<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>This notion that local equates or should be inferior harks us back to the Nyayo Car. We shouldn't expect mediocrity just because it's local. The days of comparative advantage and 'National Pride' for inferior products MUST end otherwise we will continue to lag behind as a contingent.</div><div id="AppleMailSignature"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature">Let's buy local yes. But let's continuously demand the highest standards. It is the only way to keep local industry alive.<br><br><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.294118); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.231373);"><b>Ali Hussein</b></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.294118); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.231373);"><b>Principal</b></span></div><div><b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hussein & Associates</b></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">+254 0713 601113 </div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><br></div><div><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Twitter: @AliHKassim</span></p><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font></font></span><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Skype: abu-jomo</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">LinkedIn: <a href="http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim" target="_blank">http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim</a></span></p><font><br></font></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "><br></span></div><div>"Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought". ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi</div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.294118); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.231373);"><br></span></div>Sent from my iPad</div><div><br>On 25 Aug 2016, at 9:39 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div>Its not that I am disputing that fact Dr. Ndemo. But the fact that they can pay extra to buy a foreign product gives that extra room for choice - in a free market choice is a must have. Having a free market is in some circumstances maybe even better for the development of our own products. Competition breeds efficiency in the long-run.<br><br>I totally agree that we need to support Taifa as a product and make it scale. But again the consumer has the right to have a choice. Some kids go to University barely on loans that they can raise from family, if they could. Some just can not - and in my personal capacity having been one of those on that demographic I can feel what some of these kids can feel.<br><br></div>It just means that we need to become better business people to market that product better.<br><br></div>I believe Kenyans can be patriotic. All they need is a reason to be so. All they need is leadership.<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Aug 25, 2016 at 9:33 PM, Bitange Ndemo <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:bndemo@bitangendemo.me" target="_blank">bndemo@bitangendemo.me</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Ahmed,<div>They did not but in Korea everybody had to use the local products. To buy foreign, you had to pay extra. In fact even today only 1 in 10 cars on the road that is not Korean. The point I am making is that our problems emanate from the appetite of foreign goods. That is how we are not creating jobs. Freedom even in the most free states is relative. Our security now and in the future depends on what we do with unemployment. </div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div><br></div><div>Ndemo.</div></font></span></div><div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Aug 25, 2016 at 9:23 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ultimateprogramer@gmail.com" target="_blank">ultimateprogramer@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>Agreed with you bwana Ndemo 100%<br><br></div>But the point of all this is that the Koreans didn't come to force us to buy their units.<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div>On Thu, Aug 25, 2016 at 9:19 PM, Bitange Ndemo via kictanet <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a><wbr>></span> wrote:<br></div></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div><div dir="ltr">Michael,<div>I have bought six of Taifa Laptops for students who come to me for help. They are happy with the product. I don't buy Taifa because it is cheap. I buy to support the growth of light electronic manufacturing industry in Kenya. We have bought garbage in form of tablets for many years from Asia. We effectively supported Asians to go through the learning curve. Today they dominate the sector. India is making the industry a priority and estimates show it will top more than $ 900 billion by 2020.</div><div><br></div><div>Before we criticism these noble efforts we must look back and correct our attitude. We supported Koreans perfect the Hyundai, Indians perfect the Mahindra, Japanese perfect the Toyota Mark II and Chinese perfect their electronic manufacturing capability. Kenya will not wake up one day and produce a perfect product without going through a learning curve. JKUAt has had to go through the learning curve since they produced their first computer, Madaraka with the support of the Ministry of Information and Communications. We have a collective responsibility to be part of the solution to our perennial problems of unemployment. Without the local market we cannot scale. Patriotism means we make certain sacrifices while giving constructive criticisms. Africa will never get out of poverty by being consumers of other people's products. Go buy Taifa and give some advise on what they need to improve. It has warranty and personally I have no problem with the lap top.</div><div><br></div><div>Ndemo.</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div>On Thu, Aug 25, 2016 at 12:10 PM, Musya Michael via kictanet <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a><wbr>></span> wrote:<br></div></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div><div dir="ltr">Anyone using this laptop? Experiences so far?<div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/08/22/parents-protest-jkuats-imposition-of-taifa-laptops-on-students_c1407693" target="_blank">http://www.the-star.co.ke/news<wbr>/2016/08/22/parents-protest-jk<wbr>uats-imposition-of-taifa-lapto<wbr>ps-on-students_c1407693</a><span><font color="#888888"><br><div><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">Regards,<br><br>Michael Musya.<br><br><br>I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.<br>Philippians 4:13</div></div>
</div></font></span></div></div>
<br></div></div><span>______________________________<wbr>_________________<br>
kictanet mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a><br>
<a href="https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m<wbr>ailman/listinfo/kictanet</a><br>
<br></span>
Unsubscribe or change your options at <a href="https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bndemo%40bitangendemo.me" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m<wbr>ailman/options/kictanet/bndemo<wbr>%40bitangendemo.me</a><span><br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br></span></blockquote></div><br></div>
<br>______________________________<wbr>_________________<br>
kictanet mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a><br>
<a href="https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m<wbr>ailman/listinfo/kictanet</a><br>
<br></div></div>
Unsubscribe or change your options at <a href="https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ultimateprogramer%40gmail.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m<wbr>ailman/options/kictanet/ultima<wbr>teprogramer%40gmail.com</a><span><br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br></span></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><b>Ahmed Maawy</b><br>Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO)<br>Curator - Global Shapers Mombasa Hub<br>Ambassador - Open Knowledge<br>Director - Startup Grind Mombasa<br>Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer<br>(KE) +254 714 960 627<br>Skype: ultimateprogramer<br><br><a href="http://swahilibox.co.ke" target="_blank">swahilibox.co.ke</a><a href="http://globalshapers.org" target="_blank"><br>globalshapers.org</a><br><a href="http://okfn.org/" target="_blank">www.okfn.org</a><br><a href="http://startupgrind.com" target="_blank"><span>startupgrind.com</span></a><br><a href="http://ajplus.net" target="_blank">ajplus.net</a><br><a href="http://www.everylayer.com/" target="_blank">www.everylayer.com</a><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
</div>
</blockquote></div><br></div>
</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><b>Ahmed Maawy</b><br>Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO)<br>Curator - Global Shapers Mombasa Hub<br>Ambassador - Open Knowledge<br>Director - Startup Grind Mombasa<br>Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer<br>(KE) +254 714 960 627<br>Skype: ultimateprogramer<br><br><a href="http://swahilibox.co.ke" target="_blank">swahilibox.co.ke</a><a href="http://globalshapers.org" target="_blank"><br>globalshapers.org</a><br><a href="http://okfn.org/" target="_blank">www.okfn.org</a><br><a href="http://startupgrind.com" target="_blank"><span>startupgrind.com</span></a><br><a href="http://ajplus.net" target="_blank">ajplus.net</a><br><a href="http://www.everylayer.com/" target="_blank">www.everylayer.com</a><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
</div>
</div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>kictanet mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a></span><br><span><a href="https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet">https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet</a></span><br><span></span><br><span>Unsubscribe or change your options at <a href="https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com">https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com</a></span><br><span></span><br><span>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.</span><br><span></span><br><span>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.</span></div></blockquote></body></html>