Title: Pedagogical Integration of ICT: Successes and Challenges from 100+ African Schools - 3rd edition
Authors: Thierry Karsenti, Simon Collin and Toby Harper-Merrett
Pages: 349 pp.
ISBN: 978-2-923808-16-1
Publisher: IDRC
Date (published): 18/11/2011
Date (accessed): 19/11/2011
Type of information: research book
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"The PanAfrican Research Agenda aimed to better understand how the pedagogical integration of ICT can improve the quality of teaching and learning in Africa.
In the first project phase, national research teams gathered data on the educational use of ICT in 13 countries: Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, Central African Republic, Uganda, Mozambique, Mali, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Congo, Cameroon, and South Africa, and Zambia. Data were collected according to a mixed-method approach, using quantitative data (e.g., questionnaires) and qualitative data (e.g., interviews, observations) on how ICT were integrated into education. In all, 120 schools, 800 school administrators, 8 940 teachers, and 242 873 students participated in the project.

Phase 1 of the PanAf project primarily involved collecting 20,000 pieces of data following a rigorous indicator procedure that was determined based on the literature as well several meetings between the researchers from the participating countries. All the gathered data are available on the Observatory for the pedagogical integration of ICT at www.observatoiretic.org (briefly presented in section VI).

Analyses of the raw data are also provided at the Observatory, and are available not only to PanAf researchers, but to all researchers in Africa and around the world. The clear advantage of these data, beyond being freely accessible at all times, is that they allow a deeper understanding of Africa's ICT policies and a greater awareness of the impacts of ICT on learners and educators. Note that these data frequently highlight gender issues and uncover inequalities throughout education systems. Last but not least, phase 1 of the PanAf project has fostered the development of research skills in the project teams."

Title: On the Air, from Mobile to Radio
Source: Internews Network
Date (published): 06/09/2011
Date (accessed): 18/10/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Pilot project lets listeners record and pay for on-air radio messages via mobile phone, creating a new revenue source for community radio in Kenya.

Recently dubbed by TIME Magazine as the “Silicon Savanna,” Kenya is home to innovative mobile phone technologies that have transformed the lives of millions of people. Ahead of much of the rest of the world, Kenyans have adopted mobile money as an everyday way to handle financial transactions. More than half the population use mobile phones for everything from transferring money to family members to paying bills – even cab fare.

Now, community radio stations are integrating mobile money into their business models. Through a four-month pilot launched in August by Internews, in partnership with the mobile banking system MobiKash and a network of community radio stations, the stations will earn revenue while putting community voices on the air, through an innovative “M-Dedications” system."

Title: The digital revolution in sub-Saharan Africa
Author: Laila Ali
Source: Al Jazeera English
Date (published): 12/10/2011
Date (accessed): 17/10/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Much has been written about the role technology played in bringing social and political change across much of the Middle East and North Africa, but less is known about the technological revolution that is taking place and transforming people's lives in sub-Saharan Africa.

It is estimated that by 2015 sub-Saharan Africa will have more people with mobile phone network access than electricity access at home. People with internet and no home electricity will reach 138 million, according to the Cisco Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast for 2010-2015.

This deep and rapid mobile penetration is catapulting developing countries into the 21st century and bringing new and previously unimagined opportunities. While schools in the developed world enforce strict policies to keep mobile phones out of the classroom, African schools and universities are now exploring the use of mobile technology to assist teaching.
...
Mobile education
Under the BridgeIt initiative, known locally as Elimu kwa Teknologia or Education through Technology, teachers download video content using Nokia N95 mobile phones, which are connected to TVs in their classrooms, allowing rural schools and communities access to a digital catalogue of locally-developed or adapted educational content.
…
E-learning
In South Africa the concept of using mobile technology to support distant learners is also gaining ground. Pretoria University considers it an extension of e-learning - where distance learners use the internet to access materials to support their studies.
…
An app for that
The use of mobile technology in Africa is not limited to the field of education. In Kenya, high mobile penetration spurred the development of ground-breaking applications that are positioning the country as a regional leader in technology."

Title: Making the Most of Mobiles in Africa
Source: Africa the Good News
Date (published): 13/09/2010
Date (accessed): 21/09/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"It is not often a technology guru will say, “Forget the internet!” but Ken Banks, founder of Kiwanja.net, advocates going back to basics – using mobile phones rather than the internet, and pretty basic phones at that.

While mobile phones are ubiquitous in Africa, the internet has nothing like the same penetration and is almost non-existent in rural areas. Says Banks: “For example, in Zimbabwe, there’s 2-3 percent internet penetration. If your amazing, whizzy mobile tool needs the internet, and you are looking to deploy it in Zimbabwe, you have lost 97 percent of people before you start.”

