training
ICT Authority Partners with @iLabAfrica- Strathmore University
Director @iLabAfrica, Dr. Joseph Sevilla (right) and CEO ICT Authority, Stanley Kamanguya (left) signing MOU at Teleposta Towers, Nairobi. /Ngumu Kevin.
@iLabAfrica signs MOU with ICT Authority.
@iLabAfrica- Strathmore University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Kenyan Government owned corporation, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Authority for a joint incubation, mentorship and training of innovators through its incubation Centre @iBizAfrica.
The event held at the ICT Authority offices, will see the two firms build the pillar of innovation and ICT enterprise which is key in filling in to digital services and infrastructure, absorb the high number of innovations especially from the ICT Authority programs and improve the quality of innovations in the country.
“This will be an opportunity for @iLabAfrica to bridge the gap in the commercialization of Kenyan Innovation through the accelerator program at @iBizAfrica. As Kenya’s longest- serving incubation center with over 10 years of experience, we have garnered the right expertise to support these upcoming innovators. As we kick start this project to incubate the inaugural cohort of 10 startups, we are excited to see the various innovations and provide the necessary support to scale these businesses.” Said Dr. Joseph Sevilla, Director @iLabAfrica and @iBizAfrica- Strathmore University.
The government has been implementing various initiatives to promote digital transformation and create a knowledge-based economy.
Among these initiatives are several flagship projects that aim to enhance the country’s digital infrastructure, provide internet access to more people and promote the use of technology in government services.
Stanley Kamanguya, CEO ICT Authority said that the partnership falls squarely into two of their four main pillars which they are driving as a corporation.
“I believe that this partnership with @iLabAfrica will help us accelerate our main pillars that is Digital Infrastructure where the it unlocks the country in terms of available and affordable connectivity, Digital Services where the online services are provided for the government systems and data, Digital skills where people are empowered to deliver as the infrastructures are laid out in the case of people in the public sector and innovation and ICT programs,” said Kamanguya.
The partnership comes at a time when the country is relying heavily on innovation, technology and fintech to create jobs for the netizens and succeed in the current economic times and on a global scale.
Trade, Investment and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria had earlier on called on all local developers in the country to entrench innovation in their craft and also produce a proper competitive edge in how they operate.
Kuria said those in the development sector will be supported but they in turn need to do what is required to grow the industry.
“To all local developers, I want to support you. You will need to be innovative and competitive. You have what it takes to compete on a large-scale level that will be beneficial to your businesses,” he said.
The government seeks to shepherd innovations to the point of commercialization so as to sustain the innovations and make sure that innovators are fully credited to their work.
Through the partnership the two firms also intend to guide young people in terms of commercial models that are available and sustainable as they go to commercialization.
For more information about the partnership or about @iLabAfrica Visit www.ilabafrica.ac.ke
By Wachira Kevin
10 women led businesses picked for incubation and training in the 2022 Standard Chartered Women in Tech Incubator
- Women in Technology Incubator Kenya is Africa’s leading incubator programme for female founded businesses, aligning with calls for more diversity in technology, entrepreneurship and for more opportunities for women to develop entrepreneurial and leadership excellence.
- @iBizAfrica- Strathmore University and Standard Chartered have selected top 10 women led business for the 5th cohort of the program
- 10 Kenyan companies will access 12 weeks of incubation which will culminate in 5 of them getting KShs 1,000,000 million in funding to grow their businesses.
30th June 2022, Nairobi Kenya: Standard Chartered Bank in partnership with @iBizAfrica- Strathmore University have shortlisted 10 start- ups for the Women in tech program. The Program targets women led start-ups that are looking to scale up their business through technology.
Standard Chartered Women in Tech (WiT) support female-led entrepreneurial teams with business management training, mentoring and seed funding. This year’s top 10 teams were selected from a pool of over 350 start-ups that had applied for the program. The entrepreneurs will go through 12 weeks of mentorship @iBizAfrica where they will be offered expert training in the areas of business idea conceptualization, strategy formulation and marketing which is key in moving the businesses from incubation to sustainable ventures.
Dr. Joseph Sevilla, Director of @iBizAfrica- Strathmore University said: “This incubator program female led Startups in the ICT sector are envisaged to transform Kenya through innovation. “It’s remarkable how far we have been able to come on this journey of nurturing women-led entrepreneurial visions from the idea stage to marketable and scalable ventures through our coaching and mentoring sessions on entrepreneurial skills. This program, which is in its 5th cohort, has helped transform Kenyan women-led startups into fully-fledged businesses that are thriving and contributing to the country’s economy.” Dr. Joseph Sevilla, Strathmore University.
Since its inception the Women in tech program has attracted over 1,800 applicants, trained over 40 entrepreneurs and funded 20 women-led startups from the through partnership with the Standard Chartered Bank. The program seeks to further educate, mentor, coach and fund more African female entrepreneurs and innovators whilst also providing women-led startups with practical support to grow and develop their businesses beyond East Africa.
