<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;font-size:12pt"><div></div><div>Hi,</div><div><br></div><div>The National Cereals and Produce Board together with the East African Grain Council are working towards the creation of a commodity exchange to trade futures.</div><div><br></div><div>This process is at an advanced stage which begun with a process called warehouse receipting and currently Equity Bank offers credit against the receipts.</div><div><br></div><div>What does this have to do with us in the IT field? When the Nairobi Stock Exchange tendered for the automated trading system (ATS) and more recently for the Broker Back-office System no local IT company made it past the 1st round. </div><div><br></div><div>The fact that companies like Virtual City are winning international awards for systems development and others like PesaPal
are receiving large direct foreign investments means that we do have the skills to develop world class solutions.</div><div><br></div><div>This is an appeal to all ICT experts in the country to prepare ourselves to make sure that the grain exchange system is locally developed and we stop being spectators in our own country. I know it is said that a prophet is never recognised in his own town, it is time we made this phrase redundant.</div><div><br></div><div>NCPB and others are already shopping overseas for a solution so be warned that time is not in our hands and if we are to have an impact we need to move quickly.</div><div><br></div><div>The proposed system is supposed to provide a trading platform, depository system, GIS for land information, settlement system, warehouse management, weather monitoring and seed planting information system (acreage, seed type, fertiliser, etc).</div><div><br></div><div>Lets get off our high horses and put a
together a world class solution for a local problem. No tears after the horse has bolted.</div><div><br></div><div>Useful links</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://dn.nationmedia.com/DN/DN/2010/09/03/ArticleHtmls/03_09_2010_030_014.shtml">http://dn.nationmedia.com/DN/DN/2010/09/03/ArticleHtmls/03_09_2010_030_014.shtml</a></div><div><a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/200904271171.html">http://allafrica.com/stories/200904271171.html</a></div><div><a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/200904271171.html"></a><a href="http://www.ratin.net/mainfeature.asp?id=40">http://www.ratin.net/mainfeature.asp?id=40</a></div><div><a href="http://www.ratin.net/mainfeature.asp?id=40"></a><a href="http://www.monitor.co.ug/Business/Smart%20Money/-/688614/899436/-/bypmdxz/-/index.html">http://www.monitor.co.ug/Business/Smart%20Money/-/688614/899436/-/bypmdxz/-/index.html</a></div><div><a
href="http://www.monitor.co.ug/Business/Smart%20Money/-/688614/899436/-/bypmdxz/-/index.html"></a><a href="http://www.unctad.info/upload/SUC/LusakaWorkshop/WarehouseServicesKenya.pdf">http://www.unctad.info/upload/SUC/LusakaWorkshop/WarehouseServicesKenya.pdf</a></div><div><a href="http://www.unctad.info/upload/SUC/LusakaWorkshop/WarehouseServicesKenya.pdf"></a><br> </div>Robert Yawe<br>KAY System Technologies Ltd<br>Phoenix House, 6th Floor<br>P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200<br>Kenya<br><br><div>Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696<div><br></div></div><div style="position:fixed"></div>
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