Develop.ment +256

Samsung Launches the Galaxy Note in Style

2012-01-17T19:53:00.000+04:00

It could have been set anywhere in the world, the KampalaSerena poolside and of course the Silk Events lighting always make any functionone to relish.

We were there to launch the new Samsung Galaxy Note,Samsung’s answer to the iPhone, to Nokia’s N8, to Blackberry’s Storm. It islarge, and I mean large with a really wide screen. It is super fast and ofcourse with a clarity to match them all. That’s because of its HD super AMOLEDHD display.

As we watched the minister for ICT Hon. Nyombi Thembounveiled a work such as my years in tech-dom have not allowed me to encounter.

This device cameacross as what you would get if your tablet fornicated with your cell phone andthey had a baby. With the speed of the second latest android technology (yes,they used Gingerbread not IceCream Sandwich), and the sweet deliciousness thatyou find in next generation devices, one has to say that this device is quitethe gadget on the block. Complete with a stylus, you can doodle, write, takenotes, during phone calls which says something about the phone’s ability tomulti task and not hang which is more than I can about some of our more prominentdevices in our market these days.

Some have argued that this device is suspiciously similar tothe Galaxy S II – and have been replied to that in fact both phones are made bySamsung and so indeed would carry the best features of the Galaxy S II. Able tosupport high speed internet, up to 16GB of inbuilt memory and of course thesleek 8 megapixel camera that makes all your photo and video experience a wholedifferent shade of interesting.

Anyway, they servedus nice treats (as if the Serena can do any less), and then unleashed on us thefinest surprise of the evening: Barbed Wire Thong. The boys in that band are onsomething extra rich. Rudeboy Devoh who used to sing for Afrigo and SamuelNabwiiso as lead vocalists just took the night away and hit for 6!!

Hanging out with cool advertising girls

Samsung might not have done well to retail the Galaxy Noteat UGX2.4 Million (about $USD1,000) especially since Orange was launching theiPhone 4S the same night at the same price but the band more than made up forthat. But with expandable memory and its sleek bezel finishing, I think thatthe tide in the market might have changed. Finally Samsung has arrived to theparty.

10 things/ apps/ ideas I think will redefine the future in Uganda as we know it

2011-11-30T11:57:00.001+04:00

It’sthat time of the year again when you have to take stock, to be thankful andmost of all to be hopeful. Has it beenan amazing year? Yes!! Does it leave any doubt in my mind that the future isbright where we are going? NO. Not so much with all the things happening aroundus. I have however had the privilege to write about the people, ideas andprojects I personally came into contact with this year that I think have whatit takes to make this country and even the world a better place. Sometime wethink that we know what will make itthrough the next decade, and they don’t. But other times we actually don’t seethem coming. I think these ideas point a new light to where the future oftechnology, the start-up industry and development will be headed; convergence,or at least, ideas that will make that destination a more desirable one.

CU@SKOOL: Last year I wrote here about an OpenXdatasolution that was being tested for trial in rural primary schools as part of apilot to see if school absenteeism would reduce if school attendance wasdigitized. The pilot was in 100 schools in Kiboga and Mbale. The trials werecompleted the application was being prepared for national roll out to 16,000schools. I think this app could reduce the numbers of absent teachers andstudents. First there are a few problems to solve:

a) The $18 Million in aid which was pulled last weekbecause of the level of corruption in government and the lip service that wasbeing given to the Netherlands government. Another case involved the chairmanof the board of the National Information Technology Authority NITA, Ken Lubega,acquiring an UGX 11 Billion contract to supply e-learning software for bothprivate and government aided schools through his company, CyberSchool Technologysolutions here. Some heads need toroll.

b) Rolling out the application in more than 50% of allschools at primary level. At that scale one can measure efficiency or the lackof it.

c) At that scale the application can be channeled toquery for more specific delivery, attendance and progress metrics.

The application is built to run on low end devices andwill allow the headmaster to send the District Education Officer a weeklyreport on attendance. It also automatically shares the results with members ofthe community and/or the PTA. If we can get the foundations of the educationsystem right, then we can give the younger children a fighting chance againstthe monster that is USE.

Garage 48: Out of a town called Tanill in Estonia hails a group of 6people who started something called Garage 48 where developers, coders, ITenthusiasts, and designers sit for 48 hours, are divided into teams and work toturn ideas into working prototypes. They have events that help foster startupcommunities across the world. Uganda had her first Garage48 eventthis September. One of the 11 complete apps that came out of there was Mafutago – an application that uses the GPS location of yourphone to tell you the cheapest and nearest fuelling station near you. Would Ilike that? Yes!! Would a boda boda rider like that? Definitely! The truth stillremains that with low access, and a price ceiling for internet accessibledevices, the application will remain a preserve of the middle class. And yet,the stats show rising mobile internet usage and access every day. So there isreason to hope not just because of one app but because of what the spirit of start-ups represents; the "Silicon Valleyism" if you want. Code-a-thons, Techfests, Hackathons, its all just people who want to contribute and need to be given a chance. We’ll just have to start here.

3. Crimex: Crimex:Speaking of geo-spatial mapping brings to mind a discussion I had with a friendof mine. @jkaizzi who escorted the Makerere University team to the regionalMicrosoft Imagine Challenge Cup (Microsoft’s own search for talent) where hehimself has been going since 2008, when I first met him. Anyway, as a mentor hewas taking his team to present an interesting application they called “Crimex”.Their argument was peace, stability, and rule of law were essential to theachievement of the MDGs. On a capricious, vastly volatile continent, theyseemed to have found the link between keeping the peace, and making the piece.The application is built on a vast amount of data collected and inputted onmaps which allows law enforcement to chart out trouble spots, plan resourcedistribution, map out recurrence, and anticipate future offenses. Thechallenges here lie in:

a) the massive amount of data collection

b) Resource training and analysis

c) Political will to see this through

d) With predictive intelligence as @JonGos said here, the positive disruptivepotential is so huge that we would see a shift in the way crime fighting andapproaches are done.

Will the face of crime fighting change? We don’t know,but what I know is that being able to map out where the prevalence of childmolesters or domestic violence hot spots will give our mothers and sisters abetter chance at justice.

Fundi Bots' Nigel-5

4. Fundi Bots:When I first met him, he was the calm and collected half of the now famousblogger duo: Twoweak dudes: a witty, slightly satirizedlook at society. When I got to know him, I found him to be a technologyenthusiast, a lover of robots, an ethical businessman with the work ethic of abeaver. Solomon King Benge, is the Resident Fundi at Fundi Bots, a collectivethat is going around secondary schools in Uganda both rural and urban teachingyoung people about robots and robotics, starting robotics clubs, and generatinginterest in the topic. The fascinating thing about this story is thateverything he knows, he self taught from tutorials on the internet. But whatblows your mind and I guess every kid’s mind, is his story.He was told it was a dream he was never to pursue, never to chase, never todream. He refused to stop. He pressed on. And when the time came, he dreamedagain. Today, he is testament that those amongst us who continue to dream willbe the ones we will choose to lead us. I think thatFundi Bots deserves its spot here because of the spirited and inspirationalstories behind the team who all volunteer their time to design, make, and speakon robots across the country. Gathering stories, teaching young minds, plantingseeds of desire. For to get great technology, there must great inspiration.

Solomon King on a Fundi Bots tour at Kiira SS

5. SatNav East Africa:Last week on BBC Click, they were talking about the trends that are emerging totake over the future and Tom said “ There are the devices that are going toshape the future are going to be Mobile. Location. Social.” SatNav, a companythat is into location based devices is perhaps for me one of the closest placeswe have come to answering the question of where are you? The company thatinstalls TomToms or location devices has just completed a mapping system wherethey have mapped out the whole of Kampala on a grid map and will be expandingout to the rest of the country over the next year, giving precise GPS addressesto places, locations and sites. For small fee, members of the public can gettheir own address which becomes their address where mail, deliveries, messagescan be physically delivered. Now most people might ask what is strange aboutpeople delivering things to your address until you understand that you nolonger have to have the conversation about “turn right at the mango tree, takea left, and keep going until you reach the trading centre and then stop at theGrey gate” Four years ago I wrote here that Uganda had leap frogged from thepostal service to the mobile phone. Without the physical infrastructure of thelandline of which the west had over 100 years, the idea of location and DSLinternet connection at home as and still remains a largely unknown element.Skipping from the mailbox to the mobile phone was a coup for development andindeed the technocrats congratulate Africa and have called the Mobile thePanacea of all our evils. But the universe must have balance. What would this mean you ask?

a) your mail would come to your place directly

b) in case of emergencies, police ambulances and rescueservices would know exactly where to help you out from with improved rescuetimes

c)if you needed health care, you’d know the nearest clinic/hospital/health centre

d) real estate brokerage would all go online as availablehouse would simply just showed with pictures and viewing times

SATNAV helping you find your way home

e) sending loved one gifts parcels and love would be personal.

f) ordering pizza to your doorstep

g) the flourishing of a whole new service sector andattendant jobs as delivery companies start to set up shop

h) philandering will now have an address.

i) cabs will know exactly where to pick you up from

j) visiting your in-laws will be much easier.

k)”There was jam” and “I got lost” will no longer be avalid excuse for late coming. All in all, I think that by pioneering thisservice SatNav has a real shot at steering a future with real options forUganda.

These solutions are not going to answer Uganda’selectricity or pothole problems (the answer to that is by adopting a pothole as the Urban legend guys suggest here) but represent the glimmer of hope of efforts and of people who are around usmaking a difference every day. These advancements possess the immense abilityto prepare us to catapult to the next stage but also carry the grave warningthat all technology does; one that can be abused to hurt a great many people.Either way, we have to make a choice and act now because the time to sit onthe fence no longer exists.

The Kony Question: Is it War, Oil, or Water?

2011-11-20T06:14:00.001+04:00

I haven’t been here in a while but now it seems likeI am back. A lot of things have gone down which did not allow me to payattention to this blog. Hopefully this time it will last.

A coupleof weeks back, an article surfaced in Uganda’s newspapers that The president ofthe United States of America H.E. Barack Hussein Obama had sent 100 specialforces troops to Uganda to help in the elimination of the LRA (The Lord’sResistance Army) as part of the Lord’sResistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. One, I didn’tknow this Act even existed. Two, upon finding out, I couldn’t but help askingmyself: “I know the Americans are strong and all but really?! Fighting rebelsin the North of Uganda? ” As I read through the rest of the article is when I dawnedon me that if you looked at it that way, it did not make sense, it would nevermakes sense as Jackee Batandawrote in her article this morning; a country fraught with in-fighting in theruling party, government officials under indictment for corruption, a nascentoil industry, and a war that’s gone on for way too long.

However if you like the Big Bang Theory episode (TheZazzy Substitution) where Amy Farrah Fowler and Sheldon Cooper are playinga game called Counterfactuals – a game in which by postulating a fundamental changein one fact, how the world would then look like. The discussion asks if rhinoshad become domesticated pets who would win World War II? And the answer, wellyou’ve just go t to read it yourself:

Amy (reads from a card): In a world where rhinoceroses are domesticated pets, who wins the second world war?
(Leonard is in the kitchen making a sandwich and suddenly looks on, curious and confused.)
Sheldon (after a short thought): Uganda.
Amy: Defend.
Sheldon: Kenya rises to power on the export of rhinoceroses, a Central African Power block is formed, colonising North Africa and Europe. When war, breaks out, no one can afford the luxury of a rhino; Kenya withers, Uganda triumphs.

The syllogistic thinking is quite impressive on thesurface of it but I got to thinking and digging.

