Category Archives: Events

African tech and innovation hubs, let’s work together to make the Next Big Thing come out of Africa

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There are A LOT of interesting things happening in the innovations, entrepreneurship and ICT fields in Africa. I had the privilege of representing  iLab Liberia at a meeting of the Afrilabs network of tech & innovation hubs in Africa last weekend, as a pre-event to the Global Innovation Lounge of the re:publica conference, in Berlin, going on this week. There were all in all about a dozen African labs present and meeting for the very first time.

 

Africa is not one story or one market. However, the choir of our voices can be louder together. As later mentioned by one of our hosts, GIZ’s Christian Gmelin, having Erik Hersman open up the huge re:publica digital media conference with a keynote “Innovating Africa”  turns the typical setup to a new direction – it was not the West talking about Africa and spreading there but rather a story of how Africans innovate at all levels of the society. Hersman presented some of the developments in Africa, highlighting that ideas and innovations come from the edge, from outfits and the disruptors – this means that we need to be on the lookout to learn from anyone – and the powerholder corporations, beware! And right now, there is a lot happening in Africa – and there are now more efforts to work collaboratively across the continent

 

So what’s in it for iLab?

 

The meeting and the conference were energizers, eye-openers and door-openers.

 

First, it was absolutely great to feel the energy amongst peers – all the hubs have a community of their own – but now there is also a network of hubs that makes us stronger, as we the users of the labs are getting to…well, thousands, if not perhaps already tens of thousands! And that makes for a powerful feeling of doing things together, around the continent.

 

Secondly, discussing with peers and hearing and seeing the stories at each of the places was – in addition to being entertaining – very thought-provoking and a learning experience.

 

Some of the key trends and developments that we discussed included:

 

-          Hubs moving up in the value-creation chain, i.e. moving gradually from being tech and coworking centers to being incubation and accelerator hubs, places that coach and develop companies (of course, not everyone has to be like that. At iLab, we are not quite yet at a phase where 5 or 10 startups could be incubated at iLab – but we are moving towards a pre-incubation phase, having various events and programs in place that encourage entrepreneurs to work together and it won’t be long before we have the first set of companies working out of iLab.

 

-          Hubs thinking about sustainable funding and business models – how hubs generate all or a substantial portion of their income by their own activities in a moderate time. As for iLab, this year’s budget is not fully covered by grants – we are looking to generate as much as 15-25% of our budget through various paid services.

-          It’s certainly not just “traditional IT” that these tech and innovation hubs are embracing: hubs that foster social innovations, physical computing and hacking/making and green technology had some of the most creative things happening. ILab is just starting out and experimenting on physical computing (Starting next week!) but already knowing that some of the other hubs have, there are great possibilities to learn

 

Thirdly,  the Afrilabs meeting and the joint Global Innovation Lounge at re:publica was a about initiating new contacts and collaborations – both in terms of collaboration between the various hubs on the continent, but also between hubs and donors, venture capitalists, academics and so on. We started our first collaboration with Hive Colab in Uganda, regarding Girls in ICT and more specifically Girls in Programming.

 

Pictures? Oh yeah, hub manager from around the world in action

Workshopping at Supermarkt. It used to be an abandoned Supermarket in a run-down area. Now several spaces in the area have been taken over by creative industry professionals and the areas has revived as well. It’s a great place for co-working and doing workshops.

 

Springtime in Berlin, very pleasurable weather. Whenever doing groupwork, most preferred to talk outside. The sun is good for creative thinking!

 

Some of the results from the first day: how do we make Afrilabs, the network of African tech and innovation hubs as success story.

 

The second day: after getting a few more into the city, the hubs briefly presented themselves, some of their unique features and challenges – to launch workshops on the most mentioned topics.

 

Topics of the second day.

 

The hubs that were present at the event.

 

The Global Innovation Lounge is not about flashy corporate style, but rather business and innovations coming from the grassroots. We demonstrated this feel by “hacking and making” our area at the conference – with inexpensive materials and a big heart. Jay Cousins from ICECairo leading the pack.

