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We recently highlighted the efforts of Coders4Africa, an NGO aiming at improving the cardre of software developers in Africa. We managed to interview co-founders, Kwame Andah, Amadou Daffe and AlMoustapha Cisse:

1. Tell us a bit about Coders4Africa (C4A)

Kwame Andah (Co-Founder): Coders4Africa was created in 2010 through the efforts of five friends who collectively have over 40 years of experience in the software engineering and development field. We are a not-for-profit organization with an initiative that focuses on providing professional training and certification on a variety of platforms to 1,000 African software and application developers by the year 2016. After years of interaction with technologist in Africa we decided to focus on software development as a way of giving back to the communities we originated from. Being born and raised in Africa although educated in the United States, gave us an advantage in regards to bridging the gap between Africans and the diaspora.

2.  What drove to your starting C4A?

Amadou Daffe (Co-Founder): During the past few years, there has obviously been a very strong momentum in the ICT field all over Africa. Stories of success are being told in Kenya, South Africa, Ghana etc.

But let’s be frank, in reality most of the ICT initiatives target Africans as consumers and experimental guinea pigs. Let us take the mobile phone phenomenon for example. Even though the continent is benefiting from all of the technology that comes with mobile phones and the Internet, very few of us create something out of it. My partners and I wanted to present Africans a different perspective; participating in the African ICT revolution as programmers, developers and engineers. Not simply as consumers and super users

3. What do you seek to achieve through C4A? What current activities are you carrying out to achieve your goals?

Kwame Andah: One of our main goals is to create a strong community of software developers that share and transfer knowledge among themselves and to future generation of African programmers. We foresee Coders4Africa being one of the authoritative sources that produces and showcases African software developers who aspire to compete in the global market. It is our hope that the masses will all be inspired to be leaders in this field thereby contributing to the growth of ICT in their local regions. Without this effort, the digital divide will widen. The focus is on Africa and we seek to be agents of innovation while spreading the development of software/application creation in the continent.

To carry out our goals, we successfully conducted conferences and hands-on workshops in Dakar, Senegal and Bamako, Mali. Over 400 hundred attendees participated in these conferences in December 2010. We are currently planning for our next event in Accra, Ghana this summer 2011. We are also interacting with online communities through the following:

Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Coders4Africa/187440224606459
Twitter: @coders4africa
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=3792478&trk=anet_ug_grppro

4. Afrinnovator is currently running a survey of African programmers, what do you think of the current state of software programming in Africa?

Amadou Daffe: This question is actually similar to another one we were trying to answer during our first conference in Senegal and Mali. It is a difficult one. At the moment two countries are dominating the Software development industry in sub-Saharan Africa: South Africa and Kenya. I believe there is a tremendous data in South Africa that can help us answer that question. However at the continental level we have a long way to go. Most African governments and private companies are still buying Software made by non-Africans. This indicates that there is mistrust, or a deficiency in the promotion of African made Software across the continent. If I am a Senegalese private company I should be able to buy software made by Kenyan or Ghanaian Software Company. It will probably be cheaper and I could possibly get support locally.

Did you know that there is an African Association of Software Users (AAUL)? That there have been African meetings for Open Source Software? There was one in Burkina Fasso few years back.

I think for African software programming to strive we need to create an African Association of Software Developers (AASD) and have conferences held in different African countries periodically in order to make African software developers and engineers more visible and known throughout the continent. Let’s not forget that Africa is potentially a great market, it is the second largest continent in terms of population.

5. Generally speaking, how would you rate the calibre of programmers in Africa? how competitive are we?

Amadou Daffe: You are asking us to define the “Profile of the African Programmer”. We talked about that extensively during our conferences in Dakar and Bamako. And my take on this is that we have a lot of work ahead us.

Some African programmers will argue that they don’t have the same tools as their European, Indian and American counterparts.

One other important fact is that there are two main groups of African programmers: French and English speaking ones. I will definitely agree that the English speaking African programmers have an edge over their French speaking counterparts. This is due to the fact that most programming materials are written or given in English. One of the Coders4Africa leaders in Senegal actually told us that he is still using a C# (a Microsoft .NET Language) that is 5th edition behind. He told us that it is very hard to keep up because of the lack of materials produced in French.

You also have the difficulties of getting online with slow or no Internet, lack of adequate electric grid etc.

With all these barriers it is hard and really not fair to grade African programmers. However, in general, I will give them a solid C and improving (smile).

In term of competition they are behind but with a boost they could be part of the greatest programmers in the world such as Phillip Emeagwali a Nigerian and pioneer in the computer engineering field (http://emeagwali.com/). There are guys out there that do crazy things but they are not visible.

Coders4Africa is looking forward to remedying these problems. Then they will be no more excuses (smile).

