Research
Digital Platform To Aid In Disposing Plastic Waste
Environmental pollution is one of the most serious global challenges facing humanity today and the leading causes of medical conditions and mortality. Human activities through urbanization, industrialization, mining, and exploration are at the forefront of global environmental pollution. Both developed and developing nations share this burden, though awareness and stricter laws in developed countries have contributed to a larger extent in protecting their environment. Despite the global attention towards pollution, the impacts are still being felt due to its severe long-term consequences.
Africa is blessed with natural and mineral resources, exploitation of these resources has led to extreme pollution of the environment in many of the countries, population growth and urbanization due to developments have also contributed immensely to the current pollution in Africa.
In recent decades, poor plastic products disposal has led to the accumulation of plastic waste in the environment, majorly polythene bags, plastic bottles among other plastic products, leading to a rising state of plastic pollution. Plastics can be categorized in primary plastics, such as cigarette butts and bottle caps, or secondary plastics, resulting from the degradation of the primary ones.
According to the United Nations (UN, 2019), more than eight million tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans annually, leading to negative effects on marine wildlife, fisheries, and tourism. This pollution comes mainly from household waste, which is poorly recycled, dumped in landfills, or abandoned in nature, the waste is carried by the winds, pushed by the rains into sewers, streams, rivers, and finally in the oceans. Natural disasters such as floods can be considered as other causes of plastic pollution as well.
United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Nairobi in collaboration with @iLabAfrica Research and Innovation Centre of Strathmore University has come up with a digital platform to aid in the education and sensitization of people on the effects of environmental pollution while also highlighting the best ways of waste disposal.
Through the project, the Digital Learning Unit at @iLabAfrica has developed a mobile application that offers the general public animations detailing the simple acts of improper waste disposal and how far they go towards affecting humans, wildlife, and marine life, creating a public health concern because diseases become more common.
Victor Malombe, Digital Learning Assistant at @iLabAfrica says that the platform is available for both android and apple phones and seeks to fill a knowledge gap while also supporting the ban on plastic bags in the country. “The UNEP project application is basically in support of plastic ban in the country by creating relevant content that showcases dangers posed by plastic products to the environment. Some
of the animations detail how a locally dumped plastic ends up in the ocean, affecting fish which are later consumed by people thus endangering their health and well-being” says Mr. Malombe.
Data from UNEP indicates that environmental pollution has been on a steady increase in many African countries, demonstrating the need for efficient and sustainable solutions to help control the situation. One solution is the development and mobilization of technologies that either offer education to the masses or provide alternatives to plastics as demonstrated by the collaboration between @iLabAfrica and UNEP.
With the rise in mobile penetration across Africa, mobile applications and emerging technologies will be powerful tools in the dissemination of content, messages aimed at educating the masses on various environmental issues which are negatively affecting human life and other important ecosystems.
Plastic waste pollution, aggravated by inefficient waste collection and limited recycling capabilities, has been prevalent across Africa. However, the continent has a growing, youthful population that values improving the quality of life and readily adopts technologies aimed at controlling this menace.
This makes Africa suitable as a testing ground to investigate the effectiveness of new technologies for solving environmental challenges. In addition to consumers pushing brands to be more environmentally responsible, a business case also exists in Africa that enables brands to invest in technologies that promote a circular economy. As such, a trend for plastic waste remediation efforts in Africa that relies principally on consumer engagement to create a plastics circular economy has emerged.
A healthy environment plays a key role in realizing many of the Sustainable Development Goals, with less than 10 years left to 2030, the world needs to pick up the pace and put greater efforts into finding better solutions to pollution and climate change to truly transform societies and economies.
To know more about this project visit www.ilabafrica.ac.ke
Royal Norwegian Embassy hosts @iLabAfrica Kids Can Code Students
The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kenya hosted the @iLabAfrica-Strathmore University Kids Can Code’s project beneficiaries at the Royal Norwegian Embassy ambassador’s residence to give an opportunity to the students to showcase their school ICT projects. The beneficiaries were Secondary School students from various schools in different parts of Kenya who had been selected to join the Kids Can Code program taught by the @iLabAfrica Research and Innovation Centre.
