Why am I seeing this page?

Here are some common issues that cause you to see this page:

Your domain is pointed to the server, but there is no site with that domain name on the server.
You are accessing the site via HTTPS, but the site does not have an SSL certificate installed.
Your domain has an AAAA record, but the site only works with IPv4 on the server.

Speakers 2010 blogs – The Tech4Africa Blog http://blog.tech4africa.com Musings, announcements, and collateral damage from Tech4Africa. Thoughts our own. We're looking for contributors from across Africa. Email hello At tech4africa DOT com. Mon, 26 Oct 2015 12:30:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.32 Let’s talk development at Tech4Africa http://blog.tech4africa.com/lets-talk-development-at-t4a/ Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:03:02 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=211 Continue reading ]]> The countdown has begun, and with less than 2 weeks till the most diverse and unique conference in South African tech history kicks off, all the last minutes plans are being put into place. We can’t wait for the doors to open and introduce you to some of the most prolific speakers from both South Africa as well as internationally.

A big focus at Tech4Africa will be focused on development and how local startups can benefit from learning from some of the best Developers from the biggest platforms around the world. Guys like Dustin Diaz from Twitter & John Resig from Mozilla are just some of the big names to join us at Tech4Africa.

Jonathan Snook from Yahoo will be looking at how iPhone & Android development are growing rapidly, and how you can create the perfect and usable app. Jonathan comes from a long history of web development and developing apps, and will no doubt share his fantastic knowledge on these topics.

Another session not to miss is by Andy Budd, who is an interaction designer and web standards developer from Brighton, England. Andy leads the user experience team at Clearleft, and will be hosting a session called “Ignore User Experience at your peril”. User experience is essential when developing a new product, and Andy will take us through the steps to ensure it is done 100% correctly.

With Twitter growing daily in leaps in bounds, Lead User interface engineer, Dustin Diaz, will be sharing his tips & tricks when developing with Javascript. In his session called “Unobtrusive interfaces with js” will assist developers in ensuring user interfaces are are always rich & engaging.

Another Javascript ninja, John Resig, will be presenting a session called “6 secrets to becoming a jQuery ninja”, in which John will be showing you the tricks of the trade on how to become the ultimate jQuery ninja. John comes with a wealth of jQuery knowledge is the lead developer of the jQuery Javascript library.

If there is one session you do NOT want to miss at Tech4Africa, it will be the Q&A session with all these guys, joined by Joe Stump from SimpleGeo. Andy Budd, Dustin Diaz, John Resig, Jonathan Snook & Joe Stump will all join in a 1 hour Q&A session panel, where they will be answering your questions as well as answering an interesting question – “What was your hardest challenge, and how did you overcome it?” Be sure to join the guys on the Thursday at 11:00

It’s not only the international chaps who will be sharing their experiences with you, we have a fantastic South African panel called “Ideas are cheap, execution is everything. Live to bootstrap.”
The panel will be headed up by Brett Haggard who is joined by Barbara Mallinson from Obami, Eve Dmchowska from Crowdfund, our very own Gareth Knight from Technovated & Andy Higgins from BidorBuy. The panel will look at how South Africans need to bootstrap their product and without losing perspective or faith.

Last but not least we will also be hosting Erik Hersman who was the man behind the ever popular African open source project Ushahidi, which allows users to crowd source crisis information to be sent via mobile. Erik will share his story on how Ushahidi has grown into the international success it is today.

With a lineup like this, you cannot afford to miss Tech4Africa this year. If you have not registered your place yet, we suggest you do so ASAP. Places are running out fast, this is one conference you do NOT want to miss out on !

]]> SeedCamp selects top African startups http://blog.tech4africa.com/seedcamp-selects-top-african-startups/ Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:06:33 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=195 Continue reading ]]> Seedcamp, a European micro seed fund that invests in early stage startup companies, has selected 10 South African technology startups to possibly attend the Seedcamp Week programme held in September in London, UK, where they will be in line for a potential €50,000 investment.