6. What future do you see for programming and programmers in Africa?

Kwame Andah: We see a very bright future for programmers and open source programming. Africa has some of the most talented individuals on the planet. Hopefully we will spend less capital purchasing proprietary software and invest in training more programmers from Africa. This will make us less dependent on outside software developers while creating a free/open market and increasing competition. More importantly, this will boost moral in our communities while giving programmers a sense of pride. Open source programming provides a way for us to help ourselves and collaborate with our brothers and sisters within the continent. Our ability to customize software into local languages will be improved and ultimately, programmers and open source programming will stimulate the private and public sectors in the mobile, tablet and touch screen multimedia software industries.

7. What’s the future for C4A?

AlMoustapha Cisse (Co-Founder): Our first objective is to help train and certify at least 1000 programmers by 2016.  Thereafter, we envision Coders4Africa having a broader base in Africa and becoming the enabler of technical learning throughout the continent.   We are also leveraging social media to create communities of programmers hoping to foster knowledge sharing and transfering across Africa in the future.  Lastly, Coders4Africa is hoping to become the powerhouse guiding the African developers towards their own betterment in promoting creativity and innovation while providing a lending hand in becoming the brainpower for the future IT global-outsourcing.

This was originally published as Interview With Coders4Africa Founders

Being your own boss is the best job you can get because what you do and how you do it in your business is all up to you. Interested in starting your own Information and Communications Technology (ICT) business? Then get out of your comfort zone now. People must get out of their job-seeking mode. Are you ready to take Control? Take Charge! Become a Provider for the Knowledge Economy. Become a Wealth Creator in the Digital Revolution!

What should you consider in setting up and growing your ICT business? What ICT business ideas are available and viable? Which ideas are yet unborn? Or what of those that are born online? What strategies should you employ in starting up your ICT company? In particular what are the entrepreneurial fundamentals, capacities and mindsets you must develop for succeeding in IT business? What really is the difference between success and failure? What does it take to create wealth in ICT – to be profitable and sustainable?

The Entrepreneurship Requirement

By taking risks and translating ideas into business results, the entrepreneur contributes positively to economic development of the country. It’s simple. When you are an entrepreneur, you create jobs and wealth. Despite the lack of support and recognition, the economy depends on you. The entrepreneur drives change and promotes innovation in the economy. However, there is a shortage of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship learning. Nigeria is therefore not exploiting its entrepreneurial potential. Entrepreneurship is fundamental to economic development. In order to meet national goals, achieve social inclusion and overall prosperity Nigeria needs more entrepreneurs.

The craze for white-collar jobs certainly does not help. Have the white-collar jobs in the banks, telcos and oil companies reduced the level of poverty in society? How many people can the banks employ? Forget the flashy stuff and focus on substance. Whether you like it or not, whether you believe it or not, it’s time for us to wake up to reality – small businesses are the real engines of growth in the economy. Interestingly, entrepreneurship is often considered a less attractive career option. We must discard that mentality. People, Please, Please, listen to the news – Job security is dead, so why don’t you create your own jobs?

Why ICT Entrepreneurship?

In view of the important role ICT plays in all aspects of our personal and business lives, the IT entrepreneur is critical to development. For example, in this era of globalization, ICT entrepreneurship allows countries like Nigeria to become producers and creators in the high value areas of the knowledge economy. ICTs are the infrastructure of the digital global economy. They are what make the global village possible. However, the majority of entrepreneurship learning programs are offered in business and economic institutions and disciplines. ICT entrepreneurial learning is required to address this state of affairs. There must be an entrepreneurship focus on areas that drive change in today’s digital world, particularly ICT.

However, entrepreneurship is not a technical matter. Neither is it just about money. Creating and running a successful requires more than technical expertise and money. Is entrepreneurship a bed of roses? Entrepreneurship refers to an individual’s creative and self confident ability to turn ideas into action in a profitable and sustainable manner. Why do some fail while others succeed? It’s important to understand the practical perspectives that last and work, as well as how to address the challenges associated with entrepreneurship in the local and global environment. Entrepreneurship is about reward and wealth creation; it is also about managing risks and challenges. So what are the major mistakes made by tech entrepreneurs? What are the Critical Success Factors of IT entrepreneurship?

Why Africa? Why Nigeria?

There is a global digital revolution but Africa is still largely underserved. We must rise above consumption to production. Nobody is coming from Mars to tap the opportunities for wealth and job creation. Crying will not make underdevelopment go away. The argument is that we cannot grow because we are underdeveloped.

WHAT NONSENSE! THE CHALLENGES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE TURNED INTO OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH.

Entrepreneurship is one of several strategies that must be adopted. The disease of poor leadership ravaging the African continent is no excuse for folding our arms. We say NO to the victim mentality that bows to digital slavemasters! We must refuse to be victims of globalization. And we cannot put our future and hopes on hold until authorities and leaders wake up! Entrepreneurship is an opportunity for the individual to take back some control and make a difference. Entrepreneurship creates wealth while fighting poverty, disease, hunger and other real dangers associated with underdevelopment. Through ICT entrepreneurship it is possible to achieve success by being drivers and not consumers in the global digital economy – the digital Small Giants!