The project, a collaboration between @iLabAfrica, Strathmore University and ICT Norway, is formulated and implemented to offer coding skills to kids, especially girls. Kids Can Code program is an initiative for young people aged 10 – 17 years to learn Computer Science concepts and attain 21 century skills to become active contributors to the digital economy. These skills form a great foundation for the young people by inspiring problem solving, analytical and critical thinking skills. The project commenced in November 2019 with @iLabAfrica as the implementing partner and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the finance partner. The project has seen the two partners design the program, identify beneficiary schools and innovation hubs through collaboration with Association of Startup and SMEs Enablers of Kenya (ASSEK), holding strategy meetings with stakeholders, establishing coding clubs, curriculum design, website design, collating content, and skill transfer through online training.
The program curriculum is open and can be adopted by other institutions to impart computing skills on young people. The core topics included in the curriculum are CS-unplugged and computational thinking, web design with HTML, CSS and JavaScript, coding with PHP, database design with MYSQL, robotics, and Internet of Things (IoT), animations, game development, and app development. These areas were targeted because besides being a way of learning 21st century skills, they align well with the Kenyan secondary school Computer Studies syllabus. The supporting content for the program was collated and availed on the Kids Can Code website and can be accessed anywhere at any time.
Over the years there have been the establishment of twenty (20) coding clubs in twenty-nine (29) partner schools, seven (7) of which were girls’ schools, four (4) mixed schools and nine (9) boys’ schools. This involved identifying beneficiary schools and organising field trips, holding strategy meetings with the teachers and principals, and signing commitment letters to lobby for support of the management in promoting these clubs. The goal is to foster interest in the students so that they can embrace lifelong learning. Through collaboration with the Association of Startup and SMEs Enablers of Kenya (ASSEK) we identified 7 innovation hubs that we are supporting to build their capacity to establish coding clubs and partner with schools. Working with schools and hubs is a sustainability measure for clubs’ support beyond the project period.
About one hundred and forty-three (143) online training sessions were held benefiting over one thousand and seventeen (1,017) students through online attendance or recorded videos shared afterwards. Over twenty (20) teachers from the twenty 20 schools have directly benefited from the project and the workshops held. We further reached one hundred and thirty-three (133) teachers through the virtual conferences held on 4th November 2020 and on 29th October 2021. The conferences served to sensitise teachers on technology uptake, promote ICT integration in education, foster computer science education and encourage strategic partnerships. Five innovation hubs have also benefited from the resources shared and the curriculum developed. @iLabAfrica will continue more engagements with the hubs even as they support schools in establishing coding clubs. The initial plans had schools selected from Nairobi, Kiambu, Murang’a and Kajiado counties. Through the online training this reach was extended to rural economy counties like Kisumu, Kisii, Embu, Kilifi, Nyamira, Nakuru, Homabay, Kwale, Mombasa, and Kitui.
The schools presenting their projects were LaiserHill Academy, Ilbissil Girls Secondary School, Njiiri High School, Wahundura High School, Jamhuri High School and Highway Secondary School.
The projects presented are summarised in the table below:
| Name of Project | Name of School | Project Brief |
| Water Conservation System | Highway Boys Secondary School (Mohammed Obaso, Joshua Swiga, Ronnex Wanjohi & Shem Okello) | The students came up with an Internet of Things IoT-based water management system that leverages the power of real-time data analytics to Respond and avoid adverse effects efficiently. Their system accurately checks the moisture content in the soil and sends a message to the phone of the user. |
| Somak | Ilbissil Girls Secondary School (Neema Naipoi & Purity Neema) | Somak Online Management Information System is a web-based project developed in PHP/MySQL which is designed to manage electronics and computer accessories online. |
| Shelly (Arduino Lego) | LaiserHill School (Emefa Mackonnen & Amori Kamau) | Emefa and Amori created a bot that senses color. The bot named shelly only nods in an up and down motion to the color it has been programmed to recognize. |
| Brogrammers (School Web) | Wahundura High School (Ian Kamundi &Samuel Ouda) | The students created a website for both students and teachers to assist in e-learning. The covid-19 Pandemic greatly inspired the young men to come up with this site. |
| E- Venders | Jamhuri High School (John Joshua & Ibrahim Diriye) | The students designed a site to bridge the gap between local store owners and the customers. It allows for local stores/suppliers to have an ever updated online inventory list. |
| Ondoc | Njiiri Boys High School (Kelly Mwangi & Jesse Kefa) | An e-health system that collects all patients’ data and stores them online to give future/different doctors an easier time when coming up with a diagnosis. This is because the doctor is able to have a look at past medical records. The system also allows for the patient to choose which doctor they would want to visit. The site also builds the relationship between doctors and patients by enabling an interactive platform. |
Digital transformation & e-Governance forum in Kenya
Strathmore University’s Research and innovation Centre, @iLabAfrica took part in a high level discussion on 10th September 2021 that sought to understand the state of digital transformation, e-Governance and cyber security in the country while also offering insights on best practices going forward.