And this is a post of what I postulate what all this is about:

100 Special Forces troops come to Kampala, Uganda to train and work withlocal efforts to curb the LRA incursion. Even though the LRA haven’t struckwithin the border in over a year (some people at the state department feelotherwise). I don’t mean they shouldn’t be made to pay for their crimes but theinvolvement of the US now is suspicious, a bit late, and therefore appearsrather sinister. Othershave argued that the forces are even a reward for Uganda’s efforts to fightthe Al-Shabab in the horn of Africa.
The troops move into DRC to attack Kony with our country’s new jet fightersand army tanks with our finest commandos led by the first son. However as theincursion progresses, the attacking forces encounter enemy hostiles whothreaten the peace those forces are trying to bring to the region. They must beeliminated. The “insurgents” (probably belonging to a local militia) arereported by local intelligence to have their base and supply channels based inDarfur. At this point Kony has been killed like the rebel dog that he is, andthe remnants are soon to follow.
They move to Darfur to neutralize the insurgents who are perpetratingterror on the people of northern Uganda. This is already over 1,000 miles.South Sudan will naturally give them safe passage through its territories becausethey are happy with someone fighting their war for them. In Darfur, in a bed-ragged,shabby, moth-eaten tent, they find that they were actually fighting a splintergroup of about 50 or so rebels, now decimated to within 10 members. One of the10 is found with a torn uniform of the Sudan army. He is asked, and he says,well he is a deserter. Is he? After water boarding the guy with waragi,he relents and signs a confession that he is actually a terrorist for the Northand that they have been supplying the insurgents with arms.
On to Khartoum then to depose the despotic regime there, calling themfunders of terrorism, and oppressors of all their neighbours. The Ethiopiansare happy to see it go, the Egyptians are too busy picking up the pieces oftheir country, Eritrea will not raise a finger, and Chad is dealing withfamine, drought, and its own instabilities.

What the Check Mate in 5 moves looks like

With a “people’s” government now in place, the construction of the oilpipeline starts connecting the South Sudan oil fields to the Mediterranean Seathrough Egypt and without the 20% levy Bashir wanted to put on the pipelinesgoing through Khartoum. Once the pipeline hits the Med. it is plugged into theworld’s energy pipeline, the dependency on Russia, the Balkans, and Ukraine isbroken, and the result is relaxed prices and pressure on Europe.

Am I wrong? Most likely. Butthen again, these are my speculations. From a strategic point of view, a chess playerwould view that as the most likely way to go about securing the economic andpolitical interests of a country that is in massive need of energy andresources but without the wherewithal to just grab it; literally the iron fistin the velvet glove.

The China Question:

Whilst the tiger of the easthas slumbered long and hard, its aggressive and renewed interest in the lastresource frontier [read Africa] would give some cause for worry. Why? Becauseas many have argued, China will take the resources without a worry about thepolitics of a country. For them, it will matter less about who rules the country,and whether they are in the business of good politics. Good news for dictators,bad news for the west. With China funding the construction of a railway line SouthSudan down through Kenya, the inevitability of a clash for resources looms overSouth Sudan.

All this seems a little toomuch ado about nothing for just a few million barrels of oil, one would ask. Afterall, with the moratoriumon US off shore drilling soon to be lifted, and a renewed sense of urgency in thesearch for green energy, an uncomfortable yet solid relationship with Venezuela,things don’t look so bad for the US. Which then raises the question, is it morethan just oil?

I think it is more than justoil. I think that that world’s next big resources are water and just like in Afganistan,there is more to it than meets the eye. More than 80% of Afghanistan’s watersupply is from the Hindu Kush mountain range, from melting snow formed in the winterwhich melts in the summer. Another coincidence is that the Blue Nile flows fromEthiopia into Sudan before heading out to Egypt. Controlling natural resourcesis critical to controlling stability in a region. If you take over the Panama Canal,then you protect “strategic interests”.

According to the Nationaldefense magazine, “AUS Defense Department study shows the cost of delivering bottled water totroops in Afghanistan to be $4.69 per gallon. With a daily water demand of 5.2gallons per marine per day (the amount for all uses), just supplying water toapproximately 20,000 troops costs nearly $500,000 a day.” Which bringsall the water drank by army, foreign government officials, and aid workers’annual consumption of bottled water at a staggering $100 million a year!! On justwater.

So, the world’s largesteconomies are not just looking for who will power the world’s next 7 wonders,they are looking for who will quench the world’s next big thirst. With meltingice caps, the battle will not be won by the strong and brave but the bold andstrategic.

Someone else will argue thatit is a bit simplistic for a country to go war over water as a resource. It isfrivolous and a nuisance to even debate. It is, I agree. But how well does thatargument hold up against the war of Troy, the Falklands war, the wars of Europethroughout the 19^th century, the LRA war, the fight for Arian supremacy,or even the NRM liberation movement? It’s always something that will be frivolouswhen juxtaposed with the greater good of the community it is purporting to liberate,even though it will be masked in grande and illustrious intentions.

I am open to a different opinionon the geo-politics of the interlacustrine region but I doubt that the story willvery much change from where its already at, and what seems like small actionmight have far greater repercussions than were ever imagined. Some might even say, one big splash.

A mariage of giants:Nokia Weds Microsoft.

2011-02-25T17:12:00.000+03:00

Last week there was panic and a slight buzz when Nokia and Microsoft announced plans to work together to use their complementary strengths and expertise to create a new global mobile ecosystem. [this is how the Skynet program was developed]

The two behemoths each in their own right are obviously looking to retain market share; Nokia from the android and Apple business which has been bleeding the market and Microsoft to Apple’s Mac and the proliferation of Linux and open source.

What good could possibly come out of this marriage of giants?

Under the proposed partnership:

· Nokia would adopt Windows Phone as its principal smartphone strategy.

· Nokia would help drive the future of Windows Phone. Nokia would contribute its expertise on hardware design, language support.

· Nokia and Microsoft would closely collaborate on joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap.

· Bing would power Nokia’s search services across Nokia devices and services, giving customers access to Bing’s next generation search capabilities.

· Nokia Maps would be a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services. For example, Maps would be integrated with Microsoft’s Bing search engine to form a unique local search and advertising experience

· Nokia’s extensive operator billing agreements would make it easier for consumers to purchase Nokia Windows Phone services in countries where credit-card use is low.

· Microsoft development tools would be used to create applications to run on Nokia Windows Phones, allowing developers to easily leverage the ecosystem’s global reach.

· Nokia’s content and application store would be integrated with Microsoft Marketplace for a more compelling consumer experience.

It looks like the search for market share is on… even though some people will argue that it’s the race to connect the next 1 billion people in emerging markets to the internet.

The real questions though are the same questions we have asked since the launch of the Seacom cable in Kampala, since the launch of Orange in Uganda, since the coming of 3G+, I could go on but you know what I mean. It means no difference to me whether Bill has a snogavitch with Steve. In the end, I want to be able to summon my booty call at 2:30 and say “get over here” and not have the network clogged because of free calls.

Will keep an eye out for this storm, because when Steve Jobs dies, and we can’t find the app to cure pancreatic cancer, or election rigging, we’ll really be screwed.

UBL UNVEILS THE NEW LOOK BELL LAGER BOTTLE!

2011-02-10T22:21:00.002+03:00

The new Bell Lager bottle

Uganda Breweries has unveiled a refreshed Bell Lager complete with a slim long neck bottle, in a move brand officials say will reinforce the premium quality attributes that the flagship brand has been

associated with over the years.

Unveiling the refreshed Bell Lager bottle to the Press at Serena Hotel - Kampala, EABL Marketing Director Marion Muyobo said, "Uganda's oldest brew which has been perfected to international standards by the best brewers in Uganda has now reached the height of quality with the new look." She

attributed the innovation to Bell Lager consumers. "As we follow Bell Lager's foot prints over the years, we owe the brand's success story to its loyal consumers. It is you who have made Bell what it is today. It is you who have continued to define the direction the brand will take. As you hold the new Bell Lager bottle in your hands, we can tell you agree that the brand has achieved what it set out to achieve.eight of quality", she said.

The old Bell Lager bottle

Bell Lager has spanned over 60 years in the Ugandan market as a premium quality brand of international repute that epitomizes Ugandan heritage and has won numerous Monde Selection awards. EABL Uganda Managing Director Alasdair Musselwhite said the Brewery found it inevitable to refurbish the packaging to match the ever changing consumer preferences, lifestyles, and trends. He was quick to note that the new look Bell does not in any way compromise on the taste and quality of the brand.

"The premium quality lager is made from only the finest barley, hops and water to produce a world class beer, unrivaled in freshness. All our processes work together to give you a world class beer, now in the new longneck bottle.

Nokia Hit By SMS and Email Lottery Scam

2011-02-08T16:36:00.001+03:00

Global handsets maker advises users not to respond to dubious messages

Kampala, Uganda, 1^st February 2011: World’s leading handsets maker, Nokia, has warned mobile phone users over the re-emergence of a scam suggesting that people have won money or mobile phones, which in reality, is an attempt to get private information from people who reply to the messages.

The hoaxers previously used to send to the dubious information to email addresses telling people they had won a Nokia device. This scam has now moved on and is being sent out to mobiles phones via SMS, with the message suggesting people have won a free Nokia, and just need to provide their bank details to claim the free phone.

“We have been receiving a number of reports recently that scam artists are sending out hoax SMS and emails, purportedly from Nokia, that offer some sort of money if one were to respond in a similar way that lotteries are run. We would like to clarify that, those messages are not coming from Nokia and that we do not do money lotteries. We are asking people to beware and know that this ‘lottery’ is a scam,” said Kenneth Oyolla, Nokia, General Manager, East and Southern Africa.

“Our advice is that if you do receive something dubious like this, DO NOT reply to these messages or pass them on. The thing to do is to delete the message without responding. You might also consider contacting the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to report such hoax messages,” said Mr Oyolla.

He added: “We continue to remind people that bank details should never be given to strangers, particularly if all you know about that person is a contact mobile number and nothing else. If you haven’t entered any competition, or if the prize looks too good to be true, then it almost certainly will be. Let’s have a safe 2011.”

How the Nokia Lottery scam works

There are a couple of methods these scammers use, in the hope of stealing your money.

Method 1: A mobile phone user will receive an email claiming they have been chosen at random, to receive a prize, usually a large figure of money. In this case, £350,000 is the prize. However, to receive winnings the mobile phone user is informed he/she must send them some money as an admin charge. £650 in this same case. They hope you’ll be so dazzled by the large sum of money they claim you have won, that you will send the administration fee. It is at this point you will never hear from them again and your money will be lost.

Method 2: This is commonly used through contacting a mobile phone user by SMS. These text messages will tell you you’ve won a heap of money, like in this case, but you must first phone a telephone number or email back to hand over your bank details. Do not do this. Never give your bank details to a stranger, especially if all you know about them is their mobile phone number.

Whatever method they use, they will be asking for the same thing. Either your bank account details, or some money in another form and the messages they send always look official, but they’re not. They’re fake.

Examples of hoax emails and SMS circulating:

Hoax claim: Free Nokia mobiles

“Nokia Is Giving Away Phones For “FREE”!! Nokia is trying word-of-mouth advertising to introduce its products. And the reward you receive for advertising for them is a phone free of cost!”

Hoax claim: Nokia mobile Promo

“In line with the commemorating event marking our 142nd anniversary we rolled out over £ nnnnn (n Million Great Britain Pounds) for our 142nd Anniversary Draws. All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 25,000 company mobile numbers, and 30,000,000 individual mobile numbers from the 45 mobile networks from Australia, New Zealand, North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa as part of International Promotions Program, which is conducted annually in Britain, London.

This promo is approved by the British Gaming Board and also licensed by the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR). This promo is the 1st of its kind and we intend to sensitize the public. To begin the verification process of your prize, you are required to fill and send the claims form below.”

What to do if you receive a Nokia Lottery scam SMS or email

Don’t respond to the messages

The Next Google Could Be Here

2010-11-19T16:55:00.004+03:00

Idealogue 5.5.5

Come to Idealogue 5.5.5: Synergy of the minds

5 minutes
5 slides
5 questions.

Come watch us change the world!

Sign up here

The Bank, Competitions & Awards

2010-08-14T17:29:00.000+04:00

What have I been up to? Well, a lot apparently.

On Thursday 12^th I was invited on behalf of Speakers Without Borders to attend a stakeholder workshop hosted by the Bank of Uganda on rolling out a National Financial Literacy and Consumer Protection Education Policy to provide insights gained from working among young people on how to approach “these things”. Basically, the “banks are fucking the consumers” and we need to tell people to avoid getting well, screwed. The discussion ranged from simple things like the cooling off period between loan applications and funds disbursement to the glaring gap in the report on how to actively engage and sustain the financial literacy discussion among the young adults in Uganda despite the sheer weight they exert on the demographic tables. Also there are over 150,000 Ugandans on Face book. Most of those are not my parents’ age. So, why not? Use everything available as long as they are getting the message. I gave my two cents there.

