Since I got to the ICT for Development arena, I had never met an
opportunity so challenging, overwhelming and inspiring; so much full of
raising future hopes and ambitions. The Social Reporting task at the ICT4Ag International Conference,
was the first of its kind turning my career and ambitions in new a
direction. More interestingly, this coincided with a new approach to my
work, having spent the few months before the event, brainstorming an
Agribusiness model.
Having spent about 5 years by then (2013),
using social media actively, I had been exposed to a number of tasks
randomly as well as structured. After so much work, especially working
with the Southern Africa Telecentre Network
in coordinating its online presence, I developed great passion for
media work. My first most formally published article appeared in the ICT
Update issue published in June, 2012, following my reporting for the
CTA sponsored Study tour on telecentre initiatives in Botswana, titled: "Diversify to survive. Public-private partnerships revive Botswana's telecentre programme".
Little did I know that I had sent such a strong positive message, until
I started receiving compliments from various readers of ICT Update. It
was so amazing, and eventually this granted me a number of new
connections, a great network and more confidence. When I read the call
for Social Reporters for the ICT4Ag International Conference, I did not
hesitate to apply to collaborate in the vest of onsite Social Reporter.
What
a time consuming application it was, and I knew there would be
competition indeed. As I sat down to reflect on my previous work in the
area of ICT for Agriculture, no statement could be complete without
crediting the training on Web 2 and social media for development which I
received during a workshop organized by Southern Africa Telecentre
Network, the study tour on the Telecentre initiatives in Botswana, all
opportunities made available through the generous support offered by
CTA. I carefully complete my application and there was no doubt the best
sample of published work I could submit was my first ever ICT Update
published article. Read Full Article Here
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Social reporting is not just about writing, but a learning and practice opportunity
Youth involvement in agriculture and rural development through ICTs,
has recently been on a rise in ACP countries. Among the factors that
have attributed to this development is the penetration and adoption of
ICT in these regions. Across the agricultural sector, ICT tools and
processes have facilitated various Agricultural Value Chain stages to
yield sustainable growth. More so, the integration of ICT innovations
has brought about a paradigm shift in Finance for Agriculture.
While this development remains of great importance to the ACP regions and the world over, the dissemination and exchange of information on best practices, emerging innovations, challenges and opportunities remains an important aspect of sustained development in the sector. The sharing of this stipulated information and knowledge through the use of Social Media has proven to be successful. With ambitious youth and ICT, in particular digital media enthusiastic generation, social media is a fast growing medium of knowledge sharing, a practice which has seen an increase in the engagement of youth in agriculture and rural development.
In the eyes of this development, I have seen my career re-alignment, and in its wings, my career growth. I am one of the on-site Social Reporters for the Fin4Ag Conference, which is taking place from 14 -18 July 2014, in Nairobi, Kenya.
Right from the economic heart of Zambia, the Copperbelt Province, I am a young ICT for Development (ICT4D) enthusiast and Tech-Social Entrepreneur working in the area of promoting increased and effective use of ICTs for agriculture, youth and rural development, in Zambia, and the Southern African region.
With an education background in Information Technology, I have been part of several social reporting teams for the past years, including the ICT4Ag Conference organised by CTA and its partners in November 2013. As an on-site reporter, my experience at the ICT4Ag Conference was a successful and life-changing one. I saw and experienced how ICTs and in particular ... Read Full Article Here
While this development remains of great importance to the ACP regions and the world over, the dissemination and exchange of information on best practices, emerging innovations, challenges and opportunities remains an important aspect of sustained development in the sector. The sharing of this stipulated information and knowledge through the use of Social Media has proven to be successful. With ambitious youth and ICT, in particular digital media enthusiastic generation, social media is a fast growing medium of knowledge sharing, a practice which has seen an increase in the engagement of youth in agriculture and rural development.
In the eyes of this development, I have seen my career re-alignment, and in its wings, my career growth. I am one of the on-site Social Reporters for the Fin4Ag Conference, which is taking place from 14 -18 July 2014, in Nairobi, Kenya.
Right from the economic heart of Zambia, the Copperbelt Province, I am a young ICT for Development (ICT4D) enthusiast and Tech-Social Entrepreneur working in the area of promoting increased and effective use of ICTs for agriculture, youth and rural development, in Zambia, and the Southern African region.
With an education background in Information Technology, I have been part of several social reporting teams for the past years, including the ICT4Ag Conference organised by CTA and its partners in November 2013. As an on-site reporter, my experience at the ICT4Ag Conference was a successful and life-changing one. I saw and experienced how ICTs and in particular ... Read Full Article Here
Agrihack initiative grooms ICT4Ag young entrepreneurs
Young entrepreneurs are already turning the wheels of the agricultural
revolution. They are driving the paradigm shift in facilitating access
and communication of agricultural information and knowledge.
They are not just creating a buzz in ICT for Agriculture (ICT4Ag), but fervently transforming the practice of agriculture with innovative ICT solutions such as web and mobile applications. With increasing interest and support from various stakeholders in empowering these young ICT4Ag entrepreneurs, the digitisation of agriculture is beating odds, responding positively to concerns such as sustainability, nature and quality of information provided and engagement of youth and women.
While the beginning of these initiatives was mainly inclined to the provision of information to support farmers at the production stage, the overwhelming support has so far seen the rebirth of approaches and innovations crossing the borders of provision of information for production only to as far as supporting financial transactions. Behind this success story is a great model: the AgriHack Championship Initiative.