The forum brought together top government officials, industry experts and major policy players in the technology sector such as @iLabAfrica Director Dr. Joseph Sevilla, leading Entrepreneurship expert from University of Nairobi Prof. Bitange Ndemo, Policy researcher from Strathmore Business School Mr. John Sergon, Kedi Välba-TalTech University Alumni & African Regional Manager, Aktors – Estonia.
Through the session the experts in the quest for digital shift in the country deliberated on how the country was fairing and how best it can improve so as to leverage with leading technology countries such as Estonia which has been lauded globally for its strong online systems and Processes.
In his presentation, Dr. Sevilla highlighted that @iLabAfrica was at the forefront of driving a shift to strong digital systems in the country by offering opportunities, research and training in modern areas of technology such as cybersecurity, e-health, data science, digital learning, Internet of Things (IoT) while also trying to address major societal challenges using technology.
“At our Centre, we look at how we can take advantage of technology to solve local problems, I am happy to see how Estonia has achieved a smart system, for us we have so far worked with county governments to help them automate their revenue collection systems and issuance of documents such as permits, making it possible for citizens to conduct such activities remotely using their mobile phones.
“We will also be travelling to other countries in Africa to implement similar systems because this comes with great efficiency and all transactions can be easily tracked” said Dr. Sevilla.
The @iLabAfrica Director further indicated that the Centre has been working with local partners to build on expertise in the different areas such as cybersecurity where jointly with BCK Kenya and ACPM IT they have set up a Security Operations Center, offering real time IT security services to companies and helping them detect and address threats immediately.
Ms. Välba while sharing her experience from Estonian background reiterated the importance of education, training and a digital mindset by the public as key factors to aid in a successful shift to e-Governance.
“Education is key in the process, TalTech and Strathmore University will train and educate people on how digitization makes life easier, it is important to begin at the primary level. Technology is always the easiest part, the biggest role is change management, mindset and having like-minded people with a digital mindset” said Ms. Välba.
With the rise in mobile penetration across the country and increased reliance on mobile money services, it remains critical for the government to embrace secure systems that protect citizens’ data while offering efficiency.
“We have more than three million people who rely on mobile money services daily, are our infrastructures safe? Data is borderless, transformative, invasive and can also be scary, the key issue in national security is ensuring safe systems free of attacks” said Mr. Sergon.
Former Industrialization Principal Secretary Prof. Ndemo noted that for the country to achieve sustainable e-Governance there was need to fully embrace emerging technologies such as block chain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) which are able to address most of the challenges faced in the country especially on fake academic papers to ward off unqualified persons from contesting public offices during elections.
Whereas e-Governance comes with increased transparency, efficiency and productivity to the citizens, its implementation in many African countries continues to face numerous hurdles such as limited capacity in terms of training, infrastructure, lack of political goodwill and financial constraints, it remains to be a key pillar of the industrial revolution 4.0.
Research and Innovation Hubs such as @iLabAfrica of Strathmore University continues to play major roles in ensuring successful adoption of technologies such as e-Governance by offering training, research and innovation for full actualization of the digital transformation in Kenya.
The event culminated with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Strathmore University and TalTech University, Estonia, an agreement that will see the two institutions jointly working together in the development of a curriculum to offer e-governance related training in Nairobi, Kenya.
Driving IoT innovation for Covid-19 and Beyond
The shudders of the COVID-19 pandemic have projected newer challenges in the healthcare, business and institutional domains across the world, highlighting the need for technology based solutions in the different sectors of the economy.
A new survey by the McKinsey & Company Research Institute (2021) has found that responses to the Covid-19 pandemic have speeded up the adoption of digital technologies by several years and that many of these changes will be here for the long haul.
Internet of Things(IoT) is increasingly becoming a vital technology in many industries where it can deliver lower expenses, a better quality of services, and advanced user experiences. As a result of its wide capabilities including tracking, identification, authentication and data collection, the adoption of the new technology is expected to grow exponentially.
