Technology and Digital Media in Africa
This is a presentation I made this morning at the Kenya ICT Board’s Tandaa Symposium on (digital) local content. I talked about the some of the history of the Internet since in landed in Kenya (widely) around 1995 to-date as well as implications going forward where local content is concerned. You can view the SlideShare presentation below:
This is an article on the growth of the mobile web in Africa that was published in the March 2010 edition of CIO East Africa Magazine. Symbiotic’s Mbugua Njihia and I were quoted in the article following last month’s Mobile Web East Africa Conference. You can read the article here>
This is an article I wrote about what happens when technology fails us that was published in this week’s edition of the East African Newspaper. You can read it here>
Its finally here! ICANN 37 will be happening in Nairobi next week between the 7th and 12th of March 2010 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC). There have been so many concerns that ICANN 37 may not have made it to Kenya after all the security warnings that kept coming up in the preceding months leading up to this point. However, we can now rest assured its actually happening! Nairobi had originally been slated to host ICANN 35 in 2008 but due to the post-election violence that year Kenya lost the slot. You can find out more information on the ICANN 37 conference which is free (yes, free!) to attend at the conference web site: http://nbo.icann.org/
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was formed 1998 as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. ICANN promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers. ICANN 37 is being hosted in Nairobi by Kenya Network Information Centre (KeNIC) which manages the Kenya Domain Name Space (.ke). KeNIC was found to be best suited organization as the host for ICANN 37 since it is representative of the local internet community and has been established with the appropriate resources to move Kenya forward in the global world of the Internet.
In what must be one of the most eagerly awaited launches in Kenya’s technology sector this year is the launch of the iHub. I had the opportunity to attend the event which was held on the evening of Wednesday the 3rd March 2010 at the yet to be fully operational iHub. The event was fully subscribed by all of Nairobi’s well-known and not-so-well known “digerati” who work and live in various aspects of technology. The anticipation for the IHub has been building up over the last couple of months since work commenced at their swanky and funky location.
The iHub is an open space for technologists, investors, technology firms and hackers (yes, hackers!) to co-work and collaborate within. Broadly speaking, you could say that the iHub is an incubator that helps techies develop their ideas and partner with other technology stakeholders. The concept of the iHub is a first of kind in Kenya and there are great expectations that it will spur a revolution of sorts in the technology products and services space. The main focus of the iHub is to give young web and mobile designers as well as developers a community facility where they can bring their ideas to life. For more information in the iHub you can visit their web site at www.ihub.co.ke
MobileMonday is to launch its Nairobi chapter on the 11th March 2010. This comes a year of background work whereby MobileMonday formed a strategic partnership with the World Bank to bring the community’s concepts to several African countries. The Kampala chapter in Uganda will also be launched on the 8th March 2010 and a new South African chapter will open soon in Cape Town soon. MobileMonday is a global community of mobile industry visionaries, developers and influentials fostering cooperation and cross-border business development through virtual and live networking events to share ideas, best practices and trends from global markets.
The Nairobi chapter will be launched by Jari Tammisto who is the CEO of MobileMonday who will elaborate how the Nairobi chapter will work in conjunction with the global MobileMonday community. The event will also have invited speakers who will make presentations within the contextual theme “Mobile Innovation: Startups and Services” to over 100 mobile professionals from Kenya. Each MobileMonday chapter meets to discuss local issues and report on mobile trends at monthly meetings. More information on MobileMonday can be found on the global web site at www.mobilemonday.net
Earlier today the Kenya ICT Board and TNS Research International launched the Kenya Digital Study Report. The report details how Kenyans ‘consume’ the internet and is part of a global series of studies funded by TNS Research International which explore how digital services are changing the lives and demands of consumers. Ultimately, the report will lead to new ways of providing services and marketing in Kenya via the Internet and other digital channels.
The report was based on 1,669 responses that we’re conducted online between the months of December 2009 and February 2010. The bulk of the responses came from Nairobi at 77% and 5% from rural Kenya. This means that the responses are heavily skewed to what the Nairobi internet user would do online which may not be the case in other cities and towns in Kenya. However, its is a good start in getting know what Kenyans do on the Internet and what their thoughts are about the Internet. Some of the key finings from the report which will be published soon and in full on the Kenya ICT Board web site are as follows:
A couple of years ago I did an article on Kenya’s top ten web sites and other notable ones. At the time, to be quite honest, the list read like a who’s who of Internet giants like Google, Yahoo and Facebook. However, since then, so much has changed. It may be that Google or Yahoo still dominate the top ten listing for Kenya but what is more interesting is the much improved presence of wholly local Kenyan web sites in the top one hundred. This trend is obviously being driven by the over 4 million internet users and over 18 million mobile subscribers in Kenya to-date. So, going by the latest Kenya Alexa rankings for January 2010, these are Kenya’s top ten (local) web sites:
1. The Daily Nation: www.nation.co.ke (Alexa Kenya Rank: 9).
The online edition of the Daily Nation is not wholly unexpected. The Daily Nation is Kenya’s leading newspaper which has a global following as well. They redesigned their web site a few years ago and re-did the content style substantively which has obviously improved their online ranking over the years. The Daily Nation is also available as a mobile web edition which could also be contributing to their very high ranking.
2. The East African Standard: www.standardmedia.co.ke (Kenya Alexa Rank: 13).
The East African Standard is Kenya’s second most popular newspaper after the Daily Nation. Its commendable to see that they have managed a ranking almost as good as the Daily Nation. I suspect this is largely due to the enhanced content and web site redesign that was done a few years ago. To note is that like the Daily Nation, the East African Standard also has a mobile edition of its web site.
