[Skeedo]

I have always wondered why Kenya has been unable to develop into a technological hotbed more so given the developed infrastructure and availability of abundant human resources. I have posed this questions to several people and am yet to get a satisfactory answer / definite solution as to why this is the case. Kenya has some of the best technorats in Africa (As evidenced by those giants in IT fields abroad) and why this won't translate to actual results on the ground is incomprehensible. The education system as flawed as it is can be said to be sufficient enough to give the young people the necessary skills needed for success. Is it a lack of exposure, innovation, capital or just a don't care attitude amongst the people?
why does South Africa have to be the leader when it comes to IT and yet we compare favorably when it comes to skills and know how of modern technology. In my opinion, lack of exposure is a big hinderance as the international community is oblivious to the opportunities and knowledge that wallows in abject poverty. Those who have established themselves in the IT field like Swift Kenya, UUNET et-al seem to be more concerned with introducing new technology with no credible system for support and development. Make money, and get out while still at it seems to be the norm with these companies. I would like to get a few responses and feedback especially from those in Kenya as to what their thoughts might be and why this might be....

My $.02

If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.

Albert Einstein

[chotadipo]

My opinion is that Kenya fails on thi because

1. Small and medium enterprises drive the economy, these have to be fostered and protected. Kenya does not have this policy or even if it exists, it is never practised.
2. There has to be cheap and easily accessible capital for ideas to be turned to viable business success, here again Kenya fails. The cost of doing business determines how fast a turn around can be realised in any business or technological endeavour
3. The leap from Jua-Kali manufacturing to high-tech manufacturing lacks in Kenya. We have universities, government research departments, private sectors and many think tanks that do not mesh at all. This disjointed approach stifles the fluidity of information flow and thereby hinders progression of ideas
4. Vision has to be there, then this vision has to be turned into a working model, constanlty being re-modelled to suit the reality on the ground. As far as I remember we have sessional papers that are decades old as the blue-print for economic development.
5. Wealth distribution plays a role. If wealth is concentrated on a few individuals or institutions, the vast majority of talent goes into disuse as talent is not allowed to come up with alternative ideas, ways of doing business or even allowed to compete. This is surely a killer as it is a fact that once you try and monoplise anything, talent scatters.
6. There has to be a trusted regulatory body (read government) committted to its people's welafare. A working government encourages business, service and technological growth. Take the case of China, though demonised elsewhere, in the eyes of its citizens, it is delivering on its promises. Excellent infrastracture would be an example.
7. Culuture of long term benefit versus short term gains need to be encouraged and rewarded. If the companies you mentioned above were confident of level playing field in the long run, they will be planning with long term growth on the back of their minds instead of taking in short term profits and closing shop.

Those are my 2 cents of ideas I could come up with at the moment...

[Mand meru]

Kenya has the potential to become the regional IT powerhouse but probably the major hurdle is difficult economic climate in kenya. By this I mean lack of access to credit facilities among other things have impacted negatively on the IT arena. The govt needs to lower taxes on IT related activities inorder to encourage development in this area. Look at india thattoday attracts top firms like IBM, Intel, microsoft, Cisco just to mention but a few. The reason behind such phenomenal success is because india has invested considerably in this area moreso in terms of superb education.
We need to recheck our priorities again!

[Skeedo]

> Kenya has the potential to become the regional IT powerhouse
>but probably the major hurdle is difficult economic climate in
>kenya. By this I mean lack of access to credit facilities
>among other things have impacted negatively on the IT arena.
>The govt needs to lower taxes on IT related activities inorder
>to encourage development in this area. Look at india thattoday
>attracts top firms like IBM, Intel, microsoft, Cisco just to
>mention but a few. The reason behind such phenomenal success
>is because india has invested considerably in this area moreso
>in terms of superb education.
>We need to recheck our priorities again!

Good response Mand Meru. I however beg to differ with some of the points raised. I honestly believe that if you have a sound business plan, which has credible, realistic policies and procedures as to how to achieve the overall goal, any bank will finance you in your venture. The interest rates may be high, but atleast somebody will be willing to back you up. As far as education is concerned, our youths are more than capable of adopting and mastering today's technology as well if not better than any other. A good example would be the numerous students awarded international awards at Strathmore college in IDPM courses. Surely if we lacked or were deficient in our formal learning, this would not be the case. The fact that we have indigineous candidates who went through the local education system winning awards is proof that our much maligned education system is effective.