Strathmore University’s Research and Innovation Centre @iLabAfrica, through its IoT unit held a
Webinar titled `Driving IoT innovation for Covid-19 and Beyond’, the forum sought to highlight how IoT can be utilized during the covid-19 pandemic and its growing relevance in the future. The unit also showcased some of the works it had done in the new technology area, aimed at providing solutions to some existing challenges. Various speakers, majorly experts in the areas of IoT and software development shared their knowledge and experiences during the digital forum.
According to Mr. Leonard Mabele-Manager at the IoT research lab, IoT is basically the use of sensors and programmable electronics hardware which is linked to the internet through various connectivity technologies, this is then integrated to a cloud to implement value driven applications with the stored data enabling the generation of valuable output. The applications can be used to control a system on the ground remotely.
IoT is an enabler of a smart planet driven by digital ecosystems which link the physical world with a digital system of technology creating entities with more efficiency and simplicity such as smart health, smart transport systems, smart cities, smart entertainment, smart energy among other areas.
“IoT can be viewed as an umbrella of various concepts, protocols and technologies-all of which are somewhat dependent on a particular industry, the technology digitizes the world by connecting people, processes, data and things. IoT further encompasses a vast amount of disciplines and can be implemented in energy production, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, retail, transportation, logistics, aviation, travel etc” said Mr. Mabele
“Technologies will come in to aid in the better performance of industries and companies, for instance in manufacturing, there already machines performing a lot of work, IoT comes in to add more functionalities to the existing equipment by enabling them to collect data and provide real time feedback which will lead to increased processing of goods while also closely monitoring quality control for optimum output” says Stephen Ngetich, Software Developer at @iLabAfrica.
Mr. Mabele further explains that IoT can be used in the creation of smart driven systems such as smart water system which can be able to monitor water levels in storages and cases of non-functional taps or leakages, smart health systems to monitor patients’ data and tests, a smart farming system where sensors can be used to relay information on soil moisture levels, pests & disease attacks for possible actions by the proprietors. The technology can also be used in the establishment of smart homes with real time monitoring of home equipment such as automated lights and doors.
The enabling technologies for IoT are sensor networks, embedded systems, cloud computing, discovery services, communications, software, system integration, knowledge aggregation, future internet, security privacy and standards.
The IoT research unit at @iLabAfrica is working on multiple projects which are all aimed at providing solutions to some human interest challenges in the country. These Projects include Transforming Water, Weather and Climate Information through Geo services in Africa (TWIGA) which is project in partnership with western & south African countries and European Union, it aims at creating a system of monitoring climate, weather, water levels and farming with real time updates to farmers for relevant actions. Disaster Management and Prediction is a project which targets areas prone to floods and drought and being able to develop a system that advices locals in times of expected disasters for their preparedness to avert cases of losses. Other projects are low income urban sanitation, livestock monitoring, air quality monitoring, Genset monitoring system and smart water management system.
At the height of the covid-19 pandemic, it has been critical for research centers to focus on new innovations in the area of healthcare that can help fight the spread of the deadly virus. @iLabAfrica made developments through the implementation of hygiene and sanitation projects in Nairobi’s slum areas.
“During the pandemic we have been able to implement a project dubbed TechNawa which is an automatic hand washing system, aiding hand washing with minimal contact which is among the ways of preventing covid-19 spread. We also did a Peri-Urban sanitation project in collaboration with UN habitat and liquid Telecom in Dandora, Nairobi County which was aimed at resolving basic sanitation challenges through the putting up of sensors in supply systems to relay information in cases of breakdown for quick action, the project will also be done in Korogocho in partnership with Mobile Alerts Toilets (MAT) and Toilets for All (T4A) to help improve sanitation practices while also controlling the spread of Covid-19” said Mr. Marbele.
The webinar sought to clear the air on the existing belief among many people that technological advancement brought by IoT and other technologies would come with widespread job cuts resulting from the replacement of human labor with machines.
The COVID-19 crisis has brought about years of change in the way companies in all sectors and regions do business. Many companies have accelerated the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions and of their internal operations, the share of digital or digitally enabled products in their portfolios has also significantly accelerated.
To stay competitive in this new business and economic environment requires new strategies and practices, most firms recognize technology’s strategic importance as a critical component of the business, not just a source of cost efficiencies.
