Erik Hersman
See the following -
Are Innovation Hubs The Future Of Open Government In Africa?
Set alongside one Nairobi’s main roadways, the Bishop Magua Centre looks on the exterior no different than any other mid-rise office building. However, inside its drab khaki walls are some of the most innovative technology projects in Africa... Read More »
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BRCK Founders Embark On Epic Roadtrip To Promote African Connectivity
This is pretty cool: the folks behind BRCK — the device that allows you to connect to the internet, no matter where you are and without electricity — are embarking on an epic roadtrip from Nairobi to Johannesburg...
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From Ushahidi To Al Jazeera: The Role Of Mobile In Kenya’s Elections
The people of Kenya will today start voting in a presidential election. Things have been tense in the lead up to polling day and mobile will play a critical role in both the monitoring and reporting of the situation on the ground. Read More »
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How Technology Democratised Development
Over the coming weeks, A Matter of Life and Tech will feature a range of voices from people helping to build Africa’s tech future. This week, mobile innovator Ken Banks argues that technology has become a vital tool in the fight against poverty. Read More »
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Innovative Device Puts Kenya On The Global Map
Large parts of Africa lack accurate real-time accurate weather data...The BRCK is a device that can be plugged into the weather station and used as an on-ramp for the Internet of Things (IoT)...
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Kenyan Tech Star Ushahidi Makes Major Design Updates
Ushahidi, one of the earliest Kenyan tech success stories, has unveiled a major redesign of its key features and its look-and-feel. Launched in December 2008 during the violence that followed the disputed Kenyan elections, Ushahidi (which means “witness” in Swahili) is ranked with M-Pesa as one of Kenya’s greatest start-up successes. US President Barack Obama praised Kenya’s tech entrepreneurs during a visit to the country his father was born in last July: “This continent needs to be a future hub of global growth, not just African growth”...
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Kenya’s Silicon Savannah Spurs Tech in Sub-Saharan Africa
The role of technology in sub-Saharan Africa is growing. An emerging information technology (IT) ecosystem is reinforcing regional trends in business, investment, and modernization. There is a growing patchwork of entrepreneurs, startups, and innovation centers coalescing from country to country. Most discussions of the origins of Africa’s tech movement circle back to Kenya, which was home to several major technological innovations between 2007 and 2010. This innovation inspired the country’s Silicon Savannah moniker, and has provided an example for other African countries to follow.
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Made In Kenya, Assembled In America: This Internet-Anywhere Company Innovates From Silicon Savannah
BRCK's device keeps people connected no matter where they are on Earth. And in a reversal of globalization, it's made in America, for the rest of the world...
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Project Activate - Ushahidi Comes To Town
As part of the Guardian's second Project Activate initiative we open up our doors and our minds to the crisis crowdsourcing platform Ushahidi for a week of creative and technological collaboration Read More »
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Re:Publica Conference On Internet And Society In Berlin
After almost 2 month’s in West Africa, I flew straight into Berlin for the Re:publica Conference, one of the world’s leading gatherings of techies and social activists, exploring how technology can help improve society across a huge range of themes. Read More »
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Software company Ushahidi uses open source skills to help during Kenya mall siege
...Once Ushahidi team members found out they were all safe from the mall siege, they went to work figuring out how they could make their skills and tools useful during the crisis. Soon they mapped out all the blood drive center locations in Nairobi by deploying a Crowdmap , which is the hosted version of the open source Ushahidi Platform that quickly lets users map crowdsourced information... Read More »
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Ushahidi Announces Changes to Board of Directors
Ushahidi today announced that its board of directors has appointed three new members, effective September 19th. The new directors are Clay Shirky, David Kobia and Erik Hersman. Read More »
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Ushahidi: The African Software Platform Helping Victims In Global Emergencies
During a natural disaster or in the midst of civil violence, the immediate need for those caught up in the situation is to escape and find a safe haven. But oftentimes in such chaos, information is difficult to come by and unreliable. Read More »
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