you don't need bandwidth to be awesome
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You Don’t Need Bandwidth
To Be Awesome
Celebra1ng African Tech Innova1on
@andyhadfield
Theme co-‐developed by BreB Haggard (@breBski)
In Africa, it is oIen said…
Insert pic of cloud (tech cloud or normal?)
A couple of things irritate me about the Internet’s view of Africa.
HANDS FREE!
The dysfunc5on of Africa has become part of business folk memory that keeps Western
mul5na5onals from doing anything. -‐ Paul Collier
Never fear. We got our own back!
#FirstWorldProblems
It’s really easy to come up with ways that the Third World can learn from the First World in the technology sector…
Square pic
The App ecosystem pic
IBM
It’s much harder to turn that argument on it’s head and say…
What can the First World learn from the Third World?
And why should they?
Here are more reasons why the boDom of the pyramid is so important…
Funny Picture of mortage crisis
Funny Picture of mortage crisis
Funny Picture of healthcare crisis
Funny Picture of Eurozone crisis
Looks like the First World may need some Third World thinking?
Because while the top of the pyramid is going through some tough 1mes, Africa has been 1cking away. Focused on:
Accessibility, Flexibility and UIlity.
It’s not an easy journey…
Herman Chinery-‐Hesse quan5fies this problem extremely well…
And now you can see why Accessibility is such an important part of
Strategy: Africa
That’s what I’d like to explore today. > Alterna5ve Energy > Mobile Money > Crowdsourcing > Scratch Cards > Alterna5ve Power
We’ll start with a nod to the First World. In pockets, they’re showing some African flair…
AlternaIve Energy
Soccer. PreBy widespread?
Now what if…
It’s about power.
Mobile Money
Gartner predicts that Mobile Money is to become a $617-‐billion industry by 2016.
Launched in 2007 by Safaricom in Kenya…
Deposit and withdraw money Transfer money to other users & non-‐users Pay bills Purchase air5me Transfer money into a bank account (some markets)
It is not a banking system. It is a money facilita5on framework.
B2B B2C … and now C2C
More than half of Kenya’s GDP moves through MPESA. That’s $20 million + per day.
MPESA has achieved two important things that First World payment services probably never will…
MPESA disintermediates the banking system.
Breaks down the rich-‐to-‐poor input requirement through a system of distributed agents.
Somewhere between Hoover and Amway, the First World lost the passion for distributed entrepreneurial networks
Crowd Sourcing
In Swahili there is a word for “tes1mony” or “witness”.
Born in the post elecIon violence in Kenya, 2008…
What was the need? Kenyans couldn’t get up-‐to-‐date and reliable updates about poli1cal condi1ons through tradi1onal media channels.
How does it work? Input via > SMS. MMS. Online. Input on > Any device.
Here’s the trick. It’s open source.
“AcIvist mapping” The combina1on of social ac5vism, ci5zen journalism and geospa5al informa5on.
Accuracy through AggregaIon.
The real innova5on? It’s open source.
Which means it has been picked up and exported to the world. 2011 Middle East Pro-‐Democracy Demonstrators 2011 Christchurch earthquake disaster 2010 Hai1 2010 Russian Wildfires … even being used in India to map 3G connec1vity
The 2010 HaiI Disaster is a par1cularly effec5ve way of showcasing the power of
Open Source.
What can we learn? The power is in the data, not always the interface. No barrier to input means more input.
Scratch Cards
Quickie.
Made in Ghana. In partnership with the Catholic Church. Yes.
That same church owns an insurance company. Flock size: 4 million
Scratch Card + The Cloud (not the Rain one!) + Insurance Company = ?
Use cases: Cashflow flexibility Frequent travel Insuring friends & rela5ves remotely...
Powerful example of PAY AS YOU GO … and introduces us to some more golden rules of African InnovaIon:
Secret to Third World product adop2on
Low upfront payment Flexible remaining payment rate
High immediate uIlity
Star5ng to see businesses like this in the First World?
And now, to end off…
AlternaIve Power
80% of Tanzanians live within 5 km of the power grid. 90% of them lack access to electricity.
BaYeries.
NetFlix for BaYeries?
Let’s hear from the Founder…
“… to move electricity around”. What a novel concept.
The important lesson? Third World environments don’t mean Third World margins. These are big volume businesses we’re talking about.
So. When you look back at all these examples…
We’re innovaIng despite our situa1on. When there is no capital available -‐ there is a focus on brain power.
You may think these are simple solu1ons for a simple world?
A unique business situa5on exists in Africa.
Africa’s Future
Concept Erik Hersman (@whiteafrikan)
We don’t take ourselves too seriously.
Every feature of underdevelopment represents a business opportunity
-‐ Herman Chinery-‐Hesse
If we think accessibility first, devices second… If we think flexibility first, margin second… If we think uIlity first, experience second….
Thank you. @andyhadfield
www.andyhadfield.com
Credits • hBp://www.andyhadfield.com/2012/04/african-‐tech-‐innova1on-‐you-‐dont-‐need.html • hBp://www.cmoa.co.uk/ • hBp://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEDS14/Images/AfricaFlagMap.jpg • hBp://ted.com • hBp://fellows.ted.com/profiles/erik-‐hersman • hBp://gogreencyclopedia.blogspot.com/2012_03_01_archive.html • hBp://egg-‐energy.com/what-‐we-‐do/ • hBp://www.bslglobal.com/products.html • hBp://www.africanlibertycard.com/features.html • hBp://edi1on.cnn.com/2012/09/13/world/africa/mobile-‐phones-‐change-‐africa/index.html • hBp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-‐Pesa • hBp://gulzar05.blogspot.com/2011/02/m-‐pesa-‐success-‐story.html • hBp://pixelballads.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/mobile-‐technology-‐and-‐the-‐unbanked-‐m-‐pesa-‐
part-‐3/ • hBp://statspoqng.com/2011/04/kenyas-‐m-‐pesa-‐the-‐unbelievable-‐success-‐story-‐in-‐numbers/ • hBp://www.afrigadget.com/ • hBp://gcstz.com/products • hBp://blog.ushahidi.com/index.php/2010/02/19/taking-‐the-‐lead-‐ushahidi-‐hai1-‐tuIs/ • hBp://irevolu1on.net/2010/02/20/sms-‐disaster-‐response/
NOTES & Further InnovaIons • MXIT
– Drug Counselling • Nokia Life Tools • Health: counterfeit medicine checking, adherence
measurement, electronic pa1ent records to rural clinics via Q&A USSD
• JV between Safaricom and Syngenta for mobile based crop insurance for subsistence farmers...no forms, no claims, payout using Mpesa to mobile phone – hBp://www.microfinancefocus.com/syngenta-‐founda1on-‐safaricom-‐announce-‐crop-‐micro-‐insurance-‐program
• Tracker and other SA GEOLOCATION, tracking businesses are interes1ng
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