Conceptualised by CTA in 2013, the AgriHack Championship, a model hackathon with a difference has been a learning and entrepreneurial exercise, bringing together young people interested in developing ICT solutions for agriculture. The hackathon and its accompanying activities were spread over the space of a year, with preparation and follow-up activities to support participants.
Some activities included national level competitions, which led to the selection of finalists. The finals were held during CTA’s 2013 ICT4Ag Conference. A clear roadmap was used to strengthen the AgriHack model to produce concrete results with a real impact for young entrepreneurs and small-scale producers. From mentorship, to discussions and training, a range of stakeholders had put efforts together. At this event, a range of solutions hacked by young entrepreneurs emerged, and the regional winning innovations were Ensibuuko, AgriVAS and Agrinfo. Some winning innovations have thrived to be model, youth-led enterprises, providing some of the most promising ICT solutions in agriculture.
Taking part in the CTA Agrihack Championship proved to be an opportunity for David Opio and Gerald Otim to develop the Ensibuuko app and galvanise contacts with Kiva, an online crowd funding platform to which David and his team had turned for capital. When Ensibuuko was named winner of the regional finals, the award brought the team valuable visibility and credibility.
A pilot phase signed with Kiva has enabled Ensibuuko to provide finance to 42 rural smallholder producers, mainly model rural farmers who commit to mentoring other farmers in the community. So far, the six-strong Ensibuuko team has raised more than US$15,000 (€10,800) and is well on its way to its immediate target of raising another $5,000 (€3,600). Ensibuuko is a mobile and web application that integrates automated SMS and mobile money services to enable Saving and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOSs) to handle savings and make loans to smallholder farmers.
A Kenyan ICT4Ag application showcased at the regional finals of the CTA Agrihack Championship has proved a winning idea, with commercial potential. Farmdrive, a platform that connects farmers and lenders, has attracted the interest of a Japanese investor, who was present at the hackathon, held in November 2013. He approached the Farmdrive team at the event and indicated he had found the idea interesting. Since then, he has been working with the team to perfect the App, so as to explore the feasibility of applying the same idea in Japan.
The ICT4Ag Agrihack Championship was not an end in itself, rather it was the ignition of successful innovations that would see the paradigm shift in access and communication of agricultural information and knowledge amplified, proving the initial Agrihack concept a success.
This initiative is on the right track to responding to the timely call to a rethink in ICT4Ag applications. It also tackles among others, issues such as... Read Full Article Here
They are not just creating a buzz in ICT for Agriculture (ICT4Ag), but fervently transforming the practice of agriculture with innovative ICT solutions such as web and mobile applications. With increasing interest and support from various stakeholders in empowering these young ICT4Ag entrepreneurs, the digitisation of agriculture is beating odds, responding positively to concerns such as sustainability, nature and quality of information provided and engagement of youth and women.
While the beginning of these initiatives was mainly inclined to the provision of information to support farmers at the production stage, the overwhelming support has so far seen the rebirth of approaches and innovations crossing the borders of provision of information for production only to as far as supporting financial transactions. Behind this success story is a great model: the AgriHack Championship Initiative.
Conceptualised by CTA in 2013, the AgriHack Championship, a model hackathon with a difference has been a learning and entrepreneurial exercise, bringing together young people interested in developing ICT solutions for agriculture. The hackathon and its accompanying activities were spread over the space of a year, with preparation and follow-up activities to support participants.
Some activities included national level competitions, which led to the selection of finalists. The finals were held during CTA’s 2013 ICT4Ag Conference. A clear roadmap was used to strengthen the AgriHack model to produce concrete results with a real impact for young entrepreneurs and small-scale producers. From mentorship, to discussions and training, a range of stakeholders had put efforts together. At this event, a range of solutions hacked by young entrepreneurs emerged, and the regional winning innovations were Ensibuuko, AgriVAS and Agrinfo. Some winning innovations have thrived to be model, youth-led enterprises, providing some of the most promising ICT solutions in agriculture.
Taking part in the CTA Agrihack Championship proved to be an opportunity for David Opio and Gerald Otim to develop the Ensibuuko app and galvanise contacts with Kiva, an online crowd funding platform to which David and his team had turned for capital. When Ensibuuko was named winner of the regional finals, the award brought the team valuable visibility and credibility.
A pilot phase signed with Kiva has enabled Ensibuuko to provide finance to 42 rural smallholder producers, mainly model rural farmers who commit to mentoring other farmers in the community. So far, the six-strong Ensibuuko team has raised more than US$15,000 (€10,800) and is well on its way to its immediate target of raising another $5,000 (€3,600). Ensibuuko is a mobile and web application that integrates automated SMS and mobile money services to enable Saving and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOSs) to handle savings and make loans to smallholder farmers.
A Kenyan ICT4Ag application showcased at the regional finals of the CTA Agrihack Championship has proved a winning idea, with commercial potential. Farmdrive, a platform that connects farmers and lenders, has attracted the interest of a Japanese investor, who was present at the hackathon, held in November 2013. He approached the Farmdrive team at the event and indicated he had found the idea interesting. Since then, he has been working with the team to perfect the App, so as to explore the feasibility of applying the same idea in Japan.
The ICT4Ag Agrihack Championship was not an end in itself, rather it was the ignition of successful innovations that would see the paradigm shift in access and communication of agricultural information and knowledge amplified, proving the initial Agrihack concept a success.
This initiative is on the right track to responding to the timely call to a rethink in ICT4Ag applications. It also tackles among others, issues such as... Read Full Article Here
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