[kictanet] Day 3 of 6 (Wednesday) :-Innovators, Innovations & Suppliers

Wed Feb 8 14:58:19 EAT 2017

Good afternoon,

My take on Safaricom and the innovation ecosystem / community is that
although they have evolved slowly, Safaricom has contributed significantly
and positively to our collective innovativeness as an economy. That we have
moved beyond demanding an API for Mpesa and now we are talking about the
API's openness is progress. That Safaricom's Spark Fund has invested in
Sendy and other startups is laudable. That Safaricom entered useful
partnerships with for likes of iCow, EnezaEducation, and Craft Silicon
(Little Cabs), Mledger (acquisition) and many other startups must not be
downplayed. That Safaricom gave free bandwidth to iHub for several years
 and sponsored activities at iLabAfrica is laudable.

That said, I would wish Safaricom embraced open innovation and
co-entrepreneurship more. For instance it was quite short sighted the way
Safaricom flexed its muscle on Kipochi / Kopokopo, and BitPesa / Lipisha
Consortium with regard to the BitCoin gateway for M-Pesa top ups and
withdrawals. If I were them, I would embrace these startups and others
building on block chain technology to further disrupt the Financial
Services sector. It does not make sense for Safaricom / Mpesa to embrace
the plastic card technology side of FinTech as they are doing with the
M-Pesa card while frustrating the block-chain side.

By and large let us give credit where its due. Safaricom has truly pushed
the limits of innovation to increase value for its shareholders who include
our Government. They just need to do more to figure out an ecosystem /
collaborative approach to innovation. If they do that, we shall
collectively and successfully attack the global marketplace for gains to
our national economy.

Just my 20 cents.

On Wed, Feb 8, 2017 at 1:54 PM, Walubengo J via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> @Ahmed,
>
> Do you mind clarifying a few things.
>
> I take it that you agree that Safcoms APIs are not too open.  Particularly
> the payment solution.  I presume that would be the MPESA platform which
> seems limited or restricted to some chosen few developers.
>
> Further you say that solutions built around the MPESA  APIs are not
> scaleable to other domains and you seem to suggest a better option out of
> this.
>
> What would this option be?
>
> Are you suggesting that rather than trying to plug into MPESA through
> APIs, MPESA should be released and sold as a module that developers can
> plug into just about anything they need to  - and pay royalties to Safcom
> on per use basis?
>
> walu.
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Ahmed Mohamed Maawy <ultimateprogramer at gmail.com>
> *To:* Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com>; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> *Cc:* "skunkworks at lists.my.co.ke" <skunkworks at lists.my.co.ke>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 8, 2017 12:29 PM
>
> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Day 3 of 6 (Wednesday) :-Innovators,
> Innovations & Suppliers
>
> I will ask 2 questions as a Solutions Architect myself:
>
>    - As a solutions developer, Safaricom does not provide its platform
>    openly to allow 3rd party integration as does other service providers. And
>    even if some lucky 3rd party do it, the flexibility to implement the
>    solution to meet a diverse set of needs is quite limiting. Somehow makes a
>    lot of us feel as if the payment solution is a "premium access" product
>    available to specific players. The Safaricom API is not a convenient way
>    out of it. Bootsrapping a solution around the API itself requires dedicated
>    develper(s). For instance, stripe payments makes payment gateway
>    integration part of the process not a separate development process.
>    - Where is the guarantee (legally binding) also that I can deploy
>    freely a solution based on your payment platform without it being
>    replicated?
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 8, 2017 at 12:20 PM, Walubengo J via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
> Good point @ Mildred,
>
> What role can Safcom play in promoting our own version of 'Nollywood'?
>
> During Ndemo days, there was talk of 'Riverwood' productions from River
> Road, Nairobi. Looks like they died a silent death?
>
> walu.
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Mildred Achoch <mildandred at gmail.com>
> *To:* Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com>; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke >
> *Cc:* "skunkworks at lists.my.co.ke" <skunkworks at lists.my.co.ke>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 8, 2017 9:32 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Day 3 of 6 (Wednesday) :-Innovators,
> Innovations & Suppliers
>
> Good morning everyone,
>
> Thank you to the KICTANET moderators and Safaricom for this opportunity to
> engage.
>
> First, I would like to echo Grace B's sentiments. Thank you Safaricom for
> being in almost every part of Kenya. It goes a long way in assuring me that
> you guys will be around for a long time. Secondly, kudos for being one of
> the first companies in Kenya to embrace the Sustainable Development Goals,
> specifically SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure) and SDG 17
> (Partnerships for the goals)
>
> Regarding the fact that you are in almost every part of Kenya, my question
> is: is there a way you can partner with Kenyan filmmakers to promote Kenyan
> films and series/web series? Especially the work of independent and
> upcoming filmmakers who usually don't have the connections or resources to
> plug into the existing broadcasting/screening channels. I applaud
> innovative initiatives such as Skiza tunes and Blaze. These say to me that
> similar initiatives can be implemented to promote Kenyan filmmakers. Media
> convergence is already here with us; as a market leader, Safaricom should
> be at the forefront of innovative initiatives related to this.
>
> Regards,
> Mildred Achoch.
>
> Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel!
> http:// kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal. blogspot.com
> <http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com/>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 8, 2017 at 8:11 AM, Walubengo J via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
>
> Morning Listers,
>
> As usual, feel free to do belated questions for Safaricom on previous
> thematic areas.  However, today we want to move onto Day 3 Theme -
> Innovators, Innovations & Suppliers.    I have copied in the innovators on
> Skunkworks and hope to hear their views as well.
>
> So straight into the theme:
>
> Safaricom has been quite innovative and keeps coming up with new ways of
> doing things. As an innovator/developer/supplier, please tell us your
> experiences with regard to Safaricom Innovation as well as their
> procurement ecosystem.
>
> a) Is their development platform and application programmable interface
> (API) sufficiently open?
> b) Are the issues to do with Intellectual property /Patents/Procurement
> clear and adequate?
> c) Whereas the gain-sharing agreements are private and confidential, how
> can they be made better?
> d) What is Safcom take on Bitcoin/Blockchain technologies?
>
> Lets hear your views, experiences and proposals.
>
> We have only one day on this.
>
> walu.
> ----List of Themes---
> 1. Consumer Issues Day,
> 2. Competition Issues Day,
> 3. Innovators, Innovations & Suppliers Day,
> 4. Infrastructure & Universal Access Day,
> 5. Technology & Elections Day
>
>
>
>
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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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>
> --
> *Ahmed Maawy*
> Principal Product Management Specialist - Al Jazeera Media Network
> Skype: ultimateprogramer
>
>
>
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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.
>

-- 

John Kieti
Phone: +254-735-764242 // +254-722-764242
Twitter: @johnKieti // Skype:  jkieti
Blog: gmeltdown.com <http://www.gmeltdown.com> // LinkedIn:
https://ke.linkedin.com/in/*kieti* <https://ke.linkedin.com/in/kieti>

The ordinary just won't do
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