It is necessary to create and promote programs to address issues of experience and lack of self-confidence that stop many from creating and growing their own businesses. Underdevelopment provides challenges that can be turned into opportunities. We cannot continue to suffer from thirst at the river bank. To get real benefit in today’s digital economy we cannot all be job seekers or consumers. There is a need to create and empower a new generation of digital entrepreneurs. ICT is the infrastructure of the digital economy. ICT is not limited by sex or geography. You simply need to be informed about ICT and have the desire and ability to create and grow your business.

We complain daily about the lack of jobs. Interview today, but no jobs, downsizing, massive layoffs, retrenchment are the songs of globalization. Globalization requires entrepreneurs. Are you ready to be a driver or a spectator in the digital revolution? Why are you content being a passenger when you can drive change? Complaining is a baby’s game. I have to laugh when people think criticizing from morning to night will attract sympathy from poverty. Don’t you?

Jide Awe, the Founder/CEO of Jidaw Systems Limited, a leading provider of IT education, consulting, and Internet content services originally published this article on TechTrendsNg as The Essence of Entreprenurship

If you are trying to become an entrepreneur and start a new business, the Startup Index is a great new initiative from Benjamin Charagu and Jay Bhalla. They're bringing startups and investors together with comprehensive resources like these entrepreneurship documents, presentations, websites, and books:

Start-up Documents

WSGR Term Sheet Generator
SME Toolkit IFC
Advisory Board Agreement
Cap Table and Returns Template
Executive Summary Template
free SWOT analysis Template

Presentations

The Lean VC a Silicon Valley story
How to Create a successful freemium
Customer Development Methodology
Start-up Viagra - How to pitch to a VC
Developing a compelling Pitch

Blogs / Websites

Mixergy
Hacker blogs
Afrinnovator
ihub
Nailabs
ICT Board
Business Plans
Paul Grahams Essays
Andrew Chens Blogs
Both sides of the Table
37 signals podcast
Y-combinator
Startup Nation
Y-combinator Start-up Library
WSGR Term Sheet Generator
Venture Capital for Africa

Books

The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
Pitching Hacks: How to pitch startups to investors
The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Strategies for Continuously Creating Opportunity in an Age of Uncertainty
Entrepreneur's Notebook: Practical Advice for Starting a New Business Venture
Rework
Getting Real: The smarter, faster, easier way to build a successful web application
The High Performance Entrepreneur: Golden Rules for Success in Today's World
Go Kiss the World: Life Lessons for the Young Professional
The Professional
Free: The Future of a Radical Price
Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company-and Revolutionized an Industry

Internally displaced people camp at Nakuru’s Afraha Stadium. Political turbulence following last year’s post-election violence was cited as the greatest threat to the business environment in the country.

A consultancy firm focusing on analysing the risk of doing business in individual African countries has been launched, adding onto the information resource pool international investors need to make decisions on which part of the continent to invest in.

Read more

While there is an explosive growth of mobile phone usage in Africa, there has not been a corresponding growth in the national electric grid to support these phones. In Kenya, there are more than 17 million cell phone subscribers but only 1.3 million have access to constant electricity.

So how can entrepreneurs fill the gap between the demand for mobile phone recharging and the limited supply of grid electricity?

Battery-based mobile phone charging

At the most basic level, small-scale entrepreneurs have been devising ad hoc mobile phone recharging solutions that span the gamut from pedal-power electricity generation to many homemade dry cell battery powered systems.

The best are recharging stations that take the ubiquitous 12 Volt car battery and wire a number of phone chargers to it for community usage. Yet these stations are still ad hoc, with no standardization or scalability of the solution, which is a market opportunity.

Solar powered handset solutions

Big mobile phone operators are looking at that opportunity with solar powered handsets. Safaricom has just introduced solar powered cell phones that retail at only Kes. 2,999 ($40 USD).

While this phone is locked to the Safaricom network, one 8 hour charge lasts for a several days and as an added bonus, its made with all recycled materials.

Solar power business opportunity

It also gives me an idea for another business opportunity in Africa. I can see an African entrepreneur designing a simple yet durable solar power recharge station.

Imagine a solar panel and change controller designed specifically to sit atop and recharge a 12V battery under African conditions. Incorporating voltage meters and other electrical indicators it would be a distinct advantage over the current charge status guesswork.

Models for different countries would have alignment instructions just for their geo-solar conditions, and would come with ports for all the major mobile phones recharging adapters. The whole unit would be mall enough for a single person to carry - the entrepreneur who would sell charge time for 12V battery owners.