White African
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Mocality: Mobile Business Listings for Africa
Posted: June 22, 2010, 11:01 am by HASH
It’s not often that you hear of a tech startup from South Africa who chooses to build and deploy their product to Kenya first. In fact, I’ve never heard of such a thing. However, that is just what is happening with Mocality, a mobile and web-based business listings and directory application built for Africa.
Mocality’s job: create a digital platform that makes it easy for business owners to promote and expand their businesses in Africa.
“As a business owner, you get free SMS, a contact list, a free mobile website and a free mobile business card.”
Mocality represents this change in the paradigm that we’ve seen coming on for years in Africa. An application built agnostic to the client platform (mobile phone or PC), where data is fed into whatever you use in a meaningful way. Where the mobile usage is just as rich as the PC use.
In fact, they’ve studied usage of mobile phones on their system and have seen the usage of smartphones to be so negligible as to not matter. As CEO Stefan Magdalinski says, “This is the Mocality reality: RIM, Android, Apple are 2% of usage.”
About the TeamSuccessful startups generally have great leaders, Mocality has that. Stefan Magdalinski (@smagdali) is a seasoned web veteran and entrepreneur, co-founder of Moo.com and an early entrant into the programming space in England in the mid-90′s, and just recently relocating to South Africa for Mocality. They have plenty of funding, from MIH, a subsidiary of Naspers Group (who has been eying Kenya with recent forays such as Kalahari and Haiya).
I’ve met with Stefan in Kenya and South Africa, and I’ve also had the chance to meet some of the members of his team here in Nairobi. The impression that I’m left with is that this is a serious startup, with plenty of funding and a great vision and a strategy put in place to pull it off.
How it WorksMocality is built for Kenyan businesses that don’t have enough money (or value to gain) to advertise in a print directory.
Again, a paradigm shift. They’re saying that they don’t care about the big end of the power law of distribution (the big companies), only the longtail (small, marginalized businesses). This is apparent in the images below of their typical user:
- SMS, WAP & Web tools (now J2Me, iPhone)
- Businesses can self list
- Geo-coding All business locations
- Map view of business
- Business toolkit:
- Add customers & suppliers
- Send bulk messages (400 free SMS monthly) (but with anti-spam controls)
- Send mobile business card
- Add details (e.g. Menus, Special Offers)
- Website, google optimised (white hat only)
Important to business owners in this segment is that the platform is free. Services will be added to the platform over time that business owners can pay for, but currently the only cost to them is data or SMS usage on their own mobile phone to access Mocality.
Scaling using the CrowdInitially, the Mocality team walked all over Nairobi getting businesses to put their listings on the platform. They were successful, and in about 6 months of hard work were able to get approximately 11,000 businesses listed. That’s good, but barely puts a dent in the number of companies operating in this city.
The team then launched a crowdsourcing option, where they experimented with allowing anyone in Nairobi to add their own (and other’s) businesses to Mocality, and they got paid a bounty to do so. Within the last 6 weeks they have as many listings entered as the previous 6 months. If you live in Nairobi and want to become an agent, you need a WAP-enabled cameraphone and only need to visit [www.mocality.com].
That’s impressive, but the impact is even more apparent when you look at the visualization:
If you have a business in Nairobi, you can get your listing onto it by visiting www.mocality.com email to info@mocality.co.ke or SMS callme to 2202 from within Kenya.
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SwiftRiver 101 at the iHub
Posted: June 15, 2010, 6:44 pm by HASH
Jon Gosier is the founder of Appfrica Labs in Kampala, Uganda, he’s also a Senior TED Fellow, a great African tech blogger and a good friend. I’m fortunate enough to work with him at Ushahidi too, where Jon heads up the SwiftRiver initiative with his team in Uganda.
“SwiftRiver is a free and open source software platform that uses algorithms and crowdsourcing to validate and filter news.”
SwiftRiver v0.2.0 (Batuque) is out. There’s a new plugin structure called “turbines” already sporting 3 new ones for natural language processing, Google’s Language Services and TagTheNet. (see video below for more)
Jon is in Nairobi, he’s here to lead two SwiftRiver 101 classes at the iHub tomorrow. The morning session is for non-techies, or anyone who just wants a primer on the platform. The afternoon session is for programmers who want to see how they can get involved.
Getting Started with SwiftRiver – Batuque from Ushahidi on Vimeo.
