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Items by Moses Kemibaro

Moses Kemibaro

Kenya Airways, Cellulant partner to launch ‘KQ Mobile’

Posted: May 7, 2012, 1:13 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

… new mobile phone-based customer service platform to ease ticketing and enhance services

Nairobi, May 7, 2012… Kenya Airways, in conjunction with local IT firm Cellulant, has launched a new mobile technology platform that will enable the airline’s customers to enjoy enhanced interactive services.

In a trendsetting move, Kenya Airways now becomes one of the first airlines in Africa to deliver a mobile phone-based solution as part of its customer service information enhancement programme.

Speaking when he confirmed the new development, Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer Titus Naikuni said that the information will be delivered on their customer’s mobile phones via multiple channel solutions.

The recently launched 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.

Powered by Cellulant, the new KQ Mobile platform can also be accessed while roaming across all 56 Kenya Airways destinations. The service comprises bulk SMS and USSD platforms.

Bulk SMS enables the sending of SMSs to the airline’s staff and customers through local and international mobile operator networks. USSD (which stands for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) platform enables a subscriber’s phone handset to perform certain business/information transactions by dialing a certain code.

“At Kenya Airways, our commitment to diversify customer service information delivery channels beyond the traditional platforms remains one of our key business priorities. Our partnership with Cellulant is expressly geared to explore new avenues to achieve this goal,” Naikuni said.

He added: “Our ultimate goal is to leverage the convenience element presented by a mobile phone to deliver a range of services and information to our customers, staff and stakeholders.”

With the activation of KQ Mobile, Kenya Airways is now well positioned to deliver customer information on a real-time basis, as well as tailor services to its customers.

According to Cellulant’s Chief Business Officer Paul Ndichu, the new partnership with KQ will afford the national carrier a range of interactive mobile based platforms to engage its passengers and customers among other stakeholders including staff.

“The goal of the partnership is to leverage the mobile phone to provide various information services to KQ customers, staff and other stakeholders in order to improve communication, enable itinerary and disruption management, payments and, importantly, to provide passengers the opportunity to customize their travel experience with ease,” Ndichu explained.

In Africa, Cellulant is one of the leading mobile technology firms in Africa, creating and delivering innovative solutions that connect millions of customers to diverse services on the mobile phone while enabling corporations better understand and serve their customers.

The company has pioneered mobile-centric innovations across multiple industry segments including banking, insurance, agriculture and utilities. In Nigeria, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, it has recently piloted an e-wallet to power distribution of fertilizer through the agricultural value chain.
Orange Kenya’s Holla Tariff for free daily calls, SMS & Internet goes permanent.

Posted: April 25, 2012, 7:31 pm by Moses Kemibaro

press release

• Permanent tariff informed by Orange Mobile customer demand and uptake of the new offer
• 24 hour bundle includes unlimited free calls and SMSs within Orange network, 20 free off-net SMSes and free 10 MB data daily
• The Holla tariff includes free access to Facebook Zero

Nairobi, April 26, 2012… Integrated telecommunications service provider Orange has today announced that its bundled offer Holla is now a permanent tariff.

“Due to the positive response from Orange customers during the promotional period, we have decided to transform Holla into a permanent tariff,” said Telkom Kenya Chief Executive Mickael Ghossein.

Holla a 24-hour, daily bundled tariff targeting the youth is part of Telkom Kenya’s strategy to aggressively tap into this market segment.

Rechargeable via a daily KSh10 subscription, the bundled tariff will allow Orange pre-paid customers to enjoy round-the-clock, free on-net calls, free on-net SMSs, 20 free off-net SMSs and 10 free 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, Ghossein also announced that the company 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.

“We are calling this the Open Orange Holla Day and encourage all our customers to enjoy the free subscription of 24 hours and share their feedback with us,” he said.

The Holla tariff is aligned to the Orange brand promise of launching innovative products and services that will enable Orange customers to experience the reliability and quality of the expanded Orange Mobile network.

The latest CCK quarterly sector statistics report for the October – December 2011 period, indicates that Orange Mobile subscribers increased by 35.46 % to 2,889,910 subscribers from 2,133,462 recorded during the same period in 2010. The company currently has 10.3% of the mobile market share in Kenya.

“Mobile telephony represents the larger platform through which people are accessing the internet and Orange is intent on making their usage as enriching and rewarding as possible,” said Ghossein.
Considering mobile (web) marketing in Kenya and/or Africa? 6 things you need to know.

Posted: April 15, 2012, 3:01 pm by Moses Kemibaro
As mentioned in my latest post on this blog, mobile marketing in all its myriad forms will change marketing as a whole in Kenya and the rest of Africa in the coming years. The reason for this is simple – when mobile is used as as marketing media, it is one of the most cost-effective, ubiquitous, measurable, targeted and scalable medias in the world today and more so in countries like Kenya in Africa. The reach for mobile media in Africa is over 600 million mobile subscribers and Kenya has over 28 million mobile subscribers. However, how can one get started? What do you need to do and what are the pitfalls of mobile marketing. As mentioned in my latest blog post, mobile has “sub-channels” for marketing comprised of USSD, SMS, Mobile Web and IVR. For purposes of this post and what I know best, I would like to talk about 6 things you need to consider if you want to market via the Mobile Web in Kenya and/or the rest of Africa:
- Mobile Web and/or Mobile Apps?: Of late, there has been much debate globally as to whether its more practical to build a mobile app or a mobile web site for marketing purposes. For all the hype that mobile apps get today, its easy to get caught up in the same and invest loads of cash building one for your business or brand. However, the reality is that the market in Africa for mobile apps is still very nascent and most mobile apps hardly get downloaded and used by the majority of mobile subscribers. On this basis, my recommendation would be to build a mobile web site or a campaign mobile landing page for your brand(s) or business that is optimized to be accessible on the majority of mobile devices used in Africa. From research, current, Nokia is still the dominant mobile device in Africa and as such would be common denominator when building a mobile web site. Smartphones and tablets are still only gaining traction in Africa and as such it would best to gradually target these devices over the next couple of years or so.
- Performance or Branding Mobile Campaigns?: When running marketing campaigns on mobile web advertising platforms such as InMobi it is firstly important to determine if your marketing campaigns are focussed on performance or branding objectives. Perfromance campaigns are driven towards explicit outcomes based on metrics such as number of customer acquired, app downloads, leads generated, etc. This means that every click is supposed to lead to a a specific and measurable outcome. At the same time, a branding campaign is driven around implicit campaign objectives such as building brand awareness or visibility to a broad audience. In both cases, its possible to optimize each campaign type based on whether its performance or branding driven.
- Calls-To-Action Based On Campaign Objectives: In addition to determining what campaign objectives are based on branding or performance goals, each campaign is designed to go to a specific mobile web “destination” after the click on a text or banner ad. This is NOT always going to mobile web site but could also be any of the following:
- Digital Marketing Terminology: Mobile marketing uses lots of interesting terminology to describe different aspects. These terms are broadly used across all forms of digital marketing and are important to know as follows:
- Creatives for Text, Banner Ads and Rich Media: Mobile marketing creatives need to be developed to drive clicks that determine how well your campaign will perform. These include text ads, banner ads and rich media creatives. In my experience, rich media is the most complex to pull off since the resources required to execute it are significant and delivery can be limited as many mobile devices in Africa do not support it. However, one can actually run a a full campaign using just text ads linked to a basic call to action like click to Facebook. Its that simple and does not have to be overly complicated.
- Campaign Management and Monitoring: Mobile marketing campaigns need to be to managed and monitored so as to optimize results. This means everything from doing testing of different kinds of creatives for ads to achieve higher click though rates to changing calls to action depending on campaign objectives or even deciding to target specific models or makes of mobile devices (think all Nokia devices versus Android or Apple iOS devices). In addition, from a monitoring perspective, using Analytics to see how well a campaign is performing is also critical. Ultimately, through campaign management and monitoring one can really make their mobile marketing efforts significantly more successful.
Decoding Cellulant’s Ken Njoroge.

Posted: April 14, 2012, 4:06 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Cellulant's CEO Ken Njoroge at the Lagos Marina in March 2012

Ken Njoroge is an ambitious man. When Ken tells you that he intends (not wants, intends) to grow Cellulant into a company that has 100 million customers in Africa paying them US$ 1.00 per month by 2015 you don’t get the impression he is kidding – you know he means it. If you do the math, that would mean Ken wants to grow Cellulant into a company that makes over US$ 1 Billion in revenue per year in just 3 years time. Farfetched? Not in a world where Africa is the fastest growing market for mobile subscriptions and a whole range of related services including mobile money.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Cellulant, this is a company that has been around for just over a decade and has won numerous accolades in that time. Cellulant is a mobile value-added services (VAS) company focussing on mobile content and mobile financial services that started in Kenya and has quickly grown its presence to encompass a good number of countries throughout the African continent. The funny thing though is that Cellulant has managed to more or less remain “below the radar” as they tend to work in the “back-end” of the large companies who use their mobile services such as Kenya Airways, Kenya Commercial Bank Group, Barclays Bank Africa, Standard Chartered Bank and many many others. They are not what would call a consumer facing business (although this is changing) but tend to power consumer services for these business behemoths in Africa.

I was in Lagos (Nigeria) last month and as it happened Ken and I were on the same flight from Nairobi. We agreed to meet and have a long overdue coffee as well as do some shopping at one of the new(er) malls popping up all over Lagos. By the way, if you are a business in Africa and want to be BIG, you have to be in Nigeria as soon as possible since their economy is growing like a weed and is expected to eclipse that of South Africa (currently the largest in Africa) in just a few years time. When you realize that Nigeria is a market of over 150 million people, the numbers do add up and clearly everyone is setting up shop there. Ken was in Nigeria to have a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture where Cellulant had been engaged to develop and deploy an innovative and multimillion dollar mobile service to distribute funds for fertilizer subsidies to farmers. Its a massive project that shows just how far Cellulant has come to-date.

I have known Ken since 1999 when he was one of the co-founders of web services company 3mice. I joined 3mice in 2000 and worked with Ken for around 2 years before opting to start Dotsavvy. However, I will never forget my first day at work at 3mice. I basically traveled from Mombasa the day before and reported to work the next day. On my first day at work, Ken asked me to help him work on a large pitch for a financial services prospect. I left the office with him the next day at around 2.00 am. Yes, that was day one working with Ken at 3mice. Ken is a focused guy and is not given to trivial pursuits to the point that he has been known to grate people by his work ethic and sheer drive. Frankly, I think its the reason why Cellulant has come so far. Its this very unrelenting determination that makes Cellulant tick, and tock.

Although Cellulant has been a large success and recently received substantial equity funding, who is Ken Njoroge? For many out there, Ken has been something of an enigma as he is deliberately a private man. He is happily married with 3 children. He opts to stay out of the public eye and focus on running and expanding Cellulant across Africa. He has managed to hire a crack team and is gradually giving up some of the many functions he has run as CEO to-date at Cellulant to new hires coming from some of the world’s leading businesses in Africa and beyond. Cellulant was started with a little more than an idea of what you would call today an infographic showing a mobile ecosystem where a myriad of businesses and service providers would be able to connect to consumers and Cellulant as the glue that would bind them all, and take transaction commissions for facilitating services in the process. It was this “infographic”, a laptop and a table that he used to get started, with lots hard work and some help along the way.

Today, Cellulant is estimated to be worth over US$ 30 Million. One thing Ken points out about this valuation is that its inherently “locked” in the business and cannot be extracted until such time the shareholders consider shedding large portions of their equity. Ken also suggests that he has been “lucky” with Cellulant since the last 10 years have been like many leaps of faith with things coming together, “at just the right time”. Having been an entrepreneur myself like Ken, I can totally relate about the times when everything just goes right that it seems as if the Hand of God was in the mix. True story! An interesting observation I picked from Ken is that he thinks unless a business is growing by at least 40% per year, its in trouble! Serious trouble. He has this opinion based on prior experience.

Ken laments at the fact that when he started Cellulant there was no kind of real venture funding in Kenya or the African Continent. It was really friends and family who helped give their business a starting chance. Ken hints that he is considering starting an Angel fund for start-ups in Africa so as to give them the “kick-off” that he never had to ease the passage to viability as businesses. However, Ken also notes that the failure rate for most start-ups is stupendous and as such mentorship of these start-ups would also be a key aspect behind such a fund, should it happen. One thing Ken pointed out during our chat is that Cellulant needed to “pivot” its business model at an early stage to remain viable. This was the point when they moved from focussing just on mobile content and bulk SMS services to handling mobile services for financial services providers. This move is more or less the main reason they are still in business and have expanded exponentially across Africa.

Further down the road, Ken thinks that he may be interested in trying his hand at politics in Kenya should such an opportunity present itself. I am not sure if he is serious when he makes this point in our chat but Kenya could use some new and radically different blood on the political scene from proven captains of industry such as Ken. Who knows how this may go if it actually happens. However, probably the most compelling aspect of our discussion is when Ken expounds on his vision for Cellulant creating a mobile services ecosystem that connects, in his words, “everyone and everything”. This process has actually begun and its only a matter of time before it becomes an Africa-wide mobile ecosystem that could rival mobile networks themselves. Indeed, it was back in 2001 when Ken first shared with me his “vision” for a mobile services business. At the time, I was quite transfixed on “desktop” Internet services and could not “get it”. 10 years later, clearly, its apparent that mobile is indeed the future of technology and business in Africa and beyond. I have only begun to “decode” Ken Njoroge in this respect and everyday I can’t help but wonder just how far he and Cellulant could go.
LION2 high speed undersea cable goes live in Kenya.

Posted: April 13, 2012, 10:51 am by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

The Lower Indian Ocean Network submarine cable (LION2) operated by Telkom Kenya, a subsidiary of the France Telecom Group, has gone live. Telkom Kenya Chief Executive Mr. Mickhael Ghossein said LION2, whose laying cost over Ksh 5.7 billion (57 million Euros), is now operational and will significantly boost Kenya’s bandwidth capacity.

The submarine cable, which is the fourth to land in Mombasa after EASSy, TEAMS and SEACOM, is a 2,700 km long extension of the initial Lower Indian Ocean Network that connects Madagascar to the rest of the world, providing alternate onward connectivity from Kenya to Asia and Europe.

“It will guarantee our customers of a robust platform to enjoy our services and products across the region. Besides improving our services, LION 2 will also play a great role in addressing redundancy, especially during outages like the ones experienced in March that impacted both TEAMs and EaSSy,” said Mr. Ghossein, adding that this would in turn reassure the firm’s customers of business continuity, network stability and reliability.

LION2 extends from Mayotte, an island off the Indian Ocean Coast to Nyali in Mombasa. It links East Africa to Madagascar, Mayotte and the Reunion Island, providing an opportunity for increased international traffic through Kenya which further strengthens the country’s positioning as a regional communication hub. Lion 2 uses the most advanced technology for submarine cables – wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and as it will currently offer a maximum capacity of I.28 tbps, in future, this capacity can be increased without additional submarine work.

The construction of the Lion2 cable represents a total investment of around 57 million Euros of which 38 million Euros comes from France Telecom and its subsidiaries. The laying of LION2 cable began in the fourth quarter of 2010, with key shareholders being France Telecom-Orange, Telkom Kenya, Mauritius Telecom and Orange Madagascar as well as carrier companies Emtel Ltd. and Société Réunionnaise du Radiotéléphone.

Apart from LION2, Telkom Kenya has also invested heavily in other joint broadband infrastructure projects including TEAMS and EASSy submarine cables and terrestrial backbone and is currently expanding its high quality wireless network for both GSM and CDMA across the country.

Due to these infrastructure investments, Telkom Kenya is presently a one-stop shop and a world-class integrated solutions provider in the region with the most innovative and cutting-edge technologies that ensure business efficiency and effectiveness.
Safaricom to launch 42 Mbps mobile Internet in Nairobi next week.

Posted: April 3, 2012, 4:24 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

subscribers in sections of Nairobi will from next week access the Internet at much faster speeds of 42 Mbps after a system upgrade. Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said initial roll-out will involve subscribers in the firm’s Data Belt within the Central Business District (CBD), Kileleshwa, Kilimani and Westlands. The Data Belt forms an area which has high Internet usage. The 42 Mbps trials started after the launch of 21 Mbps last year.

Mr. Collymore was speaking on the sidelines of a three days Connected Kenya Summit being held at the Leisure Lodge. The conference, with the theme “Knowledge and Beyond” was opened by Assistant Minister for Information and Technology Mr. Simon Ogari. “At Safaricom, our aim is to ‘democratize’ the internet and bring it to as many Kenyans as possible. With the launch of this upgrade that allows for faster speeds, we are demonstrating true leadership in this quest,” said Mr. Collymore.

He said the move was a direct response to consumer concerns and promised that the firm would continue listening and acting upon user feedback. Mr. Collymore said modems to support the speeds will be available soon after making the official announcement later. When Safaricom last upgraded its speeds from 7.2 Mbps to 21 Mbps, the consumer data offering also included a Huawei E1820 modem to support the speeds.

Safaricom was the first Kenyan operator to commercially launch a 3G network in October 2007, ensuring that its subscribers accessed high speed mobile data. The technology was initially available in and around Nairobi but was later rolled throughout the country within a year. Mr. Collymore said the country needed to tap into the huge youthful population – one of Kenya’s richest resources – providing them with information. Kenya’s youth unemployment rate is estimated at more than 60 per cent. Although 14 million out of a population of 40 million Kenyans have Internet access, this figure represented only 34 per cent of the population. “It is critical that this number increases,” said Mr. Collymore.

Although it has barely been scratched, the mobile internet market is becoming important for the mobile telephony firms said Mr. Collymore. Subscribers accessing internet through the mobile phones stood at 5.3 million during the period under review, out of which Safaricom controlled 4.3 million users or 88 per cent of the market share. Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) data shows that 14.3 million Kenyans had internet access in the period to September, up from 8.6 million in September 2010 pushing internet penetration to 36.3 per cent from 22.1 per cent. “14 million of the 40 million Kenyans having Internet access is indeed testament to the fact that we are embracing the information age. Yet this is only 34 per cent of the population. It is critical that this number increases,” said Mr. Collymore.
Kenyan App Developer awarded prize by InMobi to further education

Posted: March 28, 2012, 12:30 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

There have been many predictions made by journalists, analysts and research houses that the “App” will eventually replace the current Internet, as we know it today. Having said that the App Developer community on the African continent is still very much in its infancy when compared to many other parts of the World.

There are many initiatives currently underway on the continent that are driving growth in this market though, for example some of the work being done by iHub in Nairobi, and that of Silicon Cape in Cape Town. Many technology-based conferences are also adding App developer contests to their agenda’s, such as the recent Mobile Web East Africa conference that took place in Nairobi towards the end of February 2012.

The App Developer contest held by Mobile Web East Africa, and sponsored by InMobi and Blackberry saw five developers pitch their Apps to a judging panel, 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.

Moses Kemibaro (Left) and Jisas Lemasagarai (Right) of InMobi award Nivi Mukherjee of eLimu (Centre) with her prize for winning Best App at the Mobile Web East Africa App Developer contest

The winning app was 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.”

App development offers a huge opportunity for the African continent, providing a new platform for entrepreneurs to grow, and in turn providing employment prospects. Isis Nyong’o, VP and MD of Africa for InMobi says “The success of apps is linked directly to discoverability, utility and cost. One key challenge for developers is how to effectively distribute their app to the right target market. InMobi acknowledges this and enables developers to reach their target market in a cost-effective manner through our mobile advertising network.”

Part of the prize that eLimu was awarded is $1500 worth of advertising on the InMobi network, the largest independent network mobile advertising 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”.
Samsung opens service centre in Kisumu

Posted: February 26, 2012, 4:35 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Samsung Electronics East Africa, has moved to step up its nationwide market expansion plans with the opening of a fully fledged service centre in Kisumu. The move by Samsung which is part of a global expansion strategy comes hot on the heels of a similar opening in Nairobi barely a month ago as the firm increasingly moves to raise its market share in Kenya.

Speaking in Kisumu during the opening of the new Samsung Customer Service Plaza at Swan Centre, Samsung Regional Head of Service Ms. Koki Muia confirmed that the firm is investing heavily in its bid to roll-out a sound after sales service infrastructure. As part of Samsung’s global investment plans, the local unit is also raising its market presence through collaborative business partnerships with local retailers and technology service providers.

Earlier in the year, global holding firm, Samsung Group, which includes Samsung Electronics Co, announced that it had raised its 2012 investment to a record $41.4 billion and is the only technology firm that has raised its investment budgets this year as other firms cut down.

In Kenya, the new service centres are manned by highly trained engineers and also hold genuine Samsung spare parts for a range of Samsung mobile handsets, TV’s, microwaves, air conditioner units and refrigerators among other appliances. “Given the overwhelming support from our customers, we have embarked on a strategic plan to rollout fully fledged customer service centres in all major towns,” Ms. Muia said. She added, “our customers in Nyanza region will now enjoy peace of mind assured that our customer service plaza can handle both major and minor repairs for their appliances.

Globally, Samsung Electronics makes mobile processors to power Apple’s iPhone and iPad as well as its own Galaxy line of mobile products. Its display unit, Samsung Mobile Display, is also a near monopolistic supplier of organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, which are mainly used in high-end mobile gadgets and are set to become dominant in TV screens to replace LCD. Samsung’s OLED display revenues are expected to exceed $20 billion by 2018 to account for 16 percent of the total display industry, up from the current 4 percent, according to research firm DisplaySearch.
[Video] Interview with Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop in Nairobi, Kenya at the mLab.

Posted: February 11, 2012, 10:47 am by Moses Kemibaro

Below is a brief interview I had with Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop earlier this week at the mLab in Nairobi, Kenya. Mr. Elop was visiting Kenya to talk to Mobile Application Developers as well as bloggers like me. His visit was highly anticipated and the security provided by G4S at the mLab was formidable. I was invited for a bloggers roundtable with him but due to a meeting that ran late I missed the whole thing. However, I was able to jump in to the main media sessions and luckily managed to snag the video clip you can watch below. The media who were present asked about the job cuts at Nokia globally as well as their plans to counter the growing Google Android and Apple iPhone trends, as well as local mobile apps.

I was fortunately able to ask him a couple of questions as he was on a tight schedule at the time and was enroute to the Airport immediately after we finished the media session. My questions were basically what were the plans for Symbian in the next 2 to 3 years considering it was losing market share rapidly on a global scale. I also managed to ask him when we could expect to see Nokia’s Lumia range of Windows Phone devices in Kenya. He was able to answer both my questions succinctly and I certainly got the impression that Nokia has a competent leader in Stephen Elop. Enjoy the video!
Nokia Belle downloads for Symbian to start this week.

Posted: February 8, 2012, 9:28 am by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Espoo, Finland-Existing users of the latest Symbian Nokia smartphones can now upgrade their current phone to Nokia Belle. Bringing a new user interface, improved user experience and enhanced performance. Same phone, new experience.

When we announced that Nokia Belle was coming soon ([conversations.nokia.com]), we meant it. Starting today, with Nokia Belle, you’ll be able to transform your Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia E6, Nokia X7, Nokia C6-01, Nokia C7, or Nokia Oro device, by adding a whole load of enhancements. For Nokia 500, Nokia Belle will be made available within the next few weeks.

Nokia Belle delivers more personalisation options than before. You can have up to six home screens that are easy to personalize, leaving all your favourite applications and services only a few taps away. New larger live widgets display what’s really important to you right onto the home-screen, so you’ll always be kept up-to-date. Want to place a shortcut from one screen onto another? That’s simple. A long press and a drag to the side of the screen moves it to that screen.

The new and improved Nokia Belle interface also includes new features like imaging applications with HD video recording at 30 frames per second and a visually improved browser enabling high-quality browsing and viewing of Web videos. The menus have been simplified and a notifications bar has been added to make accessing key settings or features, very fast. Plus, with Belle you can also boost your productivity on the go with a wider selection of powerful Microsoft(r) Apps, such as Lync and OneNote that will soon be available for free download on top of Nokia Belle. Stay tuned – more details to follow shortly!

Nokia Belle will be available in the majority of the markets today, including countries like India, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Poland, UK, Germany, Italy, Vietnam and Indonesia. You can check the availability of Nokia Belle in your country in our Nokia Belle pages.

As Nokia Belle is a major update, you’ll need to connect your phone to a PC to perform the update. To start, make sure you have the latest version of Nokia Suite (3.3 or later) running on your computer, and then connect your phone to the computer with a USB cable. For a step-by-step download tutorial at [youtu.be], there’s a video available that tells you everything you need to know.
MasterCard Opens East African Regional Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya

Posted: February 3, 2012, 6:10 am by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

Global payments and technology company announces official presence across the region

MasterCard Worldwide, a global 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, with other offices operational in Cairo, Casablanca, Lagos, Johannesburg and now Nairobi.

The Right Honorable Raila Odinga, Prime Minister, Republic of Kenya welcomed MasterCard’s announcement. “We are pleased to welcome MasterCard to East Africa and in particular to Kenya, as we see the region’s growth path continue. MasterCard’s products will see the benefits of inclusion into the financial system extend to many more East Africans, giving them the opportunity to transact electronically with people and companies and so keep their precious money safe and secure, helping to build prosperity for their future.”

“Nairobi’s reputation as an African commerce, trade and development hub made it a strategically sound location for MasterCard to establish its regional headquarters. We believe it is a natural recognition of Kenya’s role as the financial heart of the East Africa region,” says Daniel Monehin, Area Head, East & West Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, MasterCard Worldwide.

The Nairobi office will act as MasterCard’s liaison office for customer banks, business associates and consumers in its main markets of Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius, Ethiopia and Uganda, as well as across the rest of the East African region, bringing the organisation’s knowledge of electronic payments best practice to these markets.

This will include a significant emphasis in the areas of card knowledge and skills development, advising on development of card acceptance infrastructure, new products, and developing partnerships with ‘technology
enablers,’ as well as retailer education and best acceptance practice.

“We are establishing the new Nairobi office as a gateway through which MasterCard will liaise with its existing customers across the East African region. It will also be a launch pad for further expansion across the region, by providing advice to support MasterCard’s ongoing quest to shift consumers from traditional cash payments to non-cash payment systems, so that they can avoid the costs, risks and inefficiencies associated with cash,” comments Monehin.

Bringing the benefits of electronic payments to people across the African continent is a primary focus for MasterCard. “East Africa, and indeed Africa as a whole, has always been heavily reliant on cash – both in the
consumer and corporate sectors,” says Charlton Goredema, Vice President and Market Manager for East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands for MasterCard Worldwide. “This dependence is costly – the costs of printing notes and keeping them secure are significant – and cash payments restrict an individual or company’s economic activity to their immediate geographic area.”

MasterCard has already been active in the Kenyan market working with banks and other business organisations to advise on developing payment solutions that are best suited for Kenyans. Most recently, in collaboration with Airtel & Standard Chartered Bank, the world’s first virtual card that operates off a mobile wallet was launched in Kenya.

“PayOnline is a unique virtual card payment solution, developed specifically to address the needs of consumers in Kenya. At the Mobile World Congress 2011 this product was awarded top honours as the Best Mobile Money Product or Solution. PayOnline makes it possible for Kenyan Airtel clients to shop online, even if they do not have a bank account,” says Goredema. “This is just one way that MasterCard products are working to extend financial inclusion to all through the development of solutions that take into account the unique attributes of each local market.”

“MasterCard products make it simple and safe to process electronic payments anywhere in the world,” Goredema points out. “Consumers using electronic payment systems don’t have to worry whether the cash they are carrying is sufficient for their intended purchase, and they do not have to fear for their security, as is common when carrying a large amount of cash on their person.”

In addition, the electronic payments solutions brought to market by MasterCard facilitate transparency in banking, through innovation and security that provide clear transaction records at every step, allowing
protection from fraudulent activities. Goredema believes that these solutions are key to the continued success of East Africa’s rapid economic growth.

“MasterCard’s products include debit, prepaid, mobile and credit card payment solutions, which can be used to avoid the pitfalls of cash,” says Goredema. “We have already used these products in a variety of revolutionary applications on the African continent, including prepaid solutions for transport, and the secure disbursement of citizens’ social security payments.”

MasterCard’s global payments expertise will be very relevant across East Africa and particularly in Kenya, as the country evolves to implement the National Payments Systems Bill, passed by the country’s government during 2011.

“We believe that the Bill is a recognition that efficient payment mechanisms are essential to the development of the Kenyan economy, and we look forward to working with policymakers to bring electronic payment solutions to this market,” says Goredema. “We have worked on similar projects across the globe, where we have responded to local needs with products that offer the best of MasterCard’s global experience.”

MasterCard will also be offering the services of MasterCard Advisors into the East African region, helping to ensure that best-practice principles are implemented across the payments network. MasterCard Advisors is the professional services arm of MasterCard that provides payments consulting, information, analytics, and customised services to financial institutions, governments and retailers worldwide.

Charlton Goredema, Vice President and Market Manager for East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands for MasterCard Worldwide

“We have invested significant resources into understanding East Africa, its business dynamics, how its consumers operate and the unique conditions that make this region one of the most exciting places to do business,” says Goredema. “We realise that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy and each market has its own unique challenges, opportunities and needs. MasterCard has invested extensively in research both on the African continent, and globally, and we are equipped to offer advice on payment industry best practice at every level.

“For MasterCard, the opportunities Africa brings forth will push the payments frontier faster and further than ever before and we continue our vision to realise a world beyond cash, bringing greater efficiencies to the payments system,” concludes Goredema. “We look forward to now working even more closely with our customer financial institutions, businesses and consumers across East Africa to leverage new technologies and innovative payment methods to enable safe, simple and convenient ways for consumers to
pay.”
Siri, where can I find the iPhone 4S in Kenya and for how much?

Posted: January 19, 2012, 8:59 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Finally, Apple’s iPhone 4S has been launched in Kenya by Orange. I just got this information from Orange having checked my email a little late today. The good news is that Orange’s iPhone 4S prices actually seem to be lower than those that have been available to-date from “unofficial” Apple vendors in Kenya. However, the pricing is still pretty expensive but then again this is the iPhone 4S and not some run of the mill smartphone.

Apple’s iPhone 4S only just launched in markets like China so its safe to say that Kenya got it pretty early on this basis. Personally, I use an iPhone 4 and I love it! It’s quite simply one of the best smartphones out there – even with the arrival of the iPhone 4S. However, like all Apple fanboys I am now drooling at the prospect of upgrading to an iPhone 4S! Some of the reasons why the iPhone 4S is step up from the iPhone 4 and older iPhone variants are as follows:
- Siri – the biggest deal about the iPhone 4S is that it comes with Siri. Siri is a voice activated personal assistant that runs natively on the iPhone 4S. It’s probably the feature that Apple has really oversold about the iPhone 4S. The reality is that its more of a gimmick than anything else but it does represent possibly the next evolutionary jump in smartphones and Internet search. A few of my friends who have the iPhone 4S say Siri is really buggy and does not work “as advertised”. Whatever the case, Siri is pretty nifty and will get better with time like all cutting edge things from Apple.
- The A5 dual-core processor – the iPhone 4S comes with the dual-core A5 processor which was first seen in the iPad2. What this means is that its twice as fast as the A4 processor in the iPhone 4 and can run graphics as fast as 7 times faster. What does this mean for you if you buy the iPhone 4S? Everything just happens a lot faster when using the iPhone 4S compared to all older iPhone models. Especially when you upgrade to the latest IOS5, the extra processor speed is really handy!
- Camera – the iPhone 4 already has an amazing 5 megapixel camera and its takes fantastic photos! You do NOT need another digital camera with the iPhone 4. However, the iPhone 4S comes with an 8 megapixel camera and new optics compared to the iPhone 4. What does this mean for you? Even better pictures than you could expect from a typically good phone camera. At the same time, the iPhone 4S takes 1080p HD video which means your videos from the iPhone 4S are really vivid and sharp.
- iCloud – iCloud is actually available on iOS5 which can run on all iPhone models from the 3GS to the iPhone 4S. I have been on iOS5 for the better part of two months and it works really well. The main thing is that you are able to back-up all sorts of personal iPhone data onto iCloud and synchronize it as well on a regular basis. The cool thing is that moving your data from say your iPhone 3GS to an iPhone 4 is really easy with iCloud and also keeps your data secure.
- iOS5 – iOS5 has been around for the last few months since the iPhone 4S was launched. It has over 200 new improvements on iOS4 and actually seems to run quicker, even on an older iPhone 3GS. The iPhone 4s was designed to run iOS5 in an optimal manner meaning they just work better together! It helps that the A5 processor can crunch data much quicker though.
Orange is offering the iPhone 4S in Kenya on 12 month post-paid contracts with immediate effect. For the longest time, one of the caveats of buying an iPhone in Kenya on Orange was that they did not have 3G but this is no longer the case – you can get speeds of up to 21 mbps on their network which is really great for the iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S will be available in both black and white and below is the pricing information I received from Orange:
- iPhone 4S 16GB: Kes. 74,899.00
- iPhone 4S 32GB: Kes. 87,999.00
- iPhone 4S 64GB: Kes. 101,499.00
AccessKenya Completes Kes. 30 Million Upgrade on State-of-the-Art Data Centre.

Posted: January 18, 2012, 1:08 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

Nairobi Wednesday January 18, 2012 – Leading integrated communication solutions provider AccessKenya Group has announced completion of compounded system upgrades of the data centre that have been underway since late 2009. The upgrades, which cost over Sh30 Million, have seen the installation of an advanced under-floor cooling system aimed at enhancing temperature control in within the data centre.

Announcing the completion, AccessKenya Group CEO Mr. Jonathan Somen said the upgrade is part of a progressive plan to optimize functions and expand capacity of the data centre even as the company continues to develop innovative IT services and unified communication solutions for its clientele.

‘We have invested heavily in building the right infrastructure so that we can incessantly support the critical services on our network and give our customers a better experience,” said Mr. Somen.

AccessKenya has in the recent years expanded its product portfolio to include a wide range of IT services including data backup, disaster recovery, remote assistance and inter-branch connectivity (commonly referred to as MPLS). The company is also offering video conferencing and telepresence solutions among a growing list of other value added services.

Mr. Somen said: “our corporate clients are now able to benefit from conveniently packaged and world class IT services alongside our internet solutions which are designed to enable them achieve their desired results without undue hassle.”

Part of the upgrade was also the installation of a more structured cabling system for better management and increased capacity. This, according to AccessKenya Systems Engineer Mr. Samson Oduor, will ensure that centre has expanded capacity in anticipation of growth on the group’s systems.

Mr. Oduor noted that the project has been successfully completed without any interruptions on client services further attributing the seamless upgrade to the network’s integration capabilities.

“With these upgrades, we are at par with Tier 1 Service Providers around the world and this gives our clients confidence that their data is safe with us,” said Mr. Oduor.

AccessKenya Group MD Mr. Jonathan Somen (Left) explains the features of a Private Branch Exchange unit (PBX) to the Company's Finance Director Mr. Peter Ndirangu in the company's data centre.

Meanwhile, the company also announced the adoption of a new data authentication system to protect internet users on its network from imminent cyber threats that have become rampant in the recent years.

The system, which is a set of extensions to the Domain Name System (DNS), is dubbed Domain Name System Security Extension (DNSSEC) and will protect the AccessKenya DNS infrastructure against cache poisoning, spoofed updates, corrupt data and what is commonly referred to as “man-in-the-middle attack”.

DNS is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates assorted information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities. Mr. Oduor indicated that the system will improve the security of the network while at the same time protecting AccessKenya clients against forged data while accessing the internet.

“This technology allows for digitally signed answers. This means that a client will be able to discern the authenticity of information received and the information on the authoritative DNS server,” he explained.

Similarly, the company has also upgraded the antivirus and anti-spam systems with the view of managing email spam. The upgrade is set to streamline client outbound emails and prevent “false positives.” This, according to the AccessKenya technical team, will enhance data loss prevention and “empower clients to keep all their data that has been previously lost as SPAM”.

“The email filtering solution will help us transition from the internet protocol Version 4 (Ipv4) address space which is getting depleted to the new protocol dubbed Ipv6,” added Mr. Oduor.
Orange Kenya launches unlimited Internet data bundles.

Posted: January 18, 2012, 12:52 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Press Release.
- Targets prepaid Mobile and Internet Everywhere 3G modem users
- Access to unlimited daily, weekly and monthly bundles
- The offer is the most affordable proposition in the data market
Nairobi, January 18, 2011: Integrated telecommunications services provider Orange has launched unlimited internet bundles for its mobile and 3G broadband customers.

The newly launched bundles will see Orange mobile customers enjoy unlimited internet for as low as Ksh 39 daily, Ksh 249 weekly and KSh 990 monthly while the Orange Internet Everywhere 3G modem customers will access unlimited internet for Ksh 990 and Ksh 2990 on a weekly and monthly basis respectively.

The new mobile unlimited internet bundles can be purchased by dialing #123# while the broadband bundles can be purchased from the Orange portal and are subject to a fair user policy.

The launch comes in the wake of Orange’s intent to increase its customer acquisition and retention by offering relevant and cost effective data services in a bid to further strengthen its position as the leading provider of data services in the country.

In a press statement issued from their offices, Telkom Kenya Chief Corporate Communication Officer Angela Nganga-Mumo said,” We are confident that with our reliable internet connectivity and now affordable bundles, we will have greatly improved the value proposition to our customers. Moreover, this fast and convenient access of data comes at a time when Kenyans are appreciating the use of ICT in the transaction of business, rather than just for social communication.”

According to the latest CCK report, the data market recorded a 14 % increase in the number of internet users to 14.3 million. This growth was accelerated by increased mobile subscriptions and the ease of accessing the service based on customer requirement and usage.

Orange Internet Everywhere 3G modems are available at all Orange shops and partner outlets countrywide and currently retail at Kshs 1790/-
4 vital business lessons from Google’s snafu with Mocality in Kenya.

Posted: January 15, 2012, 8:23 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Finally, it seems the dust is settling after what I could only describe as a hell of a storm of controversy surrounding Google’s snafu with Mocality in Kenya over the last couple of days. I blogged about it here when I found out that Google had apparently tried to get Mocality listed businesses to shift their services to them under the Kenya Businesses Online (KBO) initiative. The full details of this matter can be found on the Mocality blog here, including the latest update that shows that Google actually apologized for what they did, directly or indirectly.

In analyzing this whole Google and Mocality fiasco, it occurred to me that there are several business lessons that one could learn from the same. This applies to both sides of the matter meaning you could benefit from some of the insights that came out of this incident. So, here we go, 4 business lessons from Google’s snafu with Mocality in Kenya from this past week.

Your friend is your enemy, and your enemy is your friend.

Google is one of the world’s largest and most profitable businesses. Google makes its money largely from running the world’s best and most successful search engine and then monetizes that traffic through advertising. However, Google’s business is more complex than this simple description as their offerings now span the gamut of possible digital services and platforms – be it their Google Apps, Android, etc. In a nutshell, Google is BIG in every sense of the word. It is for this very reason that on one hand, Mocality got given the wrong end of the stick by Google where their KBO initiative is concerned. However, on the other hand, Mocality is and will continue to be a major user of Google’s online advertising services. It’s as simple as that when all is said and done. Mocality will continue to cooperate with Google as an advertiser but will also compete with them as well. This sort of conflict of interest scenario is often referred to as “coopetition”. More and more these days, coopetition is a fact of life in business and there are numerous scenarios where it happens. Mocality and Google is no exception. Buckle up folks, this is the real world.

Do your homework first.

What Mocality did before they came out with their detailed blog post on what Google had done to them was do their homework, thoroughly. They pulled off a sting operation in a detailed and comprehensive manner. Nothing was left to chance. By the time they had irrefutable evidence of what Google had done, they then went after Google in a transparent and factual manner. They did not simply hurl unfounded accusations at their tormentor – they made sure they had all the dirt on them first. To me, this was an act of brilliance, of sheer genius. In the digital realm, it is now more possible than ever to get down to all the granular detail of evidence before going for the jugular. The forensic manner in which Mocality made their case gave them potent ammunition that probably has Google wondering how this could have happened to them. Could it be that Google was arrogant and made many assumptions that their actions or those of contracted third-parties would go unnoticed and unpunished? It would indeed seem so. Whatever the case, doing your homework is always a good idea and this would apply to both Google and Mocality in this case.

Bad news can actually be good news too for the small(er) guy.

Mocality has had a good run in Kenya for the past few years. They have worked tirelessly to create the largest and most up to date business directory in Kenya. They have spent good amounts of money to make it all work whilst not earning much yet. All things considered, they are successful and are set to really take off in the coming years. However, Mocality has been a business that is largely unknown beyond Kenya and Africa. In the context of what Google did to them, you could say that Mocality is ultimately the small(er) guy in this whole matter. I emphasize small(er) instead of small since Mocality is owned by MIH which is one of the largest holding groups in the world when it comes to e-commerce businesses and hence they are not small but a small(er) giant compared to Google. The cool thing in all of this happening is that suddenly the whole world knows about Mocality since the story broke out of the African Blogosphere and grew into a global mainstream news story. I cannot possibly calculate what this kind of visibility is worth but I would say a good amount of money, more or less for free. Suddenly, Mocality has global fame from this snafu. Bad news can actually be good news too!

In a digitally connected world, local is really global.

One of the things that has surprised me the most about the whole Google and Mocality fiasco in Kenya is how big the story became in a couple of days. I was one of the first (local) bloggers who was tipped off about what had happened which prompted me to do a blog post here and then link to the bigger story on the Mocality blog post. I had assumed at most that this would be a Kenyan story, especially on social media like Twitter and Facebook. I was wrong. Within hours, all the major tech blogs in Africa had picked it up. Within a day, the major global tech blogs like TechCrunch had picked it too. In no time, it went to credible mainstream online publications like the Financial Times. In a nutshell, this story exploded and went truly global. It goes without saying that Google being the protagonist in this drama was the secret sauce that made it so interesting to all the bloggers and media companies that covered it. Google was beating on the small(er) guy and everyone jumps at such a one-sided story. Clearly, the consequences of what has happened will become a case study of what NOT to do when the whole world has an interest in your global brand. Local is really global.
Google plays dirty with Mocality in Kenya

Posted: January 13, 2012, 12:54 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This news just came my way this afternoon via a blog post on the Mocality web site. Mocality is Kenya’s largest mobile and online business directory with in excess of 170,000 listed businesses to-date. Mocality has been growing by leaps and bounds for the last few years owing to its novel approach of using freelance agents to collect and populate business listings in its directory, In fact, by any measure, whether offline or online, Mocality has managed to build the single largest and most current repository of business listings large and small in Kenya, as well as throughout the African continent.

