[kictanet] Update on Pasha Centres

Wed Dec 8 14:24:28 EAT 2010

Thanks Paul, This is a very useful note especially regarding the realities
on the ground.

Going by your notes and those of the PS, we seem to have a big case for
deliberately promoting entrepreneurship as a solution to most of our
economic challenges (rural connectivity included). It also appears to go
beyond MOIC - perhaps to the Vision 2030 guys and beyond.

Best Regards.

On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 1:56 PM, Paul Kukubo <pkukubo at ict.go.ke> wrote:

> Edith and listers
>
> Thanks for your comments.
>
> The debate on Pasha has been a very interesting one. It is not about
> whether or not to provide access to grassroots communities. That is a
> clearly stated government policy, and something we all agree on. Indeed the
> new constitution mandates this.
>
> The Pasha debate within the Kenya ICT Board has been about HOW to create a
> financially and socially sustainable operating model.
>
> The Kenya ICT Board has been around the country and provided training to
> would be Pasha managers, some of who are already in business. We have
> reviewed their business plans. Some make sense and some don't. That is just
> the way it is. One would expect varying degrees of maturity as the Pasha
> Centres get deployed over the next few years.
>
> Our studies have indicate that for many rural areas, people cant make money
> providing just connectivity. And providing internet access without other
> services would not meet community needs anyway. They have to have a business
> that meets community information and service needs- in a sense a bouquet of
> services.
>
> However, our modelling has proven that even in the most remote areas, there
> is a business case for content services trade and connectivity and we are
> therefore confident that if entrepreneurs in those areas were provided with
> assistance.  We felt that this modelling reduced the risk of failure in the
> implementation of the same. Indeed, the cases of failure of these types of
> projects elsewhere enriched our experiences.
>
> As an illustration, If you charge Kshs 1 per minute (which is the current
> rate countrywide in cybers) for even ten straight hours a day that would
> earn you Kshs 600. per day. If you had borrowed to purchase that computer
> and printer and fax machine plus paid for the software etc  the
> business cash flows must pay for that. What businesses can charge for
> connectivity is reducing as wholesale prices fall further in line with
> government policy of increasing access.
>
> The issue for the ICT Board has been to ensure that this project creates
> entrepreneurs in rural communities who can leverage internet access as part
> of their business offering. In an earlier email I detail areas we have
> looked at.
>
> The reality on the ground is that there are many cyber cafes in towns
> across Kenya where one can decent internet access. The
> improved connectivity situation has made it easier for many to guarantee
> better services. Indeed most Kenyans across connect to the internet will get
> access via a mobile modem and mostly one bought from Safaricom. Many cybers
> run on mobile modems.
>
> We had substantial delays internally in crafting this strategy and getting
> the requisite approvals from the World Bank on various aspects of this
> project. While this happened we were lucky to partner with CISCO, IBM global
> teams to learn from their experiences around the world on this. We have
> received many proposals from various bodies to partner on this project which
> we welcome.  As an example in the early days we even explored turning each
> PASHA center into an IT training center. This decision would have to be made
> by the entrepreneur being guided by what can sustain his business.
>
> Initially many thought that the government was going to build physical
> Pasha Centres from ground up. Now many are clearer that the model is about
> empowering communities through their own entrepreneurs. The Kenya ICT Board
> will facilitate as much government content and providing training, technical
> support and and other capacity support within the defined scope as the Pasha
> Manager needs. Indeed some may end providing digitization and other services
> to their local counties.
>
> I hope this sheds some more light.
>
> regards
>
>
> Paul Kukubo
> Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board
> PO Box 27150 - 00100
> Nairobi, Kenya
>
> 12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street
>
> Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960
> Fax: +254 20 2211962
> website: www.ict.go.ke
> local content project: www.tandaa.co.ke, www.facebook.com/tandaakenya
> twitter:@tandaaKENYA
> BPO Project: www. doitinkenya.co.ke
> Digital Villages Project: www.pasha.co.ke
>
>
> personal contacts
> _______________
>
> Cell: + 254 717 180001
>
>
> skype: kukubopaul
> googletalk: pkukubo
> personal blog: www.paulkukubo.co.ke
> personal twitter: @pkukubo
>
>
> ____________________
> Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub
>
> Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT,
> through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for
> socio economic enrichment
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 6:47 PM, Edith Adera <eadera at idrc.or.ke> wrote:
>
>>  Paul,
>>
>> I'm glad that we are moving towards realizing this dream. We need to move
>> from "will do" mode to "have done" mode!
>>
>> We look forward to the launch and the 90 days after to see this realized
>> (I trust we will get frequent updates).
>>
>> Just some quick observations:-
>>
>> *You mention that KICTB will "provide a technical consultant to support
>> the technical set up and management" and "provide support for Management of
>> the Pasha Community portal to allow collaboration and knowledge sharing
>> among Pasha managers" - here's is where I would suggest strong bottom-up
>> empowerment of communities to technically manage their own networks and also
