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Fast Company reports:
There are a lot of market-specific reasons if you do a deep dive. But broadly…there are three big mistakes Tencent made with WeChat in its overseas expansion, and—not coincidentally—they’re mistakes that Chinese companies make a lot when they launch internationally.
Read more on Fast Company
Travel in New York City is a mess this week. At least for regular folks anyway. But it’s for a good reason. The United Nations head of states, delegates, and Pope Francis will be in town for the UN General Assembly and security is pretty high.
Along with the regular United Nations-related activity, there is a sense of change and transformation in the air. This weekend the UN will adopt the Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs will replace the Millenium Development Goals as the UN moves to more inclusive operations to meet the needs of the world we live in today.
A few weeks ago I attended and presented my ideas on innovation and technology-enabled social impact at the United Nations during the annual NGO Conference. While I generally leave UN issues to those like Kofi Annan (no relation) who are better suited for diplomatic dealings, this time I was interested to hear what successes if any the MDGs have had, and why the SDGs approach would be different.
During the 3-day long conference, I was pleasantly surprised to hear how the approaches of UN partner organizations were changing and of the overall inclusive attitude that the SDGs creation process had spawned. While there is a willingness to transform how they operate, a large portion of the NGOs I spoke to are still struggling with how to plan and implement that change. For them, it seems like a daunting task.
While the roadmap to success can seem daunting, there are a few areas that an understanding of the technologies and the behaviors they enable can help the UN and its partners have a greater impact where it’s needed the most.
1. Storytelling
The simplest way for the UN and NGOs to make use of technology to further impact is by using digital tools to tell better and more human stories.
During the NGO Conference, I was happy to see that a group was experimenting with hi-tech storytelling by using virtual reality. Immersive storytelling is a great way to allow stakeholders to experience the situation an organization is trying to change. It’s also a good way to help envision the future that the organization is focused on creating.
But it’s not just high-tech solutions like VR that are relevant. Organizations can use mobile text to also engage communities over time and weave narratives that communicate and inform. Radio, a format that is dominant in many emerging markets, can also be leveraged. Working with radio stations to record and re-distribute content online and through SMS could help drive engagement among aid organizations and the communities they serve.
To tell better stories, NGOs will need an updated understanding of how media is created, distributed, consumed, and socialized in our highly connected society.
2. Participation & co-creation
To tell good, authentic stories NGOs will need to also ensure that community stakeholders are included in the creation and telling of stories.
During my conversations at the UN NGO conference, it became apparent to me that one of the great faults of the MDGs was that they lacked a critical element: inclusion. Surprisingly the creation and implementation of MDG initiatives over the years largely excluded those who would have to implement on-the-ground initiatives and the local community for whom the initiatives was supposed to serve.
The SDGs, though more inclusive in its creation, will require UN agencies to widen its partnership pool to ensure that co-creation is part of the roadmap and program implementations are contextually relevant. Organizations will need to accurately evaluate and hook into the growing channels and tools that are being used within local communities. Groups and individuals with expertise in these areas can help outline the benefits and use of technology-enabled approaches as well as help update legacy processes to support community participation.
3. Feedback
I`m always surprised to speak to non-profits and government agencies who have no real metrics or method of gathering feedback. In talks with many organizations it’s become apparent to me that there is a huge disconnect between what many organization leaders see their role and value is to the local communities, and the reality of what the community really needs and values. Unfortunately, because many UN partner agencies are tenured, hierarchical organizations, there is infrequent internal re-assessment of the problem the founders were focused on and the current needs of the complex communities they serve.
In today’s complex world, feedback is critical to transformation and impact. No organization can maintain relevance without having constant feedback from those of the ground. NGOs will have to spend the time to build in strong, more real-time feedback loops throughout the organization levels to help them quickly measure the needs and impact on stakeholders.
For example, instead of conducting a program evaluation once a year, an organization might be able to tap into a stream of available 3rd party data and metrics to determine program progress.
If this all sounds like a lot of work, it can be, particularly if an organization doesn’t engage the right partners at the right levels. Today no organization can transform and innovate in a top-down, exclusive manner anymore.
