THE 2013 FINALISTS AT PIVOT EAST

Trends are changing and more solutions seem to come forte with the result of deep mobile understanding and usage. in its quest to creating a bright future for mobile start-ups in the region PIVOT EAST 2013 saw a good number of finalists make great problem solving.

The Finalists of Pivot East 2013 listed by category are as follows:

 

Mobile Finance Category

GO Finance Company Ltd: GO, leverages business value chains & technology to provide MSMEs at the base of the pyramid.- Tanzania

Inforex Africa: Inforex,platform enabling communication and forex trading between Forex Bureaus and offers current Forex information to the public.-Uganda

M-Duka Ltd: M-Duka, an online virtual products platform that allows users to purchase or retail virtual products using their mobile phones.- Uganda

DEPHICS Ltd: TiME, a mobile application aimed at enhancing purchasing and payment of tickets from any location and at any time.-Tanzania

intelworld Ltd: A solution that integrates into major payments providers to enables businesses to transact online , using feature phones (USSD and SMS) and offline using POS.

 

Mobile Enterprise Category

SleepOut.com: SleepOut, SMS-driven booking process connects both commercial and peer-to-peer hosts with guests and agents.-Kenya

SchoolMaster Solutions: An information portal for parents and school administrators, available as a web application as well as a mobile app for Android devices.- Uganda

echorest Technologies Ltd: echorest, an android application that is a real-time,proximate-based buyer-powered market place that tries to connect buyers and seller through sms and email. – Kenya

Mank and Tank : Virtual Classrooms on mobile devices that allow users to access educational material,create digital content,present & share info. – Kenya

Binary Logic: Meka,a mobile and web product and price reference platform that gives you information about anything you would like to buy, capability to order online, as well as GPS direction to the store. Uganda

 

Mobile Society Category

Kytabu: Kytabu, is a micro-leasing textbook subscription application that enables students to get just the material they need to learn, when they need it, wherever they are and pay for just that piece of content while they have it. – Kenya

iDaktari Ltd: iDaktari,a multi-platform healthcare system tailored for doctors with private practices that simplifies information management and security. -Kenya

Skoobox: Skoobox, an academic-networking platform for students that provides them with a platform to share and make the learning process more connected and open.- Kenya

Ecademy Africa: eShule, a mobile app that will offer career and college counseling, and alternative eLearning via online courses and exams for high school students.- Kenya

Code Vision Ltd: BrainShare, a mobile and web application that enables students to easily access academic content such as past papers and simplified notes. – Uganda

 

 

Mobile Entertainment Category

Jooist: Jooist, a social gaming network for mobile phones. It enables users to discover, download and play free games, compare scores & achievements with friends. – Kenya

Kola Studios: Matatu, is a two-player card game based on the popular Ugandan game played with a pack of cards.The game can be played on Mobile (Android) and on Facebook. – Uganda

TiVi: TiVi,delivers program guides, gossip, reviews & spoilers direct to your phone. – Kenya

254Events: 254Events, a mobile and web platform that gives information regarding events and purchasing of the event’s tickets.- Kenya

Tokelezea: Tokelezea, a mobile application that provides a dynamic guide to your neighborhood fun list, it enables you to find out what your friends are up to and also brings relevant reviews and related news. – Kenya

 

 

Mobile Utilities Category

Ma3Route: Ma3Route, crowd-sources for traffic and transport information from locals in order to provide users with up-to-date information that can inform their movements. – Kenya

SmartShop: Smart_Shop, allows supermarkets to be able to offer shopping via the mobile phone by offering a platform where customers can view real prices from and enhance their shopping experience. – Kenya

TrueDine: TrueDine, restaurant recommendation and reservation app that helps you discover restaurants, explore menus and make instant table reservations. – Uganda

The Diet Assistant Ltd: The DietAssistant, a mobile diet solution that recommends healthy and affordable meals composed of locally available and accessible foods. – Uganda

Habari App: Habari app, lets you read the news that matters to you when it’s convenient. – Kenya

INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT PROGRAM

Without vision, hard work and creativity, the Internet would not have evolved into the global resource we know and use today. More than 25 years ago the first-ever .com was registered and has since altered the course of history to put the world at our fingertips. The Internet has changed the very fabric of how we interact, inform, conduct business, donate, educate, communicate, connect, and share stories with others across the country, continent, and all over the world.

