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Kachwanya

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May 18, 2012
21:16
Facebook IPO -Traded 82 Million shares in the first 30 seconds
» ‎ Kachwanya

If you are involved in the tech space then you just have to sit back and admire what Mark Zuckerberg and Co. have done with Facebook over the last 8 years. They have completely changed the face of human interaction and how people communicate with each other. In the process creating a completely new industry loaded with new ways of doing things. But today Mark Zuckerberg opened the bell remotely from the company’s Menlo Park Headquarters to mark the first day of Facebook going public, trading on NASDAQ. Mark even updated his Facebook status at the same time

“Mark Zuckerberg listed a company on NASDAQ. — with Chris Cox and 4 others,”

It came…and yeah the biggest tech IPO took off at a high note trading 82Million shares in the first 30 seconds. Facebook share opened trading at 42.05 from the initial public offering price of $38 . The online social network raised as much as $18.4 billion making the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history.

We say congrats
11:33
Orange in to help Repair TEAMS cable
» ‎ Kachwanya

So TEAMS should be repaired before the end of today according to press release from Orange Kenya. Orange stepped in to accelerate repair work of TEAMS cable. The East African Marine System (TEAMS) has experienced two significant cuts in a span of less than 2 months along the Indian Ocean coastline. But now there is some good news as Orange expect the repair work to be done before the end of today Friday.

According to the CEO of Telkom Kenya – Orange, Mickael Ghossein

France Telecom Marine sent one of its ships that had docked in Madagascar to Mombasa last week. This has significantly reduced the repair time of the cable by half as opposed to the four weeks that an alternate repair ship would have taken to come and repair the cable. The France Telecom Marine ship docked in Mombasa on the afternoon of May 12 and proceeded to the repair site after inward clearance. France Telecom Marine should complete the repairs on the cable by Friday, May 18 thereby bringing TEAMS operations back to normal

The TEAMS’ cable, which is a 5,000-kilometre fibre optic system, links the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa with Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and also connects other east African countries to international communications networks.
The TEAMS cable, in which Telkom Kenya – Orange is a significant shareholder, is a joint venture by a consortium consisting of the Kenya government and other telecoms operators – who hold 85 percent – and UAE-based mobile operator, Etisalat with 15 percent.
8:52
Samsung Galaxy S III – Over 9 million pre-orders worldwide
» ‎ Kachwanya

Already making waves around the world. A number of tech blogs are reporting that Samsung Galaxy S III has already been preordered by over 9 million people worldwide. The total includes devices sold by more than 290 carriers in 145 countries.

Source theverge
May 17, 2012
21:07
World Telecommunication & Information Society Day “Women and Girls in ICT”- One on One with Kaburo Kobia of ICT Board
» ‎ Kachwanya

Part of this piece originally appeared on the UpNairobi. And since it is the day when we are celebrating World Telecommunication & Information Society Day with the 2012 theme being “Women and Girls in ICT” , i think it is appropriate to hear from one of the leading women in tech in Kenya

Here is my full chat with Ms. Kaburo Kobia of Kenya ICT Board

Kachwanya: For those who don’t know you, like me, tell us what you do?
Kobia: I work for the Kenya ICT Board, a government agency under the Ministry of Information and Communications tasked to promote ICT in Kenya. I am the Project Manage for Local Digital Content.

Kachwanya: How did you get there?
Kobia: I was always fascinated about computers, but my original love was for art and design. I studied Fine Arts at university and was fortunate to be exposed to computer generated art. In the late 1990s I started designing websites and that lead to a career in digital media and communications.

Kachwanya: Your thoughts on Kenyan women in tech?
Kobia: Women are underrepresented in the tech industry in Kenya. In our programs at the Kenya ICT Board, we find that only about 15% of our participants are women. If, as a country, we are to reach the goals outlined in vision 2030, then we must get more women to work in the ICT industry.

Interventions to address the low numbers of women choosing a career in ICT must come from all angles. I’d like to share two perspectives.

1. Target girls and young women: we need more programs designed to demystify technology and expose girls and young women to the exciting side of technology.

The University of Nairobi’s FabLab Outreach program already does this. They use these colorful blocks and tools from Picoblock and GogoBoard Kits to teach kids the basics of science, engineering and robotics. Programs like this and other home-grown programs must get the support they need to reach schools across the country.

2. Target media to raise the profile of women in tech. Having strong and visible role models can go a long way in growing the industry. Role models allow women, especially young women, to see their aspirations reflected in public spaces.

The Kenyan women in tech are awesome. We’ve got software developers and entrepreneurs, engineers and inventors, bloggers and designers… you’ll find women across the ICT spectrum working hard and achieving great things. Their role and their voices need to be amplified.

How I’d like to see this happen is by having an open database or public list of women in tech that the media and event organizers can consult. If there’s a need for a tech perspective in a news story or a conference on tech, Kenya’s tech women must be easy to find to fulfill the needed role. Such a list will help eliminate the excuse “We could not find any woman to interview or speak”.

Kachwanya. What are some of the mistakes you have made in the course of your work or life?

Kobia : I made a big mistake early on in my career. I was still in university and the desire to create websites got the better of me. I had just completed designing a five page brochure for the Theater and Dance Department at my university. The brochure looked great. I used this success and my design portfolio to land a web design job with the Sociology Department. The head of the department was looking to expand their online presence by creating a mini website off the main school’s website.

I knew how to create beautiful designs, but I had no clue how to publish them online. I asked a friend who was studying computer science to teach me about ‘servers’, but by the end of the semester and the end of my contract, I still had no clue.

Meanwhile I focused on repackaging the sociology department content for web, built a very functional and easy to understand content flow and site map. This did help me understand the importance of information architecture and in later years, i focused my career on information design. But, by the end of the semester, the department did not have a website.

The head of the department was very disappointed and had to hire another student to complete my work. I felt awful. I had overestimated my ability to learn a new skill that was crucial for the job I had undertaken. My ‘fake it ’till you make it’ attitude failed. I learnt that an honest approach is crucial. Ask for help, be honest about your ability. I still challenge myself by taking on projects that will stretch my ability, but I’m more forth-rite in asking for help. Besides, search engines have vastly improved since the mid 90s… making it a lot easier to learn new skills on the job.
20:01
Google Going Back to the Roots- the Knowledge Graph
» ‎ Kachwanya

When I think of Google, the first thing in my mind is “the know it all”, the giant that gets you what you want from the internet. Then somehow sometime back it started to go a stray with things which I still believe best left for those who are good at them. But I am happy to find out that Google is going to what it does best, get you things you don’t know but you want . Already rolling in US and later on to the other parts of the World .. the English Language Knowledge Graph.

According to readwriteweb.com

Search now looks at the words of your query and identifies the things in it. You’re not just searching the Web anymore. You’re searching the world.

Most of Google users’ queries are ambiguous. In the old Google, when you searched for “kings,” Google didn’t know whether you meant actual monarchs, the hockey team, the basketball team or the TV series, so it did its best to show you Web results for all of them.

In the new Google, with the Knowledge Graph online, a new box will come up. You’ll still get the Google results you’re used to, including the box scores for the team Google thinks you’re looking for, but on the right side, a box called “See results about” will show brief descriptions for the Los Angeles Kings, the Sacramento Kings, and the TV series, Kings. If you need to clarify, click the one you’re looking for, and Google will refine your search query for you.

With phone Virtual Assistant like Siri coming up with more exciting option for search, Google just have to do something to stay as the search industry leader. And even that could just be for the moment, the switch button is at the corner..
May 16, 2012
23:46
Elimu Tablets -Promise the Kenyan Kids a Shining Future
» ‎ Kachwanya
There has been more than enough talk about Kenya rise on the the World of Information and Technology. But on the core of everything our technology will never be the best even the region if the country ca not fix Education System. In this case I am not just talking about the system based on numbers but in terms of the quality of the system and accessibility of the learning materials. As adults it is funny that now people don’t need to know things in their heads before hand.. just Google it and you are the biggest smart ass around. Unfortunately, Kenyan kids are still slaved to education system that requires them to fill their skulls with thousand thousand useless information which they will never use anywhere in the World. Just as a reflection I know many people, yours truly included who have been forced at one time or another to learn useless things due to the bogus education system. For example why on earth did I have to learn in my Primary school days who discovered Mount Kenya or even Lake Victoria? Leave a lone the fact that such topics are irrelevant, it adds to the weight of the books kids need to carry to schools. The school system is crap and in most cases force students to fill their skulls with nonsense. Things which are not necessary for the future of the country and the people of Kenya. But here comes technology and all of sudden you realize that a lot can be achieved if there is right vision, right guidance and the right use of technology. That is one thing the ELimu Kenya is trying to achieve. Elimu, winner of the Mobile Web East Africa App developer Competition 2012, was created with the sole purpose of engaging children in their education; making learning fun. Elimu Kenya is working to introducing Elimu Tablets in schools . Elimu tablet was created with the sole purpose of engaging children in their education ..making learning fun. Great stuff…. and there were many great people at Elimu tablets launch at iHub including ever Present PS. Dr.Bitange Ndemo and Hon. Martha Karua but I was disappointed that nobody of note from Ministry Education saw it fit to attend the launch. A classic example of the disconnect between the priority of the people in the Government and what the country really need to move forward. Elimu Tablets Content
- Learning revision content of all 6 KCPE subject areas
- 3D animations to help students grasp complex concepts
- Games to capture interest and improve cognitive thinking memomry and focus
- Songs and mnemonic devices to aid retention
- Quizzes to track progress
- Examination tips and techniques
Elimu tablets will be rolled out as pilot project starting June. The Elimu education content is accessible through tablets, which Samsung is gladly on board to provide. At least a number of tablets will be placed in the school libraries and can be accessed by students/pupils at anytime when they are allowed to access the Library. Ms. Nivi Mukherjee, the Founder of Elimu talked of starting with two schools in Nairobi, and working with Vision 2030 to come up with 15 years plan. I like the idea of learning through the tablet, but I still think the country should work on the mix of tablets and phones. There are cheap tablets out there but phones will be a better option in terms of the cost or just say the mix would be better. Samsung Galaxy Mini, Ideos are some of the cheap phones which can be distributed to almost every child in Kenya as a learning tool. With proper system like Elimu , the learning materials can be distributed as applications which can be accessed through the phones and tablets by every kid at any time. I know this would bring up the question of what is left of the teachers? The technology will never replace teachers, when looked at the proper context technology like Elimu will help teachers deliver the knowledge in more efficient and easier way. Books have existed for years without replacing the teachers, technology will replace books but not teachers.!!
19:18
Zuku Announced A Million Dollar Sponsorship Of Zanzibar International Film Festival
» ‎ Kachwanya

It seems somebody is waking up and starting to appreciate the Arts around here. ZUKU has announced sponsorship of the Zanzibar International Film Festival for a period of 10 years from 2012 to 2022 inclusive ,with a focus on supporting ZIFF’s film and festival promotion and marketing program. The sponsorship, which is for a period of ten year’s will be for $100,000 per annum and will include an incremental raise.

Wananchi Group CEO, Richard Bell, said the agreement represented a significant step forward for the partnership, which would see ZUKU become headline sponsor of ZIFF. “Of course, as the festival grows and develops we may both see different needs and opportunities – but this should give us a solid footing to start on”, he said.

“We do not, however, mean to lock out other sponsors/contributors and collaborators. On the contrary, we would hope that our long term involvement would help attract greater consistency from other partners.”

ZUKU’s initial ten-year agreement concludes at the end of the 2022 season and The ZIFF chair said the partnership would by then have evolved into a strong business and community relationship. “While we like seeing the ZUKU logo side by side with ZIFF, our partnership goes well beyond branding,” he said. “As ZUKU spreads its wings to capture the pay TV market in East and Central Africa, ZIFF will work closely together with ZUKU to develop the film and media entertainment industry”.

Zuku is currently available in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda with plans to roll out to neighboring countries. ZIFF will take place between 7^th and 15^th July 2012.
11:31
Fellowships being offered up in the fields of new media and digital innovation. Apply!
» ‎ Kachwanya
Summer Digital Innovation Fellowships

shiftLabs — Innovation for change powered by Oxfam, is proud to announce three summer fellowships for students and recent graduates. Summer Digital Innovation Fellowships are offered with our partners working to combat injustice and end poverty and suffering. Each fellowship is offered over a two month period and includes a stipend of $2000. Course credit is available where applicable.

Who Should Apply?
Currently enrolled Undergraduate and Graduate students, as well as recent graduates (graduated within the past 6 months) are eligible to apply. All applicants MUST BE OVER 18. You are responsible for complying with local immigration and visa regulations at the location of your fellowship. However, shiftLabs and partners can assist with invitation letters and other documentation.

What You’ll Give
You will give two months of your summer to help incredible causes do no less than change the world for the better. Time commitments and intensity vary slightly for each fellowship, but plan to spend the months of June and July working full-time or near full-time for your cause. Our partners need your passion, energy and dedication to make great things happen.

What You’ll Get
In addition to financial support, shiftLabs and fellowship sponsors will provide a mentorship, daily management and integration with a team working for change. We promise you that these are action-filled, boots on the ground posts — you will not be fetching coffee! Your fellowship can be tailored to meet internship or course requirements within reason.

Notes:
- All applications close May 18
- This is NOT an offer of employment. Fellowships are internships that include a small living stipend.
- All applicants will be considered equally regardless of race, age (must be over 18), nationality, or gender.
-Applicants must submit proof of current or recent enrollment in an accredited Undergraduate or Graduate University-level program.

Learn about each fellowship and apply:
May 11, 2012
19:23
“Innovation” the Most misused, overused and abused Word in Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

Innovation innovation..what a word.. I have used it before but now I just want to run a way from it. This week it was all about innovation.. On NTV African Agenda hosted by Wallace Kantai..the topic was innovation. There were high level top CEOs from top companies and Multinationals in Kenya. But I felt that NTV and Wallace do not understand who the potential innovators are . If you talking about Kenyan innovation and then bringing in the big Companies and Multinationals as the point of reference then I think you are missing the point.

I have realized that NTV and Wallace in particular think that you must have made a million dollars before taking your opinion seriously on his show. I have message for NTV, the real innovators are the men on the street, the hustlers, and the guys sweating it at iHub to make something work. Innovation is never scheduled and planned for as most people tend to think. In most cases innovation is accidental. The day the media houses will start looking at the Jua Kali workers as the real innovators in Kenya, it is the day they will start to promote the right people and in extension the local home bread industry.. The guys sweating it out at the Gikomba market, making things like mekos, boxes, tables, vikapus. Those are the people who at least trying to produce things which can be labelled as made in Kenya from the scrap.

I can remember Wallace dismissing all the women in tech whom I listed here as having done nothing to be called women in Tech and be invited on his show!

Too much of Wallace, back to issue at hand, the Innovation and the week. Up in Addis Ababa, the World big fish were doing their annual useless World Economic Forum. And the innovation came up again. Apparently something called LIONS@FRICA was announced . It is a Partnership to Promote Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Africa. It was launched by High-level representatives from the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, African Development Bank, Microsoft, Nokia, infoDev, DEMO, and the World Economic Forum.

Sorry if you still don’t understand what the LIONS is about . It is Liberalizing Innovation Opportunity Nations (LIONS@FRICA) and it seeks to mobilize the knowledge, expertise and resources of leading public and private institutions to encourage and enhance Africa’s innovation ecosystem and to spur entrepreneurship across the continent. Great stuff but how.. It is one thing to say mobilizing but achieving the aim and measuring the achievement is another thing . I read the press release about the launch and as usual the PR guys litter it with statistics which do not help at all. Put up the stats about 6 of fastest growing economies in the World are from Africa bla bla bla and leave out the most important bit.. how the innovation is going to be encouraged!
16:07
8 Topics to Avoid on twitter In Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

I have seen many people complain that the Twitter they joined and how they used to interact back in the days is completely different from the current pathetic state of affairs. Kenyans no longer have that sort of mature debate and discussion on Twitter where people are allowed to disagree to agree. To avoid being called names, and other twitter nonsense you need to avoid the following:

1. Politics and Specifically Raila

Regardless of what you think of him, mention his name and you are guaranteed to get all sort of response, ranging from the abuse, praise , disdain. There is no middle ground when comes to Raila in Kenya.. You want your online peace, avoid Kenyan politics and specifically Raila.

2. Sexual preference and Orientation.

Homo sexual, Straight, Bi Sexual or otherwise just keep your opinion to yourself.. The hottest topic ever. You join twitter as an individual, and if you are a celeb, then people troop to follow you, otherwise you have to work hard to gain following. With more followers you start to have the unwritten responsibility. It is a fact that you have no idea what your followers’ belief systems are . It is important to maintain who you are ,but better still to be sensitive to others’ beliefs, and what they are. May be you just need to avoid this ..

3. Religion

One question I have always asked, if there is one God for all of us, then where are these problems about the religion coming from. I have never understood those who fight defending God, I mean He is all powerful, then why would you need to fight for him to the extent of killing. He simply can do it himself. Yeah..those statements can land me in hot soup..So as usual, you just need to avoid religion topic unless you are sharing Bible or Quran motivational quotes

4. Personal Matters

I think nobody wants to hear your family problems, or horrible break-ups. Avoid discussing those personal issues. I mean when you start, you might get cheering squad but what they say behind your back thereafter is just not cool. May be the solution here is to keep it to yourself

5. Race

Ok..ok and Ok.. He is black, he is white, he is brown, does it really matter? The answer to that question is the reason why you should avoid the race topic..Scary

6. Your Opinion on KOT

Ok, Kenyans on Twitter are mmmmh lot but never say that mmmh (your opinion loud). Unfortunately you are also included there so be very careful. One thing I have realized can get you a lot of name callings is giving your personal opinion on what you think Kenyans on twitter should or should not do. You simply can’t win this one..keep off

7. Porn

Yeah yeah majority of the people reading this watch them…silent is gold when comes to this

8.Confidential Info.

If it is confidential it is Confidential..just don’t talk about it. Simple
May 10, 2012
21:41
Corporate Blogging , why Kenyan Businesses are Missing out!
» ‎ Kachwanya
Last weekend we had BAKE Blog Awards , a process which captured BAKE’s effort to promote Kenyan online digital content. A number of questions have been asked in particular the issue of leaving out some crucial categories. Being the first one, it was hard to hard for us to predict how it would turn out, so we had to limit the categories. And now after the event the BAKE team has learned from the numerous suggestions from the Public and next time it can only be better.

Having said that, I think we were more surprised with the fact that many Kenyan companies do not have company or business blogs. In the category of Business blogs, we had only two nominees. From BAKE Blog

Best Corporate Blog

i. http://blog.batakenya.com

ii. http://squaddigital.com/blog

Bata Kenya won the battle but it is a shame that many Kenyan corporate still do not consider Company blogs as important or take the aspect of blogging seriously.

But I was happy when I got email from one of BAKE Awards sponsor’s Samsung after the event announcing their plan to restructure their presence online. Central to the restructuring of Samsung is their blogging platform. Email from Maina Job Kingori- Who is HHP, Digital Content & Solutions Specialist - East & Central Africa at Samsung states:
From next week we begin a restructuring of our online presence on the various platforms and improved feedback/responce;
- Blog – http://blog.samsung.co.ke
- < uTube – http://youtube.com/samsungeastafrica
- Twitter – http://twitter.com/SamsungMobileKE
· Facebook – http://facebook.com/samsungmobilekenya
Congrats to Samsung Kenya for taking the lead on the restructuring and thinking about the online presence.

Online Marketing

Probably marketers still don’t understand it but blogging is one key component of online marketing. With the Online marketing, there are many options and channels available to marketers but it is crucial that companies understand where their prospective clients are. It is one thing to stick with tried and tested working method of traditional marketing but it is very important that marketers consider the changing trends and the effect of the ever evolving modern technology. For that, digital marketing is becoming the key to meeting the prospective clients especially the young people. The holistic view on this would be for the marketers to ask themselves who are their customers and where to get them. To Continue with advertising on the newspapers for people who do not buy or read newspapers is a big waste of money but heeeey it is your money…

One question which people keep on asking when you discuss digital marketing, or social media is the Return on Investment. But at the same time I keep on asking them a simple question, how do people measure the Return On Investment when they put a bill board along of the roads leading to town. With Bill Boards it is hard to tell how many people saw the ad but the beauty of online marketing is that there are tools to help tell how many people saw the ad and even clicked on it. ..It simple , you need to consider the RETURN ON MISSING OUT (ROMO).

So what sort of products or services can be marketed online? The answer is simple, everything . Sometime back I wanted to try the business of selling ornaments and Kisii Soap Stones online. But I chickened out because I thought without the contacts it would be hard to find the customers. It came on one discussions I had with a friend of mine recently, the friend was mad that I could not figure out how easy I would have done it through online marketing. The answer to my problem was simple, start eCommerce website or join existing online shops like Maduqa.com. At the same time I came across some websites which are already doing well like beadsbarn.com. For me it was a big lesson learned and now …..

As I have said it here before, m-commerce is the key, considering the access point to the internet for many Kenyans . Yes, it is mobile and this definitely will take advantage of much talked about Mpesa. At this point I know developers are still waiting for Mpesa API. Seriously this has taken longer than it should have been and I hope Michael Joseph now working at Vodafone will do something sooner than later.
15:10
TECH:NITE – Fun Networking Event – Don’t miss out
» ‎ Kachwanya

The 2nd edition of TECH:NITE goes down on today from 7pm at Tamasha Langata, next to Uchumi Hyper (on the way to Carnivore). TECH:NITE is a fun networking event for Operators, ISPs, Vendors and Online Businesses. There is a lot of fun games and activities to enable you meet a minimum of 15 new people from the Tech industry.

TECH:NITE will be hosted by Eddy Kimani (Capital FM) and on the decks W-DJ (Capital FM) and DJ PURPL (Superstar DJ). The theme for this event is the movie “MEN IN BLACK”. There will be a “Black Carpet” where you will be able to take pictures with monsters from the movie MIB 3. Entry is FREE .. Yes yes but you have to buy your own drinks. Fortunately, I have 6 vouchers for drinks to give out..leave a comment here chap chap.. with your contact. Or DM on Twitter @kachwanya
May 09, 2012
21:16
Kenya Airways Mobile Platform-KQ Mobile
» ‎ Kachwanya

Early this week Kenya Airways launched a new mobile platform that will enable the airline’s customers to enjoy enhanced interactive services. According to Kenya Airways chief executive officer Titus Naikuni, service dubbed ‘KQ Mobile’ can be accessed through the short code *737# and will allow the airline’s customers to conveniently access information on their flight status, timetable, cargo services, ticketing and query their Msafiri Miles status.

When you dial the USSD code *737#, you get the following on your mobile interface:

Welcome to KQ Mobile

Select option

1.Flight Schedule

2. Flight Status

3.Msafiri Miles

4.Pay for ticket

5. KQ offers

6. Cargo Services

7. KQ Contacts

For example , I tested the KQ offers by selecting 5.

Special Fare from Nairobi to New Delhi- USD 57* for more details visit www.kenya-airways.com

But initially this option had a problem as reported by hapakenya.com

Charges for using the KQ Mobile is Ksh.10
6:36
Kenya ICT Board “Tandaa”- Where did the Money go? (Part 1)
» ‎ Kachwanya
Last week, ICT Board announced Tandaa grant winners for the year 2012 at Nailab. In the process the government released Sh106.2 million to over 30 organisations and individuals in the technology industry. But since then a number of questions have been asked regarding the criteria of selecting the winners, the nature of the program itself and whether the government is doing the right thing with the Tandaa program. Somebody asked my opinion on this on Google Plus after listing the winners here and I promised to talk about it later after Bake Blog Awards.

I think it is better to first understand the background of Tandaa grants.. Tandaa according to Kenya ICT Board website, is a brand of the Kenya ICT Board that promotes the creation and distribution of locally relevant content through the Tandaa symposium and see money to ICT entrepreneurs. The funds given under Tandaa Program are part of a Sh250 million grant from the World Bank, specifically meant to drive local tech innovations. The money is from World Bank and I would believe ICT Board use it based on the guidelines given by World Bank. But that in itself does not mean full transparency and hence the numerous questions being asked specifically online.