 

So…we all got our handmade pillows made.

 

Erik Hersman delivering the keynote: “Innovating Africa” and claiming that the statmakers got it all wrong – patent statistics are not really the way to define where innovations are happening.

 

This is what an early phase innovation might look like – a DIY 13-phase security system.

 

From a VERY early proto to a crowdfunding capable production version – the BRCK from Ushahidi

 

The crowd was gathering at the Lounge, it was busy most of the time

 

African hubs and their managers.

Challenges and Benefits of iLab & Ministry of Commerce Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ICT training

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Nowadays, the widespread uses of Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) are changing the way people or companies work. It is a feature of the technological advancements of this period in history where there has been immense innovation in the information and communication sector.

Thus, the pace of technological change and what is available for use by businesses has change how they interact and do business with others. In particular, ICTs have a valuable potential for developing Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) through more effective use and better integration of ICTs in business processes while assisting them to make more efficient decisions relevant to their performance. ICTs have the potential to generate a change among SMEs and make them more competitive, innovative and generate growth.

 

 

Challenges faced by SMEs owners in Liberia

the current generation that’s old enough to be engaged in entrepreneurial activities are not aware of the benefits of ICTs since they’ve never been exposed to them

There is a problem in Liberia with the lack of basic computer skills and digital literacy. By our own conservative estimate, more than half the population have never taken a course on any aspect of computer use. The current generation that’s old enough to be engaged in entrepreneurial activities are not aware of the benefits of ICTs since they’ve never been exposed to them.

 

Most entrepreneurs only have a basic knowledge of ICT and don’t consider it as a strategic tool. They prefer investing in their core business rather than in ICT.

Education, training, and workforce development are key factors to improve the ICT uptake and to make effective use of it in general and for SMEs in particular.

The use of ICTs in Small and Medium Sized businesses is not very prevalent in the Liberia. From interactions with the small businesses owners who have participated in our training so far, we’ve gathered that their businesses use some form of ICT. The kind of technology in use is mostly telephones and standalone computers / laptops for basic wordprocessing and Internet purposes. They do not have dedicated ICT staff to carry out the ICT-related responsibilities.

 

They also listed different barriers that prevent them from learning and adopting or implementing ICT, ranging from socio-economic issues to technology-related issues: lack of money, lack of stable electricity, lack of knowledge, technology intimidation and perceived high cost of ICT. The Most of the barriers could be possibly overcome by learning more about ICT and by SMEs employing knowledgeable ICT staff.

 

 

Benefits of the training

 

Owing to these facts, since last year, as part of our regular free ICTs training at iLab, we have partnered with the Ministry of Commerce & Industries’ SMEs department to host series of contextually relevant ICTs training for over thirty (30) Small Businesses owner’s and employees. These training range from Google Map Maker – which allowed them to add and update their businesses geographical information on Google Maps and Google Earth for millions of users / potential customers to see.

Facebook and Google + – social media tools that allowed them to create pages for their businesses to advertise and market their products and services. GNUCash – a free and easy to use small-business financial-accounting software that will allow them to track bank accounts, income and expenses.

MS Excel - an electronic spreadsheet program that they will use for storing, organising and manipulating their organisational and financial documents.

 

Recently we had an intern, Shira Khaminsky from the University of Massachusetts who taught the Small businesses owners a course we labelled as intro branding and advertising. Doing her time she taught them to use Scribus, a free & open source design software to create customised business card, logos and brochure for their business. We’ve also just concluded an Intermediate version of the branding and advertising course for the same group of small business owners.

 

 

On the whole, ICT tools can provide several benefits across a wide range business operations and transactions. Certainly, ICT applications can contribute to improving information in a firm, can reduce transaction costs and can increase the speed and reliability of transactions for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions.

In addition, they are effective tools for improving external communications and quality of services for established and new customers. More specifically, SMEs can obtain a wide range of benefits from the use of ICT.

Among these benefits,it is possible to mention:

 

1. Enhance the productivity and effectiveness of certain activities or functions.

2. Enable the access to new environments as well as the generation of new markets and business models.

3. Improve the qualification and specialisation of human resources, which increases

efficiency.

