Monthly Archive for March, 2007

BarCamp Nairobi Tech Unconference

Published on March 29, 2007 in Africa, Info Tech and Technology. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
IF you’re an outsider visiting Africa, one thing you’ll quickly realize in most countries there – with the notable exception of South Africa – is the general lack of knowledge regarding the very diverse field of Information Technology (IT). To be more specific, organizations and individuals are not “as up to date” on the latest technologies (web, programming, infrastructure, networking, systems analysis, databases, etc.) as their counterparts in North America, Europe and Asia. There’s no doubt that the Internet access infrastructure has a lot to do with that. But things are quickly changing though. BarCamp to the rescue
So, what the heck is a BarCamp, you ask? Well, I’ll let Kenyan Pundit explain it for ya:

A BarCamp is “an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from participants.” Think of it as an Open Source (un) conference. For an idea of what goes on, check out the BarCamp Cape Town site. {source}

Here’s another perspective of what a BarCamp is courtesy of my good Net buddy, HASH (aka WhiteAfrican):

BarCamps are open conferences that are free to attend and that are open for anyone to talk at. I’ve been to a couple and I can tell you that they blow regular conferences out of the water in the amount of networking and ideas discussed. {source}

Unfortunately, I’m unable to attend the upcoming BarCamp Nairobi (31 March 2007), but I definitely plan to take part in this amazing movement sometime in the future. It seems like a great opportunity to rub elbows with the movers and shakers of Africa’s increasingly important IT sector. It’s so true: Knowledge is power.

Will you be there? Then sign up here.

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Use Google SMS to get Flight info

Published on March 29, 2007 in Info Tech, Opinions, Solutions and Technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
I CAN’T say enough about Google. They are waaay ahead of the curve when it comes to utilizing the web (Internet) for maximum productivity. Best of all, they’re always giving stuff away for FREE. What, you don’t believe me? Well take a peek at this goldmine of Google freebies. Now, I used to be a Yahoo and Hotmail email whore, but then I saw the light with GMail. By the way, this weblog you’re reading is provided by Blogger, which is owned by the Big G (er Google). Since they updated said blog service with a ton of new enhancements, I won’t be looking at a competitor any time soon.

Any how, I urge you to check out the info below regarding their new SMS flight info service. I really don’t know when they’ll come out with a similar service for Africa. I’ll email them to find out, so stay tuned.

Oh, Go Google go! :-)


Flying high with Google SMS
Monday, March 26, 2007 at 7:58:00 PM
Posted by Deepak Sethi, Software Engineer, Mobile Team

Ever spent 15 minutes on the phone shouting answers at the automated airline attendant while rushing to the airport? How cool would it be to get real-time flight info just by sending a quick text message? Well, now you can, using Google SMS.Simply text your flight number to 466453 (‘GOOGLE’ on most mobile devices), and the status information will be sent back to you. Or text a specific airline name, and Google will send back the main phone number to call.Google SMS is available for flights departing or arriving in the U.S., and all of the information is provided by flightstats.com. And as always, it’s free. Give it a try, and let us know what you think.

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Ghana takes a backwards view on hemp

Published on March 28, 2007 in Africa and Business. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
WHEN I WAS in grade 11, I wrote an essay titled Were the Middle Ages a Backward Period in the Development of Western Civilization – as has Traditionally been Thought of & as the Very Name Implies? That was for my Ancient Greek & Roman History class taught by the brilliant Mr. John Patton who kind of looked like Aristotle. :-) Actually, we were given a sheet with about 20 topics or questions to choose from. In said essay, I vividly remember stating that “trade and commerce – the hallmark of an advanced civilization – were virtually non-existent.” This was simply proof to show that the Middle Ages were a backward era. No arguments there.