Therefore, through this blog post written by Stefan Magdalinski of MIH Internet who happen to own Mocality, I am really shocked as to what seems to be brazenly underhanded moves by Google that are undermining Mocality’s business. Basically, to sum it up, since Google launched their Kenya Business Online (KBO) initiative a few months ago in Kenya, it seems they have approached possibly as many as 30% of Mocality’s listed businesses seeking to have them set-up KBO business pages. In addition, in all of these instances, Google has been misleading businesses by stating that they are infact working in partnership with Mocality, which is not true.

It seems Google is demonstrating what seems to be unsavory business practices not just in Kenya, but even in North America where they are using their leverage as the world’s leading search engine to give themselves unfair competitive advantage in the marketplace. These practices will indeed lead to a major backlash for Google should they continue playing dirty. Frankly, I am really surprised since Google has always seemed to play fair as far as I know.
Samsung’s super light and super strong Series 9 Notebook comes to Kenya.

Posted: December 19, 2011, 7:39 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I am starting to get the distinct impression that Samsung must be shaping up to be Apple’s biggest adversary based on their innovative hardware products when it comes to various offerings. Indeed, when Samsung launched their latest Android tablets a few months ago, Apple immediately took legal action to block Samsung from selling them in key markets because they felt Samsung had ripped off innovations in the iPad2 – this Apple reasoned was due to the fact that Samsung is one of its major suppliers and therefore were privy to Apple innovations well in advance.

More recently, the Samsung Galaxy S2 has become one of the world’s best selling high-end Android mobile phone and in some credible reviews has been found to be actually better than Apple’s latest iPhone 4S – Siri non-withstanding. In what I see as the latest salvo fired where Samsung may put a major dent on Apple is that of notebooks. Personally, I have used Apple MacBooks for just over 3 years and I have never ever considered anything else since I switched from Windows powered notebooks. That is, until now.

Whilst I am highly desirous of an upgrade from my trusty MacBook Pro, to the latest Macbook Air, I recently came across Samsung’s Series 9 notebooks in a Kenyan Newspaper. I’m a sucker for great design when it comes to all things technology and I have to say that the Series 9 simply makes me go gaga! The finish and overall presentation of this notebook is “Apple-esque” and makes me for the first time possibly reconsider a MacBook Air as the epitome of a well-designed, light and clean notebook.

As advertised, one of the key selling points to the Series 9 is that its casing is made from Duralumin, the same material used on advanced aircraft which makes this notebook twice as strong as aluminum yet weighs less than 3 pounds (to emphasize the point here, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs are made from heavier aluminium). The Series 9 is also only 0.64 inches thin making it one of the thinnest notebooks in the world. The Series 9 comes with 4GB of RAM, Intel HD Graphics and a 128 GB Solid State Drive (SSD) which like the MacBook Air means there are no moving parts in the hard disk – this translates into faster performance, less power consumption and less heat generated. The 13 inch screen is a gorgeous and bright HD LED screen. It also comes with a speedy Intel Core i5 processor meaning this bad boy of a notebook is no slouch!

The Samsung Series 9 is retailing in Kenya for Kes. 175,000.00, putting it firmly in the realm of high-end notebooks for the well-heeled. What is surprising to me is that with the exception of fairly inconspicuous print ads in a few newspapers in Kenya, Samsung is hardly marketing this gorgeous execution of a sleek notebook that does give the MacBook Air a run for its money, design-wise that is. However, as much as I am a fan of great hardware design, it all boils down to the combined experience of great hardware and software which in this case includes Windows 7 on the Series 9. I have nothing against Windows 7 per se but I am an unashamed fan of Apple’s OS X, truth be said. However, should I get to give the Series 9 a spin, and it works for me, I may just reconsider my opinion as lots of other Samsung offerings have made me do recently – nuff said.
6 Key Technology Milestones in Kenya during 2011.

Posted: December 19, 2011, 4:32 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Once again, it’s that time of year where I look back at what happened during the course of the year in Kenya’s technology space. In 2011, so much happened in Kenya and I am really excited to breakdown what I see as being the 6 key milestones in 2011. Here we go!
- Local mobile apps and the mobile web explodes – 2011 will be remembered as the year that mobile apps and the mobile web really took off in Kenya. The fact that most of Kenya’s 10+ million Internet users go online via mobile devices gave credence to the fact that Kenya is indeed a mobile digital nation. Many local web sites started becoming mobile “aware” and brands as well as businesses started having mobile apps geared towards Kenya’s mobile user base. If 2010 was the year that we heard the clarion call for “mobile first” in Kenya, 2011 is the year we actually started seeing it happen. As things stand today, Nokia is probably the company that has pushed the hardest to build out local mobile apps and has supported large organizations, small developer firms and people to realize the potential on their Symbian and OVI platforms. In addition, the launch of the mLab and other mobile initiatives in Kenya demonstrated that this is where all the action will be for technology in this region going forward. Finally, InMobi, the second largest mobile ad network in the world after Google’s AdMob set-up shop in Kenya showing just how significant mobile apps and the mobile web is in Kenya from a commercial perspective.
- Local digital content gets global game – 2011 was undoubtedly the year that local digital content in Kenya saw the arrival of a myriad of global businesses eager to take a stab at the market. Some of the companies in this space include MIH Internet East Africa where until last week I was running Dealfish, the leading online classifieds web site in Kenya. In addition, Tiger Global made investments in Cheki, the automotive classifieds as well as BrighterMonday, the online recruitment web site. Google also showed that they (finally?) have a commercial agenda for Kenya by launching Google Trader, YouTube Kenya and Kenya Business Online. Ringier of Switzerland launched Rupu, a group buying site as well as PigiaMe, an online classifieds venture. In a nutshell, for the very first time, we saw major global digital content players make landfall in Kenya and start spending millions of shillings to duke it out for markets that will be worth millions or even billions of shillings in a few years time. The caveat of this development is that indigenous digital content players have become largely sidelined and unless they demonstrate the ability to launch highly innovative and scalable online businesses, they stand to miss out big time. However, the timely arrival of many small and medium-sized venture capital firms in region could offer a lifeline for these nascent businesses going forward. Only time will tell what the future holds.
- Digital marketing goes mainstream in Kenya – I’m not sure when it happened exactly but sometime in 2011 digital marketing finally went mainstream in Kenya. Suddenly, large and small brands, as well as mom-and-pop businesses all started marketing aggressively online. In particular, one could not miss the highly professional or clearly amateur efforts on Google AdWords and Facebook Ads that started popping up everywhere you went online in Kenya, meaning these ads were largely geo-targeted to this region. No longer did we see international ads for companies that do not operate in Kenya – we started seeing major local ad campaigns go online and even small one-man businesses started splurging money to gain some mind share online with digital marketing. One obvious consequence of everyone adopting digital marketing in Kenya is that ad rates have gone up massively and its no longer as inexpensive as it was only a year ago. In addition, it means that mainstream offline media will start to lose out as more and more brands and businesses adopt digital marketing as a cost-effective and high impact marketing channel for their offerings. This could effectively see old school media like newspapers and television start losing their footing in Kenya as has been the case globally. I would say, watch this space in 2012 for even more accelerated and widespread adoption of digital marketing.
- Google’s Android mobile platform gains currency – At this time in 2010, smartphones in the marketplace that ran on Google’s Android platform were only a handful. However, today, I can guesstimate that we have around 30 smartphone models available in the marketplace that run on Android. These range from the entry-level and ground breaking sub-Kes. 9,000 Huawei Ideos which has sold over 130,000 units to-date since being launched in Kenya back in September 2010 to the latest and high-end Kes. 60,000 Samsung Galaxy S2. All in all, what 2011 will be remembered for is the year that Android finally took off in Kenya, as well as in many other markets in Africa. In fact, in looking at the recent mobile traffic statistics for this blog, Android traffic now exceeds Nokia’s Symbian traffic which has been the case for the last few months although most of our readers are technophiles. However, this trend holds true on the East African mobile web as Nokia’s Symbian platform is fast being eclipsed as the smartphone platform of choice not just for technophiles but also the masses. Kenyans have been known to have a propensity for being early adopters of technology as evidenced by the success of M-Pesa and it goes to reason that Android will become the dominant mobile platform in the next couple of years. Nokia will have an uphill task countering this trend in Kenya going forward.
- Cloud computing takes centre stage in the enterprise – In the second half of 2011, it has been hard to ignore the overwhelming call to action for enterprises to adopt cloud computing as a core aspect of their technology strategies. The company leading the charge for cloud computing is not surprisingly Safaricom who have already invested over Kes. 2 Billion in building out their Safaricom Cloud offering. Not to be left behind, other major players also launched enterprise focused cloud offerings included Internet Solutions Kenya, Kenya Data Networks and many others. As businesses grapple with the challenge of expanding their reach whilst optimizing their technology operating costs, the cloud has become imperative to sustain their competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, what remains to be seen is how many businesses will take full advantage of the cloud opportunity and how comfortable they will be with outsourcing core aspects of their business operations. It’s hard to tell from where I stand but for sure 2011 will be the year that cloud computing gained traction in this region.
- Kenya’s Government launches the Open Data initiative – In July 2011, Kenya’s Government launched the Open Data initiative. This initiative was one of the first in Africa where key government data was made available to the public for the very first time. At launch, the data sets ranged from the 2009 national census to national and regional expenditures. As of this writing, there are almost 400 datasets now available online, and growing. The significance of all these datasets being online is that they can be “mined” through the development and deployment of innovative applications. To-date there have been several interesting initiatives in this respect and I suspect that by the end 2012, we will be amazed at the kind of commercial and non-commercial activities that will be made possible through the Open Data Initiative.
The truth about my departure from Dealfish.

Posted: December 12, 2011, 4:36 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Today is Jamhuri Day in Kenya meaning its a public holiday where we can get to spend time at home with our families or spend the day out, like all other public h0lidays in Kenya. For some, public holidays are a great time to nurse massive hangovers or even to continue drinking for an extra day over what in this case a long weekend. For me, on this end, its a great time to blog and tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about my departure from Dealfish as Regional Manager for East Africa.

Let me start by saying that working at Dealfish since I joined on the 1st September 2010 as employee “number one” for East Africa has been a truly rewarding, and ultimately, a phenomenal experience. At the time I joined Dealfish, everyone who had known me as one of the founders of Dotsavvy really took a second take and wondered why the hell I was leaving my own successful digital agency to start/join a nascent online classifieds business?! For many, it just did not seem to make any sense. It did however for me. I had spent the better part of a decade building Dotsavvy into what is arguably one of Kenya’s better digital agencies. For anyone who has had the pleasure/pain of working in Kenya’s digital services sector as I have done for over 10 years, this is not always a bed of roses but can be hugely satisfying on so many levels. In a nutshell, I needed something new – something I could sink into with ALL my teeth, leveraging my many years in digital services. Something that would be a whole new level of challenge. Dealfish was it for me. I was chewing at the bit. I was ready to roll. Nuff said.

Today, one year and three months later, Dealfish ranks as Kenya’s second most popular local web site after the Daily Nation according to Alexa.com, the online web site ranking service. In addition, Dealfish in Kenya boasts over 85,000 active ad listings for a myriad of products and services, nationwide. In many ways, the arrival of Google Trader, Junkmail, Cheki, and PigiaMe over the last few months with aggressive online marketing validates all the effort that has gone into making Dealfish a online success story. Dealfish did really set the ball rolling in both East and West Africa as the first real run at making online classifieds a “serious” business in Africa. I am proud and humbled at what we have achieved at Dealfish – I feel super privileged and honoured to have worked with such a talented team in East Africa and beyond.

Going to the heart of this blog post, I did not leave Dealfish for some of the many reasons that have been floated online and offline, some being unnecessarily harsh, crude and untrue. I did not have a fight with fellow senior managers’ Neil Schwartzman and Stefan Magdalinski at MIH. We did not fallout over the market strategies for Dealfish or management control. My departure has been totally amicable and I gave in a three month notice as per the terms of my employment agreement which was duly accepted – this incidentally happened before the announcement that Kalahari would be closed in Kenya and Nigeria, as well as the temporary suspension of Dealfish operations in Uganda and Ghana. Hell, Stef(an), Neil and the MIH East Africa team held a farewell party for me last week where we had a blast, for ALL times sake. Yes. This is the truth. I have left on very good terms and intend to work closely with Dealfish and MIH in Africa as a client from early 2012.

Where am I going to next? Much has been said and much has been leaked. I will be joining InMobi as the Director for Sales in Africa. I am really excited about this new career opportunity since its very much in-line with my own interests with digital marketing within the mobile space. In addition, I get to handle both East and West African markets which are clearly growth markets for mobile marketing, especially in Nigeria and Kenya. So there you have it, in a nutshell. Nothing sensational to report. Simply a change of hands so to speak? At the same time, I want to wish the awesome crew at Dealfish and MIH Africa all the best in 2012 which will be their biggest year yet – mark my words! (Google Trader, Cheki, PigiaMe and Et Al, watch this space!).
Microsoft gets tough about software piracy in Kenya with BuyGenuine.co.ke

Posted: December 1, 2011, 9:34 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Screen grab from BuyGenuine.co.ke

In yesterday’s Daily Nation. Microsoft had a full page ad for its anti piracy campaign in Kenya with the Kenya Copyright Board (KCB). The web site for the the campaign is BuyGenuine.co.ke and it has some of the details about this initiative.

What is important for all businesses to note is that the amnesty period for pirated Microsoft software is just around the corner as it ends on the 15th December 2011. Thereafter, with the backing of the KCB, Microsoft will be going after businesses who are NOT using genuine Microsoft software and the penalties are significant.

I heard details on one of the radio channels a couple of weeks ago and fines as high as Kes. 800,000.00 will be charged for using pirated Microsoft software in Kenya – this is clearly serious and businesses will need to buckle up and get genuine copies of Microsoft software going forward. If one is unable to settle the fines, they are liable for time in prison so clearly many are going to take the required steps to avoid being penalized.
[Video] Interview with Philip Nyamweya of iPay.

Posted: December 1, 2011, 9:01 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This is an interview I had yesterday with Philip Nyamweya of iPay which is a mobile and internet payments service in Kenya. iPay goes a step further by also offering a payment solution that integrates with Kenswitch, the financial switching network that connects a good number of banks in Kenya. This means that users can use their debit cards to make online payments via iPay for as long their bank accounts are with banks that are connected to Kenswitch. Enjoy the interview as below:
VirtualCity launches HewaniLife, Kenya’s first “local” mobile app store.

Posted: December 1, 2011, 8:49 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Screen grab from www.hewani.co.ke

Earlier this afternoon I attended VirtualCity’s launch of HewaniLife which is arguably Kenya’s first “local” mobile apps store and features over 400 mobile apps for download. HewaniLife has both local and international mobile apps for Android, Windows, Symbian, J2ME and BlackBerry. One can also download mobile apps from HewaniLife using not just the Internet but also via SMS and USSD.

The launch of HewaniLife also served as a platform for VirtualCity to showcase a good number of in-house developed apps for several vertical segment services in Distribution, Health, Education, Transport, Retail and Utilities being offered to the business community in Kenya. HewaniLife is unique in that it brings together various players in the mobile applications space and creates synergies for economic empowerment & development.
[Video] Interview with David Ngugi of NyeriOnline.com

Posted: December 1, 2011, 11:41 am by Moses Kemibaro

Below is an interview I had with David Ngugi of NyeriOnline.com. I mentioned this web site in a list of Kenya’s top local web sites a few years ago and was quite surprised at the time as to how high it was ranked. NyeriOnline.com basically covers all sorts of content from Nyeri County which is one of the most vibrant commercial hubs in Central Kenya. In addition, David, who also happens to run an end-to-end ICT services business has managed to develop NyeriOnline.com into a fully fledged online portal that has professional writers on-board to generate content from the County – this is a demonstration of the increasing value of not just local content, but rather hyper-local content within the context of Kenya’s fast growing digital media space. I caught up with David during the Mocality Business Conference that was held in Nyeri at the Green Hills Hotel on the 30th of November 2011.
BlackBerry 7 Smartphones launched in Nairobi, Kenya.

Posted: November 28, 2011, 5:12 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Last week on Friday in Nairobi, plans to launch three new smartphones based on the BlackBerry 7 Operating System (OS) were announced. RIM, in conjunction with carriers and distribution partners in Kenya, is rolling out the new BlackBerry® Curve™ 9360, BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810 and BlackBerry® Torch™ 9860 smartphones, all running the powerful new BlackBerry® 7 OS.

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 is slim, stylish and simply beautiful. It is ergonomically designed with a comfortable and iconic keyboard for fast, accurate typing and an optical trackpad for easy, one-handed navigation. GPS and Wi-Fi® support are also included, as well as a 5MP camera with flash and video recording so that memories can be captured and instantly shared on social networks. The microSD/SDHC slot supports up to 32 GB memory cards for additional media storage.

The BlackBerry Torch 9810 is a powerful evolution of the original BlackBerry Torch 9800 model. The new model is faster and more fluid with high performance hardware features and the new BlackBerry 7 OS delivering an enhanced multimedia experience. Featuring a large 3.2”, high resolution touch display and a distinctive BlackBerry keyboard that easily slides out to allow fast typing; the BlackBerry Torch 9810 truly delivers the best of both worlds.

The BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone offers fast and fluid performance in a stylish new all-touch design. With a spectacular new 3.7” display, the largest ever on a BlackBerry smartphone, the new all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9860 is optimized for high-quality multimedia, web browsing and gaming. In addition, the BlackBerry Torch 9860 delivers the industry-leading real-time communications and collaboration experience that is loved by millions of BlackBerry smartphone users around the world.

The new BlackBerry 7 operating system introduces the next generation BlackBerry browser, featuring a significantly faster, more fluid web browsing experience that is among the best in the industry. Combining the dramatically improved performance of the advanced WebKit browser engine together with powerful hardware enhancements, BlackBerry 7 based smartphones deliver browsing results that are up to 40% faster than BlackBerry® 6 based smartphones and up to 100% faster than BlackBerry® 5 based smartphones*. Additional enhancements to this next generation BlackBerry browser include optimized zooming and panning for smoother web navigation and optimized HTML5 performance for incredible gaming and video experiences.

Waldi Wepener, Regional Director at RIM said, “The BlackBerry solution offers a best-in-class mobile communications experience with enhanced browsing and richer multimedia on a new, performance-driven platform powered by the latest BlackBerry software. We believe that the customers in Kenya will be thrilled by these powerful new BlackBerry smartphones.”

Mr Waldi Wepener, RIM Regional Director East, West and Central Africa and Mr. Rui Brites Director Africa Product Management
[Video] A random chat on WordPress in Africa from WordCamp Kenya 2011.

Posted: November 24, 2011, 10:54 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This is a video of a short but fun random chat that I had with Michael Pedersen of Uhasibu a couple of weeks ago at the inaugural WordCamp Kenya 2011 that was held at Crayfish Camp in Naivasha. In a nutshell, we talked about the pros and cons of WordPress in Kenya and the rest of Africa as a blogging and business web site platform, as well as why we had opted to attend WordCamp Kenya 2011. Initially, I did NOT plan to post this online but it just seemed to “work” really well when I watched it (and also got Michael’s consent) so here it is! Enjoy
Kenya’s top 10 most followed people on Twitter.

Posted: November 20, 2011, 10:35 am by Moses Kemibaro
NOTE: This blog post has been updated to show changes over the last few days. It is more or less accurate as of today, the 23rd November 2011 where we now have what I believe are the “true” top 10 individuals followed on Twitter in Kenya, as well as a few more (for good measure?) for a total of 17. Thank you for all who helped make this list more accurate, and comprehensive!

—

A couple of years ago, I did a list of the leading Twitter individuals and brands in Kenya, in terms of followers and ranking. At the time, Twitter was very much in its early days of gaining widespread adoption in Kenya and you could say that only the most leading brands and people were using it. Fast forward two years later and Twitter has gone mainstream as a social media in Kenya representing a whole range of users across the board.

So, I decided to do some research this week to decide who were the people in Kenya with the most Twitter followers and rank them. I was surprised how much the list had changed and who actually “ruled the roost”. There were a few unexpected surprises about who the top three people were. However, as of this morning, Sunday the 20th November 2011, here are Kenya’s top ten “Twitterati”:
1. @yesumob – 55,842 followers: I have to confess that Kenya’s top individual on Twitter was something of a surprise. @yesumob is a twitter account run by Mutinda Kisio. He basically tweets motivational Christian messages everyday of the week and has managed to build his massive Twitter following on this basis.
2. @kanyicool – 49,780 followers: Kenya’s second leading individual on Twitter is Julius Kanyi, who lists himself as a recent graduate in ICT. I am not sure how exactly he managed to reach such a significant number of Twitter followers but clearly he is onto something.
3. @koinangejeff – 46,147 followers: Jeff Koinange is the award-winning and well known Journalist, as well as a key media personality from K24, the news TV channel based in Nairobi. Jeff has clearly leveraged his local and international credentials to build up a strong Twitter following. I had initially thought he was the most followed individual on Twitter in Kenya but this was in fact not the case.
4. (NEW) @majani_- 40,820 followers: This new entry was completely unknown to me until I was alerted of his massive following via Kenyans on Twitter who follow him. Majani bills himself as a Software Engineer, Photographer, part time Dj, lifeguard by day and fire fighter by night. He is followed by many on Twitter due to the many humorous tweets he send out daily.
5. @martha_w_karua – 36,857 followers: Martha Karua is clearly of Kenya’s most progressive Politicians when it comes to social media. She has embraced technology and has a very active Twitter account that many people follow based on this high ranking. She is a presidential aspirant for Kenya’s general elections next year and Twitter is one of the platforms she is using to gain momentum with the masses.
6. (NEW) @bobcollymore – 31,832 followers: Bob Collymore, the CEO of Safaricom was one of the leading Twitterati in Kenya whom I completely missed because his name did not come up as registered in Kenya listings. However, he has a massive following and is one of the most active corporate leaders in Kenya when it comes to regular tweets and updates.
7. (NEW) @wmutunga – 29,894 followers: Dr. Willy Mutunga is one of those whom I missed when first compiling this list, manually no less. Dr. Mutunga recently became Kenya’s Chief Justice after lots of controversy in the media. Clearly, his impeccable credentials as a Human Rights supporter have come to the fore as everyone is watching his tweets as to how he is expected to transform Kenya’s Judiciary.
8. (NEW) @mwalimuchurchill – 25,663 followers: Charles Ndambuki, AKA Mwalimu Churchill is one of Kenya’s most popular comedians who has parlayed his humour to become one of Kenya’s leading Radio Presenters, MCs and TV Show hosts. Charles as a result has a formidable following on Twitter in Kenya.
9. (NEW) @odinga_raila – 22,774 followers: Raila Amollo Odinga is Kenya’s Prime Minister and I was pleasantly surprised to see him crack the top 10 most followed on Twitter in the country. His tweets are clearly up to date as he provides details of things he is currently doing as well as activities from his many trips in the country and beyond.
10. @ukenyatta – 21,226 followers: Uhuru Kenyatta is not only one of Kenya’s Deputy Prime Ministers and the Minister of Finance, he is also a Politician who is very active in using Twitter as a means of maintaining regular dialogue with Kenyans globally. Like Martha Karua, he has clearly embraced social media as a means of enhancing his political agenda.
11. (NEW) @kenyanpundit – 19,403 followers: Ory Okolloh, also known as Kenyan Pundit on Twitter has been one of the most active Twitterati in Kenya for years. Ory has established herself as a leading blogger at Mzalendo, a co-founder of Ushahidi and most recently Google’s Policy Lead in Africa.
12. @phonesis – 17,913 followers: Morris Gitonga lists himself as a an expert on Multi-Level Marketing (MLM). He has an impressive following Twitter and was at one point the leading individual on Twitter a few years ago.
13. @larrymadowo – 17,556 followers: Larry Madowo if a well-known journalist in Kenya who has carved a niche for himself when it comes to business and technology news. He has leveraged his media linkages to catapult himself into one of the leading Twitterati in Kenya.
14. @alykhansatchu – 17,055 followers: Aly Khan Satchu has been consistently one of Kenya’s most followed Twitter individuals in Kenya. Aly is undoubtedly the “rockstar” when it comes to investments and the financial markets in Kenya which he tweets religiously on a daily basis, from dawn to dusk.
15. @whiteafrican – 16,508 followers: Erik Hersman is easily one of the earliest adopters of Twitter who has built both a local and international following on his tweets on all things technology in Kenya and Africa. Erik is probably best known for his founding role in Ushahidi, the world’s leading open source tool for crowd-sourced information gathering.
16. @johnallannamu – 15,892 followers: John Allan Namu is one of Kenya’s leading investigative journalists who has won both local and international accolades for his work. His high Twitter ranking is reflective of the impressive of the following he has grown for his insightful news related tweets.
17. (NEW) @mainakageni – 15,830 followers: Maina Kageni is one of Kenya’s premier radio presenters who has been in the industry for over 10 years. He now hosts what is probably Kenya’s leading radio show on Classic FM on most mornings of the week which is probably the reason he has so many followers on Twitter.
So, there you have it – Kenya’s top ten Twitter users in terms of the number of followers they have to-date. I will be following this list up with Kenya’s top ten brands and/or organizations in terms of followers. These lists are being manually compiled but a really good source is this link.
[Video] Interview with Kelvin Jayanoris of DukaPress at WordCamp Kenya 2011

Posted: November 14, 2011, 6:37 am by Moses Kemibaro

This weekend I attended the first ever WordCamp Kenya at Crayfish Camp in Naivasha. The event which is focused on all things WordPress was well attended with over 100 participants, mostly from Nairobi. I had an opportunity to interview Kelvin Jayanoris who is one of the founders behind DukaPress.

DukaPress is an open source e-commerce plugin for WordPress that has been developed from scratch in Kenya. DukaPress was launched in August 2010 and since then has been downloaded more than 20,000 times from WordPress. It is NOT the most popular e-commerce plugin (yet) for WordPress but it is doing really well by being adopted by businesses globally, even though it was initially developed for businesses in Kenya to deploy e-commerce on their web sites.

DukaPress was built from the ground up by Kelvin and his team to offer Kenyan businesses a localized and no frills WordPress e-commerce plugin that could be used for all sorts of payment platforms including Safaricom’s M-Pesa as well as other International platforms such PayPal. In the interview, Kelvin told me that they make money from DukaPress when their mostly International customers engage them to do simple or extensive customizations to meet their unique e-commerce needs. You can find out more about Kelvin and DukaPress in the interview below. Enjoy!
[Deck from WordCamp Kenya 2011] The African Blogging Journey

Posted: November 12, 2011, 4:24 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Below is a deck/presentation I made this afternoon at the inaugural WordCamp Kenya 2011 being held at Camp Crayfish in Naivasha. The presentation is basically a top-to-bottom view of my experiences (seriously) blogging for around 4 years. Enjoy!
The African Blogging Jouney by Moses Kemibaro at WordCamp Kenya 2011
View more presentations from Moses Kemibaro.
News24 launches in Kenya.

Posted: November 8, 2011, 11:31 am by Moses Kemibaro

News24 is South Africa’s leading news web site with an Alexa ranking of 8 making it one of the most popular local web sites overall in South Africa. Earlier this week, News24 launched their Kenya web site at kenya.news24.com which features the latest Kenyan news including sports and business.

The News24 Kenya web site is still very much in its nascent stages as there are lots of areas that feature international news to supplement the limited Kenyan news. However, based on the fact that News24 has done well in South Africa for many years, News24 Kenya could potentially mount a very credible challenge to the local and well-established Kenyan news web sites such as the Daily Nation and the East African Standard.

What remains to be seen is how well News24 Kenya will catch on in the coming months and how they intend to differentiate their web site offering(s) from the formidable incumbents. One of the novel features of the News24 Kenya web site is that it can also be accessed on mobile devices at m.news24.com/kenya.

News24 is owned by Naspers of South Africa who also happen to indirectly (through MIH Internet East Africa) own Dealfish, the online classifieds business which I manage in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Media Madness – When a blog becomes an online community.

Posted: November 4, 2011, 3:26 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I first came across the Media Madness blog probably around a year or so ago. I first heard about it from some friends of mine who work in Kenya’s media sector. They told me that Media Madness was MUST read for anyone who wanted a refreshing take on what is happening in Kenya’s media space. This prompted to have a look at the Media Madness blog the next day.

What I saw, and what I read, had me laughing to tears, and stitches. The blog posts on Media Madness were a complete riot! But what was even more entertaining was the many comments that readers would post there. It was the first blog I had seen in Kenya that regularly had over 200 comments, on daily basis! This is no mean feat and suggests that the readers are just as passionate as the bloggers on Media Madness. I also noticed that there was a consistency to the readers who came back everyday and made comments on Media Madness – it has transcended being a blog and has in fact become a vibrant online community.

I have gone back, time and again, every few weeks for a good laugh over the past year. If anything, their blog is doing even better these days and the comments just keep coming back on every blog post. The content is as candid and as witty as ever! (be warned though that profane language is liberally spread in both posts and comments). I even saw that they had sold display ads to Nivea during a recent campaign (which could be a first for a blog in Kenya with a mainstream and “blue chip” brand).

Media Madness is probably the most popular blog in Kenya since it ranks as one of the most popular web sites in Kenya as well on Alexa.com. At some point, I had gotten in touch with the people behind Media Madness and meant to do a blog post on them – that was a year or so ago. I have been busy and procrastinated. However, finally, I got them to do an interview with me on Media Madness this week. Below is what I got from them – enjoy!

MK: What is Media Madness? When did it start?

MM: Media Madness is a community of bloggers who come together to USUALLY discuss what is put up on a daily basis (They don’t have to discuss what’s put up, it’s your choice). The site started in August 2009 at a joke as we drove to the airport.

MK: What makes it so popular since it’s probably Kenya’s leading blog?

MM: CONTENT! MM is updated on every weekday, it rarely veers off its personality (Bitchy, rough, funny, a swift kicker in the nuts). Plus Gossip and ‘inside scoops’ are PRIME topics in the digital space.

MK: Who is behind Media Madness? Tell us more about your content. How do you promote it?

MM: The site is run by College going guys and young entrepreneurs. The writers change a lot but the ‘Brand Voice’ (Don’t laugh, we killed brain cells trying to define the brand voice) doesn’t change. It’s a nice mix. We love it! The site is largely spread through word of mouth, but one of our admins uses his/her Twitter account to push the day’s post online. We did use Google once and it paid off BIG TIME! (I wasn’t paid to say that btw)

MK: We heard that someone or a company recently invested in Media Madness? Can you tell us more about it?

MM: The deal is covered by a very tight NDA but the little that we are allowed to squeal about is that the firm will plug in expertise that will see us monetize better and diversify the content offering. And yes, there was some infusion of capital that will make this possible.

MK: Who reads Media Madness? We have noticed that each blog post gets over 200 comments a day. This is HUGE for Kenya. Do tell?

MM: We really can’t tell who is who !!! As we ENCOURAGE our users to be anonymous (Communities thrive when everyone is ‘in the dark’) … plus the ease in which you can leave comments. There are several ‘Commentators’ on the site who’ve carved out a niche for themselves and are seen on a regular basis. They’ve even started leading discussion (which we don’t mind) plus sometimes it’s a mess and more entertaining on the comments section, it sometimes REFLECTS the society we live in, as some of the comments are quite eeer enlightening.

MK: It seems to me that Media Madness has transcended being a blog and has become an online community? How did this happen? Why did this happen?

MM: It had to happen; it’s the same people coming every day to a site where their comments are not moderated (Unless they go against our legal line). They form a community; it’s a ritual for them. It’s part of their social network, we allow them to be anything on the platform but allowing and encouraging free discussions.

MK: Is Media Madness making money? We saw some Nivea Ads not too long ago. How did this go?

MM: Yes, we’ve made money … we’ve tried a few banner ads. But sometimes, we have to turn away some people. Those that come in and first ask for specific posts to be taken down (This is not your grandfather’s thingira) *shaking a mwiko*

MK: What are the long term plans for Media Madness? It seems like you have a blog that could be profitable going forward – a first in Kenya perhaps?

MM: We are looking to grow our readership more and diversify our content to include other verticals of interest. Brands come where conversations happen and we happen to be one of those places where we have conversations happening on a daily basis. So in the coming year we will engage more with brands looking to push their product a bit different

MK: What keeps you going with Media Madness? Where does the obvious passion come from?

MM: Hahaha we still can’t explain that and it’s not that we have free time, we must be the busiest ‘Teens’ in town. For me (Bitch Fest writer) I guess I use the site as a ‘release’ mechanism. It helps me forget about the a million and one projects I’m working on and for a few minutes I’m a total bitch!

MK: Parting shot? (Whatever comes to mind?).

MM: Build it, and they will come. All bloggers should keep this to mind, MM started as a joke (and shit grammar, which sometimes it still has) but we have a few thousand eyeballs. Also, get paid for doing what you love. Also, know your genre … okay I need to stop! Cool warus!!

NOTE: Media Madness can currently be found at frankierants.com but will be moving to mm.co.ke next week.
SafaricomCLOUD: Safaricom’s third act to dominate Kenya’s telecoms sector?

Posted: October 29, 2011, 11:21 pm by Moses Kemibaro
There is no denying that Safaricom is easily one of Kenya’s most innovative companies, even if its DNA is ultimately rooted in technology. It seems just like the other day when mobile telephony became widely available to the masses in Kenya at the cusp of the Millennium when Safaricom and Kencell launched their services. In fact, Kencell’s network was actually operational before Safaricom’s and everyone expected them to do well as a result of the head start they had. However, the folly in Kencell’s launch is that they focused on the post-paid customer rather than the pre-paid customer. This proved to be their undoing as Safaricom hit the market with pre-paid services as the sharp-end of their strategy. Everyone could sign-up for Safaricom without needing to place financial deposits or showing their bank statements. All they needed was a mobile phone and pre-paid scratch cards to get started. In addition, Safaricom focussed on per second billing whilst Kencell focussed on per minute billing. The rest you could say is history and we all know what happened – Safaricom won that battle quite convincingly and it’s probably the platform that they needed to consolidate the market leadership they hold to this very day. However, that battle was largely about voice and SMS services. You could say that was Safaricom’s the first act in dominating Kenya’s telecoms sector.

The next phase of Safaricom’s market domination came with the arrival of M-Pesa and data services. More specifically, in launching M-Pesa, Safaricom reinvented Kenya’s financial services sector and almost all of its millions of subscribers are now more or less subscribed to it. This all happened around the time that Kencell had already changed its name to Celtel and thereafter to Zain. M-Pesa in many ways has locked in subscribers to Safaricom as its immensely useful as we know for moving money around. At more or less the same time, Safaricom paid a handsome fee to secure a 3G data license from the Communications Commission of Kenya and that led them to launching the first 3G data network in Kenya. The amount that Safaricom paid for this privilege was very high and we all saw the other networks balk at paying anything close to what Safaricom paid. Ultimately, two things happened in the process – one is that Safaricom had a monopoly on 3G data in Kenya which led to individuals and businesses opting to use their speedy network for data services. At the same time, the other mobile networks had to watch as Safaricom’s 3G revenues took off rapidly whilst voice and SMS revenues plunged. In fact, it was only just two months ago that the second 3G data network went live in Kenya in the form of Orange Kenya and we know Airtel Kenya has (partly) launched 3G services recently. So, you could say, Safaricom’s second market dominance act was the potent combination of launching M-Pesa and 3G data.

This past week, we saw what is essentially the arrival of Safaricom’s third act – the launch of their cloud services, also known as SafaricomCLOUD. According to Wikipedia, The Cloud or Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network (typically the Internet). SafaricomCLOUD offers the following 3 cloud service pillars:
- Data Centre As A Service.
- Storage As A Service.
- Back-up As A Service.
I happened to attend the launch of SafaricomCLOUD and the total investment that they have put in shocked me – Safaricom has already invested Kes. 2 Billion and plans to invest another Kes. 1.5 Billion over the next year or so. Going by the recent exchange rates, this represents an investment of US$ 20 Million thus far for a service they have yet to start selling in the market. They are clearly taking the next wave of cloud services very seriously and are easily way ahead of other telcos in this space. So, what has happened is that the goal posts have shifted once again for Safaricom’s competitors – whilst they are trying to get subscribers onto 3G, Safaricom are already moving up the value chain to offer world-class cloud services right here in Kenya. As data becomes the next frontier for competition, Safaricom once again seem prescient and are moving forward relentlessly in their third act for market domination.

It seems hard to imagine that just last year I wrote a blog post here as to why we urgently needed to build out the local cloud after some outages on the high speed undersea data cables connecting East Africa to rest of the world reminded us as to how dependent we are on the International cloud already. At the time, getting to Gmail or Google Apps or any other form of cloud service was nearly impossible. Therefore, it seems that through Safaricom we now indeed have the local cloud that we have always needed that could make data services far better for organizations and people in the region. I am eagerly looking forward to the prospect of more companies setting up local cloud services by following Safaricom’s lead in this respect. This will ultimately lower the cost of accessing cloud services and reduce the latency of using cloud based services. It will also enable capacity building in terms of deploying and managing cloud services for local consumption, across the board, as well as encourage innovation. In the final analysis, it’s a good thing and Safaricom once again is setting the tone in Kenya’s telecoms sector.
Samsung Africa launches Solar Powered Internet Schools for Africa

Posted: October 26, 2011, 3:02 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Samsung Africa has today unveiled a continental project to boost computer literacy and expand internet access at the basic education level with a Solar Powered Internet School model. The model unveiled on a pilot project in South Africa features a fully equipped containerised computer school kitted with Samsung Personal Computers and remote access internet connectivity.

The pioneering project at the Samsung Engineering Academy in Boksburg, South Africa is also set to be replicated in other parts of Africa including Kenya. Speaking in Nairobi, Samsung Electronics East Africa Business Leader Mr Robert Ngeru confirmed that plans for a similar Kenyan launch are in high gear as Samsung races to support initiatives geared at raising computer literacy in East Africa.

While describing the project as a world-first, Ngeru explained that the new model features an exclusively solar-powered, mobile and completely independent classroom designed for use in remote rural areas with limited or no access to electricity. The School’s model addresses one of Africa’s largest economic challenges – electrification. On average, less than 25% of rural areas on the continent benefit from electricity, resulting in isolated communities with limited access to education and connectivity – both of which are key to fast-tracking a nation’s development.

“We have set an ambitious goal for ourselves in Africa: to positively impact 5 million lives by 2015,” affirmed Ngeru. And added: “We believe that this can most effectively be achieved if we connect our CSR initiatives with our history and core business. With the goal to grow our business on the continent, we also know that we have to sustain our level of innovation. This can only be achieved if we invest in education to facilitate African thought-leadership and to ensure we have access to a large workforce of skilled engineers in the future. The Solar Powered Internet School is a great example of this strategy at play”.

The initiative is exemplary of Samsung’s investment in CSR on the continent: a keen focus on education and harnessing the company’s legacy of innovation to respond to the felt needs of people on the continent. The launch follows the rollout of Samsung Africa’s ‘Built for Africa’ product range and the Samsung Electronics Engineering Academy earlier this year.

Each Solar Powered Internet School is built in a 40 foot (12 metre) long shipping container, making them easily transportable via truck to remote areas. The schools are built for energy scarce environments, harsh weather conditions, and for transportation over long distances. Fold-away solar panels provide enough energy to power the unit for up to nine hours a day, and for one and a half days without any sunlight at all. The solar-panels themselves are made from rubber instead of glass to ensure they are hardy and durable enough to survive long journeys across the continent.

The classroom can comfortably accommodate 21 learners, and includes several layers of insulation and a ventilation system, to ensure a temperate environment is maintained. Each classroom is fitted with a 50 inch electronic E-board and different Samsung Notebooks and Netbooks, including the world-first solar powered netbooks and Galaxy Tablets for student and teacher interface

“The amount of power generated by the schools each day means they can be used beyond the traditional school day as an adult education centre in the afternoons or a community centre over weekends,” adds Tessa Calleb, Samsung’s East Africa CSR Manager. “Our goal was to create an environment that would facilitate learning for whole communities in remote areas that otherwise don’t have access to education tools or internet connectivity.”

The School is also equipped with an energy efficient refrigerator, a file server, router, Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), video camera and world first Wi-Fi camera, all of which are designed to communicate via 3G. This allows a central location (such as the Ministry of Education) to monitor classes and deliver curriculum-based content directly to both the learners’ and educators’ notebooks.

The server currently contains the complete South African school curriculum spanning from grade 0 to grade 12, allowing the school to teach any school going subject or grade. In Kenya, the servers will be customised to hold local curriculums from standard one to eight. In the unlikely event of a complete power outage, teachers can continue their lessons using a regular built-in whiteboard and chalkboard. Samsung LED lighting ensures reduced power consumption, while remote solar power diagnostics are in power supply complication.

With 21 students and one teacher, as well as other members of the community making use of the classroom daily, Samsung has installed its environmentally-friendly Virus Doctor air-purification system to ward off the spread of germs within the classroom. The Samsung Super Plasma ion (SPi) technology emits active hydrogen and oxygen ions into the air inhibiting infection by airborne viruses and destroying airborne bacteria, fungi and allergens.

The Solar Powered Internet School prototype is currently being piloted at the Samsung Electronics Engineering Academy in Boksburg. It will then be sent to Qunu in the Eastern Cape to undergo further testing as a functioning learning and teaching environment, with the aim to e Schools thereafter.
[Review] The N9 proves that rumours of Nokia’s death are greatly exaggerated.

Posted: October 23, 2011, 8:45 pm by Moses Kemibaro
It’s hard to imagine how hard the last couple of years have been for Nokia, once the world’s dominant mobile handset manufacturer. It was only a few years ago that everyone coveted that next Nokia mobile handset and their market share seemed unassailable. In many ways, this status quo changed with the arrival of Apple’s revolutionary iPhone back in 2007. You could say that the iPhone redefined everything that we expected from what we knew until then from a mobile phone – the rest you could say, is history.