On Friday the 13^th, I was invited by Mambo Guy, an old buddy who I’ve known for forever, President of the The Lantern Meet, connoisseur of fine things, and architect - to attend the Final presentation of Kitenge Spaces. This cat is really smooth. About a year ago he won a grant from The Youth Action Fund under the auspices of the Open Society Institute (EA) to run a competition for architecture students to design Afro-centric spaces. His belief that architecture is culture and therefore a reflection of our common identity is a debate that’s raged on over the years between him and I. Basically because I think that the spiel that spaces define people is academic hogwash but rather that people define the spaces they live in. Anyway over the course of a year he has had the contestants design and submit objects and space designs to a panel of young and rather erudite architects. This competition is Kitenge Spaces.

Mambo Guy
"Just as a noun is only a noun if it possesses a “verbal companion,” a house is not a house unless it has a proper primary function, from which it will derive its spirit. So the house gives, and the house takes, but the house cannot be unless needs qualify it... like a genie that one summons out of a lamp, to answer to ones needs."

Yesterday, as I sat at the National Theatre and listened to a young man talk about the communality of the African meal and why, that, of all spaces, should be the most well lit space in the house, I knew that Guy had done it. He’d come from where 3 of us sat 5 years ago and talked about being “that man” and taken the road. “That man” is the guy who does not take what he is given, but rather will consistently, infect, affect and effect everything around him with change; constantly saying “NO! This isn’t enough” and asking for more soup, re-defining his own boundaries, pushing the horizon a little further and, without knowing it, making the lives of many, many people mean so much more. Now the world has to watch out. He is coming.

Later in the evening I attended the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU) Excellence Awards Dinner where they were awarding the best PR campaigns, practitioners, companies, agencies and organizations. In what was an almost serendipitous occasion, URA swept three awards all in the corporate communications category, The “ONE LOVE” Campaign by ZK Advertising for UHMG (the “sexual network” campaign for those of you who don’t know it yet) was voted the Overall Best Campaign of 2009/2010. I for one was happy because having personally worked on the submissions for and designed the communication materials for two of the winning entries –Best Event PR, The Johnnie Walker Launch in Uganda (covered aptly in this post here but also very well taken care of by Google. Hehe!), and the Best Crisis Management Award for President Lager - a Uganda breweries product that was interdicted right before Christmas last year by Nile Breweries from bottling the product in a long neck bottle.

Cheers catch up later!

cu@school: A school attendance tracking system for rural schools

2010-08-03T23:01:00.003+04:00

About a year ago I was working for the Faculty of Computing & IT [CIT] at Makerere University where I spent my days poring over tomes of data analyzing the University's fastest growing faculty. Almost a marvel in Engineering and administration. It had grown from an institute to a faculty in just two years; which was a university record on its own. I have since moved on from there but from time to time I go back to see what they are on about...

When I passed there last, I discovered a very interesting project they were working for rural primary schools that can't afford the heavy overheads of stationary for attendance rolls and teacher rosters. something called "cu@school"

"CIT launched its OpenXdata software to 50 schools in Mbale and 50 schools in Kiboga district on 28^th Jan 2010. The OpenXdata platform will be used by these schools in recording data on pupil attendance using mobile phones. The Netherlands Development Organization, SNV, in collaboration with Makerere University Faculty of Computing and IT (CIT) availed the schools with Nokia phones to kick start the process, under the ‘CU@school project’...."

Guided by the motto, "any data, any device, anywhere, anytime" the software development team at the Department of Software and Innovations Development seeks to help head teachers to track down teachers who absentee themselves from schools. The technology is lightly engineered to carry on Nokia phones so it becomes an almost accessible and mass application tool. Mostly because Nokia phones are more accessible and also because of their almost ubiquitous availability.

In this article where they say the government loses up to UGX 12 Billion a year [USD $12 Million], I'm caused to wonder whether the government would lose any less money by actually investing a subsidized amount of money for every head teacher, through an agreement with Nokia or another handset maker and therefore improving the service delivery at the grassroots level and then working from there upwards to streamline the rot that is the education sector in Uganda.

The application which runs on an OpenXdata, an easy-to-use, easy-to-adapt platform is one of the many "legs" that technology enthusiasts keep talking about that Mobile phone technology has and can use to bring an improvement in service delivery and a new edge to the development discussion.

I also ask whether such incubation centre and software development labs are not supposed to be engines and drivers of trial technology and the front runners of the nation's advance towards a more tech-savvy populace. Why aren't they more funded? Why isn't there a conscious effort to have them as the number one reference point for all local software needs and solutions? Skeptics have often come back to this question with the assertion that foreign software developers are more accountable and their reputation is more reliable than local solution providers. I ask, if the local solution providers are not given a chance, how do they build credibility?

In the final analysis, the fact is that these technologies and start ups need to be supported and given the local confidence necessary to build credible, dependable solutions for the market.

Google Developer Conference Coming to Uganda!

2010-08-02T16:13:00.001+04:00

I have always been fascinated by Google, the power, the strength and most interestingly the potential. So imagine my delight a few days ago when I realized the Google Office was just next door to mine. Situated in a nice lofty Fourth floor office it overlooks the city and is indeed a Google space. As I hang out with a couple of developers who had come to attend a small after-party post a Python coders' session part sponsored by Google, Uganda Linux User Group, The Uganda Google Tech User group, Appfrica and a couple of the other tech enthusiasts in Kampala.

As we talked about technologies and the potentially immense potential for releasing millions from the tight grip of poverty, I couldn’t help but think about an article I had read that had posed the inimitable question, “How do you reach 50 Million?” It was premised on new data that said that over 50 million people were emerging out of poverty in the developing nations of the world every year. And in is resolution it said that the technology of the future was going to have to be simple, cheap, and green. Three concepts that are still evade the amalgamation machinery that drives a lot of our innovations today.

In other news Google is hosting an event in Kampala to teach the use of Google technologies and products in Africa…

“Google is dedicated to making the Internet relevant and useful to Africans, and to developing meaningful products for Africa. We realize fully, we can not do this alone. We believe that tech entrepreneurs and developers have the opportunity to transform the web for the world and Africa.”

With this in mind, Google is hosting developer and tech days across Africa with an exciting event, G-Uganda, taking place early this September. These web and mobile themed conferences will focus on Google’s developer and business technologies from Chrome Extensions, App Engine, to mobile and AdWords. Attendees will have the chance to explore Google’s open source technologies through a combination of tech talks, breakout sessions and code-labs run by engineers and business teams from across the globe.

G-Uganda will be held on September 1st – 2nd at Speke Conference Centre just outside of Kampala.

Each day of the conference will cater to a different audience, spanning professional developers, students and tech marketers. Take a look at the sites (G-Uganda) to learn more about a G-day that might fit your appetite. You must pre-register as space is limited.

Be There

2010-07-29T14:06:00.000+04:00

The First Uganda National Spelling Bee has come!

2010-07-09T14:04:00.001+04:00

The FUNS Bee Competition is an exciting contest in which secondary school students all over Uganda will compete in spelling English words. Though wildly popular in many countries worldwide, it is a novelty in Uganda. The competition will involve thousands of secondary school teenagers from Senior 1 to 3 from all parts of the country competing in a national English spelling competition based on important social issues.

The thrilling competition will be watched on television by millions of Ugandans throughout this year. In addition to being televised, the contest will involve millions of Ugandans including parents, teachers, students and the general public through interactive radio commercials, newspaper coverage and supplements and an interactive online dimension through our website, www.funsbee.com.

Hosted live by literary giants and committed educators, the bee presents an exciting opportunity for the flawed educational and grammatical vagaries of the third world.

But first, come for the launch party on the 17th of July 2010 at the Troth Group in Bugolobi. Barbeque, drinks, spelling and fun!

Hive Colab Announced in Uganda!: Re-Posted

2010-07-04T18:16:00.000+04:00

Earlier in the day we announced Apps < 4> Africa, a competition for app developers across Africa. Also, today in Uganda, Appfrica Labs in partnership with Project Diaspora, UConnect, and Node Six are also announcing the Hive collaborative workspace in Uganda!

"Hive Colab is a collaborative, community owned, open work environment for young tech entrepreneurs looking to focus on projects, to access the computing resources and bandwidth, have a quiet professional environment to develop their ideas in, and to generally collaborate with each other. Something very similar to what our friends are doing with the outstanding iHub in Nairobi.

It will be a space for nascent application developers to register as freelancers, if they are looking for paying projects..."

Read the rest of it here at Appfrica.net

The Man Maker: De-flowering a Brand.

2010-07-03T14:45:00.004+04:00

In this blog post , I posted an article about the how the game was changing and how, no matter what we knew or said, things and forces way out of our control were at play shifting the tectonic plates of the media industry.

A couple of weeks ago some of the most powerful people in the world, at least the 5^th richest man in Europe and all the Executives from the Zain Africa and Bharti Airtel Business came to the Kampala Serena to have their Leadership meeting. What a lot of people did not know was that they were also discussing the re-brand strategy of the business. The new single-minded look of the telco across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa!

In some markets like Uganda or Nigeria, the telco will be going through its 5^th or 6^th re-brand! What does this say about the brand?! But more importantly we should ask what does it say about any brand?!

An age-old brand building tenet is that “a brand that lasts is one that is loved”; anything that is loved seldom changes, especially where brands and consumer identification, adoption and conversion are concerned. This is because in developing markets like Africa, it takes such a long time to build any semblance of brand loyalty and markets are very price sensitive. The resources it takes to build any decent brand loyalty mean any brand with a sense of self respect or humility won’t squander its consumer loyalty or recognition. Therefore if any brand were to consistently shape shift with its image, position, and proposition it must stand to answer the ominous question of why it has no grounding.

In the last decade, Proctor and Gamble tried to enter the East African market through their flagship brand; Ariel washing powder. In a classic case that has now been notarized in advertising and marketing history and strategy, they were repelled and sent packing. It would be another 10 years before they would broach the idea of a market breach again. Now they are back, albeit with a superior product and a different market entry strategy, but still wary of what people know and love; OMO.

But what does this have to do with a brand that originally came as celtel, changed to CELTEL, then Celtel, then Zain. Now Bharti Airtel. It says the brand was well positioned, un-thoroughly thought through and has consistently been taken advantage of, similar to the “man-maker” in any village; the girl who is not a virgin and therefore all the boys who need to learn how to do it right go to her to try out their technique – and get it right! Any company that wants to enter Uganda’s projected young, westernized market goes, buys it and when it doesn’t work sells it off to the company wanting to try out their luck.

This is to hoping they get it right, one more time!

East African Breweries Launches Another Beer: Serengeti Lager

2010-06-27T16:04:00.033+04:00

In a surprise move last week, EABL, the region's largest brewer and parent company to Uganda's Uganda's Breweries Limited launched a product from their Tanzania market and newly acquainted Serengeti Breweries Limited; Premium Serengeti Lager.

The drink which has been positioned as wild, outdoorsy, nature-lovers' drink for winding down after those long Serengeti game drives has been positioned as a Premium Lager which will offer an alternative for the young, adventurous and, bold beer lover.

The most immediate market response was that it looked like Nile Special; packaged in a long neck bottle, with almost matching colours and tones all except for the gold wrap on the neck.Some journalists even hazarded the opinion that it mildly tasted like Nile Special. Nile Special is the premium proposition offered by SAB Miller Uganda affiliate Nile Breweries. Its crisp after taste has become very popular with the foreigner population in Uganda. without provocation and/ incentive they always settle on this beer. My guess is that EABL is looking to capture this market in order to grow market share. Which explains why it was in the news that EABL is making inroads to acquire Serengeti Breweries of Tanzania.

The trick though is going to be if this proposition does not deliver against the promise whoever proposed this to the bigger Diageo business made.The beer which was launched by MD UBL, Ivo Buratovich, and Patricia Ithau, MD, EABLI (International) in charge of marketing the group's brands in new markets and led locally by the Innovations team: Moses Kebba and Judith Ezaru of UBL at a small party of journalists, stock traders, marketing and sales teams will soon be in almost all outlets.

Gurus in the business however argue that the problem might not exactly be a product problem and therefore a competition issue as it is an internal problem. Guys I talk to regularly argue that sometimes they feel too much money is spent on advertising EABL products putting it in the faces of the consumers, while others will argue that if UBL sorted out its supply and distribution chain systems it would be fine. How else do you explain 67% of Uganda's spirits consumption being in the South Western region of the country and the company not even having 10% of that market share?!