Over the years I’ve heard time and time again from NGOs that they don’t have the time or money to rethink how they approach impact. My response has always been that, if the organization is truly focused on serving the community, they can’t afford not to rethink their approach. Whereas in the past, storytelling, co-creation, and feedback were a costly endeavor, technologies have made them more feasible at all levels.
As the UN community attempts to transform its methods from 2016 and onward, they will have to re-evaluate their approach to impact and use all the tools and methods available to them. Hopefully, the SDGs will force many of these organizations to begin leveraging the numerous available tools and approaches that will truly enable success.
These companies seem to be walking away from the traditional provision of information, where a live internet connection is needed. This is an area that Facebook’s Internet.org and Google’s Google Loon are still currently pursuing.
Facebook has reportedly been talking to Avanti, a satellite company which owns two broadband satellites across Africa. Google, on the other hand, is looking to launch balloons that will stream the internet to the unreached, with trial plans in New Zealand.
“There is an important distinction between using satellites for providing the internet versus using them to provide information,” Richard, of Outernet, explained. “Projects like Google Loon or Internet.org (Facebook) are aiming to provide the two-way connection that we think of as the internet: you click on something or type in a URL (make a request for information) and you get something sent back. Two way.”
Read more on www.idgconnect.com
Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications Technology has initiated a Smart States initiative aimed at reducing Right of Way (RoW) fees and standardizing state levies and taxes on information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. By eliminating arbitrary charges and eradicating multiple taxations across the country, the initiative is expected to spur infrastructural development across the country.
“The initiative is based on the premise that engaging those in authority at the state and federal level to address the issue of multiple taxations impeding the rollout of critical infrastructures will enable speedy deployment of critical infrastructure,” read a statement from the ministry.
As Africas most populous country, Nigerias economy is growing rapidly and its citizens` internet usage is reflecting the growth. Ventures Africa also mentions
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is ranked 10th on the list of world’s top internet users, according to eMarketer; with 57.7 million users at the end of 2014, which is predicted to rise to 84.3 million by 2018. The second African country on the list is Egypt at 17th, whose year is predicted to end with 36 million internet users. South Africa had 20.1 million internet users at the end of 2013, which is predicted to grow to 22.7 million at the end of 2014 and 30.9 million by 2018. This impressive growth has been driven by increasing mobile penetration which has afforded more people access to the internet.
Top 10 African countries with highest intenet penetration (2012)
Source: African Development Bank
Getting insights from the noisy coverage of Africa can be very hard. We’ve sifted through all the news and views and identified these recent stories which more accurately indicate what Africa’s cultural, and business ecosystems might look like in the near future. Read on and continue to stay one step ahead.
Made In Kenya, Assembled In America: This Internet-Anywhere Company Innovates From Silicon Savannah – Fast Company: (BRCK) is essentially a mobile Internet router. It connects to the web in three ways: by plugging in a standard ethernet cable, by bridging with other Wi-Fi networks, or by accessing 3G or 4G data via a basic SIM card…While designed in Kenya, BRCK is manufactured and assembled deep in the heart of Texas, by a company called Silicon Hills. Located outside of Austin, the company has the key ability to iterate and do small runs. According to its CEO, BRCK couldn’t also be manufactured in Kenya because of the considerable import taxes and time delays when bringing components into the country.
Infrastructure & connectivity key to Africa’s smart cities – IT News Africa: For a continent driven by mobility, Wi-Fi presents a significant opportunity to aid in the socio-economic development of people – particularly as it provides a cost-effective access solution to high-density areas such as those found in cities.
Fletcher cites the example of Kenya and Ghana that are heavily investing in building pre-planned technology hubs that have the capacity to be involved in the smart cities of the future.
The Previously Untold Story Of Africa’s Mobile Revolution – Forbes: Africa’s mobile revolution has been called a phenomenon that “changed African nations more significantly than any development since their independence from colonial powers.” Today, Africa is even more reliant on mobile technology than the West. But one important story has remained untold. It’s the saga of how one person, imbued with entrepreneurial passion and surrounded by a supportive ecosystem of colleagues, helped launch an SMS text messaging service for real-time market pricing that eventually transformed the continent.