>> to develop and manage local content that can feed into the larger portal
>> following agreed standards. Uganda's RCDF got consultants to develop
>> district portals - which looked very beautiful, but alas they were soon
>> "stale sites" as they were not updated frequently...there was no community
>> buy-in...a bottom-up approach to empowering people to develop and own their
>> content! This was a big lesson we learnt with the RCDF.
>>
>> *other services could include interactive community-radio hooked to the
>> network and local VOIP services.
>>
>> Finally, why not consider a range of banks? and MFIs? why Family Bank?
>>
>> Edith
>>
>>
>> *________________                                    *
>>
>> *Edith Ofwona Adera *
>>
>> Senior Program Specialist
>>
>> ICT4D Program and Climate Change & Water Program
>>
>> International Development Research Centre | Centre de recherches pour le
>> développement international
>>
>> Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa
>>
>> Tel: +254202713160 | Fax/Téléc: +254202711063 | Skype: edithadera
>>
>> eadera at idrc.or.ke | www.idrc.ca | www.crdi.ca
>>
>>   ------------------------------
>> *From:* kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.or.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke[kictanet-bounces+eadera=
>> idrc.or.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Paul Kukubo [
>> pkukubo at ict.go.ke]
>> *Sent:* 07 December 2010 10:25
>> *To:* Edith Adera
>>
>> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>> *Subject:* [kictanet] Update on Pasha Centres
>>
>>   Listers
>>
>>
>>  Ø  Kenya ICT Board will facilitate the establishment of digital access
>> centers, to be known as Pasha Centres across the country.
>>
>> Ø  Facilitation will take the following form
>>
>> o   An Entrepreneurs will obtain a loan from Family Bank for up to a
>> maximum of Kshs 3M to set-up or expand and existing digital access centre.
>>
>> o   Kenya ICT Board will provide a technical consultant to support the
>> technical set up and management.
>>
>> o   Branding and communication support in order to manage the Pasha Brand
>> and drive consumer interest and usage.
>>
>> o   Management of the Pasha Community portal to allow collaboration and
>> knowledge sharing among Pasha managers.
>>
>> o   Continuous Training and skills development for Pasha Owners.
>>
>> o   Liaison with public sector and local and international content
>> providers who may want to access the public through the Pasha network.
>>
>>
>>
>> Ø  *Pasha Centres will provide a variety of services that could include
>> the following:*
>>
>> o   Internet access, including serving as wifi hotspot providers for the
>> area.
>>
>> o   Training and educational material provision
>>
>> o   Mobile and agency banking
>>
>> o   Other retail services
>>
>> o   Money transfer services
>>
>> o   Government services
>>
>> o   Jobs bureau
>>
>> o   Supply chain facilitation including assisting retailers and
>> wholesalers with IT needs
>>
>> o   Technology support centres for the region
>>
>> o   Tourism support
>>
>> o   NGO Liaison support
>>
>> o   Data collection for government, NGOs and private sector
>>
>> o   Business Process outsourcing and data entry services
>>
>>
>>
>> *The Plan*
>>
>> Ø  Monday 24th January 2011, public launch of Pasha Project.
>>
>> Ø  Target date for first disbursement of loan is 90 days from launch
>> date. The disbursing bank will require 90 days to review applicants and
>> conclude initial loan disbursements.
>>
>> Ø  Disbursements will be made to entrepreneurs who fulfill agreed
>> conditions and don’t necessarily have to be among those that had received
>> Pasha training prior. Kenya ICT Board in 2009 and 2010 had conducted
>> nationwide 3 week training of 1000 people in business management,
>> entrepreneurship, marketing, basic accounting and technical management (a
>> starter-kit) to prepare potential pasha managers to run Pasha centre.
>>
>> Ø  The agreement with the bank is to ensure we disburse at least one loan
>> per county within the year. Our eventual target is to have 210 pasha
>> centers, one in each constituency by 2012. We shall asses the appetite and
>> would not be surprised if the demand for loans exceeds our target.
>>
>> Ø  We shall encourage entrepreneurs to partner with the networks and any
>> other organizations to beef up their business plans in preparation for loan
>> application and to make their businesses more commercially viable.
>>
>>
>>
>> *Mechanics of disbursement *
>>
>> All applications will be forwarded to family bank for commercial
>> assessment. Family bank and an committee appointed by the Kenya ICT Board
>> will assess the best loan candidates on a set of agreed criteria and award
>> the loan against this and a sound and verified business plan. We shall be
>> keen to ensure that people don’t push through paper plans for the sake of
>> cash.
>>
>> More details will be available on www.ict.go.ke and www.pasha .co.ke
>>
>>
>>
>>  Paul Kukubo
>> Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board
>> PO Box 27150 - 00100
>> Nairobi, Kenya
>>
>> 12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street
>>
>> Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960
>> Fax: +254 20 2211962
>> website: www.ict.go.ke
>> local content project: www.tandaa.co.ke, www.facebook.com/tandaakenya
>> twitter:@tandaaKENYA
>> BPO Project: www. doitinkenya.co.ke
>> Digital Villages Project: www.pasha.co.ke
>>
>>
>> personal contacts
>> _______________
>>
>> Cell: + 254 717 180001
>>
>>
>> skype: kukubopaul
>> googletalk: pkukubo
>> personal blog: www.paulkukubo.co.ke
>> personal twitter: @pkukubo
>>
>>
>> ____________________
>> Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub
>>
>> Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT,
>> through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for
>> socio economic enrichment
>>
>
>
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