8 Sept 2010 // A new Mobile Application Laboratory (mLab) will be launched in Nairobi this year in a 2-year program that aims to create 8-10 new mobile apps. It will be hosted by the *iHub, Nairobi’s Innovation Hub which is an enabler and catalyst within the technology community. The *iHub consortium comprises eMobilis, the University of Nairobi's School of Computing and Informatics and the Web Foundation. As well as the lab in Nairobi, there will be a second mLab created in South Africa.

The mLabs will be focal points run and used by Africans working to increase the competitiveness of innovative enterprises working in mobile content and applications. In each lab local companies, technologists and experts can collaborate to develop locally relevant applications that meet user demands.

Each lab will be a platform for building the technical skills, business nous and personal relationships needed to build scalable mobile solutions into thriving businesses that address social needs. As well as providing state of the art equipment, the labs will offer technical training and workshops and connect developers and entrepreneurs with potential investors, academic experts, and even public sector leaders.

The mLabs are expected to be fully operational by the end of 2010. Future mobile applications labs are planned for Eastern Europe and Asia.

The labs are part of the wider €12.9 million program 'Creating Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economy' ran by infoDev, Nokia and the Finland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which aims to encourage innovation and competitiveness among SMEs in the information and communication technologies and agribusiness sectors in particular.

Full Article: http://www.infodev.org/en/Article.592.html

InfoDev Project Implementation Plan: http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.909.html

eLiteracy version 1.0 beta was developed to aid in teaching early literacy in communities around the world through mobile devices. With the belief that education is the key to empowering future generations, eLiteracy features fun educational games for both young and old allowing them to play and learn at the same time.

The application was developed by appCRAFT in South Africa and was a winner in the Life Improvement category of Nokia's Calling All Innovators competition in September 2010.

The application is free to download and is a work in progress.

Available at: http://store.ovi.com/content/51101

(download)

Click here to download:

eliteracy-qiHewgtsxDCqkaggdspD.zip (61 KB)

The mobile app industry is starting to explode in Africa, according to reports from Nokia and Ovi Store this month. There’s two parts to this: the number of apps that people are downloading and buying; and the number of developers creating new apps.

Since July 2010 (three months ago), the number of Ovi Store downloads by African consumers has grown by 50%, with the number of active users growing by 20%.

In South Africa, which appears to be the most mature market in the region, purchases from Ovi Store have grown by a whopping 438% since June. This massive increase followed the introduction of operator billing for apps, which clearly makes people far more likely to purchase compared to pulling out their credit cards or other alternatives. The introduction of operator billing to an area results in 13 times as many sales on average compared to credit cards.

Developer registrations on Forum Nokia from Africans have also grown by 60% over the same three months. East Africa is becoming a centre for the rapidly growing area of mobile money, with players such as M-PESA, Zap, Yu-Cash, MTN Money and Orange Money collecting an estimated 12 million subscribers in the area between them.

So how long before Africa beats the current top continents for downloads and new apps? At this rate of growth, it might not be long.

Full article from Nokia Conversations:

http://conversations.nokia.com/2010/10/04/africas-fast-growth-app-economy/

The Nokia Research Center in Nairobi (NRC Nairobi) focuses on understanding the needs of the African mobile phone user and creates concepts and visions to fulfill these needs. The concepts are built into prototypes and pilots and then field tested.

In this video, Jussi Impiö (head of NRC Nairobi) talks about their project to help youth find development opportunities through music:

The team must face some Africa specific challenges. The majority of Africans have extremely low income level and less than 10% of the population has access to the fixed electricity grid. This creates a need for new business models. Another challenge is that more than 1000 languages are spoken in 56 countries, sometimes in very isolated communities.

Mobile communication has a great role in social and economical development in Africa. NRC Nairobi is co-operating with NGOs and UN organizations to develop such devices and services which could support this progress.

Research topics include:

// Entrepreneurship
// Energy management
// Health care
// Education
// Transportation
// Social media
// Arts and culture: music, storytelling, oral culture

Link: http://research.nokia.com/page/4820

A group of d.school students recently returned from Kenya, where they spent 2 weeks working with Nokia Research Africa and the University of Nairobi to develop health-related mobile applications. The trip was the culmination of months of work in connection with a new class at the d.school, "Designing Liberation Technologies".

Starting in April, Stanford d.school students worked with computer science students at the University of Nairobi to identify the design needs of health care providers and low-income mobile phone users in Kenya. The students then developed prototypes of mobile applications to support delivery of health services in urban areas. In August, a group of students travelled to Nairobi to meet with NGO partners, test prototypes, and advance plans for the future.

Although relatively few Kenyans have heavy-duty, feature-rich smartphones like the iPhone, Kenyans make very sophisticated use of the technology available to them. For instance, it is not uncommon for Kenyans to own multiple SIM cards and swap them in and out of their phones as necessary to take advantage of favorable in-network and off-peak pricing structures.

By 2009, nearly 40% of the adult population in Kenya held an M-Pesa account, and the user base is still growing strong today. Originally intended to be a tool for making safe and secure payments, M-Pesa has gone on to do a lot more. By replacing cash, M-Pesa has solved a nagging security problem that chilled all kinds of financial activity in Kenya - including savings. Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming majority of Kenyans do not hold a brick-and-mortar bank account in their name, and M-Pesa is quickly taking the place of cash-stuffed mattresses. According to a recent study by several American economists, three quarters of M-Pesa users it to save money, and many M-Pesa users say it is the most important savings tool they have.

Building on the insights gained during their research, the 20 d.school students came up with the following applications:

mNote: an online archive for community health worker notes. This application empowers community health workers by preserving the flexibility and control they appreciate in their current paper notebooks, but adding digital knowledge management capabilities.

M-MAJI ("mobile water"): an electronic information system that allows people to use their mobile phones to identify clean water sources in their community. The application seeks to decrease the time and money spent searching for water, improve water quality, and foster vendor accountability by providing a mechanism for user feedback.

Babybank: a dedicated savings plan designed specifically for pregnant women in the slums of Nairobi. By leveraging a popular cell phone payment system, M-Pesa, the application aims to make savings easier, so that expecting mothers can afford the services that will keep themselves and their babies healthy.

Mazanick: an application to provide support and advice to pregnant women via SMS, with the aim of helping motivate them to attend prenatal appointments.

PillCheck (Kifaa cha Tenbe): a mobile application to help people in Kibera find information on the availability and pricing of malaria drugs quickly.

PatientMap: a system to make the waiting process in clinics more transparent, and to increase patient trust in the medical system.

More info at:

http://dschool.typepad.com/news/2010/10/mobile-africa.html

http://liberationtechnology.stanford.edu/news/dschool_class_sees_stanford_students_develop_ict_solutions_to_healthcare_challenges_in_kenya_20100709/