Now that Kenya ICT Board has released the money for the round two grantees, people are perfectly in order to ask how the round one funds were used and how far are those projects. I have gone through the round one grantees and they are remarkable project but whether they money helped them to move forward is debatable at best on my view . The following is the list of the first round grantees.
- Farmer Mobile banking and mobile e-Services Transaction Platform by Media Edge Communications Ltd-
- Development and Implementation of Mobile Learning in Kenya by Kenya School of Technology Studies
- Mobile phone applications to promote events, business and social networking in Kenya by KenyaBuzz Ltd.
- Jumuika Mobile Advertising and Marketing by Jumuika Media Solutions Ltd
- Project Afya: AskaDoc.co.ke by Ask A Doc Limited
- Makutano Junction and Development of Digital Content for TV series by Mediae Company Ltd
- JAMOBI – Empowering The Jua Kali Sector Through Mobile Software by Outside The Box Africa Ltd
- Mobile phone utilities for the blind and visually impaired by Dr Peter Wagacha
- HIV and AIDS in the workplace e-Learning course by Octopus ICT Solutions Ltd
- Lost and Found Project by JBA Advertising Ltd
- EDUWEB: Education Institution Listing and Interactive Mapping Portal by Rivercross Technologies Ltd
- Kenya Online Museum by Ibid Labs
- eMazingera Software Application by BTI Millman Company
- Teacher’s Portal by Infotrack Strategic Solutions Ltd
- IVR Tax Filling Solution Foundation Support Services Ltd
Looking at the above projects critically two years down the line I wonder which of the projects can be called a success. And I think nobody should blame those wondering whether the money helped any of them to move forward. But above all, are they now making money on their own, the question of sustainability beyond the ICT Board funding. It is possible to survive for sometime because of the grants or the investors or loans but at one point you must have Customers or clients buying your products. It simple Sustainability comes hand in hand with Customers

May be we are going ahead of ourselves, the first questions should go to ICT Board. What are the Board’s expectation of the grantees? How does the Board measure the success of any of the funded projects? At this pointing time which of the above projects do they consider success and to be realistic which ones do they consider failures?

I know the Kenya ICT Board CEO Mr. Paul Kukubo indicated on his twitter page that Deloitte and Touche does audit their projects. But these are questions beyond the normal auditing procedures. Many of us know how auditing process works, and can easily pass the test in the eyes of the auditors. So what else is ICT Board doing to ensure that the money is being used for the intended purpose?

One of the most questioned project on the above list is the “Mobile phone applications to promote events, business and social networking in Kenya by KenyaBuzz Ltd” I don’t have much info on this but I am going through the KenyaBuzz project and I will talk about it later. Coming up soon is the part two of this…stay connected

received up to Sh4 million each to fund projects ranging from the conversion of school syllabus to digital format, development of video games and software for use in the health sector.

Since then there has been back and forth online about the whole Tandaa .
May 07, 2012
0:28
Congrats to the Bake Blog Awards 2012 winners
» ‎ Kachwanya

And Congrats to the Bake Blog Awards 2012 winners.:

Best Business Blog

http://bankelele.blogspot.com

Best Agriculture Blog

http://emmiekio.blogspot.com

Best Creative Writing Blog

http://www.crazynairobian.com

Best Fashion Blog

http://www.nanciemwai.com

Best Food Blog

http://healthylivingkenya.wordpress.com

Best General Blog

http://muruginjehia.blogspot.com/

Best New Blog

http://www.my254.com

Best Corporate Blog

http://blog.batakenya.com

Best Photography Blog

http://www.mutuamatheka.co.ke

Best Politics Blog

http://www.dennisitumbi.com

Best Sports Blog

http://www.michezoafrika.com

Best Technology Blog

http://www.moseskemibaro.com

Best Tweep – Corporate

http://twitter.com/KenyaRedCross

Best Tweep – Individual

http://twitter.com/KoinangeJeff

Big thanks to the Sponsors of the Bake Blog Awards:

Safaricom, Samsung, Google+, Microsoft, Virtual City, Samsung, AccessKenya, CapitalFm

And finally thanks to all Kenyans who took part on the process, the submission of the blogs, judges and the voting.

Follow Bake On Twitter, Like Face Book Page and Connect on the Google Plus Page
May 04, 2012
15:02
Tandaa Grants 2012 Winners:
» ‎ Kachwanya

And the winners are:

Company category (Ksh4.1 million)

1 .Entertainment

Winner : MTAA- A Uniquely Kenyan Mobile Game by Afroes Company Limite

2. Education and Training

Winner: ‘DISC’ Digital Science Cloud- Animation of Secondary school Science subjects. To be available in Kiswahili and English by Cyber School Technology Solutions Ltd

3. Law and Order

Winner: Traffic Police And Inspection Mobile Phone Application- A tool for improving road safety and efficiency in traffic compliance by E-Motion Technology Limited

4. Law and Order

Winner: Mtracker: Laptop and Car tracking device on mobile by Fomobi Solutions by Gruppo Potente Ltd

5. Tourism

Winner: Onspot Stories-Mobile Audio Travel Guides- Audio travel guide via mobile

6. Agriculture

Winner: SWARM Database- Web-based management of honey farming by Honey Care Africa

7. Agriculture

Winner: Smartfarmer – Information portal for farmers by Guliyo Limited

8. Wholesale and Retail Trade?

Kuza Biashara – Equip SME’s with skills accessible on web and mobile by Iridium Interactive Limited

9. Communication

Winner: Expansion of Government IVR System – Government VOIP system to handle customer feedback by Jibu-Tel Company Ltd

10. Film/TV

Winner: 50 years of Kenyan Independence – Digital Compilation of Kenya’s History by Kenyan History and Biographies Company Ltd

11. Communication

Winner: Bringing the Diaspora- Expand platform for diasporas to top up loved ones phones by Mamamikes

12. Water & Sanitation

Winner: Web Based Application for Reading Water Meters- Apps to help get exact water bills by Rural Focus Limited

13. Financial Services

Winner: COMMS-Chama Online Management and Mobile System- Chama Management System by Sharper Innovations Ltd

14. Health Care Delivery

Winner: Integrated Web And Mobile Enabled Continuing Professional Development Platform- Platform for health workers to network and upgrade skills by Synergy Informatics

15. History

Winner: Creating E-Books from Unpublished Oral and Written Literature Around Kenya- Recording Oral Literature through an online platform and e-books by The CAN-DO Company

16. Tourism

Winner: MICE Business Tourism – Conferencing events Portal by Websimba Ltd

17. Entertainment-Film

Winner: Simiyu Samurai- Kung Fu Local Web film by Xmedia

18. Education and training

Winner: Yearbooks & Photography Clubs For schools- Using web platform to teach photography and create year book by Yeeboo Ltd

19. Financial Services

Winner: Pay4us – Micro-banking and saving via mobile money by Zege Technologies Ltd

20.Financial Services

Winner: Tenders Unlimited Government Procurement Portal- Summary of all Government tenders in one portal by Zeninvest Ltd

21. Wholesale and Retail Trade?

Winner: Development & Implementation of a Local Internet Payment Gatewa- Internet payment gateway that accept online payments from buyers using their locally issued debit cards by Paysure Ltd

Individuals ($10,000)

1.Entertainment

Winner: +254sportslite- Apps for Information on local sports by Alex Kanyatieno

2. Tourism

Winner: Solution To Help Local Hotels Sell Distressed Inventory (Unoccupied Rooms)- System to sell unoccupied rooms through Priceline.com by Boniface Murigu

3. Entertainment

Winner: The Kenya Game Developers Initiative- Provide local games by Brian Kinyua

4. Gender, Youth and Vulnerable Groups?

Winner: Let’s Talk About Child Sexual Abuse: What Every Girl And Boy Should Know: A life Skills Guide For Parents And Children- Digital content on sexual abuse by Cecilia Njoroge

5. Food and Nutrition

Winner: Tastebuds – Healthy recipes on mobile by Harun Mwangi

6. Education and Training

Winner: Kenyan Sign Language Dictionary Online- Online self-taught Kenya sign Language by Hudson Asiema

7. Social Equity and Poverty Reduction

Winner: Juakali -Linking casual laborers to customers online by Judith Owigar

8. Gender, Youth and Vulnerable Groups

Winner: Fundvijana: Online Youth Group Funding Platform – Linking Youth groups with potential investors/donors by Sam Kariu

Matching Grants ($150,000)

Winner: Virtual City Researcher- Community health research & demographic surveillance
via Mobil Solutions by Virtual City Ltd
9:49
Kopa Chapaa- Airtel to offer its subscribers loans of between Sh100 and Sh10,000
» ‎ Kachwanya

From Nation online..Aitel to offer its subscribers Loans over the phone. The service is called “Kopa Chapaa” . It will allow Airtel subscribers to get loans of between Sh100 and Sh10,000 at an interest rate of between three and 10 per cent. The loans will be offered through a partnership with micro-finance lender Faulu Kenya. The loans are repayable in 10 to 30 days.

Read more here
9:24
ICT Innovators to receive 1.28 million dollars (ksh104,960,000) from Kenya ICT Board today
» ‎ Kachwanya

This morning Kenya ICT Board will award ICT innovators a total of 1.28 million dollars (ksh104,960,000) .The Kenya ICT Board will award 21 local ICT start-ups with a maximum of $50,000 (Ksh4.1 million), each, in a competition that will also see eight individuals win a maximum of $10,000 (Ksh820,000) each. The funding, organized through the board’s project, Tandaa Local digital Content, will also see one local company get $150,000 (Ksh12,3 million), which they (the company) will match to $300,000 (Ksh24.6 million).

More here later…..
April 30, 2012
14:56
Call to techies and problem solvers!
» ‎ Kachwanya

A big thank you as always to Kachwanya who allows me to re-post and post content on his brand. As a follow up to the last article I posted here that covered my thoughts on #TwitterBigStick, I felt not reposting this article here would be leaving an information gap. So from my blog to Kachwanya’s, here goes:

CONVERSATIONS WITH SUNNY BINDRA, NANJIRA SAMBULI, RAMAH NYANG AND ASIF KHAN.

Just to get everyone on the same page, there was a Twitter storm (Nanjira was kind enough to document it) of sorts after the publishing of these two articles on CIO Kenya’s online platform. One was by Management Consultant and Writer Sunny Bindra and the other by me. The storm that followed was polemic, with camps formed to dismiss the hashtag #TwitterBigStick and some loyally supporting what they felt helped them air their grievances against companies that were otherwise not paying attention.

Nanjira and I, were pitted against Sunny and Asif and as time went by, the 14o character environment noise (aka Twitter) and limitations proved limiting. We agreed to have a sit down and discuss a better way forward. We were/are all in agreement that consumer rights and complaint platforms needed to be improved in the country.

Nikhil Hira, was also a participant in the hot debate and he suggested that we have Ramahas a moderator during our meetup, and we agreed. So on Tuesday the 24th of April we had a sit down and the below was what was discussed:

Where did it begin?

Sunny came into Twitter in order to communicate and connect with a generation that was on it in order to keep up with the times. Twitter big stick was to change how organizations fear the customer, mobilizing people in order to make the change that was required to get organizations to pay attention. People seemed to tag the hashtag as they felt Sunny’s (due to his RT’s) brand gave them a platform that they as ‘smaller’ entities did not have.

How do we get brands online and how do we get clients to be represented better?

We all agreed that brands getting online required the right tools, Asif pointed out that Squad Digital, where he works also believes in monitoring brands using sentiment engines, which pick all internet data relevant to a brand, not just a Twitter hashtag, as had been pointed out in my article. However, we still felt that the creation of a great complaint platform for customers was a key challenge. As a tech enthusiast/evangelist I proposed mapping complaints, for example, restaurants in Nairobi known for food poisoning. Nanjira suggested that we have a similar platform to GotIssuez, but one that would charge as a freemium model, allowing brands access to customer complaint data, but serving customers by aggregating their complaints and presenting it on a site as a score. Asif, having worked with Ushahidi, proposed using the software to create a complaint data mining platform. However, our resident play blond/devil’s advocate Ramah kept asking us questions of a more technical nature than we could answer. At some point we felt our solutions, noble and workable as we may have envisioned them, may not work well as we are not indeed coders/actual techies.

Where do we go forward from here?

We felt that at this point we needed to rope in those better suited to actually building a platform that could work, talking to Simeon of the iHub and Bankelele of #OverlapKe was a starting step to this. While talking on email, Simeon graciously agreed to give us space and to pitch our ideas and thoughts to techies regarding consumer complaints and a monetised model that they could also benefit from. A tentative date of 15th May 2012 has been set for this, however, till we confirm, we are open to more ideas and thoughts on the way forward. Let’s build a great customer complaints platform people!
April 27, 2012
10:41
Buni TV- New web and mobile digital video platform aim at showcasing the best about Africa
» ‎ Kachwanya

Mid this month Buni Media launched Buni TV, its new web and mobile Pan-African digital video platform. Buni TV is meant to show the best, most innovative and visually arresting content being currently produced in or about Africa and distributing it new audiences on the continent and abroad.

The platform currently offer the entire 5 seasons of Kenyan political satire The XYZ Show. Ok what else….Expect other videos from award-winning Kenyan animation films like Kwame Nyong’o’s The Legend of Ngong Hills, documentaries by Egyptian filmmaker Abu Bakr Shawky, Nigerian children TV program Bino and Fino, music videos from across the continent.

“There is actually quite a lot of remarkable, high-quality African content out there, but it’s often scattered over niche sites and very difficult for African audiences to find. Buni TV editors will do the leg work for our audience and select only what is worth their time. Buni TV wants to become the number one destination to watch modern, creative African content online and on mobile,” said Marie Lora-Mungai, CEO of Buni Media.

Streaming videos on Buni TV will initially be free with advertising. Buni TV will share the revenue made from advertising around their work with the filmmakers on a 50-50 basis. In the future, the platform will develop a subscription option to allow access to premium content.
Buni Media (www.bunimedia.com) is a multi-media company based in Nairobi, Kenya and Los Angeles, California. It is the production outlet behind The XYZ Show, Africa’s first political satire program featuring life-size latex puppets. The XYZ Show (www.xyzshow.com) reaches an audience of more than 8 million people every month through its various platforms.
April 26, 2012
22:41
Nokia is looking for Kenyans with innovative ideas ahead of the Open Innovation Africa Summit 2012
» ‎ Kachwanya

Nokia Kenya is looking for Kenyans with fresh and disruptive ideas to participate on a global competition by Nokia, infoDev and Capgemini . The competition seeks societal, structural, financial and technological ideas that will help foster innovation leadership in Africa.

‘Ideas to Innovation’ is an open innovation challenge where anyone with an idea can participate. To submit an entry to the competition, interested Kenyans can log on to www.ideasproject.com/oias2 until 2nd May.

Creators of the 3 best ideas will be invited to the second Open Innovation Africa Summit 2012 (OIAS2) to be held in Nairobi from 28^th to 30^th May 2012 to share their thoughts with respected thought leaders. All expenses for the trips will be covered by the sponsors.

After the deadline of 2nd May, 2012, the second stage of the competition will commence where the entries received from across the globe will undergo an initial screening and evaluation. The jury will consist of members from infoDev, Capgemini, Nokia and academia.
20:52
Yes TEAMs is down and it is time for Excuses and excuses from ISPs!!!
» ‎ Kachwanya
TEAMS is down yet again. According to Teams admin there is a cable cut in the submerged section of the TEAMS cable approximately 5.3 Km from Mombasa Landing Station. So Someone or something has cut the cable and as usual it will take sometime before it is repaired. And here comes the time for excuses from ISPs..and pain for Kenyans. The better part of the day today, most Kenyans were left on the darkness without internet. The ISPs as usual promise what they can not deliver. Actually the excuse they have had for keeping the prices high is that they have invested heavily on the multiple cables and thus they need time recoup their investment. For a country with four cables, and using only around 20 Gigabits per second (1Gbps), there should never be an internet problem in Kenya even for a minute
- TEAMS fiber optic cable has capacity of 1.28 Tb/s
- Seacom fiber optic cable has capacity of 1.28 Tb/s
- EASSy fiber optic cable has capacity of 4.72 Tb/s
- LION 2 has capacity of 1.28 Tb/s
Ok, let say that the minute I am talking about is too short. For those in the know how long does it take to switch to the alternative cable..or the so called redundancy capacity? Or may be the right question I should be asking is did these ISPs really made the heavy investments on the different cables for redundancy capacity they keep on talking about?

According to Wikipedia ..

“In engineering, redundancy is the duplication of critical components or functions of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system, usually in the case of a backup or fail-safe.

So it is simply like buying Orange and Safaricom data at the same time but using one and switching to the other one in case the one you are using has a problem.. How long does that take?
April 25, 2012
21:47
Angry Birds Space is Now Available in BlackBerry App World!
» ‎ Kachwanya
And Angry Birds Space is now available for PlayBook in BlackBerry® App World™.

FEATURES:
- 60 interstellar levels
- Regular free updates
- Brand new birds and new superpowers
- Zero-gravity space adventures
- Trick shots using planets’ gravity
- And hidden bonus levels
Cost: $4.99
20:35
Orange Daily Ksh.10 Subscription – bundled tariff becomes permanent
» ‎ Kachwanya

Orange has made its bundled offer Holla a permanent tariff. Holla a 24-hour. Rechargeable via a daily KSh10 subscription, the bundled tariff will allow Orange pre-paid customers to enjoy round-the-clock, on-net calls, on-net SMSs, 20 off-net SMSs and 10 MB of mobile data daily. The Holla tariff will also allow for free and complete access to social networking site, Facebook.

To reward its loyal customers, Orange would enable all its active Orange mobile pre-paid customers to enjoy the benefits of Holla for free this Friday, April 27, 2012, through a free subscription for 24 hours.
April 23, 2012
8:24
Airtel Kenya is Still a lost Sheep in Kenya…
» ‎ Kachwanya

Two years down the line since Bharti Airtel acquired Zain and Re-branded it to Airtel and the company is still struggling to find its footing in Kenya. In that period they have tried everything to gain significant following in Kenya but things are simply not working. Airtel fought hard for Number Portability when it came, nobody cared…Airtel reduced its prices to the bare minimum but Kenyans stuck with Safaricom which most of them consider expensive ..Airtel parted ways with Rene Meza to get a new person to be in charge but that too has not worked so far..

Now there is a new CEO in Town. Last week Airtel announced the appointment of Shivan Bhargava as Managing Director for its Kenyan operation. Shivan was earlier the Chief Operating Officer and in his new role he will be responsible for leading Airtel’s growth plans in Kenya.

Announcing the appointment, Mr. Jayant Khosla, CEO (Airtel Africa Anglophone Region), said: “Kenya has always been a key market with great potential for growth within the region. Our leadership and management team in Kenya is made up of exceptionally talented, experienced, passionate and committed individuals. Shivan’s experience and qualifications will add value to the team and Airtel’s future plans to deliver innovative and best-in-class mobile services. I wish him success in his new assignment.”

Please let us all welcome Mr. Shivan to the hot seat. Unfortunately he comes in at a time when Airtel is gaining subscribers at a lower rate than the other network operators in Kenya

According to the latest stats by Communication Commission of Kenya ,by the end of the Quarter 2 of 2011/12 i.e. the period from 1st October to 31st December 2011, the four mobile operators experienced gains in subscriptions. In particular, Safaricom Ltd recorded the highest gains with 741,560 new subscriptions from 593,177 recorded in the previous period. Essar Telecom (yuMobile) followed with 600,285 new subscriptions up from 46,742 recorded during the previous period. Orange gained 144,208 new subscriptions from 16,686 from the previous period while Airtel Networks Ltd had 100,778 new subscriptions from 557,567 in the previous period.

So why is Airtel strategy not working? From where I sit, there are a number of reasons:

1. Crappy Customers Service. You can promise Kenyans the whole world, you can give them the cheapest rate possible but if crappy customer service then forget about them flocking to your network. Safaricom realized that and now most people are happy with how they handle the customers. The same can’t be said of Airtel….

2. Lousy Social Media strategy: Social Media has become the central point where the young Kenyans express their views, satisfaction and disgust at everything under the sun. That include bashing companies like Airtel which simply don’t care about the Social Media. Yes I know Airtel has Facebook page and may be twitter account but that is not enough. Social media requires more than just creating an account and once in a while passing by to praise your product or service. Again they need to learn from Safaricom or Batakenya.

3. Ignoring Locals for the top positions. This a controversial topic to talk about, but the reality is , Kenyans understand their country better than any foreigner will. But if you must bring someone from somewhere to run the company then he or she should not be an elitist that does not want to mingle and learn from Kenyans. Sorry we have to bring Safaricom here again..but look at Mr. Bob Collymore. He came, found a way to connect with people and settled in perfectly. He once went to Dandora riding on a matatu to visit his clients accompanied by his rap fellow Juliani…that is learning

4. Not Getting involved with local initiatives: Apart from the BillBoards, I simply can’t feel Airtel presence on the ground..

5. Top down Approach as opposed to Bottom Up. Airtel has never found a way to get their customers to be their advocates. And yes, this is connected to the first point, customers do not feel cared for..

Note

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite blogs in Kenya on Bake Blog Awards here
6:44
Third Dimension- Kenyan Android App for the world bank developer challenge
» ‎ Kachwanya

An Android application to enable user to view climate data in 3 dimension. In one map, you can be able to view the monthly and yearly rainfall and temperature. You just need to select the country or region and view the 3D graph.

Good stuff but it does not stop there. This app was entered for the world bank developer challenge. The competition is at voting stage to determine the most popular application by the public. The developer Mr. Gerald Kibugi at the moment needs your vote to propel the application to position 1 and put Kenya on the ICT map.

The voting requires just two steps that will take you less than 5 minutes. I’ll be very greatful if you give me five stars.

Here are the steps:

First register https://wbchallenge.imaginatik.com/wbchallengelogin.nsf/Registration?OpenForm

You will get a confirmation email sent to your inbox/bulk/junk to activate your registration. Click on the link that you will find in the email to activate your account and login.

Use the link below to vote for ’Third Dimension’ application by Gerald M. Kibugi

https://wbchallenge.imaginatik.com/wbchallengeidc2.nsf/IdeaIDsOK/0.393148699168383USAA-8SFJMC?open&login

On the right side of the page, there is a section written ’Rate this submission’ with five stars, click on the fifth star to vote.

You can view the application’s video and download the application from the same page.
April 22, 2012
0:01
Kenic extends 50% discount offer on the .Ke Domain names
» ‎ Kachwanya

Kenic has extended their 50% discount on .Ke domain names until May 19th 2012. Great stuff but I think Kenic should just reduce their prices permanently to enable many Kenyans brand themselves with .ke domain names. For now take advantage and get .ke domain names..
April 20, 2012
9:46
LG A290 Triple SIM for those Looking for sweet Deals
» ‎ Kachwanya

The number portability came, we all saw and it seems nobody liked it. Kenyans continue to carry multiple Sim cards. When you look at that, then you get the reason why Michael Joseph once said Kenyans have queer calling habit.

Well, in the last few days I have been trying out LG A290, the triple Sim card mobile phone. Yes, I am talking about the phone that let people have three phone numbers at ago. It means, at one go you can be on Safaricom, Orange and Airtel or you can hell with one of the three and pick Yu

Now this is a basic phone as seen from the specifications we posted here. But for those looking to take advantage of the latest offer by the mobile network operators here is a phone for you
9:43
LG A290 Triple SIM Specification
» ‎ Kachwanya

Network

Triple SIM

2G GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 – GSM+GSM+GSM

Sound Alert
Vibration and MP3 ringtones

Memory
Internal 19 MB and expandable up to 4 GB by microSD Card

Data

GPRS
Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
USB microUSB v2.0

Camera
Primary/Rear Camera of 1.3 MP, 1280 x 960 pixels

Video Recording
MP3, AAC+, WMA Audio format supported
MP4/H.263 Video format supported

Others
Loudspeaker
Colors Gray
Standard Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery
April 16, 2012
2:55
LION2 Fiber cable is live-Will Kenyans see the promised reduction on the internet prices at long last?
» ‎ Kachwanya

The Lower Indian Ocean Network submarine cable (LION2) operated by Orange Kenya went live last week. The cable is 2,700 km long and it is an extension of the initial Lower Indian Ocean Network that connects Madagascar to the rest of the world. Lion2 has a maximum capacity of I.28 tbps and can be increased without additional submarine work… LION2 has increased the capacity of submarine cables connecting Kenya to the outside world to 8.56TB/s.. Check more on that here

So the big question is, will Kenyans realize the long promised reduction on the internet prices, now that all the fiber cables are here?
April 14, 2012
22:13
1% of Unlimited data users Use 70% of Resources- IS Unlimited Internet really becoming Unprofitable as Bob Collymore Says?
» ‎ Kachwanya
Data data data..it is the buzz word this year..Whether it is open, closed or whatever, it is all about data. The Government is trying hard and shouting at the rooftop about their open data initiative and the need for Kenyans to use it. The World Bank is on the mix of anything named open data or initiative to do with open data. So the next question is, what amount of data is enough for individual, be it voice, video, text or images? And how should it be fairly priced to enable the larger Kenyan population to access it? In the same line how can it be done without the people selling it going at a loss?