Nokia today has far less market dominance – this is a fact. Yes, they still dominate for low-end handsets in markets like Asia and Africa but in a world that is increasingly shifting to smartphones, Nokia has clearly been slipping quite badly. This trend has no doubt started happening in markets like Kenya where US$ 100.00 Android handsets are readily available to the masses. It’s expected that in the next few years, Nokia’s Symbian OS will lose its iron grip in emerging markets as Android comes to the fore and gains widespread adoption. However, there is good news on the horizon for Nokia.

Just this past week, Nokia announced better than expected third quarter financial results. Yes, it was a still a loss but not nearly as bad as financial analysts had predicted. This comes after Nokia has slashed thousands of jobs and closed down many production facilities globally, which is still on-going. At the same time, Nokia is to launch its first range of Windows Phone 7 powered mobile handsets next week at their annual Nokia World Conference in London, UK. This is what probably has me most excited. Just last week, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer made a remark the just concluded Web 2.0 Summit that the new Nokia Windows Phone 7 smartphones will be “very beautiful”. Nokia and Microsoft have been working overtime to make sure that they having winning products that can take on Apple and Google’s Android.

Ultimately, all the above leads me to the point of this blog post – the just launched Nokia N9. I got one from Nokia East Africa this past week and I have used it for the past 5 days or so. It is a gem of a phone and although it will be the last mobile handset produced by Nokia to run the MeeGo OS, it really does go to show that Nokia still does have its legendary creative mojo when it comes to making beautiful mobile phones! I am really surprised at how good this phone is from a hardware and software perspective. To be honest, after having test units of the Nokia N8 and E7 phones over the past year, it was very clear that the shortcomings of the aging Symbian OS were starting to show – in-spite of the Anna and recent Bella updates which did go a long way to improve the overall user experience and underlying technology. The N9 however shows what the future holds for Nokia, and it’s a bright future indeed! So, here we go, lets dive into the N9:
- Packaging – the overall packaging of the N9 is very slick! I got a black unit in a matte finish to test and it feels really good to hold. It has a very minimalist feel with no buttons or keys on the face of the phone. It’s all “touch” from this standpoint. You have the on and off button as well as the volume adjustment keys on the right side. The N9 comes in at 135g making it quite light. It looks and feels like its made of metal but it’s actually a polycarbonate material. There are hardly any protrusions on its smooth surface as details such as the camera and flash are recessed. You will look at the N9 from a design perspective and honestly find it more beautiful than anything else out there – including the Apple iPhone! However, I was not especially thrilled that the N9 came with a micro SIM tray instead of a standard SIM tray. This means you have to get your SIM “chopped” to fit to use the phone.
- Screen - The N9 comes with a Gorilla Glass screen which makes it very hard to crack or break. Gorilla Glass is a common feature on high-end smartphones these days so nothing unusual here. The screen is AMOLED meaning is bright, clear and sharp to look. Because of the curved surface of the screen everything you view seems to literally float to the top! The screen itself measures 3.9 inches which means its smaller than a good number of the newer smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S2 that sports a screen of more than 4 inches. The screen was great for viewing photos, playing games and watching videos on YouTube. It was also easy to use productivity applications.
- Processor and Memory – The N9 comes with a single core 1GHz processor. This in itself is NOT bad and it works fast enough. However, compared to the newer crop of Android phones coming it today with dual core processors running at 1.2 GHz, this is not ideal. Its good enough and the MeeGo OS was zippy powering through multiple applications. The unit I received came with 16GB of internal memory but there are no expansion slots to expand memory.
- Networking – The N9 comes with all the usual suspects when it comes to networking including 3G at up to 14.4Mbps, EDGE, WIFI and Bluetooth. However, the N9 goes a step further in supporting Near Field Communication or NFC. NFC is a form of networking that has recently caught on with the latest smartphones globally and is expected to be used for making mobile payments and also for transferring data between mobile devices and terminals. My experience using the N9 on 3G, WIFI and Bluetooth was that its quick and works when it comes to connecting to other networks and devices.
- Battery Life – I found the N9 to be surprisingly good when it came to battery life when it comes to using the phone on a full day basis. I did not ever need to recharge the phone even when I would browse from time and access online videos as well as applications. Seeing that I have only used the N9 for around 5 days before doing this review, I would say it probably has better battery life than I found on the Samsung Galaxy S2 as well as the Apple iPhone 4.
- Applications – Probably the biggest Achilles heel when it comes to the N9 is applications. When you turn on the N9, there are a good number of applications pre-installed including those for social media like Twitter and Facebook, Email, Contacts, Games such as Angry Birds, etc. However, when you go to the Nokia Store for the N9 which is MeeGo applications, the choice is rather thin. It’s quite obvious that very few developers will spend any amount of time building apps for the N9 or MeeGo in general since its now considered a “dead” mobile OS with limited prospects. This aspect will limit how many people will ultimately but the N9 since applications have become a key deciding factor when buying a mobile phone these days. Another thing that really ticked me off about the N9 is that it was practically impossible to import my contacts from an Android phone or from my online contacts on Google Mail. Why is this when I was able to get my calendar synchronized and even Facebook contacts could come in? I have no idea but the ability to get your contacts easily onto the N9 is something that Nokia need to fix. One last issue I had with the N9 is that the browser does not support Flash.
- Camera(s) – The N9 comes with a Carl Zeiss lens camera that can take photos at 8Mp and record video 720p HD. This resolution is less than the Nokia N8 which had a 12Mp camera. Also, newer smartphones like the Apple iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S2 tale videos at 1080 HD. The camera also has auto focus and a dual LED flash that works well in even very low light conditions. I took both video and photos with the N9 and I have to say its pretty good even if it’s not necessarily in the league of the Apple iPhone 4 or Samsung Galaxy S2 from what I can tell. There is also a front facing camera on the N9 but I never quite got round to using the same, or rather figured out how to use the same.
- Usability – The overall usability or the user experience of the N9 was easy. Everything starts by “swiping” from the right hand of the touch screen to the left side the screen. When you do this on any screen, you can access more screens and applications. This is quite different from the way that Android and Apple’s iOS work but it really is a nice different take that does not leave you feeling the after taste of Nokia’s dated Symbian OS. It’s quite responsive when opening apps but sometimes you seem to have to wait for things to happen. All in all, its a decent user experience that “works” and at no point does it feel clunky. It’s a shame that MeeGo will die with the N9, or so it seems when Nokia launches its Windows Phone 7 handsets later in the year.
Conclusion.

I am a little puzzled with the N9. On one hand, Nokia has clearly demonstrated that it can still make great phones that can effectively compete with the Apple iPhone and Android phones in the N9. The hardware and software integration using MeeGo is top-notch and this phone shows that Nokia still has mojo. However, its pretty much a dead-end phone in that in a few weeks it will be superseded by the Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets. If anything, the N9 was more a proof of concept for Nokia and it really did hit the mark. It will retail in Kenya for around Kes. 60,000.00 to 70,000.00 in a few weeks time when it launches and I wonder if I would spend that kind of money when I know it’s a one hit wonder. That being said, it really looks and works good meaning that a good number of people out there WILL buy it in Kenya. Whatever the case, the N9 is “sweet” by any measure and barring a few kinks it will go down as a truly distinctive and well executed smartphone from Nokia
Why digital marketing IS rocket science, even in Kenya.

Posted: October 22, 2011, 11:25 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I’ve meant to write about what I see as a major misunderstanding of how difficult digital marketing is for sometime now. More specifically, it seems to be a recurrent theme in Kenya that many people underestimate just how difficult it is to execute a successful and well thought out digital marketing initiative – many think its actually easy to pull-off and that it should cost no more than a few thousand shillings. This is an area where I have close to 15 years experience and even today I still feel like a novice when it comes to digital marketing since its so dynamic and ever evolving.

If anything, digital marketing as we know it is becoming far more complicated than it was even 5 years ago when the focus for most organizations was just launching a decent web site in Kenya. Nowadays, building a web site is probably the easiest part when you can buy inexpensive designs online and latch these on to readily available and open source content management systems like WordPress or Joomla. Indeed, the devil really is in the detail when it comes to digital marketing since the mode of execution can make or break your digital marketing efforts.

I have a well-etched memory going back to the early days of Dotsavvy which I co-founded back in 2002 as one of the first web design shops in Kenya. At the time, we had secured business from a reasonably large medical services business in Nairobi. We had gone for a kick-off meeting with the senior management team and were presenting creative concepts and the information architecture for the web site. If you are familiar with the professional web design process these are essential aspects of the whole process to succeed. However, at the meeting, the CEO of the said organization started insulting our project team, for “over-complicating” the whole business of building a web site which even her 15 year old son could for her. Naturally, we were not happy by these remarks and the meeting quickly deteriorated as we tried to make a case for how we get web sites done. At the end of the day, this client proved to be one of the most challenging to work with and to this very day the same organization has never launched a web site.

I have shared the above anecdote to illustrate a simple point – even close to 10 years later since the same happened, there are many in Kenya who still underestimate just how hard it is to execute digital marketing in the most effective and efficient manner. It’s the simple fact that building a web site is more than design or a content management system. There are issues such as building out content in the form of text, images, branding, etc. There is the matter of things such as search engine optimization (SEO) and determining how to ensure a web site can be viewed effectively in a myriad of web browsers such as Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome, etc…How about the use of Flash and CSS, as well as producing elegant HTML code that works everywhere? Which databases are preferred? Which coding languages will do? How about securing back-end systems from penetration, etc etc…The list simply goes on and on.

Since the advent of social media, there is a whole new area of how you can achieve brand visibility and community engagement through Blogs, Twitter and Facebook. In a more recent area, the rise of the mobile Internet means that a web site and internet marketing associated with same means dealing with an entirely new audience and technologies to make sure your digital marketing is “mobile enabled”. Being mobile enabled itself when it comes to digital marketing is a whole new beast in itself in that many are grappling with. Lastly, how does one design their digital marketing campaigns? Where do you buy the most ideal media at the right price? How about the creative messages that will drive users to “click” and interact with the same and how will Return on Investment (RoI) be measured using analytic tools for campaigns? Do you see what I mean? When you put it all together, digital marketing is, and has always been, rocket science. Even in Kenya.
5 business tips from my favourite barbershop.

Posted: October 22, 2011, 10:46 pm by Moses Kemibaro

There is a barbershop I have frequented in the Hurlingham area of Nairobi for the better part of a year. I only started going to this particular barbershop by coincidence on a day that I badly needed a trim and it was the nearest place to where I was having some work done on my car. At the time, I had a regular barbershop that I had visited for a few years and as far as I was concerned, it met all my needs, that is until I first visited my current barbershop. In this rather unusual blog post for me, and since I had a trim this morning, I wanted to expound on 5 reasons why this particular barbershop does so well and has my loyalty for life – for as long as they keep doing what do they do so well, unlike other barber shops I have used in the past. In fact, you could say, any business could be far more successful if they follow these 5 tips from my barbershop:

Consistency of service.

One of the things I love about my barbershop is that they are very consistent in service delivery. What this means specifically is that each time I go there, irrespective of which barber cuts my hair, or which lady washes my hair, it’s almost always the same experience. There is hardly any deviation in terms of the service delivery from start to finish each time you go there. This is quite unlike other barber shops I have been to in the past where service can vary wildly from being very good to very scrappy. As a customer, I love the fact that service is consistently of the same high standards. For me, this is priceless. Any business that hopes to win and retain customers needs to have service that is predictable and that customers can expect, each and every time.

Exceed customer expectations.

One thing I love about my barbershop is that they always seem to exceed my expectations. I sometimes go in for a quick trim and expect to leave quickly and more or less “serviced” based on my typically simple needs. However, the attention to detail and the amount of effort they put into ensuring I get a good trim, wash and massage is ridiculous. It’s so good that I always tip the barbers and the women who help out for the great service. They never ask me for more money in addition to the standard charges are but I honestly feel that they are under charging for a really great and world-class service to the extent that I’m compelled to pay more. Isn’t that great? That customers pay more when the service is better than what they are used to or what they expect? Any business could benefit from this tip and generate more income by just exceeding what customers expect.

A delightful service experience.

One of the other things I love about my barbershop is the experience of their service. No, it’s not just about the service but the WHOLE experience of what they do. This goes down to the fact that all the barbers are dressed in clean white coats, as are the women who work there. They use expensive cologne, shampoos and other supplies for a truly five-star experience. The ambiance of the barbershop is clean and well-lit – they have proper reclining and adjustable barber chairs for you to get your trim. The towels are always warm and soft. You can catch the ongoing live football games as you wait to get trimmed or are when having yourself groomed in other ways. The room is always clean and someone is constantly sweeping the floor, etc. Do you get the picture? Its a delightful experience all round. Any business should aspire to make sure that they deliver a “complete” experience to the customer that is simply “delightful” from the moment the come in to the time they leave.

Up-selling and cross-selling.

Another really cool thing about my barbershop is that they are constantly cross-selling and up-selling you services and products. However, the way they do it is much more like the way a highly paid financial consultant would do it, and not a run-of-the-mill insurance salesman. They will explain to you the way you need to buy a certain type of cream to deal with your razor bump problem, or that your nails look a little ragged and could use a manicure right away. Yes yes, I know, many men in Kenya would balk at the idea of having a manicure but it goes a long way to show that they care how you look out there. In this way, you do spend more money on additional services but in the process you also ending up looking better groomed, and feeling better about yourself They up-sell and cross-sell you for all the right reasons – it’s not just about turning in an extra shilling. Many businesses could learn a thing or two from my barbershop in terms of generating more revenue by recommending to customers more services that they actually need.

Professional customer services.

The last thing about my barbershop that I really like is that the people who work there are always professional. From the moment you walk in, they make sure you do not have to wait. You are ushered to a chair and immediately they are ready to serve you. The do not even talk to you, unless you talk to them. They ask you what would you like to have that day. They offer you coffee or tea. They are dressed like barbers who came to work and behave as they would be expected to. You know you are in good hands when you just plonk yourself into a seat and know that you will get exactly the kind of service you expect. I have never had to complain or feel ripped off at the end of the service delivery process. Until I moved to this barbershop, let me just say I am something of a perfectionist when it comes to my trim and I would often complain. Its great dealing with the Pros at my barbershop! In many ways, by them being so professional, customers just keep coming back, time and again. Any business out there could use repeat business by being professional.
Safaricom 3G vs Orange 3G – Who is faster?

Posted: October 15, 2011, 5:24 pm by Moses Kemibaro

It was going to come to this at some point. It was inevitable. Who is faster in Kenya? Orange 3G or Safaricom 3G? Orange Kenya launched its 3G services in August 2011, almost 2 months ago. Meanwhile. Safaricom have had 3G services for close to 3 years. However, Orange launched their 3G service with speeds of up to 21mb. Safaricom also shortly thereabouts launched their faster 3G service which is also capable of speeds of 21mb. In the case of Safaricom, one had/has to buy the newer dongles that support the faster speeds.

Initially, it seemed, the Orange 3G service was spotty and did not live up to expectations as many on the network were unable to sustain 3G speeds with the network dropping off erratically to EDGE speeds. As of this writing, the Orange 3G service seems to be much better. At the same time, I have been on Safaricom 3G on the newer dongle recently and initially the speed bump was good but lately its not that impressive. I’m not sure what is going wrong but the Safaricom 3G speeds have generally become significantly slower over the last few weeks.

So, using the new Safaricom 3G dongle and the Orange 3G dongle, both of which are supposed to go as fast as 21mb, I did a speed test as below and these were the results:

Safaricom Speed Test

Orange Speed Test

It would appear that Orange 3G is significantly faster than the Safaricom 3G. These tests were done at around the same time so they are more or less accurate. It could be that Orange having much fewer subscribers than Safaricom has excess capacity that means it’s a lot faster. At the same time, Safaricom could have over sold its capacity meaning everyone is competing for limited bandwidth. Whatever the case, as of this writing, Orange 3G clearly has the edge on Safaricom 3G.
[Review] The wicked fast, super light and wafer thin Samsung Galaxy S2.

Posted: October 15, 2011, 3:48 pm by Moses Kemibaro
This was always going to be a bittersweet phone review for me, under the circumstances. The Samsung Galaxy S2 is without a doubt the best Android phone I have had a chance to use to-date for any period of time. It is a slick and wafer thin mobile device that in many ways seems to defy the very laws of physics. It is wicked fast and has an enormous screen and yet it is also super light to the point where you often forget its in your pocket. On many levels, Samsung have pulled off what I would call a major coup with the Galaxy s2 – it is a fine phone by any standard and for this reason its “sweet”. There is a good reason why global sales for the Galaxy S2 have exceeded 10 million units, thus far.

The flip side to this review is the “bitter” aspect of having the Galaxy s2 for only 3 weeks or so. My good friends over at Samsung gave me the Galaxy S2 to review and keep. However, during a recent trip out of the country, under fairly bizarre circumstances, my Galaxy s2 was stolen from me. To say that I am still gutted a few weeks later would be understatement – I lost the best Android phone I have ever owned. This, coming from me who is a die-hard Apple iPhone fan is telling. I am still truly bitter!

Anyway, without wasting anymore of your time whining I want to go into some the key highlights that make the Samsung S2 such a great buy, even if its pricey in Kenya at around Kes 60,000.00 to Kes. 65,000.00 depending on where you pick it up:
- The Screen – the first thing that grabs you about the Galaxy S2 is the screen which is HUGE. It measures 4.3 inches making it almost “tablet-like” in how much real estate you have. However, it goes one step further in having a super AMOLED plus screen. This is the latest in screen technology which means its super sharp and vivid. Images and video seem to literally jump at you on the Galaxy S2 – its a marvel to look at! It also has Gorilla Glass meaning its a very durable screen that will not easily shatter should you happen to drop the phone accidentally.
- Packaging – I am pleased to say that the overall finish and feel of the Galaxy S2 is an improvement over the original Galaxy S. It has a “squarer” finish and is not only lighter but it is also easily one of the thinnest high-end smartphones in the Kenyan market today. It terms of buttons on the front, it has a “minimalist” look. Unfortunately, once again, one still has a “plasticky” feel with Galaxy S2 which was the case with the Galaxy S although this is something I got over in no time. I still wish Samsung would pursue a more hefty and metallic finish for its high-end smartphones like HTC and Apple do.
- The Processor – The Galaxy S2 comes with a 1.2 Ghz dual core processor meaning it is not just fast but really fast. What this means is that you can zip through applications and multimedia functions with no fuss. Everything really moves a lot faster on the Galaxy S2 compared to any other Android phone I have used in the past. In addition the Galaxy S2 runs Android 2.3 which is one of the newer and better flavors available in the market today.
- Camera – The camera on the Galaxy S2 is a gem. It’s an 8mp camera which is an improvement on the original Galaxy S that had a 5mp camera. In addition, the Galaxy S2 comes with a camera which is super handy for those low light conditions. However, the icing on the cake with the Galaxy s2 camera is the video capabilities where one can shoot video in full 1080 HD which puts it in a whole new category of quality.
- Memory – The Galaxy S2 comes with 16GB of memory on-board which can be expanded to 32GB of memory via Micro SD card. This means that you can store full length movie and lots of apps with ease.
- Battery Life – I was pleasantly surprised with the Galaxy S2 in terms of battery life. Unlike the Galaxy S which drains batter life in no time, the Galaxy S2 seems to manage power consumption better and I was surprised to see how much 3G time I would get on it. It worked for hours on end with no need to recharge intermittently during the day.
- Music – music on the Galaxy S2 was good, but not great. The controls for sound and all worked for me but I still found that I preferred listing to music on my iPhone when in the gym. There is nothing really wrong with the Galaxy S2 when it comes to music but I still think Android needs improvement in this area from a software perspective.
- Social Networking – when it came to social networking, I found using the standard Android Apps for the likes of Facebook and Twitter to work best for me. I have never been a fan of Samsung’s proprietary SocialHub and I think they should drop it altogether in favour of the Android Market Apps. My 2 cents that is.
- Work – I used the Galaxy S2 for all my business and work related tasks such as email, calendaring, etc. It worked well for me and now that I have synced all my accounts online with Google, I really was able to work on the move. The applications available meant I could easily open work documents and also edit them too. A big factor here was the large screen on the Galaxy S2 which really makes it easy to work on documents on the move. Microsoft Exchange Sync worked well and I was able to get all I needed that I would normally get on my Macbook to work.
- Networking – The Galaxy S2 supports full HSPA+ 21 Mbps data connectivity on your mobile network. I did not get a chance to test this speed so regular 3G worked just fine for me. In addition, I was able to use it on WIFI and EDGE quite well as well as Bluetooth for connecting to devices was a synch. I also managed to use the Galaxy S2 a couple of times a WIFI hotspot and the only caveat in this case was that battery life was heavily compromised when connecting multiple devices.
Conclusion

There are many better and more detailed reviews of the Samsung Galaxy S2 that you can find online. In this case, I wanted to share my “brief” experience on the Galaxy S2 from a “highlights” perspective and from what I can tell its the best high-end Android smartphone available in Kenya today. It will be a few months before the Apple iPhone 4S makes its way to Kenya and by then I would expect there should be additional Android alternatives to the Samsung Galaxy S2. However, for the time being, price being no object, go out there and pick up the Samsung Galaxy S2 for a really slick high-end Android phone – you will not regret it!
PesaPi, the open source M-Pesa API upgraded.

Posted: October 15, 2011, 2:30 pm by Moses Kemibaro
It was back in May 2011 that I did a blog post here about the launch of PesaPi which is an open source API for Safaricom’s M-Pesa that integrates to the web. Since then, PesaPi has become increasingly popular and my favorite geek Mike Pedersen who is behind PesaPi has been busy coding away to come up with all sorts of new enhancements. Earlier today at BarCamp Nairobi, Mike unveiled the latest edition of PesaPi which now has the following key upgrades:
- Multiple Payment Systems – when launched in May 2011, PesaPi only supported Safaricom’s M-Pesa mobile money service. Now, PesaPi supports integration with other mobile money services such as Airtel Money, Orange Money and YU Cash, in and beyond Kenya.
- Personal M-Pesa Accounts – when initially launched, PesaPi only supported payments going to M-Pesa business accounts where one had to register for a Paybill number with Safaricom. In the latest iteration of PesaPi, one can now use personal M-Pesa accounts to receive payments and not just business accounts. This is key since securing an M-Pesa business account can take many months and is NOT a straightforward process. In order to use a personal M-Pesa account with PesaPi, one must have a phone that runs Google’s Android with M-Pesa. At the same time, the phone needs to have SMSSync installed which is a utility that “forwards” incoming SMS messages to a computer using a data connection. This way, you can then carry around your Android phone as you normally would and whenever an M-Pesa payment notification from Safaricom comes in it can then be passed onto your website.
- Faster Deployment – As illustrated in the YouTube video below, Mike has managed to streamline the process of integrating PesaPi into an existing web site in not more than 16 minutes from scratch!
The latest version of PesaPi can be downloaded here:

[https:]

The video as below shows just how easy it is to deploy PesaPi version in roughly 16 minutes:
YouTube Kenya is launched.

Posted: October 6, 2011, 5:22 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I was meant to attend the launch of YouTube Kenya yesterday but other commitments kept me away. The new web site was launched at www.youtube.co.ke and it features local video content from Kenya. In addition, users can access the web site in Kiswahili, if that is their preferred language. At the same time, users in Kenya who have spotty bandwidth can also access videos using YouTube Feather which optimizes streaming for slower Internet connections. All in all, an excellent initiative by Google for Kenya in driving the local content agenda. Below is the video from YouTube launching their Kenya web site:
A tribute to Steve Jobs.

Posted: October 6, 2011, 8:57 am by Moses Kemibaro

If your like me, you may have woken up to the shocking news that Apple’s iconic founder Steve Jobs died yesterday. I first heard about it on Twitter, when I saw a tweet saying “R.I.P Steve Jobs”. I immediately thought it was a hoax and went over to CNN.com to confirm – it was true, Steve Jobs had passed on. Indeed, this is sad news for many of us who love technology and to go further are fans of everything that Steve Jobs accomplished in his lifetime at Apple and beyond.

Steve Jobs was without a doubt one of the Fathers of modern technology as we know it – a true Titan of all things digital. He defined and redefined everything from personal computers to mobile phones as well as movies and more recently tablets. He drove the vision of products and services that were quite simply “magical” – we would never have appreciated the art of technology that he brought to life through his well-known and unrelenting drive for perfection in all he did. The world would not be what it is today we’re it not for Steve Jobs.

One of Steve Jobs’ famous “closing” statements when recruiting new team members to Apple was to ask them if they wanted to “put a dent on the universe” by working for him. Indeed, Steve Jobs made many many dents in the technology universe, as we know it. R.I.P Steve Jobs, you will be missed.
[Business Daily Interview] Taking online shopping to new level

Posted: October 5, 2011, 6:43 am by Moses Kemibaro

This is an interview I had with the Business Daily Newspaper titled “Taking online shopping to new level” that was published in the first edition of BDLife, a new weekly pullout on Friday the 30th September 2011. We talked about my professional background as well as certain interesting facts on my personal life. I hope you enjoy it. You can read the interview on the Business Daily web site here>
Airtel Kenya’s 3G service goes live in Nairobi.

Posted: October 3, 2011, 9:25 am by Moses Kemibaro

Well, this is treat! I just turned on my BlackBerry which happens to run on an Airtel Kenya line this morning and I was greeted with a 3G signal instead of the usual EDGE data connection. I only got back into the country over the weekend so this has just come to my attention. This makes Airtel Kenya the third mobile network in Kenya after Safaricom and more recently Orange Kenya to have 3G go live on their network. This would mean that only YU remains as the last network without 3G in the Kenyan market and I am sure they will need to respond soon as 3G becomes “de facto” for most mobile subscribers.

As far as I can tell, Airtel Kenya has NOT yet started a major marketing campaign around their 3G launch yet but this is sure to come soon. I also suspect that Airtel Kenya’s 3G network is possibly only live in Nairobi at the moment as I have not yet seen updates on social media from Mombasa or other cities or major towns where users are on as well. From what I have found online thus far, seems to me that the Airtel 3G service is actually fast, like really fast so can’t wait to give it a spin. However, its early days and even Orange Kenya’s 3G service, although launched nationwide, seems to be spotty from what I can tell.
How cars could be digitally marketed and sold in Kenya.

Posted: October 2, 2011, 10:48 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I love cars. If you follow me on Twitter or are a Friend on Facebook, you would know by now how much I love Formula One and by extension cars. In Kenya, as happens in the rest of Africa, the business of marketing and selling cars has remained largely “old school” in that little has changed over the last three decades or so. Sure, many automotive dealers selling new and pre-owned cars have corporate and sometimes (local) brand web sites these days but this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what you can actually do to in terms of selling cars via digital channels. During a recent trip to South Africa, I experienced what I could only describe as a cutting edge approach to marketing a new car in that market – The Nissan Juke.

The Nissan Juke is what you would call a small SUV. Its brand new to South Africa and clearly the Agency that was briefed to market the Nissan Juke must have been given full creative license to come up with an innovative digital marketing approach. The whole marketing approach starts by having a “prominent” (read: spotlights, barriers, etc) closed off space in a mall where you cannot see anything at all, as below:

Now, as you can see, there is NOTHING in the closed off space. This is where it gets interesting. The team doing the brand activation then come up to you and ask you if you would like to see the car? “What car?” you ask. They then point their iPad at the empty space for a few seconds as below:

Then, you wait for a few seconds and the following is what you see:

And…PRESTO! A virtual Nissan Juke floats onto the screen of the iPad. However, its a complete 3D mock-up of the car so using the iPad you can “walk” around the car and even open the doors and peer in, etc. Its like the real thing but only its digital and virtual. Its a classic case of using augmented reality to market a real-world product in a virtual and digital space. This is really innovative and novel. However, it gets better as per the screen below:

On the above screen, right from the iPad, you can navigate to an online form so that you can book a test drive or make a general enquiry on the Nissan Juke. Now this bit of the “campaign” for the Nissan Juke I loved the most since instead of just interesting would be buyers, you capture lead details so that the selling process can begin immediately after the first marketing effort has been achieved.

Now, this whole campaign of the Nissan Juke may represent the cutting edge of digital marketing approaches that are possible for cars. However, it’s but just one way in which the marketing of cars could be reinvented in markets like Kenya and the rest of Africa. I can imagine an approach that leverages mobile optimized web sites, QR codes, mobile marketing, email marketing, etc in lots of new and exciting ways that get people to buy a car - instead of just glancing at a full-page newspaper ad or a billboard on a highway. To visit the campaign website for the Nissan Juke in South Africa go to [www.nissanjuke.co.za]
Why I’m [possibly?] making the big switch to Google’s Android.

Posted: October 2, 2011, 9:49 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I want to start this blog post with a confession. As much as Google’s Android has been all the rage for the past year or so in Kenya, I have been something of a skeptic about it. Why is this when everyone has been going all “googly-eyed” about Android? Well, for one thing, I have been mostly using an Apple iPhone for most of this time. I moved to the iPhone (i.e. the 3GS and more recently the 4) and everything about what I expected from a smartphone got a serious reality check. Basically, no one could ever convince me that anything but an iPhone was “the real thing”, until now that is. To paraphrase Steve Jobs when Apple launched the original iPhone 4 years ago, “the mobile phone, reinvented”. Yes indeed, even 4 years later, the iPhone still does really set the standard by which all other mobile phones are measured.

However, in doing a review of Samsung’s entry-level Galaxy Mini Android last month, I found myself in a predicament. I had to find a way of completely transferring all my contacts, calendars, email accounts, social media and other important information from my iPhone to the Galaxy Mini. After spending a good amount of time on Google looking for an adequate solution, I found one. The process went better than expected although it did require me to create a new Gmail account and then upload all my Outlook and iPhone contacts via iTunes. Once done, I was able to synchronize with the Galaxy Mini and presto! It was done. This blew me away as now all my contacts and calendar info are effectively “living” in Google’s cloud, for free! This in itself made me re-think Android from the perspective that its more useful than the iPhone when it comes to working with the cloud.

Going forward, I have been “off” the iPhone(s) for the better part of a month. The funny thing is that I do not seem to miss them that much. I have more of less fully adapted to Android and I am surprised at how easy it was! The big thing seems to be that the Google Ecosystem has me in their proverbial matrix (just like Neo!). All I need is an Android phone and I am “plugged in” to everything I need from maps, to contacts, calendars, apps, etc. Its really surprising how this all worked out and I really had no intention of actually liking Android as much as I do, right now. All I can say that is I can now see why everyone is going “gaga” about Android, even for an Apple fanboy like me who may still, just still, may go back to his iPhone. Nuff said!
A review of Samsung’s Galaxy Mini Android.

Posted: October 2, 2011, 9:31 pm by Moses Kemibaro

The Samsung Galaxy Mini

I have been using Samsung’s Galaxy Mini (model GT-S5570) for the better part of a month, or slightly longer. The Galaxy Mini is being retailed in Kenya for Kes. 12,999.00 by Safaricom which places it in the entry-level range of Android handsets available in the market to-date. This is more expensive than Huawei’s IDEOS which has been a runaway success for Safaricom but its also a more capable phone on many levels. Included in the Safaricom price for the Galaxy Mini is 600 MB of free data for three months or rather 200 MB per month which is decent enough for most people. In reviewing the Galaxy Mini, here are the details based on my experience:

Screen Size: On holding the Galaxy Mini for the very first time, a few things caught my attention. The first was the size of the screen. Its a large 3.14 inch screen which got me all excited. This is almost as large as the screens you get on much more expensive Android phones in the market. However, on turning the phone on, I was disappointed with the quality of the screen – clearly this was no AMOLED or Super AMOLED screen with a fuzzy looking resolution of only 240 X 320 with a range of only 262 colours. However, I got used to it, eventually.

The back of the Samsung Galaxy Mini

Packaging: In terms of the packaging or the casing of the Galaxy Mini, it does feel low-end in terms of the finish. However, for the price on offer this is hardly a surprise and it certainly does have a “plasticky” feel that seems to plague all low-end (and sometimes high-end) smartphones. Its pretty hefty in terms of weight at 106.6 grams but you really could not compare it to an HTC or iPhone in this respect, which generally have a solid metallic feel. It does however have a “chunky” feel to it that I like.

Responsiveness: In terms of panning through apps on the Galaxy Mini, the experience was generally was satisfactory but not excellent in my opinion. You did feel at times that the processor was light-weight and it took ages for apps to open at times – hanging was not uncommon after a few weeks. But putting things in perspective, this is an entry-level Android that I am STILL using it as I write this review.

Memory: The Galaxy Mini comes with limited phone-based storage. However, you do get a Micro SD card with 2GB which is sufficient for handling most of your multimedia needs for video and audio. However, it is small compared to what you get on more expensive Android handsets which can be in the region of 16GB out of the box. But then again, this is an entry-level handset.

The Galaxy Mini - Exposed

Contacts: As mentioned earlier in this blog post, I was able to download all my contacts from my iPhone and Outlook. However, I was also able to integrate and synchronize Facebook and Twitter contacts as well. This is a pretty nifty feature as it puts everything in one place.

Camera: The Galaxy Mini can do video and stills. Still pictures are taken at 3 MP which is not bad for a phone of this level. However, it lacks autofocus and a flash which are now becoming commonplace on more recent Android handsets being launched globally. Personally, it’s worked really well for me and I have no complaints.

Battery Life: I was actually quite impressed with the battery life on the Galaxy Mini. It does not always last as long as I would like but at least it could take me through a whole day – provided I turned off the Internet when I did not need it from sucking all the battery life. The regular email and social media notifications are quite simply battery draining.

Video: The Galaxy Mini worked well in terms of accessing YouTube videos. However, it does NOT support Flash which is a hindrance to browsing a good number of web sites. I can only imagine that this is the case due to processor constants.

The Galaxy Mini - Side Profile

Music: I used the Galaxy Mini in the gym as a replacement for my iPhone. It comes with all the expected accessories such as headphones with basic controls. However, the user interface and overall experience including the quality of sound could not match that of an iPhone or iPod.

Networking: The Galaxy Mini is able to connect to data in a myriad of ways. It supports EDGE and 3G meaning it get online fast. However, it also supports Bluetooth and WIFI networking. Lastly, like the Huawei IDEOS, it can also work as a WIFI hotspot for multiple computers. In a nutshell, it connects, whenever and wherever you need it to!

Conclusion

In concluding, I have found that the Galaxy Mini was able to meet both my professional and personal needs when it came to having an entry-level Android handset. It did however have some short-comings like the screen quality and becoming less responsive as I installed more applications and content. I was able to use it for work email and personal email, as well as social media apps, etc. It worked and continues to work for me. However, it’s not a Galaxy S or Galaxy S2 – but then again these phones cost 3 to 5 times as much. At the end of the day however, the Galaxy Mini is a decent Android phone and I would recommend it with a strong buy if you are budget constrained and want great value for money.
Is e-ticketing finally taking off in Kenya?

Posted: October 2, 2011, 2:36 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Buying and selling of tickets, or ticketing, is not a particularly sexy topic in Kenya when it comes to technology. In fact, you could say, the business of ticketing has remained in the proverbial dark ages with only a few businesses and companies bothering to digitizing the process – be it paying for bus tickets or the next big music concert. One of the major players in this space would have to be Kenya Airways who have had an online booking engine for years that lets you buy tickets using your credit card or mobile money. Personally, I have bought tickets on Kenya Airways using M-Pesa and apart from being super convenient for someone like me, it works just fine!

However, when rethinking the concept of ticketing in the context of technology in Kenya, this is an area that has been largely untouched, until now that is. Over the last year or so, it seems to me that two companies are aiming to capitalize on this nascent opportunity to streamline the ticketing process for businesses and people, online, and on mobile. The big deal here is that there are over 10 million Internet users in Kenya and over 16 million mobile subscribers have access to mobile money in the form of Safaricom’s M-Pesa. This convergence of sorts if a BIG untapped opportunity for a vast range of digital services, e-ticketing included.

E-ticketing from TicketSasa.com

The first company of note is PesaPal, which is probably the first business that really got into on e-ticketing in a serious way. I remember buying tickets to the Jonathan Butler concert held in Nairobi late last year in this way, using Safaricom’s M-Pesa for payment. However, what was ironic is that on arriving at the concert, no one (initially) seemed to know about the e-tickets that had been sold and someone had to rummage through a file to get details. I suspect that this logistical hiccup must have been resolved by now at current and future events. PesaPal has since branded their e-ticketing offering as TicketSasa.com and it seems they are signing up a good number of businesses – it seems to be paying off.

E-ticketing from PataTicket.com

The second company of note in Kenya’s burgeoning e-ticketing space came to my attention this past week. I am attending the Safaricom Classical Fusion event this afternoon and having been out of the country I needed to buy tickets online by this Friday as this was the deadline. After searching online, I found a solution through PataTicket.com which seems to be a product of BernSoft, a well-established ICT solutions business based in Nairobi. It seems to me that PataTicket is essentially the same as TicketSasa and what remains to be seen is which of these offerings will scale fastest in signing up businesses, and become a part of mainstream consumer brand consciousness.

South Africa's leading e-ticketing business, Computicket.co.za

I think that the e-ticketing space has a very large opportunity in Kenya and the broader East African region. What is already apparent in both TicketSasa and PataTicket is that mobile money and more specifically Safaricom’s M-Pesa will be key due to the lack of adequate credit card penetration in the region – it’s a perfect fit! It means that long queues and missed opportunities could be a thing of the past for a wide range of businesses that need e-ticketing solutions. It would be great to see this reach the level of what I recently experienced in South Africa when using CompuTicket to buy movie tickets – it works across a myriad of payment channels and they even have an Andorid mobile app. South Africa’s CompuTicket is essentially how far both SasaTicket and PataTicket could potentially go. It’s a bright future for e-ticketing in Kenya – whichever way you look at it!
Meet Kenya’s “Touch” Generation – An emerging social class of the digital elite.

Posted: September 21, 2011, 5:30 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This is an article I wrote that was published earlier this month in Up Magazine, Nairobi’s Urban Perspective. Enjoy the read

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Kenya is undoubtedly in the midst of a technology-driven revolution. You can tell because now everybody’s status reads “always online” a sure sign that we are in the midst of a digital upheaval. However, even as we embrace this new phenomenon, there is an emergence of an elite digital social class. You can see them when you go to that upmarket mall or restaurant. You see them pecking away incessantly on their digital paraphernalia of phones, tablets and laptops. They live online. They have legions of digital followers, friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Their blogs sway public opinion on matters as trivial as fashion sense and music style, to the more serious topics such as multi-billion shilling political scandal and the next general election that mainstream media are hesitant to touch. They are Kenya’s “digerati” or what I prefer to call the touch generation.

The touch generation are everything that is digitally cool. They are well educated, highly exposed and seemingly have infinite bandwidth on all things digital. They wield their iPhones, iPads and any other forms of touch devices with magical ease and kung fu mastery. If it were possible, we would bestow upon them black belts in the digital arts. They are the cutting edge ying to what is the rest of the world’s old school yang.

Going forward, the irony about the current touch generation is that they are just the tip of the iceberg. It occurs to me now, more than ever, that I am a digital dinosaur of sorts when I still use a full-sized macbook to get things done instead of an iPad. Case in point is that my two-year-old son is fast becoming increasingly adept at slinging angry birds on my iPhone with no form of previous instruction. It is these, the newest arrivals of the touch generation, which amaze me the most. Technology has become so intuitive that even two year olds “get it” even as our generation struggles to come to grips with what the real value of a tablet device like the iPad really is. It’s quite perplexing to say the least.

As I see it, the touch generation is quite possibly the next step of human evolution, as we know it. It’s a generation that is always “logged on” with digital technology and is most at ease with it. A life without being online for them would be like a life without oxygen. I dread to imagine what would happen to the touch generation should they suddenly be unable to access their blogs, Facebook Wall or Tweets all the time – at home, at work, and on the move. Could such a thing simply lead to the collapse of humanity, as we know it? I think it’s not that farfetched when the effects of the Arab Spring were essentially a result of the touch generation’s collective digital heave. The touch generation changes everything.
Airtel Money customers in Kenya to use mobile phones as virtual credit cards.

Posted: September 21, 2011, 5:09 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Airtel Africa, Standard Chartered Bank and MasterCard Worldwide have announced the availability of the world’s first virtual payments card that operates off a mobile phone-based wallet in Kenya called PayOnline. Kenya is the first market in the world to make this type of payment solution publicly available, which lets Airtel Money customers in Kenya use their mobile phones to make online purchases from international MasterCard merchants around the world.

Airtel’s mobile technology platform works with the financial structure and regulatory framework provided by Standard Chartered Bank and with the global acceptance of MasterCard to ensure that Kenyan consumers will be able to transact online in a reliable, convenient and secure environment.

According to N Arjun, Chief Projects and Transformation Officer, Airtel Africa, “The launch of the world’s first virtual payment card on a mobile phone account marks a major milestone in Kenyan mobile commerce. It’s just like having a payment card on your mobile phone that you can use for online purchases, offering consumers high levels of security, accessibility, acceptance, and a global reach.”

With PayOnline, paying for an online purchase is quick and easy. People simply request a single-use shopping card number directly from their mobile phone’s menu of options. Airtel money services will then generate a special 16-digit number that enables the completion of the purchase. Once the purchase has been authorised, a confirmation message will be sent to the user’s mobile phone.

A single-use number assigned to each PayOnline purchase must be used for the first time within 24 hours, which offers increased security and protection to prevent unlawful access to people’s money. Transactions will initially be limited to Kes. 35,000.00 per transaction and Kes. 70,000.00 per day. However, theselimits can be changed in the months to come – dependent on demand.

People can purchase items online which are quoted in Euro, USD or Pound, and will be charged a fixed transaction fee of Kes.50.00 for each “PayOnline” number generated. This fee will be deducted from the customer’s Airtel Money account. “The connected world is shrinking at a rapid pace as people turn to mobile phones to connect with friends and make purchases on-the-go.

We saw that people want more options in making their payments easier and more convenient which is why we joined hands with Airtel and Standard Chartered Bank to help make people’s lives easier with this innovative new product,” said Daniel Monehin, MasterCard’s area head for East & West Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, MasterCard Worldwide.

