Author: Tech4Africa

Winners of the Old Mutual scholarships

Congratulations to the lucky students who won the Old Mutual Scholarships to attend Tech4Africa!

1.Robin Tshepo Putu
2. Henno Gous
3. Mike Changa Sinalo
4. Lennon Chimbumu
5. Joshua Yudaken
6. Peter Brookstein
7. Stéfan van der Walt
8. Travis Noakes
9. Lishen Mabundza
10. Khomotso Lucky Mmapheto
11. Talya Goldberg
12. Cebo Mthembu
13. Tebogo Masilo
14. JT Thom
15. Jono Lewis
16. Kate Ludwig
17. Justin Arenstein

See you at the conference!

7 reasons why you should attend Tech4Africa

Whether you’re an African business person wanting to understand how the Web 2.0 is relevant to the enterprise, an entrepreneur interested in learning more about venture funding or a technologist wanting to learn from the best technical people around, here is how you can benefit from attending Tech4Africa on August 12 and 13, 2010:

#1 – Get global perspective for the African context

Tech4Africa is the first Web, mobile and emerging technology conference of it’s kind in Africa. It will bring together internationally respected speakers and practitioners who are building the Web and technology as we know it, with leading Africans who are themselves paving the way forward.
Speakers will delve into topics like emerging technologies; Web 2.0; mobile, wireless and cloud computing; entrepreneurship; search and marketing.

#2 – Listen to keynote speakers Clay Shirky and Leila Chirayath Janah

Clay Shirky is an experienced speaker on topics related to the Web, social media and the Internet. Shirky has spoken at events such as TED Global, SXSW, the Web 2.0 expo in New York and San Francisco, SES San Jose, the Adobe Learning Summit, New York Tech Meetup and the Aspen Ideas Festival.

Leila Chirayath Janah is the founder and CEO of Samasource, a social business that connects over 800 women, youth, and refugees living in poverty to digital work. Ms. Janah is a frequent speaker on entrepreneurship, technology, and international development at institutions including MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. Her work has been profiled by CBC, CNN, The New York Times, and The New Scientist, and in 2010, she was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Women in Technology.

#3 – Listen to globally respected subject matter experts

Top international technologists at the conference will be, among others, Dustin Diaz, a user interface engineer at Twitter and author of JavaScript Design Patterns; Joe Stump, the former lead architect of social news Web site Digg and co-founder of SimpleGeo; John Resig, creator of the popular Javascript library jQuery, and a Javascript tool developer for Mozilla; and Jonathan Snook, a web designer and developer at Yahoo!.

#4 – Listen to African speakers that are leading the way

African technologists such as Steve Vosloo, the 21st century learning fellow for the Shuttleworth Foundation; Barbara Mallinson, founder of educational collaboration platform Obami; Agosta Liko, founder of mobile payment service PesaPal; Erik Hersman, the co-founder of open source crisis information site Ushahidi; Andy Hadfield, an expert in the design of web strategies and online communities; and Nii Simmonds, speaker, consultant, and sustainable evangelist on African entrepreneurship, sustainable technology, and African innovation.

These are just a few of the outstanding African speakers who are going to be present at the conference. Check out our website to see all of them.

#5 – Go to workshops where you can dive into detail with industry leaders

Learn from the best at our workshops on August 10 and 11, 2010. Sessions include “A masterclass in Usability and Accessibility”; “A deep dive into Google Analytics and Adwords”; “A Masterclass in Architecting applications and Advanced Javascript” and “Successful digital projects”.

#6 – Technology networking on steroids

Learn, discuss and share experiences and thoughts with the African technology community during the conference and at the cocktail party. Tech4Africa will be a great place to broaden your knowledge and business network. Checkout the companies that have already bought tickets for the conference.

#7 – Be inspired

Our simple goal is that delegates walk away both informed and inspired. Placing greatest emphasis on learning, interaction, engagement and discussion, we want the conference to be a place for new ideas and to encourage people to make and change things.