According to safaricom COE Mr. Bob Collymore, they are seeing abuse of unlimited internet data package by a few individuals. Mr. Collymore said this week on twitter that they are seeing a situation whereby 1% of the unlimited internet data package users using 70% of the resources. Meaning the remaining 99% are only using 30% or less of the resources . Fair enough for Mr Collymore’s claim but as a customer, what I am expected to do after paying the amount required to get the unlimited data package for a certain duration? Let say for example I pay Ksh.1000 to access unlimited data for 7 days, what does Safaricom expect me to do..sit back and not use it?

Some people believe that heavy users of the data, the 1% consumers are using the unlimited internet data to download porn videos. Personally I have no problem with what an individual does with his/her internet, that is a personal choice. For me as long as they have paid for the internet, they should do whatever they want online. Ok, let do some number game here. Safaricom Unlimited data is throttled at 512Kbps..but the reality is, when downloading you can only get between 1 to 50kpbs depending on where you are. In Town or somewhere in Westlands and Upper Hill, it is possible to get average speed of between 40 to 50Kbps. Anywhere else, you will be lucky to get anything above 20Kbps with the Unlimited Data package. I think most people download whatever they download at home, and so we are talking about an average speed of between 10Kbps and 15Kbps unless you stay at the data belt areas.. If we take Unlimited package for 1 week at Ksh.1000. Going with the average download speed of 15Kbps for example, and assuming that the somebody would connect his/her computer for 7 days nonstop. Let see how much data can such a person download or abuse according to Mr.Bob Collymore…

7days*24hours*60minutes*60seconds *15kbps= 9072000KiloBytes

So roughly the Ninja will get 9GB of data, in one week. So, is that too much? Can that make unlimited data package be unprofitable? In other news, that amount of data can be downloaded in one hour when using fiber connection…..

Let’s move to usage pattern and the behavior of most Kenyan internet users. I know many people who buy unlimited or other bundles but don’t use them in any meaningful way at all.. Well, let say they use it to check emails, and that is all..Practically, if you look at that they are not using even 0.1 percent of the resources.. From Safaricom point of view , I guess that should be an idle resource they would love to sell to somebody else.. Unfortunately, the Unlimited 1% heavy users would come in and take that up . And may be that is where the problem is coming from. Again my question is , does that make unlimited data package unprofitable? I don’t think so!!

There is talk of fair access policy by both Orange and Safaricom.. I am not sure of what would be fair for each individual in a world where in a daily basis we collectively we produce 2.5 quintillion bytes of data. My view is, if Safaricom think that the amount they charge for unlimited for a certain period is less, then they should increase it but once I buy the unlimited, I should be allowed to use the promised capacity the way I want.

When Fiber cables Landed in Kenya, the whole world promised us that practically every Kenyan would be able to afford to access the internet. I mean proper getting online, and not just a glimpse of being online. In the real sense of doing whatever one wants to do online, be it watching videos, downloading stuff , doing research work, calling, or just browsing for the fun of it..

The following is the the clear illustration that Kenyans should be able to that..
- TEAMS fiber optic cable has capacity of 1.28 Tb/s
- Seacom fiber optic cable has capacity of 1.28 Tb/s
- EASSy fiber optic cable has capacity of 4.72 Tb/s
- And the new baby on the block, LION 2 has capacity of 1.28 Tb/s
That is a shaking total capacity of 7.28TB/s excluding LION2……..

At the moment , it is estimated that data usage in Kenya stands at about 20 Gigabits per second (1Gbps). Take for example the capacity of TEAMS only, and you get around 1280 Gbps. The country is using only 0.01 of the TEAMS ‘s Capacity at any second…

Yeah yeah I know the last mile thing and the problem of the spectrum and the base station bla bla bla but……!!!!!!???
April 12, 2012
20:53
Top 50 Applications to go head to head on Pivot East 2012 Competition announced
» ‎ Kachwanya
Pivot East has announced the Top fifty shortlisted Apps for this Pivot East Competition to take in early June this year. The Top Fifty applicants will pitch against each other for a spot in the top twenty five finalists. The top twenty five have a chance to win takeaway prize of 50,000USD spread to equivalent amounts in all the five categories, resulting in category prize of 10,000USD. This year category prize is a scale up from last year’s editions cap of 5,000USD.

In Alphabetic order, The Top Fifty applications are: (Ten per category)

Financial Services category
- Chamapro
- Changamka
- Future Magnets
- Kwachu Tiko
- mCollector
- MobiKash
- mPermit
- M-Tafiti
- Pay4Us
- QuickElec
Business and Resource Management Category
- AFRILANCE
- Art Pakacha
- Dairy Sacco App
- Easy Order
- Get-it! app
- MyBusiness App
- PROCUMENT OFFICE
- SMS Based Health Insurance Members Verification
- SMS Offline and Online virtual Market place
- Wakili
Entertainment Category
- Andromaid
- AngryKenyans
- KenyanEnt
- Ma3racer
- Mag Preview
- Magaziine
- Mingle
- Run For Afrika
- Tough Jungle
- TUBET
Mobile Society Category
- eLimu
- FarmPal
- FISHMATE
- Gorecycler
- GreenhousePro
- mpoultry
- MPrep
- Mtu wa Job
- SARURA
- StorySpaces
Utilities category
- 6ix degrees
- Crowdpesa
- I travel
- Mafuta Go
- Mare-Mare
- Migwa
- mTracker
- m-verified
- Smart Drive 360
- Tell-a-Friend
13:45
Social Media greater than “a few Twitter Hashtags”
» ‎ Kachwanya

This is a re-post of an article that I had the honor of writing in www.cio.co.ke in response to Sunny Bindra’s article within the same publication.

As a follow up to our exclusive interview with Sunny Bindra titled Social Media: Should enterprises pay heed to #TwitterBigStick?, Dennis Mbuvi talked to Muthoni Maingi, who disagrees with some of the view’s in the interview with Bindra.

Muthoni Maingi, a Brand Strategist and Director at Deviate Brand Strategy, Management and Media . She also owns two online magazines, a digital signage property and sits on the board of an upcoming women’s information technology and creativity hub. She is currently also co-organizing a web and app business competition this year. You can follow her on Twitter @NonieMG.

She believes that brand reputation is broader than social media, or even a few Twitter hashtags. Here is what she has to say on the matter.

Many Kenyan companies are looking into how better to manage their online brand reputations. Out of this, the idea of tagging sentiments, positive or negative, to hash tags was born from some notable Kenyans. However, the online world in Kenya is not limited to Twitter. In fact, it is a small fragment of the Kenyan online scene falling at number 8 – in a study carried out in 2011- in terms of popular sites visited by Kenyans.

What you need to be asking yourself as a brand manager is whether manpower should be dedicated to monitor a hash tag, which is popularly used on the eighth most popular platform. That has brought about complaints that vary from overlapping drivers to bad customer service in restaurants, especially if you manage, let’s say a paint company.

“I disagree with those seeking to push hash tag monitoring as key aspect of online positive and/or negative sentiments. Let’s begin with the idea that people had no voice and were not able to complain and be heard before a hash tag existed. This is false, people have been complaining and giving thumbs up in droves in the online space from its existence. They have been doing it in forums, corporate Facebook pages, and their personal blogs and on Twitter way before the hash tag came along. The problem, however, is that most companies were not employing tools that allowed them to listen to collective online complaints and praise.

This is where one could say a hash tag that curates complaints and praise collectively comes in, right? No. For a brand to manage itself efficiently and to provide better CRM, it should not dedicate effort to monitor a hash tag which essentially is noise. It’s not every day that someone will complain about you; why follow noise on other brands and misbehaving drivers that have no relation whatsoever to your paint company?

But this is looking at it from the business side of things. What if you were a consumer that wished to voice your complaint? In all honesty if a brand is not online and not bothered with managing their online reputation, well they won’t get to know about your complaint and address your issue.

It is understandable that with the rise of social media such as blogs and social networks-which are more than Twitter and Facebook- there is fueled interest in sentiment analysis for brands, as it has allowed consumers to voice their opinions at a fast and, sometimes, viral rate. However, monitoring all online space is better done with sentiment engines, as any reputable online brand manager will tell you.

A sentiment engine aims to determine the attitude of a speaker or a writer with respect to some topic or the overall contextual polarity of a document. The attitude may be his or her judgment or evaluation, affective state (that is to say, the emotional state of the author when writing), or the intended emotional communication (that is to say, the emotional effect the author wishes to have on the reader). The beauty of a sentiment engine is that it can be trained to monitor words that may escape it as well. For example, if you are a snack company, you can have it tag obvious related words such as crisps, Nairobi, Kenya, as well as those that are indirectly related e.g. fry, frying, potatoes, macripo (sheng) etc. Another key point that all brand managers will appreciate in terms of efficiency is that sentiment engines sweep the entire Internet, and are not limited to a particular site. They also help you cut through the noise directed at other brands, or if you wish they can monitor complaints and praise of your competitors too. And yes they will pick up online comments made on hash tags on Twitter.

With regards to better service for consumers, your best bet is to make as much positive or negative noise on the brand, on whatever online forum. If they are online and listening, they will see it and if they’re good at brand management, they will respond accordingly. However, the key is in getting more businesses online and allowing them the tools to serve you better. If they are too busy monitoring a hash tag, they’ll miss out on your complaint in your blog for example.

As businesses look to automate the process of filtering out the noise, understanding the conversations, identifying the relevant content and appropriately putting it into action, it is a great option for them to look into the field of sentiment analysis. A lot of these tools can be found online and the beauty of it is that there are a large variety of them, which are free and would work amazingly well for small businesses; such as Social Mention, Google Alerts, BoardReader and Viral Heat. However, if you do have the budget, getting a tailor made one/ or a paid model one for you is a good idea. One can look at companies such as Open Calais, Lexalytics, Text Analytics, and Rapide UK for this.”
April 11, 2012
12:51
Nokia announced Microsoft Apps for Nokia Belle
» ‎ Kachwanya
Nokia announced Office Mobile apps from Microsoft for the Nokia Belle . The Office Mobile apps include Word mobile, PowerPoint mobile and Excel mobile – which are immediately available via Software Update* for the Nokia 701, Nokia 700, Nokia 603, Nokia E7, Nokia X7, Nokia C7, Nokia Oro, and Nokia C6-01.

Office Mobile completes the suite of Microsoft productivity applications for Symbian smartphones with Nokia Belle, including OneNote mobile, Document Connection, Lync 2010 mobile and PowerPoint Broadcast.
- Office Mobile apps will be available from Nokia Store in early May 2012.
- The full suite of Microsoft productivity applications for Nokia N8, Nokia E6 and Nokia 500 will be available at a later date, and also for the Nokia 808 PureView when it begins selling in the second quarter of 2012.
More information on Mobile Office apps or the full suite of Microsoft productivity applications can be found from the Nokia for Business site.
April 10, 2012
10:42
Instagram: – 1 Billion US$ For A Company that does not make Money!
» ‎ Kachwanya

Unbelievable Cool 1 Billion US$ for a company that doesn’t make money yet and has not shown any plan for doing so in the near future. Facebook has acquired Instagram for $1 billion. No joke, Instagram was valued at 500million US$ a few weeks ago, meaning Mark Zuckerber and Co. paid double the actual price.

So was Facebook scared of Instagram? I think so based on that amount. Clearly Facebook had a real competitor which had hit the right nerve, “photo sharing on mobile”. Facebook on its pure form is a desktop centered company, but the future is about the mobile. The sharing in any form is taking place on mobile phones and hence Facebook could easily be irrelevant in the near future without a clear cut photo sharing mobile platform. And as we seen in many occasion in the tech world , the best way to deal with emerging future focused competitors, is to eat them for lunch.

Now the immediate question is , will Facebook kill Instagram? The same fate which fell the likes of Gowalla, Beluga, Hot Potato, Drop.io, Snaptu, Digital Staircase and others. Marke Zuckerberg says they will keep Instagram:

That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

But for now I don’t think the folks behind Instagram will mind that much about what Facebook want to do with the app. I think they are busy celebrating nonstop. According to the Wired

CEO Systrom owns 40 percent of Instagram, according to a source close to the company, who provided Wired with figures from 2011. That will net Systrom $400 million to take home as a result of the deal. Co-founder Mike Krieger holds about a 10 percent stake, and will net around $100 million. Benchmark Capital, the venture capital firm which led Instagram’s Series A funding round in 2011, has about an 18 percent stake, netting roughly $180 million from the deal. Andreessen Horowitz and Baseline Ventures, two investment firms backing Instagram, each have about a 10 percent stake, netting just under $100 million apiece.

The rest of the company’s 13 full-time employees will each get a portion of a nearly $100 million pool, with specific amounts awarded by how long the employee has worked at Instagram.
April 08, 2012
15:48
Human Capital developemnt vs Tech City, which is which for Kenya?
» ‎ Kachwanya
During the Mobile East Africa Conference 2012 there was a time slot for the app developer contest sponsored by InMobi and BlackBerry. There were five developers who pitched their Apps to a judging panel(MWEA2012 Audience), who had the very difficult task of picking a winner.

A brief overview of the five applications:
1. Verified 100%: an app that allows users to verify education certificates and title deeds to ensure authenticity.
2. Hewa: an online mobile music marketing and distribution platform for Kenyan local artists and record labels.
3. Eat Out Kenya: a contemporary restaurant guide focused on Kenya.
4. mPayer: a cash and mobile money payment management app
5. eLimu: an interactive, engaging and fun app for children in the Kenyan Primary School eduction system to learn and revise for exams.
At the end eLimu emerged the winner of the contest.

Nivi Mukherjee, the Founder of eLimu

The founder Nivi Mukherjee says “eLimu hopes to make a significant and positive long term impact on the Kenyan youth by improving their: test scores, cognitive thinking skills, social/environmental consciousness and IT literacy.”

Part of the prize that eLimu was awarded is $1500 worth of advertising on the InMobi network. Moses Kemibaro, Africa Sales Director for InMobi says “we hope this prize will assist in growing the eLimu app, and as a result furthering education in Kenya”.

I was among the people who voted for eLimu but we had a heated debate before and after the voting with people on my table. We had all agreed that eLimu will win the contest even before voting took place because of the simple reason of being an Education app. And it has to be said that it was not because it was the well pitched app nor was it the best technically designed app. But because it is one of the apps that touch on what Kenya as a country needs most at the moment to move forward.

Human Capital development vs Tech City

eLimu app goes in the heart of everything the country needs in terms of human capital development. And the debate we had on my table was about which is which at this moment, between the Human Capital training and the tech city infrastructure? Should the money and the effort being used to build a tech city be used for the human capital training instead? Much like egg and hen debate on which came first.

Konza City is a brilliant idea, which should be replicated everywhere in Kenya. All Kenyan towns or cities should be planned but the Government selling it as Tech City is a bit misplaced. The Silicon valley where everyone around here seems to be obsessed with happened by accident and not through Government planning. Already we have Ngong Road developing as a tech lane in Kenya. If anyone is dreaming of having a version of Silicon Valley in Kenya then we already have a baby like Silicon Valley in the name of Ngong Road. The Government should now move in and ensure the road network around the area is great. At the moment moving along Ngong Road whether through personal car or public vehicle is a nightmare. The Government should move in and expand Ngong Road to make doing business around there easier and smoother.

Konza City vision is amazing when you listen to Dr. Ndemo or Prof. Kiamba but ignoring Nairobi then thinking that Konza city will make all the difference is highly misguided. Good life at Konza City will attract all sorts of people, and with no time it will be another congested city.

Yeah yeah I hear you, the voices who talk about Kenyans thinking big, but thinking big when you can not do simple basic things is a pipe dream.

All in all I like Konza City Idea, but I only think that it is an idea which should be pursued by the Ministry of Planning and Development, while the people in technology should concentrate on human capital development. The Konza idea should go beyond one City and should involve all the existing cities and towns across the country. Making one city a paradise surrounded by filthy congested towns or cities is not going to help anything.
April 04, 2012
8:30
Safaricom 42Mbps data speed , What is in HSPA+ network?
» ‎ Kachwanya
Saaricom will next week launch HSPA+ network giving the subscribers a speed of 42 Mbps. Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said initial roll-out will covers Data Belt within the Central Business District (CBD), Kileleshwa, Kilimani and Westlands. The Data Belt forms an area which has high Internet usage.

HSPA+ is a mainstream mobile technology and is quickly expanding. According to GSA A total of 241 operators have committed to HSPA+ network deployments Worldwide, representing an increase of over 62% in the past year. HSPA+ networks are being deployed in 106 countries, 39 countries more than a year ago. 187 HSPA+ systems have been commercially launched in 96 countries, confirming that over 41% of HSPA operators have introduced HSPA+ on their networks.

Safaricom has been using Huawei Modem and if that continues then expect the following details on the new modem:
- DC-HSPA+ downlink up to 42 Mbps, uplink up to 5.76 Mbps
- Quad-band Dual-Cell HSPA+ 850/900/1900/2100 MHz
- Quad-band EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
- MicroSD Card Slot (up to 32 GB)
Ok, that is ideal world or text book speed, what should Kenyans expect on their modems after the launch? If you are within the so called data Belt then expect some high speed but not close to what I have described above. I will do the speed test once the modems are available in the market after the next week’s launch.

Meanwhile it is time for Safaricom to increase the speed of the unlimited internet speed from 512 Kbps to something meaningful
April 03, 2012
8:07
Samsung Galaxy Note Experience- Awesome Business Phone
» ‎ Kachwanya

In the last one month or so I have been using Samsung Galaxy Note..Yes the one that you can’t tell whether it is a phone or a tablet.. I call it phoblet while others call it phablet. ..take your pick . When it was Launched, I did talk about its specifications here and I am going to avoid the same here as much as possible. Here is why I love Galaxy Note:

The real screen… Ok , size in general is an issue with this phone and coming to that in a sec. The 5.3″ display is the largest screen size with smartphone portability which allows you to see everything and do practically what is possible withing the realm of smartphones and tablets. I think we are going to see many phone manufacturers coming with more like this in the near future. Until then Galaxy Note is the king…

Size Matters here Talking about the size, it is the one aspect that most people have issue with..some of my friends called it Samsung tray which should be used on the restaurant for serving….shame on them. Well, their thinking is based on the whole aspect of using a phone to call, and the fact that it looks cumbersome to hold next to your ear when calling or receiving a call. Kenyans are complex people, and the number of jokes both good and bad I have got over the phone size are just too many. But you know what, even the size of the phone is not that bad. The high resolution of the Galaxy Note is a big plus and all the heavy applications like the browser, email, calendar, messaging, and maps are all loaded with much more information. Yes, don’t forget you can watch movies at their full quality and play HD games.

Powerful Performance The performance is my favorite point of this phone. When Samsung made Galaxy S2, it stood out against all including the mighty latest iPhone. But here comes a phone/tablet which can easily tell S2 to step aside…mmmh not Kenyan Political drama style! The capability of 1.4GHz dual core processor as good as it get on the phone at the moment. The ease at which you can use things like Google map to locate a place is just awesome. And wouldn’t believe it, on how exact and accurate the phone is on location tracing.

Mobile and WiFi Internet Connection HSPA+ 21Mbps perfect connection on Safaricom network and there is indication that it will be great when Kenya finally move to 4G LTE. The web browsing experience is quite fast both on mobile data and via WiFi. By the way, I managed to power the whole of Etourism East Africa Conference…ok, let me say for like ten people .
@kachwanya Boss, gimme password to ‘Kachwanya’ wifi.

— Murage Gichobi (@Juuchini) March 29, 2012

Free capturing and creation

Here is something special for the Kenyan artists- the S pen.The ability to freely capture and create ideas anywhere and everywhere. The S Pen is combined with the full touch screen to create a best-in-class mobile input experience. Great but I have to warn you that you have to be very good at this. Check below the sample art work of Samsung lady at Juction Mall Premium shop

With the S Pen, you can easily sketch drawings or write notes with increased accuracy and ease. Also, the S Pen functionality is deeply integrated into the GALAXY Note’s native applications to provide a richer interactive experience.

Taking Notes

For those used to carrying notebooks for the business meetings, you don’t need them with Galaxy Note. With galaxy Note..Sit back, take the S pen and start writing, awesome.

Pictures

Here are some of the pics taken from the Galaxy Note camera….tell me what you think?

At the Launch of Intel Ultrabook

Aitec Team with one Lucky winner of iPad during Aitec Conference in Nairobi

Nivi Mukherjee, the Founder of eLimu during MWEA2012

Video

Again, here is one sample video taken and edited by Galaxy Note, during the mLab Wireless Wednesday.

Samsung Kies

Kies is a free feature of the Samsung Galaxy Note and S2 which allows the users to send data back and forth without the use of USB. Perfect way to connect the Note to any browser-equipped device on the same Wi-Fi network, with a web interface providing access to your media, contacts, messages, calls, and bookmarks.

Battery

Most smartphone batteris suck..Ok.. Note lasts multiple days if kept mostly idling, but strenuous activity limits it to just a few hours. I normally gets around 6 hours when fully charged and under constant use

Price

Ksh.70k from the Fonexpress

Conclusion

Samsung Galaxy Note is a great business phone..and I approve this message. Awesome, buy it if you can.
March 30, 2012
19:24
Airtel launches mobile services in Rwanda
» ‎ Kachwanya

Bharti Airtel today launched its operation in Rwanda. With that, Airtel now covers 17 African countries. Airtel is ready to invest over USD 100 million in its operations over the next three years.

Mr. Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) & Joint MD, Bharti Airtel said:

“We are delighted to launch our operations and bring Airtel to the people of Rwanda. We believe that Rwanda is an extremely promising market and this launch further strengthens our footprint in eastern Africa. It will be our endeavour to bring world-class and affordable services to our customers in Rwanda and add value to the economy. We would like to thank the Rwandan government for giving us this opportunity, and we are committed to contributing to their aim of bridging the digital divide in the country.”

Rwanda is among the fastest growing telecom markets in Africa and, according to the National Statistics Institute of Rwanda, mobile penetration in the country was at 38.4 per cent as of July 2011. Airtel was awarded the license by the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA) last year to operate 2G and 3G GSM mobile services.
17:00
MamaMikes is Looking for Social Media Expert/Guru -Job opportunity
» ‎ Kachwanya
You call yourself Social Media Guru, expert or wehatever? Here is your chance.. MamaMikes is looking for a person to help them with Social Media.On their own words:
We are looking for a dynamic person who has a strong passion for social media

We are looking for someone:
1. Who knows how to connect the dots between social media and the business bottom line
2. Who loves photography and design
3. Who can creatively write for retail, focusing on our offers
4. Who can create short videos for youtube
5. Works well with freelancers
6. Knows how to measure their impact using web metrics and business goals
Responsibilities:
1. Maintain a consistent look and feel throughout all our social media outlets
2. Create social media content in line with our promotional plans
3. Oversee freelancers: video makers & photographers
4. Keep current with emerging web technologies through relevant blogs, listservs, and events
5. Write a minimum of 2-3 blog posts per day for posting as guest posts on our site and other websites.
6. Tweet often and socialize on facebook regularly.
7. Develop relationships with key target bloggers, website owners and journalists
Required Skills:
1. Exceptional communication and organizational skills
2. Good knowledge of HTML and experience with social media tools, specifically: twitter, facebook, wordpress, pinterest, youtube and posterous
3. Basic Adobe Photoshop skills (preferred)
4. Passionate about blogging and writing
5. Friendly and conversational
6. Technologically savvy
7. Team player
In addition the skills you will need are:
1. Knowledge on SEO
2. Business sense on budgets and setting targets
3. Experience in running competitions, giveaways, promotions and events is a bonus but not essential
4. The right candidate will have a passion for all things digital and have an active digital life through different social media platforms.
5. Experience or demonstrate knowledge working in at least one or more of the following areas:
1. Social Media (video platforms, social networks, blogs or community management)
2. SEO (can demonstrate content-driven strategies to promote client websites)
1. A basic understanding of SEO and the role of link building in website promotion will also be beneficial
2. Fast Learner
Are you interested? Send us an email to : work@mamamikes.com introducing yourself and telling us why you are the right person for Job. Your application should include:
1. Demonstrate your success in social media
2. writing sample
3. Attach your C.V
March 29, 2012
11:07
The annual E-Tourism East Africa conference Opens in Nairobi
» ‎ Kachwanya

E-Tourism East Africa conference opens in Nairobi this morning. This is the third international online tourism conference for East Africa. This year’s conference brought together some of the world’s leading experts on online tourism including Trip Advisor, Expedia and Facebook developers. Visa, KCB and the Intercontinental Hotel Nairobi are the lead sponsors for the conference.