“Financially empowering the citizens of Kenya is a rewarding experience, not only for consumers themselves, but for the various institutions and merchants that are involved in doing so. MasterCard looks forward to working with Standard Chartered Bank and Airtel to continue promoting the advantages of electronic payments and to accelerate the displacement of cash and cheques in Kenya,” he added.

“As a leading international bank in Africa, we are always looking for ways to bring innovative financial solutions to our customers in line with our brand promise: Here for good. We have been in Kenya for 100 years and have always been at the forefront of introducing new products and services to the market. The PayOnline solution is a unique way of ensuring that our customers can transact in the digital world for the first time without having to have a credit card or use their physical debit card. Airtel PayOnline will enable more Kenyan consumers to connect to the global marketplace via their mobile phones no matter where they are in the world,” says Kariuki Ngari, Executive Director Kenya, and Cluster Head, East Africa Consumer Banking, Standard Chartered Bank.

PayOnline received top honors as the Best Mobile Money Product or Solution at the Annual Global Mobile Awards held during Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2011. PayOnline was recognized as an innovative mobile payments solution that offers consumers in Kenya, and eventually across Africa, greater participation in the financial system through mobile commerce.
Dealfish goes mobile on Google’s Android Market.

Posted: September 16, 2011, 6:36 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Dealfish Android mobile app homescreen

Its been sometime since I did a decent blog post so I’m pretty happy to finally post something that is reasonably new (i.e. meaning a couple of weeks late!). As anyone will tell you who knows me, I am super passionate about mobile as a marketing and service delivery channel. More specifically, I am talking about the mobile web and more recently mobile apps as they proliferate the mobile world, as we know it. Its one of the reasons why I was so attracted to joining Dealfish from day one, now over a year ago (which actually seems to feel like such a short time since I have been so very busy building the business in East Africa).

Dealfish was designed at launch to work on both feature (basic) mobile phones as well as smartphones across Africa. This was, and, is still quite prescient as a good number of web sites in Africa are yet to be mobile enabled. However, this trend is slowly changing as some African countries have statistics that show over 50% of their mobile subscribers go online via the mobile web, almost exclusively. Therefore, from this perspective, it was only a matter of time before we took a step further at Dealfish and developed a mobile app to keep the pace with the emerging “MobileFirst” trend that is engulfing the dark continent (aka Africa).

A couple of week ago, Dealfish quietly launched its very first mobile app on Google’s Android Market. The Dealfish Android mobile app was developed over several months and I am quite pleased to say it works pretty well. This is our first stab at deploying a mobile app and as such its still very much a work-in-progress. I am particularly proud that most of the work done in building the app was actually done right here in Nairobi which goes to show the depth and breadth of mobile application developers we have in East Africa. In addition, we are already working on version 1.1 of the Dealfish Android App.

An example of a search results page on the Dealfish Android mobile app.

The way the Dealfish Android mobile app has been designed to work is so that you have access to most of the features and functionality that you currently get on both our PC and mobile web sites. However, the experience goes a step further in making access to content and services on Dealfish faster and more user-friendly for the Android user. In addition, there are additional features we are going to introduce in the next release but unfortunately I cannot go into specifics here, at least not just yet. However, I have tested it on Huawei’s entry-level IDEOS, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7, Galaxy Mini and Galaxy s2 devices – in all cases, it works flawlessly.

At launch, the Dealfish Android mobile app is only available for listings on our Kenya and Nigeria web sites. We plan to expand these listings to include our other countries in due course. We would love to hear your comments on it. You can download the Dealfish Android mobile app here>
[Video] KTN TV interview on the state of social media in Kenya.

Posted: September 11, 2011, 8:48 am by Moses Kemibaro

This is an interview I had a couple of weeks ago on KTN TV’s Sunrise Show where I talked about the current state of social media in Kenya. I hope you enjoy it!
[PodCast] Dealfish Uganda Interview on Sanyu FM in Kampala.

Posted: September 1, 2011, 9:09 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Tags:

Dealfish hanging out with the Sanyu FM Radio Breakfast Crew in Kampala, Uganda

Below is a PodCast of an interview that Paul Mulira, the Dealfish Uganda Area Manager and I had on Sanyu FM Radio in Kampala this morning on their breakfast show. The interview was done with Seanice Kacungira (who used to work at Capital FM in Nairobi in Kenya a few years ago), as well as FatBoy and Melanie. Tune in and enjoy!
[Video] Dealfish interview with Lizz Ntonjira on NTV PM Live.

Posted: August 26, 2011, 6:01 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This is an interview I had last month on the 25th July 2011 with Lizz Ntojira on NTV’s PM Live Show. We discussed how Dealfish has performed thus far in East Africa, as well as other Internet related aspects in Kenya and the broader African continent. For those of you who missed it, here it is finally!
Orange finally launches the second 3G mobile data service in Kenya.

Posted: August 25, 2011, 1:31 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Today will go down as a big milestone in Kenya’s mobile broadband history as Orange Kenya officially launched its 3G network this morning. Details including pricing are still sketchy as of this writing but various sources on social media noted that their network will be able to run as fast as 21 Mbps from day one.

This means that Kenya now has its second 3G capable mobile network after the long standing monopoly that Safaricom had for years. It also explains why Safaricom earlier this week launched its 21 Mbps capable dongles in the media since they probably knew of Orange Kenya’s impending 3G launch. All the same its refreshing to see that there is finally a second 3G network to compete with Safaricom and hopefully we will see much better pricing for the services going forward.

What remains to be seen is how Airtel Kenya will respond to Orange Kenya stealing the march on them by launching 3G services earlier on their network. Its a major coup for Orange Kenya and frankly I would finally consider buying an Apple iPhone 4 on their network on this very basis with the good packages they have been offering recently. Meanwhile, let the 3G price wars begin!
Kenyan shoppers embrace online stores to beat runaway inflation.

Posted: August 25, 2011, 9:47 am by Moses Kemibaro

This is an article that was published in today’s edition of the Business Daily Newspaper’s Digital Business Pullout. I was quoted in the same with regards to Dealfish’s progress in Kenya as a leading local web site and emerging e-commerce destination. You can read more here>
The game changing implications of Google buying Motorola Mobility.

Posted: August 16, 2011, 10:03 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I have been in the world of technology for a long time. I remember programming in Basic back in the early days of home computing on those lovely (but fragile) Sinclair ZX Spectrum computers. Oh such joy! To recall the days when you would wait for software programs to load in many minutes from analogue cassette players on to your trusty home computer – it was a simple life then. It was hard to tell how far the growth of the technology would go back then.

Fast forward a few years and I recall learning how to work DBase 3 and 4 applications on Microsoft DOS. These were the days before Windows or rather Windows was only starting to catch on as an operating system. You used to work software using all sorts of keystrokes from the command prompt. A few years on, Windows version 3 became well entrenched during my University days, and well, as they say, the rest is history.

Sometime in the mid 1990s, Microsoft’s dominance grew and grew through Windows, and thereafter via its Office productivity suite. Do any of you remember Word Star, Lotus 123 and CorelDraw? Back in the day these software companies dominated their businesses. In the early days of the Internet, we had companies like Netscape and Eudora who were untouchable. However, in no time, Microsoft took them out too.

Then, I cannot recall when exactly it happened but Google came onto the scene. At the time, when I was well entrenched in Kenya’s nascent Internet industry, search engines like Alta Vista, Excite and Hotbot were all the rage. However, they were clunky and it took forever to find stuff. When Google “checked-in” so to speak, everything changed. Overnight, you simply stopped using anything else to search for stuff online since Google just worked, each and every time. Once again, the rest as you could say is history.

Today we are faced by a Google that is without a doubt the most potent technology business in the world. From rising to become the world’s leading search engine over a decade ago, Google has gradually morphed to become so much more. Google in many ways reminds me of the dominance that Microsoft once had in the desktop computing days – their grip was unbreakable and everyone caved in to their whims. It was a different world indeed.

However, it seems, in a world that has embraced mobile technology in all its myriad forms, Google is seemingly even more formidable and dominant than Microsoft ever was in the desktop computing era. In a matter of a few years, Google’s Android platform has risen fast and wide to become the leading smartphone operating system. However, let us not forget that Apple’s iOS is also quite formidable but is typically geared towards the high-end of the market whereas Android is available from the low-end to the top of the market.

This brings me to the point of this blog post. Yesterday, Google announced that it intended to acquire Motorola Mobility for the princely sum of US$ 12.5 Billion. This is the largest acquisition that Google has ever done to-date. Its a big deal by any measure. The main motivator for the acquisition is that Google’s Android platform is at risk of lots of patent infringement suits with the likes of Oracle, Microsoft and Apple so this is actually a protective initiative. Therefore, in buying Motorola Mobility which also makes lots of mobile devices based on the Android platform, Google also gains access to thousands of patents, as well as patents pending to counter the lawsuits.

The real kicker in Google buying Motorola Mobility is that overnight, Google is now able to offer not just the software and services for smartphones – it now can start marketing its own mobile hardware. This makes Google as vertically integrated as Apple in terms of mobile offerings. However, Google could potentially in the process alienate itself from the many mobile device manufacturers like Samsung and Huawei who have adopted Android wholeheartedly to-date. Its a tricky move from this perspective.

So, going forward, what are the implications of a “GoogleMoto” future? Increasingly, the world is embracing mobile computing and communications. This means being able to do all that you used to do on your desktop or laptop “on the go” on a mobile device. The proliferation of mobile broadband, cloud services, applications and new kinds of mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones means that Google stands to reap from all these areas in its new integrated model. The only missing piece to the puzzle would be for Google to actually become a mobile network operator, which is not inconceivable.

In many ways, Google has much more going for it than many of its competitors such as Microsoft and Apple. It has the ability to scale massively and now offer mobile devices too that could pack a punch at a very low-cost. Its starting to feel that Google is no longer that cute little start-up it was over a decade ago and had the famously quoted ethos of “don’t be evil” but rather its becoming a behemoth that has all the intentions of global domination in the fast growing mobile technology space. Suddenly, the likes of Microsoft, who were often referred to as “the beast from Redmond” in the past are starting to look tame in comparison to Google. In a mobile world, Google is effectively positioned to become THE game changer.
Multichoice Kenya to launch DSTV Mobile’s “Drifta” tomorrow.

Posted: August 16, 2011, 2:13 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Multichoice Kenya is to launch DSTV Mobile’s “Drifta” tomorrow (Wednesday) morning for the first time in Kenya. The Drifta is a mobile TV decoder that receives DVB-H signals and converts them into a Wi-Fi signal for Wi-Fi enabled viewing devices such as laptops, PCs, tablets and smartphones. DSTV mobile has been operational in Kenya for sometime but this is the first time that the Drifta offering has been made available in East Africa.

In order to use the Drifta, one currently can access it on Apple’s iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad running iOS 4.0 and higher iOS as well as Windows PCs including laptops and notebooks running Windows XP, Vista and 7. Other devices will be available soon. The really big deal about the Drifta is one can access a good number of DSTV channels without having to acquire the full DSTV satellite-based service. In addition, the Drifta is mobile meaning you use it on the go without being stuck in the house.

You can find out more about DSTV Mobile services currently available in Kenya here. In addition, you can find out more about the Drifta from the DSTV mobile web site in South Africa here.
Google’s G-Kenya 2.0 conference to encourage digital innovation for stakeholders.

Posted: August 13, 2011, 5:20 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

G-Kenya 2.0 to encourage adoption of innovation among Kenya’s entrepreneurs during 2nd annual conference organized for business owners, marketers, technology entrepreneurs, publishers/content owners and software developers.

Google will soon be hosting its second annual web and mobile conference in Kenya. The conference dubbed G-Kenya 2.0 will target 1000 engineers, product managers, entrepreneurs and web developers to receive training on Google’s products and online business skills that will help them grow their businesses. The conference will take place at the Westgate Mall Cinemas, Nairobi, on 12th and 13th September 2011.

G-Kenya 2.0 whose theme is The next iteration of digital represents Google’s commitment to driving the web forward in Africa, highlighting the entrepreneurial opportunities it brings. G-Kenya will also train participants on its developer and business technologies ranging from Mobile / Android, Chrome and HTML5 to Maps & Geo and App Engine.

Olga Arara-Kimani, Google Kenya Country Manager notes, “Business is being redefined by access to information, more specifically access to the right information, at the right time. Local entrepreneurs will play a unique role in creating a dynamic online experience that will help spur the growth of businesses in Kenya”.

Attendees will have the chance to explore Google’s open source technologies through a combination of tech talks, breakout sessions and codelabs run by engineers and business teams from across the globe. The event features a lineup of high caliber Google speakers who will offer key insights in understanding the important role innovation plays in business. Key among the speakers will be Nelson Mattos, Engineering Vice President for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

This is the second conference that Google is hosting in Kenya in a series of interactive forums and tech days that Google has been holding across Africa each year, to promote innovation and business and boost economies in the region. If you would like to attend, find out more details and register online at [https:]
[Ma3Racer] the missing link to ignite Kenya’s local mobile gaming industry?

Posted: August 13, 2011, 4:47 pm by Moses Kemibaro

It seems that this has been one of those weeks when there is certainly lots happening within Kenya’s technology scene so I have blogged on practically a daily basis. The latest big development which I found out about yesterday is that a start-up mobile gaming business called Planet Rackus has launched a mobile game aptly called “Ma3Racer“.

In Kenyan parlance, a “Ma3″ is slang for a “Matatu”. Matatus are the regularly seen, noisy and usually badly driven public service vans seen all over the Kenya. For many Kenyans, a Ma3 or Matatu is their main means of transport to school, to work, and is generally their only way of getting around over short and long distances. One could say that Matatus are indeed a necessary evil that is essential for the public transport system to work in Kenya (we all know how public transport breaks down when Matatus go on strike from time to time!).

Ma3Racer’s game play has you as the player being a “dere” (driver in Kenyan slang) in a Matatu avoiding traffic obstacles by toggling left and right on a busy Nairobi highway whilst trying to collect as many “money bags” as possible. This adds an interesting twist as to you have to quickly differentiate between traffic obstacles and money bags which ultimately determines how far you can go in the game. Ma3Racer gets faster and faster at different game levels and requires ever quicker reflexes to dodge on-coming obstacles whilst picking as many money bags as possible.

Ma3Racer’s gaming simplicity is exactly the reason why casual mobile games such as Rovio’s Angry Birds has been so stupendously successful globally on a myriad of mobile platforms. Everyone “gets it” almost immediately and there is no age limit as to who can play it – thereby making it instantly appealing to anyone and everyone who tries it out. Angry Birds has been consistently one of the top downloads on Apple’s App Store, Google Android Market and lately Nokia’s OVI Store for a good reason – its easy to play, its fun, and well, basically, it works!

From what I can tell, Ma3Racer is possibly the first Kenyan mobile game that is being launched with a serious plan to reach the masses. The team behind the game have been developing it for sometime now and they knew that they had to come up with something unique and yet contextually relevant for Kenyan users. Ma3Racer was launched this week on Nokia’s OVI Store and it works on entry-level Nokia mobile handsets that run Symbian 40 as well as Symbian 60. The main reason that Ma3Racer has been launched on Symbian is that its the mobile operating system with the largest uptake of users in Kenya, giving Ma3Racer the highest potential for success. In my opinion, this is a smart move by Planet Rackus to “fish where the fish are”.

I had a chance to catch up with Joe Njeru who is one of the team members at Planet Rackus on their motivations behind building Ma3Racer and this is what he had to share with me:

MK: Why you did you and the team at Planet Rackus build Ma3Racer?

JN: We got tired of playing games of stories we could not relate to. We’ve got a rich African culture that we can draw on to create our own stories. We leveraged on our experience in digital media and pulled together
various talents and skill sets (writers, art directors, 3D artists, programmers, web developers, designers, flash animators, illustrators & music & video producers).

MK: Why should people download Ma3Racer instead of other mobile games that are out there?

JN: The game is cool, relevant and you can compete against your friends via our high scores table on our website ([www.ma3racer.com]). Plus its FREE!! The game is for everyone. You can play it while you are stuck in Nairobi’s infamous traffic, possibly even in a Ma3! You can watch the game trailer on YouTube at [www.youtube.com]) to see how easy it is to play. This game is the first of many to come.

MK: In a nutshell, what is the “plot” behind the Ma3Racer game?

JN: Ma3Racer is based on Kenya’s most popular and chaotic mode of public transport, Matatus. Ma3Racer allows players a chance to get behind the wheel and navigate their way around the busy streets of Nairobi.
But things are not as easy as they seem – players have to be extra careful to avoid ramming into a variety of obstacles that randomly appear all whilst trying to beat the clock to get their passengers to their destination safe and sound.

MK: You have said that Ma3Racer is free to download from Nokia’s OVI Store, therefore, how do you plan to monetize the game as you have costs involved to make it?

JN: We plan to make money on the game by selling Ma3Racer branded merchandise such as wallpapers, apparel, and eventually advertising within the game. We are also exploring other avenues to generate income to sustain this initiative.

In concluding, I’m pretty excited to see how well Ma3Racer will perform in the coming months. You can download Ma3Racer from the Nokia OVI Store as below:

Finally, check out the cool Ma3Racer trailer on YouTube below:
[Double Standards!] as British Prime Minister proposes social media ban for rioters.

Posted: August 12, 2011, 2:23 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Let me start by saying that I do NOT condone the riots that are going on at the moment in the UK. People have died needlessly and millions of pounds has been lost in looting and destruction. There is nothing particularly good about what is happening in the UK right now but it’s clearly a sign of some pent-up anger and deeper issues affecting the citizenry of the UK. In many ways, it mirrors the “Arab Spring” of the past year in Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia, Libya and most recently Syria. However, the objectives of what the rioters in the UK hope to achieve is unclear at best.

Therefore, the proposal by the British Prime Minister David Cameron to ban social media for rioters in the UK comes as a big shock. Yes indeed. This is coming from one of the leaders of the free world who actually supported what has been happening in the countries that felt the Arab Spring and are seeing transformational democratic reforms in the process – social media has been key for this transformation to happen. It is clearly a case of double standards since social media can be used for both good and bad – even in the UK. Social media in itself is NOT a bad thing but rather a tool that can wielded for good or bad goals.

I think there could be a serious backlash if David Cameron actually bans rioters from using social media as this will send the wrong message. As the Arab Spring shows, even if the Internet can be disconnected and social media is essentially cut-off, people will still find a way of organizing themselves and getting things done. Social media is not an end unto itself, it is simply a tool where the users determine the end goal. It’s that simple. David Cameron cannot compromise free speech in UK via social media no matter how bad the circumstances are – meanwhile, the rest of the world is watching.
Mombasa’s Mobius Motors plans to build Kenyan cars for rural Africa.

Posted: August 11, 2011, 5:44 pm by Moses Kemibaro

The Mobius One

It’s rare for me to get floored by something new or unexpected these days. It’s all the more reason why I love the serendipity of simply scanning my Twitter timeline when I discover something totally fresh and new. As was the case last night, I found out about a Mombasa based company called Mobius Motors. Mobius Motors is something of an oddity from a Pan-African perspective. This is a company that plans to build cars for rural Africa in the form of a social enterprise.

Now, much has been said about the “real” needs of Africa and more often than not this seems to be the basics of food, water, healthcare and education. However, I am certainly in love with the idea of a company that is based in Mombasa (of all places in Kenya? and not Nairobi for a change?) that is developing cars for the African continent! Did I mention that my hometown is Mombasa? Yes, I feel a certain level of pride that is hard to describe when everyone thinks Mombasa is a sleepy and laid back city where nothing really innovative happens and that its “raha” (fun) all the time!

Joel Jackson, CEO of Mobius Motors

So, back to Mobius Motors. The company has been founded by Joel Jackson who is also its CEO. Joel was inspired to start Mobius Motors while working for an international social enterprise at the Kenya Coast. In the process, he came to understand how families suffer tremendously from a lack of appropriate transport. This sort of insight is especially poignant since a good number of people in rural Africa would tell you the same story.

Getting around rural Africa or having reliable and safe transport is often a pipe dream except in the cities and towns. It is often for this very reason that farm produce cannot reach market on time or people needing urgent medical attention often die or suffer needlessly due to transportation challenges. It can be a very bleak picture. This is why I am so jazzed by Mobius Motors – they are doing something with great social purpose and at the same time focusing on a commercial agenda. Whereas their target market may not be able to buy their vehicles, there are many businesses and entrepreneurs who could use financing to get started and operate viably.

The Mobius One

As I look at Mobius Motors, I cannot help but feel inspired by the audacity of their vision. Although their vehicles are still work in progress, and they are only now at the prototype testing stage, it’s very possible that this could be a successful and fantastic business going forward. It’s also interesting to note that Tata Motors of India have also come up with a low-cost car called the Nano but one can see that this is more of an urban initiative rather than one that will serve the rural masses in India. The Nano comes across as more of a city commuter rather than a workhorse that the Mobius Motors cars will be.

Mobius Motors’ cars, the Mobius One and Mobius Two, are both rugged workhorses designed to stand the rigors of travel in rural Africa where roads have deep crevasses and often get washed away by rain. It’s often that roads in rural Kenya can be rendered impassable for a normal car and even four-wheel drive “trucks” are challenged when driven on them. The Mobius Motors cars are being designed to withstand punishing conditions to get people from point A to point B in rural Africa. However, the whole business approach is world-class and I wish them success. You can find out more about Mobius Motors and can even donate to their business by going to their web site here>
Why Facebook’s Mobile Messenger App is a big deal for Telcos.

Posted: August 10, 2011, 3:01 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I just finished reading a CNN article about the launch of Facebook’s Mobile Messenger App. For some reason, this new development from the world’s largest social network of 700 million users struck me as super significant. At this time, Facebook Messenger is only available as an iPhone and Android mobile app in a certain markets – it seems I cannot download it yet on Apple’s App Store in Kenya. However, you have to consider that once its available globally, and on multiple mobile operating systems and platforms, how big could it possibly become?

The truth of the matter is that most mobile networks globally make a significant volume of their revenues via SMS messaging. It’s a major part of their business and one that they have prospered on for many many years. However, courtesy of smartphones and the growing range of innovative mobile messaging apps, this revenue line is now under attack. I recently got a BlackBerry and have only started using BB Messenger. I have to say its excellent and I keep signing up more and more friends. It works and its free but unfortunately only works on BlackBerry.

In addition to the launch of Facebook Messenger, other mobile messaging apps of note are the soon to be launched Apple iMessenger in the next upgrade of iOS as well as WhatsApp Messenger which is really taking off as a multi-platform mobile messaging app. Not to be left behind, Samsung also recently announced that they plan to launch a mobile messaging service that will work across all their mobile devices in a ubiquitous manner.

Going forward, the most significant thing about Facebook Messenger is Facebook’s huge user base on a global scale. Facebook Messenger has the potential to reinvent mobile messaging and communications as we know it. Take Kenya for instance – there are over 1 million Facebook users. This in itself is as large as a small mobile network’s subscriber base, and its only getting bigger by the day. Facebook Messenger essentially makes Facebook a quasi-mobile network operator for free messaging.

This could indeed be a significant moment in telecoms history – the day that Facebook moved from being a social network to the “de facto” global mobile communications platform – it’s certainly conceivable that this could happen. One just has to look at how successful Google’s Android has been in the smartphone space to realize that technology innovation reinvents everything and that today’s enabler could be tomorrow’s disruptor.
[More] on social media and QR codes in Kenyan print advertising.

Posted: August 8, 2011, 10:41 pm by Moses Kemibaro

No. I am not going to preach on how social media is going into overdrive in Kenya – you already know that, or you should know that already? In addition, as in my recent post on QR codes coming into print advertising in Kenya, I do not intend to go “gaga” over the same.

So, social media and QR codes are “happening” in Kenya. I want to cite three cases of this happening with local Kenyan brands over the last couple of weeks in leading newspapers. The first in this case (and no special prizes for guessing) is Safaricom.

Safaricom is really getting social media “mojo” as seen with all their recent media campaigns that embrace Twitter and Facebook. They use these channels for customer service and sales. Have a look at the picture on the left of the print ad. In addition, in what is probably one of the first for QR codes for a local brand is the QR code on the right image in the print ad. This is really good.

But it’s not just Safaricom that’s doing interesting stuff with social media, QR codes and print ads. Take a look at the ad on the left that ran in the newspapers for Bata Kenya. They had a nice print ad with some their recently launched shoes for women. However, they also leveraged this (expensive) print ad and dropped in mentions for their Twitter and Facebook profiles (however, no QR code here, yet?).

It goes to show that Bata Kenya takes social media seriously for marketing and customer service (incidentally I tested them recently after buying a pair of shoes that collapsed after a few months and got in touch via Facebook – they actually responded and showed serious concern to sort the issue out for me).

My last example of some interesting use of QR codes is a business called NikoHapa. NikoHapa is a business that operates on the basis of using QR codes and SMS via mobile phones to generate sales using loyalty points.

This in itself is nothing particularly new – it’s the same as a discount card or a loyalty card for a business like frequent flyer miles work for many airlines. However, it’s a souped up approach using mobile technology to work.

I think NikoHapa is an excellent idea but I worry as to how well it will scale over time. It means signing up lots of businesses and issuing lots of printed QR codes linked to a database as well as SMS charges for sending notifications for loyalty points. However, its a novel business concept and it could really grow if it catches on.
IBM Volunteers Help Support Kenya’s Electronic Government Development Goals

Posted: August 5, 2011, 1:59 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

An international team of 12 IBM employees from IBM’s Corporate Services Corps programme has completed a month-long term during which they helped support the development of an electronic master plan for the country. The team focused on the challenges and requirements to help Kenya realise its vision of transforming into a middle income nation providing an improved quality of life for all citizens by the year 2030.

The team of IBM volunteers from 11 countries provided assistance to several government agencies, working on projects including providing e-government services to citizens, an e-voting master plan and a strategy to increase collaboration between education and research institutions.

In terms of e-government, the team worked to demonstrate how information technology, which is rapidly gaining ground in Kenya, can provide a catalyst for progress. The IBM team focused on a strategic framework enabling citizens to use mobile phones to link to government services around the clock.

Working with the Ministries of Information, Communication and Justice, the team focused on a plan for a simple yet accurate and transparent e-voting system that sets out overall standards and governance for an e-voting system with the aim of increasing voter confidence for the planned 2012 elections.

The team also worked with the Kenya Education Network Trust (KENET) to identify how to increase participation by researchers. They analysed best management practices from other research and education networks, and reviewed the implementation of more efficient methods based on IBM methodologies. Their recommendations included guidance on support to member institutions regarding content creation, by providing training, guidance and infrastructure, in order to engage researchers with the network

“This is the third IBM Corporate Services Team to provide volunteer services in Kenya. Each group has made a valuable contribution towards addressing some of the key challenges in the country ” said Tony Mwai, IBM Country General Manager for East Africa. “Africa is a key continent for the CSC programme, and as we mark IBM’s Centennial, this is another example of how IBM employees are making a contribution to communities around the world.”

The team was based in Nakuru, north-west of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where they worked closely with the local community to help gauge their needs representing those of citizens of similar towns across the country. Since July 2008, IBM’s Corporate Service Corps has deployed 363 IBM employees in 32 teams to South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and Egypt. Through these projects, IBM has worked with local organisations and businesses across Africa to support community driven economic development.

The Corporate Service Corps (CSC) is a global IBM initiative designed to provide small businesses, government agencies, educational and cultural institutions and non-profit organizations in growth markets with sophisticated business consulting and skills development to help improve local conditions and foster job creation. IBM deploys teams of top employees from around the world representing IT, research, marketing, finance, consulting, sales and business development to growth markets for a period of one month. The employees work pro-bono with local organizations and businesses on projects that intersect business, technology and society.

As a global programme, over the past three years the IBM Corporate Service Corps has deployed 1200 IBM employees on more than 120 programmes to 25 countries around the world. In Kenya, IBM works with the non-profit organisation, Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT), to identify strategic projects which could most benefit from skills of IBM teams.
Nokia’s “Create for Millions” Series 40 Mobile Apps Contest Launched In Kenya.

Posted: July 30, 2011, 6:43 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Yesterday I was at the iHub in Nairobi for Nokia’s launch of its local version of the “Create for Millions” mobile apps contest. The contest has both a local and global versions that aim to bring consumers and developers together to create applications for Nokia’s Series 40 mobile phones.

In light of the hyper-growth and interest surrounding smartphones globally, it’s very easy to forget that the majority of mobile subscribers in emerging markets such as Kenya cannot afford them. It’s for this very reason that entry-level phones such as Nokia’s Series 40 handsets continue to lead the market in terms of uptake and general internet usage as per statistics. Therefore, this is still a very large market for mobile apps, even as smartphones become more widely adopted.

The best thing about the local version of Create for Millions is that three winners will be chosen by a select panel of judges and they will be flown to London on an all expense-paid trip to attend Nokia World which will be held in October 26-27, 2011. Nokia has invited me to be one of the judges on this local panel so this is something I am really looking forward to.

The last day for entries in the local Create for Millions competition is the 2nd of September 2011 so there is not that much time left. One thing that left me thinking that Kenya could really win the global event is that VirtualCity did this last year and pocketed a cool US$ 1 million in Nokia’s Calling All Innovators mobile apps contest. It’s very possible!

So, if your that budding mobile application developer or a tech firm that has the chops to enter, good luck and give it a go by registering online at www.developer.nokia.com/create4millions/
Orange Mobile launches Facebook Zero in Kenya.

Posted: July 30, 2011, 2:29 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I’m not sure how this happened so quietly but apparently Orange Mobile launched Facebook Zero in Kenya sometime in late July 2011. This would make Orange Mobile the first mobile network operator in Kenya to do so. For those of you who may not know about Facebook Zero, this is a mobile version of Facebook that was launched globally over a year ago with around 50 mobile networks in 45 countries.

The way Facebook Zero works is that using it is free as it does not attract data charges. Media such as images and graphics are not present on Facebook Zero and all content is in text. The fact that Facebook Zero content is in text means that it is fast to access which is ideal for markets where Internet speeds can be slow. For these two reasons, Facebook Zero going live in Kenya with Orange Mobile is an exciting new development since there are over 1 million registered Facebook users in the country.

In order to access Facebook Zero on your Orange Mobile handset, all you need to do is point your browser to 0.facebook.com and it should come up. In addition, you can get more details on setting up Facebook Zero on your mobile handset at the Orange Mobile web site here>
[Business Daily Article] Mobile Advertising needs apps to grow.

Posted: July 28, 2011, 10:52 am by Moses Kemibaro

Mr Moses Kemibaro (left), Dealfish regional manager for East Africa, and Mr Neil Schwartzman, general manager for East and West Africa. The firm has challenged local online publishers to place inventory on mobile web.

This is an article from today’s edition of the Business Daily Newspaper in which I was quoted and Dealfish also got good mention. The article by Frankline Sunday talks about the importance of local mobile applications in Kenya for mobile (web) advertising to really take off. In effect, local publishers and mobile application developers are key to drive growth. You can read it here>
[Video] Interview with Johann Van Tonder of Naspers Labs.

Posted: July 27, 2011, 5:00 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This is a video interview I had with Johann Van Tonder yesterday at the iHub in Nairobi. Johann is the Internet Strategist at Naspers Labs and he has an interesting and long professional career in South Africa’s media and Internet space. Naspers Labs is sort of a skunkworks for Naspers in South Africa that works on various Internet business projects and initiatives, off the radar.

In the interview, Johann was unable to disclose much about why he was in Kenya and what plans they have for launching some of their initiatives here. However, one thing is certain, in a few months time Naspers Labs will launch at least one of their projects in Kenya, and even possibly in Nigeria. He did however note that Kenya is truly an exciting and fast growing market for technology services across the board.

For those of you who may not know, Naspers is one of world’s leading media groups with operations mostly in emerging markets. Naspers owns MIH Internet Holdings which in turn owns and operates Internet brands such as Dealfish which I happen to run in East Africa. Naspers is quite a large business with lots of diverse interests on a global scale. Therefore, the two-year old Naspers Labs is just one of their many initiatives that aims to build out Internet businesses in Africa and beyond. Enjoy the interview!
Apple launches iTunes App Store in more African countries.

Posted: July 26, 2011, 11:32 am by Moses Kemibaro

A few days ago, Apple launched its iTunes App Store in 33 new countries globally that include Nigeria, Tanzania, Algeria and Ghana in Africa. These countries join Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, South Africa, Egypt and Uganda who already have their own versions of Apple’s iTunes App Store in place.

Apple’s iTunes App Store is now available globally in around 123 countries after the new additions. Personally, I have been on an iPhone for the better part of a year and I have been able to download free and paid apps from the Kenyan version of the iTunes App Store. It works just fine and I have to say using it has been a flawless process.

Over 1/4 of Kenya’s population is now online from a population of 40 million. Going forward, it seems, more mobile app stores should come to market in Africa in addition to Google’s Android Market and Nokia’s OVI store. Other late entrants to this space include Samsung’s BADA platform which is slowly but surely deploying “local” mobile apps for the African marketplace. In most of these mobile app stores, one can pay using operator-based billing or credit cards.

Apple’s additional iTunes App Store launches in Africa go to show that there is indeed a healthy level of interest for mobile apps in Africa. Indeed, it can only mean that the uptake of iOS devices is going mainstream, and more consumers are expected to advantage of this trend where mobile apps are concerned. In addition, mobile application developers can reach a wider customer base for their apps on the iOS platform than ever before – in Africa and beyond, leading to higher sales numbers.
Safaricom slashes Internet prices by 150%.

Posted: July 22, 2011, 2:47 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Move is meant to pass the benefits of an improved business and regulatory environment to customers and is in response to the presidential directive on internet pricing.

Beginning today, Safaricom subscribers can enjoy more affordable internet services following a major price reduction as the country’s leading telecommunications company passes on the benefits of an improved business and regulatory environment to its customers.

The reduction has been effected by increasing the data volume for every bundle by up to 150 per cent for the same value. For example a subscriber who pays KShs999/- for 600 MB of data will now get 1500 MB, indicating a more than double increase in data volumes.

The move to lower the data access rates follows yesterday’s meeting between industry players and Government which was held to discuss how best to implement the Presidential directive calling for a review of internet pricing in Kenya. President Mwai Kibaki made the directive two weeks ago when he launched the government open data website (www.opendata.go.ke), which aims to boost transparency in governance and empower citizens with relevant information.

It further follows commitments made by the industry regulator, Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) and the Ministry of Information and Communication to lower spectrum fees and review the overall spectrum policy for industry players by end next of month.

The government has also undertaken measures to address rampant fibre vandalism, which has been a huge cost to the industry, as well as classify ICT infrastructure as national utilities to bring the sector up to par with power and water providers. The new guidelines are expected to allow for compensation by local authorities and public works bodies for damage occasioned to ICT infrastructure during road or sewer construction.

According to the new prices issued today, heavy data users will also have the option to subscribe to either a weekly tariff for KShs1,000 or a monthly tariff for KShs3,000. This allows them to manage their data spend and access internet without worrying about their usage.

While announcing the reductions, Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said the move was in line with the Safaricom 2.0 culture which puts customer needs at the centre of all the firm’s actions. “We are continuously reviewing our value proposition to ensure that our customers enjoy unrivalled communication services at the most affordable rates while expanding the options available to them.
“Safaricom is sensitive to the strain placed on our customers’ finances by the obtaining high cost of living and hence our effort to ease this by passing the benefits of an improved working environment by lowering our prices.”

The unprecedented price reduction is expected to further underline Safaricom’s leadership in the data market in Kenya. Besides being a major investor in infrastructure, Safaricom has also taken the lead in developing local content to make the internet more useful to Kenyans. Today, nine out of 10 regular internet users rely on the Safaricom’s network, which consists of Kenya’s fastest 3G network, a growing WiMAX footprint and the widest data and voice network coverage across the country.

Mr Collymore thanked the CCK and Ministry of Information for leading by example in addressing the industry’s concerns regarding the macro issues affecting the pricing of internet access in the country. Mr Collymore stated further, “We see this improved offering as the first phase of our data strategy and we are confident that as the Government follows through on its commitments to address our remaining concerns, we shall pass on additional benefits to the consumer”.
A retrospective on Naija (that’s Nigeria for you and me).

Posted: July 15, 2011, 6:34 pm by Moses Kemibaro

“I no go lie, I love this country”

- Pidgin English quote seen scrawled on a building wall in Lagos, Nigeria.

A street in Lagos

This blog post has been simmering in my head for close to two months since I first visited Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with an estimated population of 160 million. That’s 4 times the population of Kenya. Everything about Nigeria, or “Naija” as Nigerians often refer to their country in Pidgin English is big. It’s a big country. Nigerians have big egos. Nigerians believe big in their country. Nigeria has big challenges, but also, big potential.

There is no doubt that Nigeria is Africa’s biggest sleeping giant when it comes to countries. This is a country that generates an estimated US$ 60+ Billion per year from oil revenues. However, Nigeria has a big challenge with electricity as evidenced by the constant drone of back-up generators all over Lagos. Indeed, it’s a big paradox that generators are the default rather than the back-up source of electricity from a country that generates most of its revenue from oil exports.

The beach in the Eko area of Lagos

On arriving in Lagos as I did recently, the first thing that hit me was the heat. Having been brought up in the coastal city of Mombasa in Kenya, I thought I knew the meaning of tropical heat. However, Lagos takes heat to a whole new level. Its like you swim in the heat and humidity – it actually feels like the heat is roasting you. The Lagos folks reassured me that it was not even the hottest time of the year – I was shocked to learn it was actually considered to be “OK” by Lagos standards – imagine that!

Other things that caught my attention in Lagos was the large number of expensive and high-end cars that you normally would not see in East Africa. These included American luxury brands. Nigerians like their cars big. It’s what I would call the “Oga” culture. Oga means “boss” in Pidgin English, which is widely spoken in Lagos and Nigeria in general. In Lagos, as I imagine is the case in the rest of Nigeria, your car says a lot about you. Nigerians take their cars very seriously as a status symbol.

Lagos traffic jams are legendary – you can be in traffic for 4 hours at a time. For this very reason, you need to start your travels early if you have any hope of making meetings on time. It helps if you have an office in the suburbs like Ikeja but live or stay around areas like Ikoyi or Victoria Island. This way, you go against the traffic in the mornings and vice versa in the evenings after work. However, property prices in areas such as Ikoyi and Victoria Island, as well as outlying areas are notoriously expensive and out of the reach of most Lagos residents – either to buy or rent.

Jolof rice and spicy chicken

The food in Nigeria is also hot and spicy. Not, not the way you think. It’s really really hot and spicy! I tried some local favorites like jolof rice and spicy chicken – trust me, I worked up a sweat eating that food although it does taste really fantastic. Which reminds me, Nigerians definitely have the hustle all about them. They are hardworking people and in a city like Lagos that has over 8 million inhabitants, you definitely get the feeling that its “do or die” in terms of how hard people work, or hustle. The attitude shows – it’s the reason that the Nigerian economy is growing in the way it is. Many Nigerians are rebuilding their country through their sweat and not through the many scams that have plagued them for years.

A model of the Eko Atlantic development in Lagos

One of the most interesting and unexpected aspects of Lagos for me was the development known as Eko Atlantic. This is a development that is being built in the Eko area of Victoria Island to reclaim land from the ocean in much the same way as has been done in Dubai. It’s truly ambitious and already they are selling large tracts of land for residential and commercial investments at Eko Atlantic. This was totally unexpected and I was quite impressed since it goes to show the kind of ambitious things that Nigeria is able to do with the resources it has. You can find out more about Eko Atlantic here.

In terms of the technology scene, Nigeria is without a doubt one of the epicenters of Africa. Nigeria has a mobile subscriber base of approximately 120 million. In addition, active Internet users stand at around 50 million based on recent estimates. These numbers point to the fact that Nigeria is considered to be one of the most promising markets for technology products and services going forward – the numbers are simply staggering.

Dealfish.com.ng branded taxi in Lagos

As in Kenya, the Internet market is still very nascent in terms of e-commerce and digital content but this fast changing as many established technology brands, start-ups and business incubators set-up shop in Nigeria. Dealfish is also operational in Nigeria. Mobile money has not grown (yet) in the way it has in Kenya yet but the potential is enormous. Indeed, Nigeria’s economy was recently predicted to overtake South Africa’s within the next 15 years. This is happening as a result of Nigeria’s revenue sources diversifying and expanding on an unprecedented scale.

Africa’s sleeping giant is on a roll, waking up after many years of political instability, widespread corruption and general mismanagement of massive resources. That’s the new Naija for you. As a friend of mine who travels regularly to do business in Nigeria once told me, “a business is not a big business in Africa unless its big in Nigeria”. I second that – I no go lie.
It’s time to get serious about digital marketing measurement in Africa.

Posted: July 14, 2011, 6:41 pm by Moses Kemibaro

If your marketing online in Africa, chances are you could be seriously getting ripped off. I am talking about brands and businesses that are spending serious cash on digital marketing with a myriad of online publishers. The reality is that in many cases, the places where they are marketing are not delivering the goods in terms of the expected online traffic, as marketed by the online publisher. There is a simple reason for this – there is no real focus on accurate and detailed digital measurement.

Let me start by saying that there are many ways of measuring digital marketing performance. One of the most common tools these days is Google Analytics. In plain English, this free tool from the world’s largest search engine company is able to give you a detailed analysis of how well your web site is performing. Some of the key metrics on Google Analytics or any decent analytics tool include impressions, traffic sources, unique visitors, conversions, etc.

In a nutshell, you can track your web site performance down to very fine minutiae. In addition, as an online marketer, you can ask the online publisher you hope to use or already use to give you access to their analytics reports to make an informed decision as to whether to market with them or not. Typically, a snippet as below from a Google Analytics report is what you could expect to see:

One particular metric that for some reason is still being touted in Africa as a way of measuring online marketing performance is “hits”. You will often hear of online publishers claiming to have “millions of hits” per month and they will try to get you as an advertiser using this metric. The truth is this term and method of measuring web site traffic went out with the first dotcom crash a decade ago.

