[kictanet] KONZA GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY-CONGRATULATIONS
Ali Hussein
ali at hussein.me.ke
Thu Jan 24 12:27:43 EAT 2013
Silicon Valley, the epitome of a Tech City has all the amenities of a bustling productive city - World Class Hotels, Great tech infrastructure, hospitals etc.. Does that make it a real estate (construction project)? yes of course it does in the sense that it creates the right environment for the best and the brightest to work productively and attract the most investment - both local and foreign.
I think the argument should be whether the country should invest so much in the Konza concept. The great economies of the world were founded and perpetuated through Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs, to quote management guru, Jim Collins) and Konza is one such BHAG. The debates surrounding this are healthy and necessary. I hope though that even the skeptics are thinking of how they can make hay around this concept. And yes, it may as well be in real estate. (Who said that listers are confined all things IT?)
Some of the amounts bandied around are huge and give the false impression that the Government will invest 850 billion into Konza. I stand to be corrected but this is the amount that is envisioned to be invested in total? Infrastructure, Domestic Investment, FDI etc.
Lets ask how we can take advantage of this great opportunity since its happening. How can we turn our young people from Night Sweeper, Gardener, Solar Panel Cleaner etc to kick ass software developers, inventors, entrepreneurs (the next Agosta Likos, Ken Njoroges, MIke Macharias, Joe Mucherus etc.)
Konza must not be looked at as the silver bullet that will cure all our problems but as part of a larger strategy to transform our country (and dare I say the region?).
Last but not least listers lets not forget the immortal words of Khalil Jibran - 'Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country'.
Ali Hussein
CEO | 3mice interactive media Ltd
Principal | Telemedia Africa Ltd
+254 773/713 601113
"The future belongs to him who knows how to wait." - Russian Proverb
Sent from my iPad
On Jan 24, 2013, at 10:39 AM, Phares Kariuki <pkariuki at gmail.com> wrote:
> I don't buy that argument… I'm quite sure New York is more built out than Nairobi…
>
> http://qz.com/45728/new-york-is-now-a-better-place-to-start-your-tech-company-than-san-francisco/
>
> Nairobi doesn't qualify as a heavily built city. With roughly the same amount of acreage, New York has a population of 8M and serves a metropolis of 18M (roughly 40% of .ke's population).The problem is that we are not using land rates as the incentive they should be to encourage people to build northwards and not hoard land. If land rates were high enough, apartments blocks would hold more people, office blocks (especially) would hold more people to ease the pressure on residential land. Obviously, we would need the City Council to come in and provide necessary goods, but the systemic failure to do so (across towns in the country) is something that needs to be addressed even as we move to Konza to avoid a repeat of the same. How easy is it to do business, get permits etc. issues that need to be resolved, aside from Konza.
>
> This has nothing to do with Konza per-se, just the notion that Nairobi is beyond saving. Cities last hundreds/thousands of years (Rome, London, Paris, Istanbul, Jerusalem etc). We just need to learn how to fix these problems. From my perspective this is a larger development issue. We see this all over the place when it comes to development in the country. Toss out the education system, replace it with another (instead of figuring out what's wrong with the current system and gently correcting it, to avoid systemic shocks, which tend to have more consequences than an easing of the same - simple example, 8.4.4. and the 18-22 month waiting period before you joined a university - finally resolved last year).
> On Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 9:47 AM, Mark Mwangi wrote:
>
>> But what is this technology we speak of? Is technology only to do with coding in the vacuum of infrastructure?
>>
>> Heavy infrastructure building is in my opinion the only way to ensure there is enough resources to support high technology. Building a city from the ground up will allow proper planning and sustainability if the vested interests are not allowed to hijack the entire process.
>>
>> I say go ahead and if it doesn't work then so be it. Whats the alternative? Keep trying to panel beat Nairobi?
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jan 24, 2013 at 9:38 AM, robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>>> Hi Researcher,
>>>
>>> Tell me how do I write a string in C to add from 1 to 100 using the sheng language?
>>>
>>> After we have convinced our youth to develop the sheng language which of the 200,000 jobs do we expect them to be hired for when Fedex, IBM, Google and Huawei setup at Konza
>>>
>>> 1. Night sweeper,
>>> 2. Gardener,
>>> 3. Solar panel cleaner
>>> 4. Database optimisation architect
>>>
>>> Regards
>>>
>>> PS. I retain my position that Konza is a construction project not a technology project as confirmed by Dr. Ndemo's statements on twitter yesterday
>>>
>>> Bitange Ndemo @bantigito
>>> #Konza Technology City will consist of (1 of 1): 1) Modern BPO Park 2) Science Park 3) Convention Center. 4) Mega Mall. 5) Data Centres.
>>>
>>> 23 Jan Bitange Ndemo @bantigito
>>> #Konza Technology City will consist of (2 of 1): 1) World-class Hotels 2) Local and International Schools 3) World Class Hospitals.
