Home sweet home
Well, I’ve finally made it to the continent of my ancestors – even though I was born in Barbados (also see Barbados Wikepedia ) and grew up in Canada (with 3 years living in New England). Wow, talk about feeling nostalgic!

I arrived here on Nov 26/2005 – on short notice – at the request of a friend from AITEC Africa (short for Advancing ICT knowledge in Africa). My task – if I chose to accept it – was to observe the IT climate in the region as we met with representatives in the business and government sectors whom are both progressive, and seeking Canadain solutions (ERP, eBusiness, eGovernment, etc.) to their many IT needs.

In addition, I was the technical member of the team meaning that I was mandated to use my diverse IT background (and experiences) as a point of reference when looking for potential opportunities that others would not recognize, or when simply conversing with any one willing to listen.

Africa is open for business
Suffice to say, I was blown away!
There are, literally, tons of business opportunities (wireless broadband, networking, IT security, content management, eBusiness/eGovernment, web/intranet portals, application development, SMS/WAP mobile solutions, and much more) in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda) that my counterparts in Canada are not even aware of.

Where’s Canada?
I truly believe that a big part of the lack in Canadian business identity over here is due to the 800 pound gorilla South of our border. In other words, Canadian companies are too focused on the American market, which can create serious problems when our neighbor sneezes (ie. billions of dollars lost in sales due to Mad Cow and unfair tarrifs on Canadian lumber). Furthermore, we’re also competing with other foreign companies looking to get a bigger slice of America pie (pun intended).

Meet the Professor
The highlight of my trip so far has got to be meeting Professor Tom Vassos (University of Toronto MBA program; author: Strategic Internet Marketing) who made a huge impact on everyone with his lively eBusiness/eGovernment presentations. Let’s just say that some very powerful and influential people over here were all ears. Thank god he was part of the team. )

Goodbye winter!
Now, we’re fully into 2006 and I’m still here. Like I said, there’s lots to do, and I encourage more visionaries from Canada to come down and share their IT knowledge with people and companies eager to move into the IT mainstream.

I’ll keep you posted on any new developments – if the great sunny weather and beautiful scenery doesn’t permit me from doing so.

Happy belated New Year BTW!

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Related links:

• African Software Gains Global Popularity
• Guardian Unlimited: Special Report – Kenya
  
• AllAfrica.com – ICT & Telecom news
• Has Africa’s ICT Renaissance Begun?
• Open Source Software May Be the Key to Spreading Information Technology in Africa
• Timeline of BSE in Canada and the U.S.
• Canada Mad Cow Crisis Has Cost $3 Billion
• Softwood Lumber Dispute Resource Center
• U.S. Lumber Producers Appeal Ruling
• Lumber dispute strains Canada-US relations