"My aim is to put Kenya on the world map," says the quietly spoken software king of East Africa.

Discussion: Thanks to three undersea Internet cables that began to arrive in June 2009, East Africa’s tech sector scored a major confidence boost.  As a growing number of private entrepreneurs work to establish Kenya as East Africa’s high-tech hub, the relatively stable government oversees a three million dollar pot of money to reward promising start-ups.  Add the increasing number of Internet consumers thirsting for local content to the mix and the result is innovation made in Africa for Africans.  Although the tech scene does have a lot of maturing to do, one successful Nairobi entrepreneur opined, “If it works in Africa, it will work anywhere.”

Source: BBC News

Date: December 2010

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11880594

Questions for discussion:

• Of the Kenyans that access the Internet, what percentage access it via a mobile network?
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a mobile network.
• What is an SMS alert and how does it differ from email?