I spent a good deal of this morning watching a live stream of some excited, aspiring startup developers in Nairobi, Kenya. Capital TV is streaming the live event Feb. 24-26. It is called simply, Startup Weekend Nairobi. If you are reading this during those dates you might want to tune in.
I was in encouraged to see so many university students aspiring to start their own companies. That is exactly was is needed in most of Africa. Entrepreneurship, and the innovation that it brings, will open up new streams of income and new services that have all the potential of changing the continent.
Technical innovation in the fields of agricultural, health, and political transparency are outstanding examples of contributions of startups that I have followed over the past couple of years.
Kilimo Salama, is an cropl insurance scheme that employees cell phone apps to make payments for the insurance at the local seed or fertilizer shop, monitor the weather, and collect compensation when the rain fails.
Sudan Vote Monitor used cell phones to report polling and balloting problems during the referendum vote for the birth of
South Sudan.
mPedigree is a cell phone app that enables people read bar codes to verify if the medicines they are wanting to buy from the local chemist or market vendor are the real thing or counterfeits.
No telling what new applications and companies will come from those who are gathered at Startup Weekend Nairobi. As they network together and where need, they are partnered with those from outside of Africa, lives could be changed through the creation of new jobs and revenue streams.
All the best to these young “Steve Jobs.”
If you miss the event check them out their website http://nairobi.startupweekend.org/ or twitter @StartupwkndKe
I look forward to consulting with several of them. Contact me if you are interested in connecting with these young entrepreneurs.
