I had a video interview as below last week with John Waibochi of VirtualCity at Pivot25 in Nairobi, Kenya. John and VirtualCity are probably best known on a global basis for winning the Nokia Challenge last year where their mobile-based supply chain application won them US$ 1 Million from a field of numerous other global competitors. In the process, they put Kenya and Africa on the global stage for innovative mobile applications, once again, in the footsteps of Ushahidi.
John shared some perspectives on what he thinks about mobile apps and the mobile ecosystem in Kenya, as well as the broader East African region. He generally thinks that within the next couple of years, East Africa will see the arrival of mobile apps that could be as globally successful based on the presentations he saw at Pivot25.
He also felt that mobile app developers in the East African region need to focus on apps that can be commercialized but not through advertising revenue as this has not been successful to-date. Lastly, he also felt that there were good prospects for social apps focussed on development in Africa but the developers behind them need to really see how they can also benefit from them since they would need to be targetted at the public sector and non-profits.
Uhasibu is a cloud-based accounting application that has been developed by Michael Pedersen whom I featured in a blog post here last month on PesaPi, an open source API for Safaricom’s M-Pesa that he also developed. It seems that Mike has been busier than I thought and from what I can tell he has managed to develop an entire accounting application, as well, with Uhasibu.
Enter Uhasibu, a cloud-based accounting application that has been built from the ground up to work specifically for Kenya rather than being adapted to Kenya as is the case with many accounting applications in use in Kenya today. I had a chance to interview Mike last week at Pivot25, a mobile apps competition where Uhasibu was one of the five category winners. Uhasibu has been designed to work in the cloud on both PC and mobile web – which qualified it as a mobile app.
Uhasibu, according to Mike, has been designed to be cost-effective and user-friendly. He is targeting Accountants as well as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as his key target markets. He reckons that Uhasibu could potentially become a leading accounting application in Kenya since its affordable and does not require large upfront investments – all one needs is a computer or mobile device connected to the Internet, a user account and a web browser once set-up to use it. You can visit the Uhasibu web site at Uhasibu.co.ke
You can watch the brief video interview that I had with Mike on Uhasibu last week at Pivot25 below:
The business card is dead. Long live the Poken! Below is a video interview I had with Tim Njiru at the Pivot25 event held last week in Nairobi, Kenya, at the Ole Sereni Hotel off Mombasa Road. Tim is a well known media personality and blogger who has been diligently and passionately promoting the Poken in Kenya over the past year or so, and especially via social media.
Poken is a nifty flash disk sized device that replaces business cards by letting users exchange contacts and social media profiles by simply making contact between their Pokens using Near Field Communication (NFC) – a wireless technology for mobile communications that is fast gaining momentum globally.
I first encountered the Poken in South Africa in 2009 during a conference and the concept at the time blew my mind away – no business cards required, just a Poken! All of us attending the conference got a Poken and I have to confess I have not used mine since then as no one in Kenya seemed to use them – until now that is.
The Poken is much more than just a device for contact exchange. Having recently looked at their web site, it has evolved into a complete contact and document information exchange platform that is also available on mobile handsets and other types of devices.
My opinion is that for Poken to become successful in Kenya, it will need to become much more widely used at conferences and events. This is going to be a tough sell but then again so were the very first mobile handsets in Kenya, and now we take them for granted.
As seen in the video below, Tim is marketing two Poken models which are the Poken Pulse for Kes. 3,000.00 (with 2GB memory which can also double up as a flash disk) and the basic Poken Spark for Kes. 2,400.00. You can reach Tim on Twitter as @timnjiru or his blog at timnjiru.com. For more information on Poken in general, you can visit their web site at poken.com.
I just watched the video presentation as below on the state of e-commerce in Africa by Oliver Rippel from MIH Internet that he gave at the recently concluded NetProphet event in South Africa. Dealfish, the online classifieds business that I run in East Africa is part of MIH Internet and is mentioned Oliver’s presentation – which gives some interesting insights as to where e-commerce is, and, where it is headed in Africa. Enjoy!
Earlier today, I had the below video interview with Joseck Mudiri who recently took up the position of Country Manager for Kalahari.co.ke, an e-commerce web site that was established in Kenya almost 2 years ago. Kalahari.co.ke has its roots in Kalahari.net which is the leading e-commerce web site in South Africa. Kalahari.co.ke is part of MIH Internet East Africa which is the same company that operates Mocality, the online business directory and Dealfish, the online classifieds web site in Kenya (which I happen to run).
Kalahari.co.ke is quite early to the e-commerce opportunity in Kenya in that there are only a handful of serious players in this very nascent of Internet business sectors. Credit card penetration in Kenya is still very low and it is for this reason Kalahari.co.ke uses Safaricom’s M-Pesa for payments since it has over 14 million users – this will change in the next upgrade in a few months time when credit cards will be able to work on Kalahari.co.ke.
In addition, Kalahari.co.ke has over 3 million products in its online store, which includes everything from books to electronics, and everything else in between. What many may not know is that Kalahari.co.ke is often cheaper for items such as Apple iPads and books than many main street retailers in Kenya. They are able to offer lower prices due their supply chain efficiencies as well as “direct to supplier” model.
You can watch the full interview with Joseck from Kalahari.co.ke below:
This is an interview that I had with Lorraine Maina of Microsoft East and Southern Africa on the Microsoft Open Day which is being held this week on the 8th of December 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya at the Westgate and Sarit Centre Malls.
