BLACK AMPHI

Mbugua Njihia from Kenya Steps Forward

BlackAmphi’s tour continues. I am now on the Eastern part of the AfroLand, heading to the world’s forty-seventh largest country. I heard it is very beautiful there. I can’t wait to visit the numerous national parks and game reserves and make friends with the lions, leopards, buffalos, rhinoceroses and elephants. Eh! Almost forgot why I am going there in the first place! Being a tech inclined guy, I equally can’t wait to pay a visit to some of the outstanding start-ups and meet some top entrepreneurs and software developers. Who should I start with? Oh! I got just the right person to lead the way. He is right here and I can feel my mic urging me to move her close to his mouth. Let’s all listen to a highly profiled techpreneur and a reputable mobile business guru.

What are your names?

Mbugua Njihia, 26 yr old Kenyan techpreneur

Where do you live and work?

I live and work in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya the emerging techhub of East, Central and Northern Africa.

How did you get the skills as a business man (university, professional school, online certifications, study from home, internet)?

A unique mix of book smarts and street smarts. A lot of the programming and creative stuff is self taught. I studied Management Information Systems in my 5th and 6th years of high school and International Business Administration at Uni. In my 5th and 6th year of high school we had access to a dialup connection and unlimited hours in the lab. That is where the foundations were laid, where theory met practice and experimentation and where on a little red book the vision of what is coming together as Symbiotic was born. As a 2 week old freshman at the United States International University, I won the inaugural Students in Free Enterprise Business plan competition beating even 4th year students. That validated my business plan, as one of the judges said “Mbugua…this is explosive and cutting edge”. The journey began…

What are the tools you use in your daily activities (Windows/Mac/Linux, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, twitter, Salesforce, facebook, etc)?

Tools….My cellphone, Outlook, Ms Office, Adobe CS4 suite, Quickbooks, Zunguka and increasingly Twitter and Facebook to push out services as well as share the knowledge and insights that I have gathered on my journey.

How long have you been doing business in Africa?

5 years

Can you give some examples of products (name+description+web link) you have launched to the market or you have been a part of (urls, screen shots if offline)?

Zunguka.com – Zunguka is hand-built, line by line, to be African Mobile and Web Social Network. We aim to revolutionize the way you work and lead your day-to-day activities.

Zunguka is aimed at enhancing your social and professional lives as by enabling you discover new ways to improve your efficiency and interaction

TumaSMS.com – TumaSMS is a communication service that will allow registered users to send SMS cheaply from their Web Browser or phone. It is simple in it’s workings but gives additional value add to advertisers who will get to better target their customers.

Sembuse – www.sembuse.com / s.zunguka.com / wap.zunguka.com A nifty mobile application that makes it easy and so damn cheap for Africans in Africa and around the world to communicate as well as create value for them and the advertisers who support us. With Sembuse you can say a simple habari (hello!) or tell the details of your weekend without thinking of the limiting constraints of regular sms at 160 characters or without having to result to cryptic SMS jargon that would leave the reader dumbfounded. Through strategic long-term partnerships, Sembuse tables its premium offerings such as getting stock market advice, sports videos and other niche content that would not be regularly found in the open market. We operate our own online credit system the Zunguka Credo (Cr), which helps us to deliver better value across the globe by creating a medium of exchange that users the world over can identify with. 1 Cr = KSHS 0.5 (UScts 0.6) The business, personal, social and professional benefits of Sembuse are all out of this world.

Tarazaki – www.tumasms.com, get your free account and click on the Tarazaki tab Our Sync service is a tried and tested system that enables you backup contacts and calendar events from your cellphones and other hand-held devices your online Zunguka account.

In case you ever lose your phone or device, all your data is safe with us and can be retrieved by sending a simple SMS and syncing to your newly acquired device(s). With versions to cater for individuals and corporate needs you will never have to worry about losing your contacts or missing a meeting.

Royal Media Services – www.royalmediaservices.co.ke Home of Kenya’s largest media house with a Tv station and 13 radio stations And many more products and services from years past

Are you more into web ventures, desktop software or general consultancy and services?

Web and mobile development is my focus though we still  get to do some odd desktop app development jobs. Consultancy comes with the turf

What do you use to manage your team, staff or contract workers (collabtive, unfuddle, basecamp, etc)?

Weekly meetings, Email, private sync channel on Tarazaki, email – we run a distributed office setup.

Can you tell us some of the business strategies you employ for competition?

