Africa ICT growth tied to infrastructure, start-ups investment - Nairobi DEMO launch

ICT growth in Africa has been tied to infrastructure and startups investments 

The growth of the ICT sector in Africa is tied to continue investment of infrastructure in the sector, Gabriel Negatu an African Development Bank (AfDB) director has said.

Negatu who was speaking after the end of three day ICT conference which ended last Friday in KICC says such functions will make Kenya and the continent to provide a platform for the start-ups to launch their products.

He adds in such forums coders and developers meet an audience of potential investors, corporate acquirers, government dignitaries, policy makers, academia, development organizations and global media to increase their portfolios.

"The nexus between ICT and economic growth has already been established. The critical element missing is increased investment in ICT infrastructure, which can only be achieved by increased collaboration between the public and private sectors since the initial capital outlay can be prohibitive to individual investors,” said Negatu.

During the function DEMO Africa, the event organizers collaborated the remarks saying their 2009 DEMO demonstrator research study conducted by BluePoint Ventures, in the past 20 years, 22% of past demonstrators received funding within 60 days as a direct result of a DEMO launch.

Equally 92% who secured funding, did so within 9 months of DEMO with 62% receiving over $1 million in funding - mostly from venture and angel investors.

In the past five years, DEMO companies have raised over $4.5 billion dollars in the months/years following their debut at DEMO conferences like the one which just ended in Nairobi.

“This is a platform where the most innovative companies from across Africa will launch their products for the first time as they pitch for capital and strategic partnerships,” said Harry Hare, Demo Africa’s Director and the event organizer.

“We are on the edge of a technology entrepreneurial revolution which requires the participation of both the public and private sectors to take off. What we are looking at now is the making of technology billionaires in dollar terms from the continent and creating massive job opportunities as they grow,” Harry noted.

Harry Hare singled out the success of Safaricom’s Mpesa as a global example of Africa’s potential to steer innovation in the ICT sector.

The organisers said Africa has about 15% of the world’s population, but only about 2% personal computer users and such conferences seek to increase investment in technological innovation and real startups being created in Africa, developing real-world solutions, worthy of investment and global attention.

AfDB and Safaricom among others sponsored the function.

The same event will be organized in Kampala, Kigali, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg and Cape Town in different dates.

©Manuel Odeny, 2012

Vice President officially launchs the Cisco Expo at KICC

Cisco Algeria Expo 2011 earlier this year. The same Expo was launched today at KICC in Kenya

Kenya's conducive business environment and investment in the ICT sector is turning the country into a regional center for international conglomerates seeking to expand their business in Africa like the two day Cisco Expo in Nairobi.

Starting today, the Expo with a theme of collaboration and virtualization beyond borders is running at Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC) bringing together several exhibitors locally and internationally.

“The excitement of the internet connectivity has brought the aspect of a global village closer home by eliminating distance and borders in the world” Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka said at the official launch.

Mr. Musyoka said the government investments like the rolling out of 20,000Km fiber optics cable in the country has made broadband and ICT efficient which has not only attracted investors but also improved lives of Kenyans in attaining the vision 2030.

“This is crucial since studies show that a 10% increase of ICT equates a 2-3% increase in the GDP” He said.

The VP's sentiments were echoed by Samwel Poghisio, Minister of Information and Communication Technology who said government is investing and supporting projects like iHub and the 5,000 acres Konza Technology City in Machakos county which will be a regional ICT hub.

Declaring the Cisco Expo 2011 officially open, the VP thanked the company on behalf of the government and Kenyans in choosing the country for their expo.

Local Exhibitors

“We are seeking to seamlessly help communication between the devolved governments and the central office through networking by Cisco” Bob Collymore, the Safaricom CEO told guests who attended the event.

In addition, Collymore said Safaricom Business has used Cisco networks to roll out other ventures like Teleconferencing, Tele-Justice and Tele-Health to reduce time, money and resources used in the country.

Collymore gave example of the Tele-Health venture  which will reduce mortality by making it easier for Kenyans, especially in rural areas to access healthcare with paramedics sharing procedures and healthcare information easily in the clinics with others not only locally but also internationally.

“This will aid in checking the low ratio between patients and doctors in country especially in the rural areas” Collymore told guests.

Other local exhibitors included Zuku and Copy Cat amongst others.

Dan Smoot, the Cisco Vice President said through collaboration money is saved and carbon emission reduced by people meeting easily without travelling.

“People and communities in different context share the same content easily in a secure environment by using teleconferencing facilities” Mr. Smoot said after guest saw a live video conferencing from New York.

Founded in 1984 at San Jose, California Cisco Systems Inc employees over 100,000 people in 165 countries globally will use Kenya as a regional hub to enter the African market with over 500 million mobile subscribers.