But one thing is to be said about UBL, the aggressive growth pattern, supported by the massive muscle and, worldwide expertise of the Diageo business will take them far especially in developing markets where innovation is a necessity and not an advantage to be had. The emphasis on Execution Excellence, brand representation, commitment to consumer insights and, a militant Marketing Division will be what the Business has its eye on to deliver the market volumes. Past experience says, UBL will deliver; No Matter What.

Now we wait for the new beer to take root and see if it delivers the promise as a brand, as a beer in Uganda, but most especially as a refreshing beer experience.

Be sure to post your first experience of Serengeti Lager here.

Nokia reaching out to developers in Uganda; Part 1 of a loaded story.

2010-06-23T21:49:00.007+04:00

Yesterday, in a room packed full of journalists and the able members of the Kampala blogsphere, the able, beautiful Dorthy Ooko presented and unveiled Nokia's latest product; NOKIA OVI; for publishers.

Journalists being who they are sat quietly through her talk but the bloggers and techies were clearly in a state. The guy from the Google Technology User Group Uganda [who looks like Matt Damon but is actually called Kyle] was wondering about licensing and technology compatibility while Revence was worried about control, content and how long a developer's application takes to go through the verification, certification and validation processes in order to star earning his developer's cash!

The journalists wondered whether this was not going to trigger another war in a market where Nokia is a dominant player and neither Apple nor Google have the set up structures to compete in User generated content management and application development. The latter two have made hundreds of developers worldwide wealthy by providing platforms on which they could develop applications for their different products and be remunerated by royalties paid from usage/purchase or downloads.

This in many markets has meant that applications virtually for everything have been developed to assist users in their day to day lives; from the ovulation calendar to shazam; an app that will tell you the name, album, artiste, year and number of any song just by listening to the beats in that song. Obviously creating millionaires out of the truly brilliant designers.

Another truth is that a lot of these products were either not designed for the African market [now often referred to as the Middle East and Africa market], therefore resulting in:

a) A lot of African designers not being able to design the apps they need to find bags, shoes, cheap beer, and cheap affordable food or housing for the communities in which they live.

b) They have inadvertently missed out on the billions of shillings that are there to be made from worldwide consumption of their applications.

And in the new world of marketing where you flex your muscles where it hurts Nokia has flexed its biceps. Every day, more than 1.2 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. you imagine that kind of power, usage subscription and loyalty and you tell me its not going to hurt. the naysayers will argue that people in Africa don't have the money to sustain the Apple and Google market sizes but these guys at Makerere will say different, or the guys at Appfrica, or the guys at Node Six.

Their argument is that if you continue to go where the money is, you miss the bigger "share of heart" that stands to be gained from the masses. this is mainly because these masses, eat, they work, they clothe, they dream and live; therefore they communicate; which is why new market analysis will tell you that the people are where you go, not the money.

Whether this is Nokia's objective or not is yet to be ascertained but one thing is for sure, the support that Nokia has now committed to offer developers is an almost unprecedented first; offering the OVI platform as a place for all consumers to be able to get their email, music, share work, games, mapping and navigation capabilities. This will undoubtedly lead to an increase in the amount of local content online; the god of which i have discussed before in previous posts here. check it more out here.

And of course open up the possibility of having the first Ugandan billionaire software developer whose software will probably be published and sold online.

Download the statement/ news release here

Thought Leadership: The Game is changing.

2010-05-26T12:02:00.001+04:00

Uganda, the land of milk and honey, corruption and money. A beautiful kaleidoscopic picture of zen view sunsets and the gory dod-eat-dog world of modern-day capitalism. To the naked eye, the country is preparing for elections in 2011 but to the trained eye the powers that be are in anarchy.

Over the past few weeks there have been relatively few ads in the newspapers. Well this is what has been going on…

A couple of months ago all the media houses in Uganda got together and decided that agencies who book, sell, and plan media buying for the corporate machine owed them too much money and therefore they were going to stop running all adverts. They called a meeting to talk about this and they were right; agencies and clients together owed the media houses a whopping [Red Pepper style] UGX 5.9 Billion! They gave the agencies, who foolishly agreed, 90 days in which to address the delicate matter with their respective clients and get back to them.

90 days later.

A couple of weeks ago Robert “KaBush” (from here on known as Bush), summoned the mother of all meetings, he and his Nation Media Group counterpart Dr. Githinji (did you know he was a gynecologist?) had amassed all their smaller and diverse media cronies and, seated at the head of the table, announced that all advertising was going to stop running. They had done what scholars and industry watchers had thought was unthinkable, let alone undoable. They had blacklisted all media agencies; a blanket ban.
The review meeting following this announcement showed that the agencies had managed to bring down their debt to about UGX 2.9 Billion claiming that some of their clients were adamant to pay or had stricter payment procedures and therefore had not been able to remit the balance in the 90 days pending. So all advertising was going off air.

He shouldn’t have

One, been positioned as the leader of the fight against the corporate machine because that evening nearly all MDs, CEOs, and CFOs of the corporate machine met separately to discuss this new turn of events while simultaneously the agencies also met to digest this new twist to things.

Two, put a blanket ban on the all the agencies because not all agencies had failed to pay. Therefore the whole industry being victimized for one agency’s lack of fiduciary wisdom was not perceived as just or bright.

Three, stood together with his competition to try and “Enforce” a measure that he felt was for the “greater good” because in the end he will still be standing alone to his shareholders to account for what’s happening to their investments.

The results of the meetings.

The Bush meeting ended up with an alliance signed in blood committing all the media houses to a cooperation where if you owe any single media house money e.g. Observer, you will not get be able to run your advertisement in any other newspaper. Of course this would mean increased cooperation amongst the media houses but it also posed the precarious question of commitment and solidarity. In a time when the market is shrinking and print media budgets are quickly being replaced you don’t want to be caught biting the advertisers’ hand. 45 extra days were given and ZK Advertising, the second largest spender of advertising in East Africa 2009 and Ignition were blacklisted. All their advertising was blocked and no work would be coming through them from anyone. Instead, the media houses circumvented the agencies and went directly to the clients and got the adverts directly.
The MDs and CEO meeting resulted in reimbursement bills to their secretaries for coffees and networking time spent discussing “industry re-formation”. They all however agreed that what Bush had done was undesirable and they would have to find a way of punishing the bad boy for his behaviour. “Let’s pull all our advertising from him”, someone whispered, but just like the whisper, he was asked to speak quietly because they all needed Bush.

The agency meeting yielded slightly more than the above because they ended up forming something called the Agencies’ Association of Uganda. (AAU? Kind of funny considering how much weed and alcohol those guys consume no?) They, on the other hand decided to coalesce and give a united position to the Media Owner’s Association, which had triggered all of this. Some radicals said they should get together with their clients and force the media houses to apologize and come to more amenable terms of payment and relationships.
What does this mean for the future?

The Bush and the Gynecologist are definitely not being loved in a lot of client circles and if you are keen there will noticeably be reduced invitations to them to attend corporate functions in the period ahead.

A certain guerilla caucus has come together to find all the ways in which the Vision conglomerate and the Nation behemoth are replaceable starting with the newspapers. Starting at the top, they are re-doing the research, figures, rationales, and psychographics to justify why all the FMCG companies and the corporatocracy should shift from mainstream media and now invest in more audience-driven forms of media. Perhaps new media even; blogs, Facebook, websites, twitter, You Tube, mobile phone ads, etc. We know that Fireworks has a team dedicated to online/new media; surveying, analyzing, studying, experimenting. Are they about to propose a radical shift to their clientele that will extend the advertising frontier, once again?

The smaller players in this convoluted power play have failed to get their erections up to speak up for their rights and so they are doing what they know to do best; going behind the big boys and saying ”Those guys are doing their own thing, you just give me my thing.” The disconnect this has created is not to be ignored. The agencies have not and will not. What they do next with this crack will probably shake the media industry like we have never seen. Perhaps a total advertising blacklist of New Vision, or the Nation Group?

Let’s wait and see.

The agencies have become galvanized under one umbrella body. Whether this is a good thing or not can only be seen with the passing of time. The Scangroup behemoth (East Africa’s largest spender and biggest marketing services provider) is in search of a Ugandan Telco to bolster its ranks. They already have the East African Breweries and the regional Lafarge business to cater to. When I spoke with CEO to one of the agencies that handle one of the Telcos, she said, “What I think we should do is organize as the big agencies and squeeze these small motherfuckers out of business. Because if we dare try and stand against the media houses, they will go behind our backs and confuse our clients and next thing you know we will be royally shafted here. They can do it.” What she meant was squeeze the agencies without big clients out of business by negotiating better commissions from the media houses through bulk buying. What this would do in essence would be to force the industry to re-align reporting, billing and fiscal control procedures. So one uniform billing document recognizable across the industry, one process. A clear signal of progress in the industry but what does it truly mean for the clients? In a world of organized and unionized advertising, there are no surprises, no game-changers, and definitely no lowered costs. The client looking for clear, distinctive and outstanding advertising and market presence will have to literally go rogue, but which agency will, or can? The argument can be made that a lot of agencies will think out of the box and go rogue. That is until they become isolated by fellow agencies, over charged by the media houses and soon rejected by the corporate machine; killing creativity, and dulling the sharp, incisive edge that it takes to cut through today’s’ advertising clutter. What is dizzyingly clear though is that the industry will never be same after this.

Bush promised the powers that be a platform on which he would deliver the 2011 election. He gave them Bukedde TV, has opened a radio in every mainstream local dialect and is on a roll to revamp the local language papers. This happens amidst an environment where all media houses are trying to acquire more media houses. KFM, currently the most listened to station in inner and greater Kampala, is shopping for upcountry stations to bolster its arsenal of listenership and footprint, while Dembe FM recently acquired the rural based Rwenzori FM. So as the media landscape’s tectonic plates continue to shift and change one thing is for sure; we are on the cusp of something that has happened in very few other countries: Uganda is preparing to leap frog – Again!

What network are you on?- A Character Exhibition

2010-04-23T15:10:00.002+04:00

Two years ago I met up with Jesse "Tuks" as his friends know him and we shared ideas on how the youth and the future were the key to changing Uganda and its direction. he introduced me to the most debate and conversational conundrum i had faced to date. I still use this discussion in my talks with young people and as mind nibbler.

Jesse's passion about a righteous nation did not stem entirely from a religious stand point, but also from a deeply human place. He argued that a society's leaders were elected because they were the best that society had to offer; they were its torch bearers, they were the society's benchmark of morality, goodness, kindness, honesty, generousity, hospitality, diligence and passion! He was riled by the stories that were in the papers everyday where politicians, leaders, teachers, parents and icons just got caught up morally compromising situations. It angered him. Not because it prevented him from progressing but because he felt that with role models like this, the future was not protected - our children were not safe, and hence the nation stood on a precipice.A dangerous place where if we were not careful we would plunge into the abyss!

His friend Moses on the other hand believed that leaders were a reflection of what a society was. They had no moral right, or authority or right to be better than the people they led; they were after-all a selection from among the people. Hence in his argument, leaders were society's moral compass, telling of the society's decadence or its depravities.

However both these gentlemen agreed that something had to be done to heal a broken nation.they believed that today's generation had to do something to heal the divide otherwise it was only;y a matter of time until something catastrophic happened.Until the "Have-nots" rose up against the "Haves"and forced them to "return" what was theirs. It is a scenario that has played out across the world for millenia.

Enter Character.Inc, an organization formed to encourage young people to do the right thing, despite all the competing communication around them; don't litter, be honest, work diligently, never cheat, have integrity, have Character - because its "Worth the Price"

This is how they express their call to all Ugandans, if you get this forward it on to someone, maybe we can build our community, one choice at a time.

And so when they went to Bududa district to take relief to the landslide victims this is what they had to show: Check out the BUDUDA.PDF REPORT.

Enough said.

Come to the Character Exhibition:

GO UGANDA!!!

Some Days, and things only happen in Uganda

2010-04-07T14:51:00.001+04:00

Uganda Lays wrong ICT cable - Experts. was the headline in Uganda's leading daily Newspaper, "The New Vision" a few days ago. so when does it grow old to have all this drama happening in your country?

Is it amusing to anyone elsewhere in the world that my country is laying the wrong fibre optic cable and despite the Government's instructions, the contractor continuously digs on and lays more cable irrespective?