The two day conference will focus strongly on the use of social media to leverage online bookings. With online tourism sales set to double to over US $300 billion by the end of the year and Facebook to have one billion users in 2012, it is critical that tourism players in the sector make better use of the internet and social media to market and manage their destinations and businesses

More Updates coming up or follow @kachwanya twitter
March 28, 2012
19:54
Innovation and Enterprise- Three Days to Submit your Killer Apps for Pivot East
» ‎ Kachwanya
There are only three days remaining before the deadline for apps submission for the Pivot East. Pivot East which started as Pivot 25 will be held on 5th and 6th June 2012. The shortlisted apps will do their pitching during the 2 days conference. It is an mlab East Africa initiative to bring focus on the Mobile developer and entrepreneur community in East Africa.

This year’s theme is Innovation and Enterprise.The following fireside chats will be used to build on the theme;
- Opportunities of entrepreneurship in the East Africa Region
- Financing challenges in the regional technological scene
- Role of corporates in stimulating innovation
- Social impact and the Social enterprise
- Role of innovation in driving the regional economy
There are a couple of ways to get involved with PivotEast;
Applications Close on 31st of March… m:lab East Africa is a consortium of four organizations aiming to be a leader in identifying, nurturing and helping to build sustainable enterprises in the knowledge economy.
March 27, 2012
13:41
The Zune Marketplace.
» ‎ Kachwanya

If you have anything to say on any subject, mail us mail@kachwanya.com

Review of the Zune Market

This is getting a bit more scbteujive, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of neighbors will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users.

Speaking of users, the Zune Social is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.

from Senthil
March 21, 2012
2:30
#StopCCk- CCK Spending 36.2 million Taxpayers Money To Read Private Emails
» ‎ Kachwanya

The telecommunications industry regulator, CCK, is in a mission, an evil mission to read Kenyans emails.  According to the story on Businessdaily, CCK, is setting up a system to spy on private emails, citing a rise in cyber security threats since the landing of fiber cables in Kenya three years ago. It is shocking that CCK is out to spend 36.2 million to install Internet traffic monitoring equipment known as the Network Early Warning System (NEWS) to spy on people’s emails.

How is spying on people’s emails going to deal with hacking or other cyber threats in Kenya is beyond my pay grade. Ok, last year there were  at least 2000 local Web sites hacked or defaced, including government websites, so people at CCK think that the best people to go after are innocent Kenyan cyber users! SMH

First, I would like to know where the Kenyan networks and ISPs stand on this, after the reported letters from CCK demanding their co-operation in the installation of the so called NEWS.  According to Lawyer Paul Muite quoted on BusinessDaily, any spying on people’s mails that is not backed by a specific court order will be in violation of Articles 31 and 34 of the Constitution

I am sure the CCK has lawyers who clearly understand that all laws are subject to the Constitution and that any law such as the Kenya Information and Communication Act that contradicts the Constitution is null and void to the extent of that contradiction,

This is unwarranted interference with the citizens’ right to freely communicate which is highly irregular as it amounts to spying on people without having to account for their actions

It is obvious that the Government needs to invest on its own infrastructure to secure Government websites before wasting money going after the wrong people. The Cyber security threats facing Kenya can not be sorted out by going after innocent Kenyans. Actually majority of the hacking cases so far have been carried out by people from outside Kenya. When 103 Government websites were hacked over night, it was done by an Indonesian hacker known as direxer. The hacker is part of an online Indonesian security forum known as Forum Code Security and he took down the websites following tutorials from the forum. He did not communicate with any Kenyan before doing it, so  how is spying on Kenyans emails going to help Government catch direxer?

When Kenyan Prime Bank, Development Bank and CFC Stanbic Bank Websites were hacked, they were hacked by somebody from Rwanda. Majority of Kenyans knew of the hacking after it was posted in one of the Rwandan’s blogs, so how is Spying on Kenyans emails going to help Government catch the Rwandese hacker?

Unfortunately, ITU will fund 30 per cent of the cost of installing the monitoring system…. for heaven sake ,ITU should stop helping the CCK in their evil mission of intruding on People’s privacy

And by the way, what is next after the emails, will the Government go snooping on people’s DMs on Twitter in the name of Cyber Security?

STOPCCK
March 20, 2012
14:53
EacDirectory- Interview with Team Leader Marketing at EacDirectory.co.ke
» ‎ Kachwanya

Is there a problem with Kenic Management structure? Wanjiku’s take on the problem is here . That a side, I had a chat with one of the managers of the leading .Ke domains Registrar EacDirectory.co.ke . Victor Onyango is the Team leader Marketing at EAcDirectory.co.ke:

Kachwanya: Let start with the story of your Company. What is the story behind eacdirectory.co.ke/?

Victor : EACdirectory is an IT firm founded in 2005, 100% Kenyan . Originally started as an Online business directory organization. Model did not work. We had to change tact fast.

We are Google apps Authorized resellers, Kenic accredited registrars, and also a partner with Google on the Getting business online initiative – (kbo.co.ke)

Kachwanya : I understand that EacDirectory is the biggest Registrar of local .Ke domains names, can you give us the numbers or the stats?

Victor : Indeed, EACdirectory is the largest .ke registrar. We have over 10 % market share in the .ke domain name space
We have been the registrar of the month for 4 months consecutively

Kachwanya: What are some of the competitive advantages that EacDirectory has over the other Registrars?

Victor : -Customer focus
-Full automation of dns, whois . This gives the customers FULL control over nameserver changes, changes on personal contacts, emails e,t,c
-FULL automation for payment using MPESA paybill. Make payment, key in the Transaction code and domain registered instantly. A favourite for Kenyans
-Full automation for payment using Credit Card/Debit. A favourite for the international clients

Kachwanya: In Your understanding why do Kenyans shy away from registering .co.ke or other local domain extensions?

Victor : When anybody wants a domain name, they want it NOW. They are passionate about their chosen name and cannot give room for someone taking it.
-Time it takes to register domains. Some registrars take more that 24 hours
-Fear of someone grabbing their name of choise.
-No control over their domains (WHOIS, nameserver e.t.c)

Kachwanya: Is the Government doing enough to promote .co.ke domains?

Victor: It should be a policy that all government agencies / institutions / parastatals / local authorities should have a .ke domain. Many government institutions /agencies still use TLD (.com, .org etc) e.g. www.magicagicalkenya.com

- The official travel and tourism guide by the Kenya Tourist Board www.kws.org

-Kenya Wildlife Service www.kenyamuseumsociety.org

- Kenya Museum Society

Members of parliament and even presidential candidates use .com

Kachwanya: What is the future of the co.ke with light of new changes made by ICCAN , based on the fact that there are going to be other extensions like .Africa .Nike, may be .Safaricom ?

Victor : The money and technical expertise required to secure the extension and deploy it does not make it attractive for most organizations.

Kachwanya: What development, event, or new understanding since EacDirectory started that has had the most impact on the original plan? How has the plan changed in response?

Victor : The development of MPESA has made business easier than ever. This has enabled us to FULLY automate our process and hence reduce our prices. We have consistently charged prices that match Kenic’s rate

Kachwanya: According to you what would be the key tech trends in Kenya, and Africa in general in the next five to ten years?

Victor-Adoption of Mobile payment as the de-facto payment system
-Conversion of websites into Mobile ready ones
1:50
Sevenseas Technologies has won KSh.464 million to Upgrade a Zambian company Systems
» ‎ Kachwanya

Sevenseas Technologies has won a Sh464.8 million tender to upgrade ICT systems for the Zesco. Zesco is a Zambian power supply company. The upgrade will include among others billing system, data center storage and ERP.

Sevenseas Technologies will work in partnership with Compsource International, a Zambian IT firm. Congrats to Sevenseas Technologies
1:31
Apple Announced the sales of 3 million new iPads in 3 days
» ‎ Kachwanya
Apple has announced that it has sold three million new iPads since the launch on Friday, March 16.

“The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold?the strongest iPad launch yet,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can’t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday”.

The new iPad features
- Retina display
- A5X chip with quad-core graphics
- a 5 megapixel camera
- 1080p HD video
- 10 hour battery life
- iPad Wi-Fi + 4G and supports 4G LTE networks
March 19, 2012
17:29
Kenic Starts a month Long .Ke domains promotion
» ‎ Kachwanya
Kenic announced a month long promotion of dot co.ke domain extensions starting today. Kenic will be selling the .ke domains to registrars at Kes 1000/= . From there expects them to sell the domains to the public between Ksh.1400 to Ksh.2000

According to Kenic the following Registrars have been committed to sell .co.ke, or.ke, .ne.ke domains at a cost of not more than Kes. 1500/= exclusive of VAT.
9:36
From a Football Match To an Ethno-Political Argument on Twitter
» ‎ Kachwanya

It would be unfortunate for a man who lives in a thatched house to play a game with fire. Just as it would be unfortunate for people in our country Kenya to throw around utterances without thinking of the aftermath. We have barely recovered from 2007/08 PEV. Maybe we underestimate the ripple effect of a tribal tweet. Maybe we have forgotten that somewhere in an open field, people are still sleeping under tattered tents because they lost all they had.

Yesterday, a football match at the Nyayo Stadium turned chaotic. A few minutes into twitter reports, it had already morphed into a tribal slur, and people were already hauling around venomous attacks on the timeline. This I assume they did sitting comfortably in their houses, probably watching the Wedding Show or something fancier. Just carelessly tweeting away. It is just a tweet after all. In these tweets were the tribal undertones, the stereotypes that are our cancer. Two of them read like this:

“@Danmwaks: Circumcision brings maturity in a man..don’t ask me why if ur arnd Nyayo Stadia:”

”@fellytyzo: If this is happening in football…what if @raila_odinga looses the elections?”

People had already made their deductions and formed their prejudices. One of them tried to explain that they said that because a bigger number of supporters for that particular football team comes from a particular tribe. What this person forgot was that it is never about what you say, or why you say it but what the message does once it hits the ground. There is never a time to explain what you meant when people subscribe to your intolerant ideologies, then grab pangas to slash some sense into ‘the others’.

It is a shame to see this kind of hate on social media where you expect people to be a bit more educated, and to be the ambassadors who are preaching peace to the rest of the country. If you are old enough to open and register a twitter account under your name, it means that you are old enough to understand the politics of this country, and how tribal it gets, and how these tribal inclinations are our disease. Make no mistake; the people who are going to tear this country apart if we are not careful are not the uneducated idlers sitting in the market. They are not the ones the politicians are going to hand pangas to go and fight. It is going to be you, the elite! Your tweet and your blog is where these politicians will camp first. But why do we even bring the politicians to this story. We are the ones responsible for our utterances.

We talk about a twitter revolution in Kenya every day, political activism and what not. But how can this happen when we are so careless with the things we say, and when a football match easily becomes an ethno-political argument on twitter? How can this happen when we are not even able to agree to disagree, and when a twitter discussion easily turns into a twitter mob? This culture of ‘the otherness’ stamped on our minds, the ‘us-then-them’, will it ever stop? Your tweet is your weapon. The hate in this tweet could easily slide off the screen into real life. It is always that serious!

Or are we lusting for another 2007/2008?

Maybe we should just go back to sharing funny tweets and copy pasting quotes from famous authors. We are safer that way.
March 18, 2012
4:32
Mista Mixtapes- Android App for the best of Dj Music Mixes
» ‎ Kachwanya

Mista Mixtapes is an Andoid app that allows the users to get the best of the best Dj Music Mixes going back over a decade. The app offers users different flavours and genres of music from a few Kenyan djs. It should be noted that the developer of the app has the express permission from the featured DJs to use their mixes.

Simple and easy, by one click and you get access to over a hundred Dj mixtapes . Name it, the app has a little bit of everything, from Soul/ New jack to Reggae, Dance, Hip Hop and RnB, Afican, Carribean, Dancehall, Old school to New School. All mixes are at least 45 minutes long.

Mixtapes have been grouped in different genres of music to make it easy to locate what users want to listen to. With the 3G connection, be assured to get the best steaming results.

The app was created from the popularity of the website naientertainment.com, where it all began.
March 16, 2012
22:55
Samsung Unveiled Premium Brand Shop at the Junction Mall
» ‎ Kachwanya

Samsung Electronics East Africa On Friday unveiled its first premium brand shop in Kenya situated at the Junction Mall Supermarket, Ngong Road.

The most striking aspect of the shop is the product experience zone. On show are the Samsung Smart phones, Tablets, Note, Visual Display, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Digital Appliances, Mobile Communications, laptops and other accessories -

Mr Manoj Changarampat, Business Leader, SEEA said:

This Samsung brand shop is offering our customers the full Samsung premium experience across our smart phones category and digital appliances. The shop, which will be a showcase in the latest technology, will be manned by fully trained and experienced Samsung staff that will able to take our customers through the whole Samsung experience

Mr Manoj also noted that Samsung had expanded its customer care centers in Kenya, namely 5 in Nairobi, 1 in Kisumu, 1 in Eldoret and 1 in Mombasa, all geared to meet the needs of consumers.
2:42
Nokia Announced the Immediate Availability of Nokia Asha range in Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

Nokia yesterday announced the immediate availability of the Nokia Asha range in Kenya. The Nokia Asha 200, Nokia Asha 201, Nokia Asha 302 and Nokia Asha 303. The launch Event marked what Nokia refers to as The QWERTY Movement, with Nokia Asha 200, 201 and 302 having QWERTY keypad while Nokia Asha 303 has QWERTY and touch experience

According to Angela Githuthu, Marketing Activation Manager, Nokia East Africa:

Consumers are calling out for the right mix of style and substance. We want to deliver phones that look great, but also give the richest possible experience in calling, texting or browsing the Web. We believe that ‘QWERTY’ is not just a feature, but a movement of expression that opens up communications in different communities, and that is why we are calling on consumers to join ‘The QWERTY Movement.’”

Nokia Web Browser and Apps

Nokia Asha mobile phones make use of the new Nokia Web browser for Series 40 with up to 90% data compression. The compression means smaller downloads, lower data charges, pages that load fast.

Nokia has incorporated locally relevant apps available with the Asha range of devices including Matatu Mania, Around Me, Nation and the Kenyan Flag 3D Theme.

Estimated retail pricing including local taxes:

Nokia Asha 200: KES 7,300

Nokia Asha 201: KES 7,300

Nokia Asha 302: KES 10,000

Nokia Asha 303: KES13, 730
2:20
Nokia Asha 303 -Capacitive touch screen
» ‎ Kachwanya

The Nokia Asha 303 has 2.6” capacitive touch screen with a high quality QWERTY keypad. The device comes with 1 GHz processor, 3G and WLAN.

Social networks, email and instant messaging are easily accessible from the home screen. Angry Birds Lite comes preinstalled on the phone.

The estimated retail price of the Nokia Asha 303 is KES 13,730.
2:07
Nokia Asha 302- Nokia’s first Series 40 phone to support Mail for Exchange
» ‎ Kachwanya

The Nokia Asha 302 is Nokia’s first Series 40 phone to support Mail for Exchange, giving people access to their emails, contacts and calendar on an exchange server.

The Nokia Asha 302 is powered by a 1-GHz processor and supports 3.5G data speeds. It has 3.2 MP camera, enhanced stereo FM radio, a music player as well as up to 32 GB memory card support.

The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 302 is KES 10,000.
1:47
Nokia Asha 201- supports push email
» ‎ Kachwanya

Nokia Asha 201 is a single SIM version of the Nokia Asha 200. The Nokia Asha 201 has great music features including a high performing loudspeaker, enhanced stereo FM radio and ringtone tuning.

It supports up to 32 GB memory cards and battery life of 52 hours of music playback time. The Nokia Asha 201 supports push email as well as the messaging app WhatsApp.

The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 201 is KES 7,300.
1:32
Nokia Asha 200
» ‎ Kachwanya

The Nokia Asha 200 is a colourful QWERTY dual SIM phone with easy swap functionality – enabling people to easily change their second SIM without switching the device off.

The Nokia Asha 200 features integrated social networking, email and IM, and support for a 32GB memory card. The battery life is more than 52-hours of music playback time. 2 Megapixel camera with 4x zoom.

The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 200 is KES 7,300.
March 15, 2012
13:34
244 Years Later, No More Encyclopedia Britannica In Print: Are These The Last Days?
» ‎ Kachwanya

Encyclopedia Britannica might have lost its relevance years ago to many, but when they officially announced that after 244 years of print they were going to stop, it came as a major blow to the print industry. This announcement that was made yesterday must have given the print guys serious jitters. Are we finally to bow down to the pressure of technology, following in the steps of this icon? It is a harsh reality that’s thundering on our doors. Even our relationships are falling obsolete in this age of the Internet. Are these the signs of the end of an era? The last days of print? This comes amidst impeding debate on whether the web will finally sweep off this fixture we have on print. Libraries and publishers are going to bed with sore eyes because of this invasion, while others are spending time defending print in articles they are publishing on the very same medium they are fighting.

To many, even to Britannica themselves, printing the encyclopedia should have stopped ages ago, given that only a small percentage of their returns came from print version. But it is the outdatedness of Britannica that made it Britannica Encyclopedia. For many people, it was never about buying the publication for the information in it, but to put on a shelf, kind of like a collector of history. Which beats logic yes, but that is how it is.

It is hard to believe that in this age a college student would go through pages looking for information when they can hit Google and find it within seconds, regardless of how unreliable their internet sources might be. So we agree, in this age, books are really not winning this battle. Information that is being put out changes every day. By the time a book goes to print, War breaks out in Syria. By the time they have hit the bookshelves, a twitter revolution takes place in Egypt. It will take around four months to put all this in a book, or if it is in the Britannica, give it four years. But Britannica comes in as the physical archive, a collection for posterity.

However, as much as this is progress, we are still going to be prisoners of nostalgia for long. We are currently still captives of nostalgia for the Vinyl record. We are still mourning the fact that Oxford decided ‘cassette’ was not a word 21^st Century enough. Our affection for the physical book is undeniable. We like something we can touch. Something we can feel like we own. It is natural selection that has made us relate to physical things this way. We might still argue that even in its formlessness, the internet is still going to give us all this information- faster and in a more organized way. But what will happen when the internet turns its back on us. Where will we find the history documented? Our memories? Can we trust these memories? What about the posterity?

We can rarely keep electronic media. We move on to the next interesting thing as soon as we find a new one. We cannot keep this media except for certain documents. As soon as we close web pages, we forget all about them and all we have read goes to our memory banks. Hard disks crash, books burn as well, but are we going to be ok doing away with print? Shouldn’t we be dependent on both medias? When your Vitz breaks down, you would want to know that your wheelbarrow is somewhere on the standby. Or that your legs are still functioning. Printable version is still valuable to us as an option.

And while books and magazines might survive the Internet, will the Britannica manage to solely depend on the online publication? Most print versions are opting to build their products across all platforms, building an online presence as they continue to publish. For a couple of years now, even though not free, the encyclopedia has been available online. Still, Wikipedia beats it, given that it is a free, but maybe not as reliable. Will Britannica’s archaic logistic survive the organization in the internet?

May the print version of the Britannica Encyclopedia Rest in Peace.
6:57
BAKE announces The BAKE Blog Awards.
» ‎ Kachwanya

The Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) announced The BAKE Blog Awards. In a bid to reward exceptional bloggers and to also promote content creation in Kenya, BAKE will be organizing bloggers awards this year under the moniker ‘BAKE Blog Awards‘.

The idea is to recognize bloggers that post consistently, have great and useful content, and are creative and innovative. The nomination is open to all Kenyan bloggers. There will be a submission phase starting March 15th, today, where blogs will be nominated in 14 categories as below:

1. Best Technology Blog

Blogs that cover tech matters like social media, internet usage, consumer electronics, mobile phones, tech startups etc.

2. Best Photography Blog

Blogs that showcase original photos or have photography related content.

3. Best Creative Writing Blog

Blogs that feature original creative writing in the form of poetry, fiction and essays.

4. Best Business Blog

Blogs that feature business content like business development, entrepreneurship, startups, stocks, investments, banking etc

5. Best Food Blog

Blogs that focus on food, cooking tips, restaurants, wines and recipes

6. Best Agriculture Blog

Blogs that focus on Farming, marketing of agricultural produce, and environmental impact of climate change

7. Best Fashion Blog

Blogs that highlight current trends in Fashion as well as personal grooming, fashion shows

8. Best Politics Blog

Blogs that cover political issues in Kenya.

9. Best New Blog

Outstanding Blogs that were set up from March 24th 2011 onwards.

10. Best Corporate Blog

Blogs run by companies.

11. Best General Blog

Blogs that feature content that is exceptional but doesn’t don’t fit into any of the other 13 categories.

12. Best Sports Blog

Blogs that feature sports content.

13. Tweep of the Year – Individual

The best individual twitter user in Kenya.

14. Tweep of the Year – Corporate

The best corporate twitter user in Kenya.

The submission phase will run until March 29th and then judges will choose their best 5 in each category. The judges will be drawn from the media and the blogging community.

After the judges pick their best 5 in each category, they will then be voted for by the public from April 10th. The winners in each category will be announced at a gala event on April 28th.

To submit visit http://bloggers.or.ke/submit-blogs/, or email awards@bloggers.or.ke.
6:11
Tusqee Systems new SchoolSMS 2.0- Better and easier to use
» ‎ Kachwanya

Around a week agoTusqee Systems Ltd released a new version of SchoolSMS. SchoolSMS is a management information system that integrates the Internet and SMS technology to relay academic information for each student, to the parents.Tusqee Systems Ltd are in a mission with SchoolSMS 2.0 to improve the way Kenyan schools engage parents, teachers and other stakeholders

SchoolSMS 2.0 has a complete interface makeover and on top of that, there are a number of new features:

Sending exam results via SMS

SchoolSMS 2.0 now allows schools to send the exam results of their students to parents via SMS. The schools simply need to put the results in an Excel file.

Sending fee balance records

Schools are now able to send the fee balances to Parents.

In-app purchases

SchoolSMS 2.0 has made it easier for schools to purchase SMS credits. In a one-click process schools can top-up their account with as little as 750 credits. The payments can be done via MPESA or Airtel money through iPay.

Better delivery message reporting

Redone feature which now allows schools to precisely tell who among their total message recipients received the message and who have not.

Automatic update

SchoolSMS 2.0 allows schools to automatically downloads and install new software updates.

Contacts importation from Microsoft Excel files

If you have your contacts organised in an Excel file, SchoolSMS can help you add them to your address book.
Tusqee Systems Ltd is an education technology company based in Nairobi Kenya. Follow them on twitter @tusqee
March 14, 2012
16:38
Orange Kenya launches Ksh 10 Daily bundled offer
» ‎ Kachwanya

Orange has unveiled a new, 24 hour, daily bundled offering targeting the youth. The new offer dubbed Holla will run from March 15, 2012 for the next 45 days.

Rechargeable via a daily KSh 10 subscription, the bundled offer will allows Orange Mobile pre paid customers make free on net calls to other Orange Mobile users, free on net SMSs, 20 free off net SMSs and 10 MB data daily. It will also enable free and complete access to social networking site – Facebook.

Orange currently has 2.4 million mobile subscribers according the company press release statement.

To subscribe to the tariff press *10#
13:37
Orange Kenya, Is Anybody Out There?
» ‎ Kachwanya

You think you have had a bad customer service experience, until you find yourself on the receiving end of what Orange Kenya calls customer service. In today’s corporate environment where everyone is trying all avenues to rub their customers’ egos, it is unfortunate that Orange Kenya chooses to ignore the customers’ queries. Or as it seems, someone brought their beer to work, and is sleeping on the keyboard as demonstrated by this tweet sent out from their twitter account on Friday evening.

PPzpPsPPPPzpzpPPzpzpzpzgpPzpPzpPZpPzp

— Orange Kenya (@OrangeKenya) March 9, 2012

Yesterday, there was a massive data outage, and while other providers were busy apologizing to their customers, orange Kenya went on with life as usual, responding hours later to only a selective number of tweets. Orange Kenya fails to understand the vulnerability of their products in the face of such atrocious customer service. More than once, when you call their customer service, you end up in the unfortunate hands of an agent who knows very little about the company’s product. Sometimes you end up providing the agent with more information than they provide you!

