ICTworks by Inveneo

About VC4A Questions:

VC4Africa seeks to connect entrepreneurs with the network, capital and knowledge they need to build promising businesses on the continent. We have members from 156 countries that network via our online platforms and offline via our VC4Africa Meetups. Our matchmaking site VC4Africa.biz is a tool for entrepreneurs to publish their venture and connect with possible business partners and investors. Our matchmaking program further supports entrepreneurs in their business planning and support entrepreneurs seeking venture finance. So how do we support the community with knowledge?

Building a business is hard and having access to the right knowledge and information is critical. Unfortunately, in the African space information is too often lacking. What do the changes in local tax code mean for the tech sector? What are the import duties for heavy machinery? What are the key points investors look for when reviewing a cash flow prognosis? What are the legal issues I need to consider when expanding across borders? VC4A Questions is a collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by the VC4A community. Together we are building a community generated database of knowledge. A few points that make VC4Africa Questions & Answers unique:

A Growing Knowledge Base

People use VC4A questions to document their African business adventures. Over time, the database of knowledge should grow and grow until almost everything that anyone wants to know about doing business in Africa is available in the system. The information is organized, the history of the questions is archived and the information is freely accessible for anyone with the same question today or tomorrow.

Community Managed

Each question makes use of tags that make them easier to find across multiple search queries. This also helps members link new questions with existing discussions and further centralizes the conversation. Members can find similar questions they can borrow from when outlining additional context. Each question and answer is also rated and sorted by the users. This ensures that only the most pertinent questions rise to the top of the landing page and search results. It helps push prominent issues into the forefront and crowds out any unwanted messages or noise.

Follow Discussions

Members can follow topics they are interested in. Any updates are automatically forwarded per e-mail and this helps maintain an active dialogue. Members, the VC4Africa team and officers can also ‘recommend experts’ with certain questions and encourage them to share their expertise and input. This further serves to mobilize an active network and adds to the growing knowledge base.

VC4A Reputations

VC4A Questions is linked directly to member profiles. The system tracks who posted a question, who responded, how many responses were recorded and whether or not the questions and answers were valued by the VC4A community. This feedback is part of a reputation the user builds via the system. This helps other users appreciate the quality and level of a user’s contributions and serves to recognize the members who contribute the most and are otherwise experts on certain subjects or specific fields of interest.

Moving forward,

Please visit the new section of the website http://vc4africa.biz/questions/. We encourage you to take a look and play around with this new tool. Please add your own questions or share feedback with the community. We look forward to building this resource together and for the benefit of the entrepreneurs and investors working to build promising businesses on the continent.

Regards and happy networking!
The VC4A Team

Here is an excellent example of an ICIP lead project of Inveneo Solutions, connecting those who need it most.  

1ViLLAGE is making unprecedented strides in bringing technology solutions to under-resourced communities in the developing world to promote rapid socio-economic development. They work with development organizations, companies and individuals who desire to introduce Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) components into their projects, as well as, on self-initiated research and technological projects. Their experience in designing, developing, and implementing ICT solutions in harsh rural conditions, coupled with the knowledge of the challenges in such areas which has made them a critical technology partner for companies, NGOs, governments, international organisations and other ICT4D enterprises working in Africa.

THE PROJECT:

Project location: Ansaptu, Cape Coast

Project Funded by –Students Bridging the Information Gap

Beneficiary Institution –New Life International Children’s Home

Beneficiary schools –New Life School, Anglican School, Effutu D/A Primary and JHS

Number of Computers setup -20 ASUS eePC with Inveneo Hub Server

Internet Access: Mobile Internet solution using the vodafone data chip with monthly plan with Easy Rout Internet Modem

Power Backup System: We deployed a power backup system using an Inverter system working with battery banks to filter the power funning the systems and also support the systems for up to 8 hours in case power goes off.

Networking: The computers where hooked up to the server using a wired LAN networking as well as a wireless LAN using Ubiquiti Nano router. Server resources like Wikipedia and internet are accessed both by cable and by wireless