Master Minding The Future

2010-04-06T14:34:00.000+04:00

Michael Niyitegeka is the Corporate Relations Officer at Makerere University’s Faculty of Computing and Informatics Technology (CIT).In his presentation at the Digital Africa Summit; a gathering of ICT industry actors, delegates, regulators, service providers, Michael presented on the urgent need for Industry-Academia relations in the dynamic and fast changing world of IT education.
He asserts that industry has to get involved in the education and creation of tomorrow’s innovative solutions all the while inspiring tomorrow’s innovators. He sat down with Asiimwe Colin to answer a few questions on his passions, the industry landscape and this ‘relationship’

Q: Tell us about why the Faculty of Computing and IT is said to be the biggest computing, research, and training facility on the continent. Was it always that big, or is it a question of a big Makerere University having a big computing faculty?
A: The Faculty of Computing and IT is regarded as the biggest computing, training institute in Africa because of the size of the facilities it hosts. With infrastructure that can accommodate up to 10,000 students, computing labs that can accommodate up to 800 students in research terms. Close to 30 PhD holders are Faculty staff and with nearly 50 PhD students we are set to have the largest continental qualified research capacity in a few short years. I also think it is about a deliberate effort to be the best and to do things differently; it’s about dedicated, focused, visionary leadership; it’s about a staff team willing to go the distance to be the best.

Q: This relationship you have advocated for across the world, what advantage does it present that the more traditional means of education and instruction don’t provide?
A: The advantages of an Industry-Academia relationship are enormous. The best and brightest universities in the world like MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, and University of Cape Town are leading because they have very strong industry-academia relationships. Right now universities are mostly independent of industry or, where the relationship exists it is very loose and yet we must work together to realize the synergies that exist between us. Universities are research hubs and the relevance of that research, or its novelty, inspires industry confidence to invest funds in it; creating commercial ventures. The interaction will inform teaching planning and delivery methods. The ability to teach using real world scenarios makes solution directed research easy and plausible.

Q: What do you say to some who say this method will dull the instincts of the students; in the sense that by giving all students a fair chance at the industry, you are reducing competition and therefore creating a disadvantage for the sharpest of them?
A: I do not agree with that school of thought. In fact, it makes them sharper and more responsive to the needs of society. It ignites ideas in their minds that will create the competition necessary to inevitably raise the innovation and imagination bar because the students know where the benchmarks are set, and they will try to meet that standard. This interaction is mutually beneficial because the students will have an idea of what to expect at the workplace and the industry gets better quality employees.

Q: And what are the returns for you as an instructing facility?
A: The opportunity to collaborate and develop new innovations. We will expect more involvement from the industry in the delivery of our programs, as well as the development of program materials. This is invaluable in terms of returns and as a measure of success. This relationship is a must have and there is no way we can do without it.

Q: What are your passions?
A: I am passionate about facilitating processes, going the extra mile to achieve success, doing things differently in order to be different, integrating technology into business processes and my greatest passion is enabling people to achieve through my role as a lecturer.

Q: Where do you see the ICT landscape forming into in the future for African students especially considering that they are not as advantaged as their counterparts in the west?
A: Extremely bright! We have what it takes to deliver the latest, most relevant solutions. There are so many opportunities now for young African ICT enthusiasts. The world is listening to them; all they have to do is speak up. Even more exciting is that today more than ever Uganda, and Africa, has the young people to answer these questions; the questions on e-health, e-commerce, e-learning, e-banking, e-anything. They are brilliant, passionate, they understand the problems, and all we have to do is guide them. It is my unparalleled belief that we are yet to see the best from them.

Q: Share your thoughts on excellence and performance enhancement in business processes and elements.
A: Business processes ought to be smart with limited, if at all any, redundancies. I believe performance excellence and enhancement can only be attained if the processes deliver in the shortest possible time with limited expenditure and highest return. ICT’s can enable this to happen as enablers of process, service and capacity delivery.

Q: … A final word perhaps?
A: I am extremely excited about the future of ICT. I believe as the industry continues to converge, the advantages for us as educators and also as employers, are even more limitless.

Mobile Banking and the African Market

2010-04-01T18:19:00.000+04:00

One year ago when I wrote a post on UBA and Mobile Banking, it was little regarded. MTN had just launched its own platform; MTN Mobile Money; all these of course behind Kenya's M-Pesa,-the system which revolutionized rural banking in Kenya.

Today, almost a year later I read this in the New Vision. The question is whether it makes sense that a technology that was available two years ago and licenses were issued , and yet only one more company has managed to launch the Mobile money service.

Zain's which is built on a regional platform is clearly the most competitive. MTN's Mobile still struggles with product consistency and pricing reactions. There are also the overhead challenges of literacy and adoption, which have forced the market leaders to invest large amounts in public education and awareness campaigns. The danger I see in this for new entrants like Uganda Telecom is the lack of industry insights and the clear gap between the stalwarts and freshies.

But what does it say for the industry going forward?

My view is that until the phone companies can invest in a translated Sim card which speaks at least 2 local languages/dialects, they will continue to suffer. This is of course not easy because of the absence of a unifying local language. it also points to the unique market landscape that is Uganda. In many ways Uganda serves as microcosm of the greater African problem. The absence of significant language blocks has been a pitfall to a lot of communication executions.

Secondly, while a lot of market figures show Uganda's young population and project it to explode in the next few years due to an albeit interesting mix of prurient factors, the fact remains that westernization or whatever is causing this population to have this much sex is not about to stop, Work with stakeholders it address the population issue, then plan to maximize each individuals income per capita through empowerment, education and improvement of quality of life. Then you can milk them.

But why all that hustle? Why invest all that money in order to get a small part of the market share? Because when it’s all said and done, the small segment you get will be a loyal, committed segment. Which is problem number 3: LOYALTY. The absence of brand loyalty in a lot of emerging markets can be attributed to a lot of factors (unstable political histories, illiteracy, cultural nuances, fear and superstitions, etc) and while its every business' big nightmare, it is not out of reach for a brand to nurture a loyal, committed customer base. No one just wants to pay for it.

And so my answer to UTL and the other Telecom companies out there reaping big in Uganda is this: there is a much bigger market called Africa, unbanked, uneducated, unlinked and in a lot of cases unbothered by you. If you must drink that juice, you must squeeze that fruit.

In order to reach Africa's most basic consumer, you need to come from above the line marketing to the line, and then take your communication through the line and below it. Reach the guy whose greatest problem is cattle dip vet solutions. Help him address his issues not just be a statistic in your marketing sheet. Then you will have made a real difference. It is my belief that only then will it all come together; because bottom up approaches never failed anywhere.

How Much Smarter? IBM’s Strategy for a Smarter Planet?

2010-03-29T23:59:00.000+04:00

“What is the sound of the planet talking? A century ago, the answer was simple: people conversing in person or over wired networks. Today, it’s not just everyone, but also everything talking to every other thing, in constant motion.”

Last year, at the Digital Africa Summit, I sat down with the Chief Technical Officer at IBM Sub-Sahara, Clifford Forster and, in what would be an eye-opening conversation; he explained what IBM was thinking.

A smarter planet; something he called “the internet of things.” The idea behind what was thought to be the next stage in innovation and technological advancement. The idea that all the main areas of our lives were connected and that at no time in history than today were we able to allow all these things to “talk”. Energy, infrastructure, traffic, food, banking, telecommunications, intelligence, cities, etc; all these functions and elements today are connected and monitored and IBM is looking at ways of making a smart planet: enabling sustainable businesses and systems for a sustainable planet.

This year in his presentation, Walter Mhlongo, took this conversation to the next level with “Smarter Telecommunications”. Africa has only about 1% of its information online and so has to download about 99% of its information from the rest of the world. Challenged by language barriers despite inter-connectivity and facing similar problems, he explained that IBM’s commitment to a smarter planet had led it to develop “spokenweb” (IBM’s leading automated translation technologies) in areas like health care, trade and travel bringing to life real-time automated translation solutions all available on the internet.

It is estimated 2 billion people will be on the Web by 2011 – and they’ll be doing more than talking. Video on demand, IP television and internet TV will account for nearly 90% of consumer IP traffic by 2012. When people talk, it will be to many more people – via social networking sites, whose memberships will top 500 million in the next three years. Figures that are not only indicative of the future, but also of the countless opportunities that will arise for companies to innovate, collaborate and to feed into and re-define their world in order to continue delivering top notch services to their clients.

As I wandered across the conference corridors, I ran into Walter’s colleague, Dr. Shiyghan Narti, IBM’s Strategy and Marketing Executive. He reaffirmed IBM’s commitment to the continent, indicating that the company was investing over $100 million in expanding its presence in Sub-Saharan Africa. With this investment, IBM is better placed to enable its’ clients to take advantage of the opportunities presented by gaining new insights in ways previously not possible.

“Over the next few years, you will see IBM playing a critical role as an innovator, providing inspired solutions to local issues and creating high valued products that matter to the communities and clients it serves”, he confidently states. “We will continue to leverage industry leading forums like the Digital Africa Summit to engage in meaningful conversation with our clients and partners across Africa.”

In just three years, IP traffic is expected to total more than half a Zettabyte (a Zettabyte is a trillion gigabytes or – 1 followed by 21 zeros). The need for this information to reach the last half of Africa, triggering access to massive amounts of information and thus allowing informed decision making, better sustainable practices and an interconnected system of performance to deliver our planet to the next level has never been greater.

How Do You Define a Great Idea?

2010-03-25T19:04:00.001+03:00

For a lot of people a great idea is /comes down to one word. That one word represents a concept, an idea, a strategy, a rationale.Coke. Mac. Guinness. Sex. Mercedes. New York. Paris. It could mean the world and more. It just has to tie back into the brand strategy, goals and ideas.

For a lot of agencies today and especially in emerging markets like Uganda, the challenge is in defining and understanding the market dynamic. It’s not just enough to understand the demographics or the motivations; it’s equally as important to do a psycho graphic profile. Understanding whether in a time of crisis the consumer will choose to spend on your product or not is just as important as building the product or brand that they will not get rid of when times are hard, and they are hard here.The war moved from the market to the the pocket but that's a discussion for another time.

That is where an iron clad strategy comes into play. It is hinged on one great idea; in some agencies called the big idea. When you crack this, you have the lifeblood that will cascade through the line to all your materials, both below and above the line.The truth is that to execute some truly great concepts, agencies around the world have had to have an almost impulsive understanding of their consumers and publics. And to truly have that impulsive touch, look and feel of an audience for an idea, most times comes from the consumer/ public themselves.

So let the audiences define their own touch points, what it means to them to have relevant, measured, direct programming delivered at the time they want it, when they want it. Fact is a lot of the materials that go up on your TV or radio are hoping that between you and your 5 roommates or office mates; only 1 of you gets the message and acts on it. Often, that’s just good enough. But no one has ever asked, “What goes through the mind of a viewer or a consumer the instant they see the visual sof an ad or a TVC?” It is my firmly held belief that this question will never truly be answered because audiences are as diverse as they are uniform.

Experiences, ideas, influences, passions, desires, pet peeves, perversions all play together to make each viewer/consume different. So we can’t know what each of them is feeling. So how do we tailor this message? We move on to the next best thing; their shared feelings, stereotypes, or ideas towards a common object, idea, or value and sometimes just a word…PAKALAST. CHOW. DISCOUNT. FEAR. ELECTIONS.

This is exactly what we did recently when we were trying to define a brand repositioning for Bell Lager, a product of Uganda Breweries Limited and flagship brand for 60 years. On top of all the above, we had to find the consumers to define what they wanted in order to define where we were going. We did. And the rest is history….

Here, the research:

Here, the new brand postion:

CONFIDENCE

A Chalk Free Class

2010-03-23T18:58:00.005+03:00

Mrs. Kandigoma Jean has been teaching Mathematics to for over 25 years. I knew her when I was but a child. She has taught, consulted, coached, examined and is at a point where the Math is where she lives and abides.

Recently I walked over to see Auntie Jean’s son; an age old friend, when I found her relaxing I asked him, a recent graduate what he was up to and he replied quite simply.

“She wants me to type all her work into the laptop”

What? I asked, being curiously tickled.

Then he gave me her card. On it was written:

Jean Kandigoma

School Content Specialist

E-Learnig Software Development

In the years that had passed since I had seen her she had transformed from being a major league examiner and math teacher extraordinaire to a content specialist? I mean what do those people do even do?

And so I asked her.

Her answer blew me away.