One wonders how hard is it for Orange Kenya to have a person committed to engaging their customers on social media. How hard is it to tweet ‘we are experiencing this and this problem, kindly bear with us.” You do not let a tweet or an inquiry linger for hours. Social media is a fast moving tool. Companies are turning to it to give their customers fast response, and to track minute by minute growth of their products. Look at Safaricom for example. They even wish their customers a goodnight. Their twitter page has grown, assimilating into the group and becoming one of the twitteratis, sometimes even shedding off the seriousness. It doesn’t matter how much of a bashing they get for their awful services, they find a way to hold it by the horns and turn it around.

If you look at Orange Kenya’s timeline on twitter, more of what goes on there is embracing praise and shunning the complains from dissatisfied customers. The questions are ignored, and the praise is retweeted. You are not on twitter for people to visit your page and think, wow!, people are saying good things about you- you must have really good products. You are first there to respond to your customers queries immediately because the process of calling through the customer service desk is a nightmare. Just as the praise is seen by thousands of people, a customer’s consistent complain will be seen by as many people. Worse still if this customer keeps at it because of lack of response.

Even the ever failing Kenya Power has a stronger customer-service culture on twitter. It really does not matter how badly off your products are. How about you work at retaining the few that you have?

As someone once said, customers are just asking one simple question – Is anybody out there?
8:53
AccessKenya Group announced KSh109 million after tax profit for the 2011 financial year
» ‎ Kachwanya

AccessKenya Group today announced KSh109 million after tax profit for the 2011 financial year, up from KSh8M loss reported in 2010. The CEO Jonathan Somen attributed the improved performance to significantly increased internet subscriptions and a highly robust network that has spurred customer growth owing to its reliability in the market.

According to Mr.Somen:

Our corporate leased lines grew from 3,900 to 4,700 compared to the same period in 2010. This is an indication that we remained steadfast in our core business – corporate data and Internet solutions. More and more customers have realized that we have the best network and are signing up for service.

Our total revenues increased by 2% last year despite the continued fall in Average Revenue per User experienced across the industry. Due to the migration onto our own networks, we have seen our gross margins rise to 79% up from 67% in 2010

The AccessKenya reported that their Internet revenue grew by 7% in the first half of 2011 and by 6% in the second half of 2011.
March 13, 2012
9:04
Galaxy S II Android 4.0 update out starting today in Korea and Some European Countries
» ‎ Kachwanya

Finally Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is now available to Galaxy S II users in South Korea via Kies. Samsung has announced the first details of availablity in Korea and some European countries like Poland, Sweden, and Hungary starting today
1:30
Twitter has acquired Posterous
» ‎ Kachwanya

Twitter has acquired the increasingly popular blogging platform Posterous. Sanchin Agarwal broke the news on Posterous blog:

“The opportunities in front of Twitter are exciting, and we couldn’t be happier about bringing our team’s expertise to a product that reaches hundreds of millions of users around the globe. Plus, the people at Twitter are genuinely nice folks, who share our vision for making sharing simplier”
March 12, 2012
21:43
A terrorist Attack is Violence, #SomeontellKenyans to Apologize to CNN
» ‎ Kachwanya

Why are Kenyans so angry at CNN? . After a grenade attack on Nairobi Machakos bus station killed at least six people and wounded 63 ,CNN was on the ground putting the pieces together. They reported the breaking news of the blast with the studio background banner written Violence in Kenya. Many Kenyans had one interpretation of that and in their minds Kenya was being portrayed as a country full of violence. To be exact, people fighting and killing each other like it happened back in 2008.

A Kenyangirl captured what made Kenyans mad:

What incensed Kenyans is not so much the content of the clip, but the image flashed to the world in their headlining banner (Courtesy@Switcheeks)

Even Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka weighed in:

It is extremely irresponsible for CNN to paint Kenya as a nation in chaos while we are victims of terror. #SomeoneTellCNN

— Kalonzo Musyoka (@skmusyoka) March 11, 2012

On Twitter #SomeoneTellCNN hashtag was the the top worldwide trending hashtag for many hours. One Kenyan even called CNN offices to tell them how pissed off he was and recorded the conversation here

At the end, the CNN Kenyan reporter Mr. David McKenzie was forced Apologize on twitter:

We are having offending video pulled. Again, apologies for the mistake. It was changed on air, but not online. Now it is.

— David McKenzie (@McKenzieCNN) March 11, 2012

Unfortunately, my fellow Kenyans..I have to tell you that you were wrong and you should apologize to CNN. Before I go to specifics, I have to admit that even me, I was caught on the mix and retweeted a number of tweets which made sense to me.

Ok, let’s start again what did CNN do wrong? They used the word Violence in Kenya.. Now you don’t expect CNN reporting to the international audience to use specific location names like Machakos Country Bus . So I don’t see the problem in them using the word Kenya which definitely would make sense to most of their viewers. Next, is the word Violence….mmmmmh it is the problem .

I checked all the available definitions of the word violence and I don’t see where CNN was wrong in the context they used it. In the end, I think all of you Kenyans were wrong and it is time to admit that the reactions were due to emotions and historical issues and not specifically what happened on Saturday. What happened in Nairobi was true violence and unless we are trying to change the definition of the word violence..#Apologize

Here are definitions of the word from different sources:

According to dictionary.com

1. swift and intense force: the violence of a storm.

2. rough or injurious physical force, action, or treatment: to die by violence.
3. an unjust or unwarranted exertion of force or power, asagainst rights or laws: to take over a government by violence. 4. a violent act or proceeding. 5. rough or immoderate vehemence, as of feeling or language:the violence of his hatred.

Look at the second definition critically.. read it again..clearly people who died, was because of violence..!!!!

Next: according to merriam-webster.com

1 a : exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse (as in warfare effecting illegal entry into a house) b : an instance of violent treatment or procedure

2 : injury by or as if by distortion, infringement, or profanation: outrage 3 a : intense, turbulent, or furious and often destructive action or force <the violence of the storm> b : vehement feeling or expression : fervor; also : an instance of such action or feelingc : a clashing or jarring quality : discordance

4: undue alteration (as of wording or sense in editing a text)

Again from those definitions what happened at the Machakos Bus Station was Violence…

Move to Wikipedia…Violence borrowed from WHO:

Violence is defined by the World Health Organization as the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.^[2] This definition associates intentionality with the committing of the act itself, irrespective of the outcome it produces.

Globally, violence takes the lives of more than 1.5 million people annually: just over 50% due to suicide, some 35% due to homicide, and just over 12% as a direct result of war or some other form of conflict. For each single death due to violence, there are dozens of hospitalizations, hundreds of emergency department visits, and thousands of doctors’ appointments.^[3] Furthermore, violence often has life-long consequences for victims’ physical and mental health and social functioning and can slow economic and social development.

Yeah what happened at the Machakos Country Bus was Violence by all accounts…

Oooh and those who think that they should have looked at it in the line of it being terrorists action on the innocent Kenyans, here is the definition of Terrorism:

1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce,especially for political purposes. 2.the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism orterrorization. 3. a terroristic method of governing or of resisting agovernment.

And there you have it, you should start a TT for Kenyans to apologize to CNN.
10:29
Rumors: CNN to buy Mashable for Ksh.16.5 billion ($200 million)
» ‎ Kachwanya

Rumors from SXSW …CNN to buy Mashable for more than $200 million dollars and the announcement is expected tomorrow Tuesday. According to in.reuters.com :

Reuters blogger Felix Salmon has learned from an unnamed source that CNN will buy social media website Mashable for more than $200 million dollars. The source says an announcement is expected for Tuesday. (March 12, 2012)

Ok that indicated date is for Monday not Tuesday…..
March 09, 2012
22:43
What a tweet by Orange Kenya?
» ‎ Kachwanya

If you are going to drink on Friday and you are managing twitter company account, just don’t do it on the job. Now look at what orange Kenya tweeted at 10.15 pm…

PPzpPsPPPPzpzpPPzpzpzpzgpPzpPzpPZpPzp

— Orange Kenya (@OrangeKenya) March 9, 2012

Whoever is managing the account did not stop there…Others like…PAP and YAP..not making sense. But #FF to @orangekenya
11:43
There are over 181 million blogs around the world and Women make up the majority of bloggers
» ‎ Kachwanya
By the end of 2011, NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey company, tracked over 181 million blogs around the world, up from 36 million in 2006

According to blog.nielsen.com 6.7 million people publish blogs on blogging websites, and another 12 million write blogs using their social networks.
- Women make up the majority of bloggers, and half of bloggers are aged 18-34
- Bloggers are well-educated: 7 out of 10 bloggers have gone to college, a majority of whom are graduates
- About 1 in 3 bloggers are Moms, and 52 percent of bloggers are parents with kids under 18 years-old in their household
- Bloggers are active across social media: they’re twice as likely to post/comment on consumer-generated video sites like YouTube, and nearly three times more likely to post in Message Boards/Forums within the last month
8:39
Samsung Galaxy SII to get ICS update on 10th March 2012
» ‎ Kachwanya

Excited, Samsung Galaxy SII and hopefully Samsung Galaxy Note to get Android Ice Cream Sandwich tomorrow 10th March. According to Techweez ,Samsung has announced that from March 10th you should start seeing notifications on your devices. Good stuff and read more here
2:40
The Reality about Tech in Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

Finally Kenyans are starting to ask the right questions about our ICT sector and its future. In the last few days there have been a number of debates online with a number issues coming up. At the end some of the big shots in Kenyan tech decided that it would be better if we have physical debate beyond 140 characters on twitter. Mbugua Njihia raised a number of crucial questions a head of the beyond 140 characters debate at Nailab on Friday here. But as I have seen with many Kenyans techpreneurs, we try to sugar coat what we are saying instead of calling it as it is. The first question Mbugua asked is “are we building an ecosystem the wrong side up?”

The first is that we might be getting the approach wrong and building an ecosystem the wrong side up. This can be aptly summed up by – “If you want to build a great soccer team, invest in great players, not a massive stadium”. The argument here is that we already have what it takes in-terms of infrastructure to take IT related services to the next level and the real need lies in empowering techpreneurs to create and scale innovative services – growth capital that will see them increase “exportable value”. There is also the concern of capital flight when inviting the global players in, who will create jobs but ultimately the revenue is repatriated.

Ok, it is simple, Mbugua is talking about Konza City, what is now popularly known as African Silicon Savannah. Straight to Mbugua’s point, do we need Konza city to be innovative? To be more exact does Konza city represent hype or hope, borrowing from a question presented by my Friend Mark Kaigwa during the recently concluded Mobile East Africa Conference. To go back to Mbugua’s Soccer analogy When Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea Football Club, he started by recruiting and developing new players. He went straight to buying great players like Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Solomon Kalou , Obi Mikel. With such talents on offer Chelsea started to attract many fans, as far as places like Kenya, where you now find die hard Chelsea fans like Archer Mishale.. Almost 10 years later is when Chelsea club is discussing the issue of building a bigger stadium like the ones in Old Trafford or Emirates. Clearly we can see that Human capital comes first.

Konza city is based on the idea that well planned tech place, will attract tech talents and IT investors. Multinational Companies will rush in to build or rent office places in the city. And with that they will hire more people and the techies will do wonders with their new innovations. But to me that is more of assumption than the reality. To go back to the beginning for some rhetorical question why do we in the first place think we can replicate Silicon Valley in Kenya to the extent of calling it Silicon bla bla? According to my basic understanding, Kenya is slowly emerging as tech hub in Africa with many now considering it the place to be. Even better than South Africa. With that, somebody thought that the best way to move forward is act, borrow and even name our little tech space Silicon. Ok, my concern is not so much about the name but the issue of thinking that when you build a city you will attract all sorts of tech people including the investors. The assumption is wrong and here is the some of my reasons:

First, the basic thinking stems from the success of iHub.. Yes iHub attract all sorts of people, creative, hard core coders, researchers, publishers, investors, mentors, pretenders, spectators ..you name it. But what does iHub provide to these people exactly and what would happen if you close iHub today? To me the most important factor about iHub success is Erik Hersman’s factor. Erik is a multi-talented person with interesting background. Developers trust him because he used to be a developer and his work at Ushahidi stands out. Publishers (bloggers/media) trust him because he owns successful blog with international reach www.whiteafrican.com. Investors trust his judgement because he has involved in one of the most successful piece of technology to ever come from Africa Ushahidi. Pretenders trust that one day he would make them successful too. While spectators want to go away and tell their friends that they know and hangout with Erik Hersman. At the end what people get from iHub is the validation. If you are developer and you work from iHub, people trust that you will do the work, if you are researcher and you work from iHub people trust what you say, if you are blogger and you break any news from iHub, people believe the news. The reality of this, is shown by the fact that the other innovation places like Nailab, iLabafrica have not achieved the same level of success so far. Actually Nailab and iHub started almost at the same time…….!

Secondly, some of the most outstanding applications build in the last 2 years or so have been done outside the iHub but the owners of such converge at the iHub to showcase their ideas. So many events take place at iHub to showcase what has been done elsewhere. From that you can see that some of the most innovative and creative people do their stuff somewhere else and come to iHub to show how good they are.

Thirdly, Konza might end up being a rich man’s city with the so called young developers unable to afford the cost of living around the place. With the kind of buildings, and organization expected at the place, I don’t think newly graduated young Kenyans with no jobs will be able to afford the cost of living there unless another layer of vibandas come up around there…. Without their brains, I don’t see much of the envisioned innovation coming out of the place.

The Capacity nonsense and Contracts

The second point raised by Mbugua is the issue of who has capacity to do what. The Government is not willing to give their tenders to the local Companies pointing at the lack of Capacity.

Government says we lack local capacity, yet the contracted international firms simply set up shop and poach from the very same companies that “lack the capacity”, all the while the costs for training that the local companies foot “go to waste”. High attrition rates, high costs of talent development mean growth stagnates.

It’s not about infrastructure and partnerships but more about creating local IP that has exportable value. The contracting of international companies does two things, the first is revenue repatriation and the second is it leaves us as net consumers of technology.

I can not put it better than that. Sometime it is beyond the basic understanding…the same Government which go out there trying to market Kenya as among the best Business Outsourcing places can not trust the same local companies with their tenders….smh..ok I have to stop there..sleep time, before I head to Nailab for the great debate
March 07, 2012
9:03
Huawei sold over 170,000 IDeos phones in Kenya by the end of 2011
» ‎ Kachwanya

Huawei sold over 170,000 IDeos phones in Kenya by the end of 2011. According to Huawei Kenya, Ideos claimed 45% of Kenyan Smartphone market share at the beginning of the year.

Ideos Retails in Kenya at Ksh.8000
8:47
Huawei Appoints Mobicom to be the official distributor of Huawei’s newest product in the Market
» ‎ Kachwanya
Huawei and Mobicom Kenya Ltd today announced a partnership deal for the distribution of Huawei devices. The partnership will allow Huawei to leverage Mobicom’s enhanced distribution network that matches the intense area of products and services the company has to offer in the Kenyan market.

Wind Li, the incumbent CEO of Huawei in Kenya said:

We’re excited with this partnership with Mobicom which is the first in a series of strategic efforts to create additional touch points for our consumers to engage and interact with our emerging brands all over Kenya. The Huawei G3512 demonstrates our ongoing commitment to innovating high quality devices that utilize the latest hardware and software technologies.

HUAWEI G3512 is a GSM dual-band handset. It supports GSM 900/1800 or 850/1900MHz

Other features include
- VGA camera,
- Optional dual-SIM
- A 650mAh capacity battery promising 180minutes talk time.
Samuel Maina- Mobicom General Manager had this to say:

We are thrilled to collaborate with Huawei, a global leader in the telecommunication industry, with a huge potential in the local market. Our company has over the years been recognized for its outstanding achievements in sales performance, excellence in customer service, acquisition and retention; with this background, there’s a massive opportunity for both companies.
March 06, 2012
18:56
On Land and On Twitter is Kenyan Defense Forces Winning the war?
» ‎ Kachwanya

The Kenyan Army fight against Al Shabaab has been carried out on Land, Sea, Air and Online. Traditionally we are used to the first three, but the online war which some regard as propaganda is a new concept to Kenyans. But Major Chirchir has done a great job on twitter informing and updating the public about the current state of affairs on the front line.

@EvelynWambui @@Gicherugicheru We playing our game beyond the border and happy to report we in good shape..#KDF

— Major E. Chirchir (@MajorEChirchir) February 29, 2012

Now it is seems that the efforts of the Kenyan Army are bearing fruits. Turkish Airlines, made the maiden flight to Mogadishu airport on Tuesday. It is the first long-distance international commercial airliner in some two decades to fly to Somalia.

Colonel Mohamed Adan, Somali police commander said:

We are very happy to see this country gradually gaining international attention, a step on the road towards development

So are things getting better?
15:47
Airtel Kenya Network Is Down . No Making or Receiving Calls
» ‎ Kachwanya

Airtel Kenya network is down. From yesterday the Airtel Kenya subscribers have not been able to make or receive calls. For those who depend entirely on Airtel Kenya, it has been a big letdown.

The words from Airtel Kenya from Morning hours have been that they have identified the current Network problem and they are working to resolve it as soon as possible… Meanwhile…
7:42
African Development Bank Group Launched Open Data for Africa platform
» ‎ Kachwanya

Good stuff.. African Development Bank Group (AfDB), in partnership with Knoema, launched an Open Data for Africa platform aimed at significantly increasing access to quality data necessary for managing and monitoring development results in African countries, including the MDGs. The platform is also meant to be a knowledge center for collecting, accessing, and sharing data and data-driven content.

Open Data for Africa provides users with access to a wide range of development data on Africa managed by the AfDB and other regional and international partners. It also facilitates the collection, analysis, and sharing of data on emerging and crucial development topics such as food security, gender equality, and climate change.
The initiative forms part of the worldwide effort to strengthen statistical capacity, articulated in the Busan Action Plan for Statistics (BAPS), which was endorsed by the international community at the High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, which took place in Busan, Korea, from November 28 to December 1, 2011.
Source blog.opendataforafrica.org
7:18
Android Market raised maximum app size to 4GB
» ‎ Kachwanya

From 50MB to 4GB. Android applications have been limited to a maximum size of 50MB. Yesterday Google raised the Android app size limit to 4GB. The size of your APK file will still be limited to 50MB . This is good news for the developers, each app can have two expansion files, each one up to 2GB, in whatever format the developer choose. Google through Android Market will host the files to save the developers the hassle and cost of hosting the files.

For the Users, they will be able to see the total size of the app and all of the downloads before they install/purchase.

Source android-developers.blogspot.com :
6:33
Nokia Store Stats and Numbers
» ‎ Kachwanya
Here is the summary of a YouTube video by Nokia Developer showing the benefits to developers using Nokia platforms and Nokia Store as a distribution channel according to allaboutsymbian.com.
- Nokia Store is available in more than 190 markets
- Nokia Store is available in 32 languages
- There are more than 13 million downloads a day from Nokia Store
- 80% of Nokia Store traffic converts to a download (i.e. each time Nokia Store used, 80% of the time a user downloads at least one app)
- Operator billing in available with more than 134 operators, in 48 different markets (the biggest network of any app store)
- If given a choice, between operator billing and a credit card, 88% of users opt for operator billing
- 65% of revenue [for games] was generated in the top 100 grossing games
- Offscr makes five time more money from selling ads in its application, than from selling premium apps (i.e. paid apps)
March 05, 2012
14:18
One on One with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop in Nairobi Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

On the 9^thFebruary 2012, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was in town in a tour which he described as meant to meet the Kenyans developers and the team working in Kenya. So we had a round table session where he addressed a number of issues. The following are some of what he had to say:

On the Strategy for Kenya and Africa

We have made conscious decision to increase our investments in Kenya and Eastern Africa region by 25% from what we did last year. Those investments are in the form of investing in the Nokia research center based in Nairobi, investing in helping developers build applications and investing in the marketing activities to ensure our success in the region.

In terms of our products, In October we introduced the Lumia Products and more recently we introduced Asha line of products and we are very excited about the progress we are making around those. For example through the technology we have included in the Asha family of phones people are able to take advantage of the data services that are available through the modern networks. On Asha we have include the Nokia Browser, which is a special browser that design not only to allow people to surf the internet but to use small amount of data traffic so that we can keep the cost for the consumers much lower. Another example is that we provide the location services so that people can do mapping using these devices. The network operators would be happy with these because we are trying to encourage their consumers to take advantage of data networks. You will continue to see new products and new families of product specifically targeted at the lower price end.

On the direction of feature phones in line with the acquisition of Smarterphone company.

Smarterphone has some very talented people and some very interesting intellectual property and technology that we think will be helpful as we continue to invest in our lower tie of our platforms. We have not been specific on what we are using or what we are doing but you will see that on the new products as we announce them. It is a good example on how we are making new and fresh investments on the lower tie of our portfolio. It is clearly a strategic investment for us, as we believe that even at the lowest price point people have great aspirations for the technology they want and we want to help them get there.

On the Smartphone’s strategy and the Merger with Microsoft

Our Smartphone strategy was presented last year February and at the heart of that strategy is that we have to fight in the war of ecosystems. It used to be that you would compete in one device against another device but things have changed. We believe that there are a couple of competitive ecosystems out there and jointly with Microsoft we are building a third ecosystem. I have to describe what an ecosystem is. An Ecosystem is the hardware, the software on the device but also it is all the services on that device. It includes among others the search, the unify communication, the ecommerce, music, gaming and all these things. When you buy a Smartphone you are buying the whole promise. So what we arranged with Microsoft, was an actual situation where we would both contribute resources to the creation of this ecosystem. We are pleased that in just a few months after signing the deal with Microsoft, we introduced our first Windows phone product, the Lumia 800. It is obviously a beautifully designed piece of device and it is getting a lot of attention in the market and winning the awards.

Just as example of how quickly we are moving forward with this strategy, the second week of January we introduced for the first time Nokia Lumia 900. It is a larger screen format device. It got the LTE radio standard. We have designed this initially for United States. It is full 4G device, front facing camera, very large battery, beautiful camera optics. We introduced the Lumia 900 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Los Vegas and our device for Smartphone won the best of show in the US. This is the first time Nokia has ever accomplished that with any device in our history. It is a good example that the Nokia partnership with Microsoft is beginning to work.

Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 900

I think something which is important to consider, as people look at the future devices. It is the case that Windows user interface on Lumia takes advantage of something called live tiles. Each of these tiles present new information. For example I can see that in the last little while 63 people have tweeted about me, and I can see the tweets in real time, or email or whatever the case may be. What Microsoft has also shown is that for the future version of Windows for the Personal Computers and tablets that same experience; same live tiles experience is what is going to be used in the larger devices as well. So when they introduce Windows 8 what you will see via tablet or a full PC, you will see the same experience

Does Nokia 801 exist?

There are rumors everywhere but I can’t announce any particular devices here today. We have a lot lots more still to come and that include in around Symbian, Windows phones, as well as series 40. We are in study pattern of introducing competitive devices, so time will tell.

Why is Nokia keen on Kenyan developers?

First of all, there is pool of talents and expertise here. I met with about 50 developers who have demonstrated already their ability to build applications that serve not only Kenya but to reach around the world. On my first day on the job over a year ago, I had the honor of presenting an award to the best application which we had seen developed recently at that point and it was a young man from Kenya ( John Waibochi of Virtual City). There is also a well coordinated sign of support from the Kenyan Government as well. Where the Government is saying that mobility is something that will help to improve the lives of Kenyans and it needs to be invested in. So they are creating the conditions that are helpful to developers, and to Nokia and to our competitors. The whole mobile industry finds it easy to do good work from here.

The Relationship between Kenya and South Africa

What we recognized as we were looking at the structure of our sales organization is that there a lot of synergies and possibilities for sharing information and best practices between South Africa and Eastern Africa countries. So the way our sales structure is establish is that South Africa and a number of Eastern Africa countries including Kenya are in one complete area. At the same time as we build our local team here recently, there two individuals, local Kenyan people who have moved on top management positions, in the Finance, Control and Logistics. Our previous General Manager for Kenya has taken global role, so he has moved up in the organization as part of the marketing team.

We like Series 40 but Africa is not made for Series 40, so when are we seeing the Windows phones here?

Let me make a general comment that the Lumia product line will be coming to Africa. We are going through a process of doing it in a country by country basis. We have started by South Africa and we will see it spread in the rest of Africa in the coming months and quarters ahead. About the price points, our plan around the Lumia product line is to cover the full range of Smartphone price points with Windows phones. Clearly we have gone up in the price point with Lumia 900 , we have Lumia 710 which is lower price point. (He was speaking before they announced Nokia Lumia 610) . You will continue to see more over time as we expand to the full range of price points. Some of that will take some time because we have engineering work to do. But it is clear that our focus s around the windows phones.
March 04, 2012
16:35
dotAFRICA – AU settled on UniForum SA to administer new dotAFRICA Top Level Domain
» ‎ Kachwanya

Africa Union Commission settled on ZA central registry operator, UniForum SA as the preferred registry operator that will administer the upcoming dotAFRICA Top Level Domain. dotAfrica is set to be a distinctive pan-African identification for regional online operations when it is opened up for registration.