Seedcamp, in conjunction with the Tech4Africa conference, recently put out a call for applications for funding and received over 40 applications from technology startups across South Africa. The 10 selected African entrepreneurs will have a rare opportunity to pitch their businesses at a group of people connected to powerful investors, mentors and startups throughout EMEA, with one team being chosen to take part in Seedcamp Week in London.

Seedcamp offers standard investments of €30,000-50,000 to selected companies and connects next generation developers and entrepreneurs from a network of over 400 top-tier industry mentors.

The 10 selected startups include:
10Layer: The most feature-complete, competent and customisable open source content management system for serious publishers and media houses.

Cobi interactive: An incubator for developing mobile software ideas. Cobi focuses on investing in areas with varying degrees of risk – contract mobile software development, partnerships and their own products.

Cognician: The original thinking guide. A software application that automates complex intellectual tasks by asking you a range of intelligent, thought-provoking questions.

Cred: A micropayments and subscriptions service that allows you to monetise your text, audio or video content. The Cred API can be deployed with any content management system and allows for the purchase and redemption of Cred at content partners.

Feeperfect: Permitting any user to find the mobile contact number of anyone registered on iYam.mobi, using either SMS or the web. Feeperfect are building, and permitting anyone to build, quality SMS services people are willing to pay for.

FloCash: The first cross border Pan African payment network offering basic financial services to the un-banked masses, the platform of choice for facilitating e-commerce and drive the exchange of ideas, people and services between nations.

GetaGreatBoss: We enable great managers to showcase their management strength in order to attract talent and boost their own careers.

Obami: A web-based communication and collaboration platform that’s been developed for use within, and between schools. Obami ensures a safe environment for kids to interact with each other and the adults in their lives. Obami, which is free to schools, believes that helping to expand school life beyond the boundaries of the classroom wall will have a significant impact on Africa’s future.

iSigned.com: Offers secure, permanent online storage, management and sharing for legal & other important documents. Individuals & businesses can use iSigned to store wills, legal agreements, investment records, etc and share them with other parties securely.

Thisarmy: Builds clean, simple & fun web apps.

Twangoo: South Africa’s premier group buying club uses the power of the web to create a platform for its members to access exclusive deals at restaurants, spas, lessons, sports facilities, events etc.

Gareth Knight, managing director at Technovated, the company behind Tech4Africa, says: “It seems that for a long while the disconnect between entrepreneurs, angel-funders, early stage funders and established institutional funders, was a chasm too far to cross. I’m delighted that SeedCamp has come to Africa, to address that issue and create a more aspirational and conducive environment for startups and entrepreneurs. The response and quality of applications has been superb and it’s great to see these companies with disruptive ideas coming out of the woodwork. I hope to see them in London soon!”

Seedcamp is running in conjunction with Tech4Africa, a conference that runs from 12-13 August 2010 at The Forum in Bryanston. 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.

A stellar line-up of international speakers – including speakers from Twitter, Mozilla and Yahoo! – will be presenting at the conference. Clay Shirky – one of the world’s leading thinkers and writers on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies – will be a keynote speaker. More details are available at http://tech4africa.com.

]]> Winners of the Old Mutual scholarships http://blog.tech4africa.com/winners-of-the-old-mutual-scholarships/ http://blog.tech4africa.com/winners-of-the-old-mutual-scholarships/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:11:43 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=189 Continue reading ]]> 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!

]]> http://blog.tech4africa.com/winners-of-the-old-mutual-scholarships/feed/ 1 7 reasons why you should attend Tech4Africa http://blog.tech4africa.com/7-reasons-why-you-should-attend-t4a-2/ http://blog.tech4africa.com/7-reasons-why-you-should-attend-t4a-2/#comments Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:40:22 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=182 Continue reading ]]> 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.