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Barcamp Nairobi 2010: Day 2
Posted: June 13, 2010, 12:12 pm by HASH
Today is only a half day at Barcamp Nairobi 2010. We’re getting underway, and there are 5 talks so far:
- 9 colloquial Kenyan languages in Whive.com by John Karanja
- Live mapping using OpenStreetMap and GPS units by @mikel
- “Build a Drupal site in 20-minutes” by @batje
- “Geek girls in Nairobi” by the Akirachix
- Explaining the Kenya ICT Board $3m grant by @Kaburo
- Google Geo API
“US$ 4 Million of the proceeds for Grant Applications for the development of digital content and software applications.”
It was announced 10 days ago, and there are already 500+ applications. Final applications are due by July 19, 2010.
$10k for individuals and $50k for organizations. That is a Kenyan citizen and above 18 years old, for companies, you have to be registered in Kenya. You have to show your resume/CV for the leadership team.
The application can be done online.
Two main areas of the grant:
- Government services and applications (5 ministries)
- Any innovative ideas around digital content and software
The first 46 grants will be handed out to both private and public sector ideas and applications. More grants will be given out to companies (30) than private individuals (16), but there will be an equal split between the two groupings.
Grants announced on August 15th, 2010, at which point they will be working on contracts. The grant will be given out in 3-4 tranches, starting in October 2010. The funds have to be spent within 12 months. There will only be 46 grants given out this year (2010).
A single company can apply in multiple rounds for a grant, but will only be given one grant per round.
What protection will your idea be given? The team looking at and reviewing/judging the applications will be signing NDAs. There are 9 judges who will decide the winning proposals, and they do plan on sharing the names of those individuals.
Some people are worried that if they have a new idea, and they’re working for a company, that that company will own it and not them. Kaburo Kobia is suggesting that if they believe that is really the case, then the individuals should break away before then.
If you have any questions, make use of their website, send them an email at grants@ict.co.ke, call them at +254-020-2211960 or visit them on the 12th floor of Teleposta towers.
Google Maps APIMano is one of the top engineers from the Google Maps team and he was flown out to Kenya specifically for Barcamp Nairobi. He’s giving an overview of what can be done using their API, well beyond the normal pointal use that we see all the time.
I asked him what they’re doing about offline mapping, especially for those of us in Africa who don’t have the same access to connectivity. Mano says that they’re concerned about offline maps as well, which they don’t offer, but not for the reason I suggested. Instead, they see most of the people in the world accessing maps via mobiles, so they need to be able to let that happen when data capability is not within range.
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Barcamp Nairobi 2010 is Humming!
Posted: June 12, 2010, 1:06 pm by HASH
It’s our first chai break and there’s easily 250+ people at Barcamp Nairobi 2010 already. The hashtag is #BarcampNairobi, there is a @BarcampNairobi Twitter account. We’re streaming it LIVE here.
The Barcamp Nairobi 2010 Flickr group is here.
There is blogging going on at the following links (ping me if I miss you):
KosmoReporter (Pictures)
iHub blog
Wannabe Geek (Live Blogging)
MultiplicitySome amazing things have happened to get us to this point. Phares Kariuki led the organizing team, where people volunteered of their time to organize and create the logo. Sponsors really stepped up, including:
Ushahidi
Mocality
Seven Seas
Zuku
K24
Google Kenya
Kenya ICT Board
iHub (facility)
NaiLab (facility) -
Barcamp Nairobi this Weekend
Posted: June 8, 2010, 10:31 am by HASH
It’s that time of year again, so I hope all of you Nairobian techies, bloggers and programmers are ready for Barcamp Nairobi. [Twitter: @BarcampNairobi]
Barcamp Nairobi will take place at the iHub and NaiLab, starting at 9am on Saturday June 12th and going late into the night. It keeps going on Sunday with WhereCamp Africa, so all you geo/mapping geeks get ready.
As usual, those who get in early will get a Barcamp t-shirt, until they’re all gone.
Register here. There are already about 300 planning to attend.
A Barcamp Primer“Barcamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from participants who are the main actors of the event.”
Those who haven’t been to a Barcamp need to understand something: You make the event. It’s a very democratic event, it doesn’t matter if you’re the Permanent Secretary of a university student, if you have something people want to hear, you’ll have a chance to sign up for a time and room to talk in, and people will vote with their feet on whether or not they like your topic.
We start the morning off with a session where everyone gets a chance to put forward their topic and then sign up for a time and room. The day then begins, and it’s a madhouse of great talks and even better people and connections. Food and snacks are provided, and the new iHub coffee shop is open for you to buy your caffeinated drinks all day long.