On the 20th June 2011, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), announced its decision to allow applications for generic Top Level Domains – gTLDs. Yeah, now that is what we call opening floodgates for domain name creativity. Probably it would also mark the end of the era of the dot com domination. When they get the dotAFRICA Top Level Domain, it will be possible to have domains such as Kachwanya.africa, Kenya.africa, Nairobi.africa.

source : newtlds.com/new-gtlds.php

dotAfrica will be among the new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) that are likely to be approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in 2013.

There is still time and the Government of Kenya through Kenic can still also apply for the .Kenya Top Level Domain. The other alternative would be to go for what has already been approved in many places like .KE. Either way, .Kenya would be a better way to market brand Kenya around the World

“This is an important step for organizations and individuals interested in acquiring an African online identity, as dotAfrica will give added visibility and identity to operations in the region,” said Neil Dundas, a UniForum SA director.

“The African Union Commission will work with its appointed Registry Operator to establish ways to promote dotAfrica. Specific outcomes will be increased online content generation; the establishment of policies and rules on registrations, intellectual property and dispute resolution; as well as the promotion of ICT use in the region,” said Abulkhirat Esam (AU representative).

“The Internet Community is currently participating in the project through the dotAfrica Steering Committee which was selected by the African Internet community and comprising African Internet experts, country code managers, registrars and others volunteering for a better Internet for Africa. Africa’s new Top Level Domain will be used as a vehicle to promote the development of Africa’s Internet services and ecosystem,” said Mohamed El Bashir, Steering Committee Chair.

The dotAfrica project is sponsored by the African Union with support from Africa Top Level Domain organisation (AfTLD). The appointed Registry Operator will be submitting its application to ICANN prior to the deadline in April this year.
The endorsement follows the evaluation of proposals submitted in December 2011, which attracted local and international registries interested in managing dotAfrica operations.
March 02, 2012

10:52

Kenya ICT Market Key Indicators and Stats according to ICT Board Survey

» ‎ Kachwanya

Kenya ICT Board carried out A survey in the ICT industry in Kenya and here are the key highlights and stats.

The year in consideration is 2010:

Volume of international traffic (mbps)	20,209.56
International internet bandwidth, mbps per 10,000	4.2mbps
Number of Computers per 100 inhabitants	2.4
% of households with a PC	6.3%
Total number of internet subscriptions	4,716,977
Total number of internet users	10,199,836
% of population with internet access	25.9%
Internet subscribers as % of total population	11.5%
Total number of main fixed lines(fixed lines plus fixed wireless)	380,748
Total number of mobile subscriptions	24968,891
Number of .Ke domain names	18,000
% of organizations with a website	90%
% of full time employees who use internet for work at least once a week	52.14%

IT Skills highlights:

IT employement in Kenya, there were 27000 IT professionals in 2010,

IT support people represented the largest portion 27%,

followed by applications systems Analysts and System Engineers

 31% each

Read more here

February 29, 2012
17:05
Mobile has surpassed TV and Radio in terms of time spent in Kenya according to InMobi survey
» ‎ Kachwanya
InMobi, the mobile ad network, has announced the results of its global Mobile Media Consumption Q4 2011 Survey.

Keyhighlights for Kenya include:

1. Mobile has surpassed TV in terms of time spent, with: Mobile web users spending 31% of their media time on mobile, Spending 24% of their media time on TV and Radio respectively

2. Mobile consumers recognise the impact of mobile advertising on purchase behaviour and their willingness to transact over mobile, with
- Over two thirds of mobile users having conducted mCommerce activities (e.g. purchased via their mobile) 64%
- 90% planning to conduct mCommerce activities within the next year
- 59% claiming that mobile advertising has introduced them to something new
Trends :..Some of the most notable findings from the InMobi’s Mobile Media Consumption survey are:

Media Trends in Kenya
- On any given day, mobile web users spend 31% of their media time on mobile, 24% on TV and 24% listening to radio.
- Availability, ease of use, and privacy are the top three driving factors to be on mobile
- Social media, entertainment, and search are the top three mobile media activities among mobile web users. This popularity will continue to grow in the next 12 months
Mobile Advertising and Commerce Trends in Kenya
- Mobile, TV and Newspapers are the most powerful media that influence the purchase decision among mobile users
- 89% of mobile users are just as comfortable with mobile advertising as they are with TV or online advertising
- Advertising on mobile devices has led to mobile gaining tremendous popularity as a viable shopping channel, with: 59% of respondents indicating that mobile ads have introduced them to something new, 35% of respondents indicating that mobile ads saves time and money, 15% of respondents indicating that mobile ads have influenced them to buy via mobile
Naveen Tewari, CEO, InMobi, says of the survey’s findings:

Mobile devices are redefining the media landscape across the world. As we move into 2012, we will continue to see these trends rapidly accelerate as consumers rely ever more heavily on their mobile device. While the opportunities to exploit mobile media remain strong, the stakeholders across the industry will be confronted with ongoing questions and challenges which need to be addressed in order to meet the growing expectations of the customer.

InMobi recruited respondents via its global mobile ad network between September and November, 2011, and used Decision Fuel’s and On Device Research’s mobile web platforms to collect a representative sample, including a full range of Smart-phone & feature phone users. The sample was weighted according to available mobile web demographics and included 20,000 mobile consumers in 18 markets across all continents:
8:54
Escrow systems- offers cost effective Management, Capital and Money Markets solutions
» ‎ Kachwanya
Meet Escrow System where you can get some of the well designed solutions for the capital and financial markets. ..There is a massive increase in popularity of capital markets as a source of wealth creation in Africa. With African residents getting to appreciate how wealth can be generated, especially in terms of long term returns that are based on dividend yield, profit margins based on daily trade that is aggregated on appreciative margins. In this regard, the significant increase of Stock Exchange markets as income generating tool has seen the market grow in size and complexity.

Escrow systems is one Pan-African firm that has come up with various software solution applications to all major Stock Exchange Markets in Africa. Escrow’s Capital Market Solutions are primarily used for clearing and settling securities traded on Stock Exchanges and have an ability to reduce such risks. Escrows next-generation software for capital markets helps financial services organizations such as brokerage, wealth, pension, and asset management firms effectively grow their businesses and optimize performance—from the front- to the back-office.

Escrow Systems has an impressive track record in the region and thus better placed to offer solutions for capital and financial money markets, something that the various stock exchanges across the region should consider especially in terms of costing, training and implementation. With the various East African Stock Exchanges planning to merge, Escrow products would be key in ensuring better services at affordable rates, to both the firms and the end users of their products and services.

Other systems provided by Escrow for SMEs are:
- Products Document Management System (DMS System),
- Cheque management system
- Electronic reconciliation system (e-Recon System)
Escrow Systems has its origins in Zimbabwe, having been started by young Africans to give chance to other African innovators and developers and in the process creating sustainable employment opportunities. The zeal and passion of the founders of the firm has seen it embed serious foot prints on the African continent, with a serious East African presence that makes Kenya its primary focal point of sustainable business, given Kenya’s leading position as a business and economic power house.
7:29
KCSE 2011 Online Results
» ‎ Kachwanya
KCSE 2011 results are to be released today. The online option of checking the National Examination results usually have a problem due to lack of bandwidth capacity. I hope this time round the Government is well prepared for high traffic after what happened during the release of KCPE 2011 results -Use the following options to check the results once it is released:
1. SMS Index Number to 5052 to get 2011 KCSE Results on SMS
2. Click here to check for 2011 KCSE Results Online
3. Another option to the same place
February 28, 2012
16:30
Kenyan Mobile App AroundMe wins Ksh 8 million in Nokia Create for Millions Challenge
» ‎ Kachwanya

Kenyan Mobile AroundMe developed by James Mwai has won a total of 75000 euros(Ksh.8million) in the Nokia Create for Millions Awards. AroundMe topped ”On the Know” category and as a result got the top prize of 50,000 euros. AroundMe further received 25000 for being the Best Series 40 Location Based app according to the judges. But the honor was shared by HeatMap by David Bello from Colombia.

AroundMe is a mobile app which allows you to easily and quickly find important businesses and services in your surrounding or any other location with your Nokia phone

On top of the cash prize AroundMe will be promoted globally in various Nokia-owned channels including: online, social media, newsletters and more.

Congrats to James Mwai. More details here
11:34
#Kenya28Feb-10 Reasons why you should Just Sing The National Anthem and Stop Complaining
» ‎ Kachwanya
Today at 1 pm which is like 1 hour and 30 minutes away as of the time of posting this, Kenyans will stand united and sing all three verse of our beautiful and powerful National Anthem. Just like last year the debate continues as to the exact impact or the benefits of singing National Anthem. Personally I am not sure of the impact but I know how great our National Anthem is. So here are the reasons why I think people should just sing the National Anthem today and complain tomorrow.
1. Help you to remember our National Anthem, I know some Kenyans can’t sing the National Anthem past the first verse and this a chance to refresh your memory
2. Kenya National Anthem is simply the most beautiful song I know.. you should just be proud to sing it any time
3. Every day I see people continue to borrow inspirational quotes and a few of them remember that our National Anthem has some of the most laden quotes of all time
4. Promote Brand Kenya. Our beloved country ….KENYA…
5. Chance to debate/discuss whether it is important to just sing national anthem. I guess those who are complaining will have something better than singing the National Anthem next year. People should realize that starting a great debate is not an easy task and organizers of Feb28 should be proud of what they are doing. it is not perfect but at least it is a starting point and people criticizing the event can build from it or come up with alternative.
6. It is a prayer..for those of you who do not go to church, this a chance to pray to the Mighty God for his blessing to the country and people
7. Help you remember that we are one Nation, regardless of the one’s color skin, tribe, religion, class and the level of stupidity
8. Remind Kenyans that most of our leaders are not delivering on their mandate..therefore , voting them out in the next General Elections is a must
9. Chance to hepa Office early and combine that with your normal Lunch hour…and you can tell your employer that you are going to pray for Kenya
10. Chance to identify people who can’t sing..singing is an art and some people think it is easy…Those who criticize musicians should take note..today is your chance to show the world how good you are at singing
February 27, 2012
18:58
Nokia 808 – 41 MegaPixels Camera Phone
» ‎ Kachwanya

Dead or not? Nokia is back to doing crazy things according one big Kenyan Nokia fan one Bobby Mwirigi. Yeah, Nokia has announced Nokia 808 Purview phone with a camera resolution of 41 Megapixels. Nuff said. read more here
16:53
Nokia Announced Lumia 610 – The cheapest Lumia Smartphone so far
» ‎ Kachwanya
Nokia announced the cheapest Windows phone so far at Mobile World Congress today. The Lumia low-end model: the Lumia 610 will retails at 189 euros. (around KES.21,000).

Nokia Lumia 610 provides easy access to social networks, web browsing, music, games, navigation and tens of thousands of apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace. It comes in four colors (blue, silver, magenta and black) and is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2012.

The device has Internal memory of 8 GB and RAM of 256 MB. It comes with Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, Nokia Transport ,Nokia Music and many more.

Features
- Dimensions-Size: 119 x 62 x 12 mm, Weight (with battery): 131.5 g
- Internal memory: of 8 GB( (No microSD slot) and a RAM of 256 MB
- Resolution: – WVGA 800 x 480 pixels
- Data network: – HSDPA CAT 7, 7.2 Mbps;
-HSUPA CAT 6, 5.76 MbpsWLAN IEEE802.11 b/g/n
- Camera – 5 MP , Auto Focus, LED flash,
- Video -Camera video resolution: 1280 x 720 pixels
- Battery Talk time (maximum): -GSM up to 6.5 h, WCDMA up to 7.5 h
- Battery Standby time (maximum): GSM up to 580 h, WCDMA up to 530 h
February 26, 2012
20:38
Inuka- Entrepreneurship platform wins Startup Weekend Nairobi Challenge
» ‎ Kachwanya
Inuka – Entrepreneurship platform has won the Startup Weekend Nairobi. The Inuka platform is geared towards bringing the Entrepreneurs together. With Vision 2030 being talked about everyday, the judges felt that the entrepreneurs would be key to helping Kenya achieve the vision2030.

The other notable winners are:
- AfriLabs- won the category of the Most innovative and original idea
- Imedics -won the best pitch demo category
- While iBamba online music distributor got a special mention
Originally 13 teams out of the 15 were shortlisted.
1. Cloud Governor – A matatu (public transit) management and low enforcement application- Team on 9
2. Inuka – Entrepreneurship platform with a team of 20
3. Pesa Rahisi – An online /mobile payment money transfer system that is cross platform. A team of 6
4. Tusemezane – A 2 way SMS platform for election communication with a team of 9
5. Mobilab – A platform to verify documents that include certificates, references, land title deeds etc with a team of 4
6. Christian Dating site with a difference - Dating site for christians with a team of 2
7. Masomo Moja - Making education affordable and available for teachers, students and parents with a team of 7
8. Jiamulie – Traffic prevention solution with features of crime reporting and information sourcng. Team, 2
9. Team 96/ Patahao – Easy way to build/buy/rent houses according to your needs with a team of 6
10. Success solutions – Advertisement space with a team of 7
11. Paramedic – Patent status data capture and sharing tool with a team of 12
12. iBambe – Facebook/mobile web for sharing playlists. Team, 5
13. Darasani – Tutor support system
February 24, 2012
18:30
Airtel Launched 3G Broadband network which shows only around their Offices
» ‎ Kachwanya

3G and Airtel….this could be false alarm. Anyway Airtel today finally launched 3G Broadband network in Nairobi. But as a matter of precaution I took time to check it out as I made my rounds around Nairobi. Starting from far sides of Westlands to Town Center to Ngong Road. My phone which is 3G enabled unfortunately did not pick the 3G network in between.

The people who attended the launch confirmed that the network shows at Crown Plaza and Mombasa Road. Basically next to Airtel offices.

@CIOEastAfrica@kachwanya live at Crowned Plaza and Mombasa road

Prices

There is a daily package for Ksh 150 and weekly package for Ksh 750. And there is a free offer of 50MB data to start you off. Send START to 544 and you will get 50 MB for 7 days.
February 23, 2012
13:42
Ruto’s Party United Republican Party website hacked
» ‎ Kachwanya

Ruto’s Party URP website hacked, probably even before being launched. And the hacker has left interesting message on the site:

Strong Security for your website:

YOU SHOULD BAFF YOUR SECURITY BEFORE LAUNCHING YOUR WEBSITE!!! AM A PATRIOTIC KENYAN, ALL YOUR DATA IS SAFE BUT YOUR WEB IS HACKED!!!********************************SECURITY HANDLER – “AMOR” ………………..rsofta@gmail.com *************************************

Now now now……
10:50
Samsung has sold 20 million Galaxy SII in 10 months
» ‎ Kachwanya

Samsung has sold 20 million Galaxy S2 in 10 months. Galaxy s2 was launched last year in April. source samsungtomorrow
8:50
Mxit to make a big come back in Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

They came, they partnered with Safaricom and they failed. That was back in May 2010 when Mxit was presented to Kenyans through Safaricom. Although the deal caused a lot of shivers among the Kenyan developers at the time, it never took off in any way. But things have changed and now Mxit is planning a big come back in Kenya.

Mxit is a South African mobile social networking service. Mxit has over 50 million registered users, making it the biggest African Mobile Social networking service. It is important to note that out of 50 million users, there are 12,500,000 active users. Since mobile phones are the primary point of access, the service currently supports over 3500 different mobile devices.

The Mxit top Management, who are currently attending Mobile Web East Africa in Nairobi announced that they are planning to make the platform open source in the coming days. The main point is to have developers on Board, a trick which has been used successfully by giant social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
8:35
Kenya ICT Board to Start Startups Incubation Center in Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

Kenya ICT Board to start a national incubation center in Kenya by mid this year. That was announced by the CEO of ICT Board Mr. Paul Kukubo on the first day of Mobile Web East Africa event currently going on in Nairobi.

According to Kukubo, the center will target 25 brilliant startups, with the incubation period being one year. That means that every year, the center will admit 25 startups.

It is still not clear what kind of strings the Government will attach on their support of the startups. The big question at the moment is whether the Government would want to own some shares on those startups.
February 22, 2012
17:06
Mobile Planet Announced Group Buying Website at Mobile Web East Africa
» ‎ Kachwanya
Mobile Planet announced a new Group Buying service Sahizi.com at the Mobile Web East Africa. Group buying, also known as collective buying, offers products and services at significantly reduced prices on the condition that a minimum number of buyers would make the purchase. In Kenya, we have seen a number Group buying services like Rupu, Zetu deals, Mocality Daily Deals and it will be interesting to know how Mobile Planet intend to tackle Kenyan market. To participate one needs to join the groups on the website by use of email address.

LG P970 Mobile Phone from The Junction Mall is listed on the site. Generally, some of deals you can get from group buying websites are restaurant meals, spas, extreme sports, beauty treatments, flying lessons, cinema tickets, entertainment ,cakes, flowers and many more. The group buying sites make their money by splitting the discounted price with the business promoting the offer.

Here are the two tips on Sahizi website:
- To get the best prices invite your friends and relatives to join the group you are in. The more the buyers the better the best price!
- If the product you are interested in is not listed, you may suggest it by clicking the ‘Can’t find what you’re looking for’ link at the bottom.
Since 2001, Mobile Planet has been creating, hosting and managing mobile value added services.
11:51
Safaricom to Give Developers Access to MPESA by June 2012
» ‎ Kachwanya

Safaricom announced at the Mobile Web East Africa 2012 that they will give Kenyan Developers access to Mpesa. On the sideline Mr.Nzioka Waita, Safaricom Director of Corporate Affairs confirmed that the access to Mpesa will be given by June 2012. The access will not be API per se but they will find away to give the developers Access to Mpesa through their yet to be launched Mobile Apps store.
10:59
Mobile Web East Africa 2012 Opens in Nairobi Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

Mobile Web East Africa has started in a high note. The event is organized by All Amber from UK and hosted by ICT Board at Southern Sun Mayfair, Nairobi. John Karanja the Founder and CEO opened the session. He listed the number of challenges facing the tech industry at the moment. Here a few of them:

1. Data affordability. You can say that since the cable landed in Kenya, the prices have come down by almost 200% percent but that is still not enough. According John Karanja, the data prices are still too high for many Kenyan citizens. For rapid growth in the sector, the stakeholders need to reduce the prices to the level that would bring more Kenyans online. The developers can only be successful if their projects or startups can gain critical mass of users.

2. Lack of experience on the Business Management on the side of the young developers and entrepreneurs. Many of them come out of school and go through to starting their businesses but nobody prepare them for the tasks ahead. There should be more mentorship programs to help the young Kenyans trying to make it.

3. Lack of clear distribution channels for content. Kenya have many content developers but no clear way to distribute them on the mobile devices. Talking of mobile devices, according to Micheal Weitzel of Blackberry there were 616 million mobile subscribers in Africa at the end of September 2011 . Now you see why the developers and publishers need their content to be distributed through the mobile phones

More are coming up here…meanwhile you can follow @Kachwanya on twitter for quick updates #MWEA2012
February 21, 2012
21:26
Orange Kenya wants calling rates doubled
» ‎ Kachwanya

Orange Kenya want CCK to double the calling rates .Faced with loss making prospects in the foreseeable future, Orange Kenya wants CCK to raise termination rates to Ksh.4.42 a minute to help it recover costs. If they get their way, then people should expect the calling rates to go back to around Ksh.8.

According to the CEO Mickael Ghossein

It is good to protect the consumer; it is also good to protect the investors
20:09
Startup Weekend at Nailab Nairobi- It is going to be Legendary
» ‎ Kachwanya
How long does it take you to develop viable business idea? One year? One month? One week? Here comes Startup Weekend, where within 54 hours people will be able to come up with viable Startup Businesses. Starting on 24th February to 26th February at Nailab Nairobi Kenya. The event is expected to bring together programmers, developers, marketers, designers, startup enthusiasts and anyone with a great business idea. They will be required to form groups and develop viable business ideas in 54 hours.

The weekend will begin with open mic pitches on Friday. The attendees will bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their team. Over Saturday and Sunday, teams focus on customer development, validating their ideas, practicing LEAN Startup Methodologies and building a minimal viable product. On Sunday evening teams demo their prototypes and receive valuable feedback from a panel of experts. The winners of the challenge should expect some exciting prizes.

Six participants and volunteers from Copenhagen, Denmark will be working together with the teams in Nairobi to see their ideas come to fruition. Locally, well known and successful entrepreneurs are expected to attend the event.

So why should you be there?
- Learning experience: Startup Weekends are all about learning. Expect to learn a new skill, a new programming or business language and more so, a new way of thinking.
- A chance to network: Networking, networking and networking.. Yes, Startup Weekend has worked hard to recruit high-quality, driven entrepreneurs for the event– Just don’t miss
- Learn how to launch a business:The goal of the weekend are for people to go from idea to launch in 54 hours. Very Interesting.
- Get access to valuable start-up resources: By participating in Startup Weekend, you are given instant access to great products and tools. There will be something for everyone
The participatory fee for the event is KES 2,050, and the tickets can be accessed from www.nairobi.startupweekend.org . For those attending the event finale on 26^th February only, the entrance fee will be KES 500 and the tickets can be accessed on the same website.
The 3-day event will be held at the Nailab, which is on the 4^th floor of Bishop Magua Center, Ngong Road, opposite Uchumi Hyper, with the break-out sessions being held at The GrowthHub, located at Cape Office Park, off Ring Road Kilimani opposite the Gracehouse Resort. Startup Weekend is a non profit Organization based in San Francisco, US, and has so far organized startup events in about35 countries and 120 cities.
February 19, 2012
13:27
Kenyan Prime Bank, Development Bank and CFC Stanbic Bank Websites have been Hacked by Rwandan hacker
» ‎ Kachwanya

Three Banks in Kenya have been hacked by Rwandan Hacker. According to Pastebin.com the hacked banks are Prime Bank Limited, Development Bank of Kenya Ltd and CfC Stanbic Bank Kenya. The following are the back end details posted on Postebin.com

—————————–Prime Bank Limited————————
Target:http://primebank-kenya.com/
Date:15/02/2012 18:59:57
DB Detection:MySQL >=5 (Auto Detected)
Method:GET
Type:Integer (Auto Detected)
Data Base:prime_new
Table Name
vacancy
userlevels
userlevelpermissions
update_login
update_level
table_list
subscribers
subpages
newsletter
news
mainpages
login_users
login_levels
location
level_association
financials
financial_graph
faqs
event_gallery
downloads
customer_requests
customer_request_types
currx
curr
city
branches
branch_map
bankingtxt
bankingsub
banking
accounts
account_download
Table:    update_login
Total Rows:    1
username    password
user           user123

———Development Bank of Kenya Ltd——————————–
Target: http://www.devbank.com/
Date: 14/02/2012 18:43:52
DB Detection: MySQL >=5 (Auto Detected)
Method:GET
Type:Integer (Auto Detected)
Data Base:devbank_com
Table Name
vacancies
users
usergroup
topic
subscribers
submenu
sublevelone
subcat
rates
publication
newsletter
news
menu
jobs
faq
doc
company
category
Table:    users
Total Rows:    2
username    psswd
admin             1bafana$
developmentb    development

——————-CfC Stanbic Bank Kenya—————————
Target: http://www.cfcstanbicbank.mobi/
Host IP:196.35.44.117
Web Server:Apache/2.2.3 (CentOS)
DB Server:MySQL
Current DB: stdbankafrica
Data Bases:     information_schema
cobrands
competitions
cricinfo
cricket
dnad_2007
financial_planning
financialplanning
itsinyou
mysql
performance_schema
pro20
sbachiever
sbafcon
sbdepositgrowth
sbfuneral
sbglobal
sbhomeloans
sbjazz
sbphat
sbsoccer
sbspatial
sbstudent
sbvaf
standard_bank_south_africa
stdbankafrica
stdbankcontentmanager
test
Table Name    Columns
tbl_transactionalaccountcontent
tbl_transactionalaccount
tbl_savingsinvestmentcontent
tbl_savingsinvestment
tbl_salesmanager
tbl_lendingcontent
tbl_lending
tbl_leads
tbl_insurancecontent
tbl_insurance
tbl_domainname
tbl_domain
tbl_country
tbl_content
tbl_competitioncontent
tbl_competition
tbl_branch
tbl_alphabet

Looking at the three websites, I realized one interesting fact on the Prime bank website. On the website there is a button at the bottom indicating that the site is Safe and Hackers tested. With that I thought may be the hacking news might not be true for the Prime Bank . So I tried to access the backend using the exposed login details. Oooh my Browser gave me a stun warning:

This Connection is Untrusted

                You have asked Firefox to connect

securely to altar16.supremepanel16.com:2083, but we can’t confirm that your connection is secure.