 

To conclude, our doors are always opened to partner with the Ministry of Commerce and other ministries to train small business owners with contextually relevant ICT skills that will encourage the use of ICTs and enhance their productivity and effectiveness to deliver the best possible services to their customers. We hope that these training will serve as a stepping stone for Liberian entrepreneurs / small business owners to integrate technologies that will boost productivity, thus, generating growth in their businesses.

 

Luther D. Jeke

Training Director

*iLab_Liberia

 

iLab helps bridge the divide between Liberian women in ICT

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Information and communication technologies (ICT) are fast accelerating productivity across the globe. The ICT sector not only drives innovation, but fuels competition through job creation. Understanding the Internet and having proper access to it are therefore crucial for the growth of the Liberian economy, particularly for the professional development of its women.

 

With the help of iLab’s ICT for Girls (ICT4G) Mastering the Internet course, which is exclusively for women and girls as young as high-school aged, Liberian females are now learning about the Internet, various search techniques, and exploring how to use the web to solve real, everyday problems.

 

The training is a week-long course that introduces its participants to the wonders of the Internet as an educational and research tool, and it encourages women to explore what they are passionate about. In the past few months, iLab has taught more than three(3) ICT4G trainings with over 60 participants.

 

We at iLab know that Liberian women are significantly under-represented across the board in ICT-from education and training programs to the higher level careers in the sector. The shortage of ICT-oriented women also impact future generation significantly.

 

This course serve as a stepping stone to encourage Liberian women to learn about the Internet and its many ingredients as they gain more exposure to the opportunities before them in the field of ICT.

 

Luther D. Jeke

Training Director

*iLab_Liberia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Tools for modern-day storytellers: social media for Liberia’s aspiring journalists

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In an effort to bring technology to a growing community of Liberian journalists, iLab recently offered a course exploring online collaborative platforms. This course, Social Media for Social Change, is one of iLab’s ongoing and most popular courses that, in this case, was customized for 14 members of the Journalists for Human Rights Liberia Student Chapter. This training introduces platforms for easily publishing articles, document storage and virtual collaboration among Liberia’s aspiring journalists.

Cross-section of participants

In our interactions with iLab users, we’ve found that most people spend their online time using Facebook and emailing; very few are taking advantage of other information sharing tools. For this reason, we highlighted the following tools for our classroom of journalists:

  • Tumblr – For journalists we’ve met at iLab, the most important function of a website is to share their stories, images and create a body of work for others to see. Blogging tools like WordPress, while useful, focus more on the site’s design whereas our users are seeking to upload content quickly and easily. Tumblr’s features make it clear and simple how to upload a variety of content with a unique, preset theme.

 

  • Google Plus – This social platform is an alternative to Facebook that, in the Liberian context, is more often used for professional collaboration via Hangouts or simultaneous editing of a shared document. iLab users find it engaging and also a productive tool for group work and info sharing outside of the lab.

 

  • Participants receive certificates at the end

    Twitter – As I always say, “a journalist without a Twitter account is half-informed.” Even in a setting like Liberia where slow connection speeds make it difficult to use Twitter, it is undoubtedly the fastest way to share one’s own work and to stay abreast with events both within Liberia and around the world. Even if Liberian journalists only get to use Twitter periodically depending on their internet connection, it is critical for them to have a voice in the Twittersphere where Liberians are under-represented. With the ACE fiber-optic cable recently landed in-country and soon to be distributed, Liberia will soon have access to high-speed internet and these journalists will be ready to take advantage of tools like Twitter right away.

 

We’re excited to Hangout, Tweet and Tumble with these talented storytellers; here are a couple of all-stars to follow: @flozeezee, @AlVarneyRogers. In our efforts to support aspiring and professional journalists, we welcome suggestions about online and offline platforms/tools that you have found useful. Please share with us so we can continue growing Liberia’s online community of storytellers.

iLab’s New Course teaches Liberians to have a Global online voice

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Technology is all around us.