She works with the Cyber School Technology Solutions Project which has currently enrolled 100 schools and is planning to recruit another 200 this year into a program that allows access to digitized curriculum content. They have her write out the syllabus and then digitize the whole thing. Then it is voiced for effect and instructions.

And so in a look of amazement I asked her what the future of the classroom would look like and she said from when the next term begun she would just walk into class with a projector and her laptop and start teaching. She teaches across the O’ Level section.

And so where is the project going with its plans to recruit another 200 schools?

Well the plan is to hopefully partner with enough schools to increase the learning capacity for science and demonstrative subjects, and since notes don’t all have to be written in chalk, the course coverage is faster allowing for more teacher-student time and not to mention the aesthetic value it all brings to a chalk-dust-free class.

So now I ask, as the world moves towards faster and better modernization of sectors, technology and information transfer,

Are we on the cusp of another age of technology leapfrog?

For those who find it strange, I have been fondling his theory and I have heard it expressed out loud but mostly expressed in the future Africa will leapfrog and into the next technology era. My theory is that Uganda is one of those strange countries and is a classic microcosm of Africa’s strides in technology adaptation. We jumped literally from the mailbox to the cell phone. As the rest of the world endured the mailbox and what it stood for, and then moved from there to the landline home phone. In Uganda the number of landlines is probably one tenth of the cell phones.

Tottering at an astounding 9 million subscribers today, Uganda finds itself at a time where its 75% population that is under 30 needs constantly to be talking and because of the new age of information where there is just too much information make heads or tails of, there point is to just keep talking. These young people need communication solutions that answer that question everyday.

Only about 15 % of the total population currently resides in urban areas. The rest live in rural areas, where chances of access to electricity, power are very low. Today Telecom companies in Uganda seem to be heading in the right direction: Uganda Telecom’s free face book platform; MTN’s partnership with the Grameen Foundation to produce a farmers’ trade tool that is SMS enabled; Warid Telecom’s “Pakalast” tariff profile which has literally reorganized the Telcom landscape, Orange Telecom which has capitalized on providing fast, unlimited internet access on its dongo; an unrivaled facility by any in the country.

All these innovations by the industry to grab more market share continue to drive prices down in a very price-sensitive market but still do nothing to make innovations in the education sector, or health or housing or food sector substantially relevant to Ugandans. Parliament is in talks to establish a National IT Authority; an industry regulator because clearly the Uganda Communications Commission which is funded by a 1% remission by the Telcos is, and has been bullied by industry leaders into some really un-nationalist positions and decisions.

Yet the star still glimmers in this twilight zone. Maybe we’ll skip the cell phone phase and just move to the i-phone phase?

Most likely not, but whichever way things go, they can only go up.

Digital Convergence & Innovation Driving Positive Change

2010-03-04T22:18:00.001+03:00

In the digital era, access to information and the sharing of knowledge have created a new global currency that is transforming the fundamental economic, educational and social constructs of society, creating unprecedented opportunities for positive change.

Africa’s ICT sector is the fastest growing globally with mobile and broadband penetration rates set to continue to rise with lower cost high speed broadband now a reality companies must prepare and build solid foundations allowing them to take advantage of the opportunities, that this exciting industry and continent has to offer.

The region’s need to capitalize on convergent services and innovations is evident with IPTV, Triple Play and VoIP offerings growing, lower cost of access has created an increasing demand from the customer base. Service providers are locked in a battle to increase ARPU and boost customer loyalty, while maintaining lean and efficient operations. The demand on their networks and ability to deliver value to their customers is constantly growing.

Thus, the challenges to win in this new and dynamic environment are enormous making focus, speed, cooperation and ongoing innovation imperative to its many members.

The Digital Africa Summit aims to assist African operators by providing information that will aid them in developing a focused, practical strategy moving forward. This will be achieved by orchestrating a debate between:

Leading regulatory authorities from Africa and the World
Operators from Africa and the World
Governments from Africa
Industry Associations
Financial Institutions and Investors
Solution providers
System integrators

We expect participating executives to leave this debate with greater clarity and understanding about the challenges they will face in developing their networks increasing connectivity efficiency and driving positive social and economical growth.

Find the Summit website at: Digital Africa Summit

The summit blog is at: www.digitalafricasummit.wordpress.com

Follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/DASummit2010

Find and discuss up to the minute summit updates on our Face book page

My Nation's Newspapers! Daily Monitor

2010-02-16T13:21:00.001+03:00

The story below was in today's Daily Monitor: My concerns are just how I think story might not have been written.

Search for a magazine model:

In partnership with African Woman, sherry V&A, at a cocktail last Friday held at Serena Hotel in Katongole Hall, unveiled plans to have a countrywide search for a cover girl, V&A Covergal, that will be glammed up to appear on the cover of the magazine of May.{First of all Serena has no Katongole Hall, its Katonga Hall! And how about a girl who "will be glammed up to appear on the cover of the magazine of May"? Who taught this motherf****r English?} Roberty Kalumba, you are an idiot!

They need an ordinary girl to grace the cover the May edition of African Woman. “She doesn’t have to be a model, celebrity, a known personality or socialite,” was the criteria as laid down by the head honcho of the magazine Sylvia Owori.

According to the UBL Brand Manger, Spirits Phoebe Nakabazzi, the search for the cover girl will be country-wide and the successful lady will embody the qualities of V&A “that are independence, confidence and elegance,” she said. What one needs to do should they want to participate is to purchase V&A at the participating stores; Uchumi and Capital Shoppers and fill out a necktie coupon to enter the draw which will take place each week until 200 girls are selected to proceed to the next stage where the contest will begin. {Ok does the Brand have a manger in which is it is kept until it grows up? or did they mean to say Brand Manager? }

The 200 will later be reduced to 30 girls who will face a public vote through the different forms of media- radio, TV and print, where the public will do the sieving. There will be a final event that will end the whole process. “It will be a big production that will give us who the final girl will be,” said Owori.

Apart from being the Cover Girl, the winner will stand to win goodies from Sylvia Owori’s wardrobe and a Shs2m shopping voucher from one of the best boutiques in the country. {Like her personal wardrobe? Really? and the best boutique in the country? isn't that Sylvia's too? So they'll walk away with her personal clothing as well as items from her shop?!}

Consumers of V&A will also stand a chance to win various instant prizes at participating stores through the lucky-dip promotions that will include a dinner for two at a top hotel, spa treatments, salon and tickets to the cinema. The search has began.{The lucky dip promotions will include a dinner for two? or the lucky dip prizes will include dinner for two, salon treatments, etc?}

Who is Charles Ssali?

2009-12-14T17:59:00.010+03:00

Charles Ssali is an Icon in my eyes. This 12 year old has traveled the world talking to presidents, leaders, policy makers and pushers, literally everyone who cares to listen to commit to the fight against Malaria. He is the Ambassador of the “united malaria campaign” and the “Roll back Malaria Partnership”

I had a chance to speak to Charles when he ran by my office to drop off something and I realized something; Charles was a symbol of a brave new generation who were taking the fight to the world saying
"Its not enough to give Aid"; commit to see the end of Malaria-related deaths in the next five years. On his phone there are pictures of Charles standing with David Beckham, the President of WHO and other dignitaries.

I have questions with the fact that the campaign is funded by an American organization and that no African organization could have funded this. Or they could have but maybe oil-rich Libya, or Egypt or South Africa don't struggle with Malaria as much as we do.

In my tropical sub-Saharan country, Uganda, everyone is a survivor of malaria. In fact one of my American friends considered it a "badge of honour" to suffer from the parasites. Then I think about all the 8 million people who die every year across the continent because everyone on the planet will not commit to kicking out a parasite-driven disease denying us of our happiness.

Charles's story is an amazing story of triumph over extreme hardships, his guardian tells his story with teary eyes. He carries a sombre undercurrent about him and yet his smile, like a bolt, emerges when you talk about football. His life, his passion, his dream. He is not just an African boy chosen to carry a campaign. If they had searched the whole continent, I don't think a worthier candidate could have been found for his is indeed a story to fall in love with.

This Christmas, as you go through your new year's resolutions, Please commit to see to the end of Malaria, in your voice, talking to your people. We kicked polio out of Uganda, there is no reason why Malaria should stay.

If not for Charles Ssali, then do it for the hundreds of thousands of kids across the planet who need the chance to grow up and learn of David Beckham, or Samuel E'too, or even, Brian Umony. Let's give them a fighting chance.

Because imagine the look on his face when he walks up to Sepp Blatter next year to present him with the football signed on by so many others to endorse a campaign that will have traveled full circle around the globe to make it to the World Cup Final, where Charles will stand: at 13 years.

We can make it happen, we can help him achieve his dream.

Uganda Telecom and Rwandatel Purchase Seacom Capacity; Securing Backhaul Network Between Kampala and Kigali.

2009-08-28T13:19:00.004+04:00

SEACOM, Uganda Telecom Ltd (UTL) and Rwandatel S.A. (RTL) on 25th August announced a major partnership that further extends the reach of international broadband capacity across eastern Africa. Through concurrent deals, UTL and RTL, both subsidiaries of the Libyan Africa Portfolio LAP Green Networks, have purchased a significant amount of international broadband capacity from SEACOM whilst SEACOM has in turn secured a backhaul solution for Rwanda on the two regional players? terrestrial networks between Kampala, Uganda and Kigali, Rwanda. Under the terms of the partnership agreement, both entities will have immediate access to the SEACOM network.

Uganda has been connected to the SEACOM network since its 23 July launch but this agreement means that Rwanda will have broadband capacity as soon as September.

Brian Herlihy, SEACOM CEO, said: 'From the outset of this project, we realised the importance of connecting inland countries to our international network and today's agreement is testimony of our commitment in that regard.

Many countries set out to deploy massive terrestrial networks in anticipation of the arrival of real and affordable international bandwidth connectivity. With more and more countries getting connected to the rest of the world via our system, we are eagerly awaiting to see the direct socio-economic benefits this will have on the entire region.'

SEACOM realised the importance of ensuring that Kigali and the greater Rwanda were connected as soon as possible to the international global network. Seacom's purchase of the UTL and RTL's backhaul solution guarantees that Rwanda will be connected immediately.

'LAP Green Networks has always had a strong focus on international data connectivity and this is an approach shared by Uganda Telecom and other regional players looking to achieve first mover advantage in their respective markets. The capacity purchase by Uganda Telecom on the SEACOM network will dramatically modify the local Internet market and we look forward to a new era of true broadband across the region,' commented Eng. AbdulBaset Elazzabi, MD of LAP Green Networks and Uganda Telecom Ltd.

LAP Green Networks is a telecommunications operator owned by Libyan African Investment Portfolio and specialising in the acquisition and management of telecommunications networks across Africa. LAP Green Networks? representatives for this deal were Ghadfi Mohamed, Chief Technical Officer and Donald Nyakairu, Chief Legal Counsel. Other than UTL and RTL, current investments include Sonitel Niger, Sahel Com Niger and Oricel Green Cote D'Ivoire.

Patrick Kariningufu, CEO of Rwandatel S.A., concluded: ?In line with our strategy to extend connectivity to the population, and in anticipation of the arrival of affordable international bandwidth, Rwandatel took major steps in developing its infrastructure. We are excited about our deal with SEACOM and look forward to delivering affordable broadband to our customers.?
And to all of you who were arguing the Infocom monopoly, your answer is here. It is left to be seen however whether when the UTL cable lands next year whether UTL will switch from SEACOM to that.

And it also arouses the question, is the Ugandan market that lucrative? So much that it could have driven UTL into a probably hasty decision because no matter how much we want fiber, they will charge us for Seacom and then charge us for eassy and TEAMS. In the end we will shoulder the burden. the only glitch in this scenario is that because Infocom will have economies of scale, having invested in the fiber optic earlier and therefore will be further along in covering its overheads. In the assumption, there lies the hidden clause that they will transfer these costs to the consumer.

Only that when they do this and because Ugandans are the least brand loyal people on the planet, they will switch.

For now though, Bravo and well done!

Makerere CIT Trains 150 Women in ICT

2009-06-29T16:40:00.004+04:00

As the global race to bridge the digital divide between the North and the South is given impetus and incentive by the growth of southern economies, today this need is nowhere greater than in the emerging sub-Saharan markets. Seemingly trapped by illiteracy, overpopulation, breakdown in infrastructure, lack of access and soaring internet costs, the challenge to harness technology to aid Africa leap frog the divide seems even more daunting. Uganda serves as a microcosm for this African dilemma.