The adoption of IoT is certainly not new, today, it’s no longer just an emerging technology, but a game changer propelled by the pandemic. IoT is now building upon the foundations of artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and the cloud to unlock new possibilities for the future.
Aiding cervical cancer treatment through technology
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women, in 2018 an estimated 570 000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide and about 311 000 women died from the disease with 85% of the cases being traced to low and middle income countries.
In a deal that will see Strathmore University’s Research and Innovation Centre @iLabAfrica collaborate with IBM research Lab-Nairobi, the Centre will work closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health to detect, monitor, treat, and prevent upsurge in cervical cancer cases by collecting data for purposes of making evidence-based decisions after analysis. This will be done through the use of modern technology for purposes of diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
Cervical cancer develops in a woman’s cervix and is caused by an infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV), an extremely common virus transmitted through sexual contact. The disease accounts for a majority of women deaths in developing countries, in sub Saharan Africa, where Kenya belongs, 53 in every 100,000 women are suffering from cervical cancer.
The Deputy Director @iLabAfrica Mr. Emmanuel Kweyu led a team of ten to the successful implementation of an Open Source Laboratory Information System (LIS) in public hospital laboratories in Kenya. The set-up is aimed at providing affordable and sustainable laboratory information system and services for developing countries which will help in early diagnosis and treatment of the killer disease.
The IBM research project will also work to improve on the commitment of University students to their respective communities of origin by engaging them in the raising of awareness on cervical cancer and collection of data on community demographics on the disease for purposes of creating an electronic health database.
When diagnosed, cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable forms of cancer, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively. Cancers diagnosed in late stages can also be controlled with appropriate treatment.
In the new system developed by @iLabAfrica, an online database will be created containing all details and test results of patients as tested in Kenyan hospital labs with real time access by health officials, an analysis will be easily conducted periodically on cervical cancer patients to fast track their early treatment processes which can aid in slowing down its spread while saving lives.
With the use of technology to store data on patients’ information, health practitioners will be in a better position to respond quickly due to the existence of data on previous tests, treatments and diagnosis, this will significantly improve the quality of healthcare offered in Kenya.
To know more about the project and what the @iLabAfrica e-Health Department is doing click here to Know more.
How Clean is the Nairobi Air you breath?
Strathmore launches An IoT Powered Air Quality Monitoring System: TechHewa
Internet of Things (IoT) Research Lab – 2020/2021
Citing the World Health Organization’s estimates that 90 percent of people worldwide breath contaminated air containing high levels of pollutants and that 1 in every 9 deaths is linked to air pollution, it is critical that this is kept in check. While many programs have been raised and try to curb this especially by availing data. Some of the pollutants identified include Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Nitrogen (IV) Oxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PM2.5, PM10). There are four main types of air pollution sources:
- mobile sources – such as cars, buses, planes, trucks, and trains
- stationary sources – such as power plants, oil refineries, industrial facilities, and factories
- area sources – such as agricultural areas, cities, and wood burning fireplaces
- natural sources – such as wind-blown dust, wildfires, and volcanoes(https://www.nps.gov/subjects/air/sources.htm )
Nairobi is mostly affected by the first two categories. Most highlighted effects are health and environment problems characterized by dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness, respiratory and cardiovascular problems leading to sometimes death. These pollutants have also been known to affect sensitive vegetation and ecosystems such as forests, parks, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas. Many organizations have deployed different solutions to try monitor and curb some effects of these pollutants. A good example of such an initiative is the Nairobi Air Quality Action Plan (2019-2023) supported by the United Nations Environment Programme in partnership with the Environmental Compliance Institute. These noble initiatives are meant to provide data on the actual status of air pollution towards a policy making step. Coming from a non-technical background, these initiatives have been faced with a challenge of getting the right sensors and monitors working; and working for a time long enough to collect actionable data.
In this regard, the IoT Research Lab, @iLabAfrica, an ICT and Innovation Research Centre based in Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya has stepped in proposing and implementing an improvement of these Air Quality Monitors leveraging IoT technology and Data Analytics. It seeks to provide the technical know-how of Air Quality Monitoring devices, the respective sensors and systems, tapping into the advantages of Low Power Wide Area Networks and the Internet of Things Technology to support stakeholder engagement and projects. Downtime is highly reduced with automated checks of the health of the monitors and activation of alerts on problems detected before the devices go down. This ensures consistent collection of data which is key in getting the right quantity and quality of data. TechHewa is a prototype of this solution with data streamed over LoRaWAN Network into a firebase database from where this is visualized and shared with responsible stakeholders for analysis and insights working towards a cleaner world.
