A Pan-African perspective towards ICT sustainability in Africa Presented by Coders4Africa Team - World Bank 2012-02 SDN Forum: ICT Learning Days

Presented by Coders4Africa Team - World Bank 2012-02 SDN Forum: ICT Learning Days www.coders4Africa.org

A Pan-African perspective towards ICT sustainability in Africa

Capacity Empowerment Sustainability Self-Sufficiency


Agenda

• Overall overview of ICT in Africa from the IT professional perspective• Presentation of Coders4Africa and how it fits in the African ICT

spectrumPerspective

• Presentation of C4A current projects• One on one mentoring program with developersIn Action

• Community driven organization• Satellite Expanded Role to serve African Interior• University partnerships

Major Externalities

• Description of Coders4africa Programs• Implementation of programs towards sustainability

Sustainability model


Perspective: Information & Communication Technology (ICT) vis-à-vis Africa

ICT is on the move in Africa

• A powerful medium to boost economic growth and poverty reduction.• The progressive model that works: “Kenya - Silicon Savannah”

Cell phones & Internet certainly the most radical changes experienced in Africa. The total African mobile subscriber base is expected to reach 561 million by 2012

ICT has proven to

• Increase Efficiency• Access to new markets & services• Create new opportunities for income generation • Improving governance and give poor people a voice. • Aid in pricing information for agricultural products, mobile banking and human rights abuse notifications.


Perspective: Fundamental questions?

How does a software programmer helps a farmer, a fisherman,

an engineer, a doctor, a government etc?

How can Software developers stimulate

ICT growth?


Perspective: What is C4A?

American Not-For-Profit Organization that focuses on Africa

Created in 2010 by 5 friends with collectively 40 years of experience in software engineering and development field.

After years of interaction with technologists in Africa, decided to focus on software development as a way to give back to Africa

We primarily have a deep understanding of the culture, experience and setbacks the African programmers are faced with.

C4A has started building its team of professional here in Africa and North America: http://coders4africa.org/en/general/the-team-dp2

http://coders4africa.org/en/general/the-team-dp2


Perspective: Coders4Africa Role?

• ICT Catalyst


Perspective: Vision & Strategy

• To create & support Pan-African community of:• Competent, • Internationally certified IT professionals

• Focused on developing the IT tools for African Agriculture, Business, Education, Health Care, Government and general Social needs.

Vision

• Leverage rapid development & evolution of:• Wireless communications • Internet access platform in Africa

• To educate, certify & continue to support a 1000+ cadre of IT professionals. Strategy


Perspective: Coders4Africa Goals

Educate & accredit 1000 Pan-African software developers utilizing mobile, web and database development platforms by 2016.

To build capacity by introducing DevHubs across Africa, providing developers an open space to innovate and create solutions that solve problems their community faces.

To create, via these solutions, economic development and growth across local communities, including the smallest farmers and businesses.

To utilize the Pan-African community of IT professionals to create free Open Source solutions that respond to local African problems and demand.

To stimulate growth of the African software industry by tapping into local talent and human resources.

To assure the Pan-African community becomes a catalyst, playing a prominent role in providing technology-based tools in Agriculture, Business, Education, Health Care, Government and general Social needs.


In Action: Current Projects

Code Name Elimu• Universal School Management Systems with web and mobile capabilities (open source)

Online Examination System (OES)• This OES provides facility to conduct online examination for IT professionals and students in Africa.

Farming Inventory System• System that will expose African farmers crops and products inventory to buyers across the globe

Code Name LinguAfrica• Centralized repository of all identified African languages. The system relies on patterns and similitudes between languages.

LinguAfrica is able to classify and group languages that are very similar in vocabulary, grammar and syntax.

GeoSeek.me• POW locator – Ivory coast war displaced familiar member locator

MFishing• Fishing Industry management system • Mobile input from fishermen• Web for data management and KPI


In Action: Mentoring program with IT Professionals developers

Provide mentoring personal one on one session

Provide advices on projects and problem solving techniques

Assistance with software, hardware, access to Internet and web hosting

Provide open source and crowd sourcing opportunities for dedicated local talents

Induce growth of local software industry by tapping on local talent and human resources i.e. Interns paid (stipend) to developers to work in local African SMEs


In Action: Year 2011 Review and Achievements

Community size • 970+ members • 23 countries: Africa and African Diaspora across the globe

Conferences Held (Total attendance: 700+): • 1. C4A Senegal Conference January 2011 (No Sponsors) • 2. C4A Mali Conference January 2011 (No Sponsors) • 3. C4A Ghana Conference May 2011 (Sponsors: Oracle, Bentley Systems, Ecoband.Net, AITI, JUGAfrica) • 4. C4A Kenya Conference August 2011 (Sponsors: IBM, Microsoft, Strathmore University, iLabAfrica,

ComputerAid Intl, Safaricom)• Burkina Faso February in 2012

Workshops Conducted • Coders4Africa In Action (Senegal) 5 workshops conducted. Included boot camp style training for a total of

400+ attendance - Sponsored by Microsoft, Oracle, SupInfo and IDev1 • Coders4Africa In Action (Ghana) 2 workshops conducted (Java 7 event) - Sponsored by Oracle• Coders4Africa In Action (Kenya) 2 workshops conducted Sponsored by Strathmore and ComputerAid


In Action: Local chapters

Created locate community leaders in the following countries• Senegal• Kenya• Ghana• Cameroon• Burkina Faso

Each team is an extension of the main leaders located in the USA & Canada

Each team is composed of: Program, Technical and communication managers.