Dillon Dhanecha's company, The Change Studio, was trying to distribute management tools and training through the internet, and admits it fell into exactly the trap Banks was describing. “We were developing short YouTube clips and so on, but I was in Rwanda a few weeks ago and trying to access our site from my Smartphone, and it just wasn’t happening.”

But there are plenty of options with even a not-very-smart phone: one of the pioneers was M-Pesa, designed as a tool for repaying microfinance loans. But Kenyans found all kinds of other uses; for instance, people afraid to carry large sums of cash while travelling would send it to themselves for collection at their destination. It was also key to the recent Kenyans for Kenya drought aid funding drive."

Title: Rural Youth in Kenya, and the Impact of ICTs
Author: Chris Mwangi
Source: GBI Portal
Publisher: USAID
Date (published): 12/08/2011
Date (accessed): 07/09/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"We would be missing the full significance of ICTs if we do not see them as an integral part in the efforts to improve the everyday life of rural folk in Kenya. Mobile technology being the key mode of communication in the country has contributed greatly to local youth livelihoods. Using mobile phones, the youth have able to access knowledge and information which are vital aspects for improving agricultural development by increasing agricultural yields and marketing.

With accessibility of mobile phone networks throughout the country, services such as Safaricom’s mobile money transfer (M-Pesa), mobile money banking (M Kesho) and information on agricultural produce markets have created job opportunities for the youth as the number of agents increase."

Title: Amid Kenya’s Food Crisis, Radio Educates Farmers
Author: Dinfin Mulupi
Source: AudienceScapes
Date (published): 18/07/2011
Date (accessed): 07/09/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"At a time when Kenya is struggling to feed its population following severe droughts, radio programs are educating listeners on better farming techniques in a bid to improve food security.

Kenya is on the brink of possibly one of its worst droughts in 60 years, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Aid groups have issued their largest-ever appeal for food aid for parts of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.
The food shortage resulting from this year’s drought is not uncommon in Kenya, although this year it is particularly severe. For decades, Kenya has suffered frequent acute food shortages. Paradoxically, it is believed that close to 80 percent of the population engages in farming. While Kenya’s food shortages are caused by a complex set of circumstances – drought, high global food prices, political instability -- the poor farming techniques practiced by Kenya’s majority small holder farmers have been singled out as a major factor.
To remedy this problem, some radio stations in Kenya are broadcasting programs to educate farmers about successful agricultural techniques. The goal is to promote food security for the region by helping small holder farmers increase their yield."

Title: Saving On The Mobile: Developing Innovative Financial Services to Suit Poor Users
Source: AppLab blog (Grameen Foundation)
Date (published): 11/08/2011
Date (accessed): 12/08/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Grameen Foundation’s Sean Krepp and Dr. Olga Morawczynski recently published this paper on Saving on the Mobile in the World Economic Forum’s Mobile Financial Services Development Report 2011.

Savings on mobile money
A recent survey of over 2,000 Kenyan households found that 89% of respondents used M-PESA, a Kenyan mobile money (MM) application, “to save” (Suri and Jack, 2010). Dr. Morawczynski confirmed this finding after spending over 18 months studying the financial habits of resource poor M-PESA users in two locations: an urban slum called Kibera and village in Western Kenya called Bukura (Morawczynski, 2010). The study found that M-PESA was integrated into the financial portfolios and acted as a complement, rather than a substitute, to other mechanisms. This paper expands on these findings by disaggregating the term “savings” and focusing on behavior.

Four scenarios have been developed to explain how and why resource poor individuals use MM as a savings mechanism. These scenarios describe the frequency of transactions and the costs associated with each form of savings. A case study accompanies each scenario to explain the circumstances leading to the savings behavior.

Two MM applications are central to this analysis— M-PESA in Kenya and MobileMoney in Uganda. Product ideas are derived from analysis of practices. To “go beyond payments” and be relevant to poor users, mobile applications must be designed to fit into existing practices rather than trying to change or displace them."

Title: Mobile Financial Services Development Report 2011
Pages: 221 pp.
ISBN: 978-92-95044-80-7
Publisher: World Economic Forum
Date (published): 16/05/2011
Date (accessed): 12/08/2011
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTMl + pdf + zip)
Abstract:
"The Mobile Financial Services Development Report 2011 provides a comprehensive analysis of more than 100 variables across 20 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Developed in conjunction with the Boston Consulting Group, the report measures the critical factors necessary to achieve meaningful scale of mobile financial services and to meet the needs of billions of individuals excluded from the formal economy.

