ICTworks by Inveneo

To an outsider, it can seem slightly incongruous that Kenya, Uganda, and small Rwanda have taken leading roles in leveraging mobile and internet technologies for strong social effect where Tanzania (and peripherally, still conflict torn Burundi) have lagged. When looking to explain ICT’s present day regional gaps, it is easy to grasp for many the obvious disparities like the relative lack of modern English proficiency, poverty rankings, cultural differences, the metropolis hub factor, or the historical figures about relative investments made in the colonialism era.

These are the facts, but to me, the clearest vantage on this landscape is the median higher-education student finished or finishing at government schools across the region. In Kenya and Uganda, this median student is already trained and seeking skilled work. In Tanzania, he (or a lucky she) is an A-level student, college freshmen or sophomore.

A while back, Jon Gosier of Appfrica offered the telling statistic that inspired Appfrica Labs to spring from the Makerere University, long respected as one of the prime East African academic institutions, in downtown Kampala:

In Makerere’s Computer Science program they graduate about 900 kids per year. Of those 900 between 5% and 10% find full time jobs by the same time the next year. Those that don’t find jobs by that time, now have the added pressure of competing with the next class – with a the added disadvantage of a slightly outdated and somewhat unequal education (as education should be getting better with each graduating class)

This, of course, showed that there was a vast amount of untapped talent to inspire in Uganda.

From my own experience working in the education sector, Tanzania isn’t in this situation: in contrast, they’re still ramping up the post-secondary education system to meet even the tiny job market. About eight years past, Tanzania massively expanded its primary school enrollment (East Africa comparison graph) (2002, PEDP). About six years ago, leaders started building a huge number of secondary schools (SEDP) and student numbers (& some teaching standards, like A-level) have gone way up with the greater student base and intense competition.

In the last year they’ve built several huge, new government universities which are starting to accept students in large numbers from these original student cohorts as they now reach adulthood. The government of TZ is also handing out many “loans” which are much like grants to a large fraction of the eligible post-secondary students who apply for them.

The challenge of today is to help these still-green Tanzanian higher-education students realize the communities of ICT online as efficiently as possible so that they have a chance to compete in the regional marketplace. An effective ICT practitioner can not keep themselves current without engaging online. Think of all those students finishing Computer Science at Makerere and getting lost in the progress. Fresh ideas exchanged through newly liberalizing labor market initiatives like the strengthened East African Community (EAC), university-affiliated silicon tech hubs, and high profile competitions like Apps4Africa are fantastic for this.

I am happy to note that Tanzanian academics like Rakesh Rajani (e.g. his comments on the SEDP in 2006 & on Twitter) who led some aspects of the hugely important education expansions in Tanzania are getting behind it. Sure, iHub, Appfrica Labs and Hive Colab are big names in East African ICT today. Tanzania, (and though I can’t speak to them so directly, even Rwanda/Burundi) have a good chance at their own ICT silicon-style hubs as the higher education terrain swiftly develops in the greater Uswahili.

Had I told you in 2000 that Kampala, Uganda would host a TED-type event sponsored by UNICEF and a growing IT incubation center, with notables like New York Times reporters and founders of the World Wide Web, you would've laughed me out of the room with a parting, "In Africa? Hahahahh!"

No one is laughing now. In fact, I'm applauding the organizational skills of Jonathan Gosier and his Appfrica Labs in pulling off TEDxKampala. Just listen to the presentation lineup:

Making ICT history in Africa

Simply put, the event was incredible! Stephen Boyera of the World Wide Web Foundation offered the keynote talk, while Ron Nixon from the New York Times dropped with arguably one of the most interesting talks of the day where he presented his app Ujima which tracks spending too and from African countries.

Solomon King of Node Six gave a moving talk on how he became a ‘famous citizen journalist’ for simply blogging about his experiences during the Kampala riots. Paul Bagyenda of Digital Solutions offered advice for young tech entrepreneurs, while Paul Asiimwe of Sipi Law Uganda talked about the importance of intellectual property law and digital rights to protect content and content producers.

Or better yet, you can check out videos of the event. Wait, think about that for a moment - you're watching what happened just a few days ago hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away in East Africa. Just the very act makes me want to laugh with happiness - this is Africa's ICT arrival:

If you're disappointed you missed TEDxKampala, then check out Africa Gathering Nairobi - technophiles, thinkers, entrepreneurs, and innovators talking about positive change in sustainable development and technology across Africa. They're convening December 21-22 in Nairobi, Kenya, to highlight emerging technology that is relevant to Africa - get your tickets now!