          Normally, when you try to connect securely,

sites will present trusted identification to prove that you are

going to the right place. However, this site’s identity can’t be verified.

            If you usually connect to

this site without problems, this error could mean that someone is

trying to impersonate the site, and you shouldn’t continue.

Yes, I got scared but I did not stop there. On the login window, I entered the user name and password. That did not go through but on the same windows there is a place to reset the password if you know the user name. I enter the user name and yes that went through.

Password Reset

Resetting password for password

A confirmation email has been sent to the email address on file. To continue, enter the confirmation code in the email, or click the link in the email.

Very risky……but the reset details are sent to the admin email address. By the way, Development Bank website was done by Dotsavvy.
February 18, 2012
9:45
Playing Angry Birds for the First Time, I killed more Birds than the Pigs
» ‎ Kachwanya

Today was my first day to play Angry Birds. Yes, as popular as it is, I have kept a way from playing the Angry Birds. The funny part is I have downloaded the app every time I get a new phone but never tried to play it. But I have followed every step and every news about Angry Birds. Well, since the game was introduced to Facebook just before the Valentines Day this year, I have been tempted everyday to check it out.

So today I did. Unfortunately on my first day of playing, I killed more of the disgruntled birds than the targeted pigs and pig stations. Poor birds. So if you green on this like me , let me give you a little bit of the background I picked from Wikipedia. Angry Birds is a puzzle video game developed by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Mobile..Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for Apple’s iOS in December 2009. Since that time, over 12 million copies of the game have been purchased from Apple’s App Store, which has prompted the company to design versions for other touchscreen-based smartphones, such as those using the Android operating system

In the game, players use a slingshot to launch birds at pigs stationed on or within various structures, with the intent of destroying all the pigs on the playfield. As players advance through the game, new birds appear, some with special abilities that can be activated by the player.

When I started playing I did not realize that the game needs deep analytical thinking to deal with ugly pigs within the structure. That is why the birds might be regretting having me as a player. But once I started analyzing the obstacles, I became good at destroying the pigs and I went to Level Six.. Ok for now, I am stuck there but it can’t be worst than that on the first day.

I must say that this time round I was on the mood, a apart from the Angry Birds, I tried Partypoker but I am coming back to that later. I like the fact that Facebook Angry Birds App adds social components to the game. The social aspect allows players to compete with their Facebook friends for gold, silver, and bronze crowns in any level. At every level you can see scores of your friends on the same level and there is a button to invite others. I realized that you tell or brag about your scores to your friends on Facebook.

I will try not to get addicted, now that I had downloaded it on the Samsung Galaxy Note. If you have seen the phone, you know it is perfect for such things. By the way, it is said that the mobile version of Angry Birds has garnered more than 700 million downloads to date, making it one of the most popular games in history. According to Mashable

Thanks to the success of Angry Birds, game maker Rovio emerged as a gaming powerhouse, and it’s looking to go public as soon as 2012. Right now, the company is worth more than $1 billion, according to CMO Peter Vesterbacka.

That success has made me thinking about how Kenyan Developers can make it big on gaming. Back in 2010, online and mobile games generated about a third of all games software revenues globally. It is estimated that in five years’ time from then they will generate 50 percent of all games software revenue. That is around a fifth more revenue than pure console games.

Back to http://www.partypoker.com before a sign off.. Being a fan of Fantasy Football, I liked the idea of having online gaming tournaments on the site.
February 17, 2012
10:56
Opera has Acquired two Advertising Agencies- Mobile Theory and 4th Screen Advertising
» ‎ Kachwanya

It seems Opera Software is growing its wings. According to cellular-news.com, Opera Software has acquired Mobile Theory and 4th Screen Advertising, to expand its mobile advertising reach.

Opera serves more than 160 million monthly active users that generate more than 100 billion page views, and consume more than 16 Petabytes of mobile data services a month, as of December 2011.

Mobile Theory operates in USA focusing on mobile advertising market while 4th Screen Advertising is a mobile advertising network focused on serving the European mobile advertising markets.
9:10
Orange to Allow African Mobile Users to access Facebook through USSD
» ‎ Kachwanya

Orange launched unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) to allow mobile users on orange platform to access Facebook. Accordingly, Facebook will soon be available on any phone within Orange’s footprint across Africa.

USSD does not require much bandwidth and it allows feature phones, even those without Internet service or data plans, to access Facebook. Orange operates in 20 countries in Africa, with around 70 million subscribers. According to the latest stats by CCK between July to September 2011 Orange Kenya has 2,745,702 subscribers.

Through Orange service subscribers will be able to login on Facebook , search for friends, invite friends, accept or deny friend requests, update their status, and comment on or like status updates from their friends.

There will be four options per session (10 minutes to 20 minutes), daily, weekly, and monthly.

The service has been launched in Egypt and Ivory Coast will the next with the rest of regions to follow later
7:58
Mobile Web East Africa 2012 -Building the mobile-ecosystem in the region.
» ‎ Kachwanya
I am excited, yes, Mobile Web East Africa 2012 will take place in Kenya next week on 22^nd & 23^{rd . I think} Mobile Web East Africa 2012 is going to be a fantastic conference . Kenya has made a lot of progress in the mobile world and this will a chance for the stakeholders to facilitate further growth of the mobile-ecosystem in the region.

The following are some of the heavy weight speakers at the event
- Emma Kaye, CEO, Bozza
- Paul Kukubo, CEO, Kenya ICT Board
- John Waibochi, CEO, Virtual City
- Mark Kaigwa, Partner, Afrinnovator
- Joseph Sevilla, Director, @iLabAfrica
- Judith Owigar, President, Akirachix
- Paul Stemmet, COO, World of Avatar
- Neil Ahlsten, New Business Development – Africa, Google
The best part will be the round table sessions. Instead of having a room full of people being lectured, the round table format will allow people to interact and discuss the presented topics. This is important since the event’s key focus is on facilitating the growth of the mobile ecosystem in the region through interaction and relationship building. A great chance to network….I like the networking part. The Round Table format will include:
- Panel discussions featuring senior strategists from industry leading companies
- Networking sessions designed to encourage maximum interaction between attendees
Finally it is worth noting that Nairobi’s Innovation Hub (*iHub_) and m:lab East Africa both agreed to formally support the conference.

John Kieti, Manager of m:lab East Africa, commented: “Mobile Web East Africa is bound to bring together key stakeholders contributing to the growth of the mobile web and related economic platforms in the region. It is complementary to the work we are doing at m:lab East Africa to help nurture mobile entrepreneurship so it was an easy decision to formally support the conference.”

Hamilton Juma, Manager of Nairobi’s *iHub_ also pledged support for the conference: “As a part of our remit to foster the growth of the ecosystem, the *iHub_ is really pleased to be linking up with All Amber on Mobile Web East Africa 2012. It’s a fantastic event, so we’re glad to be such a part of it and to have some of our members demonstrating their work.”

Mobile Web East Africa will be held at the 5* Southern Sun Mayfair hotel in Nairobi, Kenya on 22^nd & 23^rd February 2012.
February 16, 2012
3:44
Social Media Policy- Why the Kenyan Businesses need it now!!
» ‎ Kachwanya
Almost a year ago during Tandaa Symposium at Stanley, a lady employee from Google expressed to me how hard it is to operate a social media account and talk freely when you are employed. Her main issue was whether to use her own name or use some other funny anonymous name. At the end of discussion she settled for anonymous name, at least she expected that to give her freedom to tweet candidly even in matters concerning Google. Then I met the PR manager of Microsoft who insisted she is on twitter but can’t tweet much due to many reasons. I found out that the same goes for marketing manager of Multichoice.

It is great when employees come in and know straight away what they can say or not say on social media. That simply means that before they sign the contract the employers should put down the Social Media rules. While at it, social media policy should fit well with the organization’s goals, culture and risk tolerance.

On top of the company guidelines addressing what is appropriate and inappropriate to say about the company on social media sites, the guidelines should also address the disciplinary measures in case they are breached. I will not call it training but the managers need to take time to educate staff about a code of conduct, what is considered bad, what is considered good and what if….

The above are now very crucial in Kenya following the events that have taken place in the last few months. We have seen employees being fired right, left and center for saying something on Twitter or Facebook or for the sin of not verifying the content they post of social networking sites. Unfortuantely in some of the cases, the fired employees are genuinely innocent or made the mistake without knowing. THAT IS WHY I SAY CREATE THE DAMN SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY NOW.

Take example of Juuchini.. To start with that is not his real name but he made a mistake to allow his former employer, Capital Fm to know that he blogs under the name Juuchini. By the way, he is a great tech analyst and blogger. During the good days Capital used to lift stories from his blog and publish them on Capital Fm website. There were no restrictions on what he can or can not write on his blog. Generally he was left to do his independent analysis of tech issues as he sees them, much as we do here on this blog. Then came the story he wrote about Groupons or the group buying business. He argued that in the country like Kenya or some developed world the group buying is a crappy way of marketing your business. The central point his argument is that Dealers almost always get a raw deal with the group buying.

A price sensitive country like Kenya is even a worse place to use such model to market your business. Tell Kenyans that you are selling a computers at half prices , let say Ksh.20K per computer today , they will come running. That will almost guarantee you the celeb kind of status. Yes you will be famous on that day but when you return the price to Ksh.40K, regardless of the fame, you will remain with them there. I liked Juuchini’s take on that story and I think he made a lot of sense. Look at this:

Brilliant. So these guys discovered a way to get you to upload your offers onto their website, give it to them for less than half price and they get money off your deal. Doesn’t exactly seem all that bad since the consumers are happy with their M-Pesa payments and they get their stuff (albeit with a few delays sometimes).

What about the dealers? Truth is they almost always get a raw deal. Top of mind awareness doesn’t occur or happen overnight. What these businesses need is a strategy and a digital one at that. I am sorry but thinking a few good deals will get your business on the map is a spit short of hogwash. Makes no sense. If you want an advertising schedule, be prepared to do a proper campaign for it. A shortcut in the name of a mention just won’t cut it.

Unfortunately for Juuchini, Capital Fm had secured a deal with Rupu which was advertising on Capital Fm website. The following is what he said about Rupu specifically:

Rupu will place your ad on their site for 3-4 days maximum and if no-one is interested, no-one will buy. They probably will not admit it but some of their deals have gone un-dealt.

That marked the beginning of the end of Juuchini with Capital Fm as an employee. Rumours have it that the power to be at Capital Fm is actively blocking him from getting another job…in particular he was meant to get a job with a prominent ad company but somebody made a call…….

By the way Groupon’s trading for first time as a public company in US made a net loss of $42.7 million, or 8 cents per share, for the final three months of the year 2011. A year earlier, as a private company, it booked a larger loss of $378.6 million, or $1.08 per share…..

That is that. Next to the story at Nation Center. You remember when they killed Njenga Karume? May God give him many many more years to live. Ok, the story came out first on KTN , and I am still not sure how they came up with the story. But a certain boss at NTV not wanting to be left behind instructed Albert Gachiri to post that Njenga Karume is dead on Facebook. You all know what followed on social media after people realized that Njenga Karume is alive. The funny part was that people went for NTV’s neck and not KTN but that is a story for another day

Gachiri being the guy who was managing NTV Facebook, got fired although he acted under the instructions of his boss. One journalist who understands the whole story confirmed that Gachiri was thrown under the bus by his boss when the ax man came calling for the head to be rolled. He was told that he should have confirmed the story. Probably one of these days people will need to disobey their bosses to survive.

Fianlly

So what should be on Social Media Guidelines
- The policy should be broad enough to cover all the aspect of Social Media, ranging from multi-media, social networking websites, blogs and wikis for both professional and personal use.
- There should be a clear disclaimer by employees on their social media accounts…I guess you have seen this in many places “the views expressed are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Kachwanya.com.”
- Clearly indicate what should never be included on the internet postings, things like copyright, privacy, fair use, financial disclosure, and other applicable laws.
- Corporate blogs, Facebook pages like that of NTV, Twitter accounts… could require approval when the employee is posting about the company and the industry. The approving authority should take the blame when things go wrong..the bucks stop with the top man or woman
Just to mention but a few…
February 15, 2012
10:12
Wikimedia Kenya became the second Chapter of Wikimedia in Africa
» ‎ Kachwanya

Last Saturday I attended a party to celebrate the official recognition of Kenyan Wikimedia community as 39th Wikimedia Chapter. Kenya became the second chapter in Africa after South Africa. The statement posted on wikimediafoundation.org reads:

In accordance with the recommendation of the Chapters Committee, confirming that the structure and bylaws of Wikimedia Kenya comply with the requirements and guidelines for chapters, The Board of Trustees provisionally recognizes Wikimedia Kenya as a Wikimedia Chapter and grants it permission to use the Wikimedia trademarks, pending signature of a Chapters Agreement.

This provisional recognition and permission will expire in one year unless a Chapters Agreement is signed, at which point recognition and trademark use will be governed by the terms of the Agreement for as long as it is in force. The provisional period may be extended at the discretion of the Foundation’s Executive Director.

Wikimedia Kenya is a chapter of Wikimedia that serves Kenya. The main aim of the chapter is to help collect, develop and disseminate freely accessible and usable information.

Almost three years down the line the Wikimedia Kenya Community has carried out various activities in Kenya including creating local content for Wikipedia, the Wikipedia for Schools Project, Wikipedia takes Nairobi . And the unanimous approval of the Wikimedia Kenya is a clear testimony of the good work the Kenyan Community has been doing.
Wikimedia Kenya is a Wikimedia chapter whose aim is to promote Wikim|pedia and other free educational resources in Kenya. The initiative to start up this chapter was spearheaded by Abbas Mahmood, with co-founders Oliver Stegen, Oscar Limoke & Dennis Munene. Currently, the chapter has more than 30 members.
6:40
Samsung Galaxy Note and Galaxy SII expected to get Ice Cream Sandwich from Match 1
» ‎ Kachwanya

Samsung Galaxy SII and Galaxy Note are expected to get latest Android update, Ice Cream Sandwich from Match 1st 2012 according to Thenextweb
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is the latest version of the Android platform for phones, tablets, and more. It builds on the things people love most about Android — easy multitasking, rich notifications, customizable home screens, resizable widgets, and deep interactivity — and adds powerful new ways of communicating and sharing.
February 13, 2012
16:52
Updating latest Symbian phones to Symbian Belle
» ‎ Kachwanya

If your are using one of the latest symbian phones (Symbian ^3 or Symbian Anna) then you need to upgrade to Symbian Belle. Symbian Belle can not be compared with the likes of iOS or Android or Windows but the user experience is much better. It is all-new look, with up to six home screens and new widgets.

Others are new status bar, new toolbar,new Nokia Maps, as well as improved video recording and web browsing. The current Compatible Phones are : Nokia c6-01, Nokia C7, Nokia N8, Nokia E6, Nokia E7, Nokia X7, Nokia 500, Nokia Oro

Steps

1. Download Nokia Suite 3.3 and install on your PC from here
2. Connect your phone to your PC
3. Click the software update icon in Nokia Suite 3.3 then follow the instructions shown on your computer

You can also Listen to this video
15:30
AkiraChix has Won Google Rise Funding for the second round of AkiraChix training program
» ‎ Kachwanya

AkiraChix, the all girl team of Application Developers has won Google RISE funding of 6,000 Euros for the second round of the AkiraChix training program. AkiraChix, in line with its mission of inspiring and developing women in technology, started a technical training program for young women from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas of Nairobi. A year later, they had 17 young women and one young man graduating in August 2011 with skills in programming, web design and entrepreneurship.

The Google RISE funding will facilitate the running of this second edition of the program by covering the program costs.

According to Google, RISE program had over 400 applications from the US, EMEA and Sub Sarahan Africa regions and awarded 26 organizations.

Other 2012 Sub-Saharan Africa Award Recipients are:

Great Olympiad Science Competitions, Science Teachers Enrichment Program Summer and Science/Mathematics Program | Youth Care Foundation | The Gambia

The Youth Care Foundation, The Gambia is chartered charity organization. It works in partnerships with the following organizations to promote and advance interests in Mathematics and Sciences: Directorates of Science and Technical Education, The Gambia, Science Teachers Association The Gambia (STAGAM), and Mathematics Teachers’ Association The Gambia (MTAGAM)

ICT Clinic for Girls | Savana Signatures | Ghana

Savana Signatures has a mission to promote the development of youth and women through education and knowledge sharing. It seeks to use ICT as catalyst to develop the minds of youth and women for the benefit of Ghana’s development and builds capacity of women to access information for their social and economic growth; builds capacity of youth to use ICT for entrepreneurial development; trains teachers and students to integrate ICT into teaching and learning; re-orients the youth and women in the use of ICT for entrepreneurial growth and advancement; conducts research on ICT4D with a focus on youth and women.

Young Girls Science and Health Tele-Academy| Youth for Technology Foundation | NigeriaThe mission of YTF is to create enriched learning communities where the use of technology affords opportunities for marginalized youth and women living in developing countries. The Young Girls Science & Health Tele-Academy teaches Nigerian girls, ages 13 through 18, to use technology to research and disseminate information about a principal cause of cancer deaths in African women- breast cancer. Beneficiaries will increase their interest in a STEM career, and increase multicultural understanding. Collaboration software, digital cameras, computers, smart phones, radio and the Internet will be used to enable girls to collaborate with digital peers, leading educators and health professionals.

Fundi Bots | Uganda

Fundi Bots is a technology outreach programme for students in high school and university. Our core focus is the use of Robotics to sensitize and create an awareness in young children about the benefits and endless possibilities of technology in day to day life. By doing this, we also aim to promote early stage career development in technology and related fields. We are also creating a learning environment outside of schools where passionate African children can learn, grow and experiment with machines, gadgets and technology as a means of creative and innovative expression.
February 10, 2012
9:39
Smsleopard- NTV’s next big thing Smsleopard was Launched at iHub Nairobi
» ‎ Kachwanya

The Smsleopard which recently made it to the next big thing on NTV was launched yesterday. Smsleopard is a system that allows the users to send and receive bulk SMSes in their inboxes. Through Smsleopard you can send SMSes to both local and international clients, all with a personalized header. The system charges a flat rate of 1/= to all Kenyan networks. To register visit SMSLeopard.com
9:22
Nairobi is set to be Nokia’s HQ for Research and Investment for India, Middle East & Africa Region
» ‎ Kachwanya

Not long ago, many of the tech pundits thought that Nokia had abandoned Kenya after degrading Nairobi office to just Kenyan sales office. What many did not see is the fact that Nokia has two distinct offices in Kenya , the Research center and the sales office. What happened then is that Nokia made South Africa the region Sales Office HQ for Africa region but made a decision to make Nairobi Kenya the Head Quarter of Nokia Research & Investment for India, Middle East & Africa region.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop who was in Nairobi to meet with Kenyan developers insisted that people should not confuse the investment being made in the region with the size of the Kenyan office

There are fewer people in the Nairobi office, that is true, but at the same time, there has been a number of changes in terms to the amount of investment and work that Nokia is doing with developers and its research facilities. These are routine changes around the world

According to Elop, Nokia will increase their investment in the region by 25% in the year 2012 .
February 09, 2012
22:39
Samsung Galaxy Note Launched in Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya
This time, I start with what people mostly looked for in this blog..the price . Samsung Galaxy note will retail in Kenya at Ksh.70,000. You can get it from Fonexpress

That done.. I go back to my confusion land. A phone? I guess not by my simple imagination. Tablet, not really..too small to be called a tablet. The Galaxy Note boasts a 5.3-inch Super AMOLED screen, which leaves it in a no man’s land. So for the purpose of this post I will call it phoblet. Some sort of alien creature floating between the smartphone and tablet. I love it, this is the device to bridge the gap between mobile phone and tablet. Ok, let just say it’s a phone, it’s a tablet and a gaming platform.

This is not a full review(coming up later). This is a quick run on the device and also to announce the big news… Samsung Galaxy Note was launched in Kenya.

Checking what it is inside Note and I realized that it is almost similar to the Galaxy S II with the only difference being the CPU. The Note has a better or higher CPU . To start with, Galaxy SII has a speed of 1.2GHz while Galaxy Note has a dual core 1.4GHz Cortex A9 with the same Mali-400 GPU and 1GB of RAM. For the storage space you get 2GB phone memory, 16GB USB storage (11GB available to the user) and microSD expansion up to 32GB.

This phone is geared towards Business people, the kind who like taking notes during meetings or seminars. Also covered by the device are the creative types. It is easy to use, and the stylus blends nicely.

In a bigger scale, Note has that perfect capability for both business and personal use.Yes, the size matters here but I think you can use it anywhere. The broad nature of a phone like Note has led the Government of Kenya to consider coming up with Mobile Education pilot program, starting with around 1000 mobile devices. PS.Ndemo maintained that they will talk with a number of phone makers, and Samsung has a chance to be in the mix.

Software

Samsung confirmed that the Note will get 4.0 sometime next month . Meanwhile the ones available around are using Android 2.3.6 .
Camera
The 8-megapixel camera includes autofocus and an LED flash as well as anti-shake and a range of scene modes.

Cool, look at the key features according to gsmarena
Key features
- Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support
- 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
- 5.3″ 16M-color Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of WXGA resolution (800 x 1280 pixels)
- Android OS v2.3.5 with TouchWiz 4 launcher
- 1.4 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU, Mali-400MP GPU, Exynos chipset, 1GB of RAM
- Pre-bundled with the S Pen active stylus
- 8 MP wide-angle autofocus camera with LED flash, face, smile and blink detection
- Video recording of up to 1080p@30fps
- Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n support; Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi hotspot
- GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compass
- 16/32GB internal storage, microSD slot
- Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Charging MHL microUSB port with USB host and TV-out (1080p through optional adapter) support
- Stereo Bluetooth v3.0
- FM radio with RDS
- Great audio quality
- 9.7 mm slim and weighs a reasonable 178g
- 2MP secondary video-call camera
- Full Flash support and GPU-acceleration for the web browser permit 1080p flash video playback
- NFC support (optional)
- Document editor
- File manager comes preinstalled
- Extremely rich audio and video format support
- 2500 mAh battery
6:36
Mzalendo.com – A new face of Mzalendo launched in Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

Yesterday a new face of Mzalendo.com was launched. The new Mzalendo.com has detailed information about Kenyans Members of Parliament. Among others ,there are detailed info on the MPS profiles, a searchable Hansard, scorecards and?vital statistics of most? counties?and constituencies.

For ac ountry where MPs say one thing today and do completely the opposite the following day, this a welcome developement. Kenyans now have a chance to scrutinise the MPs speeches in Parliament ?as documented in the Hansard. Mzalendo does not make any commentary on the Hansard but, presents it in a user friendly, searchable format and makes the entries available under every Member of Parliament’s (MPs) profile.

And already you can see the MPS trying to reach out to their constituents through Social Media . According to Mzalendo data so far, only, 47 current MPs are on Facebook, 20 on twitter and 19 have websites.

I like the scorecards component of the site. According to Conrad Akunga, one of the Mzalendo co?founders

We have also created three MP scorecards to allow citizens to make value judgements about MPs performance based on their accessibility, their Hansard appearances and Constituency Development Fund (CDF) spending. To make a difference in Kenya, we had to create context relevant score cards, since parliamentary attendance and voting records are often inaccessible.

Any Kenyan can access the website?through?their?computer?or?mobile?phone?and?find?out information about their MP or constituency by simply clicking or keying in the name. The website easily loads and fits to the screen of which ever internet device one may use. Mzalendo could be the best tool ever for Kenyans as to track issues of importance to them .

Mzalendo (‘Patriot’ in Swahili) is a non-partisan project started in 2003 whose mission is to ‘keep an eye on the Kenyan parliament.’ Mzalendo site seeks to promote greater public voice and enhance public participation in politics by providing relevant information about the National Assembly’s activities, MPs, and aspirants ahead of the 2012 elections.