On the ground managing events, activities and members needs

Developing and Maintaining new partnerships with local entities


Major Externalities

The Elements Necessary for the Success of C4A’s Program Exist now in Selected Areas of Africa

However, Major Efforts and Changes in Elements External to C4A are Necessary to be Pan-African


Major Externalities

Pan-African Broadband Wireless Access to the Internet• Broadband Wireless Service to Public• Broadband MSO Access to the Internet

Internet Access for Interior Comparable to Coast• Submarine Fiber Optic Cables in Place• Need BB Satellite Services for Interior

Supportive Government Regulation for Wireless• Price, Competition, Spectrum, Resale, Standards


Major Externalities

International Support• EC BB Grants, US FCC BB Order, Australia Service

Extend C4A’s Facilities to help the Community• Share the spaces and the ICT Resources for: Education, Health

Care, Agriculture, Business Dev.• Support and Develop Entire Community

Multiply the Learnings from C4A• Partner With African Universities & Tech Schools• Extend C4A’s Partnerships with US Research Univ


Sustainability: Current situation: Issues – Software Industry in Africa

Modern software development requires an in-depth technical experience not presently available to the average African.

Short supply of in depth technical expertise

Very Few African developers follow Full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) resulting in lack of quality

Not Adequate hardware tools for software developers

Foreign Software is preferred in place of local software even if it is poorer quality or more expensive

Big one: Lack of Jobs in the field


Sustainability model: 2012 program

Focus on 3 main areas: training, community sustainability and DevHub.• Deliver practical training to 1000 candidates

who will be selected from the current community members.

• Continue to support and sustain our ~1000 members in our community

• First community center dubbed DevHub


Sustainability model: Training Program

The goal for 2012 is to train at least 25 developers up to 100. The strategy is to select 25 candidates per country

Objectives:• Pedagogical training: Applying a project-based learning methodology • Develop strong software and application development skills in Mobile and Web• The target platform for all projects pending other vendors: Microsoft, Oracle, Google (Android) and IBM

Target audience• Candidates selected from professional developers, computer science students population, IT hobbyist and

other local Technical schools.

Real life projects will be developed during and outside of the official training hours.

Life after graduation • Entrepreneurship training opportunities in collaboration with C4A partners• Continuation on successful projects to land job opportunities with projects stakeholders.• Generate income through self-employment leveraging local as well as regional and global opportunities


Sustainability model: Community support activities

Coders4Africa in Action

Boot-camp style training on specific technologies and vendors i.e. Mobile & Android

Coding Marathons: 48-72 hours, members under go all the technical & emotional challenges in software development

African University Outreach program

• Create partnership with local African Universities especially IT and technical schools• Be a bridge between Tech company and the African IT scholars, students and professionals through

our Coder4Africa• Organize Coders4Africa & vendors „tours. to universities and reach out to more remote academic

institutions to „spread the knowledge. and reduce „the digital divide..


Sustainability model: DevHub

Sustainable ecosystem to lessen digital divide with developing countries

Strategic approach towards empowering c4a members in a sustainable way

Technology enabler for local capacity and community building - crucial component of the c4a life cycle

Activities:• Mentoring services in ICT, business & entrepreneurships skills• Developer staffed lab with computers and mobile devices - Software & App development.• Free Open Source Solution (FOSS) - Internet and Wireless Network Infrastructure

Stakeholders and players• Software Developers - Local Universities and Colleges • Governments (national and local) • Organizations, Small Businesses & Local Communities

Key Benefits• Developers share crucial (tacit) knowledge amongst themselves• Developers have the potential to seek jobs locally and regionally• Developers have the potential to start their own business• Local universities and Colleges will enhance the quality of students• Engage national and local entities by inviting them to the DevHub• African governments could reduce their dependency on foreign Software• Small business can hire services from DevHub IT professional

Q&A & Contact Info

Presented by Coders4Africa Team - World Bank 2012-02 SDN Forum: ICT Learning

Days www.coders4Africa.org

Contact information:[email protected]@[email protected] Kerkeslager [email protected]: www.coders4africa.org

mailto:[email protected]




http://www.coders4africa.org/

Documents

A Pan-African perspective towards ICT sustainability in Africa Presented by Coders4Africa Team - World Bank 2012-02 SDN Forum: ICT Learning Days