What matters these days more than anything are unique visitors per month who come to your web site as a result of advertising – this is really the gold standard of how to measure an online publisher’s true performance. However, sometimes, getting this information is challenging and subtler methods can be used to get a more detailed picture on exactly how well an online publisher is doing.

In addition to web analytics, there are several web sites that do offer a way of gauging an online publisher to see if they are worth their salt, so to speak. One such web site is Alexa. Alexa is a web site ranking service that has been operational for sometime now. Alexa uses a toolbar that is installed on web browsers to get an idea of how often a web site is visited. In most cases, Alexa will give you the 100 top web sites in a country for free.

However, Alexa is not perfect. It is possible for the rankings to be manipulated, but to a large extent it is more or less accurate in terms of telling you if an online publisher is doing well or not. For instance, if you put Dealfish.co.ke, the website I run in Kenya on Alexa, you will find that our web site currently has a ranking of 11 – meaning it’s the second most popular local web site in Kenya. It will also rank any other web sites you may want to test using various online tools – definitely worth a spin if you want to get some insights on where the online traffic is in Kenya as below:

Another website that I simply love for digital marketing measurement is Compete. Compete has both free and paid services, just like Alexa. However, one of the coolest aspects of this site is that it lets you compare a web site against the competition in terms of unique visitors. This sort of insight is invaluable if you have limited online marketing spend and want to get a “thumb suck” of where your money would be best spent between an array of online publishers, based on traffic. It’s really quite simple to use and as you can see below the following does give some interesting comparisons on traffic between three competing web sites:

This list of digital marketing measurement tools is not exhaustive. It just goes to show the various ways in which you can make informed decisions when you are considering online marketing alternatives. At the end of the day, it simply means you can make better calls on what would work best for your brand(s) or organization in the very nascent digital marketing landscape that is in Kenya, and the rest of Africa
[Finally!] The arrival of QR Codes in Kenyan print advertising.

Posted: July 12, 2011, 5:15 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This has been a long time coming and I was really wondering when it was going to start happening in Kenya. It seems that (finally!) QR codes are catching on in Kenya. Well, maybe not really catching on but lets just say its starting to happen. I was recently in Europe and traveled through a bunch of countries in both Eastern and Western Europe and one thing that was common was the use QR codes on all sorts of advertising. More specifically, you would see QR codes on shop fronts, posters, newspaper ads, magazine ads, billboards, and even napkins at restaurants. Yes, QR codes have gone very mainstream in the rest of the world and as usual Africa tends to lack behind, until now that is, or at least NOT in Kenya?

But, what is a QR Code? In a nutshell (and according to Wikipedia), “A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera telephones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded may be text, URL, or other data.” In summation, a QR Code is normally accessed using a mobile phone and when “read” using your phone’s camera and a QR code reader software it takes you to a web site address. This web site address would normally be one that is marketing a service or product, as advertised. I first found out about QR codes around 2 years ago and even did a blog post here on this blog.

So, the reason behind this blog post is that for the very first time (in my knowledge?) I saw a brand marketing in Kenyan media using a QR code. The brand in question is the luxury range of Fairmont Hotels who had a print ad with a QR code in today’s edition of the Business Daily Newspaper as below:

On scanning the QR code, one is taken to the promotional Fairmont YouTube video as below:

Now, the whole promotional campaign by Fairmont using this QR code is indeed global so it’s not one that started in Kenya. However, that they opted to use the QR code in their advertising in Kenya shows that this market has clearly “arrived” from a digital marketing perspective. One of the major caveats (in the pre-broadband past) has been the lack of fast and affordable Internet access as well as (advanced) feature or smartphones that could support such a digital marketing campaign in Kenya – consider the fact that the “destination” at the end of the QR code is a YouTube video and you start to get the picture. So, as a call to action for more local and ambitious brands in Kenya, its time to try some print-to-digital marketing using QR codes, as Fairmont have just demonstrated.
A candid view of [integrated] mobile marketing campaigns in Kenya.

Posted: July 8, 2011, 7:04 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This is the first post I have done on this blog after what has been a horrid 2 days. This blog went offline after I attempted to do a routine upgrade, the sort of which I have done many times when a new version of WordPress comes out (which is quite often these days at a time when the likes of the IMF, Sony and Citibank have been routinely hacked lately). However, as I have done on many occasions, I opted to be “lazy” and not do the highly recommended back-up. As an amateur techie, this proved to be a big mistake and it took two days and the help of one of my more “geekie techie” friends (thanks Mike!) to help sort it out. Lets just say the lesson is well learned and I will be 1) less zealous and 2) more cautious the next time I do an upgrade.

So, to get the blogging started this weekend I wanted to share some insights that came my way this week courtesy of a couple of text-based marketing messages I received on my mobile phone. Let me start by saying I do not yet know which, if, any marketing database has my mobile number but clearly it seems one does. I received two messages at different times. One was presumably from Safaricom promoting the Ngwalito Concert that is happening tonight. It was fairly innocuous and contained the ticket prices, the place (being Safaricom House), a mobile number to call and (yes!) even a shortened URL for a promotional web site/landing page. You can see the image of the screen grab above.

Now, when you open the URL in the above screen, here is what you get below. The big deal here is that this web site has been mobile web optimized meaning its easy to read on your mobile phone. It also has more information that is NOT within the text message. It’s a classic case of using mobile marketing channels to reach the mobile phone user, in this case on two distinct channels – SMS and mobile web. This is the sort of mobile marketing execution that will become more and more common in Kenya going forward, as is already the case in many global markets.

However, the reason for this post is that for every excellent case of mobile marketing there are others that are not as good – it’s about avoiding the pitfalls. Enter the other text message I received on the left from Rwandair this afternoon. Rwandair is the national airline for Rwanda, one of the most progressive countries in East Africa. Clearly, with this kind of mobile marketing it shows they are ahead of the curve (Kenya Airways, are you seeing this?). However, for me, a glaring mistake is that they did NOT to include a phone number to call, or an office location? However, they do have a URL for a landing page on their website for “deals” – excellent! Well, its good, the only problem being that it’s not a shortened URL (many URL shortening services today also offer detailed metrics for who actually clicked it and from where in the world so Rwandair could be losing out on serious data insights).

On clicking the Rwandair landing page for their offers above, one arrives to the page on the right. What’s wrong with this picture? This is a mobile marketing campaign that started off with a text message to a known mobile number, which otherwise could not have been delivered. In addition, the sender of the message also inserts a URL for a landing page on their web site for one to “see” what the “deals” on Rwandair are on their mobile phone. Therefore, why is it that the landing page in question has NOT been optimized for the mobile web and one is instead taken to a standard “full-sized” web site that would only run well on a “full-scale” computer. It’s a big glaring mistake in a country where over 50% of 10+ million Internet users go online via their mobile phones – How did this happen? Ironically, this is not the first time I have seen this happen for other similar campaigns – there are many other cases where the mobile marketing web site needs to have also been optimized for mobile web users – it’s really the basics in my opinion.

In concluding, I applaud both Ngwalito/Safaricom and Rwandair on both of these integrated mobile marketing campaigns. This is what needs happen on a broader scale in Kenya and the rest of Africa where we can leverage the most ideal channel to reach customers in a targeted way – all 500+ million of them throughout the continent on their mobile phones. However, as the manner of execution goes to show, small details really do matter. Nevertheless, mobile marketing is getting more and more advanced in Kenya and this goes to show that the future of digital marketing in this region is finally, and, really going mobile.

New addition:

I also came across the campaign below from Elite Computer who are authorized Apple Resellers in Kenya. They too are using a mobile ad network for marketing and this in turn leads to a mobile web landing page. A good effort from them too!
The stunning ASUS Android Eee Pad Transformer TF101

Posted: July 1, 2011, 12:05 am by Moses Kemibaro

Integrated!

I have just come back from a trip to Europe where I attended a conference. At the event, I met someone who had the Android powered ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF 101 tablet – or what is more simply referred to by most as the ASUS Transformer. This is one Android tablet that I would probably love to own even more than Apple’s iPad2.

On handling it, the finish of the ASUS Transformer is just stunning and it looks like the kind of product that Apple should have come out with. The real kicker is the the way it has been designed. Its called the Transformer since it comes with a keybord that clips on to the tablet and turns it into what is essentially a fully fledged notebook.

The level of seamless tablet integration and “complete” look when joined to the keyboard is first class. The overall usability and functionality for the few minutes I “played” with it convinced me that Android 3.0 has more or less caught up with Apple’s iPad.

Transformed!

ASUS did a really good job with this one as seen in the pictures on this blog post. I could not resist doing a post on it and now I can’t wait to see when it will get to Kenya. I am certainly first in line for this one! You can find out more on the ASUS Transformer here>
A review of Samsung’s Ch@t 322 Dual SIM Mobile Handset.

Posted: July 1, 2011, 11:30 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Its been around 2 weeks since I got my hands on Samsung’s new dual SIM mobile handset – the Ch@t 322. The phone has just been launched in Kenya as evidenced by the large newspaper ads and billboards nationwide with a “mirror image” of Wyre, the popular local musician. In the marketing, one can tell that the target audience is clearly the Youth from this perspective – those social media loving and fast texting generation that make up the bulk of Kenya’s fast emerging always-on digital class. However, having had sometime with the Ch@t 322, its clearly a phone that can serve a much wider market.

A couple of things first though. The build quality and overall finish of the Ch@t 322 as to be expected from Samsung is excellent. However, The Ch@t 322 is NOT what I would call a true smart phone by today’s standards. It is what I would call an advanced phone meaning it does a few key things really well but not the whole gamut that a smart phone would do. The big deal about this phone is obviously its dual SIM capability. This is an especially important feature in addition to the full QWERTY keyboard – which is a first as far as I can tell in this market for a dual SIM mobile handset. The Ch@t 322 also comes with an optical track pad meaning that it has some nifty navigational capabilities.

In Kenya, the Ch@t 322 is currently retailing for Kes. 8,299.00 and is available from major retailers such Fonexpress, Phonelinks and Tuscoms (nationwide), Samsung’s brand shop at the Westgate Mall and Safaritel on Mama Ngina street, as well as other key stores. The price in my opinion is fair for a dual SIM phone with all its features to be discussed later in this post. However, we now have other branded smart phones retailing for a similar price in the market BUT without dual SIM capabilities. This trade-off may be a tough sell for prospective buyers unless they feel they really need a dual SIM handset when they could buy a 3G enabled but entry-level smart phone.

The Ch@t 322 has a home screen that has prominent menu options for direct access to Twitter, Facebook, and MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger. In the same manner, once can also access their email (with native ActiveSync for regular updates) and SMS services directly from the same menu, as well as free Bluetooth Messaging. This points to the fact that this indeed a phone that is focused on messaging at the core.

In terms of getting online, the Ch@t 322 comes with GPRS and does not support EDGE or 3G – I found this to be quite disappointing as you have to wait for content to come through. It comes with a 1.3 Megapixel camera for both video and photos. It also comes with 60MB of on-board memory that can be expanded up to 8GB via a Micro SD card. If one wants to use the Ch@t 322 for larger media downloads such as music and video, the Ch@t comes with a 2GB Micro SD card out of the box which is a decent amount of extra data storage.

I found setting up my Ch@t 322 for email and social networks to be easy and stress free – its the first time I have ever used a Dual SIM phone. The screen is quite large and easy to navigate, especially with the nifty optical track pad. Browsing the web was a reasonably good experience except for the slow speeds. The seamless use of both SIM cards once activated via the menu means its easy to move back and forth between the active lines from the menu while the phone is continuously on – there is no need to restart it to work the two lines. The keys on the QWERTY keyboard were a little small so it took sometime to get used to them without making mistakes.

In concluding, I have mixed feelings about the Ch@t 322. On one hand, its a great dual SIM mobile handset. Its also great for messaging in all of its myriad forms via social networks, instant messaging and email. However, I think it would have to appeal to have very specific market that would buy it for this very reason. If its a question of getting a phone that flies on the Internet and delivers a full smart phone experience at the same price, I would not recommend it. Ultimately, it boils down to the fact that the Ch@t 322 is probably the best brand name dual SIM handset in the market today, hands down. On this basis, I would buy it.
Google announces strategic partnership with KeNIC.

Posted: June 24, 2011, 4:46 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Joe Mucheru of Google speaks at the KeNIC AGM

Google this morning announced a strategic partnership with the Kenya Network Information Centre (KeNIC) at the 2011 Annual General Meeting (AGM). KeNIC is the registry for Kenya’s Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) which is .KE.

Joe Mucheru from Google stated that currently their aim in Africa is to make the Internet an integral part of everyday life – business will become a later focus. The bigger issue for Google at this juncture in Africa is bringing Internet access to the masses, as well as helping generate local content.

The strategic partnership with KeNIC is to grow the number of domain names being registered under the .KE name space. According to Joe, Google is focused on the following key areas in Africa:
- Access – Making Internet access available on as many devices as possible and especially the mobile phone. To achieve this, Google has extended Internet connectivity to Universities and is also peering its content at the Kenya Internet Exchange Point (KIXP). Google is also pushing access to Google Apps to enhance productivity amongst Students and Faculty at Universities in Kenya.
- Relevance - Google is pushing products and services that are localized for Kenya. One of these is Google Baraza which has increased interest in local content from a question and answer format – hence the name Baraza which means “meeting” or “forum” in Kiswahili. Google is also localizing its content into local languages and currently over 30 African languages are supported.
- Sustainability – Google wants to make the Internet sustainable in Africa. This is being achieved through training and other forms of support such as working closely with Governments. In this way, Google is working to help create local ecosystems for its offerings and the countries where it operates in Africa.
Joe went further to point out that Africa currently has a domain name ratio of of 10,000 people to 1 domain name. In Kenya, the ratio is 2,500 people to 1 domain. The goal and part of the reason for the strategic partnership with KeNIC is to increase .KE domains to 6 or 7 times of what is currently in Kenya. Globally, the ratio of people to domains is 90:1. Google wants to work with KeNIC registrars to make this happen in Kenya too.

Victor Munyua of Google speaks at the KeNIC AGM

Victor Munyua also spoke. He is Google’s Commercialization Manager and had worked for Google in the UK for over 7 years before relocating to Kenya. Victor’s role here is to assess and realize the market for commercializing Google’s offerings in Sub-Saharan Africa. Victor stated that the Google ecosystem needs to be started and grown over time in this region.

Victor, having worked in Google in the early years in the UK, says he saw the market for online advertising grow from US 50 million per year to currently US 4 billion per year. His focus was always Google users and how to bring them to both online publishers and advertisers through Google. This “connecting” is what has made Google so successful globally and he sees the same sort of growth happening in Kenya in the future.

Victor noted that the total advertising spend in Kenya is currently US$. 600 million per year but digital advertising spend is only 1% of this figure at US$ 6 million. There is lots of room for growth as there are over 10 million Internet users in Kenya. Victor pointed out that in markets such as the UK, digital marketing is 25% of total advertising spend per year. Victor was quite bullish when he stated that digital marketing in Kenya could be worth US$ 2 Billion in 5 years time.

Joe Mucheru and Victor Munyua of Google answer questions at the KeNIC AGM

Both Joe and Victor concurred that the future of digital marketing in Kenya will be small businesses – they are the ones who will grow the market. The problem at the moment is that traditional advertising still forms the bulk of advertising spend in Kenya but this will change, as has been the case globally. They suggested that KeNIC registrars stand to gain in the transition to digital marketing from traditional marketing and they have already seen international players coming to set-up in Kenya to tap into this growth opportunity.

Victor suggested that Kenya is a “mobile first” market meaning that as much as 60% of digital marketing spend in the future could be mobile-based. The global trends that Victor saw in the UK is that initially the market is slow to adopt digital marketing but once they started getting solid results the spend on digital marketing grew dramatically over the years. The important thing to note is that to-date digital agencies are Google’s biggest partners and NOT the traditional ad agencies, per se. Therefore, KeNIC registrars need to plug into this opportunity.

Joe also noted Google will work with KeNIC stakeholders to prepare for these emerging business opportunities. However, it starts with a domain name for every business in Kenya. These businesses need a platform that is easy to understand and use to fully realize their Internet business potential. Google Apps and the Google Adwords API are already generating billions of dollars every year. Joe stated Africa is only 2% of the global Internet and so the room for growth is enormous, going forward.
[Video] Interview with Mikul Shah of Eat Out at Pivot25

Posted: June 23, 2011, 10:17 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This is the last of four interviews I had last week at Pivot25. This one was with Mikul Shah who is the Founder and CEO of Eat Out. Eat Out is a web site that provides comprehensive information on restaurants in Nairobi as well as reservation services and special discounts for customers. In a nutshell, Eat Out helps restaurants generate interest and eventually business. In addition, existing and prospective customers can find and explore the restaurant scene in Nairobi via Eat Out.

Eat Out was one of the finalists at Pivot25 although they did not win their highly competitive category. However, they have made already won several awards over the past year or so and have even become profitable in under a year with limited funding.

In the interview below, Mikul talks about their plans to launch Eat Out mobile which they expect to extend their reach in the Kenyan marketplace. In addition, he is currently in discussions with Nokia and Equity Bank and hopes to achieve strategic partnerships that will help Eat Out become an even bigger success in Kenya.

You can watch the interview with Mikul below:
VirtualCity’s John Waibochi talks Mobile Apps at Pivot25 [Interview Video]

Posted: June 22, 2011, 4:03 pm by Moses Kemibaro

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.

You can watch the full interview below:
Uhasibu, the award-winning, cloud-based, and mobile web capable accounting application designed for Kenya.

Posted: June 22, 2011, 2:21 pm by Moses Kemibaro

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:
Tim Njiru introduces the Poken to Kenya [Video Interview]

Posted: June 22, 2011, 12:49 pm by Moses Kemibaro

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.
InMobi research finds that 72% of Kenyans purchase on mobile devices

Posted: June 20, 2011, 4:28 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Recent research by InMobi shows that 72% of Kenyans purchase on mobile devices compared to 59% of Africa mobile web users that have purchased digital or physical products through their mobile devices

Research by InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile ad network, reveals that African mobile web users prefer the mobile channel (46%) to their Desktop (10%) and even In-store (44%) when shopping for Apparel, Consumer Electronics and Entertainment Tickets. This clearly highlights the shift to â€˜shopping on the moveâ€™ across Africa.

Surprisingly, non-smartphone users have an even higher preference of browsing and shopping using their Mobile versus Desktop than smartphone users. Â This signifies the higher dependence on mobile devices among feature phone users as it’s their primary means to digital content in many cases.

The study conducted among 3,100 African mobile web consumers, found that 51% of Kenyans have only ever purchased digital goods via their mobile device.

Commenting on the study, James Lamberti, VP Global Research & Marketing at InMobi, commented that â€œMobile shopping is becoming increasingly commonplace in Africa.Â Itâ€™s an exciting time for the consumer, retailer, and manufacturer as mobile shopping solutions will become more accessible, intelligent and compelling to use.Â With the high level of consumer acceptance a new mass reach retail channel has emerged setting up huge opportunities in the world of mobile advertising. â€

Most popular purchases from mobile devices in Kenya:

Product % Buying

Digital Goods 66%

Apparel 12%

Entertainment Tickets 12%

Travel 9%

Other 1%

Full results of the study, conducted in 14 countries among 15,000 consumers, will be released in a global research roadshow to leading agencies, brands, analysts, and journalists. For further information, please visit www.inmobi.com

About the Study

The study, entitled “A Global Consumer Perspective on Mobile Shopping”, was conducted among 15,000 consumers in 14 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia during February and March 2011.Â Consumers participated in the study directly through their mobile devices offering the mobile ecosystem a point of view on mobile shopping among mobile Internet users.

About InMobi

InMobi is the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network. With offices on four continents, it provides advertisers, publishers and developers with a uniquely global solution for advertising. Its network is growing fast and now delivers the unprecedented ability to reach 314 million consumers, in over 200 countries, through more than 35 billion mobile ad impressions monthly. InMobi was recently selected as the 2011 Always On Top 100 Mobile Companies in Silicon Valley.

InMobi is venture-backed with marquee investors including: Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures. The company has offices inÂ Nairobi, London,Â San Francisco,Â Bangalore,Â Tokyo, andÂ Singapore.

To learn more, please visitÂ www.InMobi.com/research, follow us on Twitter @InMobi, or read our blog at www.InMobi.com/InMobiblog/
Is Silverbird’s demise the end of cinema in Kenya?

Posted: June 10, 2011, 7:30 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I am what you would call a movie buff, meaning, I take my movie watching quite seriously. I am the kind who does the whole hog – the popcorn, the large soda, a nice pre-booked and central location in the cinema to watch – I take movie watching seriously. Its been good in Kenya to be a movie buff for the last decade or so when we first started getting releases coming a few years and then a few months after prime time in other global markets. In the last few years, we have become accustomed to getting movies at the same time they are released in London, New York or Tokyo. In addition, the deluge of cinema halls that opened up over the last decade in Kenya, and especially in Nairobi, have made me and lots of other folks a spoilt lot – we took it for granted. Until now that is.

This week saw the Silverbird Cinema chain in Kenya come to grinding halt. This was covered today in two of the major dailies and over 100 employees are now unpaid and unemployed. The signs were pretty obvious as far back as April 2011 when they stopped bringing in new movies for sometime whilst the competing Fox Cinema chain continued to do so. I will not forget going to the Westgate Mall in Westlands and finding the whole massive Silverbird facility completely shut down last month. Yes, the writing has been on the wall. Silverbird was going down. The really sad thing though is that I believe that most Kenyans (who can afford it?) would rather spend a decent amount of money watching a movie at a good cinema rather than the Kes. 50.00 pirated (and low quality) DVDs that are now available on every street corner in Kenya.

It seems that no one really knows what happened to Silverbird Cinemas in Kenya but the news reports today seem to imply that there was a funding crisis and possibly mismanagement? Their facilities were without a doubt world-class and everyone can attest to the fact it seemed like they were onto a good thing. I have no doubt in my mind that someone, or, some business is going to pick up the pieces, either wholly or partially and revive it. Movie buffs like me will gladly pay the premium and still go to the movies to watch that next big blockbuster, on time, on quality, in wide-screen 2D or 3D. Meanwhile, we will need to contend with fewer cinema screens for the time being, and even fewer movie choices as a result. I certainly hope its not the beginning of the end of cinema in Kenya but it may well be just that.
Emirates Launches Mobile Boarding Pass Service in East Africa.

Posted: June 8, 2011, 1:32 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

Nairobi – 07 June, 2011 – Making travel even more efficient, Emirates now offers customers the option of receiving a mobile boarding pass on their internet-enabled mobile device – providing customers with a stress-free, paperless travel experience.

The service is available to all passengers who utilize Emirates’ online check-in facility out of Dubai up to 24 hours in advance. Passengers can log on to www.emirates.com, and can choose to receive a web-link to their mobile boarding pass by email or SMS, that displays a barcoded boarding pass on their internet-enabled phone.

“The launch of Emirates’ mobile boarding pass not only supports paperless travel and the reduction of paper waste, but also meets the demands of a new era of travellers, who seek a more sophisticated and efficient means of managing their business and leisure travel,” said Mohammed H Mattar – Divisional Senior Vice President Airport Services, Emirates.

He continued: “The mobile boarding pass puts flexibility and control completely in the hands of our customers, while making a small step towards reducing our environmental impact.”

The mobile boarding pass can be scanned and read directly at all check-in counters, airport security check points, Dubai immigration, Emirates First Class and Business Class lounges, and boarding gates. The service allows customers to keep all their travel information in one place, while also safe guarding the environment through paperless travel.

In the first year of implementation, it is estimated that the use of mobile boarding passes alone will save a minimum of 550 kilograms of paper. Across the Emirates Group, over 3.6 million kilograms of paper and cardboard have been recycled in the financial year 2010 – 11.

Following the launch in Dubai, over 30 other mobile boarding pass compliant airports, have been identified for implementation across the Emirates network.

The launch of the mobile boarding pass services follows the launch of Emirates mobile booking services in mid 2010. Designed to work with over 3000 mobile devices, Mobile Emirates.com has been optimized to ensure that customers on the move can easily and efficiently access the emirates.com website, through their mobile phones.

“Consumers are far more mobile than ever before. There is a constant need for products and services to cater to the fast paced lifestyle that today’s individuals lead, people want it here and now, without exception,” Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Emirates Regional Manager for East Africa said of Emirates mobile booking and boarding services.

The new sophisticated functionality ensures that the Emirates website is downloaded in the appropriate format for each specific mobile device, allowing customers to perform a multitude of tasks including; booking and managing a flight, mobile check-in, searching flight schedules and status and even checking the in-flight amenities available on a specific flight. Once they log on to www.emirates.com they will be automatically redirected to the mobile optimized version of the website.
Oliver Rippel of MIH Internet presents on the state of e-commerce in Africa at NetProphet.

Posted: June 6, 2011, 9:13 am by Moses Kemibaro

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!
Interview with Joseck Mudiri, Country Manager for Kenya at Kalahari.co.ke [Video]

Posted: May 31, 2011, 3:19 pm by Moses Kemibaro

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:
M-PesaPi – An Open Source API for Safaricom’s M-Pesa in Kenya.

Posted: May 25, 2011, 2:18 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Tags:

Its been a long time coming. Everyone in the Application Developer community in Kenya has been awaiting for ages for Safaricom to release an M-Pesa API that would enable them to build value-added services on the service. Sadly, this has not yet happened to-date although we keep hearing rumours that this could happen at anytime. M-Pesa is a big deal since it has around 13 million users the last time I checked. This means that almost all of Safaricom’s subscribers use the mobile money service making it a truly popular service that ensures customer “lock-in”. In many ways, M-Pesa has become the metaphor for mobile money in Kenya when you hear people utter statements like “Do you have the M-Pesa for <- insert competitor mobile network name here -> for me to send or receive money?”.

Mike Pedersen, The Application Developer behind PesaPi, the Open Source API for Safaricom's M-Pesa in Kenya

Therefore, the big news this week is not that Safaricom has released an M-Pesa API but rather an Application Developer has created a stop gap solution in the form of an open source M-Pesa API. I have known Mike Pedersen for the better part of four years. He is what you would call a “Geek’s Geek” in the sense he is one of the people I know who probably codes in his sleep! Yes, Mike has been in Kenya for the past year or so tinkering around with all sorts of code and he decided why not build an M-Pesa API. The product he has built is called PesaPi and it enables Application Developers to easily connect to M-Pesa services at Safaricom without needing an official API.

Mike insists that PesaPi is NOT a really “new” solution. He says that the same has already been done by the likes of PesaPal and iPay who offer commercial M-Pesa API solutions that are quite similar. In addition, PesaPi has been developed so that other Application Developers can take full advantage of the platform without having to figure out how to do it themselves. They simply “plug-in” to it and use it out of the box. For this very reason, PesaPi is actually targeted to Application Developers who can build their offerings around it for their clients. I asked Mike in the interview podcast below why he opted for an open source model instead of going commercial and he said he was not interested in getting into all the logistics of doing so. I would say he is being quite generous and could potentially disrupt the incumbents in this space.

PesaPi can be downloaded here>

PesaPi Podcast with Mike Pedersen can be downloaded here>
Mobile Internet identified as a major Internet Governance issue for the 6th IGF in Nairobi, Kenya.

Posted: May 25, 2011, 11:17 am by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

18 – 19 May, Geneva, Switzerland

Alice Munyua, Chair of the Kenya Internet Governance (IG) Steering Committee chaired the second preparatory consultations of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

The consultations finalized the programme and agenda of the 6th UN-IGF, which will be held in Nairobi, 27 – 30 September 2011. Participants from around the world met in Geneva with the aim of maximizing the opportunity for the IGF to en- able open and inclusive dialogue, and to create opportunities to share good prac- tices and experiences.

The main theme for the 2011 IGF is “The Internet as a catalyst for change: access, development, freedoms and innovation”. The UN IGF is a unique event in the United Nations calendar and the IGF programme is developed through an open, multi-stakeholder process that began earlier this year and is overseen by a “Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group” of experts appointed by the UN Secretary General to advise him on convening the Forum.

Kenya will host the 2011 sixth IGF and has chaired the consultation process as well. Those present in Geneva agreed the key emerging issue for the Nairobi meeting will be extensive dialogue and discussion about the mobile internet, technology, and its contribution to development. The main question addressed will be “Is governance for the mobile internet different from wired internet and how should Internet policy and regulations be developed and applied for both?”.

The 2011 IGF will improve understanding of the policy and governance choices and opportunities in the mobile Internet space that will foster innovation, skills building, entrepreneurship and maximizing the use of the Internet for socio- economic, cultural and political development.

With more than 4 million Kenyans accessing internet through their mobile phones, this year’s IGF will provide an important forum for discussion and consideration of these issues and how they affect people in developing regions of the world, while also relating them to global governance of the internet.

Over the four days of the IGF in Nairobi there will be main sessions discussing issues such as broadband and mobile access, the resources critical to the stable and secure operation of the internet, cybersecurity, privacy and internet rights, and youth and entrepreneurship. In addition, over 90 workshops and side events will be held covering a broad range of internet policy and technology issues, with each event organized by a global, multi-stakeholder team of experts.

During the consultations, the Secretary of the Kenya IG steering committee, Michael Katundu of the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) introduced the activities Kenya is taking to prepare for the UN-IGF and also launched the host country website (www.igf.or.ke).

The Kenya IG steering committee also showcased the country’s development in the ICT sector through various presentations as well as a video interview with the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of information and Communication, Dr. Bitange Ndemo, who used the opportunity to welcome all IGF delegates on behalf of the Government of Kenya.

The 6th IGF will take place at the United Nations Office at Nairobi in Gigiri from 27 – 30 September 2011.
For more information about the upcoming 2011 IGF please visit www.igf.or.ke and [www.intgovforum.org]
Ends …
The Huawei IDEOS sells over 60,000 units in Kenya.

Posted: May 17, 2011, 9:16 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Nairobi, Kenya, 17 May, 2011

Huawei's Grace Kamau demonstrates the IDEOS tablet to the chairman of the parliamentary committee on Information James Rege. Looking on is Huawei CEO, Mr. Herman He.

Huawei, a leader in providing innovative telecommunication solutions for operators around the world has today announced that the Huawei IDEOS is the most popular smart phone in Kenya for the first quarter of 2011.

This is according to a report by GFK Retail and Technology, one of the world’s leading independent market researcher tracking sales data in technical consumer goods and entertainment in over 80 countries worldwide. The IDEOS was launched during the 2010 Christmas period with the phone gaining wide acceptance in the market.

Mr. Herman He, CEO Huawei announced that, “Since the IDEOS launch five months ago, so far over 60,000 pieces have been sold and we are moving towards the 100,000 piece mark with its share of the local smartphone market at 45% in the first quarter of the year, making it the top selling device with February alone reaching 73%.”

“We are delighted by the IDEOs’ outstanding performance and we hereby affirm our commitment to continue providing quality and affordable products to Kenyans”. Mr. He added.

Mr. He also said that Delivering connectivity for users’ thorough smart devices was one of Huawei’s core objectives for 2011, with the IDEOS devices designed to provide smart and efficient connectivity to deliver a simple and premium end user experience .

The success has partly been attributed to a strategic partnership with Safaricom as the main distributor and marketer of the smart phone, Google for their Android 2.2 platform, and QUALCOMM for the chipsets.

Safaricom Head of Retail Morris Maina said the partnership was a major win for Kenyan consumers and presented a strategic fit for Safaricom in its quest to drive up data uptake by availing affordable internet enabled devices. The phone retails at KShs8,499, a KShs6,500 discount on its original price of KShs14,999. It also comes with free 600MB Safaricom data and Kshs1,000 worth of Safaricom airtime.

“Safaricom believes that innovations and value proposition will be key in winning consumers as the market becomes increasingly competitive. We are thus happy to be in a partnership that subscribes to these tenets and understands that affordability is key in a market like Kenya. The availability and increased take-up of this device opens a new world of immense possibilities to our subscribers and greatly increases the utility they can derive from our network, the only one with 3G capability in the market,” said Mr Maina.

Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Dr. Bitange Ndemo noted that the mobile phone has permeated every sphere of life in Kenya. “In the beginning of the 21st century, the mobile telephone was the reserve of an elite few and the gadget’s sole purpose was to make phone calls and send text messages. Today, all this has changed and the mobile phone is no longer a luxury but a necessity,” said Dr. Ndemo.

“By morphing and adopting into various aspects of our lives, the mobile phone has gone beyond its original purpose of phone calls and text messages and it now serves as a bank, a computer a radio and a television set among other things. In a nutshell, it has penetrated every aspect of our lives,” he added.
Suddenly, Digital Marketing is Hot in Kenya.

Posted: May 13, 2011, 10:17 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I’m not sure when it happened, exactly, but digital marketing is suddenly hot in Kenya. It was not too long ago that I did a two part article here on this blog complaining about how local Ad Agencies did not “get” digital marketing and were more often than not going the tried and proven route of analogue marketing. Clearly, from what I can tell, somewhere along the way, everyone got their digital marketing groove on.

Its interesting to see how many “local” ads one can find on web sites such as Google and Facebook. These are NOT limited to the big brands such as Safaricom and Airtel. You get even really small and probably bedroom operated businesses also doing the digital marketing rounds. To be honest, its hard to find a better medium than the Internet in Kenya to deliver the best return on investment for marketing. As the saying goes, “fish where the fish are”.

A big part of the on-going digital marketing revolution in Kenya stems from the fact that we have approximately 9 million internet users at the moment. This is massive as it represents almost 25% of the Kenyan population – that’s HUGE! The Internet, as a marketing channel therefore has become truly viable and everyone is scrambling to capitalize on this growth. It seems all the large, small and everything in between sized Ad Agencies are all announcing “digital marketing” initiatives every week. In addition, the fact that over 1 million Kenyans are on Facebook and a good number are also on Twitter show that we are indeed a digitally inclined Nation.

So, here is the thing. Even as digital marketing goes into overdrive in Kenya, exactly how well are local brands doing on it? Digital marketing in itself is comprised of a myriad of sub-channels – from email, to mobile web, apps, social media, etc etc. Its actually a very broad channel and it seems that specialization is going to become key. Personally, I have recently had the opportunity to do lots of digital marketing at Dealfish and the results are more often than not eye popping – its really does work! However, specialists in digital marketing niches do deliver the best “bang for buck” in this space. Its very easy to burn cash and NOT get good results. Knowledge and experience is key. We are learning everyday.

There are also a good number of quacks cropping up in the digital marketing “industry” so one has to pay attention and choose carefully. Credentials do matter as do really creative and innovative approaches that guarantee maximum results. Its not just about buying Google Adwords and hoping for the best – optimization of digital marketing needs to be comprehensive and synergistic across all the sub-channels. It has to run the whole gamut of digital arsenal available to Kenyan brands – trust me, there are many many ways of making this happen. In concluding, the future is finally here – digital marketing is hot in Kenya and its already disrupting marketing practices that have been the norm for decades.
Tech4Africa 2011 set to impress.

Posted: May 10, 2011, 5:15 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

A world-class line-up of international and African technologists will present at the Tech4Africa conference in October this year. The event provides Africans with a rare opportunity to learn firsthand from technology evangelists about the role that the web plays in African business and development.

The two-day conference runs from 27 to 28 October 2011 at The Forum in Bryanston, Johannesburg and will bring international experience and perspectives to the African continent, while at the same time showcasing what Africans are doing with mobile, web, digital media and other emerging technologies.

“2010 saw the launch of Tech4Africa and we were met with overwhelming support from both the tech and business communities and our foundation partners, First National Bank and Internet Solutions,” says Gareth Knight, MD of Tech4Africa. “This year we’re delivering the same high standard of content and looking forward to bringing technologists together to look at what’s current now, with an emphasis on social media and how it’s relevant to digital marketing, mobile convergence, the growing cloud and the applications of BigData. We’re also focusing on great African technologists that really are leading the way.”

Keynote speakers include Josh Spear, one of the youngest and most respected digital marketing strategists in the world, and Herman Chinery-Hesse, commonly known as ‘The Bill Gates of Africa’. Spear is a trend spotter, blogger and brand strategist, sought out for his fresh perspective and no-holds-barred style of consulting on everything from design and gadgets to authenticity and word-of-mouth. His recent focus has been the power of the blogosphere, technology, and the impact of digital media on the world.

In addition to his internationally recognised trend-spotting blog, he is a founding partner of Undercurrent, a digital think-tank focused on exploring new ways to reach young people without interrupting them. With Africa rapidly leapfrogging the web and PC experience with a mobile one, the insights into how people and brands interact digitally is crucial, and indeed sets the stage for the foreseeable future. Spear has appeared in publications including Time Magazine, the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune and has presented for such diverse clients as McDonald’s, NBC, Pepsi, Virgin, The American Advertising Federation and The Google Zeitgeist conference.

Chinery-Hesse is a renowned Ghanaian technology entrepreneur who co-founded the million-dollar software company SOFTtribe, and then went on to launch BSL, which provides the infrastructure for entrepreneurs across Africa to sell products and receive payment through their cell phones. Chinery-Hesse is passionate about the contribution that technology can make in unlocking prosperity and wealth across Africa, and will be presenting his thesis on this.

He has won a number of awards and is also an accomplished speaker who has delivered talks at the Wharton Business School, Harvard Business School, Cambridge University, the University of Ghana, and the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania.

Spear and Chinery-Hesse are part of a line-up of African and international thought leaders from organisations like Amazon, HP, Johns Hopkins University, Mozilla, SwiftRiver, the African Institution of Technology, SimpleGeo, Motribe, Clearleft, Ultinet Systems and many more.

Knight adds, “With Tech4Africa our simple aim is to congregate the best practitioners in Africa and the world to provide inspiration, guidance, case studies, success stories and ultimately experience, so that Africans don’t need to travel the world to gain this understanding and exposure”.

Registration for the event is open and early bird tickets are available until 10th of June. For further information or to register, visit http://tech4africa.com, or to contact Tech4Africa, email hello@tech4africa.com or visit http://tech4africa.com/contact/.

About Tech4Africa

Tech4Africa runs from 27-28 October 2011 at The Forum in Bryanston, Johannesburg. The event is targeted at business professionals and technologists from businesses of all sizes, from entrepreneurs and start-up owners through to professionals working at large organisations.

Josh Spear, one of the youngest and most respected digital marketing strategists in the world, will be joined by Herman Chinery-Hesse who is commonly known as ‘The Bill Gates of Africa’, to present the keynote addresses at the Tech4Africa conference. Josh and Herman join a stellar line-up of international technologists including speakers from organisations such as Amazon, HP, Johns Hopkins University, Mozilla, SimpleGeo and Clearleft, and African technologists from SwiftRiver, the African Institution of Technology, Ultinet Systems, Motribe and many more. Early bird ticket price R3900 (R4446 incl. VAT).

Web: http://tech4africa.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/tech4africa

About Gareth Knight

Gareth is a digital maven and open source evangelist. Educated as a zoologist, he is a veteran of two dot com crashes in London, one web 2.0 acquisition, and runs Technovated. Previously, Gareth served in London as Director of Product Management for MyHeritage.com, a global family genealogy company based in Tel Aviv. Before joining MyHeritage, Gareth landed seed funding from London’s top early stage investors to co-found Kindo.com, a global family social network with an international team spread around the world. He then led the Product team in London to roll out a localised version of Kindo in 17 languages within 6 months, as well as an aggressive search engine campaign, both of which resulted in users from circa 220 countries and an enviable growth rate. Kindo was voted one of the top 3 most promising Internet companies in the UK for 2008, and was later acquired by MyHeritage in August that year.

About Tech4Africa partners

Both global and local leading companies from a variety of industries will support Tech4Africa. Delegates will have the opportunity to interact with industry leaders in the vibrant tradeshow at the conference.
Tech4Africa foundation partners include:

First National Bank (FNB): www.fnb.co.za
Internet Solutions: www.is.co.za
Samsung Africa Conference 2011 comes to Nairobi, Kenya.

Posted: May 7, 2011, 4:23 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This is excellent news and I only just found out today its happening next week. Samsung is hosting the second edition of its Africa Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. I attended the first edition of the same last year in Johannesburg, South Africa and its a dazzling 5-day continental business extravaganza that any technology enthusiast would love to attend. The event showcases the latest Samsung innovations across all its many product categories. Below is the full press release for the same that I received today:

Press Release

Largely buoyed by its growing success in the African continent, global consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung Electronics will next week host its second Samsung Africa exhibition in Nairobi Kenya. The five day conference will be staged at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. The inaugural event was staged last year in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Samsung Electronics Africa President, Mr. Kwang Kee Park, disclosed that as part of the firm’s continental growth strategy, Samsung will be focusing on Africa’s top 10 economies, which together generate 79 percent of the continents wealth and house almost 47 percent of the population.

“Alongside Kenya, Samsung’s key focus countries will continue to be those with large and growing populations, such as South Africa, Nigeria and Sudan,” said Mr. Park. Speaking in Nairobi while confirming the local office’s readiness to host the Samsung Africa Forum 2011, Samsung Electronics East Africa Business Leader Robert Ngeru reiterated the conventions importance describing it as Africa’s premier consumer electronics and related products business convention.

At this year’s Samsung Africa Forum, Ngeru confirmed that Samsung Electronics will be stepping up to showcase innovations in Internet-connected TVs, consumer-inspired digital cameras and the latest mobile technology. This year’s forum, Ngeru disclosed will comprise key media, customers, distributors and top Samsung executives and government officials.

“Through Samsung Africa Forum 2011 here in Nairobi, our aim is to promote co-operation, innovation and the exchange of new ideas in technology with hundreds of delegates set to attend the major convention next week,” Ngeru explained. And added, w.”the Samsung Africa Forum is also an occasion to market and
showcase Kenya on the global map given the hundreds of media corps who will also be attending this forum alongside hundreds of major traders from across Africa, Middle East and the Orient.”

Founded in South Korea 42 years ago Samsung Electronics has carved a niche as the global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies. With a solid presence across the globe, Samsung Electronics has continued to innovate and is currently using the Samsung Africa Forum as a flagship platform to develop its African market potential.

Recent market penetration efforts in the continent have helped to shore up Samsung’s market positioning where it’s now ranked as the African market share leader in the broad consumer electronics category, including being the No. 1 brand for TV’s and SBS Refrigerators.