]]> http://blog.tech4africa.com/7-reasons-why-you-should-attend-t4a-2/feed/ 4 Traditional media is dead. Long live traditional media http://blog.tech4africa.com/traditional-media-is-dead-long-live-traditional-media/ Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:30:28 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=171 Continue reading ]]> 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 http://blog.tech4africa.com/talking-business-at-t4a/ Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:34:46 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=160 Continue reading ]]> 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!

]]> From Africa to the world, with love http://blog.tech4africa.com/from-africa-to-the-world-with-love-2/ http://blog.tech4africa.com/from-africa-to-the-world-with-love-2/#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:54:26 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=144 Continue reading ]]> 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.

]]> http://blog.tech4africa.com/from-africa-to-the-world-with-love-2/feed/ 1 4 new speakers added to the lineup http://blog.tech4africa.com/4-new-speakers-added-to-the-lineup/ Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:47:40 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=154 Continue reading ]]> 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.

]]> Global experts to share knowledge at Tech4Africa workshops http://blog.tech4africa.com/global-experts-to-share-knowledge-at-t4a-workshops/ http://blog.tech4africa.com/global-experts-to-share-knowledge-at-t4a-workshops/#comments Sat, 10 Jul 2010 17:07:28 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=115 Continue reading ]]> Some of the world’s leading minds in the fields of technology architecture, user-interface and product development will be sharing their experience and skills in four full-day workshops ahead of the Tech4Africa conference, on the 10th and 11th of August.

The professionals in charge of the workshops have extensive experience of working on products or systems that enable them to compete globally. These intensive workshops therefore aim to impart practical skills that the delegates can apply in their own products and projects.

* Andy Budd, will be presenting ‘A masterclass in Usability and Accessibility’ to help delegates understand the requirements in planning, organising and moderating usability tests. As MD and User Experience Director of UK-based ClearLeft web design agency, Andy is a regular speaker at international design events such as SXSW, has helped judge several international design awards, is on the advisory board for .Net magazine, and is the author of the best selling book, CSS Mastery.

* Jonathan Snook and John Resig, will be leading the workshop on architecting applications for the web. The former is a widely-recognised expert in his field, He is currently working at Yahoo! as a front-end engineer on the company’s web interface. The latter is a JavaScript Tool Developer for the Mozilla and the creator and lead developer of the jQuery JavaScript library.
They will be sharing their knowledge on best practices for developing applications and how to do so while letting developers work faster and with greater agility without sacrificing robustness or security.

* Erin Caton, a Senior Engineering Project Manager at Apple, will be presenting a strategic look at the digital project implementation lifecycle. The focus will be on acquiring project management skills and methodologies, effective use of different software and platforms and client and development team communications and management.

* Sarah Blake, head of optimisation at Quirk eMarketing, a local Internet marketing consultancy, will be dissecting the proper and effective use of Google Analytics and how to gain maximum benefit from this service.

Delegates can expect to gain essential knowledge that they can apply in their own environment, and that the workshops are designed not only for developers, but also for business users who wish to improve their knowledge.

Registration for each workshop is now open. Be quick! Don’t miss the discounted tickets for early birds, or get R500 off if you buy a conference and workshop ticket together.

]]> http://blog.tech4africa.com/global-experts-to-share-knowledge-at-t4a-workshops/feed/ 1 Cloud Computing in Africa http://blog.tech4africa.com/cloud-computing-in-africa/ Sat, 10 Jul 2010 17:06:53 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=137 Continue reading ]]> A few years ago large companies were faced with the dilemma of having to upgrade servers and mainframes and ensure their online businesses didn’t collapse as demand rose. This would often lead to increased expenditure, and downtime to existing platforms. Today, as the web grows, online businesses are starting to worry less and less about this with the concept of “Cloud Computing”.

The concept of “Cloud Computing” is a relatively new one in African terms, and at Tech4Africa, we will share our insights with a couple of experts who will be taking a look at how you can ensure that your business and online presence is “always on” and available.