Et tu Ghana?
Well, it appears that the power brokers in Ghana’s government have decided to take a trip to the Twilight Zone of backwardness. Just take a peek at this folks:

For the sake of our indigenous Africans in Ghana and throughout the continent, who haven’t been exposed to countless literature and medical journals that herald the Hemp plant, I will quote a passage that clearly states the truth that your politicians and lawmakers conceal, as to the real reason why so much energy is wasted criminalizing this God-given plant.“The reason the Weed is outlawed is only ostensibly about health. The truth is the Weed is no more addictive and no more a health risk than cigarettes or alcohol, both of which are protected by the law. Why is it then not allowed? Because if it were grown, half the cotton growers, nylon and rayon manufacturers, and timber products people in the world would go out of business. Hemp happens to be one of the most useful, strongest, toughest, longest lasting materials on the planet. You cannot produce better fiber for clothes, a stronger substance for ropes, an easier-to-grow-and-harvest source for pulp. Instead we cut down hundreds of thousands of trees per year to give ourselves Sunday papers, so that we can read about the decimation of the world’s forest. Hemp could provide us with millions of Sunday papers without cutting down one tree. Indeed, it could substitute for so many resource materials, at one-tenth the cost. And that is the catch. Somebody loses money if this miraculous plant, which also has extraordinary medicinal properties, incidentally is allowed to be grown. That is why marijuana is illegal in your country.”

{source}

By the way, we’ll have to assume Ghana’s politicians have viable alternatives to creating wealth for its poor farmers that would rival hemp’s unlimited possibilities. Right? I doubt it. Now why do I get this sneaking suspicion that some powerful outside institutions have the hands of this government tied behind closed doors. After all, doesn’t Ghana depend on aid and favourable trade benefits from some Western governments in order to progress? Hmm…I wonder who sold out. [Read more]

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South African government speech on hemp

Published on March 28, 2007 in Africa and Business. 4 Comments Tags: , , .

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
GOD bless South Africa. Now there’s a country with leaders who are forward-thinking when it comes to legalizing industrial hemp. It’s obvious that they see billions (in dollar$) of reasons to grow said plant. I urge you to take a peek at this amazing speech. Here’s a teaser to whet your appetite:

Tonight, we are here to celebrate the first retail and marketing outlet to be established by Hooked on Hemp SA, a black owned small business which acts as convenors of the Human Resource Development programme in the National Hemp Initiative. Ultimately, it is hoped to roll House of Hemp out to the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, the three provinces where hemp grows the best in South Africa.

The products you will see this evening at the House of Hemp will surprise you in their diversity, ranging as they do from men’s and ladies’ fashion wear through to home d?r, stationery, building materials and beauty and health products. All manufactured from hemp, they are produced for House of Hemp by small scale entrepreneurs from previously disadvantaged communities, with the assistance and support of the CSIR. {source}

Go South Africa go! [Read more]

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Legal hemp for Malawi?

Published on March 28, 2007 in Africa and Business. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
THIS is an old article but it’s still relevant today as many African governments grapple with the issue of permitting hemp to be grown for it’s many industrial uses. I think this is part of the problem:

Only S. Africa and a couple of other more independent African nations have any type of hemp production. The main reason for this is the policy of the United States
which demands, along with many other strings and conditions, a total ban on hemp
production before giving ‘aid’, massive bribes to officials, or millions of dollars worth of military equipment to brutally put down popular uprisings.

Quite frankly, the choice of raking in billion$ of dollar$ in legitimate foreign exchange is a no brainer to me. What about you? [Read more]

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Tanzania Pursues Aggressive Tourism Plans

Published on March 24, 2007 in Africa, Business and Travel. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
ONCE YOU VISIT TANZANIA, you really don’t feel like leaving so soon. This country just grows on you. Why? Because there are tons of beautiful places, sites, parks and exotic beaches to visit. For example, when I was staying in Zanzibar, I had the pleasure of hanging out at Cholos beach bar (see pic below), which is a popular beach bar known by all the tourists. This place is sooo relaxing due to its beach setting and funky layout among the tall beach trees. And that’s not all. I’d say TZ has got to be one of the safest countries in all of Africa. Well, that’s the general word on the street from talking to other tourists, business peeps, expat hotel staff members, backpackers, etc.
Less is more…
Also, you just don’t see those crazy (almost shocking) front page horror stories that you read in most other newspapers or see on the idiot box (er TV) in other parts of Africa. I’m serious folks. To me, that’s very refreshing. Yes, life isn’t perfect here and crime does exist, but not at “those” levels, and the frequency is considerably less. Perhaps it has something to do with the laid back persona of the typical Tanzanian which, by the way, is well known outside the country. I also noticed this in their police officers, too, which is a good thing. Try that with most cops in Kenya. lol. I’m sure that Julius Nyerere (pics), Tanzania’s legendary humanist founder and inclusive socialist leader, has a lot to do with the country’s remarkable vibe. Yes, I’ve never met him, but I LOVE him tremendously. Any how, if TZ keeps up this track record, there’s no doubt that Dar will eventually replace Nairobi as the economic hub of East Africa. Heck, have you seen all the construction going on in this city lately? Something’s definitely cooking – economically. :-)