Another part of this complex conundrum is the fact that although women are substantially part of the business environment today, most of them know little or nothing about ICT and its potential to alter/or exponentially increase their access, use and leveraging of information technologies to help their businesses.

The Makerere University Faculty of Computing & IT (CIT) under its Community Outreach program has just finished training 150 women in basic ICT skills. The women are engaged in different business and entrepreneurship ventures but mostly consist of teachers.

The training included skills in use of Microsoft Word, Spreadsheets, Email, Introduction to computers and Power point Presentations.

CIT has done other trainings in the past for the Uganda Police Force, Uganda People's Defence Force, Makerere University Teaching and Non-teaching staff and will continue to train members of the public and private sectors as part of its commitment to increase ICT literacy in Uganda. Currently, 400 staff from Mulago Hospital is under ICT training at the faculty.

My big question is; Is it enough? Is it enough to train our women, and pump them with IT skills when they are still struggling under bad marriages and sexual harassment? As I ponder these thoughts what keeps coming to me is a phrase from a book I love deeply: Jane Eyre; where Rochester as he looks at the plain and yet deeply moving Jane says to himself and almost to God "It will atone." What will atone? The new life blood in this new young girl who he feels deeply about will atone for the trickery that led him to marry a woman with hereditary madness who he now keeps locked up in one of the rooms of his huge mansion. Can all those years of putting our women down be erased by giving them special treatment and advantages? I don't know anything for a fact but this I know: it will ATONE.

PRESIDENT OF BURUNDI VISIT TO CIT.

2009-06-10T20:46:00.007+04:00

When the President of the Republic of Burundi, H.E. Pierre Nkurunzinza, visited Uganda a few weeks ago to sign a MoU with the Government of Uganda, he took some time off to tour and talk to the people at Makerere University Faculty of Computing & IT.

Apart from touring the facility [currently Africa's largest computing, teaching, research, and consulting facility], he thanked Uganda for continuing to be the regional educational hub. He talked of the possibility of training Burundi graduates at the National Software Incubation Center, instruction in IT, the newly introduced Software Engineering Bachelor's Degree, and the now looming possibility of Uganda as a Business Processing and Outsourcing center for the region.

Some pictures from that occasion:

President Pierre Nkurunzinza with Makerere University Chancellor, Prof. Mondo Kagonyera; and Faculty of Computing & IT, Head of Corporate Relations, Michael Niyitegeka

In the end, it matters more that he saw it fit to visit than that he signed an MoU with our government. the first counts, the second one, well...story of my life.

The Internet of Things: A Talk with IBM CTO

2009-06-05T17:29:00.009+04:00

I caught up with Mr. Clifford Forster at the just concluded Digital Africa Summit at hosted at the beautiful Commonwealth Resort Munyonyo where I spent a few minutes chatting with Mr. Forster about his and IBM's vision for Africa.

Name: Clifford Forster

Position: Chief Technical Officer

Company: IBM Africa

Expertise: Consulting and Engineering.

Q: Where does your career with IBM start?

A: I was born, raised and trained in South Africa after which I worked across Europe in Engineering and Consulting. I joined IBM in 2001 as a partner in the Business and Consulting Division. There, I worked as a consultant for Financial Service Institutions across Europe and China.

Q: What was that like?

A: it was a good time and my time spent consulting and delivering projects led me to be named the "IBM Distinguished Engineer" in 2008.

Q: That sounds cool, what does it mean?

A: It's an internal IBM award that recognizes delivery and distinguished service to customers. It reflects and involves a broad range of deep level engineering and high level consulting.

Q: Returning to IBM, what was going on when IBM decided to switch up and reorganize itself?

A: Well, in 2008 IBM wanted to better focus itself on its markets, and that led to IBM identifying its principal markets. It emerged that there were two major groups: Mature or Developed markets and the Growth or Developing markets. The reorganization meant that markets which previously reported to vendors but were emerging would be given full focus and more attention. And that was how Johannesburg was set up as the sub-Saharan African Center of Operations for IBM.

Q: I understand the need to increase investments in order to stimulate growth [which is IBM's justification for concentrating on the African market] but why would you have given up a career in Europe to come back?

A: I am African, firstly (Laughing and smiling deeply). So there was that. The opportunity to have a positive influence on the growth of Africa is majorly what brought me back. I am very intrigued about the trends in Africa. For example, I have heard a lot from the conferences I have been attending lately that clients no longer want to be serviced remotely. What they want is IBM on the ground delivering services to them. They are buying more than a service; they are buying a brand.

Q: Tell me about the IBM Vision…

A: We realized in reorganizing IBM that in order to achieve our objectives, we were going to have to focus our work. The IBM of the future is looking at a smart planet; boiled down to 3 I's.

Enter Smart Planet:

The smart planet concept was guided by three ideas after realizing that the 21^st century had brought with it a substantial increase in inventions but also a fall in prices of technologies. We believe that the future is:

1. Instrumented: Due to the increase in inventions and innovations, we now see sensors embedded in everything; phones, water networks, water quality, electrical networks, power stations, vehicles, fridges and power meters. Everything is measured. The embedded sensors allow almost all gadgets to take measurements and readings.

2. Interconnected: Everything is being connected i.e. There has been a rollout of interconnected telecoms across the continent. So much that it is "Now no longer the internet of people but the internet of things…" connectivity for cars, appliances, cameras, pipelines, livestock, roadways. This means that more and more you need less gadgets. This is because your iPod talks to your laptop, your car talks to your phone, your phone talks to your banker, etc. Right now Africa has about 300 million mobile phones and projections put it at 400 million by 2010, this means that the continent will get eventually all get connected.

3. Intelligent: The use of this information, to support, enable and guide decisions in real time or near-real time.

Q: And your final word?

A: As technologists, we will be judged by the future by how we used emerging technologies to solve the really big problems facing us.

And so the future will be a safer, more connected place, albeit not without challenges, but Africa is positioning itself to be the fertile ground for the next generation's innovations.

WHO IS THIS MAN?

2009-05-18T12:50:00.005+04:00

His Motto:

Give me where to stand, and I will move the earth. Archimedes (287-212 B.C.)

His Profile:

He is a Professor of Computer Science and holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science, and is currently serving as Dean, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, (CIT) Makerere University. He is a member of Makerere University Senate and Council. Continuously demonstrating competence as a leader driven by the need to serve, respect and strengthen those he serves. He believes in building and strengthening institutions.

Under his leadership, the Institute of Computer Science at Makerere University transformed from a small unit with one academic programme, 28 students and an annual budget of USD $15,000 to a Faculty of Computing and Information Technology with over 22 academic programmes, over 5,000 students undertaking degree programmes and an annual budget of over USD $7 million by September 2005 (within a period of four years only). Today the Faculty of Computing and IT budget is over USD $10 million.

At the national and regional level, he coordinates (multi- million dollar) projects and research programs aimed at building specialized computing and ICT Human Resource Capacity in Africa; its universities and other tertiary institutions plus the private and public sectors

He is a consultant in ICT research, training, advisory services and policy and a recognised expert on e-governance.

He is the Chairman and Managing Director of ICT Consults Ltd, a prestigious ICT consultancy firm in Africa.

He is currently the Executive President of Connect Uganda Foundation, a non profit making organization incorporated in Uganda in 2003 with the overall objective of stimulating new firms and creating jobs in the knowledge-intensive sector, by linking entrepreneurs and innovators with research and development, service providers, venture capitalists and partners.

He is the Executive President of Uganda National Academy of Computing and Internet Technologies, an association that brings together all computing/ ICT faculties/ institutes in all public and private universities to address common objectives and challenges.

A member of the Presidential Investors Roundtable- B.P.O. working group and was also a member of the ICT working committee of the 1^st Presidential Investors Roundtable.

His Education:

Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Bergen, Norway 2000
Post Graduate Certificate in Public Relations, University of Minnesota, Minnesota 1999
Post Graduate Certificate in Administration, University of Bergen, Norway 1999
Post Graduate Certificate in Business Management, Sofia University, Bulgaria 1998
Postgraduate Diploma in Mathematical Modelling, University of Trondheim, Norway 1998
Post Graduate Diploma in Economic Modelling, University of Trondheim, Norway 1997
M.Sc. in Computer Science, University of Bergen, Norway 1996
M.Sc. (Mathematics)-Coursework, Makerere University, Uganda 1995
B.Sc. (Mathematics), Makerere University, Uganda 1994

His Expertise:

A distinguished academic, researcher, leader and manager, he lectures courses in Computer Science, Networks, Information Systems and Software Engineering at all levels including Doctoral levels.

He has supervised over 50 masters' students and over 80 postgraduate diploma students to completion and is currently supervising several graduate students both at Masters and PhD level.

As Dean, CIT he has accumulated experience in staff training and retention in an African University setting. He manages today over 200 staff and a student population of over 5000 on degree programmes in Computing and ICT disciplines.

With over sixteen years of teaching experience under his belt, a peerless educator and in many ways the man of his time.

His Awards:

Between Himself, His Company; ICT Consults Ltd., and CIT his most prestigious awards are:

In January 2009, Prof. Baryamureeba was considered for inclusion in the ''2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21^st Century'' by the International Biographical Centre, which is scheduled for publication in early 2010.
The '2008 HP Technology for Teaching Higher Education Grant'' was awarded to CIT the 'in appreciation for its commitment for student success and for seeking innovative ways to transform teaching and learning through the effective use of technology.
Appointed an honorary member of the International Association of IT Governance Standards (ITGOVS), in November 2008. Honorary Membership to ITGOVS is by invitation only and is extended to the top professionals in this area, both from the corporate world as well as the academic world.
2^nd Runner-up, Presidential Science Awards, Science and Technology Excellence Award in September 2008, in recognition of his innovative approach to institutional and human capacity development in computer science by the President of the Republic of Uganda.
ICT Consults Ltd received 10^th Platinum Technology Award for Quality and Best Trade Name, July 2008.
'Top ICT Educator/ Academic' Award in Africa for 2007 under the theme "Making the African Century a Reality", at the 9th Annual African ICT Achievers Awards.
IBM made a gift in his honor to the United Nations (UN) Foundation in support of Nothing but Nets, a grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria in December 2007.
"The International Star Award for Quality in the Diamond category" - April 2006 in Paris, France. (http://www.bid-star.com/) The award was in recognition of Excellence in Leadership and Business Management; Quality and Excellence; and Technological Innovations and Expansion.
Professional of the Year 2005 – British Council Award. An award mainly for achievers, mentors and inspirational managers who have contributed immensely to the management of their organizations as well as International communities.
The 2005 Presidential Science Award Cycle: He was also recognized for his efforts in spearheading ICT training, research and consultancy services in sub-Saharan Africa.
International Arch of Europe Award for Quality and Technology in the Diamond Category- February 2005, Frankfurt, Germany.
The ICT Quality Summit International Award- New York, USA on 21^st June 2004.
The 2003-Century International Quality Era Award- May 2003, Geneva, Switzerland.

1. The Key Milestones of his career:

In 1996 he finished a two year M.Sc. in Computer Science in a record time of 8 months;
In 2000 he graduated with a PhD and had the best PhD dissertation that year at the University of Bergen;
In 2000 discovered the Barya function;
In 2000 at the age of 30 he was the youngest PhD holder at Makerere University;
In 2000 he became the 1^st Ugandan to obtain a PhD in Computer Science;
In 2001 at the age of 31 he was appointed Director of the Institute of Computer Science and became the youngest Director in the History of Makerere University;
In 2005 at the age of 36 he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Computing and IT and became the youngest Dean in the history of Makerere University;
In 2005, he spearheaded the construction of the largest computing building in Africa with 12,500 sq metres of space worth over USD$ 20 million and was funded from internally generated funds in the Faculty of Computing and IT. Previously he had spearheaded the construction of the Faculty of Computing and IT Building (Block A) worth 2500 sq metres.
In 2006 he was appointed a full Professor at the age of 37 making him the 1^st Professor of Computer Science in Uganda and the youngest Professor in sub-Saharan Africa;
In 2006 he raised from the rank of Associate Professor to Professor in a record time of less than three (3) months;
In 2007 he received the 'Top ICT Educator/ Academic' Award in Africa for 2007;
In November 2008 he was included in the 2009 Edition of Who's Who in the World; a global distribution relied upon by business leaders, journalists, academics, and other professionals for its accuracy and currency of information.