First up, ex Digg Lead architect, Joe Stump, will take show us that scaling in any online business is crucial to it’s success, in his talk titled “Every Cloud has a Silver lining. Scaling to infinity and beyond”.
Joe, who now holds the title of CTO at SimpleGeo, a web based GIS data provider, will take us through the process of scaling your servers to ensure minimal downtime, and ensuring your business has robust & scalable infrastructure in place.

Also taking a look at cloud computing from an African perspective is Fred Baumhardt from Microsoft South Africa. His talk, “A contrarian view to cloud computing and virtualisation”, takes a reality check and looks at the issues of the African relevance of the virtualisation and cloud computing phenomenon currently sweeping the world. He will offer advice on how businesses can take advantage of these relatively new solutions.

South African tech journalist and host of the popular ZA Tech Show podcast, Simon Dingle, will also chair a panel of local & international experts on the topic, in a panel discussion called “Is Cloud Computing Relevant?”. The panel will discuss how “The Cloud” is relevant to businesses as well as the average consumer in Africa. The discussion will also focus on what mistakes to avoid when taking the plunge into “Cloud Computing”

If your company needs to start implementing these solutions,be sure to register for Tech4Africa now. Places are running out, so be sure to register soon.

]]> eMarketing for your business http://blog.tech4africa.com/emarketing-for-your-business/ Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:59:22 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=133 Continue reading ]]> Fact: Your brand is key to any successful online business.

Your brand is often associated with the product before the person, and making your brand stand out is of utmost importance in the race to be number one on the web. But how do you do this cost effectively yet with the best results ?

One of the must-attend talks at Tech4Africa will show you how to do this. Titled “Brand Building Online”, Super Digital Ninja, Alex Hunter will show you the key to ensuring your business gets ahead and stays ahead of the pack. Hunter, who previously served as the global Head of Online marketing at The Virgin Group, takes us through his experiencing in taking Virgin America to one of the top brands in the Unites States. He now serves as a brand consultant and micro-venture capital investor to numerous companies around the world, and will be sure to share his do’s and dont’s in the world of online marketing and branding.

Later in the day a panel of South African digital marketing guru’s will be sharing the stage to chat about “Search and the Enterprise”. Panelists will share how to ensure your business is number in the search stakes. The panel includes top online marketing agency, Quirk eMarketing CEO Rob Stokes, as well as Tom Van den Berckt from Cape Town based Clicks2Customers. Completing the panel is Pete Brooke-Sumner who gained a local insight while setting up the local Google office, and now runs the Cape Town office of The Media Image.

South Africa’s marketing maven, Walter Pike, will also share his expertise in a panel discussion “There’s an elephant in the room. Embracing the new, social web”, which takes place earlier in the day on the 13th.

Tech4Africa will also host a full day workshop focused on eMarketing, The workshop, titled “Google University” will be facilitated by Sarah Blake from Quirk eMarketing will show delegates the wonderful world of Google Analytics and Google Adwords. Sarah will take you through how to optimise these tools to gain the best return for your business.

With a lineup like this, you will be sure to walk away from Tech4Africa knowing your online marketing skills will be fully enriched.

Be sure to register for the conference soon, as time, as well as places are running out.

]]> From Africa to the world, with love http://blog.tech4africa.com/from-africa-to-the-world-with-love/ Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:37:49 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=49 Continue reading ]]> African technology to compete on a global stage

By Gareth Knight, managing director at Technovated and Tech4Africa conference organiser

Blurb: 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.

African challenges

Universal lessons

Tech4Africa

If you liked what you read, take a look at this interesting article published by memeburn.com featuring Gareth’s ideas behind the conference: Tech4Africa conference driven by “anger and pride”.

]]> Have your say in the technology community, Expose Tech4Africa http://blog.tech4africa.com/have-your-say-in-the-technology-community-expose-t4a/ Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:17:30 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=37 Continue reading ]]> One of our goals for Tech4Africa is to make it an open community for sharing, discussing and promoting the Web, mobile and emerging technologies in Africa.

Although all of us want to listen to the enriching insights and experiences Clay Shirky and other thinkers and entrepreneurs like Erik Hersman have to offer, we know that there are many others out there who are thinking or doing, and which should be highlighted.

