[kictanet] Got talent? Matiang'i is looking for you

Mon Mar 24 08:48:17 EAT 2014

I am also suspicious of this incessant focus on mobile as the next big
thing and pouring of resources into it like there is no other industry
worth supporting. We have a vehicle assembly plant that has been
underutilized for years now yet used car imports are welcomed by KRA. What
do we actually want? We say we want to be competitive and yet do nothing
towards this.

For instance I hear the KRA iTax system is built by an Indian firm. I am in
no way Xenophobic or anti competition but even the US does not allow
foreign owned companies to supply critical software. They have local
companies with enough chops to supply stuff. We have Craft Silicon that is
relied on by Banks and other financial institutions so we cant argue that
the technical skill is none existent.

Years later we do not have locally assembled Set top boxes for the Digital
migration. Is this a problem with enterpreneurship? Govt policy? Poor
university research culture?

Or maybe we are still not sure we can rival the west.

On Sun, Mar 23, 2014 at 9:38 PM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi at at.co.ke> wrote:

> Phares,
>
> I have asked before in these forums, has anyone heard of these guys?
>
> Bill Gates,  Larry Ellison, Gordon Moore, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs,
> Zukerberg, Larry Page?
>
> All these guys started off with a dream of challenging the status quo (eg
> IBM, DEC et.al), and they won big time.
>
> Why is it then that when we want to challenge the status quo of say,
> building local and inexpensive products, we are told we need to learn from
> an MNC?
>
> This actually has some racial undertones as I believe that kids in the US
> are being told to challenge the status quo, not toe the line.
>
> If you really want to learn, enroll yourself in a college, get into MIT,
> JKUAT, Harvard etc, when you want to innovate all you need is some good
> grey matter and passion to invent and/or change things.
>
> Learning from IBM to beat IBM is just plain stupid. You need to be that
> kid that sees the opportunity that IBM has missed and capitalize on that.
>
> Two kids, Steve & Bill, saw their opportunity,  and grabbed it with both
> hands, today their companies are larger than the Big Blue.
>
> But, what if they listened to the nay sayers who must have told them
>
> "... go work for the Big Blue..."
> Again, my point is missed entirely. I don't see where arrogance comes in.
> Is it possible to be a world leader without MNC partnerships? Yes. Is it
> possible with MNC partnerships? Yes. There's no singular formulae for
> success. That's what I am against. Is it possible for mobile to make
> billions? Yes. Is it possible for ERP's to make billions? Yes. This whole
> argument came up because people are trying to distill the tech ecosystem
> into singular stories.
>
> Some companies can succeed without partnership others need partnership to
> succeed. We shouldn't be disparaging local companies as local champions -
> if we can't conquer our own market how do we aim to conquer others?
>
> Equity is now a regional player. It's growing. Slowly. So is KCB. One day
> at a time, one battle at a time. So is KAPS, Cellulant, Seven Seas, Innova,
> Pesapal etc. I don't see how their success is trivial given that they have
> slain giants. Equity is in battle with some of the most cash rich companies
> in the world (Barclays/SCB etc) but understanding their local context
> helped them beat these giants. They succeeded without a direct partnership
> from a foreign bank. They are now becoming a multinational bank. They
> understood the local customer and operating environment.
>
>
> Again, my issue isn't MNC's. It's the singular models for success being
> pushed. I'm against that. Wholeheartedly.
>
> Sent from my mobile device, excuse brevity
>
> On 23 Mar 2014, at 09:06, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>
> Phares
>
> Many ways to skin a cat. What you are describing are local companies that
> are local champions. What I'm aspiring to is world domination. Surely you
> see that?
>
> Take Seven Seas. You only need to walk into their offices to see the
> direction and partnerships they have put together. We don't need to be
> subservient to MNCs. We can learn from them and outdo them. Surely you
> aren't so arrogant as to think that we can grow to be world leaders on our
> own?
>
> *Ali Hussein*
>
> +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>
> Skype: abu-jomo
>
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>
> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>
> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will
> have a generation of idiots".  ~ Albert Einstein
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Mar 23, 2014, at 6:30 AM, Phares Kariuki <pkariuki at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Ali,
>
> You miss my point - did the companies partner with MNC's? Yes. At various
> points, in various ways - Samsung Elec partnered with NEC, Lenovo grew from
> partnerships with IBM, however companies like LG never really did partner