3. Kenyan Lyrics: www.kenyanlyrics.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 16)
I have to say that Kenyan Lyrics shocked me. This is a web site that is focused on lyrics for kenyan music as well as musician biographies and links to online content such as music videos on YouTube. To be the third most popular site in Kenya is no mean feat for this niche web site after the Daily Nation and the East African Standard is eye-popping! I’m guessing the bulk of their traffic is from Kenyan teenagers and young adults who are into local music. Amazingly, Kenyan Lyrics do not (yet) seem to be monetizing their web site with ads – quite shocking to be honest!
4. Kenyan Jobs: www.kenyanjobs.blogspot.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 23)
Once again, like Kenyan Lyrics, the Kenyan Jobs Blog stunned me with their high local ranking. This is a Blog that is dedicated to listing and re-listing job opportunities in Kenya from the mainstream media as well as direct listings, for free! Now, this is interesting because there are a fair number of job sites in Kenya nowadays but most charge employers to list. Kenyan Jobs on the other hand does not charge employers or job seekers for listings which obviously is a big pull for local traffic. Kenyan Jobs are monetizing their high ranking through Google AdSense mostly.
5. Home (by AccessKenya): www.home.co.ke (Kenya Alexa Rank: 25).
Home is a portal from AccessKenya, one of Kenya’s leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Home touts itself as Kenya’s home on the Internet and they do regularly update their content online and send out a weekly e-newsletter. Home seems to be making a major run to become the default homepage for Kenyan content due to its diversity. Its going to a long shot but they are definitely making some money online due to the fact that have lots of credible and paid-up advertisers.
6. Kenya Revenue Authority: www.kra.go.ke (Kenya Alexa Rank: 35).
Kenya Revenue Authority, or, KRA as they are popularly known have an impressive ranking of six. The tax body clearly has this much traffic due to the many online services they have launched over the past few years. Considering that Kenya has millions of businesses and individuals who have to pay taxes and more recently file returns online, this web site was able to leap from obscurity to the highest echelons of Kenya’s most popular web sites.
7. Nyeri Online: www.nyerionline.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 36).
Nyeri Online surprised me with their high ranking in Kenya considering the limited focus of their content. Nyeri Online, as its name suggests, is focused on content on Nyeri Town. Now, if Nyeri Online can achieve such a high ranking does it not go to show that there is a gap (and presumably unmet demand?) for local content that is town or city specific ALL over Kenya. I’ll end this one by saying the writing is on the wall – “build it, and they will come”.
8. Capital FM: www.capitalfm.co.ke (Kenya Alexa Rank: 38).
Capital FM is one of Kenya’s leading radio stations with a diverse range of innovative programming that has made them successful for over a decade. Therefore, its good to see that they have managed to extend this leadership to the Internet by cracking the top ten, even if just so barely. Seeing that the Daily Nation and the East African are leading by a substantial gap Capital FM could definitely rise a lot higher in the months to come. However, where are the other leading radio stations in Kenya in this ranking? Maybe they don’t see the Internet as being a key content and business channel yet? Its worrying!
9. BrighterMonday: www.brightermonday.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 41).
BrigterMonday is a web site and online business that I have long admired. They are an online jobs web site for not only Kenya but Uganda and Tanzania which makes them a truly East African online business. They have been advertising online over the years quite aggressively and I’m guessing that apart from having great content this has led them to being one of the top web sites in Kenya. Unlike the Kenyan Jobs Blog, BrigtherMonday does charge employers for listings and they do also monetize their content through ads on their web site.
10. The Business Daily: www.businessdailyafrica.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 47).
The Business Daily is yet another publication of the Nation Media Group that has managed to crack the top ten local Kenyan web sites. The Business Daily has been around for just a few years but it has firmly established as a leading business-focussed newspaper targeting a segment that wants to be on top of important business news in Kenya. The Business Daily, I suspect, has the potential to rise much higher if they invest in original online content and services beyond repurposing what comes out in the print edition.
11 and beyond….
Well, that rounds off the top ten local Kenyan web sites for January 2010. The other sites to look at are as follows:
11. Mambo: www.mambo.co.ke (Kenya Alex Rank: 50).
12. Webaraza: www.webaraza.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 53).
13. Best Jobs Kenya: www.bestjobskenya.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 61)
14. PataUza: www.patauza.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 66).
15. Haiya: www.haiya.co.ke (Kenya Alexa Rank: 68).
16. Orange Kenya: www.orange.co.ke (Kenya Alexa Rank: 69).
17. CareerPoint Kenya: www.careerpointkenya.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 73).
18. Nation Media Group: www.nationmedia.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 77).
19. Kenya Network Information Center (KeNIC): www.kenic.or.ke (Kenya Alexa Rank 78).
20. Jumuika: www.jumuika.co.ke (Kenya Alexa Rank: 79).
21. Mashada: www.mashada.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 80).
22. Safaricom: www.safaricom.co.ke (Kenya Alexa Rank: 83).
23. JengaWeb: www.jengaweb.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 87).
24. Uza Nunua: www.uzanunua.com (Kenya Alexa Rank: 94).
25. Higher Education Loans Board (HELB): www.helb.co.ke (Kenya Alexa Rank: 95).
This is an article on the rise of (digital) local content in East Africa that I wrote and was published in this week’s edition of the East African Newspaper. You can read it here>
This is an article I wrote on the growth of mobile marketing in Africa that was published in this week’s edition of the East African Newspaper. You can read it here>
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