Potential Topcis
- Using my (GPS Enabled) cell phone to avoid traffic
- Cloud Computing Applications in Kenya
- Business Skills for Techies
- Rural ICT
- ICT initiatives for youth
- Mobile Application Development
- Using Google Fusion Tables
- Web design, and why it’s not as good as it should be in Kenya
- Hardware hacking
- Tips and tricks for internet connectivity around Nairobi
- Merging mobile and electronic commerce concepts
- Walking-papers.org: openstreetmapping without a GPS
- Drupal, WordPress, Joomla and other CMS hacks
Get your talk ready!
Map & DirectionsThe iHub is on the 4th floor of the Bishop Magua Centre, directly opposite Uchumi Hyper on Ngong Road.
View iHub – Nairobi’s Innovation Hub in a larger mapIt’s hard to believe it’s been 2 years since we last did this, letting 2009 slip by us… I’m really glad we’re doing this in 2010 and happy that Ushahidi is sponsoring it, as well as the iHub providing the space!
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Nairobi Hackers Descend Upon the iHub
Posted: June 5, 2010, 2:27 pm by HASH
I’m sitting at the iHub this morning, after just having given my welcome to the 40+ Nairobian hackers who have descended upon the place. They’re here to take part in the global Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) hackathon to develop tech solutions to pressing needs in crisis and disaster response.
It should come as no surprise that Nairobi’s technorati are well-versed in mobile solutions, that’s quickly becoming a competitive advantage in this city. So far we have groups coming up with solutions for amputee registration via SMS and USSD, An SMS solution to create distress texts, improvements to people finder apps and tracking of mobile payments.
Keep up to speed- My Pictures
- Live stream
- Twitter, follow #RHoK or @iHubNairobi
- The iHub Blog
This event goes through Sunday afternoon, it’s a full 36 hour hackathon. Watch as the devs in Kenya work with their counterparts in Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, the US and UK. Keep an eye out on the above resources to see what comes out of Africa!
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The “Nokia: Innovating Africa” presentation
Posted: June 4, 2010, 8:13 pm by HASH
A special thanks to all of the commentors from the last couple days who gave of their opinions to help Nokia think differently about innovating in Africa. It was these comments that I channeled, where I served as a messenger to tell the Nokia executives who flew in from all over the continent and Europe for this meeting in Nairobi.
Nokia: Innovating in Africa talk
Points made in the talk[Note: most of these points came directly from the readers on my last post.]
First, stop treating the Middle East and Africa as a single region. If you’re serious about Africa, treat it as its own region.
Second, stop colluding with the operators and start colluding with your customers.
The mobile space is more nuanced now, it’s difficult to create a handset that will change your fate, instead it’s a mixture of software, apps, web platforms and data costs (as well as handsets) that decide your future.
Engage developers, third party programmers and businesses is where innovation comes from, not a large, slow company.
Standardize your UI and OS, strengthen your APIs. Get out of the way and let software developers innovate on a platform.
Make it easy for developers to make money, even in Africa. Figure out a way that people get paid and can bill via your server-side offerings like Ovi.
Take some of the big money that’s being thrown at high-profile “global social change competitions”, which generally attract Western organizations, and do more smaller-scale work at the grassroots level.
A large percentage of users can’t afford the data plan to get on your own websites and the Ovi store. Zero rate them. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be eating Facebook’s, Twitter’s and Google’s lunch in this, as Nokia has deeper penetration with mobile operators than almost anyone else on the continent.
Consider a specialized site for Africa, loading fast on low bandwidth.
You were too slow on the dual SIM card movement, that if anything showed you had lost your innovative practices in the emerging markets like Africa.
Today it’s driving the cheapest candybar phone to the lowest possible price. Good, keep that up. While you’re doing so, make the battery last longer and keep thinking of great ways to recharge it (solar or bicycle dyno).
But, look ahead are realize that even here in Africa, people want Smartphones with real web browsers, social networking and entertainment apps. Do it for under $100.
You don’t want to hear it, but I’ll say it anyway. Software isn’t your strong point, hardware is. Consider embracing Android.
How about a multi-touch dual-SIM Android smartphone for under $100… can you do it?
SD cards = digital storage. In fact, provide these with content already on them, including books, encyclopedias, etc.
Cloud-based services, including heavy application processes, would mean deeper penetration into phones with less RAM, content backup, and a content creation and sharing link that is still untapped.