> with anyone.
>
> My problem is partnership with an MNC being used as a silver bullet,
> assuming that local market knowledge and technical expertise cannot be
> enough on their own.
>
> Various companies succeed using different paths. Some partner, others
> compete.
>
> On IBM, your statement confirms rather than repudiates my assertion. Five
> odd years ago, it was not that IBM 'would rather', it was that IBM 'would
> only' go through the local channel.
>
> I'll give a simple example in sectors outside of ICT - Keroche, Equity
> Bank java until it's recent buyout, many local hotel chains, Bidco etc.
> These are companies that basically grew largely without MNC partnership
> because they had a combination of local market knowledge, technical
> expertise and good management. Actually, our financial system is largely
> dominated by local players who with the exception of NIC & pre independence
> KCB have largely been locally grown.
>
> There's no silver bullet. No company *has to* partner with an MNC to
> succeed and partnering with one doesn't guarantee success. We need to let
> these companies write their own stories and need to at least have faith in
> our ecosystem that we pride ourselves in to deliver a few wins.
>
>
>
> Sent from my mobile device, excuse brevity
>
> On 23 Mar 2014, at 06:01, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>
> Phares
>
> Far be it for us to be as arrogant as to think that we can't learn
> anything from partnering with whoever...
>
> Toyota didn't become the great company it is today by going the Lone
> Ranger way..Neither did LG, Samsung, Lenovo et al. In fact if you trace
> their history you will see (without exception) how they stepped on the
> should of giants and then surpassed them - from GM to Sony.
>
> Allow me also to correct you on IBM. They would rather partner with a
> local company than deal directly for various reasons...in fact like most
> Multi-Nationals they have a deliberate strategy of empowering local
> business partners. Of course their interest is the bottom line but who is
> to say that interest cannot be symbiotic?
>
> This of course must be cemented by a deliberate government strategy of
> ensuring local content in major infrastructure projects (IT or otherwise).
> It is one way we can build capacity and ensure a good piece of the pie
> remains in-country.
>
> *Ali Hussein*
>
> +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>
> Skype: abu-jomo
>
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>
> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>
> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will
> have a generation of idiots".  ~ Albert Einstein
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Mar 23, 2014, at 1:24 AM, Phares Kariuki <pkariuki at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Multinationals are not born with skill. Skill is developed. The
> multinational is in the business of maximising profit ergo, as soon as they
> can cut the local company out of the value chain, they will. Example. IBM
> started out in Kenya by partnering with local companies. It's going direct
> to the customer more and more. Not less.
>
> Focusing on the end device means we don't own the rest of the value chain
> - we can be easily interchanged.
>
> In many cases, we have the capacity locally, we just don't believe we do.
> We continually disparage local companies and the skill sets they have
> without bothering to find out how experienced they are/how experienced
> their team is. We love holding companies to standards that we don't hold
> our own company/government accountable.
>
> I'm not saying that we don't need competent companies - far from that. We
> need competent and capable companies. My argument is that statements like
> "partner with multinationals" already assume that the local company has no
> competence which many times is far from the truth.
>
> I say this having personally worked to build a team with talent that is
> unequivocally competent and experienced in its field, but still being
> disparaged for being local and asked to partner with random MNC's.
>
> Sent from my mobile device, excuse brevity
>
> On 22 Mar 2014, at 20:50, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>
>  John
>
> Couldn't agree with you more. The world is mobile. I think what we should
> be discussing are solutions that are device/screen agnostic.
>
> Lets also be honest with ourselves. Government/major corporate software
> solutions do require a lot more thought process/project
> management/enterprise strength security etc. What we must discuss is how we
> can ensure the industry engages government objectively and how government
> engages industry objectively and honestly.
>
> There must be engagement at both the youth and the enterprise level so
> that the industry has a stake in major IT projects by the government and
> Parastal sector. I believe there are already inroads in that direction.
> Undoubtedly more needs to be done.
>
> Partnering with some of the multinationals to bid for these mega projects
