[kictanet] HOW KENYA GAVE RISE TO AFRICA'S ICT REVOLUTION

Thu Feb 9 14:30:47 EAT 2017

Mr. Ali,

This is a very passionate topic for myself. I will touch on very sensitive
issues. Why? Because they are necessary.

To begin with, to some degree a good amount of individuals who bootstrapped
themselves to bring digital revolutions in areas they have been serving
rarely get a mention in the top level discussions in our dear country
(myself included). Our work transformed landscapes outside the metropololis
that is Nairobi, its tough work, and hard to get right. Why? We all knows
how much resources and support are present in the capital. The bigger
reason however is people like myself and others are never judged by how
creative or innovative they were to bring in a new digital wave, but by how
much money we can bring to the table (capital-wise) to make this possible.
That has always been the story for SwahiliBox. I have no tangible evidence
for this claim, yes, but we have felt the implications of it massively. In
the end, we had done very revolutionary work and all of it has gone
unnoticed. The only individual teaching the market lessons on where we need
to focus efforts on come with the backing of huge bank accounts. Corporates
included.

What we failed to see in this whole entire uncoordinated effort was the
technology revolution in the country was not brought about by Banks and
Investment Outfits and Hedge Funds. It was the people who did the ground
work who made eco-systems we had 5 years back stand on its own 2 feet.

This is a controversial topic, and KICTANet can broaden it into a solid
forum. I am not bringing this up for no good reason. Let me put things into
perspective.

The Landscape has changed in the last 5 years. 5 years back, we had the
iHub and we had the wave. We have the MoICT and the ICT Authority. We had
policy, and we had people like Ndemo. Lets give iHub its due for its impact
where we can. Lets be honest.

iHub is never what it was and the sad thing is that, in all these market
dynamics, a player resembling the iHub has not been identified, but what we
have are silos of distributed hubs that, yes, impact, but no, do not create
the powerhouse we used to know was *the nexus* in this market. That boat
has sailed. What we now have are the fragments and debris being picked up
to fill the void. And there are multiple points of failure. Look at it from
Policy Perspective, to Capacity Building, to Support Infrastructure. We are
all wrong to think Kenya is a shining star. It was. We got content.

The biggest mistake we made is we stopped learning. We stopped looking for
new ways. And policy never improved but went from dynamic to static and
outdated. Or maybe even started moving backwards.

Kenya needed to move ahead. We needed to stop thinking we had it figured
out and start reaching out and collaborating and learning, and improving
policies and building more vibrant eco-systems, but being humble and
learning from others doing things differently.

This is a wide topic for discussion. A lot of moving parts slightly started
moving well. And we never serviced the cogs. This is a discussion for a
dedicated forum and I am looking forward to one.

That is all from my side.

Ahmed

On Thu, Feb 9, 2017 at 2:04 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Listers
>
> Interesting article.
>
> Excerpt:-
>
> Technology startups in Africa are going places. In 2016, they raised
> funding in excess of $129 million (Sh13 billion), according to the just
> released Disrupt Africa Report.
>
> Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria were the top three beneficiaries of this
> investor funding. Although the fintech sector received the highest funding,
> fortunes are changing to agri-tech, which attracted the biggest percentage
> growth compared to previous years.
>
> Civil society, through the online discussion portal KICTANet, kept us in
> check. Painful as their interactions were, we learnt to live together.
>
> Read on:
>
> How Kenya gave rise to Africa ICT revolution
> <http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Opinion-and-Analysis/How-Kenya-gave-rise-to-Africa-ICT-revolution/539548-3805212-item-1-mvqruw/index.html>
> My dear colleagues, this article from Dr. Ndemo really got me thinking
> about how we got here as a country and how we can loose it quicker than we
> built it.
>
> There are four key ingredients that Ndemo mentions:-
>
> 1. Government
> 2. Business (established businesses that is..)
> 3. The Start-up and Innovation Ecosystem
> 4. Lobby Groups like KICTAnet. I'm specific not to call KICTAnet Civil
> Society because it simply is not JUST CIVIL SOCIETY. I think you will agree
> with me that KICTAnet has proved to be an inclusive platform where
> Government, Civil Society and Business get to interact in all things ICT.
>
> These key ingredients were then Orchestrated very well by the then
> Government which comprised of the different arms of the ICT Ministry. The
> Grand Master of this Orchestra, (or should I call him the Conductor?) was
> the Permanent Secretary (Ndemo). And to some extent the CEO of the
> precursor to the ICT Authority, Mr. Paul Kukubo.
>
> The ingredients are there but the Conductor is missing in action. The
> MOICT has chosen to ignore the players or basically be selective on who
> they work with.  We see alot of interaction with established businesses but
> almost zero interaction with the other ingredients.  And I want this
> discussion to be taken in the spirit it is meant to be. It is not a
> criticism. It is an observation and a plea from the heart.
>
> Let me be specific:-
>
> 1. The MOICT apart from the CA is basically missing in discussions on this
> list. We seem to be addressing ourselves. However, MOICT risks becoming
> irrelevant in the discussions. ICT Authority is a shell of itself. PSs and
> the CS probably read every post that is posted but choose to remain silent
> and contribute nothing. I urge them to re-engage.
>
> 2. Demo Africa is the largest Tech Startup Platform in Africa. Founded and
> run by Kenyans. A shout out to Harry Hare and Andrew Karanja and their team
> for being absolutely great and boundless in driving this venture. Over 1800
> Startups have passed through this platform. More than $50 million raised
> for startups across Africa. Contribution from MOICT?
>
> Zero. Zilch. Nada!! (To be fair they sponsored some startups to South
> Africa last year..) The irony is not lost on me...
>
> Demo gets more love in Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa. Now tell me Bwana
> CS whether this is the legacy you want to leave?
>
> 3. CIO 100 East Africa. The most prestigious event of the year. MOICT
> involvement? Negligible and shameful. Last years Keynote Speaker? Dr. James
> Mwangi. I don't recall when a CS from MOICT last graced the event...
>
> This is a plea to the missing ingredient. Let's reengage. For the
> betterment of this country. When we criticize and point out issues its
> not that we are against you. Its because we want you to be the best that
> you can be.
>
> Because we know that you are!!
>
> A personal plea to PS Victor Kyalo and CS Joe Mucheru. We miss you and we
> want you back in the community that you helped found.
>
>
> *Ali Hussein*
>
> *Principal*
>
> *Hussein & Associates*
>
>
>
> Tel: +254 713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>
> Skype: abu-jomo
>
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>
>
> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
>
> Chiromo Road, Westlands,
>
> Nairobi, Kenya.
>
> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely
> mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the
> organizations that I work with.
>
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-- 
*Ahmed Maawy*
Principal Product Management Specialist - Al Jazeera Media Network
Skype: ultimateprogramer
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