My $.02

[Skeedo]

>My opinion is that Kenya fails on thi because
>
>1. Small and medium enterprises drive the economy, these have
>to be fostered and protected. Kenya does not have this policy
>or even if it exists, it is never practised.
>2. There has to be cheap and easily accessible capital for
>ideas to be turned to viable business success, here again
>Kenya fails. The cost of doing business determines how fast a
>turn around can be realised in any business or technological
>endeavour
>3. The leap from Jua-Kali manufacturing to high-tech
>manufacturing lacks in Kenya. We have universities, government
>research departments, private sectors and many think tanks
>that do not mesh at all. This disjointed approach stifles the
>fluidity of information flow and thereby hinders progression
>of ideas
>4. Vision has to be there, then this vision has to be turned
>into a working model, constanlty being re-modelled to suit the
>reality on the ground. As far as I remember we have sessional
>papers that are decades old as the blue-print for economic
>development.
>5. Wealth distribution plays a role. If wealth is concentrated
>on a few individuals or institutions, the vast majority of
>talent goes into disuse as talent is not allowed to come up
>with alternative ideas, ways of doing business or even allowed
>to compete. This is surely a killer as it is a fact that once
>you try and monoplise anything, talent scatters.
>6. There has to be a trusted regulatory body (read government)
>committted to its people's welafare. A working government
>encourages business, service and technological growth. Take
>the case of China, though demonised elsewhere, in the eyes of
>its citizens, it is delivering on its promises. Excellent
>infrastracture would be an example.
>7. Culuture of long term benefit versus short term gains need
>to be encouraged and rewarded. If the companies you mentioned
>above were confident of level playing field in the long run,
>they will be planning with long term growth on the back of
>their minds instead of taking in short term profits and
>closing shop.
>
>Those are my 2 cents of ideas I could come up with at the
>moment...
>

Good points that you raised. If not mistaken, the office of the president has a department / branch specifically set up for the development and growth of small businesses. Could it be an issue of people not knowing where to go for for funds? I still do believe that our education system would suffice when it came to preparing candidates for the IT field. Thx though!

My $.02


If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.

Albert Einstein

[joginda]

THe answer like most have mentioned above is lack of Government Policy. the success of countries like SA is because of a clear govt policy to promote IT and Technology. Its a shame that a small country like Rwanda has one and the institution in charge of promoting IT is headed by a Kenyan!!!

[milanya]

Well, I don;t know how it works now, but what I know, when I was there, companies would try and infiltrate the economy and provide satellite internet or broadband, and the govt would flat out turn them down, because they know that telkom's jambonet will not have monopoly. I'm sure annoying regulations bug people. But i'm bad at stuff liek this, so there's my $0.02

[Skeedo]

>THe answer like most have mentioned above is lack of
>Government Policy. the success of countries like SA is because
>of a clear govt policy to promote IT and Technology. Its a
>shame that a small country like Rwanda has one and the
>institution in charge of promoting IT is headed by a
>Kenyan!!!


In danger of seeming to issue a rebuttal for each point raised, I was of the opinion that the ministry of education currently headed by Prof. George Saitoti was charged with this. As is common with most African governments, Technological revolution will have to be initiated from the public sector and then gain acceptance from the authority later on. A prime example would be Africa Online which caught everyone by surprise but thrived due to a good business model. Eventually, even the slow footed governments came to embrace this marvel which put Africa on the map.

My $.02

[Skeedo]

>Well, I don;t know how it works now, but what I know, when I
>was there, companies would try and infiltrate the economy and
>provide satellite internet or broadband, and the govt would
>flat out turn them down, because they know that telkom's
>jambonet will not have monopoly. I'm sure annoying regulations
>bug people. But i'm bad at stuff liek this, so there's my
>$0.02

I have heard of the same thing but have been assured things are getting better. I recall a while back when a few guys in DC were able to secure financing for upto 300 million kenya shillings for a license to start a third cell phone company only to be turned down by the government. I totally agree with you that there is too much bureaucracy and uncalled for red tape which smothers innovation.

My $.02

If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.

Albert Einstein