Plans are also underway to achieve leadership in other categories, including mobile phones, washing machines and air conditioners, through
Samsung’s innovative product lineup, enhancing in-country marketing including alliances with retailers such as Nakumatt locally, strengthening distributor infrastructure, as well as tightening and improving supply chain management.
The Nokia E7: Redefining Success with Some Fun

Posted: May 5, 2011, 5:55 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Nothing beats the chirp of conversations from a battery of bloggers and journalists huddled in a room. Speaking of latest trends on issues ranging from traffic jam to emerging technology developments, it’s always tempting to listen in among groups, for fear of missing out on details of what’s the hottest tech thing in the market.

So when Dorothy Ooko, Nokia’s Head of Communications for East and Southern Africa, called the Ovi Happy Hour gathering at Sierra to order, it seemed like many were cut short. But they didn’t know that what lay in store was bound to lighten the chilly evening-significantly.

The night for the Ovi Happy Hour was aptly themed “Success Redefined” the tag-line associated with Nokia’s latest business smart phone, the E7. Seeing the E7 though the eyes of those who have already used it was an experience in itself. Hailed as the all-in-one business smartphone, the Nokia E7 is the new-age Communicator. Boasting a Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support alongside 4-inch AMOLED touchscreen display and a slide out four-row QWERTY keyboard, the E7 hit the Kenyan market during the last week of April.

First off was Tim Njiru, making an interesting pitch of the Nokia E7′s 8-megapixel camera. Tim wowed the crowd with clear, if cheeky photos he’d a couple of kids “in my rounds.” And he’d more serious photos, this time from a South Africa Airways plane before take-off. Here he had exploited the full-screen 16:9 viewfinder with its easy-to-use touch screen parameters pretty well.

Tim Njiru speaking of his favourite apps on the Nokia E7

Clearly in love with the apps and the Nokia maps, Tim did not hide his inclination for WhatsApp, cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS and a messenger too. Next was Gravity, a full-featured Twitter Client with a gorgeous, highly praised user interface. Tim made good of his five-minute pitch to talk about how Gravity supports multiple Twitter accounts, image-uploading TwitPic and TwitGoo, multiple Twitter-searches.

Running short of time, Tim spoke of the Nokia Maps, explaining how useful the maps can get especially to strangers in new places. And in keeping with the week’s happenings, Tim even had a screen-grab he took the previous evening from the cable-news channel CNN as Michael Holmes captured events leading to the Royal Wedding. What a close to make.

Moses Kemibaro speaking of his E7 experience

Moses Kemibaro, a renowned IT consultant and blogger took to the floor next and called the E7 “a fantastic work-horse phone for business people.” Picking out the phones capabilities-to integrate office with social media tools, Kemibaro said the fact that the phone had a combination of touch-screen and QWERTY keyboard made it a cool thing to have for everyone. Not to be outdone, Dorothy Ooko stepped forward and spoke of the of Nokia’s keenness in making user-friendly devices. Dorothy was fast to speak of her affinity to the N8 but she added that the E7 had that added advantage of the flip which would help enhance ease of use especially for business people.

Perhaps presenting one of most core benefits of the E7 on this afternoon, Dorothy demonstrated to an eager crowd in the room, how easy it is to draft and edit documents from the E7 even sending a dud document to her boss from the phone. She went further to show how to use the Microsoft Communicator on the phone. Gripping stuff.

Kenneth Oyolla of Nokia East Africa talks up the Nokia E7

In the process of updating the crowd on whether he’d ‘received’ the demo document from Dorothy a few minute before, Ken Oyolla, Nokia’s General Manager for East and Southern Africa got into the team of presenters on the evening. But he spoke of the E7′s entertainment front, a relevant element for any business person who travels often. So Ken took time to speak of travel apps such as the World Traveler, which he said was “a must have free and premium services for travelers.”

“The app has an amazing in-built virtual ‘flight assistant’, which many will find handy for searching flight schedules of major and low cost airlines as well as real-time alerts regarding delays, cancellations and gate changes,” said Oyolla. He captured the need of the app well, especially for travellers who inevitably get confused about the time difference while abroad. Ken spoke of how useful World Traveller is on info regarding weather, currencies.

It’s unbelievable that such qualities would be wrapped in a single device,
the Nokia E7. Listening all round, it appeared there are a few other things would so suitably redefine success. No wonder, then, that everyone wanted to stick around for a word or two with the Nokia team, or have a beer to go with the fun at the event.
Several months later, a review of Samsung’s Galaxy S Android Smartphone.

Posted: April 30, 2011, 2:00 pm by Moses Kemibaro
The gorgeous Samsung Galaxy S Android Smartphone

This post on Samsung’s Galaxy S Android Smartphone (i.e. model GT-I9000) is not just late – its very very late! I have had this phone for a good number of months and I guess it goes to show just how much I like it that I did not get round to doing a post sooner. However, I am sure my friends over at Samsung will be relieved that I finally wrote something about this amazing phone (Melissa, waiting to hear your feedback).

Let me start by saying that for the last 4 months or so since I got the Samsung Galaxy S, much has happened. I coveted this phone so much since I saw it last year at the Samsung convention that was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. As it was then, and as it still is today, its a wicked piece of innovative Android hardware. Its so popular that it sold over 10 million units last year after it was launched in June 2010. In addition, even in Kenya, the Galaxy S was running out of stock regularly in the first couple of months it was on sale.

The back of the Samsung Galaxy S Android Smartphone

The Galaxy S is one of the high-end Android phones that you can buy in Kenya. I am not sure what it costs right now but the last time I checked it was selling in Kes. 45,000.00 range which is a steal when you consider that an open Apple iPhone 4 retails for around Kes. 80,000.00. The Galaxy S does pack a punch in so many areas that its hard to say what is not good about it compared to other similarly priced or even more expensive smartphones. So, I will start here with what my impressions have been in non-techie speak:
- Packaging – The first thing that hits you about the phone is that its very thin and very wide at the same time. In terms of form factor, it looks very much like the pre-iPhone 4 models in terms of design. In fact, its quite often I confuse it for my iPhone 3GS when I am not paying attention. They look almost the same. However, it does feel a little “plasticky” compared to an iPhone, especially the back the phone – I think Samsung could have done a better job in this aspect of the packaging.
- Touch Screen – OK. Its a really BIG touch screen. Its a 4 inch screen, and its a Super AMOLED! What does this mean? In English – its means its a really bright, clear, sharp and large screen to do all your touch things on the Galaxy S. There are very few if any screens you will get larger than the one on the Galaxy S. Its a real charm when it comes to looking at your high resolution photos and HD movies. It terms if responsiveness, the touch screen is really nice. No complaints here.
- Processor – The Galaxy S comes with a really fast processor even by today’s standards since it runs at 1Ghz. These are the sort of processors that used to run full scale computers only a few years ago. Its really phones like the Galaxy S that blur the line between what a smartphone is and what a computer is today. Its super capable from this perspective.
- Android - The Galaxy S was originally launched with Android 2.1. However, the one I had came with 2.2 which is one of the more recent versions of Android. This is a good thing since many Android phones in the market today are still using much older versions of the OS. In certain global markets, users are also able to upgrade their Galaxy S phones to Android 2.3 so its still on the cutting edge in this respect.
- Applications and gaming – In terms of applications, the Galaxy S comes with a large number of applications already installed. However, its possible like with any other Android to access the Android Market to download thousands of additional applications. Some of the the cool applications include LAYAR which is an augmented reality application. In terms of gaming, I have found a good number of games on the Android Market that I have managed to download and play on Galaxy S. The large screen goes a long way in improving the gaming experience across the board.
- Memory – The Galaxy S I got came with 8GB of on-board memory. In addition, a free 8GB external microSD was also provided in the box for a total of 16GB memory. This is NOT bad since you can expand the microSD storage to 32GB for a total of 40GB. This is ideal if your heavily into applications and online media such HD video and high resolution photos.
- Camera – The Galaxy S comes with a 5 megapixel camera which is not bad. However, newer phones now come with cameras that have 8 or even 12 megapixel cameras. Nevetheless, the photo quality of the Galaxy is really good. Its not ideal though for low light conditions as it does not have a flash.
- Video – One of the best features of the Galaxy S is its ability to do HD Video. I will NOT get into the specifics but the few home movies I have done look really sharp and stunning. Its a gem of a multimedia device from this perspective.
- Business functions - As a business oriented phone, the Galaxy S works remarkably well when it comes to email and calendering via the Social Hub feature. The on-screen keyboard is easy to use and comes with customized features from Samsung that make it even better. In addition, the phone has the “swype” which makes using the on-screen keyboard a synch.
- Networking – The Galaxy S, as expected, supports 3G and other slower standards for Internet connectivity such as EDGE. In addition, it works equally well on WIFI as well and Bluetooth for connecting peripherals. I have had no issues in this area.
- Mapping and navigation – In terms of mapping and navigation, I have used these a lot on the Galaxy S and especially with Google Maps. This works!
- Battery life – The caveat of all smartphones I have seems to be battery life. All that speedy internet, applications and processor hungry stuff just kills battey life. This is also the case with the Galaxy S. You have to charge it daily, sometimes severally, depending on how much you use it as a “power user” – not unlike an Apple iPhone which is even more battery draining in my opinion.
The Samsung Galaxy S is thin - really thin.

In a nutshell, the Galaxy S is a really good phone, even a year after it was launched. There is a good reason why it sold 10 million units in around 6 months – its one of the best Android phones ever to-date. Therefore, its a good thing that the 4G capable Galaxy S II is being launched today in South Korea as the successor to the Galaxy S. It will probably take a good number of months for the Galaxy S II to make it to Kenya so for the timing, I give the original Galaxy S a strong buy recommendation!
Tina Byaruhanga and HotKyana.com – pioneering Ugandan e-commerce.

Posted: April 30, 2011, 12:41 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I was in Kampala, Uganda just over a week ago on a work related trip. The trip lasted close to a week so I had quite a bit of time on my to get a feel of how things are looking there in terms of technology. The last time I was in Uganda was approximately one year ago and at the time I did not really get to move around much since I was attending a conference. However, one thing is for sure, all the on-going construction and infrastructural investments in Kampala show that the country is on the move.

Downtown Kampala where Cybe Cafe Internet access is really cheap.

In terms of technology, what is very apparent in Uganda’s telecommunications sector where there are 5 mobile network operators comprised of Warid, MTN, Orange, UTL and Airtel is that the fight for the data market is in full swing. Everyone of these telcos is offering all sorts of consumer and business data propositions as evidenced by the large number of billboards all around the city promoting dongles, bundles, etc. In addition, there is also at least one CDMA player also offering data services there.

I also had a chance to venture into down town Kampala to get a feel of what was happening in the cyber cafes for the masses. Indeed, just like in Kenya, I found many cyber cafes offering incredibly inexpensive Internet access. One thing is for sure, Uganda is riding the broadband wave and its possible that they too will become a major centre for technology innovation in the East African region, in addition to Kenya. I would say that for entrepreneurs and investors now is the time to get a foothold in Uganda lest you miss the train when it leaves the station – there is money to be made.

Tina Byaruhanga, The Entrepreneur behind HotKyana.com

In-line with this post, I had a chance to meet Tina Byaruhanga who is the Entrepreneur behind a start-up e-commerce business in Uganda called “Hotkyana”. Tina started HotKyana about 8 months ago to offer Ugandan ladies an alternative shopping destination for high-end clothing and accessories.

Tina says that HotKyana is more than an online store – its a high-end consumer lifestyle that she is trying to promote in the marketplace. By the way, “kyana” means “chic” in Luganda which is the widest spoken ethnic language in Uganda – therefore, HotKyana means, quite literally, “Hot Chic”.

HotKyana operates by taking online orders via its web site. It does not yet offer credit card processing online so most of the payments they receive to-date are via cash, mobile money and direct cash deposits to their bank account. According to Tina, the payments space has been a major challenge but mobile money is proving to be a major boon for them. What is interesting to note is that HotKyana also gets orders from as far Rwanda showing that their reach is significant.

Driving into Kampala from the Airport.

HotKyana has grown largely through referrals from happy and satisfied customers as they hardly do any direct marketing. However, social media and especially Facebook has been a big part of their marketing strategy and they have a built a community there that supports HotKyana.

As of this writing Tina says that they get anywhere from 10 to 30 orders per week which has grown significantly over time. Tina is hoping to expand their business and may even consider getting a foothold in larger regional markets such as Kenya. All in all, I was really impressed with Tina and what she is doing with HotKyana in Uganda.
Mobile Trends 2020 Africa.

Posted: April 29, 2011, 4:40 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Just picked this up from Erik Hersman’s WhiteAfrican blog. Its the Mobile Trends 2020 Africa presentation for which I was one of the many contributors. An insightful and broad view of where the mobile is going in Africa. Enjoy! Mobile Trends 2020 Africa View more presentations from Rudy De Waele
All-in-one business smartphone, the Nokia E7, now available in Kenya.

Posted: April 21, 2011, 2:19 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Press Release

Nairobi, Kenya, 21 April 2011 – Nokia has today announced the launch of the highly-anticipated business smartphone, Nokia E7, in the Kenyan market.

The Nokia E7 is an optimal business phone with great connectivity to work and personal email on a 4-inch touch display and QWERTY keyboard enabling users create, edit and share office documents on a fast, secure intranet access. Nokia E7 users will also be able to easily set up their calendar and sync it with Microsoft Outlook.

“People are continuing to look for solutions that suit both their work and personal life; in business circles this is known as the ‘consumerisation’ of IT. The Nokia E7 gives people the confidence to bring their own smartphones to the workplace to connect securely to corporate messaging servers,” said Kenneth Oyolla, General Manager for Nokia East and Southern Africa.

He added: “On the other hand, whether you are an artist, entrepreneur, university student or aspiring world traveller, the Nokia E7 is the only smartphone you will need to get the world’s best mobile navigation and mapping application, thousands of apps, millions of music, and a rich messaging experience.”

With its tilting, 4-inch ClearBlack display, full keyboard and a fast access to a wide variety of apps directly on the homescreen, the Nokia E7 is the key to having a successful day in or out of the office. Importantly, the device supports business applications from leading enterprise technology partners including Microsoft and IBM.

For business users, Nokia E7 provides direct, secure and real-time access to email, calendar, contacts, tasks and the corporate directory through Microsoft Exchange servers, as well as Office Communicator Mobile, developed by Microsoft for Nokia smartphones, which brings presence and corporate instant messaging.

The WhatsApp Messenger is a smartphone messenger available for Nokia, iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones. WhatsApp uses your 3G or Wi-Fi (when available) to message with friends and family. This is a switch from SMS to WhatsApp to enable consumers send and receive messages at no cost. The app can be downloaded from [www.whatsapp.com]

Additionally, a wide range of entertainment and social services available on the Nokia E7 make it the perfect off-duty companion, and the Ovi Store offers a wealth of local apps. These include “Daily Nation” for Kenyan News, Business, Sport and Entertainment and the application gives access to in depth coverage and analysis of issues and breaking news and “Rich”, an application that keeps you updated with the Nairobi Stock Exchange. The Nokia E7 users will be able to use “AroundMe”, an app that allows one to easily and quickly find important businesses and services in your surrounding or any other location. For example, one can find restaurants, banks, gas stations, and other local services with ease. It enables you to view maps, directions, routes, street view, read reviews and even call the business.

The new arrival offers drive or walk navigation in 80 countries. The latest commercial version of Ovi Maps, available immediately via Ovi Store or Ovi Suite, adds visibility to subways, trams and trains, real-time traffic, safety alerts, visibility to parking and petrol stations, speed limit warnings, and improved search and location sharing capabilities. The Nokia E7 will be selling in retail between 52,000 -54,000 Kenya Shillings.

Here are more reasons why the Nokia E7 is the all-in-one business smartphone:
- Easy access to private and business email
- Create, edit and share office documents and view PDF files with Adobe Reader
- Fast, secure intranet access with the built-in VPN
- High-resolution photos and HD video with the 8 megapixel camera and dual LED flash
- HDMI connectivity to project files, videos and images onto large screens
- 16 gigabytes of on-board flash memory
- USB-On-The-Go, enabling easy file sharing by connecting a USB stick to the smartphone
Most popular BlackBerry Apps in Kenya revealed.

Posted: April 21, 2011, 9:32 am by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

Facebook is top BlackBerry App World download in Kenya

Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry solution, today released a list of the top 20 mobile applications that Kenyans love to download from BlackBerry App World. Not surprisingly, popular social media app, the Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones application, topped the list, followed closely by BB (BlackBerry Messenger), and WhatsApp Messenger, with Player For YouTube and Snaptu also gracing the top 10 indicating Kenyans love for socializing on the move. Others in the top 20 list include: Chat for Facebook, the Bible and TuneIn Radio.

Other African countries show similar downloading trends with Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones and BBM in the top three slots, while globally BlackBerry App World, Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones, BBM, WhatsApp Messenger and Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones took the top 5 slots. The top global download during the review period was the Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones app. The findings also show that BlackBerry smartphone users are downloading more than 3 million apps per day from BlackBerry App World on average. There are over 25,000 BlackBerry apps available today.

The information on the most popular app downloads was gathered over a period of one week following the inclusion of 27 new markets on BlackBerry App World. BlackBerry App World is now available in 101 countries worldwide with BBM, one of the leading downloads, scooping the Best App on the BlackBerry Platform award during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.

“We are excited about the uptake by the Kenyan market of the apps available on BlackBerry App World” said Deon Liebenberg, Managing Director for Africa at RIM. “RIM continues to support developers in order to provide apps that leverage the many advantages of the BlackBerry platform and deliver best-in-class mobile experiences.”

BlackBerry App World allows customers to discover, download and enjoy a wide range of mobile applications for their BlackBerry smartphones. The BlackBerry App World online store is available for all BlackBerry smartphones with a trackball, trackpad or touch screen running BlackBerry OS (device software) 4.5 or higher.

Customers can download BlackBerry App World through their computer or directly from their smartphone by visiting www.blackberry.com/appworld or mobile.blackberry.com. BlackBerry App World can then be conveniently accessed over both Wi-Fi and mobile phone networks and will automatically present users with the relevant catalog of applications available for their specific BlackBerry smartphone model.

The full list of top 20 Kenyan downloads for BlackBerry are as follows:

1. Facebook
2. BlackBerry Messenger
3. WhatsApp Messenger
4. Hangman
5. Dictionary and Thesaurus – Dictionary com
6. DriveSafely
7. Player For YouTube
8. Chat for Facebook – Free Facebook Chat App
9. TuneIn Radio
10. Snaptu
11. Caller ID Reader
12. DriveCarefully
13. FaceChat – Free Facebook Chat App
14. Bible
15. Who Is It – LED Light Alerts for Contacts
16. Vlingo – Virtual Assistant
17. Super Address Book – FREE
18. Twitter
19. Navita Sports
20. Yahoo Messenger
FACTCHA short-listed at World Bank’s Apps for Development Competition

Posted: April 17, 2011, 4:21 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I only found out this past week that a friend, Athman Mohamed, was short-listed for as one of the possible winners for the World Bank’s Apps for Development competition.

His entry, FACTCHA, was the only one from Kenya that made it to the final cut and although he did not win the ultimate prize he beat out many others to receive an honorable mention. More details on FACTCHA can be found here>
Defining “AppleEnvy”, an incurable form of technology addiction.

Posted: April 17, 2011, 3:39 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for sometime now. Its about an affliction or condition I define as “AppleEnvy”. In one way or another, if you are a technophile like me, you will understand exactly what I mean by AppleEnvy by the end of this post.

Apple is by far one of the coolest brands on the planet. Its right up there as one of the brands that pretty much everyone I know would like to own or be associated with, even by extension. After having a near death experience almost two decades ago, Apple has managed to claw its way back from the gallows to the very apex of technology coolness. However, what has always been true about Apple from the very beginning is that its DNA is rooted in being technology cool at every turn. To quote a good friend of mine, “Apple only ever makes really good s**t”.

It took Apple to make the iPod and iTunes the leading digital music ecosystem in the world. It took Apple to “re-invent” the phone by making the iPhone the coolest smartphone to-date, even as Android gains global marketshare. Lastly, Apple’s iconic laptops and desktops ala “Mac” offerings represent the highest order of consumer and business technology tools. Its a fact. Personally, I have been an Apple aficionado for the better part of three years since first owning a Macbook, which still works remarkably well to-date and has never broken down on me. Apple products simply just work – and work really well.

Fast forward to last year and I finally secured an Apple iPhone 3GS. If you are one of the people who read this article and own or have used an iPhone you will know what I mean when I say that there is nothing quite like an iPhone in the world of mobile phones. Yes, I also have a couple of Android handsets and also use the latest Nokia handsets but the iPhone is quite simply on another level, honestly. The user experience is second to none and there is an iPhone app for practically anything you can imagine. To use one Steve Jobs famous expletives, the iPhone is quite simply, “amazing”.

Then, came along the iPad which is now in its second iteration in less than a year so the Apple product cycles are getting shorter. I don’t own an iPad although it is without a doubt one of the coolest products from Apple to-date. Yes, there are other tablets in the market and everyone is playing catch up to Apple’s iPad but once again its on another level – which is typical of Apple products. Its therefore no surprise that Apple is now the most valuable technology business in the world, ahead of the likes of Microsoft and Google – there is certainly something they are doing right there.

So. AppleEnvy. What is it? To me, the way to define it is simple. If you own or covet an Apple product then its likely that you suffer from AppleEnvy. AppleEnvy is the NEED to have the next and very latest Apple thing – whatever it may be. Its an addiction, not unlike crack cocaine or heroin. You quite literally gasp and wait with bated breath whenever Apple announces a new product. But why is this? I don’t even understand it logically but I clearly suffer from AppleEnvy. Yes, I have a Macbook Pro and an iPhone 3GS but its not enough. I want the iPad 2, iPhone 4 (or 5 when it comes out soon) and the Macbook Air 2. Yes. I want them ALL! Its illogical. I should be happy with what I have in the Apple world, but it not enough.

Its like a cult movement Apple has created in its venerable brand for its products. They make us suffer from AppleEnvy at all times as they spew out another “magical, fantastic, amazing, revolutionary, re-invented, disruptive and highly desirable” Apple product (to quote Steve Jobs’ now legendary expletives once again). To give you an idea of what I mean, look at the picture below. This is a photo of a “portfolio” of the highly desirable Apple products that currently have me exhibiting all the symptoms of AppleEnvy. Its a sad state of affairs to be honest but one I would happily give my left arm for to have that next Apple thing – whatever it may be. But leave me to my addiction – AppleEnvy is incurable as far as I know and its only treatment is that next fix of Apple coolness

AppleEnvy in action: A Macbook Air 2, iPhone 4 and iPad 1.
Follow Your Interests. Discover Your World. Twitter.

Posted: April 15, 2011, 10:39 am by Moses Kemibaro

I love twitter! I’m on it everyday and its a really great service. I just saw the video below which I found on their homepage. I must say that the best part from me is the astronaut who tweets from space! Imagine that – tweets from outer space! Its not just mainstream, even in Kenya, its quite literally out of this world! So, if your wondering why you should tweet, or why twitter matters, look no further than this really cool video! better yet, tweet it!
Google Announces Sub-Saharan Africa Android Developer Challenge.

Posted: April 14, 2011, 2:56 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

Kenyan developers to compete to build innovative local Android mobile applications.

Nairobi 14th April 2011

Everyday more than 300,000 Android devices are activated globally. A growing number of these mobile device activations are in markets across Africa, making local African mobile content more relevant and important than ever before. In recognition of this, Google today announced its Google Android Developer Challenge, inviting talented and creative developers in sub-Saharan Africa to design and build original Android applications for mobile phones that will delight users.

Categories

Entries include entertainment, media and games; social networking and communications; and productivity, tools and lifestyle. Winners will each receive an Android phone and $25,000 (USD).

“In the past year alone, we have met with over 10,000 developer and techies across Sub Saharan Africa. We are continually impressed by the ingenuity and enthusiasm of this community to solve real problems with technology, ” says Bridgette Sexton, Program Manager at Google. “At every Google event in Africa, Android is the most popular topic – as Android users multiply, so does the appeal for developers to build apps on this free open source platform.”

A number of Android Developer Challenge events will also be held across the region. Google will be launching the Nairobi chapter on Saturday 16th April at the iHub from 11am. The event will provide mobile developers with a platform to talk about Android as well as an opportunity to learn about the competition. They will also get to do some hacking, collaborate and prepare themselves to build great apps. Registration forms for developers are available online.

Participants can submit applications via the challenge website by 1st July 2011. The winning application will be announced on September 12th 2011. More information can be found at the website.
Mobifixx – a great mobile phone repair shop in Nairobi.

Posted: April 9, 2011, 4:02 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Mobifixx at Diamond Plaza, Parklands, Nairobi, Kenya

Its inevitable. At one point or another, you will damage your mobile handset, or it will stop working properly for no apparent reason. That’s of course if it has not yet happened to you, or at least once? Over the last decade or so, I have had a good number of incidents when I either accidentally damaged a mobile phone or it just went on the blink for no good reason. The tricky bit of course was finding a repair shop or “repair guy” that could fix it. On the other hand, even if covered under warranty at the dealers, it was sometimes more practical to simply buy a replacement mobile handset rather than bother fixing the damaged one.

This is what brings me to the point of this blog post. In a country of over 22 million mobile subscribers, its surprising how hard it is to find a decent mobile phone repair shop. I am NOT talking about the sort that just happens to operate around the corner where there is a 50/50 chance they can actually repair your phone – if not make it worse. I am talking about the type who are professional, affordable and most importantly reliable? Yes, these are few and far in between. Therefore, it came as something of a surprise the other day that I encountered a mobile repair shop called “Mobifixx”.

Mobifixx are located at the popular Diamond Plaza mall in Parklands. I happened on them by chance and paid them a visit. I was intrigued to find out if they could fix the cracked screen of my smart phone (courtesy of my over enthusiastic 2 year old son). They not only were able to repair the cracked screen in around 30 minutes, it even looks better than it did when I got the phone. The other bit that was also really great is the price – it was around 50% of the cost I had been quoted by a reputable phone dealer. Yes indeed, Mobifixx will sort out your damaged mobile phone. That’s what they do, and do really well. Give them a call on 0715-321999.
The East African Mobile Market from the TNS Global Mobile Life Research.

Posted: March 29, 2011, 11:12 am by Moses Kemibaro
I just received the below information on research findings from TNS Global on the East African Mobile Market. The research is part of the TNS Global Mobile Life Research that was conducted with 34,000 people in 47 countries. Therefore, this information is just for the East African region. Some interesting insights worth noting follow:
- Despite having higher GDP Per Capita than Tanzania, Kenyans are paying less for their mobile handsets and replacing them more often – quicker therefore to adopt new technologies (and getting good prices).
- Nokia still dominate the mobile handset market but we know from other sources that there are plenty of fakes and Chinese manufacturers such as ZTE are making inroads in Uganda (e.g. they launched a solar powered phone there a couple of years back)
- Kenyans are expecting to pay less for their next handset than they did last year – but are wanting to do a lot more with them (expecting more for less)
- In East Africa, in contrast to the global picture,consumers are preferring to use mobiles for a wider range of activities – social networking, finance, downloading content etc (whereas globally, consumers prefer to do those things on PC – Kenya is ahead!)
- If we look at all the messages East Africans send, by phone or PC, the vast majority in Kenya / EA are via phone as compared to 50:50 split globally.
- Kenyans are very social, loving Social network apps and accessing the sites regularly. They are also very into music (a high proportion download or use music apps).
- Lots of apps though are side-loaded from other phones or PCs rather than downloaded.
- We looked at the time of day which consumers use their phone for certain activities. For listening to music, in Uganda, there is a peak in the evening. In Kenya however there is also a peak during commuting time in the morning – probably due to the traffic jams!
- Lots of consumers in East Africa believe that mobile finance can eventually REPLACE Banks entirely – due to convenience, ease of use etc.
You can get the full research findings for the TNS Global Mobile Life following the formal launch at [discovermobilelife.com]
The dark side of social media in Kenya.

Posted: March 25, 2011, 6:46 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I am quite ticked off by what I see as the misuse of, and, uninformed nature of some of what gets out on social media in Kenya. It seems to me that there are some social media aficionados out there who relish nothing more than to critique and tarnish other people. Yes, sometimes, people do make valid mistakes and get things wrong but what the hell?! I mean, why insult and poke fun when the same hard working people are trying to achieve great things?!

In-line with the above, I am reminded of the time I met Michael Joseph last year just before he retired from running Safaricom. We spoke, albeit briefly, and he asked me what I do. When I mentioned that I also blogged on the side, his face turned rather serious and he bluntly told me he does not like bloggers since all they do is insult and discredit people. He was not a happy man and I suspect he thought I was possibly considering writing something nasty about him as our conversation came to a quick end. I now “get it”, to say the least.

Just because social media gives some a powerful voice does not mean it has to be turned into a dagger of sorts? Give credit where credit is due. When people get it wrong, tell them so without making a big fuss about it as well as insulting them ruthlessly. Yes, its all nice and dandy to tweet or write blog posts that are quasi-sensational but please do keep things in perspective, as well as within scope with some measure of restraint? No need to get overexcited if you get my drift. I know its unlikely that what I have to say here would make a difference anyway but I thought I’d say something rather than keep quiet about it.
Dealfish Presentation at MobileMonday Kenya.

Posted: March 23, 2011, 1:17 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Below is a presentation on Dealfish that I gave this week at the monthly meetup of MobileMonday Kenya which we sponsored at the iHub. The mobile channel is incredibly important for Dealfish in Kenya since up to 50% of our users access our web site via the mobile web. We have two unique experiences on the mobile web for feature phones and smartphones. For this very reason, we see MobileMonday as a key forum for us.
Dealfish Kenya Presentation for MobileMonday Kenya by Moses Kemibaro on 21st March 2011
View more presentations from Moses Kemibaro.
Dealfish Kenya Interview on NTV.

Posted: March 23, 2011, 12:19 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This is Dealfish Kenya interview that both Neil Schwartzman and I had on NTV’s Money Matters show in February 2011 with Larry Madowo.
The Kenya Film Commission’s Animation Expo.

Posted: March 20, 2011, 9:06 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Kenya Noir's Chief Nyamweya (L) and Colleague.

Firstly, let me start by saying that the Sarit Centre in Westlands must be one of the toughest places to find parking on a Saturday afternoon. That being said, having spent close to 20 minutes looking for parking, I was undeterred and was firmly committed to attending the Kenya Film Commission’s Animation Expo, even if only for 30 minutes or so. I had been looking forward to it all week to see exactly what was happening in Kenya’s Animation space. I was not disappointed.

I was surprised on entering the Expo that there we’re far more companies than I had imagined who offer Animation services locally in Kenya. One definitely got a sense of a burgeoning industry that is much larger than what it looked like when I attended another event a few years ago. It seems to me that this global industry that generates billions of dollars annually is taking a firm foothold in Kenya, finally! I was also impressed with the showcased work that each firm had at the Expo meaning that there is money being made!

Kwame Nyongo from Apes in Space

The truth be said, many of the firms at the Expo seemed to be comprised of just a few people working in different capacities. By far, what seemed to be the largest was Homeboyz who have been behind the successful “Tinga Tinga Tales” that is currently airing on one of the local TV stations. In addition, Kwame Nyongo’s “Apes in Space” firm have a produced a local short animation movie called “Legend of Ngong Hills” (see trailer below). The other interesting firm I met was “Kenya Noir” which is led by Chief Nyamweya, an excellent illustrator who has now gone into animation as well.

I did not have much time at the Expo but I got to spend a bit of time at one of the talks where the turnout was excellent. Many people may not know this but there are fully accredited animation courses leading to bachelor degrees beijng offered by the likes of Shang Tao Media College who were also present at the Expo. In a nutshell, there is no reason why one cannot get in on the Animation gravy train as and when it becomes major industry in Kenya. Its already started and yesterday’s event just goes to show how big Animation is going to be here!
Finally, Facebook Places comes to Kenya.

Posted: March 20, 2011, 8:21 pm by Moses Kemibaro

I’m not sure when it happened exactly but looks like Facebook Places started working in Kenya during this past week. Facebook Places is a location-based “check-in” service similar to Foursquare. Foursquare started the Internet check-in trend a couple of years back and currently is the market leader. Facebook Places lets your friends on Facebook know where you are, what you are doing and connects you to them. In order to use the service, you need a smartphone such as an iPhone or Android that uses GPS to map your location according to the services and places near where you at the time.

I tried out Facebook Places today and already several businesses and residential locations have been added in Nairobi. There are certainly much fewer than the locations you will find nationwide on Foursquare but its clearly just a matter of time before Facebook Places could be much bigger. The reason for this is that there are over 1 million Facebook users in Kenya and whilst Foursquare is something of a niche player with a much smaller following.

Another aspect of Facebook Places which was recently launched and could make it quite popular in Kenya is that of local deals – much like the Groupon clones we have in Kenya such as Zetu and Rupu. Now, considering that Facebook has a much larger user base than Zetu or Rupu in Kenya, it could potentially become a major player in the discount deals space. However, only time will tell just how well Facebook Places fares in the coming months. Personally, I am pretty excited about it! You can read up more on Facebook Places here>
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) belongs in Africa.

Posted: March 14, 2011, 5:19 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Guest Post by Rod Marcel of SKA Africa.

Africa is bidding to host the world’s most powerful radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). When constructed, in 2025, it will have 50 times greater sensitivity than any other radio telescope on Earth. The SKA will probe the edges of our universe, even before the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang. This telescope will contribute to answering fundamental questions in astronomy, physics and cosmology, including the nature of dark energy and dark matter.

South Africa is leading the African bid and has already legislated to create 12.5 million hectares of protected area – or radio astronomy reserve. This area is also referred to as the Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Area, offering low levels of radio frequency interference, very little light pollution, basic infrastructure of roads, electricity and communication.

The human story began in Africa and it can also be the place where we find answers to the story of our universe. Please help us bring the SKA project to Africa by learning about the project and the advantages of the South African SKA bid. A comprehensive resource on the South African SK bid can be found at [www.skaafrica.com]
What it takes to win Technology Tenders in Kenya.

Posted: March 13, 2011, 2:09 pm by Moses Kemibaro
I recently had the opportunity to sit on a tender selection committee for an organization where I am involved at the board level. This is an organization that has an outstanding operational model and works in a professional manner. Therefore, it was an exciting opportunity to be involved in the selection process from the start to the end.

It was an eye opener being on the opposite side of the table for a change – selecting from a range of bidders rather than being a bidder for a change. The tender in question was for a range of technology services from the marketplace. We had a good number of bidders comprised of companies that ranged from the one man show variety to the very large multi-million shilling enterprise – it ran the whole gamut.

So, here is the thing, when looking at all the tenders submitted and spending a good number of hours drilling down to the short-list and seeing their presentations, it occured to me that there are several steps that can either make you win or lose a lucrative technology tender bid.

Contrary to popular belief, tender selection processes are more often than not completely transparent and impartial. Its a shame how many good firms lose out by not following tender bidding procedure when they stand to make millions of shillings, and possibly, permanently transform their business prospects.

In nutshell, these are the 5 steps I see as being critical to winning lucrative technology tenders in Kenya, from my perspective:
- Compliance to bidding requirements – These are the basics. There are typically explicitly stated requirements for a tender before even a technical or financial proposals are reviewed. This can be as simple as labelling your envelopes correctly as per instructions to ensuring that you have a tax compliance certificate in your bid as well as a bid bond. If you do NOT have these compliance items in your bid you are immediately disqualified meaning that your proposal is not even reviewed – its as simple as that. You don’t even get to the party, let alone have a chance to dance.
- Responsiveness to the terms of reference – In this scenario, assuming you have passed the basic bidding requirements, the next step is to elaborate on the proposed technology solution. More often than not, the responsiveness to the terms of reference needs to be as detailed and as accurate as possible. A one line sentence describing how the security of an online system would be guaranteed safe simply will not cut it. The devil really is in the detail. At the end of the day, when all the numbers are tallied, the total will be based on these factors and will determine whether or not you win the bid for your firm.
- Team credentials and case studies – Another major factor to winning technology tenders is the quality and size of the team that will execute the project should it be awarded. The depth in terms of years of experience as well as qualified credentials for similarly scoped work will tip the balance. For this reason, more often than not, larger technology firms simply tend to win all the work because they have the best teams who have the “been there and done that” background with case studies. Most organizations are unlikely to give an unproven firm a technology assignment if they are not satisfied with the team credentials and work record.
- Financial proposals – Assuming that your firm makes it through the technical proposal evaluation process, and meets the minimum score to qualify, the next step of the tender proposal is to review the financial proposals. This process can be tricky since there can be massive disparities in pricing. Its not uncommon for smaller firms to overprice their offerings whereas larger firms can tend to bid much lower. Whatever the case, the tender will be won by the firm that has a combination of the highest technical score as well as the most competitive financial proposal for the assignment.
- Final presentations – If you firm makes the cut through the financial part of evaluation and has a good combined score with the technical proposal, it is possible you will be called in for a final presentation to the tender committee. This is the last step and a specific agenda for the presentations will normally be communicated to bidders. In this respect, this is where even the largest and most successful firms can stumble. It is vital that your presentation is as comprehensive as it is compelling. It must cover all the bases and essentially “close” the business.
Facebook Walls are NOT for Marketing.

Posted: March 13, 2011, 1:30 pm by Moses Kemibaro

There is a disturbing trend I have noticed over the last couple of weeks or so on Facebook. Maybe its just me but it seems to be happening with other folks who have a reasonably large number of friends on Facebook. Whatever the case is, it ticked me off to the point I changed my Facebook profile settings so that no one can post on my Wall – friends or otherwise.

The problem that I have noticed is that some of my Facebook friends seem to have decided that posting marketing messages on my Facebook Wall is a good idea. What?! Why would they even think this is a good idea seeing that they could be easily “unfriended” for this not so friendly action.

The thing is, one of the most effective ways of marketing on Facebook is to simply buy Facebook Ads as well as building and managing a decent Facebook Fan Page. Its not rocket science – just do it, right? Its quite simple really – Facebook Walls are NOT for Marketing!
Dealfish Kenya mention in UpNairobi Magazine.

Posted: March 11, 2011, 3:09 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Dealfish Kenya is mentioned in UpNairobi Magazine’s March 2011 edition within an article I was interviewed for titled “mobile revolution in your pocket”. The article looks at how phones are becoming smarter and cheaper and the interesting prospects presented by spin-off products in Kenya. You can read it full here>
AccessKenya Launches Retail Experience Shop at Nairobi’s Westgate Mall.

Posted: March 11, 2011, 12:49 pm by Moses Kemibaro

AccessKenya's Jonathan Somen and Diana Mulili

Yesterday, AccessKenya launched their first ever retail shop at the Westgate Mall in Westlands, Nairobi. The shop is designed to give existing and prospective customers the AccessKenya brand experience in a more personal and effective way compared to other more traditional channels. This includes demonstrations of broadband products and services from AccessKenya as well as technology products such as WIFI routers, etc.

I have to say I was a little surprised that AccessKenya would invest in a retail shop when most of their customers are businesses of all sizes. However, its becoming increasingly apparent that customers need to “touch and feel” before buying these days. This is most evident in the case of Apple who have hundreds of themed stores globally that effectively create the “Apple Experience”. It also helps them reach the market directly, ensuring higher margins by avoiding external channel partners.

AccessKenya's Retail Shop at Nairobi's Westgate Mall, Westlands.

I had the opportunity to do a short video interview with Diana Mulili as below who is the Head of Retail Distribution at AccessKenya. In addition, I also managed to load some pictures of the launch event and retail shop on Facebook which you can view here>

The kicker to the evening was free access to watch the premiere of Battle:LA, a blockbuster SciFi movie that is actually being launched globally today. Battle:LA is a MUST watch for tech heads like me!
Google gives US$5 million to get more people and information online in Africa

Posted: March 8, 2011, 11:05 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Google to help digitise archives of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.

March 8th 2011, Nairobi – Google has today announced a $1,25 million grant to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, housed at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, that will help to preserve and give unprecedented digital access to thousands of archival documents, photographs, and audio-visual materials about the life and times of Nelson Mandela.

Based in Johannesburg, the Nelson Mandela Foundation Centre of Memory is committed to documenting records about the life of one of the world’s greatest statesmen. Its objective is to use his legacy to foster meaningful dialogue and debate to promote social justice.

Google’s grant will assist in expanding the online Mandela archive and make it available to global audiences, scholars and researchers in the future. In addition to significant audio-visual materials, the online multimedia archive will include Mr Mandela’s letters and correspondence with family, comrades and friends; prison diaries; and notes he made while leading the negotiations that led to the end of apartheid in South Africa.

“We are delighted that Google has come on board to help ensure that our Mandela Portal becomes a world class source of accurate and reliable information about Madiba,” said Verne Harris, head of the Centre of Memory.

A grant of the same size has also been made to the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre in Cape Town, for the documentation and digitisation of Desmond Tutu’s archives, and an interactive digital learning centre.

Commenting on the initiatives, Luke Mckend, Country Manager for Google South Africa said, “Google wants to help bring the world’s historical heritage online, and the Internet offers new ways to preserve and share this information. Our grants to the Nelson Mandela Centre and to the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre will facilitate new digital archives for South Africa’s past, giving the global public an unprecedented opportunity to engage with the history of some of the most extraordinary leaders of our time. We are also delighted to be announcing additional grants which will help many more people across South Africa and Africa access the internet and benefit from access to information”.

Google today also announced three other grants of between $500,000 and $1,250,000, also made through the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund of Tides Foundation, to the Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa (TENET)($750,000 for continued work to assist South African universities with Internet and information technology services), the Nigeria ICT Forum ($500,000 to support efforts in improving access to Internet infrastructure in tertiary education institutions in Nigeria), and the Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC) at the University of Oregon ($1,250,000 to enable more people in numerous African countries to participate in and contribute to the global Internet).

About the Grantees:

About the Nelson Mandela Foundation

The Nelson Mandela Foundation, through the Centre of Memory, contributes to the making of a just society by promoting the values, vision and work of our Founder. The Centre of Memory offers an integrated information resource on the life and times of Nelson Mandela, giving members of the public, scholars and fellow memory institutions across the globe access to relevant information, primarily through the internet and mobile phones. It also prioritises dialogue around critical social issues such as access to information, dealing with the past, and related issues. Nelson Mandela International Day is the embodiment of these efforts, with its emphasis on remembering the past, stimulating dialogue and encouraging people to act (Memory, Dialogue and Action) in order to promote social justice.