Microsoft’s Open Day is targeting Application Developers, IT Professionals and Channel Partners in Kenya. Some of the highlights of the interview include:
Samsung will be launching Windows Phone 7 smartphones in January 2011 here in Kenya.
The XBOX Kinect will be demonstrated in detail at the Open Day.
That you can buy Microsoft Office for as little as Kes. 2,000.00 for home and student use in Kenya.
This is a video I took on Wednesday the 20th October 2010 which was Shujaa Day (formerly Kenyatta Day) in Kenya at the iHub, Nairobi. Reflections with Safaricom’s Michael Joseph (MJ) was a 1 to 2 hour long session whereby a select group of invitees got a chance to ask Michael Joseph questions on his wildly successful and “peculiar” decade at the helm of Safaricom, Kenya’s leading mobile network. The video has breaks here and there but its more or less everything he spoke about. I hope you enjoy hearing MJ’s words of wisdom as much as I did.
In another first this week, I had a chance to get up close and personal with Samsung’s Android Galaxy S (Model: GT-I9000) smartphone during the Samsung Africa Forum 2010 in Johannesburg (South Africa). The handset is simply stunning and marks Samsung’s first commericial foray using the wildly popular Android mobile operating system. I got a first hand look at the handset and tinkered around with it. There are so many things about it that make it a major milestone for Samsung in its wide arsenal of smartphones. It has a gorgeous Super AMOLED display and the intelligence as well as the userbility of the device come shining though with flying colors.
Having spoken to a good number of executives from Samsung regarding their plans for the Samsung S, I secured reliable information that they intend to launch it in Kenya sometime in September or October 2010. Earlier this week, also as reported on this blog, Huawei and Safaricom launched the first Android smartphone in Kenya which is expected to retail for around Kes. 30,000.00 when it hits the marketplace. The Galaxy S would therefore be the second Android handset to come to Kenya on this basis.
The Galaxy S which has not yet been launched anywhere in Africa yet already has over 100 mobile networks globally who have signed up to launch the much lauded device before the end of the year. In the US, the Galaxy S is already causing waves following its launch recently under the name “Captivate” with AT&T. Many mobile networks worldwide are planning to use the Galaxy S as a linchpin for smartphone market penetration owing to its formidable capabilities.
“The Android-powered Samsung Galaxy S will set a new standard for smartphones, and the excitement we’ve seen from operators and retailers for this device is testament to that,†said JK Shin, president and head of mobile communications business. “The Samsung Galaxy S is the perfect device for people in all corners of the world who want that extra edge; to be more effective, productive, better connected, and in tune with their smart life – both personal and professional – all in a very easy and simple way. We’re extremely confident that this device is going to be very successful in every market.â€
As part of Samsung’s drive to democratize the smartphone market, the Galaxy S will be the flagship model of the smartphone range Samsung will introduce this year. It will also offer enhanced opportunities for developers and new revenue streams for operators. JK Shin continued, “Everyone is going to benefit from this revolutionary new device: from the consumer with the phone in their hand, to application developers and the many global operators who have signed up to support the Galaxy S. This truly is a phone for the whole ecosystem.â€
Featuring Samsung’s dazzlingly bright 4-inch Super AMOLED screen and a 1 GHz application processor, the Android™-powered Samsung Galaxy S is designed to provide immersive, intelligent and integrated experiences, with the power to enrich people’s lives through best-in-class services and technologies. It will introduce people to the concept of the “Smart Life†– a smartphone experience that is simple, organize and integrated; one that enriches the lives of users.
The Galaxy S features Samsung’s super-fast TouchWiz 3.0 user-interface (UI), giving users instant access to their mobile lives. Smart Life is further enabled through intuitive, integrative features, including the Swype text input service, the rich augmented reality browser, Layar, and advanced Location Based Service (LBS) capabilities.
More than 50,000 applications from Android Market and Samsung Apps will allow users to extend the benefits and excitement of the smartphone experience even more. Users have access to Google mobile services, such as Google Search, Gmail, and Google Maps. Some of the key features of the Galaxy S are as follows:
eBook: Provides best-in-class reading experience on the phone. Customizable fonts, easy text search, and intuitive book list management offers convenient and customized reading experience.
HD Video: Super fast 1 GHz processor enhances HD video playing and recording features on dazzling Super AMOLD screen.
Daily Briefing: Offers instant access to weather, news, stocks, and the scheduler.
AllShare: Enables inter-device connectivity via DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) technology.
Augmented Reality: Shows users’ surroundings and displays information on camera-view. Tele-Atlas POI provides richer information than ever.
Swype: Provides fast and easy way to input text on screen while on-the-move.
Write and go: Jot down an idea first and later decide on a format such as SMS/ MMS, email, calendar or memo.
ThinkFree: Apps to view and edit Microsoft Office 2007 documents.
Smart Alarm: Wakes up with a natural alarm sound and automatically turned-on display light.
In addition, the specifications for the Galaxy S are as follows:
I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of WordPress 3.0. Finally, this happened last week on the 17th June 2010 and I am pleased to say that I upgraded immediately I got the news. WordPress 3.0 is the latest release of the world-leading blogging software which I happen to also use on this blog. In addition, WordPress 3.0 adds a whole new raft of features and functionalities that make it far more capable that just a great blogging software – the latest version of WordPress is now a fully fledged content management system (CMS) that is suited for any kind of web site you may want to build. It has far greater control for developers and what they can do with it – from themes, backgrounds, plug-ins, menus, etc. Best of all, one can run more than one blog or web site on a single installation! But don’t just take my word for it, for more details on whats so great about WordPress 3.o, have a look at this video below: