If you are business developer and you want to start something in East Africa,I can say that you are in good position to see your brand  exciting  the industries since the region is the best place for business progress due to the fact that it gives room for both production and market at instant.Wheather you are in Kenya,Rwanda,Uganda,Burundi or Tanzania,the environment are supportive to productions an market since the governmental regulations favor business development.

Many industries are good to get into but it is only depend on   how your solution is uninique and can adapt with changes and time.Among the growing industries are telecommunication,Travel,Electronics,Biotechnology and so many others that are used in the first world can be introduced into East Africa.

I would like to introduce you on the best industries that can hold the best future in East Africa.These are:

Internet and software apps;
The have been an increase in the needs of softwares for both public and private organizations which aim to solve different problems that interact with almost the whole mass of users in East Africa and can be well profitable if the business focus is consistent.

Agriculture  and Biotechnology;
The demands for foods have been increase both within and the global at large,this means that we can take part in any corner of the industry and come with successiful business if and ony if we have awesome business strategy.

Related post:


The above industries are among profitable one in East Africa .As the part of interest if you are intending to solve any globe problem you can start from here.

KARIBU Solar Power is an innovative solar social enterprise that makes high quality solar power affordable. We produce a modular solar lamp (solar panel + rechargeable battery + light) and employ an innovative social business model that allows the average Base of the Pyramid (BoP) consumer to enjoy the benefits of solar lighting and mobile phone charging. By paying in small increments which replicate the required cash flow for kerosene, we make solar affordable.

See the website: http://www.karibusolar.com

The above statements are the pitch of the Karibu company at the Venture Capital for Africa,whilst showcasing their products;is one of the product that  you must use for lighting as well as charging mobile phones,and other home equips.

Solar energy is an important part of life and has been since the beginning of time. Increasingly, man is learning how to harness this important resource and use it to replace traditional energy sources.

Solar Energy Is Important in Nature

Solar energy is an important part of almost every life process, if not, all life processes. Plants and animals, alike, use solar energy to produce important nutrients in their cells. Plants use the energy to produce the green chlorophyll that they need to survive, while humans use the sun rays to produce vitamin D in their bodies. However, when man learned to actually convert solar energy into usable energy, it became even more important.

Jordan Kalyembe

Kampala, Uganda

Leonah Mborimpa the Corporate communication Officer of NITA says " National Information Technology Authority,[NITA] is partnering with Uganda Communication Commission and International Telecommunication Union on another project still in the pipeline to enable the effectiveness of innovation in the country to be called UG-CERT [Uganda- Computer Emergency Response Team], which is to ensure the protection of the Nation's critical information infrastructure."

She further notes, "The National Back bone Infrastructure is a project that the government of Uganda and National Information Technology Authority came up with that is related to the innovations.
This connects all government departments and ministries in different towns onto one government source that is the Internet using the same fiber optic cable.

This networking or connection, will help increase transparency within the government and strengthen good governance, the government is able to provide accountability for everything that it does because all this is shown on the website, there is accessibility of government information for its citizens. It also encourages participation of the private sector in the IT infrastructure."

The same institution with the government created a Business Out sourcing Centre in 2011 to help reduce on unemployment in the country, they have an operator called Techno brain, these centers have been able to train over 3000 students to gain skills in outsourcing, where as some are employed in the different centers.
Leonah says "with outsourcing employment is easy because one computer can employ several people because they work in shifts."

Kampala, Uganda

The relation between Uganda and China, especially in the information and communication sector, is robust, said Thembo Nyombi, Ugandan ICT State Minister, on Thursday.

Attending the meeting of Africa multi-stakeholder internet governance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Nyobi told Xinhua that Uganda has very strong relation with China in the ICT sector which the State Minister said is growing rapidly in Uganda, significantly contributing to his country's economy.

He revealed that the ICT sector is contributing to the economy in terms of tax revenue by putting quite a number of people in the formal sector called "taxnet."

According to the State Minister, the sector is mainly private sector driven and the government is trying to put in place strategic investment plan in the coming 10 years just to fill gaps where the private sector has not been able to reach.

Nyombi said Uganda is enjoying cooperation with China in the ICT sector as the Chinese government provides financial and capacity building support to Uganda to the development of the sector while a number of companies are working in Uganda on the sector.

He also said Uganda pushes the existing relation with China in the sector further. "The relation between Uganda and China, especially in the ICT, is robust," said the State Minister.

"We will push it further because the Chinese government is coming in even to assist in the capacity building in terms of training; quite a number of our young people have gone to China for training. A number of private Chinese companies are coming in the country in the areas of ICT," he added.

Xinhua

The state-owned Tanzania Telecommunication Company (TTCL) has signed contracts to offer communications services to companies in nine African countries, the Guardian reported. TTCL hosts the National Information Communications Technology Broadband Backbone infrastructure which covers 99 percent of Tanzania. ICT minister Makame Mbarawa said TTCL had signed contracts with mobile telecommunication firms in Mozambique, Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia to supply internet bandwidth.

Mbarawa said South African company MTN and the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation are among the firms seeking connections, as are state-owned Malawi Telecommunication and Airtel Malawi. A connection will be made via the Kabanga border to Burundi, where UCOM and Econet Burundi have applied. Rwanda will be connected through the Rusumo border. Talks with Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique are ongoing, he said.

With 7,400 kilometres (km) of fibre optic cable already laid, the national backbone has been extended to eight border points, namely Sirari, Namanga and Horohoro on the border with Kenya; Mutukula on the border with Uganda; and Rusumo on the border with Rwanda. 

Mbarawa also said the government is planning to purchase the 35 percent stake in TTCL currently held by Airtel Tanzania as part of a turnaround process. Mbarawa said the TTCL was facing challenges such as lack of capacity to embrace modern technology. He said TTCL has a wide network in the country and should have been among the best in the country but that this is not what is happening.

Telecompaper.com

MTN Uganda officially commissioned its fibre network at Katuna Border in Kabale district on Friday, 08 February 2013.

The event, held at the Katuna border post, was graced by the Minister of ICT, Honourable Ruhakana Rugunda, the Executive Director of UCC engineer Godfrey Mutabazi as well as the MTN Uganda Chairman, Mr Charles Mbire.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of ICT Honourable Ruhakana Rugunda said, “We, at the Ministry, would like to commend MTN Uganda for this investment that further confirms its commitment to provide support for this crucial sector of Uganda’s economy and further positions Uganda as a leader in ICT. The extension of the MTN Uganda fibre will act as a catalyst for economic development and will support the Ugandan government to further leverage on the existent regional partnerships in the areas of trade and industry”.

Since its launch in Uganda in 1998, MTN Uganda has made major investments in Uganda. In 2012 alone, its CAPEX investments exceeded USD 80 million by December. This investment was mainly towards the expansion of network infrastructure, establishment of ultra-modern Switching and Data Centre, as well as the rollout of fibre infrastructure to boost the quality of voice and data services.

MTN CEO Mazen Mroué said, “The commissioning of the new fibre system at Katuna is a major development which we are confident will have a positive impact on the future of Uganda’s ICT Roadmap. It will substantially improve the connectivity with neighbouring countries and the world by connecting Uganda to an additional submarine cable SAT-3 to Rwanda via the Tanzania route from Dar es Salaam. This is in addition to the other two cables already connected through the Kenya route from Mombasa which provide Uganda with unique redundancy and a backup structure for secured and reliable connectivity while providing quality voice and data services. This important development is in line with MTN Uganda’s commitment of leading innovation in the market and in the region as a whole”.

This landmark development is the first terrestrial link to Rwanda, and will greatly lower cost and significantly improve quality of communications services in the region

In terms of network infrastructure, last year MTN Uganda rolled out an additional 600km of fibre backbone closing the year with over 2,800km of fibre system providing the capacity for high speed data connectivity and wider national coverage of 3G mobile data services that extend Internet access to the rural areas of Uganda.

MTN Uganda has over the last six months completed the installation of another 81 new Network Coverage Sites and also added another batch of capacity sites to enhance the quality of network services across Uganda. MTN has a total of 1,100 sites as of the end of 2012 providing network coverage and communication services to millions of Ugandans across the country.

MTN has an extensive list of new innovations that will be gradually announced during the year. MTN Uganda announced recently about the plan to deploy Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in Uganda during the coming months, which will enable MTN Customers to access world class internet with bandwidth speed up to 100Mbps. Today, more than 7.5 million Ugandan enjoys country wide the Yellow revolution providing best network, fastest growing Mobile Money services, widest coverage and world class internet.

Commenting on MTN Uganda’s plans for LTE deployment in Uganda, the Mroué said, “MTN remains committed to development of the ICT sector and the Ugandan economy. LTE becomes the new standard determining the level of Technology development and offering substantially faster data speed than other technologies”. 

Africannews.com

Kampala, Uganda

Kampala — the growth that the telecommunication sector has gone through is the fastest Uganda has seen in the past 15 years but the year 2012 has been a cautious year for both the telecom companies and the subscribers.

Emerging from the price wars of 2010 and 2011, which drastically brought the cost of making a phone call to an all-time low of Ugsh180, later proved to be unsustainable as all telecoms in unison raised it to Ugsh240.

The service providers took on a guarded way of doing business preferring temporary promotions to price cuts.

By having almost a uniform tariff across the five major operators, users had an easy job of choosing and remaining loyal to their network of choice. Subscribers chose quality of service one was receiving and juicer promotions.

What is important to note though is that telecoms failed to reach the desired benchmarks set by the sector regulators, Uganda Communication Commission (UCC), some performed well off than the others as it was indicated by the quarterly quality of service performance reports.

Deceptive sector growth

Well as the sector had its own challenges some stakeholders insist 2012 was a successful year with general improvement. In an interview Mr. Fred Otunnu the head, communications at UCC, the telecoms industry regulator, emphasized the good year it has been.

"I can say overall there was good performance registered, in terms of quality of service there was improvement in some areas but of course in some areas there was stagnation." Otunnu said acknowledging that services were not entirely superb.

Uganda like its neighbors in the East African region saw a variety of value added services put on the market by the operators with mobile money as a service leading the pack followed by increased mobile internet use.

"Traffic for data continued to grow, reliability in data transmission continued to register improvement albeit a few challenges of cable cuts along Kenya Uganda route." Otunnu said.

Despite the regulator being pleased with the sector growth some of the operators are not satisfied with the outcome of their investment in the year 2012 compared to previous years.

Eastafricanbusinessweek

Mobile Farming Uganda

A new information platform for farmers could boost food productivity and improve sales in the agricultural sector where at least three out of four Ugandans depend for a living.
According to Mercy Corps, the financiers behind the $3m AgriFin Mobile project in Indonesia, Zimbabwe and Uganda, smallholder farmers would raise their productivity as much as their commercial counterparts once they have the same access to information.
The three-year pilot project hopes to "bundle" all the necessary agricultural production and financial information on SMS based platforms to empower rural-based small farmers. In Uganda's case, the platform is known as Agrilife. It is powered by Kenya's mobile applications developer, Mobipay.
"Access to mobile phone networks is growing dramatically in rural areas of developing countries. We want to use the phone as a powerful channel of communication to access vital and up-to-date market and financial services information," says Leesa Shrader, the senior director of Financial Innovations at Mercy Corps.
Given the reluctance among financial institutions to lend to the agriculture sector, this information platform could go a long way in reducing the risk involved in agricultural financing. Stephen Musoke, the AgriFin Mobile programme coordinator in Uganda, says Agrilife will provide financing institutions with such vital information as farmers' financial and supply chain data and their production capabilities.
"This is just the first step. Now we need to get the farmers and other relationships onboard, including the input dealers. We need to gain access to their production relationships to make the farmer the boss," he says. In Uganda, the programme focuses on farmers growing matooke, maize and beans in the western, central and northern regions. Maize was chosen because it offers a strong backbone to Uganda's food security and is popular in the regional markets of South Sudan, DR Congo, Central African Republic (CAR) and Kenya. Beans are on the list because at least three out of four farmers grow beans.
Matooke made the cut because of its strong domestic value to Uganda. While the rest of Africa consumes just about 21kg of matooke per capita per year, Uganda consumes 191kg per capita per year - the highest in the world, according to International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

The Observer

A recently released joint report by the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the African Union has noted that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) innovations are delivering home-grown solutions in Africa, transforming businesses and driving entrepreneurship and economic growth.

The report says that in just the past five years, Africa's mobile phone market has rapidly expanded to become larger than either the EU or the United States with about 650 million subscribers.
At the same time, Internet bandwidth has grown 20-fold as hundreds of thousands of kilometers of new cables have been laid across the continent to serve an increasing number of its current one billion citizens.
The report says the new access to ICTs is quickly changing lives, driving entrepreneurship fueled in part by collaborative technology hubs, and delivering innovation and home-grown solutions for Africa.

The report emphasizes the need to build a competitive ICT industry to promote innovation, job creation, and boost the export potential of African companies.
In the new report 'eTransform Africa: The Transformational Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Africa,' the authors follow that growth, documenting innovations in ICTs and advances in access for the population.

"The Internet and mobile phones are transforming the development landscape in Africa, injecting new dynamism in key sectors.
"The challenge is to scale up these innovations and success stories for greater social and economic impacts across Africa over the next decade," said Jamal Saghir, the World Bank Director for Sustainable Development in the Africa Region.

The eTransform Africa report identifies best practices in the use of ICTs in eight key areas: agriculture, climate change, education, financial services, government, health, ICT competitiveness, and trade facilitation and regional integration.
A case in point is where the report quotes Kenya's Kilimo Salama, an agricultural programme which is providing crop insurance for farmers, using the M-PESA payment gateway--a successful mobile money service-- helping them to better manage natural hazards such as drought or excessive rainfall.

"This report not only sheds light on the path Africa is already on, but also encourages continued creative thinking in how to utilize ICTs to benefit more Africans," says Gilbert Mbesherubusa, the acting Vice-President Operations, African Development Bank.
The eTransform Africa also documents the flowering of technology hubs across Africa - such as iHub and NaiLab in Kenya, Hive CoLab and AppLab in Uganda, Activspaces in Cameroon, BantaLabs in Senegal, Kinu in Tanzania or infoDev's and mLabs in Kenya and South Africa respectively.
These hubs are creating new spaces for collaboration, innovation, training, applications and content development, and for pre-incubation of African firms, the report says.

The Independent Kampala

Winsenga Team

Kampala — Information and Communication Technology (ICT) students at Makerere University have been granted USD 50000 by Microsoft for inventing an application dubbed 'WinSenga".
Using this innovation, the students participated in the global Microsoft imagine cup held annually and emerged the winners. A team of five students made the WinSenga mobile application to aid health workers as they assist expectant mothers diagnose the position of their babies.

"This application is deployed on windows of a smart phone and by use of micro phones a medic is able to monitor the mother and the baby in the womb", said Mr. Aaron Tushabe, the leader of Team Chiper256.
Uganda, the innovators of the application while addressing the press in Kampala last week. He says that the algorithm analyses fetal heart sounds to determine the fetal heart beats per minute, age and position of the fetus and these readings are automatically recorded.

According to Mr. Eric Odipo, the General Manager Microsoft East and Southern Africa, the grant given to the students will help them transform their project into a social enterprise that will help address the issue of maternal mortality and increased heart problems among mothers and infants in Uganda and other developing countries.

Odipo says that in addition to the cash, other packages include software, cloud computing services, solution provider support and premium Microsoft BizSpark account benefits.
He said that Microsoft is making efforts to help the youth unleash their potential since most young people have ideas but cannot translate them into visible innovations.

The junior minister for information and communication technologies, Nyombi Thembo has urged the mobile phone suppliers/companies to find a way of disciplining those companies that forge their genuine products and sell them to consumers.

Thembo was speaking as the chief guest at a dinner organised by Samsung at Serena Hotel on Nov. 30. "In the near future 65% of our Ugandan people will be able to own and access a mobile phone, a reason why we have to protect them," he said, adding ICT is the fastest growing sector in Uganda and in the world.

The government of Uganda through the Uganda Communications Commission is planning next year to switch off all fake mobile phones in a bid to protect the users from losing their money to substandard gadgets.

"We will not de-activate the already active sim-cards being used in counterfeit devices because we are still in discussions with industry players on the way forward. But no new one will be activated," Geodfrey Mutabazi, the UCC's executive director said recently.

A counterfeit phone is one whose International Mobile Equivalent Identity (IMEI) - serial number signature imprinted on the inside of the device's battery compartment - is a fake and cannot be recognised on data bases of genuine mobile phone manufacturers.

Other countries in the East African region like Kenya have already implemented the program.

By Julius Businge
The Independent (Kampala)

Phone companies will be fined for dropped or blocked calls by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) if a new statutory instrument to egulate the sector is passed by the ICT minister. The instrument currently under scrutiny by the minister provides for different fines for quality service that each telecom company fails to meet.

The fines, according to the UCC legal services director, Susan Wegoye, will be determined on the basis of the gross annual revenue for the preceding year. However, the fines will be waived if the drop in quality is caused by war, floods, storms or any other unavoidable natural phenomenon.

"We have equipment capable of monitoring the performance of telecom companies on parameters agreed upon. So, if a call is dropped, blocked or the network fails, our equipment is in position to record and aggregate all these," Wegoye said during a meeting with MPs on the ICT committee yesterday.

Wegoye was responding to queries by MPs about UCC's capability to monitor telecom companies in the country. The ICT minister will scrutinise the instrument in consultation with the Solicitor General before it is gazetted.

However, the instrument, hich is premised on the Uganda Communications Bill, 2012, will not take effect until it is an Act after the President assents to it. The Bill, which was passed by Parliament in September, seeks to merge the Uganda Communications Commission and Broadcasting Council into one body.

The MPs demanded that they are consulted before the instrument takes effect because the UCC has set low standards. Aruu County MP Odonga Otto, for example, noted that the call-up time of 20 seconds was too long.

"Unless one is making an international call, 20 seconds is unacceptable for one connection to go through," Otto said. Target values that will attract fines if not met include dropped calls, call set-up time, point of interconnection blocking, network availability, blocked calls, call set-up success rate, service restoration time, good call quality and SMS completion rate.

In Africa, Nigeria and Rwanda have set a precedent by imposing heavy penalties on leading mobile phone companies over poor services. Nigeria recently imposed $7.3m (about sh20b) on four telecom companies over "a new regime of quality service". Uganda Communications Commission is the regulatory body of the communications sector in Uganda.

 

By Moses Walubiri

Makerere University

Uganda had six universities in the bottom 10 of the 100 best ranked universities in the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the East African bloc in a recent research conducted by Kenyan research firm CPS International.

However, Makerere University Business School (Mubs) was number one in the ranking that evolved after in a six-month survey done with an interest to know how the universities and higher education institutions in this region have embraced the use of ICT in teaching and enhancing quality and for effective university education in East Africa.

The survey, conducted among 250 institutions and based on data collection and interviews, found East African universities to be increasingly embracing ICT in teaching and learning and comparing favourably with international universities in the use of technology.

MUBS beat the regions finest universities, Makerere University (7), University of Nairobi (8) and Kenyatta University. “We were pleasantly surprised by the rankings and we are now examining what we have been doing all along,” Prof Waswa Balunywa, the University’s principal, told the Education in an interview.
He says the staff ICT trainings given by the university and interacting with students on several aspects away from academics could have been the reason they topped all the universities in the region.

Dedicating funds
Mubs, like many other universities in Uganda, does not have an ICT policy regarding ownership of computers. However, it spends at least 10 per cent of its revenue according to university records.
“We use that money to buy projectors to be used by lecturers in classes and holding short courses for staff. We are also upgrading our server at the university to speed up connections such that students can have discussions online especially for classes with few students,” Prof. Balunywa says.

The survey found out that private universities have generally invested more in ICT than public universities in all the East African countries. Further, private universities mostly offering business courses and social sciences have performed better in the use of ICT than public universities offering similar disciplines.
University rankings in not only Uganda but also elsewhere always cause debate among scholars.

Mr Michael Niyitegeka, head, corporate relations at College of Computing and Information Science at Makerere University, however, says he has since failed to know the criteria used by the research firm to come up with the findings.

“We have failed to know what they regard as ICT usage. If it is in terms of equipment or ICT integrations, the number of online courses that we offer; none of the universities here matches us,” Mr Niyitegeka said.
Going by 2005 standards, Makerere university internal ICT budget stood at Shs1.8 billion, the number of ICT literate staff at 3,000 and 300 networked computers, among others.

The university has recently introduced an online library catalogue programme where students can access library books online. “Public universities performed poorly because the bulk of students supported by governments are admitted to study business and other related social sciences courses which overstretched the ICT resources,” the report notes.

Methodology
Face-to-face interviews with institutions were conducted in addition to getting information on all the universities from reliable primary and secondary data, then comparing the students/staff ratio to access of ICT facilities and services.
This is, however, different from Webometrics rankings which grades universities according to their presence on the internet which puts Makerere University in 11th place in Africa.
“ICT has become the fulcrum on which the world revolves today and continues to be the world-wide preferred ranking model. It is an ever dynamic field, and everyone has to keep themselves updated on the current trends, innovations and inventions,” the report reads in part.

==========================================


SOME OF FINDINGS
The CPS survey, carried out between April and October 2012, focused on how institutions have embraced the use of ICT in teaching and enhancing quality and effective education.
Kenyan universities, the survey showed, are leading the pack in the use and accessibility of ICT in education in East Africa, while Burundi is lagging behind. Uganda came in second, Tanzania third and Rwanda fourth. The five countries make up the East African Community.
“Private universities mostly offering business courses and social sciences have performed better in the use of ICT than public universities offering similar disciplines,” reads the CPS report.

Monitor Uganda

Kampala, Uganda — When the idea of 'hanging out' is mooted in any discussion, very often than not, relaxing in a certain location with a group of friends just catching up is what springs out.
However on Google+, Hangout is a video-conference that allows you to connect with people in different locations. This is a feature that has the potential to change the way businesses communicate.

With the onset of social media, interpersonal communication has declined greatly. The flipside with the Google Hangouts though enables up to 10 people to have a face-to-face virtual meeting free of charge. This may be able the antidote to reversing that trend.

With the ability to see and engage with dozens of people, Google Hangouts on air also allows one to broadcast their Hangouts to people around the world.
Once the Hangout is completed, Google uploads a full-length recording to your YouTube account, which can then be shared with everyone.

This also therefore means that, rather than driving across town or walking across the office just to pass on information or make a presentation, the Google Hangout can enable one to have a conversation with someone from the comfort of one's desk.

According to Google, "Where an email isn't enough, a phone call can be a quick solution. However, a call can interrupt your workflow, and a missed call may go unnoticed. With Google hangout, you can start the conversation, while continuing to working."

Two heads are better than one, but sometimes even that's not enough, one can add as many people as you want mid-conversation, and see them all face-to-face, be able host an all-company meeting from across the country and be assured that everyone is there and involved.

President Barack Obama recently held a Hangout session on the White House Google Plus page, more than 225,000 people submitted questions and anyone could tune in to hear his responses Live.
Recently during a Digital Dialogue conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aki Anastasiou, a South African Technology journalist said that the Hangout had helped them relay a press conference by Julius Malema, the former President of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League to their audience. They also held another hangout with Jacob Zuma, the President of South Africa.

Bernard Alve the General Manager of Citi FM, Accra, Ghana adds, "The Google hangouts have opened a refreshing chapter in the CITI Breakfast Show in terms of scope and audience experience."
The radio station carries out live interactive video sessions that allow listeners not only to see what happens live in the studio, but also engage with the host and guests in real time on air. "It's amazing how much the listener experience can change with the help of a little bandwidth and the ingenuity of an interactive platform," he adds.

An expert in media says that Promotions and giveaways can be a great way to get potential customers involved.
He says, "Do a live giveaway among your customers or clients. Rather than having someone "like" your page to earn entry into a drawing, get them to show up to a hangout. Nothing says customer service like face-to-face communication."

East African Business Week

Kampala, Uganda — When the idea of 'hanging out' is mooted in any discussion, very often than not, relaxing in a certain location with a group of friends just catching up is what springs out.
However on Google+, Hangout is a video-conference that allows you to connect with people in different locations. This is a feature that has the potential to change the way businesses communicate.

With the onset of social media, interpersonal communication has declined greatly. The flipside with the Google Hangouts though enables up to 10 people to have a face-to-face virtual meeting free of charge. This may be able the antidote to reversing that trend.

With the ability to see and engage with dozens of people, Google Hangouts on air also allows one to broadcast their Hangouts to people around the world.
Once the Hangout is completed, Google uploads a full-length recording to your YouTube account, which can then be shared with everyone.

This also therefore means that, rather than driving across town or walking across the office just to pass on information or make a presentation, the Google Hangout can enable one to have a conversation with someone from the comfort of one's desk.

According to Google, "Where an email isn't enough, a phone call can be a quick solution. However, a call can interrupt your workflow, and a missed call may go unnoticed. With Google hangout, you can start the conversation, while continuing to working."

Two heads are better than one, but sometimes even that's not enough, one can add as many people as you want mid-conversation, and see them all face-to-face, be able host an all-company meeting from across the country and be assured that everyone is there and involved.

President Barack Obama recently held a Hangout session on the White House Google Plus page, more than 225,000 people submitted questions and anyone could tune in to hear his responses Live.
Recently during a Digital Dialogue conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aki Anastasiou, a South African Technology journalist said that the Hangout had helped them relay a press conference by Julius Malema, the former President of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League to their audience. They also held another hangout with Jacob Zuma, the President of South Africa.

Bernard Alve the General Manager of Citi FM, Accra, Ghana adds, "The Google hangouts have opened a refreshing chapter in the CITI Breakfast Show in terms of scope and audience experience."
The radio station carries out live interactive video sessions that allow listeners not only to see what happens live in the studio, but also engage with the host and guests in real time on air. "It's amazing how much the listener experience can change with the help of a little bandwidth and the ingenuity of an interactive platform," he adds.

An expert in media says that Promotions and giveaways can be a great way to get potential customers involved.
He says, "Do a live giveaway among your customers or clients. Rather than having someone "like" your page to earn entry into a drawing, get them to show up to a hangout. Nothing says customer service like face-to-face communication."

East African Business Week

East Africa

Having an information technology management system that performs duties like accounting, payroll and employee management has not been possible for small businesses across East Africa because of high cost involved.

Buying the enterprise software to perform such business processes would usually set back a small business several thousand dollars, money that such businesses do not usually afford. But new application innovations built around open source software are already making it possible for businesses to afford applications that can perform such business processes, promising to accelerate the rate of automation of small businesses. Geoffrey Kamau runs a company called OpenWorld. 

In his words, the company simply offers small businesses an opportunity to discard use of paper in business processes like accounting and payroll management. “For companies with less than 30 employees, we offer a package of enterprise solutions for 7.5 U.S. dollars every month," he told Xinhua in Nairobi on Wednesday. This amount affords a company several business management tools that will enable the business manage employees, payroll, accounts, online sales, tax and point of sales.

Under the platform known as OpenBusiness that runs on cloud, small business do not have to invest in anything else other than the monthly subscription. Such solutions would previously cost businesses several thousand dollars.Benard Owuor, the founder of the NikoHapa Ventures, has come up with an innovation that enables small businesses manage their consumer royalty schemes. Usually, it is big retailers in Kenya like Uchumi, Nakumatt, Naivas and Tuskys stores that are able to invest in technology that enables them to manage customer royalty reward scheme.

In normal practices, barbershops within the estates usually have a book where customers register and make a tick every time they come for service. Then after ten visits, the eleventh is given for free for example.But the new innovation enables even barbershops to run customer royalty reward schemes in an automated way offering an opportunity even for the smallest of the business to use automate, a move encouraged by the government as it helps in the efforts to formalize the informal economy."The only investment a business will make it to register with us is to pay a nominal fee," said Owour.

The innovators were speaking to Xinhua on Wednesday during the annual AITEC East Africa ICT Summit that opened in Kenya on Wednesday, themed "Smart cities. Smart societies. Smart enterprises." This year's event has special focus on open software developers and young innovators that are using ICT to provide solutions to every day challenges.
 Morris Mbesta, the Chairman of the Innovators Society of Kenya has developed a system that lets users control the security of their premises from any part of the world as long as there is mobile telephone network.
The New Times (Xinhua)

Kampala

The Government has started plans to link its various ministries and institutions to a centralised online system to help stamp out corruption.

The e-governance system will also improve monitoring of administration and enhance efficiency in public service, according to Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, the information and communications technology minister.

Rugunda made the revelation yesterday while receiving the e-government master plan which was developed by the National IT Promotional Agency (NIPA) from South Korea. South Korea is regarded as the leading country in implementing e-government systems in the world.

Accompanied by a delegation from the Korean embassy, South Korean chief of mission, Park Jong-Dae, handed over copies of the master plan to Rugunda at the ministry boardroom. The plan lists the steps to be followed for Uganda to build an effective system to electronically provide government services.

It also urges the ICT ministry to source funding to implement the programme. "South Korea has succeeded mainly because of ICT. Uganda can catch up as well," said minister Rugunda, commending South Korea for the support

The New Vision Uganda