Defining mobile financial services devel­opment in terms of the key drivers across the institu­tional, market and end-user environments that lead to adoption and scale, the aim of the Report is to build consensus by proposing a taxonomy and analytic structure for assessing the mobile finance landscape in addition to the provision of a comprehensive data set.

The report takes a wide-ranging view in assessing the factors that contribute to the long-term development of mobile financial services. Along with including mobile payments and transfers, vital financial services such as savings, credit, and insurance are also within the Report’s scope.

Measures of mobile financial services development are captured across seven pillars:

Regulatory proportionality
Consumer protection
Market competitiveness
Market catalysts
End-user empowerment and access
Distribution and agent network
Adoption and availability

The report highlights that the adoption of mobile financial services is currently confined to a few countries where access to financial services has been historically constrained and the scope of services limited to mobile money transfer. The findings also suggest that the adoption of financial services such as savings, credit and micro-insurance are nascent and that regulatory environments, market competitiveness and the financial literacy of end-users all need to be collaboratively addressed before meaningful scale can be achieved.

Countries such as Kenya and the Philippines are among the few countries covered by the report that have achieved adoption levels of more than 10% of their total adult population. A defining characteristic of these countries is a dense network of agents – retail access points that are capable of registering account holders and handling cash transactions. However, as these countries look to achieve scale beyond payments, focusing on factors such as government disbursements through the mobile platform, the competitiveness of their financial and telecom sectors, and better data collection to facilitate “test and learn” approaches will need to become a priority.

Several countries such as Brazil and India demonstrate relative strengths when compared to those countries that have currently achieved scale in mobile payments. The ability to leverage existing agent networks and consumer protection in Brazil may facilitate the development of more complex financial services through the mobile platform. The widespread availability of mobile phones within India, the degree of competition within its telecommunications sector and recent regulatory changes may drive dramatic improvements in adoption levels."

Title: Announcing Ushahidi v2.1 (Tunis)
Author Editor: Emmanuel Kala
Source: blog.ushahidi.com
Date (published): 09/08/2011
Date (accessed): 10/08/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Ushahidi, Inc. is a non-profit software company that develops free and open source software for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping.
Ushahidi (Swahili for "testimony" or "witness") created a website in the aftermath of Kenya's disputed 2007 presidential election (see 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis) that collected eyewitness reports of violence sent in by email and text-message and placed them on a Google map.[2]
The organization uses the concept of crowdsourcing for social activism and public accountability, serving as an initial model for what has been coined as 'activist mapping' - the combination of social activism, citizen journalism and geospatial information. Ushahidi offers products that enable local observers to submit reports using their mobile phones or the internet, while simultaneously creating a temporal and geospatial archive of events. See Wikipedia

"After months of hard work and the hard work of the community we are pleased to announce the release of version 2.1 (Tunis) of the Ushahidi platform
...
New Release Features:

Powerful Reports Filter
This is perhaps the most salient feature in this release and also one of the biggest asks that the community has been persistent about for quite sometime. The new faceted reports page allows a user to filter reports using one or a combination of the following parameters:
* Report Categories
* Date when reports were submitted
* Location radius e.g. x kilometers from a given point
* Channel via which the reports have been submitted (Web Form, SMS, Twitter or Email)
* Media contained in the reports e.g. photos, video or news source links
* Verification status (i.e. Verified and/or Unverified)
* Also bundled with the new reports page is an option to toggle between list view and map view..."

Title: Kenya: National ICT Market and Indicators Survey
Source: kenya ICT Board
Date (published): 08/08/2011
Date (accessed): 09/08/2011
Type of information: blog post + presentation
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML + pdf)
Abstract:
"With the arrival of broadband connectivity through three (3) submarine cable systems, the Kenyan IT market and indeed many business sectors are to grow rapidly; allowing for the introduction of new and advanced services, further setting the stage for the development of ICT as a valid contributor to Kenya’s GDP.

Developing ICT skills remains a constant issue to be addressed by end users, vendors, and even governments. Public‐private partnerships between vendors and governments to set up facilities for technology and knowledge transfer continue to gain momentum, especially in view of the Government long-term plans to make ICT a key part of the Kenyan Economy.

Rationale for the Proposed Survey
Given the dynamic changes happening in the Kenyan IT market and its vision to become the hub for IT in the region; Kenya ICT Board plans to conduct a detailed analysis within the with the aim of understanding the following issues:

* Understanding the Kenyan ICT Ecosystem, its players, factors for growth and trends in the market;
* Sizing the ICT Market and its sub segments (hardware, software, services, etc.) in Kenya;
* Compiling a baseline of key ICT indicators (access, usage, penetration, etc.);
* Benchmarking key competitive ICT indicators against six countries in emerging markets; and
* Understanding the ICT Skills availability, demand and gaps among vendors, end users and residents."