Traditional media is dead. Long live traditional media

In a world where we see, on a daily basis, traditional print publications shutting down, media houses are seeing the value of Internet based news sites. In today’s day & age, we live in such a fast paced world, that all too often traditional print publications are only reporting on the stories all too late.

Enter the panel at Tech4Africa, aptly entitled “Traditional media is dead. Long live traditional media”. The panel will be looking at how Africa is following the rest of the world, and how African media is affected by the declining worldwide trend of traditional media.

The panel consists of some of the most respected online news editors & publishers in Africa. Matthew Buckland, who recently left 24.com to start up an African Internet news site: Memeburn, will share his views on how the industry is fast-changing. Also adding his knowledge & experience to the panel is Chris Roper. Chris, who has worked for numerous print & online publications throughout his career,  now heads up the Mail & Guardian news site, will give us insight into how the African online landscape is fast playing catch-up with the rest of the world.
Joining the panel, also from Mail & Guardian, is the current head of technology, Jason Norwood-Young. Jason has been an IT Journalist & Editor for the last 10 years and has been published in numerous publications around South Africa. Finally, Head of Digital for AVUSA Media group Elan Lohmann, will also share his extensive experience of the Digital media world having worked in the online industry for numerous years and companies. Having recently launched the Sowentan live news site, Elan will undoubtedly share his wealth of knowledge with the rest of the  panel.

With only 3 weeks left before Tech4Africa kicks off at the Forum in Johannesburg, time is running out to get registered. Our Early Bird tickets have sold out, but don’t let that stop you from securing your seat. You can register & pay for your spot on the Tech4Africa site.

Talking business at Tech4Africa

Building a tech business based in Africa for the overseas market is not as easy as it may seem, but it can be and is being done.

The more pertinent question though is: is it being done correctly? All too often we hear of new ventures, which have a fantastic concept & idea starting up, only to fail a few months down the line. The main reason being… “No business skills”. Business skills contribute to a huge portion of your businesses success, and it needs to be done correctly from the very beginning.

At Tech4Africa we will be hosting some of the top business leaders in the South African startup space, who will be sharing the stage in 2 panels talking about how to ensure your startup is managed perfectly from the outset.

In the first panel, entitled “Are we fundable”, the panelists will be looking at how you need to ensure that you are being realistic about the product you are building and making sure that out there, there actually is someone wanting to invest in you and your idea. Included in the panel are Andrea Böhmert, who serves on numerous management boards of IT companies in the Western Cape. Also joining Andrea, is Director of DNA Economics, a specialist economics consultancy, Gareth Ochse. The Industrial Development Corporation’s (IDC) Peter Van Der Zee is also seated on the panel. Having invested over R220m in 18 early stage companies in South Africa, Peter will bring a wealth of business knowledge to the table. TED Fellow and African Blogger, Nii Simmonds, will also share his views from an African perspective. Nii, who is an accomplished speaker, also serves on a number boards of startups around Africa. Finally, joining the panel is Invenfin CEO & innovation capitalist Brett Commaille. Brett comes from a fascinating background in investing in new companies, and is sure to share his wealth of knowledge with the rest of the  panel.

Later in the day, our second business focused panel, entitled “Building for the global market. Lessons and learnings from the coalface” will share insights & experience from entrepreneurs who have built startups from the ground in Africa, for the overseas market.
Sheraan Amod from the popular Personera, a company who produces personalised calenders from your pictures on Facebook, will give us his thoughts on how his company has quickly gained international success. Malcolm Hall from Cape Town Software development house, Open Box Software, will lend his expertise and experience of managing various IT consultancy teams around the world. Last but certainly not least the panel is completed with Leila Janah, the Founder and CEO of Samasource, a social business that connects over 800 women, youth, and refugees living in poverty to digital work. Leila has done some amazing work with Samasource, and will share her wealth of knowledge with the delegates at Tech4Africa

These are just some of the successful entrepreneurs who will be joining us at Tech4Africa. Be sure to register for your seat as places are running out fast. Our Early Bird tickets have all been already snapped up, and workshop early bird tickets are nearly sold out too. Miss it, and you miss out!