Commenting on the program, Joyce Kibe, Head Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing Kenya and EA said: “The programme is designed to help address gender disparity in the technology sector and to use technology to tackle social challenges faced by communities. They are an important part of our entrepreneurship offering within Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, our global initiative to tackle inequality and promote economic inclusion and aligns with our stand to lift participation by creating opportunities for women to contribute to the society and economy”.
The enterprises were shortlisted based on criteria such as demonstrated capacity to execute, clearly defined roles, balanced skill set (team lead, business development, product development and marketing), leveraging technology, availability of Market opportunity and potential socioeconomic impact in Kenya.
‘’Representation matters and more so in the technology industry which continues to be a key driver and enabler of growth and innovation. However, women, who constitute a higher percentage of the global population are still underrepresented in this sector owing to financial and capacity barriers. Over the last 4 years, the Women in Tech program has successfully contributed to filling this gap through capacity building and financing, which has seen participants of the program register sustained growth, create jobs and foster innovation through technology. We look forward to supporting this year’s cohort and congratulate the 10 businesses that have been shortlisted,’’ added Ms. Kibe.
Ms. Diana Mutua, Public Relations Manager @iBizAfrica- Strathmore University said: “Access to finance for women has been and still continues to remain a challenge, with a recent study indicating that 68 per cent of Women-led MSMEs in developing countries lack adequate access to finance, representing a 1.5 trillion financing gap. Women-led enterprises account for 48 per cent of all micro-small and Medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) which contribute 20 per cent to the overall GDP of Kenya. When we launched this year our theme was “Advancing Global Trends in women-owned businesses”. These trends combined with capacity building, coaching and mentoring will provide opportunities for startup businesses to upscale provide better product solutions”
The Women in Tech Incubator Program is committed to being digital by design, to support female entrepreneurs with technology to grow their businesses.
The 10 enterprises who will be starting the 12 weeks of mentorship @iBizAfricathe Women in Tech 2022 are: –
1. Pure Purple: A contemporary footwear and accessories brand based in Nairobi Kenya that adds premium value to locally sourced leather, thus creating communal impact.
2. SIAGO: An e-commerce fashion store that makes and sells unique, luxury, free-size dresses targeting the 30+-year-old, plus-size, career woman.
3.Aurora Health Systems: A wearable medical device that uses wireless technology to continuously monitor heart rate and abnormal ECG findings. Data is generated in real-time and linked to smartphones for a period of 21 days thus preventing acute cardiac conditions.
4. SowPrecise: A farm management system tailor-made for the African farmers to communicate with farm labourers and help them keep track of farming activities.
5.Learning Differently Limited: A learning intervention platform tailor-made to support students/learners with learning disabilities. The courses/training equips parents, teachers, and caregivers with practical learnings that they can incorporate to support their learners.
6.GoBEBA Everything Ltd: GoBEBA offers online retail of household essentials delivered within an hour. They use technology to provide convenience, reduce costs as well as use machine learning for demand planning and delivery optimization.
7. ON MY MIND: A Women’s startup supporting breastfeeding moms with low milk supply to meet their breastfeeding goals, while also promoting their health and wellness by value addition to organic and wholesome products i.e. (herbal teas and lactation cookies)
8. Keyara Botanics: A skincare label that creates products that take care of your skin naturally with raw materials sourced from African farmers which are rich and of healing quality.
9. Sello Designs: A social business that designs and makes sustainable, durable, and timeless bags using leather and kitenge fabric.
10. DigiPath Africa: A Digital Marketing agency that helps organizations and individuals navigate their way online and take their products and services to existing/ new customers using digital marketing.
About @iBizAfrica, Strathmore University
@iBizAfrica is the business incubator of Strathmore University, a leading private University in Kenya. The incubator since 2012 provides a nurturing environment that builds on the potential of the youth to develop innovative solutions and businesses that work for the common good in society. @iBizAfrica over the years has provided over 1200 startup companies with training, advisory, mentorship, coaching, networking opportunities, access to seed capital and investors. We prepare startups to be investor-ready and launch into the market through our custom incubation and acceleration programs.
For more information, please visit www.ibizafrica.ac.ke.
Follow us on our social media pages @iBizAfrica on Twitter and Facebook
We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 59 of the world’s most dynamic markets and serving clients in a further 85. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good.
Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.
For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
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.
Call for Applications: Safaricom Foundation Technology For Good Accelerator 2017
- Must be registered to conduct business in Kenya in accordance with Kenyan law
- Must demonstrate the innovation and how it links to the Safaricom Foundation strategic
- Must demonstrate capacity to develop and roll out the solution to benefit Kenyans
- Must demonstrate how they have involved partners and the community that will benefit from the innovation
- Potential innovations will be incubated for three months after which those selected will be funded
- Payments will be paid based on pre-agreed milestones
- There will grant to take the innovation to deployment and scale
- This is an innovation challenge fund and the Foundation reserves the right to take an equity stake in the final product (negotiated)
- The focus is on the benefit of the innovation to bring change to the community
- Those selected must be willing to be incubated for three (3) months at @iBizAfrica, Strathmore University
- The fund does not fund operational or logistical costs
- The selection will be by a committee comprised of individuals from Strathmore University, Safaricom Foundation, Mpesa Foundation partners, Safaricom Innovation and Technology divisions
- Teams of a maximum of a maximum of three people by:
- Kenyan youth (18-35 years)
- National and community based non-governmental organisations
- Faith based and civil society organizations
- academic and research institutions
- innovation hubs and the private sector
- Teams must have the relevant technical and business capacity required to successfully execute the the business
- Open Call for Applications-2nd May
- Deadline call for applications-2nd June
- Incubation-June-August 2017
Check here to apply.