>>>
>>> Bitange Ndemo @bantigito
>>> #Konza Technology City will consist of (3 of 1) :1) Championship Golf Course, 2) Financial District, 3) High Speed Mass Transport System.
>>>
>>> Bitange Ndemo @bantigito
>>> #Konza Technology City will consist of (4 of 1): 1) Residential Housing, 2) Superior Modern Integrated Infrastructure, among other features.
>>>
>>>
>>> Robert Yawe
>>> KAY System Technologies Ltd
>>> Phoenix House, 6th Floor
>>> P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200
>>> Kenya
>>>
>>> Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
>>> From: ICT Researcher <ict.researcher at yahoo.com>
>>> To: robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk
>>> Cc: "kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>> Sent: Thursday, 24 January 2013, 8:04
>>>
>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] KONZA GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY-CONGRATULATIONS
>>>
>>> btw, vuta aerial... saka "chwani" hapa: www.sheng.co.ke, pamoja!
>>>
>>> From: ICT Researcher <ict.researcher at yahoo.com>
>>> To: "eonchari at lynxbits.com" <eonchari at lynxbits.com>
>>> Cc: "kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2013 7:46 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] KONZA GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY-CONGRATULATIONS
>>>
>>> Rather than remaining adamantly fixed on a now realistically bygone era of afresh reconstruction of entirely new, singly-owned, ICT empires - from ground-up, perhaps the said NTHs should consider newer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coopetition business models approach to growing their tech biasharas at Konza. How many of the multinationals currently interested in setting shop at Konza do *everything* inhouse? Unfortunately, adopting "rebel" NTH tag does not make global realities go away.
>>>
>>> my chwani ;-)
>>>
>>> From: "eonchari at lynxbits.com" <eonchari at lynxbits.com>
>>> To: ict.researcher at yahoo.com
>>> Cc: kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 7:42 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] KONZA GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY-CONGRATULATIONS
>>>
>>> @ Liko,
>>>
>>> As VP put it rightly at the launch...we need more "crazy" Dr Ndemos to make things happen...therefore, as a Nairobi Tech Hustler, I shall take me to Konza and Hustle there 'till I make it...this is a good project and we should be proud that it is now on course...of course criticism is healthy and must be tolerated in a democracy - and I am sure the many critics within and without this forum did +vely influence the approach of this project over the years
>>>
>>> Therefore, Kudos to Dr. Ndemo and your team for a job well done thus far
>>>
>>> Edwin
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: jwalu at yahoo.com
>>> To: eonchari at lynxbits.com
>>> Cc: kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>> Sent: 1/23/13 10:30 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] KONZA GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY-CONGRATULATIONS
>>>
>>> @Liko,
>>>
>>> You/Pesapal is a big player...and you should be there hustling with the big boys at Konza Technopolis. Dream big, and you will be surprised how soon your dreams come true.
>>>
>>> For me, Konza is an example of what we as a country are capable of. A break from the past, where we compared ourselves to our neighbours (e.g Somalia with apologies) and a leap into comparing ourselves with where we belong (read Malaysia, Singapore et. al.)
>>>
>>> Lets aim for the Sun, because the worst that can happen is that we land on the moon. Rather than aim for the main, and by 2030, we shall still be here on earth :-)
>>>
>>> walu.
>>>
>>>
>>> From: Agosta Liko
>>> To: jwalu at yahoo.com
>>> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 3:36 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] KONZA GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY-CONGRATULATIONS
>>>
>>> Mr Nduati
>>>
>>> Raising concerns and shaping decisions does not make one a doubting Thomas
>>>
>>> but the, this thing is for HP, Oracle, Microsoft ... not Nairobi Hustle Tech
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 3:49 PM, charles nduati <charlesnduati2002 at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>>> Hi Daktari Ndemo and Your team,
>>>
>>> Congratulations on the ground breaking ceremony tomorrow. I wonder where the doubting Thomases are. Have a great day and let us know where the party will be thereafter
>>>
>>> Kudos all
>>>
>>> Charles Nduati
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> kictanet mailing list
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>>
>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/agostal%40gmail.com
>>>
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> kictanet mailing list
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>>
>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com
>>>
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> kictanet mailing list
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>>
>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ict.researcher%40yahoo.com
>>>
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> kictanet mailing list
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>>
>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/robertyawe%40yahoo.co.uk
>>>
>>>
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> kictanet mailing list
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>>
>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwangy%40gmail.com
>>>
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>>
>> Mark Mwangi
>>
>> markmwangi.me.ke
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> kictanet mailing list
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>
>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pkariuki%40gmail.com
>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
>
>
> --
> Warm Regards,
>
> Phares Kariuki
>
> | T: +254 720 406 093 | E: pkariuki at gmail.com | Twitter: kaboro | Skype: kariukiphares | B: http://www.kaboro.com/ |
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20130124/5ea70cef/attachment.htm>
More information about the KICTANet
mailing list