Tech4Africa raises the networking bar with unique approach to speaker-delegate interaction

Tech4Africa, the Web and emerging technology conference, is breaking with convention by placing special emphasis on networking and direct access to some of the industry’s most internationally-recognised names that make up the events speaker line-up.

The main conference, being hosted at The Forum in Bryanston, Johannesburg on 12 and 13 August 2010, brings luminaries such as Clay Shirky, Andy Budd and Dustin Diaz to Africa to address a gathering such as this for the first time.

“There are very few opportunities for the tech community in Africa to interact with like-minded people, never mind experts who’ve developed global brands or who are brands in their own right,” says Gareth Knight, MD of Technovated, the mastermind behind the event.

“Some of the best international events I’ve attended have promoted informal interaction with speakers and between delegates, and have proven to be the most valuable. And we are looking to replicate that at Tech4Africa.”

In addition to networking events in Cape Town and Johannesburg prior to the conference, the Tech4Africa format and structure have been designed to promote casual ‘corridor conversations’ and chance meetings.

A key element to this approach is that name badges will indicate the delegate’s needs or areas of interest, easily linking funders or investors with start-ups, graduates with companies looking to hire and executives looking for solution providers.

“This facilitates broader conversations, which in our view is where the conference’s real value lies,” says Knight. “Delegates are therefore able to quickly identify potential partners, and easily strike up conversations with people they might not otherwise have approached. The name badges create context and are a great ice-breaker.”

He adds that these types of conversations, as well as the interactive nature of stage presentations, go a long way to helping delegates realise that their problems aren’t unique and that many others grapple with similar challenges.

One session designed to address issues of a decidedly technical nature is the Intimate Q&A with Andy Budd, Dustin Diaz, Joe Stump, John Resig and Jonathan Snook during which they will chat about their own personal experiences, particularly their biggest challenges and how they overcame them. A large portion of the session will be dedicated to taking questions from the audience.

“We want delegates to return from the conference feeling that they have gained full value, which these types of interactions are designed to achieve,” says Knight. “I can speak from personal experience that this will be the case, having attended my fair share of international conferences where I’ve had the opportunity to raise my particular challenges with some of the leading minds in the industry.”

About Tech4Africa

Tech4Africa runs from 12-13 August 2010 at The Forum in Bryanston. Workshops will be held on 10-11 August. The event is targeted at business professionals and technologists from businesses of all sizes, from entrepreneurs and start-up owners through to professionals working at large organisations. Clay Shirky – one of the world’s leading thinkers and writers on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies will be the keynote speaker at the inaugural Tech4Africa Conference. Shirky joins a stellar line-up of international speakers – including leaders from organisations such as Twitter, Mozilla, digg and Yahoo! – and African technologists from companies such as PesaPal, Ushahidi, Obami and many more.

From Africa to the world, with love

African technology to compete on a global stage

The landing of a series of undersea cables is going to solve an infrastructural problem that has long plagued Africa and will enable African technology developers to compete on a global stage. In order to properly realise the full potential of a global customer base, African technologists need to not only expose their work to the world, but to also expose themselves to the learnings and insights that the developed world has to offer.

New international submarine communication cables are starting to ring the continent, bringing with them the promise of cheaper broadband across the continent. That means Africa will soon have the infrastructure to be able to compete more effectively in the online space than it did in the past. But Africa has missed out on several years of important learning in this space. Now is the perfect time for African entrepreneurs to embrace business and technical expertise from the rest of the world and close that gap.