Be the first to implement 802.21 in your handsets, allowing a seamless handover from WiFi to GSM/GPRS. Lead the charge to fully IP-enabled phones.
Finally, nothing will get better by holding to the status quo and slipping into mediocrity. Now is the time for daring exploits, especially in the places with the most growth potential and where your competition is either light or weak.
Africa is ripe for experimental phones and financing models, what is new coming out of Africa first?
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The “Nokia: Innovating Africa” presentation
Posted: June 4, 2010, 8:13 pm by HASH
A special thanks to all of the commentors from the last couple days who gave of their opinions to help Nokia think differently about innovating in Africa. It was these comments that I channeled, where I served as a messenger to tell the Nokia executives who flew in from all over the continent and Europe for this meeting in Nairobi.
Nokia: Innovating in Africa talk
Points made in the talk[Note: most of these points came directly from the readers on my last post.]
First, stop treating the Middle East and Africa as a single region. If you’re serious about Africa, treat it as its own region.
Second, stop colluding with the operators and start colluding with your customers.
The mobile space is more nuanced now, it’s difficult to create a handset that will change your fate, instead it’s a mixture of software, apps, web platforms and data costs (as well as handsets) that decide your future.
Engage developers, third party programmers and businesses is where innovation comes from, not a large, slow company.
Standardize your UI and OS, strengthen your APIs. Get out of the way and let software developers innovate on a platform.
Make it easy for developers to make money, even in Africa. Figure out a way that people get paid and can bill via your server-side offerings like Ovi.
Take some of the big money that’s being thrown at high-profile “global social change competitions”, which generally attract Western organizations, and do more smaller-scale work at the grassroots level.
A large percentage of users can’t afford the data plan to get on your own websites and the Ovi store. Zero rate them. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be eating Facebook’s, Twitter’s and Google’s lunch in this, as Nokia has deeper penetration with mobile operators than almost anyone else on the continent.
Consider a specialized site for Africa, loading fast on low bandwidth.
You were too slow on the dual SIM card movement, that if anything showed you had lost your innovative practices in the emerging markets like Africa.
Today it’s driving the cheapest candybar phone to the lowest possible price. Good, keep that up. While you’re doing so, make the battery last longer and keep thinking of great ways to recharge it (solar or bicycle dyno).
But, look ahead are realize that even here in Africa, people want Smartphones with real web browsers, social networking and entertainment apps. Do it for under $100.
You don’t want to hear it, but I’ll say it anyway. Software isn’t your strong point, hardware is. Consider embracing Android.
How about a multi-touch dual-SIM Android smartphone for under $100… can you do it?
SD cards = digital storage. In fact, provide these with content already on them, including books, encyclopedias, etc.
Cloud-based services, including heavy application processes, would mean deeper penetration into phones with less RAM, content backup, and a content creation and sharing link that is still untapped.
Be the first to implement 802.21 in your handsets, allowing a seamless handover from WiFi to GSM/GPRS. Lead the charge to fully IP-enabled phones.
Finally, nothing will get better by holding to the status quo and slipping into mediocrity. Now is the time for daring exploits, especially in the places with the most growth potential and where your competition is either light or weak.
Africa is ripe for experimental phones and financing models, what is new coming out of Africa first?
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What would you say to Nokia Africa?
Posted: June 2, 2010, 10:23 pm by HASH
On Friday I’ll be addressing some of the top business decision makers for Nokia in Africa. My goal is to shake them up a little, make them think deeply and differently about the African market.
Nokia hasn’t truly innovated in Africa since they put a flashlight in a Nokia 1100 in 2003.
I’ve been asked to discuss my views on how the handset and mobile services business situation is developing, what the opportunities are in those areas and suggestions on how Nokia could lead in this market.
Therein lies the problem: I’m only one person with one opinion, they need to hear from others with different experiences.
What would you say?Add yours in the comments below. The best will be brought to the Nokia executives attention:
Here are a couple from Twitter.
- Top-end or low-end handsets, what does Nokia stand for here? (via Niti Bhan)
- Innovate on the user experience for low-end handsets. (via Rombo)
- Is Nokia serious about social impact, or is that just face paint?
- Africa is ripe for experimental phones and financing models, what is new coming out of Africa first?
Don’t just think cheap handsets. What else would you do within business models and solutions?
Blah blah blah
Fish cakes
Alas a fish cake.
Yet more fish cakes
Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.
The end of the fish cakes