About The Desmond Tutu Peace Centre

The Desmond Tutu Peace Centre aims to create and maintain a Peace Centre that will deliver programmes that promote conflict resolution, restore social justice to marginalised people and inspire leaders to be responsible and committed to the people they serve. It furthers the understanding that peace will flow out of justice and that there is essential good in everyone.

About the Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa (TENET)

TENET is a non-profit, public benefit organisation whose members are the public universities and statutory research and innovation councils of South Africa. TENET’s main purpose is to secure, for the benefit of these members and associated support institutions, Internet and information technology services, involving, inter-alia high-speed Internet access, inter-campus connectivity, ancillary operational functions in support of service delivery, and the provision of other value-added services as may be needed from time to time in support of higher education and research in South Africa.

About the Nigeria ICT Forum

Founded in 2005 and owned by Nigerian Research and Education Institutions, the Nigeria ICT Forum facilitates and nurtures collaborations between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Its mission is to cultivate a favourable policy environment and enable Nigerian HEIs to develop, utilise and sustain ICT networks, services and shared resources consistent with institutional roles as foci for development. The Nigeria ICT Forum hosts the Nigerian Network Operators Group and the Bandwidth Consortium, and is incubating the formation of the National Research and Education Network (NREN) and a broadband strategy framework for Nigeria.

About The Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC)

The Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC) is a non-profit activity that has worked with many partner organizations over the past twenty years to help build Internet infrastructure and provide technical training in more than one hundred countries around the world, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. The NSRC works directly with the indigenous network engineers and operators who develop and maintain the Internet infrastructure in their respective countries and regions by providing technical information, engineering assistance, training, donations of networking books, equipment and other resources. The end goal in this work is to make it easier for local scientists, engineers, educators and students to collaborate via the Internet with their international colleagues by helping to connect communities of interest. By strategically working with universities, research institutes, Internet Service Providers, Regional Internet Registries, government agencies, supranational agencies, industry, private foundations and non-governmental organizations, the NSRC helps develop national and regional Internet infrastructure for collaborative research, education, and international partnerships. The NSRC is partially funded by grant awards from U.S. National Science Foundation’s Office of Cyberinfrastructure and Office of International Science and Engineering Directorates, plus additional contributions from numerous other public and private organizations.
Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) East Africa Council Meeting – 07.03.2011.

Posted: March 8, 2011, 12:38 pm by Moses Kemibaro
I had the opportunity to attend the Mobile Marketing Association East Africa (MMA EA) Council meeting yesterday afternoon. The MMA EA is part of the global MMA which is the premier global non-profit trade association representing all players in the mobile marketing value chain.

The MMA has more than 700 member companies and is an action-oriented organization with global focus, regional actions and local relevance. The MMA’s primary focus is to establish mobile as an indispensable part of the marketing mix.

The MMA EA event was well attended by leading mobile marketing brands such as Google, InMobi, BuzzCity, MobilePlanet, Jinny Software, etc etc. It was NOT a Kenya event as there were many representatives from South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, the UK and others. MMA EA is being guided with support from the MMA SA (South Africa) which has become quite established and successful in that market.

The 5 building blocks of the MMA at a global level in terms of furthering the mobile marketing cause are as follows:
- Stimulate growth – 1) promote and 2) educate.
- Reduce friction – 3) measure, 4) guide and 5) protect.
In terms of the 5 building blocks, the following is the breakdown:
- Promote – focus is on events, publications, public relations, awards and partnerships.
- Educate – events, training and certification.
- Measure – web site, partner program and market data.
- Guide – to provide direction in how mobile marketing should be done based on best practices.
- Protect - consumers and MMA members.
Some of the advantages and benefits of MMA EA membership include access to MMA products and services, participation in MMA initiatives, promotion of member offerings, influence in the industry and within the MMA, as well as leadership in MMA committees, councils and boards.

MMA works on the basis of global reach and local relevance. In East Africa, MMA EA is looking at faster growth, greater global access, greater participation, promotion, influence, leadership and support of mobile marketing. Opportunities that exist for participation in MMA EA project groups, via membership, include advertising guidelines, education, networking, and public relations.

Key issues discussed for the MMA EA Council.
- Educating the market on mobile marketing pops and at the same time provide a directory of mobile marketing service providers. In addition, localize mobile marketing guidelines.
- Protecting the consumer in cases such as SMS fraud and other related areas. This could tarnish SMS marketing in general.
- East Africa does not have a PRSP association like WASPA in SA and as such the mobile network operators set the standards.
- Regulators can be an impediment by implementing regulations and policies sthat limit or stagnate the potential of mobile marketing in East Africa without consulting and involving stakeholders.
- Point made that NO local/regional mobile operators we’re present at the MMA EA Council meeting and yet they probably have the most influence with Regulators in the sector where mobile marketing is concerned. However, the Regulators and Government and mobile network operators have been invited to a roundtable session.
- The issues affecting mobile marketing are more or less the same throughout East Africa.
- Online forums and social networks very active at local council levels within the global MMA.
- Creating local case studies is a key part of public relations for MMA EA.
- Lack of research on mobile marketing data is a key issue. Its important as it forms the basis for market adoption.
- In South Africa they created a wiki of mobile web sites – this drove adoption of mobile marketing.
- How to run a mobile marketing campaign – the basics of what to do is key for success.
Airtel Kenya partners with Kenya Data Networks to roll out 3G network countrywide

Posted: March 8, 2011, 10:10 am by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Customers to enjoy faster Internet and data speeds across Kenya

Nairobi 7^th March 2011 – Airtel Kenya today entered into a partnership with Kenya Data Networks (KDN), a leading telecommunications infrastructure provider, to upgrade its transmission network in readiness for the launch of its third generation 3G HSPA network. Under the five year partnership, KDN will inter-link airtel sites through its extensive countrywide fibre optic network.

The improved 3G service will lead to increased mobile internet speeds for airtel mobile consumers. Both Corporate and Personal consumers will benefit from the increased speed and coverage. Customers will enjoy more multimedia applications and experience enhanced operation of existing applications, including real-time video conferencing. They will also download videos, images and music faster; besides accessing email, games and performing financial transactions faster.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, KDN Chief Executive Officer Mr. Rikus Matthyser said the contract was in line with KDN’s core objective of providing its clients with world class telecommunications infrastructure. “We take pride in the fact that our services positively impact the day-to-day operations of our clients and we remain committed to providing quality services through partnerships such as the one with airtel,” said Mr. Matthyser.

Airtel Kenya Managing Director Mr. Rene Meza said the infrastructural improvement would go a long way in improving the company’s data service experience for its customers and would strategically place the company in a favorable position to enhance its Share of Market in the Data Services sector. “Mobile broadband is a catalyst for economic growth and development and many of our customers will enjoy an improved online experience. This will further drive mobile penetration and accelerate the Internet and email access in Kenya in line with the Government goals in Vision 2030,” said Mr. Meza.

Airtel Kenya Managing Director Mr. Rene Meza (Left) and KDN Chief Executive Officer Mr. Rikus Matthyser (Right) sign an agreement to upgrade airtel's transmission network in readiness for the launch of its third generation 3G HSPA network. Under the five year partnership, KDN will inter-link Airtel sites through its extensive countrywide fibre optic network
Podcast on Mobile Money in Kenya with Kaj Hasselriis for Spark on CBC/Radio-Canada.

Posted: March 8, 2011, 8:59 am by Moses Kemibaro
Tags:

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster that delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, Internet, and satellite-based services globally. In February 2011, several of us we’re interviewed on the growth and success of Mobile Money in Kenya by Kaj Hasselriis for the CBC/Radio-Canada Show “Spark”. You can listen the podcast here>
Blogger with the dream to create Africa’s e-Bay version.

Posted: March 3, 2011, 11:13 am by Moses Kemibaro

This is an article of an interview I had on Dealfish East Africa that was featured in this week’s Monday edition of The Star Newspaper. You can read the same online here at The Star’s web site or you can download a PDF file of the interview here.
Intel Corporation to help Kenya transform the Education Sector.

Posted: March 2, 2011, 2:18 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Nairobi, Kenya – Intel Corporation, the Ministry of Education and various stake holders in the education, such as the Teachers Service Commission and CEMASTER, are coming together for an Intel education transformation workshop with the objective of promoting the transformation of the education system in Kenya to better prepare and equip the learners for the 21st century world realities.

According to Engineer Joseph Nsengimana, Intel Corporate Affairs and Strategic Alliance Director for Africa this workshop is another step in the growing collaboration between Intel and the Kenyan government. He added that this collaboration has already seen the launch of a teacher training programs that aims at training teachers throughout Kenya on how to use technology and to use it to teach as well as the global development alliances among Intel, USAID, Microsoft, Cisco, and the Kenyan government that established the Accelerated 21^st Century Education project which will create a one to one e-learning classrooms in 60 focus schools across Kenya.

“Intel Corporation is committed to the education worldwide, it the company’s firm belief that every learner deserves a quality education, one does prepares her or him to succeed. That is why Intel has invested over a billion of USD in the last decade, past decade in helping teachers to teach, students to learn and universities to innovate”, stated Eng. Nsengimana.

In his keynote while opening the workshop, the Ministry of Education, Prof.James Ole Kiyaipi stated that harnessing the combined potential of high speed connectivity and technology in the education sector; it will help the government achieve its objectives in the education sector in line with the economic blueprint – Vision 2030. “We have taken significant steps to transform our education system and make it responsive to job market dynamics through collaboration with specialists in the private sector like Intel Corporation. A solid education provides learners with the tools and knowledge to develop innovative ideas and gives them the foundation they need to succeed in life and to contribute to the development of their countries. It therefore becomes imperative for governments to find solutions that make education relevant, accessible, empowering and affordable.”

Mr. Omar Bajaber, Intel Kenya Country Manager indicated his pleasure in the increase collaboration with the MoE and indicated that “Intel’s partnership with the government is aimed at achieving better learning and skills development outcome through technology”..

About Intel and Intel World Ahead

Intel [NASDAQ: INTC], the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and http://blogs.intel.com.

Through its World Ahead Program, Intel strives to improve education, health care, entrepreneurship and government services in developing countries worldwide by accelerating access to computers, connectivity and localized Internet content. Additional information is available at www.intel.com/changingtheworld and www.intel.com/intel/worldahead/index.htm.
Kenya28Feb

Posted: February 25, 2011, 1:07 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Its almost the 28th of February 2011. This is a significant date based on some online discussions I have been following for the last month or so. On this date, which has been shortened to the acronym “Kenya28Feb“, the plan is for Kenyans nationwide to join together in unity. More specifically, according to the Kenya28Feb web site, at 1.00 pm, Kenyans will sing all three verses of the National Anthem. The event is quite unique in that its been largely formulated and driven through Internet media.

As of this writing though, the Kenya28Feb Facebook Page has 1,080 “likes” and the Kenya28 Twitter Account has 672 followers. These are pretty low numbers and I suspect that the awareness levels for Kenya28Feb are not high enough to make a big impact. However, it will be interesting to see how well this initiative performs as “flashmobs” of people sing the National Anthem all over the country.

For more information and details on Kenya28Feb, go to the web site at [www.28feb.co.ke].
Making a case for better customer data use in Kenya.

Posted: February 18, 2011, 3:21 pm by Moses Kemibaro

What a week! Its been a busy week with lots of meetings and all sorts of other things happening. I am really looking forward to the weekend! But, before I get there, I want to share a couple of interesting incidents that happened to me this week, which form the basis for this post.

The first incident involved me going to an express courier to send a document to an International destination. I had not used the said courier for probably as long as 5 years in a personal capacity. At sometime in the past, I had registered for their loyalty program for cash customers. Now, I had long lost their loyalty card for the same so they asked me for my first and last names. So, 5 years later, my details were still preserved in their databases. They were able to tell me the last time I transacted and how many points I had. I was a little astounded that they still had all of my information even though it was well over 5 years since I last interacted with them – I was impressed. Indeed, customer data does live on, even in Kenya.

The second incident involved going to a building I have not visited in few years for dinner. In this same building is a video library where I used to borrow movies every weekend, for a good number of years. Now, once again, its probably over 5 years since I used my account there and likewise I had long lost my membership card. However, I asked them to check for my membership details using my first and last name – well, voila! The details we’re still in their databases and better yet my account was still considered to be “active” – I could have borrowed a movie right there and then. They were even able to tell me the last movies I borrowed as well as the dates, and the “late” fee I was charged when I returned the movies.

As these two incidents illustrate, customer data is very much an area where businesses are paying attention to in Kenya. Using this customer data, even without a fully fledged Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, businesses in Kenya can retain customers and generate new business. However, its ironic in my case that none of these businesses ever called me or emailed me to find out why I had stopped using their services, even though they had this crucial data on me. What happened?! Is this to say that the data is simply for filing purposes and is not being used to enhance sales and service? Well, it would seem so in these two incidents. So, certainly, data for the sake of data is not enough for businesses in Kenya. Data needs to be leveraged as a strategic asset that can sustain and grow business for the long term.
Its the eyeballs, not the content, duh! :)

Posted: February 11, 2011, 5:03 pm by Moses Kemibaro

One of the things about working in technology like I do is that you learn change is the only constant. As a result, paradigm shifts in what was once tried and proven way of doing things is indeed the norm. Therefore, it came as a surprise this week when someone I know pretty well and whom I used to work with some years ago “swatted” a Facebook status update I made about content being in its “golden age” after the Huffington Post was acquired by AOL for a staggering US$ 315 Million. He started an “argument” with me of sorts where he asserted that its not about the content but rather its about the audience. I took offense to his harsh remarks on the whole issue and the conversation kept going till just yesterday. It finally dawned on me that we we’re both saying the same thing, but in different ways, and from different perspectives.

Let me use this blog as an example. Why do you come here? Why do you read what I am writing about? I am guessing (and hoping?) that you like what I have to write about, which is more often than not all about technology in Kenya, and sometimes the rest of Africa. Right? Yes? OK, assuming that this is indeed the reason, and lets say I wanted to monetize this blog for a living, would I be able to do so? I hope so, based on the assumption there would be enough to traffic to this blog (read: your eyeballs) to make it work. Now, take another perspective. The Huffington Post being bought for US$ 315 million by AOL. Its an eye popping amount of cash for what is essentially a souped up and diverse blog. Yes. A blog! With good content that’s updated regularly. But. That’s not really it. Is it? Really?

So, here comes the punch line. AOL did not buy a blog. No. They bought the eyeballs that gaze lovingly at the Huffington Post. Those millions and millions of eyeballs that in January 2011 amounted to 28 million – that’s more than half the population of Kenya – that’s loads and loads of people. For AOL, those 28 million eyeballs amount to a massive opportunity to sell more advertising and to also “own” them for the offerings they may want to sell them, long term. So. Really. Its not the content. Really. Its the eyeballs. Duh!

As everyone races for the content honeypot in Kenya and the rest of Africa, what they should really be thinking is do they have the ability to scale the way that the Huffington Post did to make a significant dent on the status quo? In this case, the Huffington Post grew organically (more or less with the occasional funding) to where it is today and they made US$ 30 million last year. They have an exceptionally good editorial approach that has endeared the eyeballs to them. When old school media is falling away they are only getting bigger and bigger (African media can you see whats coming? Change!). Good content always counts but its the eyeballs that matter most – that’s the value – that’s what AOL bought – Its a sweet deal for 28 million eyeballs!

Note: Thanks for stretching my thinking Ath – I needed that “content” reality check!
Dealfish.com, Africa’s online marketplace.

Posted: February 10, 2011, 6:05 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Dealfish Senior Management Team: Moses Kemibaro (Regional Manager, East Africa), Neil Schwartzman (General Manager, East and West Africa) Francis Ebuehi (Regional Manager, West Africa) and Jason Wilmans (Product Manager, East and West Africa)

Africa has a serious problem when it comes to e-commerce. Globally, e-commerce has been a reality for many businesses and of all sizes for over 15 years but in Africa we lag far behind. In many cases the reasons for this range from a lack of adequate credit card penetration, lacking (local) online payment processing gateways, inadequate e-legislation and poor e-literacy.

However, what is very apparent is that the shape and form that e-commerce will take in Africa will be quite different from what has happened globally. For one thing, its increasingly obvious that the rapid and massive uptake of mobile technology on the continent makes it the probable channel for e-commerce. In addition, mobile money, which has been remarkably successful in Kenya via Safaricom’s M-Pesa looks like it will be key for e-commerce to happen. Indeed, just yesterday, both Safaricom and Airtel launched VISA and Mastercard Debit Cards that both enable online transactions using mobile money.

So, here lies the caveat. Even as we move Africa towards an e-commerce society, the bigger question is are we ready for it? Its one thing to buy a book from Amazon.com but quite another to buy local goods and services over the Internet. In fact, even in Kenya where there are only a handful of web sites that let you pay online via mobile money or credit cards, users are usually quite reluctant to transact online due to fraud and security concerns – which ultimately defeats the whole purpose of e-commerce.

This brings me to the point of this blog post. At the end of day, even as we work furiously to make e-commerce a reality in Africa, the truth is at a larger level e-commerce has to go through stages before it is viable on a large scale. Trust has to be achieved, legislation has to be in place, consumers and businesses have to be educated. In its simplest form, having products and services online either on a basic web site or even a Facebook Page is a start. Considering that many individuals and businesses in Africa are NOT able to afford building their own web sites (especially those classified as small or micro enterprises), online marketplaces will serve as the entry point to e-commerce in Africa.

By definition, an online marketplace is simply a web site that brings buyers and sellers together to achieve transactions, either as individuals or businesses. Online marketplaces come in all shapes and sizes – from simple online variants of your classified listings in Newspapers to sophisticated and highly secure online platforms that handle millions of dollars worth of transactions daily (think eBay.com). Ultimately, the bottom-line is that a small hair salon or restaurant marketing their offerings on the Internet through an online marketplace is a compelling proposition.

This brings me to what I have been working on for the past 4 months or so, Dealfish.com. Dealfish is essentially what I have been describing above as online marketplace. I have been busy setting up and managing the East African aspect of what is essentially a Pan-African online marketplace. We are currently fully operational in Kenya and Nigeria, planning to expand gradually over the next few years. In Dealfish, what we are trying to achieve is a long-term solution that helps buyers and sellers of all sizes in Africa achieve trusted transactions online.

Dealfish is a brand of MIH Internet of South Africa, which in turn is owned by Naspers, the fifth largest media business in the world, as of this writing (you may know Naspers as the company behind Multichoice and DSTV). What are we doing at Dealfish is truly groundbreaking stuff. Our online marketplace has been designed to work on mobile phones, as well as computers. In Kenya, we have already achieved market leadership by having the largest number of classifieds listings. In addition, we have hired a team that is ensuring we have the most current listings for jobs, cars, real estate and everything else in between. In a nutshell, we are aiming to revolutionize trade on an Africa-wide level – for businesses and individuals – via the Internet. Its a grand vision! Its one we plan to achieve. Watch this space.
PodCast Interview with Symantec’s Kara Rawden & Nadia Hufkie.

Posted: February 10, 2011, 5:07 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Tags:

Kara Rawden and Nadia Hufkie of Symantec Corporation in Emerging Middle East and Africa (EMEA)

This is a PodCast of an interview I had during my lunch break today with Kara Rawden who is Symantec’s Senior Marketing Manager for Consumers in Middle East & Africa as well as Nadia Hufkie who is Director of Consumer Marketing for Symantec in Emerging Middle East & Africa.

The interview focused on what Symantec is doing in Kenya and the broader African Region – especially in the area of Cyber Threats facing consumers. Symantec was founded in 1982 and today is one of the undisputed global leaders for digital security, storage and systems management in all kinds of technologies. Symantec is operational in over 40 countries and has a workforce of 17,500. You can listen to the entire PodCast below:

PodCast Interview with Symantec’s Kara Rawden and Nadia Hufkie by Moses Kemibaro
Safaricom launches M-Pesa Prepay VISA Safari Card.

Posted: February 9, 2011, 1:19 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This is probably the best news in Kenya’s Internet space since the arrival of broadband! For the longest time, it has been largely a cumbersome and expensive process for Kenyan Internet users to buy products and services online. Usually, the process of doing so required you to have a bank account and a credit card which is out of the reach of many Kenyan’s, and not just the so called “unbanked”.

So, its come as a breath fresh air for many including me in the news today that Safaricom has launched an M-Pesa backed VISA debit card in Kenya. The Safaricom M-Pesa Prepay Visa Safari Card (that’s quite a mouthful by the way!) enables one to use their M-Pesa account to make purchases online as well as access over 28 million VISA outlets globally.

The new VISA card is available from Safaricom outlets nationwide and is being supported through a strategic partnership with I&M Bank. More information on the new Safari Card can be found on both the Safaricom and I&M Bank web sites.
InMobi appoints Isis Nyong’o as Africa Vice President and Managing Director

Posted: February 7, 2011, 1:21 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

Nairobi, February 7, 2011

InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network, today announced the appointment of Isis Nyong’o as Vice President and Managing Director, Africa. Isis has come on board to drive InMobi’s African business strategy, facilitating the expansion of the Company’s continental base. She takes over from Stephen Newton who recently left the Company to pursue other opportunities. Isis was previously leading Google’s business development initiatives in Africa, where she specialised in mobile partnerships and was responsible for the development of Google’s Africa content strategy .

“We are thrilled to have Isis join our team, especially at a time when InMobi is seeing such a huge increase in ad-impressions across its African businesses. With her wide sector and regional experience, Isis makes a valuable addition to the InMobi family and we look forward to having her on board during what we believe will be one of the most exciting periods in the history of Africa’s telecoms sector,” said Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO, InMobi.

“We thank Stephen for his contribution to InMobi’s regional success and wish him the best in his future endeavours,” Newaari added.

Speaking on her appointment Isis said, “A move to InMobi seemed a natural ‘next step’ for me. Firstly, because of the confidence I have in the organisation’s leadership team and secondly for the opportunity to build a scalable mobile business in Africa. This continent has the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world. If you combine this with the fact that more Africans access the Internet from mobiles than any other platform, it means the market for mobile advertising is set for strong levels of growth.”

Isis continued “The availability of local content for use on mobile platforms is still a challenge, but I am confident that we, in the mobile advertising industry, can and will succeed in fostering a stronger content development focus on the continent.”

Prior to her role at Google, Isis gained extensive media and tech experience while driving the launch of MTV Networks in Africa where she was responsible for commercial relationships including distribution and sales. She also developed the marketing strategy for Kenya’s first online recruitment service, MyJobsEye and holds degrees from Stanford University and Harvard Business School.

Isis has been named as one of the ‘Top 40 Women under 40′ in Kenya, where she will be based.

About InMobi

InMobi is the world’s largest independent global mobile advertising network. InMobi provides advertisers, developers, and publishers with a uniquely global mobile advertising solution. InMobi, which more than doubled its network in the first 6 months of 2010, delivers the unprecedented ability to reach 185 million consumers in over 115 countries through more than 21.2 billion mobile ad impressions monthly. Recently InMobi was selected to the 2010 AlwaysOn 250 as a company to watch in the global Silicon Valley.
Nairobi’s Urban Digital Divide, or, NUDD for short.

Posted: February 4, 2011, 7:31 pm by Moses Kemibaro

A large and dimly lit Cyber Cafe in downtown Nairobi

If your like me, and live and work in the largely nicer parts of Nairobi, its very easy to assume that your digital world is the same, or similar, to others in the city.

If your like me, chances are you hardly ever go into the more populated areas of Nairobi or “downtown” in the Central Business District (CBD) for that matter where a good number of people live, and work.

Well, to put it mildly, I had an eyeopener earlier this week to what I could only describe as Nairobi’s Urban Digital Divide, or, NUDD for short.

Street view, downtown Nairobi.

So, what exactly is NUDD? Well, its the idea I got in my head that we live in a city of digital “haves” and “have nots”. Basically, there are those who are digitally affluent and those who are not. Those who are affluent buy brand new smartphones and have “always on” Internet access at home and at work, plus a dongle for mobile Internet access. On the opposite end there are those for whom a grey market feature mobile handset and Cyber Cafes are the only way for them to be digital citizens in Nairobi.

In the context of this post, I want to illustrate the disparity that exists between Nairobi’s urban digital elite and urban digital constrained(?). There are two areas that come to mind for me, based on my excursion to downtown Nairobi – the mobile phone and Internet access.

Grey market mobile handsets in downtown Nairobi stalls.

Let me start off with the mobile phones. My trip showed me that although we keep talking about the massive numbers of mobile subscribers in Kenya, not all mobile subscribers are equal. I was surprised at the number of “grey market” mobiles being sold there under well-known brand names for prices that would only shock you. Cheap. Dirt cheap!

Most of these phones are cheap knock-offs from Asia that have features like analogue television and twin SIM cards (which have become more or less “de facto” for the middle class as they use different mobile networks based on their competitive rates for different services at different times of the day or month). These are the phones that a huge number of Wananchi (i.e. People) in Kenya actually buy and use. How good they are and whether they are durable is a question I cannot answer but they are selling like hot cakes.

Kes. 0.50 cents per minute for Cyber Cafe Internet time.

The second aspect of NUDD is that of Internet access where PC-based usage is concerned. In spite of the fact that there are now lots of inexpensive computers, new and used available in Kenya, as well as liberal “deals” on mobile internet dongles and financing, there are those who cannot afford them.

Therefore, what surprised me is how well the Cyber Cafes are doing in Nairobi’s downtown area of the CBD. I went to one that had over 220 terminals and it was quite busy when we got there. The set-up was fairly simple and the furniture truly basic but they charged only Kes. 0.50 per minute – that translates to Kes. 30.00 per hour. What?! Kes. 30.00 for a full hour of internet time? What?! I could not believe how cheap Internet access was in downtown Nairobi. Clearly, I was getting an education.

In concluding, even as we talk enthusiastically about how far Kenya has come digitally with broadband and mobile technologies, the truth is there definitely a divide as to how you live digitally in the same city, such as is the case with Nairobi. NUDD is very real and I am glad I got a chance to see how the other side of Nairobi gets online, and on mobile, everyday, and possibly, in the only way they can.
Google Insights for Search in Kenya show January 2011 a month of educational searches.

Posted: February 2, 2011, 2:29 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Press Release

New Form One selection policy springs “KCPE” to top list of fastest rising searches in Kenya.

The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) account for seven out of the 10 fastest rising searches made by Kenyan internet users, as revealed by Google Insights for Search in the month of January 2011.

Google has released its monthly search results using Google Insights, a tool that provides insights into Internet search trends, showing that exam-related searches were by far the most prominent in the list of fastest rising searches over the last 30 days.

The results reflect the concern over the new students selection policy recently introduced by the Ministry of Education, where the government secured more places in National schools for pupils from public primary schools. The new policy has seen 206,000 of the 746,107 pupils miss out on placement in High School.

Fastest Rising searches: Kenya last 30 days
1. kcpe 2010
2. kcpe 2010 results
3. knec results
4. www.knec.ac.ke
5. kcpe results
6. kcpe
7. knec
8. uniplus
9. helb
10. kenyan jobs
Featuring at the bottom of the list are searches for jobs and financial aid. ‘helb’, coming in ninth position, offers loans for higher education students, suggesting that the internet is increasingly used for financial aid applications, scholarship searches, and other activities.

Web Search Interest: Kenya Police.

Around the globe, there was an upsurge in the search term ‘Kenya Police’ after news broke out that their website had been hacked and then, a few weeks later, media reports that Kenyan Police had killed suspected robbers at point blank range. In the latter incident, the Internal Security Minister came to the defence of the robbers, provoking a public debate led by civil society.

Zeitgeist Explained

Google reveals the internet “Zeitgeist” (German for “the spirit of the times”) through an exploration of the billions of search queries we receive each year. We also have several tools that give insight into global, regional, past and present search trends. Google Zeitgeist tools can never be used to identify individual users because we rely on anonymized, aggregated counts of how often certain search queries occur over time. These tools are available year-round for you to play with, explore, and learn from. You can create your own lists and rankings on www.google.com/zeitgeist

About Google.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. For more information, visit [www.google.com] and our Google Africa Blog. You can also follow Google’s Africa team on Twitter: twitter.com/googleafrica
A review of the low-cost Huawei IDEOS Android from Safaricom

Posted: January 28, 2011, 6:02 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Back in September 2010 I did a blog post here about the global launch of the low-cost Huawei IDEOS smartphone. At the time, the main thing was that it was just being launched but there was already speculation that it would retail in Kenya for as little as Kes. 8,000.00. This was a major milestone at the time and the interest that the blog post drew was immense. In a nutshell, everyone was excited about the propsect of a truly affordable and cutting edge Android smartphone finding its way to Kenya.

Fast forward to January 2011 and the IDEOS was officially launched in Kenya by Safaricom. The most amazing thing was that the price as launched was Kes. 8,500.00 – only Kes. 500.00 more than what had been widely reported in September 2010. At the same time, apart of launching massive full page ads in the media, Safaricom has thrown in Kes. 1,000.00 of free airtime and 600 MB of data. It goes without saying that this smartphone is selling like hot cakes!

So, here’s the thing. For all the bright and shiny ads, as well as hype around the IDEOS is it worth buying? Yes. Its cheap, dirt cheap for a decent Android handset. However, if you have had a chance like I have to use a high end Android smartphone for several months, you would realize that all Androids are not equal. No, for the most part, the IDEOS lives up to hype with its broad range of features and functionality in a nice small package. But it will never be a Kes. 45,000.00 Android handset.

Apart from the IDEOS being the least expensive Android smartphone in Kenya, its much much better than many of the feature handsets that are still selling for more in the Kenyan marketplace. True, it will take time for the market to catch on but if global trends are anything to go buy the IDEOS is going to be the first of wave of inexpensive Android handsets coming to Africa this year. One brand that has dominated the African market including Kenya for years is Nokia and I am sure that the IDEOS has them working overtime.

So, rather than get into all the techie jargon of the pros and cons of buying an IDEOS smartphone, I would like to just say what I see as the things that matter for the average user in Kenya. I certainly see the IDEOS being the first smartphone that many mobile subscribers in Kenya will own and experience. For many of them, it will be like a whole new mobile world that has opened up when they get it. So, here we go:

PROS.
- Price is low. Very low for a smartphone.
- Has 3G, WIFI and Bluetooth network connectivity, meaning you can get online fast and wide.
- Can work as a WIFI hotspot for other devices – you can share your internet connection (ideal for a small office/home office).
- It comes with GPS and has a full touch screen (wow, in such a small package).
- Can take reasonably good pictures with its 3 megapixel camera.
- Allows you to access the full range of applications in the Google Android Market.
- It runs Android 2.2, also known as Froyo which is one of the newest versions available out there.
- Build quality for the price is remarkably good.
CONS.
- Limited storage space – you have to buy an extra Micro SD card to really store data. You will need to but one as on-board memory is small.
- The screen resolution is not high meaning its not quite as sharp as the new AMOLED screens out there on higher end Android smartphones.
- The screen size is also fairly small making it hard to navigate for those with larger fingers (like me?) on the touch screen.
- The processor on the IDEOS is not a very high specification meaning the speed with which it works makes it somewhat slower than what one would be used to on a higher end Android smartphone.
I can’t really say more than the above but on the overall the IDEOS is a good buy. However, just pay attention to the fact its an entry-level but well featured device that is just right for the mass market in Africa. I think the IDEOS will be known in a few years as the mobile device that ushered in the Android wave into Kenya.
Blog Post on .KE domains aftermarket featured in the Business Daily.

Posted: January 28, 2011, 5:09 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Earlier this month, I did a blog post on the rising interest in .KE domains by international domain name traders, or “domainers” for short, as well as what could be the early signs of an impending local .KE domain aftermarket. This blog post was reprinted in yesterday’s edition of the Business Daily Newspaper. For a read of the same, go here>
Nokia advocates for robust, industry-wide anti-counterfeit rules in Kenya

Posted: January 19, 2011, 6:06 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

Counterfeit mobile phones draining billions of shillings from Kenya’s economy

Nairobi, Kenya, January 18 2010: Kenya’s economy could be losing up to Shs 3.2 billion in taxes through influx of illegally-imported counterfeit mobile phones, denying the country significant economic benefits, a Nokia Anti-Counterfeiting expert has said.

Mr. Abdulla Hasayen, Brand Protection Manager for Middle East & Africa said high penetration of fake devices is negatively impacting on performance of operator networks and customer satisfaction, lowering operator profits and government tax income. He was speaking when he conducted training for officials from the Weights & Measures Department, the Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Anti-Counterfeit Agency. The training, which was attended by over 25 officials from the government departments, is a part of Nokia’s ongoing anti-counterfeit programme.

Mr. Hasayen said poor protection of intellectual property is making establishment and running of information and communication technology (ICT) companies conducting research and development significantly risky in Kenya.

“Fake devices are imported illegally without import duties or VAT paid. This creates a tax loss of between Shs 2.8 billion and Shs 3.2 billion (US$ 35-40 Million) annually for an average African country. Counterfeits are also undermining attractiveness of local economies because international companies direct their investments elsewhere to countries which can protect their Intellectual Property,” he said.

Counterfeiting is the illegal use of intellectual property rights including trademarks, patents, designs and copyrights. Globally, the spread of counterfeit products has increased in recent years due to the transfer of technology, ease of trade and export transactions through the internet, in addition to the recent economic crises.

“As a global company, Nokia takes a leadership position in offering genuine and quality products and partners with a broad network of organizations including the Coalition of Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) and International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC). We continue to advocate for legislation, regulation and enforcement of anti-counterfeit policies to protect the broader industry because we believe companies conducting genuine business should be supported in their operations,” said Mr Kenneth Oyolla, General Manager, Nokia, East and Southern Africa.

“Customer care and quality is important to Nokia and our advice is that customers should buy Nokia products from authorized distributors and retailers and ensure they get their 12-month warranty. And if a product is purchased from a location other than an authorized dealer then exercise extreme caution especially when the price is substantially less than being stated by Nokia authorized dealers,” said Mr. Oyolla.

Nokia is recommending a robust enforcement program, essential to protect legitimate businesses from counterfeiting. Mr Hasayen said the program should cover both shipments imported at border level and goods sold in the market.

“Brand owners should provide inspectors with regular product training on how to distinguish between fake and genuine products. This would enable them to flag or suspect a shipment. Different government departments should also collaborate to implement a proper enforcement program. A joint task force to manage the enforcement program would be a good option. This would help protect consumers and legitimate business and will create an attractive environment for foreign investment,” he said.

Mr. Hasayen noted that although Nokia is already co-operating with relevant government departments, an elaborate industry-wide program would help accelerate the elimination of the counterfeits in Kenya.

Mr. Hasayen said fake devices are not covered by warranty, resulting in poor consumer satisfaction and impacting negatively, particularly to low-income consumers.

Fake mobile phones are manufactured from sub-standard components containing dangerous chemicals including lead and mercury and do not follow safety standards such as radio emissions. They therefore endanger safety of consumers, said Mr. Hasayen.

It is estimated that counterfeiting and piracy cost G20 economies US$ 85 billion a year in lost taxes and higher spending on unemployment benefits. The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) has estimated that international counterfeit trade is worth $600 billion a year and makes up 5-7% of world trade.
Is Groupon Kenya just around the corner?

Posted: January 13, 2011, 5:13 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Its hard to ignore Groupon any longer as the next new new thing. Everywhere you turn for the last few months you cannot avoid the hype and interest in Groupon. First was the US$ 3 Billion offer that they spurned from Yahoo! Then came the overtures from Google that wanted to buy Groupon for US$ 6 Billion, which they graciously declined (really?!). Then, recently, they secured close to US$ 1 Billion in funding from all sorts of credible sources which goes to consolidate their reputation as the new new thing.

Yes, indeed, Groupon has been on a major roll and its white hot, not just in the US, but globally. Which bring me to the reason for this post. A couple of months ago I blogged here about the rising of several Groupon-like clones in Kenya. At the time, I suggested that all of them should consider banding together to consolidate their positions before Groupon swings into Kenya. In retrospect, it seems almost prophetic that I made that statement since news broke this week that Groupon had made acquisitions of similar clones in South Africa, India, and Israel. In fact, there are already rumors swirling online that Groupon are targeting Grop.ly in Nigeria.

Given that Groupon is already in the one major Internet and mobile market in Africa via South Africa, its only a matter of time before they make a move to Kenya and Nigeria. At this juncture, the major players of the Groupon clones in Kenya seem to be Zetu and Rupu. Between the two, its fairly evident one of them will possibly be acquired by Groupon. Given that Zetu has been around longer and seems to have the most deals to-date, I’m placing my bets with them. In addition, Zetu looks conspicuously similar (identical?) to Twangoo which was acquired by Groupon in South Africa.

In concluding, Groupon has global ambitions and has already started scaling into Africa. I am looking at them becoming not only the fastest growing Internet business in history, but they could eventually become the biggest company in the world – people do NOT give you US$ 1 Billion unless they are reasonably sure your worth it as is the case in Groupon. At the end of the day, everyone loves a great deal and that’s exactly what Groupon excels in, whether its in Chicago or Kogelo. The Groupon “clone wars” in Kenya would appear to be already over, even before they began.
Kenya is on the cusp of a local .KE domain aftermarket.

Posted: January 12, 2011, 9:07 am by Moses Kemibaro

I am prompted to write this post because of something that happened to me recently. One of the things I like to do on the side is buy and sell highly desirable and generic domain names. In this respect, until the past year or so, it was relatively easy to find and secure domain names within Kenya’s .KE name space. In fact, you could say it was more often than not you could pick any name of choice and you would find it, available, for registration. However, this trend is fast changing.

What happened to me earlier this week is something that should not have happened if it were not for my lack of attention to detail. I had secured several high quality domain names under the .KE space over the years. These domain names were quite clearly “to die for” in any context. However, being in Kenya, and waiting till the last minute to renew them, I was sure I could do so quite easily. This was not to happen. The domain names I had were snapped up within minutes of expiring by other parties. I lost ALL of them except one. It was a sobering moment!

Now, this sort of thing is not uncommon when your dealing with top level global domain names such as .COM or .NET. However, this is something unprecedented for Kenya since we are now seeing a shift to where .KE domain names not only have local but International appeal – the registrant who “grabbed” my expired .KE domain names is actually based in Seattle, USA. More specifically, Kenya is witnessing the arrival of an Internet entrepreneurial class known as “domainers”. Domainers, by simple definition, are people or organizations who professionally buy and sell domain names for profit.

Domainers look for domain names that usually have the potential for high Internet traffic, as well as high resale value. The domain names in question tend to be generic words which can be valuable for type-in traffic and for the dominant position they would have in any field due to their descriptive nature. Hence generic words and phrases such as poker, insurance, travel, sex and others are attractive targets for domainers.

Type-in traffic is a term describing visitors landing at a web site by entering a keyword or phrase with an extension such as .COM or .KE (with no spaces or a hyphen in place of a space) in the web browser’s address bar rather than following a hyperlink from another web page, using a browser bookmark, or a search-box search. Type-in traffic is a form of direct navigation. The amazing thing is that lots of people “assume” a web site for a brand or service in this manner which leads to lots of traffic for the domain name’s owner(s).

What domainers do once they have secured a high traffic domain is that they then use a service provider such as SEDO, Moniker or GoDaddy who helps them monetize the domain name through landing pages that have contextual links to services such as Google’s Adsense. In this manner, a domainer will make money every time someone clicks on one of the Google AdSense links on the landing page. There are domainers who make millions of dollars each year by having thousands of domain names in their portfolio that work in this manner.

In addition to making money through landing pages as described above, domainers will also tend to buy and sell domain names for profit. Case in point is domains like sex.com which in the past held the record for a US$ 13 Million! Imagine that for just a domain name! Domainers with the right domain names do indeed make a tidy profit buying and selling domain names which is why Kenya is now on the map.

Kenya currently has just over 15,000 domain names which is small compared to South Africa which has over 600,000 domain names. However, Kenya has a speculative 6 million Internet users and over 20 million mobile users as well. In addition, the landing of broadband over the last couple of years as well as the growth of local digital content initiatives all serve as catalysts for the domainers to check into this market at this juncture. It really is a gold rush of sorts and the early players will reap the biggest rewards.

Going forward, what is inevitable for Kenya which has not happened yet is what is called a domain aftermarket. In a nutshell, a domain aftermarket is a secondary market for Internet domain names in which a party interested in acquiring a domain that is already registered bids or negotiates a price to effect the transfer of registration from the registered holder of that domain name.

Domain aftermarkets are facilitated by service providers such as SEDO, GoDaddy and Moniker which provide communication methods for buyers and sellers to interact, often anonymously, to negotiate and close a transaction. They often provide additional services, such as financial escrow services and domain parking. It goes without saying that a local domain aftermarket should ideally happen in Kenya in 2011 for .KE domains. Clearly, there is a need and the demand is picking up already.
Talking Windows Phone 7 and Cloud Services with Microsoft’s Vincent Mugambi.

Posted: December 28, 2010, 9:51 am by Moses Kemibaro

Finally, the long awaited and much enjoyed Christmas Holidays are coming to an end. This is the first time I have fired up this trusty Macbook in a week or so which is amazing going by my “always online” standards. It was nice to be off-grid but the blogging must continue!

Vincent Mugambi of Microsoft

I managed to snag yet another interview with Microsoft last week when I spoke to Vincent Mugambi who is in charge of Applications and Developer initiatives in East Africa. Unfortunately, I was unable to do a video interview with Vincent as I did in the last one with Lorraine Maina so I ended up doing an audio interview.

However, in true Murphy’s Law fashion, what can go wrong did go wrong and I lost that file when backing up some data So, much of what is covered is here is from the notes I took (pen and paper still do work rather effectively in capturing key details in a world that has gone incredibly digital).

In a nutshell, Vincent and I had a chat about two key areas where Microsoft has big plans for the coming year. The first is the recently unveiled Microsoft Phone 7 which has yet to come to Kenya as the handsets are not available. The second is that of Microsoft Cloud online services. This is what we covered:

Microsoft Phone 7.