An all-too common and incorrect perception in South Africa and other parts of the continent is that African problems are different to those experienced anywhere else in the world, and that they should be addressed with uniquely African solutions. According to this view of the world, international best practices and experiences, especially those from developed countries, are not really applicable to African businesses. That is a misguided and parochial perspective in a world where technology and global trade have shrunk the world to a fraction of its former size.

In high-tech industries, such as Web-focused businesses, there is much that African entrepreneurs, public servants and technicians can learn from international experience. In fact, it’s imperative that African businesses embrace international experience and knowledge if they’re to catch up with what their peers are doing online in the rest of the world.

African challenges

Of course, Africa has infrastructure, political and social challenges that are not present in most parts of the world. Building an online business in an environment where the electricity supply is unreliable and where international bandwidth is slow and expensive is fraught with challenges that don’t exist for an entrepreneur building a business in the heart of Silicon Valley.

But in addition to their superb infrastructure, innovation hubs like the west and east coasts of the USA also offer an unrivaled depth of human capital. Whatever an entrepreneur’s business idea is, there are people around who have the experience and skills to help make it a reality. And of course, the more that experienced people share their skills and knowledge with each other, the more new ideas and concepts they come up with and the more successful they are turning their innovations into commercial products.

By contrast, an African entrepreneur trying to productise a nifty new mobile application or a new online service simply doesn’t have access to many local people who have the skills and experience. There is an abundance of great ideas and enthusiasm but a lack of experience in turning these ideas into commercial products.

There have been a few success stories – innovators such as Mark Shuttleworth, Elon Musk and Vinny Lingham come to mind – but they are exceptions to the rule and their skills are often lost to Africa when their businesses take off. An additional problem that becomes obvious from the above list, is that South Africans dominate the list of obvious success stories while technologists from the rest of Africa do not feature as highly.

Universal lessons

Most of the processes, technology and tools that African entrepreneurs will be using to create Web and mobile products and services will be similar to those used by people in other parts of the world. There are many universal lessons around project management, usability, product development, technology and many other areas that apply anywhere in the world, and they’re ones many American and European pioneers had to learn the hard way. Speccing and configuring a server, designing a good user interface, managing cashflow – these are all things that work the same way anywhere in the world.

So why not learn from international experience? The alternative is to stubbornly waste time and money reinventing the wheel and making the mistakes that others have already made. And that is something that no African entrepreneur can afford to do.

Tech4Africa

The Tech4Africa conference being held in August this year, aims to address the above issues by bringing a number of world famous technologists and African innovators to South Africa to share, teach and interact with Africans looking to make it in the technology space. It’s an exciting time for African technology and the opportunity that Tech4Africa presents is one that really shouldn’t be missed.

4 new speakers added to the lineup

With less than a month away to the start of Tech4Africa, we are pleased to announce 4 additional speakers to our already impressive lineup.

First up is the current President of Computer Society South Africa, Adrian Schofield. Adrian has held numerous titles in the digital world in South Africa, and will share his expertise and insights as the Master of Ceremonies for the duration of the conference.

Joining the already powerful line-up of panelists on the “Are we fundable?” panel, Invenfin Venture Capital CEO, Brett Commaille, brings a wealth of venture capital and startup investing knowledge to the table. Brett, who advises on the board of several start-ups in South Africa will share the ins-and-outs with prospective entrepreneurs and help them achive their ultimate goals.

Managing Director of one of Tech4Africa’s foundation partners, Internet Solutions, Dereck Wilcocks, will also be sharing his thoughts during the opening remarks discussion on the first day. Dereck has been part of the IS family almost since day dot, and will share why Internet Solutions, is so excited to be part of the Tech4Africa family.

Last and certainly not least , Wesley Lynch from Cape Town based web agency, realmdigital, will be sharing his mobile knowledge with other the other panelists on the “All you need to know about the mobile market” panel. The panel will be taking a look at how the mobile industry is changing daily and how we can overcome the sometime tricky challenges we are faced with.

For the full bios of these and all the other speakers at Tech4Africa, be sure to check out our speakers page.