So, when looking at the ways we can make Tech4Africa a space for interaction way beyond the conference itself, we decided to give the opportunity to any person in the technology industry in Africa to speak for themselves and show what they think or do to their peers.

We call it Expose Tech4Africa, which is going to start off as a section in the conference’s website, and it will work like this:

Who can participate:

Anyone building a product using web, mobile or emerging technology, in Africa – profile your product.
Anyone offering services, in web, mobile or emerging technologies, in Africa – profile your company.
Anyone looking for funding for their product – tell people why they should fund you.
Anyone with something to say about tech in Africa – everyone has an opinion, make yours heard.
Anyone that wants to profile themselves, their skills, their passions, and what they’re working on – find collaborators, get hired, find new projects, meet new people.

How to participate:

Record a 5 minute max video or podcast showcasing your product, service, start-up, or your thoughts on any Tech4Africa related topic of your expertise.
Send us an email to “hello@t4a” with a little intro about yourself, and what your post is about. Also, include your contact details.
We’ll either send you FTP details to upload, or ask you for the file location to download.
We will then post the video in the Tech4Africa community page on our website, in a post on our blog, and in the Tech4Africa channel in Zoopy.
We’ll then Tweet and Blog about it for you.
We’ll leave the rest to the magic of social interaction.

Helpful tips:

Have an opinion, be provocative, say something worth listening to.
Keep your points succinct, to the point, and try not to waffle.
Do it somewhere quiet, so background noise doesn’t get in the way. Try not to shake the video either.
Audacity is great for recording audio, and is free.
Record video with your phone, Skype or any other default video recorder, then upload. Your video does not need to be studio quality.
Get some friends to have a look / listen before you send.

We encourage you to take this opportunity to make yourself be heard and share your knowledge or experiences. We’re excited about this idea and we hope it can trigger more conversation among all those working in the African tech industry.

Over to you

]]> Infrastructure: Mobile & Wireless at Tech4Africa http://blog.tech4africa.com/infrastructure-mobile-wireless-at-t4a/ Thu, 01 Jul 2010 10:56:10 +0000 http://t4a.feedmybeta.com?p=68 Continue reading ]]>

Living in today’s day and age we are bombarded with new information all the time. Community news from users on platforms such as Twitter, are breaking news before as it happens. The issue with this though, is that we are not always connected. We rely on mobile connectivity and wireless infrastructure to try and keep us connected as efficiently as possible.

At Tech4Africa, we will be discussing some of the key factors when it comes to Mobile & Wireless connectivity in South Africa & Africa.

Some of the great speakers talking about Mobile & Wireless infrastructure include Agosto Liko, Patrick Kayton, South African Internet guru Arthur GoldStuck & Angus Robinson amongst others.

The indomitable Justin Spratt will also be sharing his views in a session called “Circumventing Monopolies with VoIP and Wireless”, where he will be taking a look at how the fixed line monopolies of Africa are rapidly being overtaken by new Mobile & Wireless technologies.

Another fantastic session scheduled for later in the day, on the 1st day of the conference, is a panel discussion aptly titled “Mobile Content for Grownups, Being Clever with the simple”. Panelists include Steve Vosloo from the Shuttleworth Foundation, Fritz Ekowge & Stefan Magadalinski representing Kenya’s largest Mobile directory, Mocality, are just some of the big names talking about how our “mobile lives” have changed since the grand old Nokia 3210 ring tone days. Content is important today and they will look at where the mobile industry is going, and how to ensure it is world class.

These are just some of the exciting Mobile and Wireless infrastructure talks you can look forward to at Tech4Africa. Check our full schedule to find our more.

We are also running workshops (10th and 11th of August) featuring some of the best world’s leading minds in the fields of technology architecture, user-interface and product development; check them out here.

Be sure to register soon, as the early bird tickets are being scooped up rather quickly.

Image by Creative Commons / Google (Image)

]]>