 

iLab Liberia is at the forefront of educating Liberians on various information and communication technologies.  With the help of iLab’s Quickstart Website Training, Liberians are now gaining the skills needed to contribute to global conversations and create an online presence.

 

The Quickstart Website training is a week-long course that introduces participants to WordPress and how to use WordPress to create websites and blogs.

 

The major challenge we identified before teaching this course is that participants need to first have basic computer skills before being able to use WordPress. So we screened participants by using a basic computer test to determine if they were well suited for the course.

 

However, we noticed that passing the basic computer test didn’t guarantee that participants could do well in the Quick-start website training. We now plan to incorporate a more comprehensive evaluation for the next course that will not only test their basic computer skills, but also their proficiency in using the web.

 

With the help of this course, iLab hopes to see more Liberians being proactive in creating their own voice.

 

Luther Jeke

Training Director

*iLab_Liberia

Via iLab, Liberian Journalist Presents at New York Film Festival on Global Human Rights

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Tetee Gebro is a Liberian Journalist reporting for New Narratives and working with SkyFm, a local radio station here in Monrovia.

 

Recently, Tetee reported on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) on her radio show. This report brought about a huge outcry in Liberia among both the traditional people and human rights activists with diverse opinions on the topic.

 

Because of her coverage, Tetee was asked to appear on a panel at New York Film Festival on Global Human Rights. This was a glorious opportunity for Tetee and Liberia’s entire journalism community.

 

In order to participate in the panel, Tetee was to appear virtually via Internet, but because of Liberia’s lacking telecommunication infrastructure and slow Internet connection, it appeared almost impossible for this opportunity to become a reality.

 

As Tetee’s organizers tried to find a place with reliable internet service and an evironment that could afford her to appear by video over Skype, iLab Liberia was the only public resource center in Liberia that could provide Tetee with the resources to participate in the panel discussion.

We were immediately contacted and as usual, we invited Tetee and her local organizers to a meeting to understand the nature of the event and to ensure that all Tetee could required to make this event possible could be available..

 

 

iLab prepared a computer running Skype and a projector with and adequate bandwidth just sufficient to ensure uninterrupted video and voice transmissions. With the help of iLab, Tetee was able to successfully attend and presented at the Firm Festival. See more about Tetee’s presentation at the Film Festival here.

 

iLab is the only technology hub in Liberia that offers free technological opportunities that could not otherwise be found in this country. With the lab’s popularity spreading, we are moving to a larger space this month so we can better accommodate users’ needs and interests. We are always looking for potential funders who would like to see Tetee and other Liberians given the resources that iLab has to offer; contact us if you would like to contribute to iLab’s future and that of Liberia!

 

Thanks

 

Carter

iLab’s Social Media training: its significance to Liberians

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On the 26th of March we certified 17 persons after they successfully completed the social media training at iLab. This was the second social media training held at iLab for non-journalists. Previous social media trainings held at iLab had been exclusively for journalists from various local media institutions.

 

This 5 day course had one session each that lasted for three hours. Those certified included local IT Professionals and students of various Liberian universities. We covered social media tools like Tumblr, Twitter, Google+ and FronlineSMS.

 

As a way of showing the practical use of tools taught in the training, it was required of all participants to start their own Tumblr, Twitter and Google+ accounts. Some of the tumblr blogs started during the training were Gabriel Leoanard’s http://assescode143.tumblr.com/ Fredrick Horace’s http://amuchine.tumblr.com/ and Roosevelt Sackor’s http://rooseveltsackor.tumblr.com/.

 

What makes iLab’s social media training significant to Liberia? There have never been any computer institution or tech lab in Liberia offering training in social media. We have also realized that Liberians have spent the last decade reading other people’s articles, stories and advertisements online; even stories about Liberia online are often told by ex-pats who live here. The participants saw the training as a new means through which their untold stories could be read and seen.

 

With such an eye opening training, we believe Liberians can now get online and contribute stories about all happenings in Liberia.