Mo’ money…
Most importantly, the country will be rewarded handsomely where it matters the most: At the ca$h register as tourists the world over flock here to explore its many treasures. Now, judging from this article below, the government is serious as hell about increasing earnings from tourism to the tune of US $3 billion per year starting in 3 years time. Wow, that’s some serious coin. :-) As such, this makes yet another excellent Go Africa go! story because it highlights that tourism is going to be an even bigger income earner in the future, which translates into excellent business opportunities for those who cease the moment.

Article: Dar to increase Tourism Earnings
Source: Daily News (Tanzania), 22 Feb 2007, Home News, pg 2
By: Charles Kizigha
The government plans to carry out an aggressive tourism promotion campaign to
increase the earnings from 700m US dollars (about 900bn/-) to 3bn US dollars (about 4tr/-) accrued from the sector a year in the next three years. The campaign will involve advertising the country’s tourism potentials on the America TV channels CNN and CNBC and also making sure there are direct flights to Tanzania from the US and Europe.

Minister for Natural Resources & Tourism, Prof. Jumanne Maghembe, said this yesterday before flying to the US for a ten-day official visit, where he would hold talks with CNN, CNBC, and Delta Airlines top officials and eventually sign contracts. He is leading a six-man delegation. He said that the government intends to spend 500m/- in the first six months to advertise on CNN and CNBC with an intention of targeting the US and Canada markets.

Prof Maghembe said that Tanzania would display a series of brochures showing the country’s tourist attractions at the New York Times exhibition and a presentation will be conducted to selected travel agents and tour operators who feature Tanzania as a tourist destination. He said that the team would hold talks with Delta Airlines officials in Dallas on operating direct flights to Tanzania from the US. The minister said that the
tourism promotion is being carried out simultaneously with hotel expansion programme in order to cope with the anticipated increase of tourists from the current 612,000 a year to one million by 2010.

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Bee products buzzing with potential

Published on March 23, 2007 in Africa and Business. 0 Comments Tags: , .

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
WOW, it’s simply amazing the variety and diversity of business opportunities that exist right here in Tanzania; in fact, all of Africa. It truly boggles the mind. Now, according to this short newspaper clipping (see below), Tanzania’s bee products possess “unique organic qualities” that rivals the best in the world. Well, I hope some visionary entrepreneurs (local or foreign) take Mr. Pamba’s enthusiastic message about said opportunities, and begin to get the wheels of bee commerce in motion. Ya know, this is the kind of story that gives you a “goood buzz” without having to crank open a Kilimanjaro beer. :-) Once again, this is excellent Go Africa go! material. If you have any such stories, please email them to me at MaxTheITpro[at]GMail.com. I assume you know to put an @ in place of [at]. Right? That’s to prevent web spiders (robots) from collecting my email address in order to send me junk (er spam), which I don’t care to entertain.

Article: Call to exploit the potential of bee products
Source: Daily News (Tanzania), 22 Feb 2007, Home News, pg 2
By: Daily News Reporter
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources & Tourism, Mr. Saleh Pamba, has challenged the country’s business community to exploit the export potential of bee products available in Tanzania. Opening a meeting of honey and beeswax stakeholders in Arusha, yesterday, he said that Tanzania’s bee products could be the most competitive in the world market due to its unique organic qualities.

Mr. Pamba, however, told the stakeholders that investment is required to improve production technology and marketing. At the moment the production of honey and beeswax in Tanzania is 5,600 and 600 tonnes respectively. This genearates 8.6 million and 1.6 million US dollars. It is estimated that the productive potential of bee products in Tanzania is about 138,000 tonnes of honey and 9,200 tonnes of beeswax per annum.

Mr. Pamba said that many African countries, including Tanzania, have realised that, if made a priority in terms of the allocation of human and financial resources, the beekeeping sector could contribute immensely to poverty eradication and environmental conservation. The meeting was organised under the auspices of ApiTradeAfrica, a business association that will coordinate and stimulate production and marketing of quality honey and other bee products from African countries.

