Month: March 2014

There’s an ongoing debate going on right now spawned by recent news that Facebook’s bid to buy a drone manufacturer has implications for the company’s goal of “connecting Africa”. Whether Facebook actually intends to pursue that goal or it’s just a ploy to keep the company’s investors happy, the idea that Africa’s future could be filled with the buzzing of drones has sparked a heated debate.

2 sides to the debate
On one side are those who champion the idea. On the other hand detractors criticize the initiative as a dumb, libertarian fantasy I agree that the Facebook’s drones, Google’s balloons, or Microsoft’s tv white spaces won’t be the magic bullet that solves Africa’s problem. I’m not as skeptical as Bill Gates though, that any of these ideas are off base. Facebook, Google etc. might have their own motivations for pursuing these initiatives, but that does’t necessarily make it a pie in the sky idea. I’m not sure about Facebook, but Google has made a business of executing on pie in the sky ideas. Remember what we said about self-driving cars? The company has shown us that it has the chops to prototype, test, release a solution and then work with government to make their solution a widespread option.
Continue reading “Flying drones or more roads? What will connect more Africans?”

Last year I met IBM research scientist Uyi Stewart at a Africa business and innovation conference at the NYU. After hearing him talk on a panel and a few short conversations I could tell that he was a man on a mission. At the time we connected Uyi was finalizing plans to leave his position in the USA for a role in Kenya as the Chief Scientist at IBM Research Lab – Africa. Since launching in November of 2013, the research lab has hit the ground running with a few powerful projects, most notably a project to reduce Kenyan traffic congestion using mobile phone data.

CNN’s African Voices program recently sat with Mr. Stewart to talk about his return to Africa, technology as an enabler, and the part he and IBM are playing in African innovation. Watch below.