia’s renewed strategy and extends beyond mobile phones to building a vibrant ecosystem to bring relevant content and services to all consumers.

The talk will highlight Nokia’s ongoing commitment to Africa and to playing a key role in driving the continent’s development agenda by partnering and igniting the local ecosystem, including government, operators, content owners and developers to create locally relevant mobile solutions for all African consumers.

To attend this fireside chat, register here

By: Patrick Munyi

15-08-2011

Community Events iHub

AkiraChix Graduation

On Saturday the 6th of August, 2011, the inaugural class of the AkiraChix Training Program graduated in a moving ceremony held at the iHub. The Guest of Honor was Patrick Obath, Chairman of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance. Also present was Catherine Nyambala, Founding Director of STEM Africa.

The seventeen young women and one young man looked confident in their gowns, and the smiles on their faces reflected the pride they felt at completing and excelling in the year-long program.

A highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the students’ final projects. The students used their newly acquired programming, web design and entrepreneurship skills to create websites that offered innovative solutions to relevant local problems. For example, “Soap ya Mtaa” website created a platform allowing local soap and detergent makers to reach a wider market through the internet.

Mr. Obath was so impressed by the caliber of the presentations that he offered to follow up with the IT sector of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance to investigate which of the projects could be turned into real implementations.

Students Mary Irene and Daphine gave heartwarming votes of thanks. It was clear that they represented all the students in their gratitude for the program and the impact it has had on their lives. Judy Owigar, AkiraChix President, and Linda Kamau, Vice-President and Project Manager for the Training Program, also spoke. They expressed their gratitude for the support of generous people and organizations that believed in the AkiraChix mission of inspiring and developing women in Tech. They recognized Computer Aid, who provided the students’ laptops, SODNET who provided teaching space and Senaca Group who sponsored the graduation event. Dorothy Ooko of Nokia also provided the award for the best student.

The AkiraChix students face a brighter future thanks to the program. Several employers have come forward to request students for placements in their firms, and many students are already arranging job interviews and following up on new opportunities.

By: Patrick Munyi

15-08-2011

Community Events iHub

Growing Digital at G-Uganda and G-Kenya

Over the past two years, many people have asked why Google hosts these G-days all over Africa, and for free. It’s a valid question. Their goal is to make the web better by giving the right people the skills to improve it.

Students, techies, entrepreneurs and businesses are the engine behind what drives the applications, information and content that people in Africa want and use. Google provides just the products and tools to help you get there; G-days are about training you directly.

Which is why they are bringing version 2.0 to Uganda and Kenya! This September, the Google global team is serving up fresh tips and hands-on sessions to make developers and businesses more successful online. Here is a brief:

Get Online and Grow your Digital Strategy for Marketers, Businesses, Publishers
Developer & Webmaster Deep Dive with Android, Chrome, App Engine, Maps and Webmaster Tools.

G-Uganda will be held in at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala on September 8th to the 9th. G-Kenya follows closely behind on September 12th to the 13th at the Westgate Cinema.

Google is accepting applications to attend this free event. Space is limited so if you’re interested, take a few minutes and apply today (G-Uganda and G-Kenya).