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Great business news from South Africa

Published on March 22, 2007 in Africa and Business. 0 Comments Tags: , .

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
WITH FIFA’s World Cup competition due to arrive on South Africa’s shores in 2010, there’s no doubt that business is booming like never before. Optimism along with a deep rooted pride is in the air of Africa’s most advanced economy. I will definitely have to take a visit down to SA some day to see what all the buzz is about.
Also, it’d be nice to chat with some of their IT professionals since those guys can hold their own against the best in the world. I’m basing this on some IT projects I’ve seen that originated from over there. Hmmm, I wonder if their authorities will let me into the country after I wrote this article bitching about a particular telkom company: Telkom South Africa: Can a Company be this Hated? Hey, I tell it like it is. :-)

Any how, I urge you to peek these exciting stories coming out of SA that make excellent Go Africa go! material. Go SA go! :-)

SA breeds an exploding middle class
Optimism pervades the country as millions haul themselves out of poverty. In most societies in the world, it takes four to five generations for a person to rise from poverty to affluent middle-class status. In South Africa, a raft of surveys shows this is happening within a single generation. Experts say the American dream, which has lasted for more than 100 years, is starting to wane, while the South African dream is being born. {Read more}

SA’s stock exchange on a high
2006 was another record-beating year for South Africa’s JSE, with foreigners buying a record net R73.7-billion worth of local shares, the All Share index rocketing 38% – in the process reaching numerous new all-time highs – and the AltX exchange for smaller companies reaching critical mass just three years after its birth. Bloomberg reported this week that overseas investment in South African stocks hit a record high for the second year running in 2006, with foreigners investing a net R73.7-billion in the JSE – up by 47% from 2005 – buying R480.8-billion of shares and selling R407.1-billion. {Read more}

SA scores for ease of business
South Africa ranks among the top 30 countries in the world in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2007 report, released in Washington on Tuesday. Doing Business is an annual report that measures the ease of doing business in 175 economies around the world. This year’s report measured the effect of 213 reforms that reduced the time, cost, and hassle for businesses to comply with legal and administrative requirements.
“The report is a critical tool for developing countries to determine where more reforms are needed,” said World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz. {Read more}

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The world is seeing RED

Published on March 20, 2007 in Business, Health and Life. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
RED alert: Do your part to help prevent the spread of AIDS. I don’t say this enough, but I looove Oprah Winfrey. She has such a big, sincere heart and she always uses her super star profile to do a lot of good in this world. Heck, I wish she’d run for president. She’d kick Hilary Clinton’s ass in the polls any day of the week. In reality, she’d also get more accomplished while on the job. Clinton is a damn bureaucrat. Oh, I also have mad respect for U2’s Bono. He’s a class act.

What’s this RED stuff all about?
I thought you’d never ask. Just take a peek at this:

(RED)™ is a revolutionary program designed to eliminate AIDS in Africa.
“Lots of people here in the United States have been trying to deal with the
problems of Africa in a very serious way,” Bono says. “But not everybody has the
time to be an activist or put on their marching boots. So we said, ‘How are we
going to get the shopping malls involved? How are we going to get to where
people live and shop…?’”

By buying a (RED) brand T-shirt, a pair of jeans or even a cell phone, you
can help save lives. Part of your purchase will be donated to The Global Fund to
help those who need it most. Just the T-shirts that the audience is wearing
today will provide enough medication to prevent transmission of HIV from mother
to child for over 14,000 pregnant women. {source}

My thoughts:
Well, if you’re out at the mall and you see one of these RED products, then buy em all. Okay? Otherwise President Oprah is gonna hunt you down. :-) On a serious note, this is an excellent Go Africa go! story because it highlights that a little money at the cash register can go a long way in fighting AIDS at the prevention stage. Remember, the T-shirts Oprah’s audience was wearing provided enough ca$h to purchase medication for about 14,000 pregnant women in order to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child. That’s amazing!

