3. Challenges?
• Under-developed technology community
• Difficult access to financing
• Poor access to global innovation networks
• poor Government support
• ... the worst: biases!
4. In the past two years
• Networks, investors, education: Omidyar
network, MEST, Savannah Fund, VC4Africa
meetups
• Infrastructure development: Mobile and
Broadband Internet
• Gov initiatives to boost creativity and
innovation
• Universities
5. A growing number of
innovation centers
• iHub in Nairobi,
• ActivSpaces
• iceaddis
• Jokkolabs
• Burundi Business Incubator, Cairo Hackerspace,
Co-creation Huyb Nigeria, Wennovation Hub
Nigeria, Akendewa, etc.
6. Real Numbers
• 91% of sub-Saharan Africans own a mobile
phone
• 71% send 3 or more text messages per day
• 12% access the Internet on their mobile at
least once a day
• ... but 55% “not comfortable” using a
computer
9. Uganda Kenya Tanzania Rwanda
Internet
4m 10.5m 5m 1.2m
users
Internet
12% 26% 11% 12%
penetration
Mobile
600,000 4,700,00 500,000 1,200,000
penetration
10. Landscape
• Innovation centers: iHub (Nairobi), iceAddis (Addis
Abeba), Hive Colab (Kampala)
• IDEOS Phone (Android phone for the African
Market)
• 649 million mobile subscribers +86m in 2012
• +81% growth mobile data consumption
• Center of the global mobile money revolution
• Leading events and conference: PIVOT25, DEMO
AFRICA
11. IDEOS from HUWAEI
$100 Smartphone, now $70
+400,000 units sold in Kenya
12. Mobile application
development
• Google Africa has launched the Google Android
Developer challenge, with the winners getting
$25,000 for their apps
• a dynamic, competitive market
• Savannah Fund, incubators, meetups & events
• $40 million to $165m (2013) in mobile value
added services
13. M-PESA
•UDDI
•M-PESA processed a total volume of
transactions $17,21 billion, well past
Western Union. Can send money to
70 countries, 900 businesses, 25 banks
• Partnership with over 37,000
registered agents for low-cost retail
baking: “Banking through your
shopkeeper.”
• Based on local needs (micro-billing
and flexible payments)
14. Opportunities
• Services in North America (FB, tripadvisor) are
also popular ... but:
• open source, open government, mobile
government
• mobile health, mobile education
• financial services (utility and bill payments,
mobile to bank)
15. Balance of Power
From West to East
• Young / old
• Growth (world’s fastest growing economies) /
Contraction
• New markets and needs / Saturated markets
• Mobile / Computer
• Breaking the status quo / Maintaining the status
quo
16. Future: Access to global
innovation networks?
• Bring networks to Africa:
• OpenIt4Africa: the launchpad of tech projects
for Africa
• Coders4Africa
• Expose/export African innovation and enginuity
to international markets
• Facilitate financing, networking, skills transfer