The Verisign infrastructure grant program, launched during the 2010 “25 Years of .com” commemoration, reflects Verisign’s commitment to sponsoring research that supports the Internet’s robust growth and development. Verisign is expanding this program in 2012 to foster new research which advances security and stability, encourages Internet deployment, and improves the Internet infrastructure overall.

Award Application Past Events2011 GrantsHistory
Verisign is pleased to declare that it will announce two $200,000 research awards on May 2012 to support research that has the potential to improve the availability and security of Internet access in all parts of the world. We are seeking proposals for research topics focused on an Internet that is available and secure in all countries, supporting a range of infrastructures, given the reality that people and organizations are relying to a growing extent on mobile devices of all kinds for their connectivity. The research funding is intended to support two graduate students or equivalent for one year, plus institutional overhead.

Applications will be accepted from teams composed of researchers from accredited academic institutions, industry research labs, non-profit organizations, for-profit corporations, and governmental agencies. Applications from teams representing institutions in multiple countries are encouraged. All research outputs will be required to be released to the public domain for free and unrestricted use.

Applications will be evaluated against the following criteria:
Relevance: The applicant(s) should propose research that supports the stated goal of the program, with a specific focus on global accessibility and/or infrastructural improvements that will benefit the developing world.
Innovation: The applicant(s) should propose research that is innovative, novel and important. Applications will be judged based on the innovative nature of their proposed research foci and goals.
Feasibility: The applicant(s) should demonstrate that their proposed research plan is feasible and can be fully realized within the timeframe (May 2012 – fall 2013) allowed by the program.
Overall Quality: Judges are asked to provide their overall impressions of the grant proposals, encompassing all of the aforementioned criteria, as well as any other criteria deemed relevant based on their knowledge and experience in the field.

Grant submissions will be judged by:
Rick Boucher, former chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Communications and the Internet and co-founder of the Congressional Internet Caucus
Dr. Stephen Crocker, CEO of Shinkuro and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
Dr. James Lewis, Senior Fellow and Director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Ndéye Maimouna Diop Diagne, ICT Director at Senegal’s Ministry of Post, Telecommunications and ICT and the current chair of the Board of Directors of AfriNIC
Danny McPherson, Vice President and Chief Security Officer, Verisign
Alice Munyua, Vice Chair of the Governmental Advisory Committee and Project Coordinator for Catalyzing Access to Information and Communications Technologies in Africa (CATIA)

Applications will be due by April 5, 2012 and award decisions will be announced May 2012. The grants are intended to support research performed during the 2012-13 academic year. Awardees will present their results at a symposium in Washington, DC in fall 2013.

KEY DATES:
January 17, 2012: Research Grant Submission Process Open
April 5, 2012: Research Grant Submissions Due
May 2012: Announce Research Awards
May 22, 2013: Research Due
Fall 2013: Research Presented at DC Symposium

Courtesy of: verisign

For More information Visit: www.verisigninc.com

Mrs. Salome Cheburet. The Pillar of Education, Sacho Division

Though to many she may go un-noticed, many is still unsaid of the warm haerted mrs salome who was applused for her efforts in making education sink among the residents of baringo.

Attending a graduation ceremony at Egerton University, i noticed with alot of keenness the credit given to her by current and former teachers from the region. it went unoticed that the progress and growth of the love of education among teaching fraternity and the community at large was the fruits of her efforts to strengeth thier love and test of education.speeaking during the celebration of one of the Graduants from the region. Mr. Kibichii Chebii aknolweged her efforts towards driving the force to adore education and propsrity among them as teachers. he retiarated more that it pays alot to play a leading role uplifting one others morale towards a better future and giving the community a chance to explore more by giving them opportunities even if you gain nothing.

also in the ceremony was Mr. Willy Laktano former H/T kesetan primary also seconded Chebii’s sentiments saying that the route that Mrs Salome takes he would also be proud to follow suite knowing that she is a mentor and a visionary leader in education matters.