Comments on: Local Innovation and Entrepreneurs

By: What’s on Tap for 2012 — WhiteAfrican

What’s on Tap for 2012 — WhiteAfrican — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:37:41 +0000

[…] entrepreneurs. We were setting the stage to broaden the base of our startup pyramid: finding the local innovators and entrepreneurs and getting more of them […]

By: Emmanuel Taban

Emmanuel Taban — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:26:31 +0000

This is an interesting article more so the fact that innovation has its foundation in knowledge and resources. Consider a country like South Sudan where natural resources are in abundance (in the most natural form), the knowledge bit is sketchy at best owing to 50 years of war then innovation based on knowledge and resources becomes a bigger challenge; however, innovation need not be universal – driving around Juba you notice small innovations which often makes me wonder whether your very circumstances actually informs your inventive thought and processes.

By: Phyllis

Phyllis — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 07:34:51 +0000

great piece! very true.

its important that we appreciate and encourage our own solutions.
we need more of this type of articles to help change our thinking as Kenyans. to look for our own solutions and become our own greatest fans; support our own.
when it just came out, it was hard to believe that m-pesa is 100% kenyan! we need to shift our thinking to believe in ourselves!

this is a great piece.

By: jerry

jerry — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 09:49:43 +0000

Right on! Unfortunately those of us from the West who live here often play along in the game of rescuing poor Africa, a game perpetuated by both the West and citizens of Africa as well. We need to think less as providers, and more as advisers. Because of the tremendous inertia from the past, this is a difficult ship to turn.

By: Jeanine Cooper

Jeanine Cooper — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 06:30:20 +0000

This is brilliant Erik! It makes me think of the toolboxes used by truck drivers in Guinea-Cote d’Ivoire-Liberia: one wrench, a plastic bag, some twine and an empty plastic bottle. Also the souped up Land Cruisers in Somalia and northeastern Kenya that never enter a TOYOTA garage for servicing but can operate on the worst roads. The points you make are brilliant but unfortunately the ability to see lessens the more educated and sure we are of our evangelical mandate to rescue the poor.

By: maqtim

maqtim — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 05:07:48 +0000

Guess its also time we encouraged our own to do biz a little differently. I do agree, its difficult to see, but to compound that is the difficulty to run with a solution should it be visible – rigidity in how solutions should be curved out and implemented. We are always reminded capital is hard to come by. True. But in this day and age, we should encourage our innovators with the fact that the first step to build something shouldnt always be coz there wasnt money to put in. Funding comes when an idea is well packaged and some motion is visible. Then it simply fuels an idea that was and its not really the starting ignition. Should we say “one derivative of innovation = innovation”. Innovating on ways to bring an innovation to life. Several small creative ways to bring life to the big idea. Sounds like the scarcity of a resource triggers innovation by leaving very few options forcing use of alternatives that were never quite thought of. Also, I wonder what it took, more than time, to bring the skeleton of the M-Farm idea (and many others) to bare life. Funding was later. Time and the relevant know-how then, are great resources; one that lots of us may have in our hands.
I want to suggest that availability and/or lack of resources are both important to a certain degree to spur innovation locally. How one plays them is very dependent on knowledge. My two cents quick thots….

By: Conrad Mochu

Conrad Mochu — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 01:13:35 +0000

Great article. Wonderful insight. A solution comes from within. Let resources focus on the local apps tht have a better approach to the people they relate to on daily basis, and understand the problem and the system

By: Aron Kamakil

Aron Kamakil — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:14:34 +0000

I agree. "Letâ€s grow our own." Right here, right now. It is because of people like you that I am proud to be part of the Kenyan technology community. You have no idea how many tech CEOs have asked me what the iHub is and I tell *them (I used spell check this time :] ) to just go see for themselves, so they come and get the shock of their lives. Keep up the good work!

By: Kaptich

Kaptich — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:50:09 +0000

Applause!Applause,Applause!! The creativity and innovation is specific and unique also to a community within Africa..recently the Mobile money platform M-Pesa failed to live up to Vodacomâ€s expectations for the product in SA, group's CEO, admitted. Vodacom registered â€œmore thanâ€ 100 000 M-Pesa users in SA since its launch in August 2010, but this is short of its expectations.

By: Martin Gicheru

Martin Gicheru — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:43:55 +0000

Nice article Erik, i like the way you have made the story flow from the gikomba innovator to the akirachix innovation, images communicate alot also.

Secondly, as you said, innovation cannot be localized to a cliche, its global and has to provide solutions to the local people for all of the globe, and who is best suited to tackle this? We all know that, the innovators from the said area.