 

Luther D. Jeke

Training Director

*iLab_Liberia

 

iLab’s FOSS training: why it matters in Liberia

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At iLab Liberia we have had a series of Introduction to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) trainings over the last 9 months. During the trainings we cover the definitions of Linux Operating System derivatives, how to install the Ubuntu 10.10 Operating System, desktop and basic features operations and also introduce participants to Apache web server and Open DNS. I recently led my first Intro FOSS training at iLab, and it got me thinking about the significance of sharing FOSS in Liberia.

 

What makes iLab’s Intro FOSS training unique? Firstly, there is no other computer school or tech lab in Liberia offering any training in FOSS. This FOSS training is iLab’s most popular training because most Liberians have a growing interest in learning new skills and especially a new operating system like Ubuntu that is free, open source, and virus-free. This training is a dream come true for most Liberians because they have been using pirated copies of Windows OS for most of their lives as computer users; these pirated OS’s easily corrupt their computers and make basic computer use extremely frustrating.

Proprietary software like the Windows OS is very expensive and it is very difficult to get a genuine copy in Liberia. We have repeatedly conducted this training at iLab because we have heard participants’ testimonies that learning and using the Ubuntu OS has improved the performance of their computers, made their computers virus-free, and also given them an edge over other techies and computer users.

 

Before iLab began offering these trainings, Windows Operating System was the only OS used in Liberia. During FOSS trainings, we frequently face the challenge that FOSS is a whole new subject in Liberia and we have to spend ample time explaining the concept of FOSS and getting participants to comfortably use an alternative to the familiar Windows OS. It is our dream at iLab that Liberians will develop more interest in learning and using free and open source software to enhance their work and computer user experience instead of using pirated copies of proprietary software that tends to crash after a few months.

 

Want to see our FOSS manual? Click here

 

Luther D. Jeke

Training Director

*iLab Liberia

Ashesi University offers scholarships to Liberians

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Last month, we received a delegation from Ghana’s Ashesi University. In addition to visiting iLab and getting a sense of our operations, the delegation came to offer scholarship opportunities to qualified Liberian students.

Ashesi University is a coeducational institution whose goal is to educate African leaders
of exceptional integrity and professional ability. The university, which began instruction in March

 2002 with a pioneer class of 30 students, has quickly gained a reputation for innovation and quality education in Ghana.

The university is an independent, private, not-for-profit institution.

The University co-founder, Patrick Awuah, speaks at TED talks about the university on the topic “educating leaders”; we highly recommend this video – watch it here.

The day after our meeting with Ashesi delegation, we invited iLab users to attend and informational session explaining the procedure and necessary forms to apply for the scholarship opportunity. More than 80 interested candidates were in attendance, including both iLab users and others new to our facility. During our meeting, we explained about the University, the levels of scholarships awarded, procedure for applying for the scholarship, and a virtual tour of the campus through the university’s website, and at the end of our meeting, we encouraged all interested candidates to attend the official Ashesi University Scholarship launch which was to be held the next day at the Joseph Jenkins Roberts United Methodist School in Monrovia.

Our team attended the launch and found that nearly 50% to 60% percent of the people at the launch had attended the scholarship awareness meeting at iLab Liberia the day before.


The scholarship opportunity

Ashesi University has over $3,000,000 from the MasterCard Foundation to give financial assistance to applicants who otherwise could not afford the college’s tuition. Nearly 40% of their student body receives scholarships from the University.

Ashesi offers a four-year bachelor’s program grounded in the liberal arts core curriculum. Degrees offered include:

  • Business Administration

  • Management information Systems

  • Computer Science

Ashesi University is here in Liberia to award significant financial support to qualified students who need such assistance. Students accepted will be eligible for full or partial scholarship support to cover their tuition fees, textbooks, housing, and meals. In addition, 40 scholarship recipients will receive laptops each year.

The admission and scholarship application forms can be downloaded here.

