Attn mobile app devs

The World Bank
on Thursday launched a regional
mobile applications laboratory in
Nairobi as part of its global 13 million
Euros program to stimulate innovation
and competitiveness among small and
medium enterprises (SME) ICT in
developing countries.
World Bank’s Country Director
Johannes Zutt said the lab will provide
a space for developers of mobile
applications to design and market
their products.
“This lab will enable dynamic
developers from the East Africa region
to exploit existing opportunities in the
growing mobile applications market,”
Zutt told journalists during the launch
of the project in Nairobi .
The over-reaching goal is to increase
the productive capacity of SMEs
through use of ICT to compete
effectively in the global knowledge
economy in order to contribute to
sustainable development and to create
of jobs.
The laboratory is a partnership
between Nokia and World Bank’s
InfoDev program that promotes
development of ICT in developing
countries.
Zutt said the Bank is concentrating on
nurturing Kenya ’s mobile application
industry because it has the most
potential of any industry in Kenya .
“Over the past 10 years the ICT sector
has contributed 1 percent to the
Gross Domestic Product ( GDP )
growth annually. Since for every two
people in the world using mobile
money transfer, one is a Kenyan, the
country should use this advantage to
develop other applications,” Zutt said.
The Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Information and
Communication Dr. Bitange Ndemo
said the low cost of mobile handsets
as well as calls has spurred innovation
in the mobile phone industry.
“With a mobile subscriber base of
over 20 million, the developers have a
large enough market to sell their
software,” Ndemo said.
He said the lab will encourage
developers of mobile applications in
Kenya to collaborate and to jointly
develop software in order to come up
with products that have a ready
market.
“Developers have tended to work
alone in this projects and this has
reduced the success rate of their
software. This lab will be instrumental
in developing these mobile
applications,” Ndemo said.
Other similar labs are set to open in
Vietnam , Pakistan , South Africa and
Armenia .
There is a growing interest for global
ICT companies to set up base in
Kenya because of the country’s
growing
“Other developing countries such as
India have developed a world class
Information Technology (IT) industry
and there is no reason Kenya should
not develop if entrepreneurs are
provided with the right environment,”
Zutt said.

www.coastweek.com/3424_59.htm

So Kenya ndo HQ ya ICT east africa.( Technologically)
Tanzania ndo makako makuu ya East africa (politically.)

Mtazamaji said:

So Kenya ndo HQ ya ICT east africa.( Technologically)Tanzania ndo makako makuu ya East africa (politically.)

Click to expand...

ndo manake bosi

Mi nadhani ni developers tujipange tu as a team, we go there and pay a visit to the lab to get an exposure...