This solution comes in handy with the co-relation of air quality and climate change; global warming by ozone and cooling or warming effects by different particulate matter among other effects.
Pictorial
5:
IoT Research Lab – 2020/2021
@iLabAfrica – Strathmore University
Metathesiophobia – Innovation’s Biggest Constraint
I recently came across this term “Metathesiophobia” while reading a book written by Neil Sahota and Michael Ashley titled “OWN THE A.I. REVOLUTION”. The authors of this book spend a lot of the initial chapters of the book delving into the evolution of different technologies leading to Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) alongside the side of psychology and the human mind on “Learning” and the rate of adoption of change relating to technology. The authors bring out an interesting comparison of technology adoption based on knowledge. Their description of the “things we know, we know”, “things we know, we don’t know” and “things we don’t know, we don’t know” really caught my attention especially in regards to technology adoption! Metathesiophobia, as loosely put by Michael and Neil means “Fear of Change” and I thought this might just the biggest constraint of innovation.
In the wake of Internet of Things (which has become my daily life), metathesiophobia might get a lot more amplified than it already is. Simply because, Internet of Things is a collection of technologies and not just a single technology. The technologies making up this collection are constantly experiencing evolution leading to new changes almost every year driven by more innovation. This is enough to scare off a company, especially one that has a traditional setup. At a first glance, Internet of Things (IoT) should be understood as simply as the term – “Internet of Things” where one part has “Internet” and the other part has “Things”. In this era, even a 5 – year old who will have a slow loading cartoon on YouTube, will tell you “there is no Internet” (Am not overlooking the digital divide, there are many rural places lacking Internet access so the 5 – year olds here have a different experience) which means we are all growing into having Internet access as a basic need. This definitely speaks for the numbers that know what “Internet” means. On the other hand, “Things” are just that – Things, that is: buildings, roads, land, atmosphere, vehicles, electronics, transformers, boxes, warehouses, oil pipelines, solar power plants among other numerous things. It is important to note that people, under IoT, are also things! From this get go, anyone who hears “Internet of Things” should relate to the term as its two parts and be excited to hear how everything works. It is its implementation that probably starts to breed metathesiophobia.
Looking at the diagram included here which breaks the two terms – “Internet” and “Things” into two parts and lists their technology domains perhaps can help bring out the different elements that IoT encompasses which somehow just shows how wide an IoT conversation can get within an Innovation subject. A lot of C-level individuals are happy to have it but how many are really doing it? Or how many are really ready to invest in some of these technologies just to create a paradigm shift in their existing business models? Could it be a fear of “we know, we don’t know” or “we don’t know, we don’t know” so cannot set up a separate budget to get moving on Low Power Wide Area Networks Innovation or TV White Spaces, Artificial Intelligence etc? How many startups are VC’s funding to develop solutions leveraging these kind of technologies? In Kenya, my experience of working with corporates, has got me almost getting to a conclusion that, it is the fear of change (read metathesiophobia) that is limiting the pace of innovation.
A research publication done by Dr. Ovidiu Vermesan and Dr. Peter Fries titled “Internet of Things – From Research and Innovation to Market Deployment” lists “Smart Living” as one of the applications of IoT embodying intelligent ways of shopping, efficient usage of energy and water, remote control of appliances, usage of smart home appliances, gas monitoring, safety monitoring among other sub-applications. In the 374-page document, the authors seem to converge to one objective elucidated by the Internet of Things (IoT) which is “A Smart Population”! A smart population inspired by “Internet” and “Things”.
There is a lot under the umbrella of these two terms to be implemented in order to really realise the smart population. First, the technical pieces which stretch from Things to the Internet amidst constant innovative developments. Second, a supportive Research and Development ecosystem within companies and research institutions to inspire the development of the technical components. Third, a proactive and flexible national environment that follows the development of the technologies close enough to craft the regulatory frameworks for all of these technologies to thrive for the growth of the smart population. Fourth, other reasons. The innovation happening at Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM among the other tech giants exploring the technologies around IoT (as shown in the diagram) is the biggest driver for their growing revenue. New careers are also emerging within this innovation space spitting out job titles that have not existed before especially as new domains emerge. Elon Musk’s description of Tesla Inc. as a technology company is probably the reason that has kept the company staying on top of innovation consuming the technologies around “Internet” and “Things”.