Requirements for scholarship

  1. WAEC – All applicants are required to have obtained division I, II, & III in the West African Examination.

  2. If in High School, you are required to provide your transcript along with your application form(s)

  3. Engage with other activities, skills, leadership ability, volunteer job, sports, talents, etc is an added advantage

  4. Bank Statements, pay slips etc from family

  5. Fill in the Admissions and Scholarships Forms (if you are applying for a scholarship)

  6. Complete Application Forms in CAPITAL LETTERS

  7. Submit Forms my post and email

  8. If selected you will have to undergo on-phone interview (The University admissions office will call and interview you by phone on the number you will provide in your application form).


Frequently Asked Questions about the Ashesi scholarships

Who can apply for a scholarship at Ashesi?

Any family that can not afford the full fees should complete a scholarship.

Application Form and turn it in with their admissions application.

You can not apply for a scholarship after you have been admitted.

Will I need to submit any supporting documentation with my scholarship application?

A letter requesting why you need a scholarship is required. Families will able be required to submit bank statements, pay slips and any other relevant documentation. The more information you can include to support your inability to pay the full fees, the easier it will be to process your request. However, if you are unable to provide supporting documentation please explain in your letter why you are unable to do so.

How are scholarship decisions made?

First, the selection process begins by determining who should be given an offfer of admission based on each applicant’s overall profile

Second, based on your scholarship need, you are placed into one of three categories:

Extreme Need (over $5,000)

High Need (between 3,500 – 5, 000)

Medium Need (between 2,000 – 3,500)

Low Need (less than 2,000)

For each category, there is a set amount of scholarships Ashesi can award.

Third, students in each category are selected based on the competitiveness of their admissions application.

When will I know whether I have been awarded a scholarship?

Typically, decisions are made within three weeks of submitting a completed application. You will receive both your admission and scholarship decision at the same time.

Will the scholarship be renewed every year?

As long as you and your family can continue to demonstrate financial need, you can expect that your scholarship award will be renewed annually. The scholarship committee meets annually to assess the financial status of each scholar’s family. You may be asked to submit updated bank statements, pay slips and other supporting documents of verify your family’s financial standings.

Where iLab comes in

Looking at iLab Liberia’s mission to provide and encourage innovation, access and technology, we are in a position to provide our users with any possible learning opportunities that enable them to excel. In an effort to helped our users understand the requirements and submit their applications, iLab has pledged to do the following:

  1. iLab sent out a citation to all her users and the public upon which they gathered at iLab’s office where they were briefed about how to apply, provided copies of the application Forms, and encouraged them to attend the launching ceremony to hear from the horse’s mouth.

  2. Obligated her lab to all applicants to send their applications by email.

It is our hope an prayer that a good number of Liberians applying will be qualified and admitted.

New Approaches to an Old Favorite: Google Mapping Parties

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At iLab Liberia we usually host a mapping party every month. During the mapping parties, locals and expats come at iLab to map public buildings, their favorite video club, cook shop, neighborhood streets or businesses using Google Map Maker. We play some Liberian music, have soft-drinks and snacks, enjoy the ocean view during breaks; it’s a great time all around.

 

During previous mapping parties we realized that, most folks stopping by to map didn’t have an in-depth knowledge of Google Map Maker (or any mapping tools) and some didn’t even have gmail accounts; having a gmail account is a pre-requisite for using Map Maker. These were issues that limted the amount of places and roads that were being mapped each of our mapping parties.

So for our latest mapping party last Friday, we introduced few new approaches to increase mappers’ understanding of how to use Map Maker and how to make the most of their mapping time. From 5-6pm before the actual party, we had a mapping tutorial for all the new mappers and a station for people to open gmail accounts. During the actual mapping party we divided the 41 participants and gave them 45 mins each to map before rotating in the next group; this was in part because we only have 15 computer stations and also because with more than 15 persons mapping at once, the V SAT internet connection slowed down to a crawl.

 

By applying these strategies, we noticed that all 41 participants were able to smoothly
map places and roads of the choice. We believe that if we incorporatete the strategies we used, we can have more data on the public map of Liberia very soon

 

 

Luther D. Jeke

Director of Training

*iLab_Liberia