Revenue Enhancement Specialized Training
@iLabAfrica in partnership with key industry players offered this 4-day course which offered an approach to sustainable revenue mobilization and enforcement in local governments and looks at means of improving core revenue processes, systems, data quality, skills and organizational structures.
The course was graced with the presence of senior and middle managers in the revenue/finance departments of County Governments, including Directors, Chief Officers, Sub-county Administrators, Revenue Officers, and Members of the County Assembly (MCAs), in charge of the budgeting process. It was well represented with county officials from all over the country.
On the first day, through Dr. Walter Ongeti and Mr. Stephen Khadondi, the participants were challenged on disruptive strategic thinking and creative destruction – to shift the paradigm towards performance management in revenue collection through change management. They were also enlightened on the revenue mobilization constitutional mandate and PFM Architecture Analysis.
On the second day, the participants were able to gain and understand a lot on domestic resource mobilization policy, legal framework and administration as well as revenue enforcement strategies through a panel discussion that consisted representatives from CRA, COB, ICPAK, KRA, IFMIS and KIPPRA among others.
Douglas Gicho, the ICT Director of Kiambu, during his afternoon session touched on holistic e-Governance and public-private partnerships on revenue collection and mobilization.
CRA Director, Sheila Yieke shed light on CRA Recommended County Revenue Laws, their implementation and revenue target setting on the third day. Stephen Masha reviewed the mandate of the COB in County Revenue Collection and Resource Mobilization.
On the final day Professor David Sperling, one of the founders of Strathmore University addressed the County Officials on economic growth, sustainable growth and equity. They were very amazed at how knowledgeable he is about kenya and development.
Banking institutions also had their representatives in the area. They focused on maximum utilization of banking capabilities in revenue collection enhancement and introduction of cashless systems.
In the end each County had a representative who shared how they’ve benefited from the course and how they would use the recently acquired knowledge within their own counties.
We acknowledge the CountyPro team that made the 4-day course a great success.
@iLabAfrica Trains County Officials on Revenue Enhancement.
In a decentralized system of governance, with two levels of government collecting revenue, levies and taxes from citizens, there is bound to be confusion, duplication and uncertainty. As a result, the county collections have been very low and counties are relying heavily on the revenue from the equitable share from the national government to finance their budgets.
To address the above issues, @iLabAfrica, Strathmore University, in partnership with Inspire, organized a Revenue Enhancement Training. The aim of the course was to gain insights on revamping their respective county’s revenue collection strategies. It was also meant to educate county executives on strategies to reduce county dependence on the equitable share from the national government; and methods to maximize on revenues within the general fund.
@iLabAfrica hosted County Revenue Directors for 4 days of intensive training (1st -4th November 2016). The participants came from various counties that include Turkana County, Kwale County, Kisii County, Laikipia County, Tharaka Nithi County. This course was aimed at training senior and middle managers in the revenue or the finance departments of County Governments, including Directors, Chief Officers, Sub-county Administrators, Revenue Officers, Members of the County Assembly (MCAs), in charge of the budgeting process, and professionals willing to learn advanced techniques on revenue enhancements within the devolved governance structure.
The next training is scheduled for: 21st to 24th February 2017.
MEST is Recruting in Kenya.APPLY APPLY!!
What is MEST?
The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) and the MEST Incubator program provide training, investment and mentoring for aspiring technology entrepreneurs with the goal of creating globally successful companies that create wealth and jobs locally in Africa
The opportunity
Want to start your own software company? Kenyan business wizards & techies, MEST is looking for you!
MEST is recruiting in Kenya for the first time ever (and expanding our incubator network cross-continent). Read more here via Disrupt Africa.
This is a great opportunity to train at MEST in Accra for a year, hone your biz & tech skills, with the opportunity to pitch our Board for seed investment and launch your own software company.
Requirements:
- Have 3-5 years entrepreneurial or corporate work experience
- Can commit a year in Accra, Ghana participating in the MEST training program starting August 2015
What we provide:
- Intensive, MBA-style training in software development and entrepreneurship
- Free housing, monthly stipend, tuition, meals and a laptop
- Mentoring and access to executives at global software companies, entrepreneurs and the VC community in Europe & US
- Chance to change to world through technology; to solve real life, large-scale problems with innovative solutions
- After 1 year, potential for seed funding to launch your company from one of our incubator hub locations (soon-to-be launched) in Nairobi, Lagos, Cape Town and Johannesburg, in addition to the incubator in Accra
APPLY NOW BEFORE JUNE 1 HERE. All the best and do Spread the Word!!!
Have any Questions? Email katie@meltwater.org .
@iLabAfrica 