If we do not rise above metathesiophobia, we will not innovate and sooner than we know it, we might have innovative startup companies buying out well established companies. metathesiophobia might limit our dream of achieving a smart population that can provide us ready markets. It might also get us holding onto the statement of “there are no jobs” when we could create more jobs through innovation. Whichever way we look at it, Metathesiophobia might limit our innovation when probably all we need is the “Internet” and “Things”!
Leonard Mabele is a Junior Research Fellow and Manager of the IoT Research Lab at iLabAfrica, Strathmore University
Women in tech – Last call
WIN KSH 1,000,000 FOR YOUR BUSINESS!
Standard Chartered in partnership with @iLabAfrica has launched a search for the third cohort of women-led technology startups which will see five entrepreneurs win Sh1 million each.
The program combines world class startup support with local and international experience to provide Africa’s most competitive and attractive startup incubation program focusing on immersive learning, mentorship, building and growing Africa’s next iconic startups taking on the continent’s most relevant challenges and opportunities
- be a woman
- be the CEO with equal or majority ownership in the company
- 18 and above
- of Kenyan nationality
- Agribusiness
- Education
- ICT
- E-Commerce
- E-Health
- Fintech
- Three months incubation at Strathmore University’s leading business and innovation incubator- @iBizAfrica
- Mentorship from world class mentors
- Coaching by top business, technology and legal professionals
- Immersive, world-class entrepreneurship curriculum
- Networking and exposure to expand your business networks
- USD 10,000 or KES 1,000,000 equity-free grant seed funding for the top 5 winners
- 9 months ongoing support from Standard Chartered and @iBizAfrica to assist with go-to market and scale.
- Participants must be physically available to attend the program over the three months incubation
- Participant accommodation costs are not catered for
| Application deadline | 4th November 2019 |
For more information Click here
To Apply click here
Cashless revenue collection system launched in Busia.
@iLabAfrica, Strathmore University, launched a cashless revenue collection system in Busia County. The system, a project under @iLabAfrica’s outsourcing and consulting unit, dubbed County Pro was launched on the 10th of April 2019. The launch, which was spearheaded by Busia’s County Governor, Hon. Sospeter Ojaamong, is set to collect revenue and seal leakages that have led to a decline in the county’s revenue collection.
In his statement the governor applauded @iLabAfrica for contributing to a course that seeks to seal loopholes and maximize revenue collection in the county.
“I thank @iLabAfrica from Strathmore University and the vendors of the County Pro system for effecting the cashless system in partnership with Safaricom,” Ojaamong said.
Busia County now aims at attaining and realizing its potential of collecting Sh1.5 Billion from the various revenue streams through the system.
Implementation of the System
Busia County has already procured 100 P.O.S (Point of Sales) Devices to its 7 sub-counties and training done to all the Revenue Collectors in the specific sub counties.
@iLabAfrica, through the County Pro vendors, is taking part in the implementation process in two steps; the Gap Analysis Report which is going to ensure that the county has the prerequisite infrastructure that is: Computers, Printers and the Internet, for the program to kick off and the Modular Process of Implementation which is going to make sure that the Backend System of the structured revenue and P.O.S (Point of Sales) system of the unstructured revenue are up and running.
Once the systems are operational, data that is obtained from the P.O.S system, which will include parking tickets and market receipts, shall be directly synchronized into the Backend System of the Structured Revenue of the county government.
Monitoring and Evaluation
This system will be monitored on a daily basis using the User Support System. Through this system, Revenue Collectors can contact the County Pro Developers through calls and e-mails and make their cases regarding any queries on the system.
Quarterly Site visits will also be done to assess the success of the system. This is also meant to enable the creators of County Pro address any vital issues concerning the system’s workability.
@iLabAfrica has been at the forefront of technological advancements with projects just like ‘County Pro’ to help solve notable issues facing the counties and country through the use of technology
County Pro has replicated the same system in Kiambu, Taita Taveta and Kisumu Counties which are now yielding positive results in terms of revenue collection.
@iLabAfrica 