The Man:

Professor Venansius Baryamureeba.

Dean, Faculty of Computing and IT, Makerere University.

Website: www.cit.mak.ac.ug

Truly a look at the future.

Cheers!

FACEBOOK ON MY KABIRITI!!

2009-05-08T19:40:00.005+04:00

Only in Kampala, the city of cool do these things happen.

Blogville Brace Yourselves ! ! !

You can now update your facebook status from your mobile phone. Not your high end programmable phone with a camera and I don't know whatever; I mean a low down and cheap phone that has fallen in the pit a couple of times!

Jon Gosier, a business entrepreneur extraordinaire founded Appfrica.org has been busy! And so today he went live with Status.ug developed by Mr. Felix Kitaka, a young brilliant incubator at Appfrica.

"Appfrica.org facilitates, mentors and incubates entrepreneurs in software in East Africa and Uganda. It offers a physical space with a solid internet connection, servers, software and computers that allows students and recent graduates a place to develop their ideas in a constructive environment…"

Dig this, the place is complete with mentors!!

"… student projects are refined and prepped to help them secure funding and launch sustainable, profitable businesses. This project, loosely modeled after Paul Graham's Y Combinator, is better known as Appfrica Labs."

And I just lifted this off their site because its not so easy to paraphrase what they were saying.

"Appfrica Labs is a for-profit incubator and software development firm currently based out of Kampala, Uganda. The mission is to offer opportunities and work experience for East African software entrepreneurs so that they can then use their talents to bolster the growing local markets by offering products and services. Appfrica picks up where East African colleges leave off by offering hands-on experience in programming languages like Java, C++, C#,…."

You should check them out. And my life will never be the same again. Ever!

Oh I had forgotten you wanna register, right?

Ok you have to sign up at:

apps.facebook.com/status_ugtek

… Till then …

CITY OF ANGELS

2009-02-26T12:37:00.006+03:00

I have always wondered about how life goes on in certain parts of the world... you know? Kampala is the kind of city where nothing will move unless you bribe people. The trauma of owning anything and always being insecure about whether someone will steal it. The fear of achieving lest you court envy from even the most kindred of souls. The constant threat of being run down by a speeding cyclist, because in fairness, there is no way to control those blighters.

The argument has been for a long time that they need to earn an income and the elitist Kampala populace which had now become very lazy, encouraged them. now the boda boda takes you right to the doorstep of where you want to go. The ease. The convenience. The sloth.

Then they started hitting people on the head with iron bars, mugging handbags, robbing innocent members of the snobbish elitist populace that would not ask government to put in place a proper transport system. But then maybe its not the population's fault that the leaders they elect don't represent them in government and instead end up aggrandizing themselves.

And so the pressure was on to ban the boda bodas from the city centre, which quite frankly was a measly-hearted move since they were not offered any option. Government said they should not come into town without permits, helmets, carriers, etc. And they hounded them like animals.

But yesterday, in the midst of an otherwise silent night, Owino market was razed to the ground. A market that has seen women and men educate their children by providing a source of income, a market that has given Uganda's poor urban populations a vestige of self-respect by clothing them in western apparel second hand albeit being second hand. Nearly the only where you could get something unique; something without the multiplied feeling of Chinese copycat fabric produced for 1 billion people.

I shopped there growing up [no i didn't stop, i just haven't bought clothes in a long time] and i was told by the guy who sold me shirts that the suits they unwrapped which were good were actually sold to the upmarket stores to go for upwards of UGX 1 million! Now this population is caught without an out. They have taken loans, borrowed, buried their life savings into this. 25,000 lives changed by one action. What of all their dependents, families, their children at campus? This is tantamount to terrorism!

And the politicians have the audacity to howl empty promises while hurling insults at government? To mock our parents, our neighbours, our wives' mothers, our friends our fellow countrymen? can any nation sink any lower in its sh*t and filth? Can we be more callous to people who genuinely want to earn an honest living? We forgave Mabira, we overlooked Temangalo, we turned the other side when the valley dams burst [wait, were they ever built?] and the helicopters that never flew? We were even willing to bail out Makerere, an institution drowning in mismanagement and incompetence! The

It has been said that a country gets the leaders it deserves. A filthy, pilfering country led by kleptomaniacs, so fragmented its tottering on the smoldering precipice of tribal clash outbreak does not deserve good leaders does it?

Or does it? Because Tukacungura Jesse, founder of Charaterdot inc. says no. He says leaders are the torch bearers for the people they lead. despite the fact that they are selected from amongst the rotten populace, they must rise above their larcenous geneology, the impulse to pilfer, and become models, icons if even only for the purpose to inspire.

In the end, these people who work and toil and sweat and eat the sewerage that runs through their workplace are the ones who pay for everything that the politicians enjoy and covet. They are the ones who vote, the ones who take loans, who send their kids to school, who buy all that investor -produced sugar and tea! who bloody buy airtime! They are the reason that most of these banks exist! These are the reason there is a tax base in Kampala! They support this city and almost this country on their shoulders! on nothing but those lean shoulders. They close ranks and hold tight and the politicians dance on the table atop, puckering their lips to the top leadership.

They are our angels. watching and complaining but never failing to pay taxes, never running abroad, never going to war. Our silent economic guardians. The real heartbeat of this city. This city of filth, and drama and fear and oppression.

Kampala is a City of Angels.

What Does This Mean?

2009-02-11T09:27:00.003+03:00

I mean anywhere in the world....

The Phone company was advertising new reduced call rates and seemed to imply that Ugandans are motor-mouths.

But more importantly, why didn't the head of advertising fire the bastard that came up with this. Its funny but its also insulting and vulgar.
Why do i say this?

Because I had to lend Martin 100,000/= for doctors' fees. He was getting some third leg happiness in the back of a cab when when there was a sudden shout. Apparently she'd looked up and seen the thing, prompting her mind to tell her lips to relax.Unfortunately Martin's business was way down her throat but as she relaxed Martin offloaded. This triggered an almost instant reaction where the brain told the body that it was drowning in fluid and so to clamp all orifices. The jaw slam shut. There was a scream. I got a phone call. I went to the ATM.... I hate MTN.

2008-09-01T13:33:00.005+04:00

Our Women

Our women became the men they wished to marry.
Out in the land of desperation where the promise had been so bright,
Where the sun rose every day without ceasing, and our skin glistened a dark, luminous color in the sun,
There where Idi forced men to do things unspeakable, there where women saw untold horrors!
And there was great weeping in that land.

Twenty seven guns later

In that land, the men no longer are.
They left a long time ago…
Gone, like the cat to see the king.
They cower, talk in hushed tones in bars, and go home late.
So they never look into their sons’ eyes, and tell them of the value of an honest day’s work.
In that land they all worry about the gum -chewing Englishman, the Frenchman who loves young boys.
The men are all gone from this land.

Twenty seven guns and ten years later

The women looked at their land; saw no men and they were sad.
They searched and looked but the men were hard to find.
Embattled times. When terror brought a nation to its knees, a nation would send out a call for heroes.
But the men were hard to find. And it seemed like a nation might plunge into the abyss.
It seemed that all would be lost.

Twenty seven guns and twenty years later

And the darkness spread further in the land. But not for long because
When our motherland called for heroes, these women stood up to be counted .
Mothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, aunties. They all stood up.
When our motherland called for heroes, they were the fathers of the motherland.
When our motherland called for heroes, these women became the men they wished to marry.

To find the men, they would go. They would groom their sons. They would make them men.

And they raised a generation of Sons and Lovers. Of .... *sigh*
They raised daughters who worked and provided.
Daughters who counseled and handled business.
Who worked and earned and saved.
Women who went to university, and beat the men.
And who dated liberally and occasionally popped the question.
Who took the sick child to hospital, and paid the house bills.
And bought the meat in the house. They took on all these roles and more.

Our women became the men they wished they had married.

40 Days: Episode I

2008-08-18T19:43:00.010+04:00

Today is my fortieth day in the desert. I have survived 40 days in the desert and I have come out unscathed. Its strange that no matter what you do, after a while you always seem to have a certain resilience and develop certain immunity.

Speaking of developing, its been quite awhile since I posted anything; that is not to say that nothing exciting has been happening in my life. Its just that things have had a way with me such that I could not pen down what I thought without feeling like a worthless tweet.

But I digress, forty days at my very first 8-6 job, which sounds like a 10 hour job but in reality is 12 hours! It was in the fine print of the contract, I guess no one ever reads that huh?!

Anyway, I was very impressed when I learnt that over 300 students had turned up to attend a free session in which they were to translate the Mozilla Firefox browser into Luganda. For all of 2 days, the students worked feverishly, to ascribe commonly known Luganda definitions to the browser’s, vast array of functions.

At the end, they all gleefully clapped when the Dean of Makerere’s Faculty of Computing and IT joked about how the achievement should be pushed to the Buganda government and how this would make the kabaka very happy.

It kept coming to mind how the recently belegeaured king was at a point where he could actually use some help, what with all the king’s men being accosted, detained, released and then re-arrested! All without reason!! Oh Uganda!!

It portends good things if a web browser can be translated into a local language because that means that local writers can be encouraged to write more in their local languages, and this in turn has great potential for increasing literacy and uptake of internet products. The day, then, is not far when we will be able to log on surf, download, and even upload material entirely in a different language complete with the ever elusive ”ng” Luganda sound!

However there still remain infrastructural questions, access concerns and literacy as big impediments the realization of this dream. The even greater threat from within the industry is that the ICT mammoths like Microsoft, IBM, DELL all want more control of the econ-share and have taken great steps to approach “the last frontier”; Africa.

Moreover, the fast changing tech-world means that such achievements are only hot and worth selling when they are still fresh, so the challenge to patent, market, brand and sell is and almost sounds gargantuan!! But they will do it. How do I know? Because when they set out to build Africa's largest computing facility, the world laughed but today its is a marvel all across Africa. With 700 computers in a lab; and the lab replicated on six levels; with lecture rooms with system sound surround and equipped with the tech aids to make learning a digital experience, there is nothing that will stop them from making this project fly.

And that is one of the most amazing things I have had the opportunity to witness in my first 40 days as a working professional.

….and now back to normal programming.

2007-12-07T16:27:00.000+03:00

THE FIRST SUGGETION...

The current surge of Ebola problems has caused quite a stir in the country. you would think that with all the CHOGM money the government would afford to contain the situation, if not with ease then with difficulty, you know?

But clearly I digress,for that is not my concern today. I am asking what do you do about close to 2 million people displaced from their homes after 20 year of civil conflict? What can an ordinary person do to change this kind of situation? When a war has taken everything you have ever had and considered dear you have little to live for and /or die for. You have no land and you have no pride.

I will tell you what one man did. In 1996. A man chose a path that many would not. After having his village ravaged and burnt to cinders, this man chose (we always have a choice) to have hope. He went out and sought for a solution that he as an individual could do to make the burden lighter, if not for him, for other war-affected people. He and friends bought land and started a Child Soldier Refugee Center, not for himself but for the homeless and war affected children of Gulu. For the children who walked miles into town every night to sleep on the verandahs and streets of Gulu town; for those who had been forced to commit attrocities against loved ones; for who had been loved and lost to a senseless war.

Today the Hope North Camp located in Masindi town about 3 hours North of Kampala is today a haven for the war-affected and AIDS-orphaned children of Gulu. By housing and taking care of 250 children the camp is giving them a chance to live the joyful moments of childhood that allow us to be fully human.

The Camp provides technical education, formal education and life-skills training for the children. By allowing them to learn that they too have the right to be children, we learn with them and by looking through their eyes we see

Their Art;

Their deams;

Their aspirations;

Their future.

One man has chosen where he wants to go, he has chosen to write his name in the sands of time. I feel that Sam Okello deserves special mention for all the work he has put in to see his dream come to where it is...and where it is going; with partners Realta, CBU, Phillips Art Gallery, friends from Austria and around the world!

You deserve special mention Because your sugestion worked!

WELCOME...

2007-05-16T13:59:00.000+04:00

You are all welcome to this blog. The idea behind this is to create a space for anyone with solution suggestions for the health sector in Uganda to speak out their mind. These suggestions do not have to be very academic; they can be as simple as one line or even a whole essay.

The Blog will continue to change as developments occur.

Enjoy Posting!