> is also critical for us to improve on our skill sets and to add muscle to
> the tendering process. On the side of the government they must put in place
> measures to insure a certain percentage of deliverable is local content
> (this can come in services, personnel etc).
>
> My two cents..
>
> *Ali Hussein*
>
> +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>
> Skype: abu-jomo
>
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>
> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>
> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will
> have a generation of idiots".  ~ Albert Einstein
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Mar 22, 2014, at 1:22 PM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Kieti,
> How comes none of these thousands of software developers are supplying
> even a single solution to government. How comes government services are
> barely available to the millions of Kenyans via mobile?
>
> See our drift, government should be removing barriers and improving
> service delivery for all.
>
> Also, what was the role of governments in the likes of Angry Birds, King
> (Candy Crush Saga) and Facebook, beyond providing an enabling environment -
> which we don't do here.
>
> On Saturday, 22 March 2014, John Kieti <jkieti at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Phares, Ngigi, Conrad
>>
>> Your focus and preference for server side and enterprise desktop mode
>> solutions is very much appreciated.
>>
>> However the thousands of local software developers getting into the
>> system will not fit into just that pie of the value chain you are in for
>> now. More so, 30m+ mobile subscribers is no small market place for software
>> entrepreneurs. And nowadays the computer does not have to be on your desk
>> or lap, in fact most computers among Kenyans are mobile phones. It is not
>> bad for policy to at least direct the youth towards the opportunity in
>> mobile.
>>
>> You'll recall that its a global market place and some of the kids we
>> deride for writing the so called "mVitus" are earning thee figure dollar
>> checks monthly from downloads and ads in india, brazil etc. They just wont
>> shout that aloud. More importantly though M-Pesa is seven years old. Many
>> mobile solutions targeting local/regional problems will not mature as soon
>> as we impatiently expect. We're only 3-4 years into the "mobile craze" and
>> most serious attempts are not over 3 years old. There's no short cuts to
>> developing competitive advantages - even in mobile, give it time. If you
>> are not convinced yet, try the ringtone market and premium SMS services.
>> Its a whole big economy out there, with big money changing hands, and its
>> all mobile!
>>
>> That said, what would you rather the CS did about local enterprise
>> desktop based solutions and server side services?
>>
>> Have a nice weekend.
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 22, 2014 at 12:47 PM, Rad! <conradakunga at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I'm mystified as well at this obsession with mobile apps.
>>>
>>> Not that we should not to them, but there is so much opportunity in
>>> other sectors - infrastructure, cloud computing, enterprise applications,
>>> content management that Kenya can not only benefit from, but we can be
>>> competitive globally.
>>>
>>> Looks like mobile apps will be this regime's Pashas & BPOs
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Mar 22, 2014 at 12:14 PM, Phares Kariuki <pkariuki at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> A fairly narrow view of the technology sector. It's not all mobile.
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my mobile device, excuse brevity
>>>>
>>>> On 22 Mar 2014, at 04:56, Grace Githaiga <ggithaiga at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/m/story.php?articleID=2000107530&story_title=Got-talent-Matiangi-is-looking-for-you
>>>>
>>>>  _______________________________________________
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>>>>
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>>>>
>>>> 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,
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>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>> 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,
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>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> My Blog - www.gmeltdown.com
>> '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
>> The ordinary just won't do
>>
>
>
> --
> with Regards:
>
> blog.denniskioko.com <http://www.denniskioko.com/>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
> 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.
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
> 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.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
> 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.
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
> 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
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