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Fresh Water from the Indian Ocean

Published on March 20, 2007 in Africa, Solutions and Technology. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
THEY say “the best things in life are free.” Perhaps. Now, when it comes to fresh water, that’s not the case in most places around the world – especially here in Africa. In all honesty, growing up in Canada has sort of spoiled me to the point where we, as Canadians, never had to worry about water. Why? Because Mother Nature was kind enough to bless us with more fresh water than any other country on the planet. The 5 great lakes (Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Huron, Superior) along with numerous other large bodies of water (Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, Georgian Bay, James Bay, Lake Athabasca, etc.) scattered throughout the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast provides us with, virtually, unlimited supplies. And with a population of only 30 million people inhabiting the 2nd largest country in the world, this means that water scarcity should never ever enter the Canadian vocabulary. :-)

Try to picture this. Lake Superior (see above) is the world’s largest freshwater lake covering a staggering area of 31,720 miles (82,103 sq kilometers) with its deepest point at 1,335 feet. That’s massive.

Seeing is believing
When I touched down in Africa (Nairobi) for the first time near the end of 2005, a new reality began to sink in. On numerous occasions, whenever I woke up, the watchman had to pump water so that I can proceed to take a shower. And if the electric company couldn’t supply enough power on that particular day, we were in big doo doo because the pumps need electricty. This was a totally new experience for me, and I realized then and there just how lucky Canadians are — to the point that we take a lot of things (electricity, universal health care, free K-12 education) for granted. I don’t any more.

Water scarcity everywhere
Everyday in the news, I’m always reminded of how delicate the water situation is throughout Africa. In particular, this week is Maji Week (maji = water in Swahili) in these parts, and there’s just no way to escape the “down pour” of negative news regarding maji (er water). It’s agonizing to think that, at any moment, bad scenarios can result from the lack of this precious resource. I read some where the other day that Dar es Salaam (Haven of Peace) is not able to supply all the water that it’s citizens demand. This is so sad because I absolutely looove this city. Knowing this, I decided to cruise the Internet to see what’s new in the world of high technology that could end Dar’s water scarcity once and for all.

Sea of hope
Without a doubt, a city like Dar would be wise to look at the Indian Ocean for its water supply. After all, it’s right there, and so convenient to access. The only problem is the damn salt. Now what if there was a large scale method of extracting fresh water from the ocean – and cheaply? Well, I was watching the idiot box (um, TV) this morning and saw an excellent story (courtesy of SABC) about a South African company called GrahamTek that’s making waves (pun intended). It appears that they’ve invented (or improved) a new cheap method (process?) to take the salt out of the sea water that’s far more efficient and effective than desalination plants of yester year. The secret is reverse osmosis desalination and it’s a technology that you’ll be hearing a lot about – hopefully soon.

The salt on desalination
In a nutshell, desalination is a complex process of removing salt from sea water. I remember reading a long time ago about how Saudi Arabia was one of the world’s biggest users of desalination plants. But I also heard they were expensive (about $400 million) to build and required a lot of power to operate. Well, Saudi Arabia has cheap energy thanks to its oil jackpot, but I don’t think the old desalination plants they were using would work in Dar. Too damn costly. Enter GrahamTek Systems with some fresh, innovative thinking to the entire field of desalination.

GrahamTek to the rescue
After seeing that short SABC news article about GrahamTek Systems (runs Ocean Mineral Water), I was determined to find out more information about the company.

Ocean Mineral Water is run by local group Grahamtek Systems, which has been working in the field since 1994. They believe they are years ahead of other companies elsewhere in the world. Jean Vos of Ocean Mineral Water said: “The basic point is that we can give Cape Town water and that is a fact. “The company recently erected a plant in the Maldives that produces half a million litres a day and was erected in a single day at a cost of a mere R1.5 million.

In the past the prohibitive energy costs of desalination have prevented widespread use of the technology. However, the local scientists say they have improved technology and are now able to supply desalinated water at a cost of R4,80/1 000 litres, which is substantially cheaper than the water provided by most municipalities. “Seawater is the healthiest water on the planet as it has all the minerals that you need, reverse osmosis simply removes what is bad for you and retains the good part. This is the best water for any living being to consume and even for agriculture,” said Martin Lyons of Ocean Mineral Water. {source}

Wow, that is simply amazing news. In short, I think GrahamTek has no where else to go but up. Heck, where can I buy some shares? :-) But honestly, I think Dar es Salaam should seriously look into using this technology to solve its water problems. I’ll write more about this later.

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