In 2010 The Omidyar Network awarded funding to mySociety to provide technical and administrative support to Mzalendo to help relaunch the site, drawing upon their experience in building sites such as TheyWorkForYou.
February 07, 2012
11:09
Smart Tv is dead..Can Smart Tv Decoders be Used to access the content of Dstv or Zuku?
» ‎ Kachwanya

Oooh Smart Tv is dead in Kenya..RIP. According to Businessdailyafrica, Mohammed Nyaoga, chairman of Transmex, which owns Smart TV, revealed the acute lack of funding for the project.

“We have closed shop and are currently shopping for an international investor following the exit of the Swedish investors – Next Generation Broadcasting (NGB) — which has put us into financial constraints,”

And the directors of the firm would meet on Friday to decide if subscribers will be refunded the Sh5, 000 they invested on decoders and the subscription fees for the month of January.

As we mourn the untimely death.. I have a question about the Decoders. Can the Smart Tv decoders be used to access the content of Dstv or Zuku? Unfortunately, Smart Tv has left more than 2000 subscribers stranded. Can these 2000 subcribers move to either Dstv or Zuku and use the same decoders?
February 06, 2012
21:38
Modern Combat 3 is free to Download from Samsung Apps store
» ‎ Kachwanya

Gameloft third installment, Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation which cost $6.99 on other stores is free to download on Samsung Apps . Modern Cobat 3 is one of the best first-person shooters game you will find around

The Modern Combat 3 is named “Fallen Nation” because America is under attack. The bad guys are KPR (Korea, Pakistan and Russia), who have declared war on America and invaded US cities, already destroying Chicago.

Look for it on the Samsung App store and enjoy
20:48
Airtel Kenya Internet Bundles 101
» ‎ Kachwanya
The other day I was forced to use Airtel sim card for sometime. Unfortunately I found out that I had no idea on how to access or buy the Airtel bundles for my phone. Yeah.. that is why I have done this post. Airtel Internet Bundles 101 as a future reminder just in case:
Prepaid internet bundles
- 10 mb @ kshs 8
- 25 mb @ kshs 20
- 100mb @ kshs 100
- 300 mb @ kshs 250
- 1 gb @ kshs 750
- 2 gb @ kshs 1,000
- dial *111# from your phone or go to the airtel menu on your modem to select your plan
- Buy modem at Kshs 2299, Get 70MBs Free upon top up of Ksh 50 and above per Month for 12 months
Unlimited prepaid internet plan
- unlimited 30 days @ kshs 3,250
- dial *111# from your phone or go to the airtel menu on your modem to select your plan
- Buy modem at Kshs 2299, Get 70MBs Free upon top up of Ksh 50 and above per Month for 12 months
Unlimited postpaid plan (24 hrs)
- kshs 2,995 per month
- refundable deposit of kshs 5,000
- 12 months contract
- visit any airtel centre countrywide to sign up
- free airtel modem
Unlimited postpaid plan (nights & weekends)
- kshs 1,995 per month
- night time, applies from monday through friday, 7pm to 7am
- saturdays, sundays & public holidays, applies all day & night
- refundable deposit of kshs 2,000
- 12 months contract
- visit any airtel centre countrywide to sign up
- free airtel modem
Postpaid internet bundles
- 25 mb @ kshs 20
- 100mb @ kshs 100
- 300 mb @ kshs 250
- 1 gb @ kshs 750
- 2 gb @ kshs 1,000
- visit any airtel centre countrywide to sign up
- Buy modem at Kshs 2299, Get 70MBs Free upon top up of Ksh 50 and above per Month for 12 months
Pay as you go Plan
- kshs 7 per mb
- Buy modem at Kshs 2299, Get 70MBs Free upon top up of Ksh 50 and above per Month for 12 months
20:24
Payuka – An Android App for Football Lovers
» ‎ Kachwanya

Payuka is an Android mobile App which connect football fans to over 70 top flight league and tournament matches worldwide. Payuka app, the best football app I have seen around is a creation of Tandaza Technologies Limited. Through the app you get the latest scores of the top flight league and tournament matches to your mobile phone.

Payuka enable the users to engage in an active social conversation with other fans anytime, anywhere on the Payuka App. Payuka among others give you all the latest real time scores. Within the app you can share your thoughts and comments while watching the game in real time. All the game conversations are in one place and you can also get your facts right by looking at the league table standings, past results and the fixtures.

I like the fact that if you already have Facebook or Twitter account, then you don’t need to open a new account with payuka app. You can use either Twitter or Facebook account to login straight away making the entry level easy.

The app loads pretty fast and the application is supported for Android Versions 2.1 and above

When running the app for the first time, it prompts the user to select the league/s. From there there are over 70 leagues to choose from. In the process of using the app and you are bored with your choices then there is a button which allows the users to go back and add more or remove the existing leagues. The only downside being that Kenyan league is still not yet represented.

Africa Content

My favorite part of this app is that you can get Live updates for current ongoing African Cup of Nations. Good stuff. But as with the Kenyan League, there is a problem with all African leagues except for the Egypt Premier league and South Africa league. The issue of getting the live feeds from the African leagues is a challenge for the Payuka app developers. I hope the African Leagues can upgrade and start giving live feeds so that such great app can show African football content. It is sad affair if we all can tell live scores for Japan Premier League but can’t tell the ones from our neighbors Uganda or Tanzania.

Available Leagues

Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
England
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Korea
Latvia
Lithuania
Mexico
Netherlands
Norway
Paraguay
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Ireland
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Scotland
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
USA
Venezuela
Wales

If you have an android phone go to Android Market and look for Payuka app.
February 04, 2012
14:05
Should Dstv allow people to Customize the channels they want and pay for them?
» ‎ Kachwanya

With advancement in Technology, it is possible for #DSTV to allow people to customize channels they want and pay for them. When I put the same question to DSTV General Manager Mr....
February 02, 2012
21:19
Chipuka by ICT Board- A big vote of no Confidence on Local Universities
» ‎ Kachwanya

When I got the invite from ICT Board for CHIPUKA, a Software Certification Program which is to take place next week, I was very happy. You know ,this is something which is...
15:55
Kenyan Mobile App AroundMe among the Nokia Create for Millions contest finalists
» ‎ Kachwanya

AroundMe- You remember it? It is among global finalists in Nokia’s Create for Millions developer contest! Around me is a mobile app which allows you to easily and quickly find...
9:41
MasterCard Opens East African Regional Headquarters in Nairobi
» ‎ Kachwanya

MasterCard payments and technology company, today launched its official East African regional headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. This development brings the number of MasterCard offices across the African continent to five,...
1:06
Facebook Files for $5 Billion IPO
» ‎ Kachwanya

Facebook just filed the preliminary prospectus for its initial public offering seeking to raise $5 Billion . Here is the full S-1
February 01, 2012
12:58
Samsung Launched Second Engineering Academy in Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

Today Samsung Electronics launched the second engineering academy in Nairobi Kenya. The first one is in South Africa and they plan to train over 10,000 engineers by 2015 . With...
11:15
Airtel Money Launched in Uganda
» ‎ Kachwanya

Airtel Uganda has launched its mobile money platform called Airtel Money. The platform allows consumers to top up their phones with air time, send and receive money, pay their critical utility...
10:28
Serena Hotels are Looking for Information Systems Manager
» ‎ Kachwanya

If you missed out on the Serena Hotels Social Media Executive job , then here is your chance to join them as IT Manager. They are currently seeking a qualified...
January 31, 2012
22:19
Reasons Why Yu Call For Safaricom to Open up Mpesa to other Networks is brilliant but Safaicom will not go for it
» ‎ Kachwanya

Ok..Kenyan mobile operator Yu has called on rival Safaricom to open up its mobile money transfer service M-Pesa to other networks. The idea is great and I think if it...
14:43
MsemaKweli – Kenyan Android App to be pitched at Annual Mobile Premier Awards in Barcelona
» ‎ Kachwanya

MsemaKweli- An Android App, is among the top 20 global apps from the AppCircus 2011 World Tour which are going to be pitched live for the Best App of the...
January 30, 2012
23:08
Caroline Mutoko and the two sides of her Story
» ‎ Kachwanya

Wow, Caroline Mutoko hit a raw nerve with some Social Media gurus on her piece which is still not yet online by the time of writing this. So I have...
11:45
Google Kenya vs Mocality- A little Bird is saying someone has been fired
» ‎ Kachwanya

You remember the issue of Google Kenya doing the opposite of what their tagline is “Don’t be evil”? Yes, accessing Mocality’s database and attempting to sell competing product to their...
January 27, 2012
11:44
Safaricom new Blackberry tariffs
» ‎ Kachwanya

Great news for Blackberry fans. Safaricom has introduced new Blackberry tariffs. The Daily Blackberry Service for Kshs20/- and the Blackberry Complete Service for Kshs499/- monthly. The plans will be available...
January 26, 2012
14:55
How Africa Tweets- Mobile is the device of choice and Kenyan Tweeps are second most active in Africa
» ‎ Kachwanya

Almost three years ago when I joined twitter, it was still completely unknown social networking site to the wider Kenyan and African audiences apart from the early adopters. At the...
9:55
Nokia hits 1.5 billion sales of the Series 40 mobile phones
» ‎ Kachwanya

Nokia has announced the sales of 1.5billionth series 40 mobile phone. The device was sold to a female consumer in the Brazilian city of São Paulo and represents a historic...
January 24, 2012
18:23
In Africa and Middle East, you can now access the content of Wikipedia free through Orange Network
» ‎ Kachwanya

Orange and Wikipedia have signed a deal to make content of Wikipedia available free of data charges to millions of mobile phone users across the Middle East and...
17:20
Reasons why the ICC web site went down just before the Ocampo6 Ruling
» ‎ Kachwanya

ICC website was down most of yesterday prior to the ICC ruling. After trying it several times, I gave up and turned to the local TV stations which I had ...
4:43
Nokia Lumia Sales Estimated to be over 1 Million by the end of Last year
» ‎ Kachwanya

According to Bloomberg estimates Nokia Lumia handsets, which went on sale in Europe in November, probably sold 1.3 million units globally to operators and retailers by the end of last...
3:34
Samsung Ch@t222 Review
» ‎ Kachwanya

With new high end phones coming in almost everyday, the low end phones get lost in translation but Samsung has done a great job putting the Ch@t222 on forefront including...
January 19, 2012
18:44
Mpesa Service to be down for Upgrade this Saturday
» ‎ Kachwanya

Safaricom is warning MPESA subscribers that the service will be down on this Saturday night between 8 pm -6 am on Sunday for Upgrade. Do you transaction in good time,...
13:31
iPhone 4S Prices in Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

At long last iPhone 4S will be available in Kenya from tomorrow. The iPhone 4S is available in either black or white and will retail at KSh 74,899 for the...
January 18, 2012
10:09
Orange Kenya Unlimited Internet Bundles
» ‎ Kachwanya

Yesterday Orange launched its unlimited internet bundles for its mobile and 3G broadband customers. Get the unlimited internet on mobile at Ksh 39 daily, Ksh 249 weekly and KSh 990...
January 17, 2012
12:59
Wow, 103 Government Websites Hacked..Disaster
» ‎ Kachwanya

Now this is a National disaster . According to CIO tech writer Dennis Mbuvi, 103 Government websites were hacked overnight! Many tech bloggers have said it before, the Government need...
January 15, 2012
12:53
What a week:-Kenyan tech stories from Google to the dangers of Local Hosting
» ‎ Kachwanya

Yes, we are back , the tech stories of the week. The Kenyan tech bloggers and writers have started the year with a bang. Every week we will be sampling...
January 13, 2012
11:15
iPhone 4S in Kenya and Kenyan phone market in 2012
» ‎ Kachwanya

Great. iPhone 4S is available in Kenya from today but Apple’s choice of using Orange Kenya to market it in Kenya is a big mistake. Orange Kenya way of doing...
January 12, 2012
1:36
The Value of CCTV and the Flawed Argument of David Makali on DCJ Nancy Baraza’s case
» ‎ Kachwanya

God bless CCTV cameras and God bless technology. Without cctv, the case between Nancy Baraza and Rebecca Kerubo would have been a no case. Kenyans would have believed DCJ Nancy...
January 11, 2012
8:36
Samsung Super OLED TV
» ‎ Kachwanya

Samsung latest…..TV Samsung is redefining the way users interact with their TV with new intuitive features including Motion Controls, Voice Commands and Face Recognition.. here is the press release: Samsung...
8:18
Safaricom doubled Airtime for Bonga Points
» ‎ Kachwanya

Safaricom has doubled the airtime one gets when you redeemed the bonga points according to Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore.. Well, it is a for a limited period of time. I...
6:06
Google announced new Update to incorporate Google+ activities on the search results
» ‎ Kachwanya

Do you have a Google+ account? You may need to get one soon, as Google is doing everything to incorporate the Google+ on their core products . Google on Tuesday...
January 10, 2012
16:53
Sony Xperia S –
» ‎ Kachwanya

Sony announced the new Xperia S at CES. The Xperia S is an Android smartphone with a resolution 4.3 inch display with Mobile BRAVIA engine, a 12 MP camera that...
14:46
ipaidabribe.or.ke – a Kenyan website crowd sourcing the corrupt ones
» ‎ Kachwanya

Sometime back i had an idea of naming and shaming people who take or receive the bribes through technology. Due to other commitment I let the idea rest for a...
January 09, 2012
21:19
LG Unveils 84-Inch Listening TV–”Voice, Gesture Control”
» ‎ Kachwanya

Listening TV? Huh..Ok, LG announced a TV which when you talk, will actually listen at Consumer Electronics Show 2012. LG is adding voice recognition and 3D gesture control to its...
January 07, 2012
8:01
Samsung ChatON is now Available for iPhone
» ‎ Kachwanya

Samsung ChatON, which we looked at here, is now available for iPhone. Download the Samsung ChatON Instant Messaging app for iPhone from the Apple iTunes Store for free. Coming soon to Blackberry...
January 06, 2012
14:16
Kenya Mobile and Internet Subscriptions and Usage Stats according to the Latest CCK Report
» ‎ Kachwanya

The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has released the latest statistics for Kenya’s mobile usage and subscribers for the last quarter. The period covered is between July to September 2011:...
4:58
Sony Ericsson – Be ready for big news next week…
» ‎ Kachwanya

People at Sony Ericsson Kenya are hinting at big news next week and they want you to guess what it is going to be. Mmmmh let me see..how about a...
4:10
ChatON- Samsung’s free messenger service that allows users to communicate instantly with their friends and family
» ‎ Kachwanya

Forget about smartphones, in the last few days i have been using the new Samsung CH@T 222 . I am not going to review the phone today (coming up later),...
January 05, 2012
12:03
TEAMS cable to undergo Maintenance on Friday 6th
» ‎ Kachwanya

Tomorrow could be a slow day.. Not that the hours will be ticking slowly but the internet could be slow as TEAMS under go maintenance. From Moseskemibaro.com The East African...
11:11
iPhone 4S : Apple to Launch iPhone 4S in Kenya on 13th January
» ‎ Kachwanya

Apple to launch iPhone 4S in Kenya and 21 additional countries on Friday, January 13. For the iPhone fans, the long wait is over. Some of the features of iPhone...
10:28
Nestlé Equatorial African Region adopts a new Business Management Software-SAP
» ‎ Kachwanya

Nestlé Equatorial African Region has migrated to a new business management software-SAP . The system which is customized to Nestlé’s best practices is dubbed Global Business Excellence – GLOBE –...
9:05
Pay4me: Reverse call service by Essar Telecom Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

Happy new year to you all good people. Back to business. Essar Telecom Kenya launched Pay4me service that enables subscribers make calls paid for by the receiver. The service will...
December 30, 2011
7:00
KCPE SMS Results- Are Mobile Network Operators living large from poor Parents and Students?
» ‎ Kachwanya

It is now quite a number of years since the Ministry of Education started releasing the KCPE and KCSE results online but every year we see the repeat of the...
December 29, 2011
16:56
Serena Hotels Looking for Social Media Executive
» ‎ Kachwanya

Serena Hotels are looking to recruit a Social Media Executive in the Ecommerce Department. The successful applicant will report to the eCommerce Manager. Job Description The Social Media Executive will...
8:42
Affordable Nokia Windows Phones coming in the second Quarter of 2012 according to leaked Roadmap
» ‎ Kachwanya

According to leaked road map for Microsoft Windows phones, the cheaper affordable phones, are coming in the second quarter of 2012. From WmPoweruser Tango, possibly to the disappointment of some,...
8:09
HTC phones launched after September 2011 are now ‘unlockable’
» ‎ Kachwanya

Good news for HTC fans, HTC people have realized how dumb their decision to lock their phones was . They have reversed the course. The company has released an updated...
December 28, 2011
19:40
Application Process Open for Third Wave of Mobile Apps. Developer Training at m:Lab East Africa
» ‎ Kachwanya

Mobile apps, that has been the song much of 2011 and I expect more in the year 2012. But in between I been asking myself whether Kenyans are making quality...
10:00
KCPE 2011 Online Results
» ‎ Kachwanya

According to to knec website to check for the KCPE 2011 Results, use options below: SMS Index Number to 5052 to get 2011 KCPE Results on SMS Click here to...
December 27, 2011
15:23
Samuel Eto’o launched his Mobile Network in Cameroon
» ‎ Kachwanya

Cameroon – Samuel Eto’o launched his own mobile phone network, Set’Mobile in Cameroon. Eto’o who is currently the highest paid footballer in world, is hoping that the network will change...
December 25, 2011
22:52
Review of 2011- Top 10 most talked about Tech issues and the articles on Kachwanya.com
» ‎ Kachwanya

It has been a great year for many Kenyans, it has been a wonderful year for tech in Kenya. I start off the review of 2011 by looking at the...
December 23, 2011
23:17
Google announced The Africa Android Challenge 2012
» ‎ Kachwanya

Google announced The Africa Android Challenge. The Challenge according to Google is an opportunity to discover the best developers and Android experts on the African continent. Rules of the competition...
December 21, 2011
12:21
Interview with Multichoice Kenya General Manager Stephen Isaboke – Says Dstv is far ahead and their pricing is fair.
» ‎ Kachwanya

After i wrote the post Dstv vs Zuku Tv- Why Zuku is about to become number one Pay Tv in Kenya , there ware strong reactions from people on social...
December 18, 2011
2:02
Youth in Agriculture Blogging Competition -Three Kenyans need your online votes
» ‎ Kachwanya

As members of Bake, one of our aims is to expand blogging beyond the current concentration on technology/business and poetry to other aspect of life. One area that needs more...
0:26
This week’s Kenyan Tech Watch -Hate Speech-be careful with what you post on Social Media
» ‎ Kachwanya

This week in technology..From the year tech review, to hate speech, to the new launch and unlimited data offer . Enjoy Year 2011 has been a great year Year in...
December 15, 2011
17:15
Safaricom has launched Unlimited Internet Data offer for Kes.200 per day
» ‎ Kachwanya

Safaricom has launched unlimited data for Ksh.200 per day. The offer runs from 15th Dec (today) to 26th December. To get the offer send text 200 to 450.
9:25
Google Top Searches in Kenya 2011- Kenyans look for Sport, Entertainment and Taxes
» ‎ Kachwanya

Today, Google announced its annual Zeitgeist, a look at 2011 through the collective eyes of the world on the web, offering a unique perspective on the year’s major events and...
0:38
The End of Amnesty Period by CopyRight Board for Fake products but how will they go about it?
» ‎ Kachwanya

Today mark the deadline for the 30 days Kenya CopyRight Board’s amnesty period to the allow anyone with fake products to buy genuine ones. Microsoft supported the action and started a...
December 14, 2011
23:24
Microsoft announced the launch of ‘Africa Pack’
» ‎ Kachwanya

Microsoft yesterday announced the launch ‘Africa Pack’: a suite of Microsoft technologies and locally-relevant content; free to consumers across Africa who purchase or currently run a genuine version of Windows...
2:04
WordPress 3.3 is available for Download or update inside your WordPress dashboard
» ‎ Kachwanya

The latest WordPress 3.3 includes a new drag-and-drop uploader, hover menus for the navigation, a new toolbar, improved co-editing support, and a new Tumblr importer: WordPress software — 3.3, named...
1:51
Dstv vs Zuku Tv- Why Zuku is about to become number one Pay Tv in Kenya
» ‎ Kachwanya

This week there is good news for Zuku but very bad news for Multichoice Dstv.. Zuku announced that they have hit 35,000 subscribers since they launched 5 months ago.That is...
December 13, 2011
12:33
Techweez Android App now available for Download
» ‎ Kachwanya

From website not far from this.. Techweez.com Android app is now available in Beta for download.. Download it from here http://www.megaupload.com/?d=G6C91D5Q . Martin Gicheru is asking for your opinion on...
3:19
Equity Bank Mobile Banking is now Live on Pesapal
» ‎ Kachwanya

PesaPal is a payment platform that enables Kenyans to buy and sell on the Internet using M-Pesa, Zap and Credit Cards. And now there is Equity Bank Eassy247 mobile banking...
2:10
Ushahidi Announced KES.170 Million Funding from Omidyar Network
» ‎ Kachwanya

Two years ago Omidyar Network funded Ushahidi to the tune of $1.4 million for a period of 2.5 years. Good news this week, Ushahidi is getting further KES.170 Million from...
1:12
Samsung annual mobile handset sales this year had exceeded 300 million units
» ‎ Kachwanya

The world’s second largest handset maker by volume has broken its sales record by the end of last month to over 300million units . Handset sales in 2010 were about...
December 10, 2011
6:01
Kenyan Tech Watch – This Week’s Tech stories around the Net
» ‎ Kachwanya

This week…Kenyan tech stories around the web Kenya Tweets is back You remember the site and twitter account which used to track the number of Kenyans on Twitter? Yeah, they...
December 09, 2011
6:52
Al Shabaab on Twitter and Promised to Publish the names of dead Soldiers
» ‎ Kachwanya

A few months after Major Chirchir took to twitter to update us on the current state of war in Somalia https://twitter.com/#!/MajorEChirchir , Al Shabaab has done the same. Yes, Al...
December 08, 2011
13:14
Crowdpesa -mobile money mapping system to be launched next week
» ‎ Kachwanya

Crowdpesa, a mobile money mapping system that enables its users to find the nearest M-PESA agent,KRA payment point, ATM or Bank, is scheduled to launch officially on December 14, 2011....
December 07, 2011
17:18
Airtel and Samsung Announce Strategic African Partnership
» ‎ Kachwanya

Airtel Africa today announced a two-year partnership agreement with Samsung. This agreement gives Airtel exclusive distribution rights for selected Samsung products for the initial six months after they are launched. ...
10:38
10 Billion Android Market Downloads so far
» ‎ Kachwanya

Things are looking up for Google and this week they are celebrating a big milestone in their android app market. This past weekend, Android Market exceeded 10 billion app downloads—with...
December 06, 2011
21:48
What a joke, What a useless competition by Sony Ericsson for developers !!!!
» ‎ Kachwanya

Mid this year Sony Ericsson launched or relaunched their phone products in Kenya. I am torn between launch and relaunch because on the day of the launch they were speaking...
14:02
BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing version 2.0
» ‎ Kachwanya

BlackBerry today released BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing version 2.0. New features of BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing version 2.0 include: Turn An Email Thread into a Conference Call – BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing helps...
December 05, 2011
14:48
Is legalizing pirating of Software, Music, Movies and games the best way to fight piracy?
» ‎ Kachwanya

This last weekend I discovered that downloading movies , music and games in Switzerland is legal. It turn out that One in three people in Switzerland download unauthorized music, movies and...
0:31
Virtual City to demonstrate Hewani AppStore for the Developers Community at iHub
» ‎ Kachwanya

Great Monday…Virtual City today will engage the developers community at iHub on their just launched Hewani Appstore - Virtual Live will demonstrate an ecosystem where developers, producers of products &...
December 04, 2011
13:17
Kenyan Tech Watch-The week’s Tech stories around the Net
» ‎ Kachwanya

This week…Kenyan tech stories around the web Silicon Valley Wannabe! Start with Larry Madowo on Business Daily who enjoyed himself touring Silicon Valley with ICT Board officials Kenya’s message to...
December 02, 2011
17:29
Your Money is safe despite the M-Pesa outage says Safaricom CEO
» ‎ Kachwanya

Yes, the Mpesa is down but the CEO of Safaricom says your money is safe with Safaricom M-PESA…Here is the apology on Safaricom website …Integrated telecoms operator Safaricom has apologized...
13:05
20 Kenyan Tech Women- The most powerful, The Evangelists, The Hardcore Coders and The innovators
» ‎ Kachwanya

Kenya is full of tech talents and when you are pretending to know one or two things about technology like me then you come to meet them. And they are...

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