State to award grants for web and mobile phone development
July 25th 2011 07:22
The government will award grants ranging from Sh900,000 ($10,000) to individuals and Sh13.5 million ($150,000) for companies to develop web and mobile phone applications, as the country positions itself as the technology hub in the region.
Ms Kaburo Kobia, the project manager, local digital content at Kenya ICT Board said grants are open to Kenyan citizens and companies registered in Kenya for the development of innovative web or mobile phone applications.
“This will stimulate information and communications technology innovation and creativity while promoting economic growth in the sector,” she said.
Ms Kobia said for many companies that develop web and mobile solutions, access to funding to grow their company is a huge challenge. And by supporting entrepreneurs with the funds they need to successfully take their products to market, the grant hopes to grow the number of relevant and local web and mobile applications available to Kenyans.
The Kenya ICT Board awarded fifteen grants in 2010 and hopes to award at least 30 grants in 2011. Dubbed Tandaa Digital Content Grant, the programme is divided into two categories: government open data and private sector innovation. In the private sector category, the most innovative proposals that demonstrate long term business viability will be selected. The proposals must respond to a demonstrated market need and have a positive impact on the community it seeks to serve.
In 2010, the Kenya ICT Board awarded seven grants in this category including a dairy farmer payment application and a social media marketing product.
On July 8, the Government of Kenya made 290 datasets publicly available and accessible through an open data portal, which aims to boost transparency in governance and empower citizens with relevant information.
The Kenya ICT Board will support entrepreneurs to develop web and mobile applications that utilize the data to provide services or products for citizens.
Eduweb, an online school portal that use data from the Ministry of Education to provide a service for parents selecting schools for their children, was among seven grants awarded in 2010.
On Wednesday, Information Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo while meeting Nairobi-based editors on how they can take advantage of the open data, revealed that a week after the launch of the portal, 100 applications have been designed by Kenyans.
A new feature of the second round offers established companies an opportunity to participate. Companies founded at least 10 year ago with over 40 members of staff are invited to submit their proposals for a web or mobile application. The companies must match the grant in full. This allows otherwise profitable ICT companies to develop innovative projects within a short period of time.
Another new feature is a training component designed into the proposal process. Ms Kobia says that over 2,000 people participated in the first round of the Digital Content Grant.
“More than half of the applicants struggled with the business plan sections of the proposal,” she said. “As such, the Kenya ICT Board will offer business plan training to the top 150 applicants. The training will equip the most innovative applicants with the tools to help them secure funding and grow the business—regardless of whether they are awarded the grant.”
Ms Kaburo Kobia, the project manager, local digital content at Kenya ICT Board said grants are open to Kenyan citizens and companies registered in Kenya for the development of innovative web or mobile phone applications.
“This will stimulate information and communications technology innovation and creativity while promoting economic growth in the sector,” she said.
Ms Kobia said for many companies that develop web and mobile solutions, access to funding to grow their company is a huge challenge. And by supporting entrepreneurs with the funds they need to successfully take their products to market, the grant hopes to grow the number of relevant and local web and mobile applications available to Kenyans.
The Kenya ICT Board awarded fifteen grants in 2010 and hopes to award at least 30 grants in 2011. Dubbed Tandaa Digital Content Grant, the programme is divided into two categories: government open data and private sector innovation. In the private sector category, the most innovative proposals that demonstrate long term business viability will be selected. The proposals must respond to a demonstrated market need and have a positive impact on the community it seeks to serve.
In 2010, the Kenya ICT Board awarded seven grants in this category including a dairy farmer payment application and a social media marketing product.
On July 8, the Government of Kenya made 290 datasets publicly available and accessible through an open data portal, which aims to boost transparency in governance and empower citizens with relevant information.
The Kenya ICT Board will support entrepreneurs to develop web and mobile applications that utilize the data to provide services or products for citizens.
Eduweb, an online school portal that use data from the Ministry of Education to provide a service for parents selecting schools for their children, was among seven grants awarded in 2010.
On Wednesday, Information Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo while meeting Nairobi-based editors on how they can take advantage of the open data, revealed that a week after the launch of the portal, 100 applications have been designed by Kenyans.
A new feature of the second round offers established companies an opportunity to participate. Companies founded at least 10 year ago with over 40 members of staff are invited to submit their proposals for a web or mobile application. The companies must match the grant in full. This allows otherwise profitable ICT companies to develop innovative projects within a short period of time.
Another new feature is a training component designed into the proposal process. Ms Kobia says that over 2,000 people participated in the first round of the Digital Content Grant.
“More than half of the applicants struggled with the business plan sections of the proposal,” she said. “As such, the Kenya ICT Board will offer business plan training to the top 150 applicants. The training will equip the most innovative applicants with the tools to help them secure funding and grow the business—regardless of whether they are awarded the grant.”
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