Act One:
Dramatis
personæ

Act Two:
The Setting
Africa Today

Africa’s
really
big.

photo by Gbaku
Africa 1’s Africa 2’s Africa 3’s
Vijay Mahajan, UTexas Austin

Cape Town Accra
Kampala Nairobi

photo by Esthr
-100 million handsets in sub-Saharan Africa
- 2.5 billion worldwide, rising to 3.3 billion in 2010
- 97% of Tanzanians say they can access a phone

charts by Vanessa Gray, ITU

Computer and Internet usage

Over $135m
in year one.
Remittance
market is
almost
$750m per
year.
Celpay - 2%
of the
Zambian
economy

Act Three:
OLPC
A Friendly
Critique

OLPC vision:
- One laptop computer per child
- Internet connectivity to every school, wifi mesh to share
connectivity with surrounding community
- Local educational content loaded onto computers
- Designed for self-directed, exploratory learning
- Creative, generative machines that allow students to express
themselves, write original software

Cost near $200, not $100
Equipping Nigerian children - 73% of government income, 13%
of government spending per year (Edward Cherlin)
Roughly 500,000 sold, far below projections
Dual boot Linux and Windows XP - responding to feedback
from education ministries
Strong pushback from local manufacturers
Inverted pyramid problem

Cranks might power laptops, but not VSAT
Until we solve power, OLPC is a middle-income solution

What’s wrong with this picture?

Act Four:
Alright, Wise
Guy. Can You DO
Better?

...so, what’s Google doing?

...so, what’s Google doing?
1. Advertising ecosystem: Monetization for local content
2. Mobile search: SMS search
3. Infrastructure: Google Global Cache
4. Maps and Apps: e.g.: Kenya

Nairobi... before

...and after.

Akosombo Dam, Lake Volta, Ghana

from 10,000 - 1.5 million, $0 - 1.5b in ten years

Incremental infrastructure
- What types of infrastructure can we build with initial
investments of $500k - $5m?
- Can infrastructure beget other infrastructure - mobile phone
towers leading to power infrastructure?
- Can this approach work for larger public goods? Roads,
railroads, ports, airports... undersea communications cables?

Act Five:
The Unexpected
Conclusions

despite the infrastructure of connection
we often connect badly
or fail to connect
photo by xeni

homophily
photo by Cobalt123

bridge bloggers

engineer serendipity
photo by subpop77

cultivate xenophiles
photo by david sasaki

Postlude:
Q&A
(In which you get a
word in edgewise)