Microsoft Phone 7 smartphones will be in Kenya from around January 2010. The first smartphones to make it here will come from Samsung who now have handsets on practically every mobile OS including Symbian, Android and their own proprietary Bada mobile OS. A big push for Microsoft in East Africa will be to drive local content and applications on Windows Phone 7. Already, 25,000 trial licenses for the Software Development Kit (SDK) have been downloaded in Kenya by Application Developers even before the smartphones have arrived in Kenya.

In particular, Windows Phone 7 has been designed to be tightly integrated with existing Microsoft Applications and Cloud online services in a seamless. A big draw for Application Developers in East Africa is that the platform takes advantage of their existing Microsoft skills in areas such as .NET – porting Applications therefore is a synch.

Globally, over 1.5 Million Windows Phone 7 smartphones have been sold and there are close to 5000 Applications available in the Apps store already. Microsoft intends to create a “local” marketplace for Application Developers in East Africa so that publishing and monetizing Apps will be easy to do.

Windows Phone 7 is essentially a “reboot” of everything Microsoft had done on Mobile to-date that takes cognizance of the rise of Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS ala iPhone. Microsoft built Windows Phone 7 from scratch and looked to re-invent the Mobile OS experience to be different and productive.

A big part of the philosophy behind Windows Phone 7 is to get users to “get in and get out” of their smartphones quickly to do the things that need doing. Going by current global reviews of Windows Phone 7 smartphones, it looks like Microsoft has brought a big gun to the Android and iOS gunfight.

Other insights for East Africa from Vincent include that Microsoft plans to leverage the Cloud extensively and work closely with Application Developers to make Windows Phone 7 a major player in the region. They are holding workshops and other events to familiarize the market on Windows Phone 7. They also will be doing strategic partnerships going forward to drive Windows Phone 7 adoption at retail and business level.

According to Vincent, Microsoft clearly recognizes the significance of the mobile space in the region where there over 50 million mobile subscribers – many of whom may only access the internet and other applications via their mobile devices.

Microsoft Cloud Online Services.

Microsoft already has a strong base in the region of Independent Software Vendors (ISV) in East Africa. As a result of the rise of broadband in the region as well as the growth of mobile Internet, many of ISV’s are looking to Microsoft to build their next business opportunities.

More specifically, already, 7 of the East Africa ISV’s are already migrating their Enterprise focussed Applications to the Microsoft Cloud so that they can extend their business models to include Software as a Service (SaaS). This would enable them to make subscription income to supplement their current business.

On the issue of Microsoft VS Open Source, the truth is that this is a long standing issue for the region. Many Application Developers have gone the Open Source route instead of using Microsoft Developer Tools. However, Vincent was adamant that very few Software Development tools have the maturity, support and flexibility of Microsoft.

To this end, Vincent is tasked with engaging the Application Developer community in the region through various forums and initiatives to “bring them on-board” to Microsoft’s value proposition. One of these is the Microsoft Emerging Cup which recently was launched in Kenya. In addition, Microsoft has Enterprise Development Academies and an online .NET Community Group in East Africa. Not surprisingly, they also use social networks to engage Application Developers.

Microsoft’s Cloud online services will serve as a linchpin for East Africa in providing enterprise grade Application hosting and related services. Microsoft has invested significant resources globally to move Customers and Application Developers to the Cloud.

Vincent noted that this area has a great deal of strategic focus for them since improved regional bandwidth has made it a feasible for the market. One key issue is that new regulatory frameworks in the region requires that data of a sensitive nature stays “local” and as such Microsoft stands to gain in the process if it invests in “local” Cloud services.
HP and CHAI Improve Early HIV Detection Technologies for Kenyan Infants.

Posted: December 28, 2010, 8:44 am by Moses Kemibaro

Guest Post by Jack Lundee of Everything Left.

In Kenya, the HP technology stipulations include 5 HP data centers associated with 4 existing laboratories. According to HP, within their first year of operation, they are expected to process EID HIV test results for nearly 70,000 infants, as well as provide real-time medical data to health practitioners throughout Kenya.

The system also will extend to sustain Kenya’s Ministry of Public Health & Sanitation as it widens its efforts on preventative measures for PMTCT (Mother-to-Child Transmission) services to over 3,000 facilities during the next 2 years.

The efforts with CHAI and the Kenya Ministry of Health demonstrate the serious role technology can have in improving access to healthcare worldwide and driving positive change for millions of people. President and CEO of HP, Léo Apotheker states, “Technological innovation holds immense promise for addressing societal challenges,” said, president and chief executive officer, HP. ”

Backed by HP, a custom database application was created by students at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya. The database application will improve medical tracking and allow test results in real-time. Similarly, it will allow SMS/GSM-enabled printers to print results in real-time.

Ultimately, the database will streamline results across multiple data centers and forward them directly to the appropriate medical professionals.

The HP Office of Global Social Innovation has already finished the installation of two data centers in Nairobi at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the National AIDS/STI Control Program (NASCOP) headquarters.

Former President Clinton, who’s known for his great support of HIV/AIDS research in Sub-Saharan Africa has also partnered (CHAI) with HP via the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) and CHAI (as previously mentioned). Brainchild of the infamous personal aid Doug Band, The CGI is a collaborative unit of global leaders, nonprofit directors and government officials that convenes to “devise and implement” innovative solutions to “some of the world’s most pressing challenges.” This includes things like healthcare, green issues and global education. Both Doug Band and President Clinton plan to provide structural and systemic improvements in the way in which they treat and test infants in Kenya.
Motorola launches Backflip, Flipout and Milestone Android handsets in Kenya.

Posted: December 21, 2010, 1:47 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Motorola Backflip

I have been wondering when Motorola would finally launch some of their Android powered handsets in Kenya. Its now a well known fact that Motorola’s global turnaround of its mobile division has been largely due to its shift to Android as its main smartphone operating system. Therefore, it was inevitable that its handsets would eventually find their way to Kenya, especially after the likes of Huawei, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG all launched Android handsets this year.

Motrola Flipout

In a nutshell, the big news this week is that Motorola launched 3 Android handsets. These are the Flipout, Backflip and Milestone Models. As far as media is concerned, no pricing is provided except for the Backflip which is being retailed with Orange at Kes. 24,999.00. The handsets are available at all major retail outlets.

Motorola’s handsets mean that there are now a total of approximately 12 Android handsets available in Kenya to-date, from zero at the beginning of the year – this is impressive!

Considering that Android smartphones are becoming increasingly popular globally, and low-cost models are now available for as little as Kes. 13,000.00 in Kenya, its only a matter of time before they go mainstream in the marketplace. This is a good thing for budding mobile application developers as they can start building local applications that would appeal to Android users.

Motorola Milestone
Facebook cracks 1 million users in Kenya.

Posted: December 16, 2010, 6:25 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Its no coincidence that I am doing a post on Facebook in Kenya today. No. Not at all. In fact, unless you have been off the news this week, and under a fairly large rock, the biggest news of the week is that Mark Zuckerburg, that 6.5 Billion Dollar “Techie” behind 550+ million user Facebook won the Time Person of Year for 2010.

I have to admit I was a little surprised but then again when a 12th of Humanity uses your web site and spend over 500 billion minutes on it per month, you do have that sort of once-in-a-lifetime significance. I really really thought that Julian Assange of Wikileaks fame (and now a sex scandal for which he was recently arrested) would win it, if not the Chilean Miners.

So, back to the topic at hand. Just how popular is Facebook in Kenya, lately? In July 2010, I did a post on this blog when Facebook had reached around 800,000 users in Kenya, which was quite a monumental feat, at the time. However, since then, four months on, Facebook now has just over 1 million users in Kenya, and firmly growing.

Yes, Facebook is certainly becoming Kenya’s fastest growing virtual city, full of pokes, farms, status updates and mafia wars. If anyone ever said that Facebook was trivial and a waste of time, even Kenyans are now proving you are more than slightly wrong, if not seriously misinformed. Its a big deal, by any measure offline and online.

As in the last post I did on Facebook’s popularity in Kenya back in July 2010, the numbers do paint an interesting picture for all to see. Some of the key highlights for Kenya on Facebook that should make any marketer salivate are as follows:
- Total Facebook Users: 1,005,400
- Penetration of population: 2.51%
- Position in the global country ranking: 67.
- Penetration of online population in Kenya: 25.16%
- Average CPC (Cost Per Click): US$ 0.33
- Average CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions): US$0.15
The statistics as usual may be slightly off but consider that the cost of reaching 1000 user impressions is less than Kes. 10.00 and each click per ad is less than Kes. 20.00. Very few media, online or offline, can give you this kind of reach which can be super targetted using all sorts of variables. Other additional statistics for Facebook in Kenya are as follows:

Facebook Kenya Usage By Age Distribution.
- 13-15: 2%
- 16-17: 4%
- 18-24: 43%
- 25-34: 36%
- 35-44: 9%
- 45-54: 2%
- 55-64: 1%
- 65+: 2%
In addition to the above spread across the age groups, the gender split in Kenya is Male 63% and Female 37%. As for age growth, the group of 18-24 accounted for the bulk of the over 200,000 users who joined between July and December 2010 followed by the 25-34 and then the 35-44 groups. For the full report on Facebook in Kenya including graphs go to Socialbakers here>
Nokia gets into the Christmas season with Ovi Christmas Apps.

Posted: December 16, 2010, 3:10 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

Nairobi, Kenya, 15 December 2010: There is no denying that the party season is just around the corner – decorations are starting to pop up, the gift-shopping craze is in the air and holiday jingles are playing on the radio. Whatever the occasion use your favourite Nokia device and the apps offered by Ovi, to fully-embrace that party spirit and stay connected to the world around you.

“Nokia Ovi Store has lined up a royal cracker of a season of goodwill with some of the best Christmas-themed apps for all Nokia users. This is a special time to make merry and share good times with loved ones and these apps will offer the best experience ever,” said Dorothy Ooko, Communications Manager, Nokia East and Southern Africa.

“These apps on the Ovi Store this year also support a wider range of devices including both touch and non-touch Nokia devices and we believe this will make the experience even better. We are delighted to offer these specific applications during this Christmas period,” said Ms Ooko.

So which ones will you be downloading on your Nokia smartphone? After all three million people will access the Ovi Store today, so why be the odd one out? So before you head out for the Christmas party time, check some of these apps out:

Xmas Candy App

The Xmas Candy app is a fun game that everyone can play. It features some all-time favourite candies including candy canes, candy apple, liquorice, among others. To score points, one needs to link up three or more identical types of candies together to collect them but to move from one level to the next one needs liquorice candies.

One thing to look out for is the Greedy Elves; Santa’s helpers have not been good this year and will try and take your candy from you- especially the liquorice. The Xmas Candy app is wonderful game that you can enjoy, whether playing alone or with friends and family.

For the candy lovers, once you play this game all you’ll want to do is go out and buy some candy and if you have children you are assured you will not be booking any appointments to the dentist!

Xmas Carols Lite (Compatible with Nokia E72)

It’s time for Celebration! Spread a little joy by singing this Xmas! ‘Xmas Carols’ brings you the collection of the most melodious & loved Christmas Carols in the world on your mobile phones. Don’t let the network connectivity pop-ups annoy your experience. Make sure you follow these simple settings. (Settings > Application Mgr > Installed Apps > Xmas Carols > Options > Suite Settings > Network Access=Always Allowed.)

King of Xmas 3D

Could you be the best Santa of this year? Enjoy the crazy ride down the slope in marvelous 3D graphics with touch or motion controls (motion controls are supported by all touchscreen phones except Nokia 5800). Upload your score and compare your Santa qualities with other Santas from all over the world. Compete with your friends in Bluetooth multi-player. Game contains short in-game ads provided by Inneractive and requires data connection. Ad-free version is also available in OVI store.

Mistletoe (Compatible with Nokia 5800)

Never miss an opportunity for a Christmas kiss with this handy sprig of mistletoe on your phone. Hold it above your head, close your eyes and pucker up! You can even keep count of your kisses with this great app. Please note: Installation to F: drive will not work.

Season’s Greetings Ringtone

Download and personalize your Nokia with the official Nokia Season’s Greetings Ringtone 2009 Send your own Season’s Greetings from [www.nokia.com].
Virtual City wins another Global Award in Abu Dhabi

Posted: December 9, 2010, 2:39 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release

NAIROBI December 8, 2010 – Virtual City – a homegrown technology solutions company has bagged yet another global award for its prowess in innovation.

This time – the recognition was based on one of its Mobile Applications dubbed Agrimanagr – an application that allows users to manage agricultural processes using mobile phones.

The World Summit Award (WSA) on Mobile content 2010 was presented to the company’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Silas Macharia in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday 8th December 2010

Speaking during the award ceremony, Mr. Macharia said: “We are happy to win this award today because it reinforces our quest to lead in providing mobile content that will help many generations and impact on people lives positively.”

“As Virtual City, we are constantly innovating solutions that will simplify people’s lives and in turn change the way human beings relate with technology”, Mr. Macharia added.

The award comes only two months after the company won a one – million dollar (equivalent of Ksh80 Million) global award in the Nokia Growth Economy Venture Challenge held in the United Kingdom.

The WSA on the other hand seeks to reward, with international Recognition, excellent mobile content developers in eight categories namely: m-Business and Commerce; m-Government and Participation; M-Learning and Education; m-Entertainment and Lifestyle; m-Tourism and Culture; m-Media and News; m-Environment and Health and m – Inclusion and Empowerment.

Virtual City had submitted its Agrimanagr Solution under the category of m-Health and Environment, which emerged the best and consequently awarded the Outstanding Regional Achievement Award for 2010 at the Winners Gala, Conference and Expo held in Abu Dhabi.
The WSA Gala celebration was the highlight of the entire WSA mobile process for 2010 and it was held to honor excellence in m-Content and innovative application creation.

The Award Ceremony, which was hosted by the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC) brought together participants from 6 global regions of the e and m-content industry; namely: Europe, North America and Oceania, Latin America, Asia, Arab countries and Africa. There were 40 winners in total in the 8 categories from all over the world.

This second win by the 10-year-old Virtual City is likely to add impetus on the mobile innovations in the country even as technology continues to gain popularity among Kenyan firms; which are now being recognized internationally as leaders in innovation.

Remarking on the achievement, Virtual City CEO John Waibochi said: “the future of Africa lies in technological innovation and this is where our energies need to be redirected.”
Interview with Lorraine Maina of Microsoft East and Southern Africa on Open Day.

Posted: December 6, 2010, 3:15 pm by Moses Kemibaro
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.
Interview with Lorraine Maina of Microsoft East and Southern Africa. from Moses Kemibaro on Vimeo.
A talk by Paul English of Kayak.com in Nairobi, Kenya.

Posted: December 5, 2010, 5:46 pm by Moses Kemibaro

In the early part of last week, I had the opportunity to attend a talk by Paul English at the Norfork Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. I have to confess that I had never heard of Paul English until the previous week when Paul Kukubo of the Kenya ICT Board prompted me to make it for the talk which was to happen at the Norfolk Hotel.

Paul English, by the way, happens to be a co-founder and CTO of Kayak.com, a leading global travel search engine that helps consumers find the best travel deals from hundreds of travel service providers online. Apart from being quite successful and serving millions of customers a month (with a team of only 100!), Kayak.com has to-date raised in US$ 230 million in funding, which is impressive by any measure.

Paul English was in Kenya primarily as part of the JoinAfrica.org initiative. JoinAfrica.org is a bold project to explore the creation of two tiers of wifi access in Africa, the first one being a “text-only” low bandwidth solution that is free, and the second tier being paid access to the full internet. The second tier will be owned by African entrepreneurs.

To achieve the goals of JoinAfrica.org, Paul English is also working with the FabLab in Nairobi which is a joint initiative with MIT of the US to develop technology that would be deployed in the field and be low-cost yet durable and appropriate for Africa. You can see below one of the WIFI prototypes developed by the FabLab (yes, that’s a wood frame, and wire mesh, and it works!)

As it turned out, courtesy of our legendary Nairobi traffic, I got to the talk late but I did manage to glean some nuggets of wisdom that Paul English spoke about with regards to innovation, entrepreneurship and of course Kayak.com. I found Paul English to be remarkably pragmatic and he exudes the hallmarks of a seasoned business leader – there was no fluff about the guy – he was all authentic about how to get results as a tech innovator and a business.

Paul talked about his philosophy of employees first, customers second. On first hearing Paul make this statement I was surprised since everyone and/or business usually works on customer first and everything else second. The truth is, according to Paul, if you mess up where employees are concerned then ultimately the customer will suffer, as will the business and therefore the bottom-line.

Therefore, through all his days and times at Kayak.com, and other businesses such as Intuit, Paul has always been fanatical about getting the best people to be on his teams. A case in point is that on his way to Nairobi he took two redeye flights via London so that he could meet a prospective employee. Such is his focus in getting the best talent on-board.

Another idea that caught my attention from hearing Paul talk is how obsessive he is about customer service. For instance, he has put a bright red (and retro rotary dial) phone in the middle of his tech teams’ department at Kayak.com. The idea is that if a customer calls its so loud and irritating for them that someone has to pick it up, and solve the problem. In fact, he races to pick up the phone first even though he is the CTO at Kayak.com – imagine that! I’d love to see the same fervor for customer service in lots of leading Kenyan companies.

On innovation, Paul said that you need to build your products and services incrementally so that over time you will have the best offerings in the marketplace. More specifically, he also said its important to aim for your offerings to be significantly more innovative than the competition. He cited the example of saying that if customers try your product or service and simply send an email to friends and family to try it then its not good enough. He says it should be so good that they call friends and family right there and then to ask them to try it out.

There is not much more I can say here about Paul English but the Internet is teeming with lots of content about him and Kayak.com. He is an inspiration without a doubt for tech professionals and entrepreneurs in Kenya and the greater African continent. One of the things I loved about his demeanor is how candid and straight to the point he was at the talk - he is a battle hardened tech head! Finally, you know Kenya has arrived on the global tech map when the likes of Paul English take time to come to Kenya to help things get better.
Developing an Innovative Ecosystem in Africa.

Posted: November 30, 2010, 1:11 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Press Release.

The First-Ever Open Innovation Africa Summit (OIAS)

Naivasha, Kenya: November 29, 2010… Will Africa be the next global success story in innovation? This is the question that over 200 selected thought leaders from 25 countries across the world are gathered in Kenya’s Rift Valley to address. The aim of the first-ever Open Innovation Africa Summit (OIAS) is to stimulate critical thinking about the role of innovation in sustainable socio-economic development and to contribute to creating a conducive environment for innovative entrepreneurial activity in Africa. The Summit intends to generate actionable ideas and recommendations for the gathered public policy specialists, researchers, entrepreneurs, ICT experts and financiers to take forward in their respective contexts for positive social impact.

The Summit is designed as a unique, three-day dialogue of critical minds and change agents intended to contribute to external dialogue and action on social innovation at the bottom of the economic pyramid. So far, delegates have identified a number of key issues for in-depth discussion including the need to create sustainable systems in the knowledge economy, heightened focus on research and development capacity building, and the role of broader local, regional and international partnerships among all stakeholders as basic steps to catalyze new, demand-driven innovations to improve the quality of life in Africa. Delegates have also highlighted the role of government in creating an enabling environment to foster innovation, ensuring continuity and predictability at the public institution level for continued knowledge development.

Technology Platforms: leveraging technology to deliver public and private services to the underserved is one of the key themes for discussion at the Summit. This dialogue will be taking place alongside three others on:
- African Innovation Ecosystem: enabling innovation for sustainable socio-economic development
- Emerging Business Models for Serving the Poor: building African success stories
- Human Capital – Education for All: developing skills using technology
Considering that Africa has the highest penetration growth rate for mobile phones in the world, the role of mobile technology in building an information ecosystem will also be central in discussions at the Summit.

Currently, many countries in Africa are enjoying improved economic growth with some countries achieving as much as 12% GDP growth annually. There is increased investment and an increasingly attractive business environment. The completion and operation of many submarine fibre optic cables linking Africa to the rest of the world has made more bandwidth available at significantly reduced prices making information more accessible to many more people. This also presents a valuable opportunity for young people to be heard and participate in development through information and ideas-sharing and entrepreneurship.

Still, some key considerations remain in order to achieve a robust information society and knowledge economy; content and human capital issues need to be addressed. Ensuring an enabling environment is pivotal to harnessing the power of innovations and developing a culture of technological entrepreneurship. Africa must also harness the immense human capital that it boasts. This is another key discussion point for the Summit. In many ways, the situation in this area is grim – currently, 32 million children in Africa are out of school and 59% will never get the chance to enrol. Africa needs about 2.4 million teachers by 2015 and there is need to bridge the huge teachers’ training gap through innovative learning methods. This is in keeping with the global “Education for All” goals.

Innovation entrepreneurship in Africa can flourish where there is emphasis on monitoring, evaluation and learning and the roles of the various players are recognised.

Delegates are expected to put forward proposals on “making it easy for innovators to get into the ecosystem” and sustainable market enterprises that offer social solutions.
Airtel Kenya hits the ground running with new number range.

Posted: November 29, 2010, 11:15 am by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

Monday 29/11…Exactly a week after the launch of the Airtel Brand in Kenya, the local mobile services provider has literally hit the ground running with the release of an extra 2.5million lines covering five number prefixes.

Launched just last week globally, the new Airtel brand comes with a promise to meet the emerging needs of customers with innovative, affordable and relevant solutions to empower consumers, giving them the freedom to do what they choose and provide them with the tools to meet life’s daily challenges.

And in what is being billed as a clear indication of the firm’s bid to further raise completion in the mobile market, Airtel Kenya has now unveiled new mobile number prefixes in the range of 0739, 0786, 0787, 0788 and 0789.

Speaking when he confirmed the release of the new number ranges, Airtel Kenya Managing Director Rene Meza confirmed that increased demand for Airtel Kenya lines in the market in recent days had necessitated the release of the new prefixes.

Recent network upgrade works had also facilitated the unveiling of the new prefixes, with the company now confirming its capacity to handle increased traffic on its network. “At Airtel Kenya, we are walking the talk as we seek to ensure that Kenyans feel free to talk at the most affordable rates and the release of these numbers is a further confirmation of the swelling demand for our network services across the country,” Meza said.

And added: “in anticipation of a spike in Airtel Kenya services, we have just completed the first phase of our network optimization project to enable us sufficiently absorb the growing number of subscribers”. The release of the new numbers to the market will complement the existing range of 0731, 0732, 0734, 0735, 0736, 0737, and 0738 number ranges.

Locally, Airtel Kenya has also announced the launch of a new ultra low cost handset package which effectively provides a mobile phone free of charge to all new subscribers. The package, launched in conjunction with Nokia, will be priced at Kshs 1850 and includes a brand new Nokia 1280 mobile phone, a free SIM card and the equivalent value in free Airtel talk time and SMS text messages.

The offer now available at all Airtel Kenya dealer outlets, Meza said, is geared at connecting unconnected Kenyans and will also allow the new Airtel subscribers to enjoy an equivalent amount in free talk time over the first 12 month period once they load any amount of Airtel credit to the SIM card.

“We’re driven by the vision of making mobile communications affordable and available for all. Access to mobile communications will give people the freedom to achieve their goals in life, transforming how people communicate and how communities interact.

And added: “Delivering on that opportunity through affordable and available mobile communications for everyone is our focus and this new Airtel package effectively removes the cost of entry for even the poorest people in the most remote areas.”

Airtel is partnering with world class telecommunications infrastructure suppliers to extend its networks to rural areas which are at present disconnected from the world and ensure that Airtel has the best quality network in Kenya.

About Airtel in Africa

Airtel is the new brand name for the 16 Zain operations across Africa which were acquired by Airtel International in June 2010. Airtel is driven by the vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all. Airtel has African operations in: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Airtel International is a Bharti Airtel company. For more information, please visit www.airtel.com
Nokia’s Ovi Store offers great apps for learning in Kenya.

Posted: November 26, 2010, 5:08 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

Nairobi, Kenya, 25 November 2010: Nokia’s Ovi Store is enhancing learning possibilities for Kenyans by expanding their knowledge through a set of applications on the Ovi Store that enables them to improve their know-how. With more young Kenyans in educational institutions and workplaces willing to learn more on mobile phone, Nokia is offering a great opportunity to meet the growing demand in content.

Dorothy Ooko, Communications Manager East & Southern Africa says the growth in the number of applications by Kenyan developers is poised to broaden relevant content for Kenyans in various areas in which Nokia users can access even more localized information. “The mobile phone has proven to be the most popular way to access the internet in Kenya and Nokia is proud to be empowering its’ users with these apps for learning,” said Ms Ooko.

Ms Ooko said the number of apps on Nokia’s Ovi Store have grown by 1400 percent to reach 30 from April to October 2010, indicating new interest and growth of the developers’ community. She added that the Ovi Store has potential to reach over 60 million Nokia devices users globally, and is expected to reach up to 300 million consumers by 2012. This will make it the world’s largest media network.

“Downloads on Ovi Store are on a strong rise driven by new applications and games from a growing number of partners and more than 250,000 new consumers signing up for Ovi every day. We have a fast-growing number of Kenyans downloading these apps, in keeping with the global trend. We see this growth expanding even more especially in education and entertainment as we head to the festivities,” said Ms Ooko.

Last week, Nokia announced that Ovi Store has reached 3 million downloads per day and 92 developers each topped the 1 million download mark. Additionally, Nokia is gaining significant software developer momentum, with more than 400,000 new developers joining Forum Nokia in the past 12 months.

Some of the notable education apps in the Ovi Store include;

Dictionary & Translation Pro

Dictionary & Translation Pro offers easy one-touch access to an extensive online English dictionary, thesaurus, and translation service supporting a wide set of languages including Hindi, Arabic, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and many more. The online dictionary features nearly two million words and is constantly updated by a community of language professionals. With Dictionary and Translation Pro you will never be lost for words.

Language Coach

Want to learn English words the easy way? Have fun with Language Coach while you learn common English words. Track your score and see how youre improving your skills.

Learn Science

Learn Science make your children be aware of basic science around him/her. This will make children to learn and experiment with science

IQ Lite

There is a scientifically proven method to increase the IQ. This application contains a brain training exercise known as a Dual N-Back task. According to Swiss researchers, it increases your intelligence in 19 days. The articles about this exercise were published in both scientific and popular journals. Lite version: only the easiest level. The full version is not free, but it could be viewed as an investment as IQ and income are correlated.

Multi Translate

Multi Translate enables you translate words and sentences confidently & easily by Google Translate. How to use? Select input language and target language, then input your original content, then the app will send the request via Internet connection smoothly, it’s this easy! You can set it in homescreen widget or short cut icon for easy access.

Amazing Facts

This application is all about the most amazing crazy fascinating facts and interesting stories about people places history and things.

PhraseBook 18 in 1 Lite

PhraseBook turns your phone into your own personal interpreter, which lets you communicate with the locals without any previous language skills. The following source languages are available for selection: English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, Polish, Spanish, Slovakian, Hungarian, Greek, Turkish, Czech.

About Nokia

At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.
An interview with Joshua Mwaniki of Mocality.

Posted: November 26, 2010, 4:28 pm by Moses Kemibaro

This blog post features a follow-up video interview I had earlier this week with Joshua Mwaniki, the Country Manager for Mocality which is an online and mobile web business directory. I had the opportunity to interview Joshua back in May 2010 together with the Mocality’s CEO Stefan Magdalinski who works out of Cape Town, South Africa – you can read the blog post for the same here>

Mocality has grown significantly over the last six months or so and currently has over 70,000 Nairobi businesses listed. This is no mean feat considering that even Nyama Choma businesses are listed as well! Its truly about getting all businesses listed including very small businesses that makes Mocality such a large and in-depth business directory.

As blogged here in May 2010, Mocality uses an innovative crowd sourcing model to obtain its listings through Mocality Agents and in the field. Mocality Agents are armed with mobile web enabled handsets to collect accurate business listings which are then verified. In addition, Mocality also geo-codes businesses so that they have accurate GPS coordinates. Mocality Agents are also paid via Safaricom’s M-Pesa mobile money service which makes payments efficient and effective.

In December 2010, Mocality is expanding its businesses listings from just Nairobi to Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city. Thereafter, they have plans of expanding throughout Kenya and to the rest of the African Continent. Below is the full interview with Joshua.
Deacons Kenya invests Kes. 35 million in a new ERP system ahead of store roll-out programme.

Posted: November 25, 2010, 2:02 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

Nairobi, Kenya, November 25, 2010: Leading lifestyle retailer Deacons Kenya Limited has invested Kshs 36 Million (USD 448,000) in a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The ERP solution, dubbed Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5 integrated with LS Retail, is aimed at linking different business
processes by correlating information from various functions and using it to run the whole business more smoothly.

The final phase of the ERP implementation process is slated to be commissioned by January 2011 offering the company flexibility to support the varied needs of multi-brand and multi-locational business, regardless of size, location, or type of business. Deacons Chief Executive Mr. Muchiri Wahome said: “We expect that the new system will enable us to further improve workflow efficiencies for financial consolidation, give clear business insight with integrated analytics and offer efficient means of exchanging data from various divisions. This way, we will be able to respond more proactively to ever changing business conditions.”

The planned expansion of Deacons within the region necessitated the investment into the new ERP platform. Mr. Muchiri said the new ERP will help in the management decision-making process in the company. He said the system will even more crucially help in effectively managing inventory levels, warehouse space and processes – an important element of Deacons whose business involves storage and movement of goods across its current 23 stores in East Africa.

“The ERP Solution will potentially help us operate a lot more effectively and efficiently in a business like ours. It will now be much easier, for instance, to monitor profitability per division and track performances per brand. More importantly, we will be able to have comprehensive, up-to-date financial information making it easier to spot trends and gain insight into our business activities,” said Mr. Alfred Kithusi, the Group Operations Director. He added that Deacons will in addition be able to control and manage the entire life cycle of fixed assets from acquisition to disposal and therefore help deliver improved supply chain management.

Deacons ICT manager, Ismael Omol commented: “the ERP solution will cover all brands managed by Deacons, and to ensure successful implementation, the users underwent rigorous training by the system implementers. During the training sessions the staff had access to user manuals, in addition to a fully set up training laboratory for their practice sessions.”

Deacons announced that it is seeking KES 800 million in new capital last week through a public offer to help fund its expansion strategy in East Africa. The ERP is a part of wide-ranging changes and is intended to handle business expansion and store footprint management.
Craft Silicon launches New Banking Solution and Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Posted: November 25, 2010, 1:48 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

November 24, 2010: Craft Silicon, a leading software solutions provider in Africa and beyond has launched a new banking solution ELMA as well as opened its new state of the art office complex in Westlands, Nairobi. The office, which will also act as the headquarters of the financial solutions provider, was officially opened by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Technology, Dr. Bitange Ndemo today.

Craft Silicon has grown over the last decade to become a force to reckon with regionally in the development and implementation of financial institutions around Africa. Key among its clientele are the Equatorial Commercial Bank, Jamii Bora Bank, Nakumatt Holdings Limited and Safaricom Limited in Kenya as well as Fullerton India Credit Company Limited, Dar es Salaam Community Bank and First Bank Nigeria (FBN) Microfinance Limited in other regions around Africa as well as beyond. The company’s growth can be attributed to its simple mission of ‘thinking differently’, that has helped it raise the bar in the provision of financial IT solutions.

“We have a clear vision of revolutionising the functioning of financial institutions and organisations. We see ourselves as a key player in our clients’ success and aim to leverage our expertise and thinking abilities for many years to come. This has seen us remain at the forefront of new product development to meet the dynamic and growing needs of our clients, hence the launch of this new mobile banking solution ELMA,” said Mr. Kamal Budhabatti, the company’s CEO.

ELMA is a lifestyle product that enables the user to carry out financial and non-financial transactions at a cheaper price than existing similar products in the market. This new product allows one to pay bills, buy airtime, transfer money as well as make stock exchange transactions.

The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance Mr Joseph Kinyua toured the office complex earlier in the day, as part of precursor events to the launch of the offices.

Notable attendees at the opening ceremony itself were Eng. James Rege, MP for karachuonyo, Mugo Kibati, the CEO of Kenya’s Vision 2030, Dr. Manu Chandaria, and a host of other corporate and financial institution executives from companies that use Craft Silicon’s business solutions.

Ms. Lisa Mucheru-Wisner, one of the four finalists in the latest season of the Apprentice reality TV show, who has partnered with the Craft Silicon Foundation to steer various charitable projects in Kenya, also attended the launch. She had flagged off the ‘Craft Silicon Foundation ICT Bus’ earlier in the week to two schools in Kibera and Ongata Rongai, who are beneficiaries of the joint partnership. The ICT bus has over the years provided free ICT training in Mathare, Kangemi, Huruma, and Kibera and helped the trainees to find jobs.

According to Mr. Kamal, the new offices, which consist of a gym, swimming pool, sports centre, executive lounge, a roof-top staff restaurant and modern open plan offices, “have been built with our staff in mind, whom we take to be our key resource in the success of the company. I believe the new ambience will help build their levels of productivity and creativity of our staff whose job demands a lot of mental energy as we take Craft Silicon to the next frontier.“
State of the Kenyan Mobile Web: October 2010.

Posted: November 25, 2010, 12:55 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Once again, Opera have released their latest State of the Mobile Web (SMW) report, and this time for October 2010. The latest SMW report has a broad range of usage statistics but, as always, what really interests me for this blog is the SMW for Kenya.

Since the last two reports, when Kenya had (initially) cracked the global top ten on the mobile web and even overtook Nigeria (albeit briefly). Since then, Kenya has lost a few positions and now sits in the top 20 which is still indicative of its leading mobile web credentials in Africa, and the rest of the world. In addition, Nigeria raced back into the top ten where South Africa has always been present from the continent.

Opera Mini continues to gain global appeal as a leading mobile web browser and is now also available on Apple’s iPhone as well as Google Android powered handsets. Opera Mini is hugely popular since it compresses “heavy” web content on Opera’s servers before it delivering it to mobile handsets as “light” and mobile web friendly content. In some cases, as much 90% of data can be compressed meaning sites can be loaded quickly, even if they NOT mobile web optimized. In addition, another major upside is that data costs for end-users can be reduced significantly (this is especially important in markets like Kenya where 3G is not only costly but rare amongst the various mobile networks so bandwidth is indeed at a premium)

In terms of the latest SMW statistics for Kenya, what remains more or less constant is that mobile web page views per user are still the highest in Africa, ahead of South Africa and Nigeria. This has grown to a formidable 651 page views per user per month which goes to reinforce that most popular of statements once made by Safaricom’s former CEO, Michael Joseph, that Kenyans have “peculiar” phone usage habits (in this case they love to browse the mobile web more than any other country in Africa!). Lastly, as expected, Nokia continued to dominate the top ten positions in terms of handsets being used with Opera Mini. I expect this to change significantly in a years time as Samsung, and other manufacturers start to gain more market share in Kenya (i.e. consider that there are now over 9 Google Android handsets in Kenya already and there are more coming)

Other Kenya SMW statistics indicate that year on year growth for October 2009/10 has exceeded 100% in almost all instances and variables. Kenyans (now) on average download 7 MB of data per month and Facebook is still the leading mobile web destination on Opera Mini. Once again, its great to see that Nation Mobile is still in the top ten mobile web sites in Kenya on Opera Mini at number ten, maintaining its status as the only local mobile web site listed.

Going forward, I am keen to see how the the Kenya SMW reports will look in a around a years time when both Airtel Kenya and Orange Kenya are expected to have launched their 3G services. Its also expected that Safaricom should have launched their 4G services by then, which could also heavily influence local Opera Mini mobile web usage, especially in urban Kenya.

Another factor in a years time could be the increased uptake of low-to-medium cost 3G smartphones in Kenya that are more capable than the current models of feature phones that largely have only GPRS or EDGE Internet connectivity. In a nutshell, the mobile web landscape in Kenya should continue to evolve. Below are the latest statistics which can also be viewed in the full October 2010 SMW report here>

Snapshot: Kenya
- Page-view growth since October 2009: 175.4 %
- Unique-user growth since October 2009: 117.3 %
- Data transfer growth since October 2009: 159.7 %
- Page views per user: 651
- Data transferred per user (MB): 7
- Data transferred per page view (KB): 10
Top 10 sites in Kenya (unique users)
1. facebook.com
2. google.com
3. wikipedia.org (4)
4. yahoo.com (3)
5. youtube.com
6. waptrick.com
7. bbc.co.uk
8. getjar.com
9. my.opera.com
10. nation.co.ke
Top handsets for October 2010
1. Nokia 2330c
2. Nokia 5130 XpressMusic
3. Nokia 1680c
4. Nokia 2700c
5. Nokia 2680s
6. Nokia 2600c
7. Nokia 3110c
8. Nokia 2730c
9. Samsung SGH-E250
10. Nokia 2630
Paynet Group confirms lead sponsorship for AITEC Banking & Mobile Money 2011 Conference

Posted: November 24, 2010, 4:16 pm by Moses Kemibaro

Press Release.

Nairobi, 22nd November 2011… The Paynet Group will yet again take a leading role in AITEC’s fifth annual Banking & Mobile Money conference by being a platinum sponsor of the event.

Announcing Paynet’s sponsorship, CEO Bernard Matthewman said: “This conference has become the market-leading event for East Africa’s financial services sector and we feel it plays a valuable role in nurturing innovation and excellence in banking, which is why we have supported consistently for the past four years and will do so again in 2011. It is not coincidental that during this time East Africa has become globally recognized as the epicentre of highly innovative financial services.”

The 2010 conference attracted close to 500 delegates and had over 100 expert speakers. Added to these were over 500 exhibition visitors, creating an event that had a major impact in the market. “Participant feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Sean Moroney, AITEC chairman and conference director. “But we intend to achieve an even greater level of excellence in the 2011 programme, introducing a range of new topics and speakers to meet the information needs of banks, mobile operators and other players in the financial services sector. Already we have 25 top speakers confirmed for the conference programme. The emphasis of the programme is on practical experience and knowledge sharing with the objective of equipping participants with the knowledge they need to compete in the rapidly evolving financial services landscape.

The theme of the 2011 conference is “Strategies for a new era of financial integration” in response to the accelerated drive for regional business across borders. The East African Business Council is supporting the event as a platform to promote effective financial services to support the accelerating business drive across the region. For full details of the conference, log on to www.aitecafrica.com
Airtel launches new global brand across its operations in Africa.

Posted: November 22, 2010, 5:26 pm by Moses Kemibaro
Press Release.
- New global identity to unify all 16 African operations and cover 200 million customers across Africa and Asia.
- Airtel reinforces commitment to extend it mobile networks and bridge the digital divide
- Customers to experience a new brand and enjoy superior quality of service, reliability, innovation and affordability wherever they live, work or travel.
Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa, today launched the Airtel brand and unveiled the new brand identity across its 16 African operations including Kenya.

With the unveiling of the new brand identity Airtel, becomes the master brand for all the group’s 19 operations in Asia and Africa covering over 200 million customers. Here in Kenya, Airtel replaces the Zain brand and comes with the promise of delivering high quality customer benefits through the power of global Airtel brand.

In tandem and going forward, all Airtel Kenya future new products and services will follow the Airtel brand structure. In Kenya, just as in all other Airtel markets in Africa, fast growing ZAP mobile money service has also re-branded into Airtel Money with immediate effect.

In a communiqué released in Nairobi, Bharti Airtel CEO (International) and Joint Managing Director Mr. Manoj Kohli, said that the continental rebrand to Airtel now brings together all the firm’s operations under a single, strong and unique identity.

“Airtel brings together all our operations under a single, strong and unique brand identity. We can deliver more for our customers by operating as a single brand across Africa to fulfill our vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services for all customers. The new youthful identity will be the most loved brand in the daily lives of African people for years to come.

“Our customers will experience the same familiar brand and enjoy consistent quality of service, reliability, innovation and affordability wherever they live, work or travel. Airtel will also make a positive impact in the communities in which we operate through extending our network to rural areas and through our education initiatives.”

Airtel Kenya Managing Director Rene Meza expressed the firm’s commitment to bridging the digital divide with a strategic goal to win the customers hearts in Kenya.

“We remain committed to taking our network deeper into Africa, ensuring our services touch everyone and bridge the digital divide in the continent. I am confident that over the coming years Airtel will win the hearts of customers in Kenya and emerge as one of most admired brands of the continent,” Meza said.

The new brand identity.

The new Airtel brand comes with a promise to meet the emerging needs of customers with innovative, affordable and relevant solutions to empower consumers, giving them the freedom to do what they choose and provide them with the tools to meet life’s daily challenges.

The red primary colour of the logo reflects the warmth and vibrancy of the African continent. It is the colour of life and of the African sun at dusk. These qualities are reflected in Airtel’s brand personality of being brave and bold, sensitive and empathetic. The new curved addition to the logo is a symbol which will help ensure instant recognition across our diverse international markets.

As part of the celebration of unveiling the new brand, Airtel also announced the launch of a new ultra low cost handset package which effectively provides a mobile phone free of charge to all new subscribers. The package, launched in conjunction with Nokia, will be priced at Kshs 1850 and includes a brand new Nokia 1280 mobile phone, a free SIM card and the equivalent value in free Airtel talk time and SMS text messages.

Over the next couple of months Airtel will launch a number of world leading product innovations which focus on delivering relevant information for customers to enhance their quality of life and provide tools that will help them overcome their daily challenges.

In the past four months Airtel has already made tariff interventions in 11 of its 16 markets in Africa for the benefit of its customers. It has also signed agreements to extend its networks to the most remote areas of the country which are still not connected with the outside world.

About Airtel in Africa.

Airtel is the new brand name for the 16 Zain operations across Africa which were acquired by Airtel International in June 2010. Airtel is driven by the vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all. Airtel has African operations in: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Airtel International is a Bharti Airtel company. For more information, please visit www.airtel.com

About Bharti Airtel Limited.

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice and data services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions for enterprises and national and international long distance services to carriers. Bharti Airtel has been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world by BusinessWeek. Bharti Airtel has over 200 million customers across its operations. To know more visit www.airtel.in

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Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes

Product	% Buying
Digital Goods	66%
Apparel	12%
Entertainment Tickets	12%
Travel	9%
Other	1%

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