Africa at work: Job creation and inclusive growth – McKinsey: Despite the creation of 37 million new and stable wage-paying jobs over the past decade, only 28 percent of Africa’s labor force holds such positions. If the trends of the past decade continue, Africa will create 54 million new, stable wage-paying jobs over the next ten years—but this will not be enough to absorb the 122 million new entrants into the labor force expected over the same period. However, by implementing a five-part strategy to accelerate the pace of job creation, we estimate that Africa could add as many as 72 million new wage-paying jobs over the next decade, raising the wage-earning share of the labor force to 36 percent…If Africa accelerates job creation, it could add 72 million additional wage-paying jobs by 2020.
Africa’s testing ground – The Economist: Nigeria’s promise has made it a test-bed for the Africa strategies of consumer-goods firms. This is not only because of its size. It is also because of the spread of Nigerian culture—its music and movies—around Africa, says Yaw Nsarkoh of Unilever. The Anglo-Dutch company has been trading in Nigeria for nearly a century and is expanding its operations.Procter & Gamble, another global consumer giant, has just completed a factory near Lagos, its second in Nigeria..Just as Nigeria is used as shorthand for the business opportunity in Africa it is also a summary of the continent’s shortcomings.
Report reveals sub-Saharan Africa’s 10 most competitive economies – How We Made it in Africa: More than half of the 20 lowest-ranked countries in the report are sub-Saharan, and many markets have insufficient infrastructure and poor levels of health and basic education…The region’s challenge is to turn high growth into inclusive growth and make the transition from agriculture-based economies to higher value-added activities.
Bloomberg reports:
Nairobi, Kenya has become the tech hub of Africa, a niche that could be worth more than one billion dollars to the country in the next three years despite its 40% unemployment rate. Kenya is throwing all their eggs in the tech basket as they build a multi-billion dollar infrastructure in the form of a “Techno City” that will support 200,000
At the center of grass roots efforts to keep Nigeria’s notorious election process clean is a small, indistinguishable man armed with a cell phone…Amara, wearing a t-shirt with the phrase “Light Up Nigeria” and with his mobile phone always close by, is perhaps Nigeria’s best-known Twitter activist….But as Amara tours polling stations across Lagos, he is leaving nothing to chance. He uses the internet as a platform to encourage as many people to get involved in the voting process as possible….Nigeria has 43 million Internet users — the largest in Africa — and they are increasingly using Twitter, Facebook and blogs, such as Nigeria’s Saharareporters.com, to access information and make their views heard.
Read more at CNN.com
Western Union has announced a partnership with M-PESA, the popular Kenyan mobile cash-transfer service. This deal opens up Western Union’s huge money transfer network to the Safaricon-owned “mobile wallet” service. The parnership will allow customers in US, UK and other countries to transfer money to a Safaricom/M-Pesa user’s account and the receiver will receive an SMS message from M-PESA notifying them that the money is available in their account.
Kenyans living abroad can now send money to their relatives back home through Safaricom’s mobile money transfer service, M-Pesa.This is after Safaricom and Western Union signed an agreement, which enables Kenyans living in 45 countries in the US, Asia, Europe and Africa to access the now world famous M-Pesa service.Although they can send up to Sh35,000 per transaction, limits per day, per month or per year will depend on the country the money is sent from, following the link-up that is likely to give the NSE listed firm a head start in the increasingly competitive mobile telephony market.“Through this partnership, our customers and their friends and families will benefit from affordable, faster and more convenient international remittances,” said Safaricom chief executive officer, Bob Collymore.Mr David Yates, of Western Union, applauded the service as an impressive adoption of the mobile channel.“Cash payout through M-Pesa is projected to go up from 23 per cent to 40 per cent, as the traditional cash payout will take the rest,” Mr Yates said.The transaction is similar to a traditional cash-to-cash money transfer, except that the sender specifies the recipient’s mobile phone number at the time the funds are sent.
Indian IT company Infosys Technologies is continuing its entrance into the African continent. It said in a statement Friday morning that it believes Africa is a market for long-term IT services and hopes it will be able to implement an investment strategy.
In an interview with the Times of India, Infosys CFO V Balakrishnan said that Africa has great potential and populations are demanding an improvement in IT services.
Nigeria’s regulatory body this week echoed similar statements when it said that mobile phone services in the country are sorely lacking adequate customer service and infrastructure. Infosys could capitalize on this exact issue, said Ahmed Gabr, an IT specialist based in Nairobi.
Read more at itnewsafrica.com