[kictanet] Day 10/11 of 12- BPO Discussions, Strengths and Weaknesses (Observations from USA and UK); and Trends and Niches

Mon Jun 15 21:47:14 EAT 2009

See attached files for examples from Georgia, USA and Australia -- LBakuli

On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 1:47 PM, Catherine Adeya <elizaslider at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Adam,
>
> Your comments are far from naive....the forum is open to all.....thank you.
>
> Nyaki
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Adam Peake <ajp at glocom.ac.jp>
> *To:* elizaslider at yahoo.com
> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> *Sent:* Monday, June 15, 2009 6:29:07 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Day 10/11 of 12- BPO Discussions, Strengths and
> Weaknesses (Observations from USA and UK); and Trends and Niches
>
> > I agree as well. The frequent misrepresentation of facts, lack of
> analysis, even political stories, that our media is so good at covering,
> lack comprehensive political analysis.
> > And while, one of the indicators of democracy is freedom of press, and I
> believe ours is free, with it comes all the negative aspects including the
> sheer irresponsibility we have witnessed for the past two years or so with
> terrible consequences.
> >
> > Adam, notes that some foreign media , The Financial Times for example
> have a positive write up about the cable landing.
>
>
> Hi,
>
> I am not very knowledgeable about Kenya, I've just been fortunate enough to
> visit a couple of times -- the East Africa IGF was a great experience.  I
> follow the KICTANet list with great interest, but am not so confident about
> jumping in, please excuse my probably naive comments now!
>
> As Alice mentioned, the Financial Times covered the cable landing in a
> positive way.  The FT is subscription only, but Google News seems to get
> around that, search for "Broadband 'lands' in east Africa".
>
> In the Internet and communications sector that I cover (I work at a
> research institute in Tokyo), Kenya has a positive reputation for mobile, of
> course M-PESA, but perhaps just as significantly for the success of
> Celtel/Zain, which I think helped investors recognize that capital invested
> in Africa could provide a return similar to that of investment in Europe or
> Asia.
>
> The cables landed/landing this year might be just as transformative,
> hopefully they will be. But as someone interested in what their impact might
> be, I have to say it is very difficult to get a clear picture of what
> happens now: a cable has landed, but what national broadband networks are in
> place, what's the backhaul nationally and to your landlocked neighbours?
> Transforming Kenya is one thing, transforming region of 120 million people
> is quite another.
>
> I've read many comments about how the cost of bandwidth will drop, but all
> seem to be estimates. I've read about the Pasha Centres, but it's not easy
> to find definitive information about how they are being developed. And
> there's been nothing in the news about these centres or many other
> initiatives (if there were, then perhaps some of the more negative and
> trivial stories written last week about possible troubles with minor
> investors and environmental certificates when TEAMS landed would have been
> drowned out.)
>
> My examples above are probably not good.  But what I'm trying to say is
> there seems to be a need for better information, and as a number of recent
> emails have suggested, better branding.
>
> And I think it's necessary to see branding as more that an advertising
> campaign and positive press. South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak has
> created a Presidential Council on Nation Branding. The council is trying to
> determine what's popular about Korea, what impresses the world about Korea.
> What are other countries' expectations, where can Korea make a difference,
> what values does the country possess that are attractive to others.  And of
> course what can be done to improve these perceptions of the national brand.
> Part of this is public relations, but it also goes a bit deeper, they are
> considering the notion of soft-power.
>
> Kenya's obviously in a different situation from Korea, but there might be
> lessons. If the branding is to be a success then it seems a national
> champion needs to lead it. But if the focus of branding is to be just the
> ICT sector, then the champion might be closer to home: someone from CCK, ICT
> Board KICTANet, or the PS. Perhaps someone needs to 'work' Kenya's successes
> more. The East Africa IGF I mentioned is one small example, every time it's
> mentioned in the meetings I go to there's a positive buzz. However much we
> might criticize the global IGF process, it's quite an achievement that Kenya
> seems to have created what is seen as probably the IGF's biggest single
> success.
>
> Best,
>
> Adam
>
>
>
> > If our local media can not choose to become part of the solution to our
> country's challenges and problems then I wonder what their role is?
> >
> >
> > best
> > alice
> >
> >
> > p.s.Views expressed are personal and do not reflect  the position/s of
> any of the organisations/institutions I am affiliated with.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----------------------------------------------
> >> I agree with Dr. Ndemo et al.  One of our greatest weakness is negative
> energy. And the root cause of this negative energy is tribalism. Our East
> African citizens (TZ,UG etc) know that Kenyans identify themselves first as
> being from their tribe, then 2nd as being from their clan and finally as
> being from their country ( the 'Navumulia' kua mkenya mentality).
> >> As noted by others, the sheer capacity of this negative energy will
> overide any marketing dollars that may be poured out there in "Brand Kenya"
> initiatives...There must be conscious and deliberate effort to sell Brand
> Kenya internally.  We have to find a way to celebrate our diversity rather
> than exagerate our differences...This to me should have been one of the
> pillars in the Vision 2030 because it wont happen overnite.
> >>
> >> walu.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --- On Mon, 6/15/09, Catherine Adeya <elizaslider at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>
>
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