Small teams per project work best. Remain nimble and have your ear on the ground.

How difficult is it to get capital/investment for your ventures in Africa ?

Story of our start up life… for tech start-ups VC funding is virtually nonexistent and financing from banks etc is skewed to traditional industry. Still need land as collateral to buy servers. We are working on the Zunguka Foundation to provide support (financial, mentorship and business skills) to upcoming techpreneurs… we have been there and we know it sucks.

Do you use kiva or veecu or other online microfinance systems to raise funds?

Nope

How do you get capital for your ventures (VC, family, loans, etc)?

Personal savings and investing profits from work engagements

What is the criteria and tools you use to employ your staff?

Task driven interview process. Paper is good but we need to engage to judge for ourselves.

Its known that most IT professionals in Africa change jobs at a very rapid rate, what do you think could be the cause?

Some job descriptions fail to utilize a person’s full capabilities. My take is they feel wasted and want to move on to something different and more challenging. Good money is also a reason for the churn…if you’re good at what you do, the head hunters come calling.

What is the minimum educational level you consider in the people you employ?

I am a stickler for self certification. Sometimes paper qualifications don’t deliver true value. Our first criteria is a good head…someone who thinks out of the box and is willing to learn and adapt. As per educational level…if you can understand what our job ad and spec say and you can showcase your skills and ability to deliver, then you are sufficiently educated

What are some of the challenges you face as a business man in Africa?

Business networks are hard to break into at times. Deals are sealed at the golf course and not the office. Youth may not be your ally as the older generation may equate it to lack of experience or simply they don’t see how they do business with “their son”. The godfather syndrome is prevalent in some industries.

What do you think could be done to get rid of these challenges?

Adapt or die…simple. Be more aggressive, prove your worth.

What word do you have for other aspiring entrepreneurs in Africa?

Stay away from VC funding for as long as you can and avoid it all the same if you can. Third party accountability that is pegged on money, shifts focus and stifles creativity. Have your products or services out to the public in the shortest time possible, and this will tell you if you have a winner or not. Use your growing customer vase to refine the product. Then look for other people’s money to grow and already qualified business that can go cash positive quickly. The fact is that in Africa we don’t have time or the resources to roll with beautiful services that are not generating revenues, always have a workable business model in mind and validate your idea. Lastly…two heads are better than one. Get a partner who shares in your vision and has passion. Those two things will take you a along long way when you’re starting out and no one wants to look at you.

How can people interested in working with you or for you get to contact you?

If you wish to engage on projects or consultation…

Email on Mbugua{at}symbiotic.co.ke.

Twitter – @mbuguanjihia

Linkedin – http://www.linkedin.com/in/creativemind

My personal blog – http://www.mbuguanjihia.com

Thanks for your time and please give us some closing words.

I believe there is sufficient knowledge and talent in Africa to create world-class home grown solutions. Build it and they will come.

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Adesoji ‘JesusFreak’ Adegbulu Sees No Limit!!!

We are not done with Hello Nigeria yet. As a matter of fact, I am not sure we will ever be able to get done with Nigeria or any other African country. Nigeria is fast patronising this Amphitheater. In just a short while we have met five Naija robots already(a.k.a naijaborns). Yeah, I call them robots because like me, I doubt if these guys do sleep at all. They work very hard to get software and web development running smoothly in Africa so that we don’t have to sit on our arms and wait for others to babysit us. There are many entrepreneurs in Africa who have vowed that in the nearest future, the West will have to outsource to Africa NOT only for  cheap labor but also for bigger brains.

There is a freak, a freak for Jesus, I will want you to meet. As the curtains open, let’s put our hands together for… oh, let’s hear everything from the horse’s mouth.

What are your names?

I am named Adesoji Adegbulu. Some friends know me as JesusFreak and freeblogger.

Where do you live and work?

I live in Nigeria and work from home as a Consultant – Social Media and Web Technology. A Web Developer, Social Network Marketer, Entrepreneur, Coach and a Blogger

How did you get the skills in web development (university, professional school, online certifications, study from home, Internet)?

I will say it’s a combination of all. The reason is that, I studied Agricultural Engineering as a major in the university but did web development as a minor course. During most weekends and Academic union strikes, I either go to a professional school or study from home or study on the internet.

What are the tools you use in your daily activities (Windows, WAMP, Visual Studio, Dreamweaver, Netbeans, Eclipse, etc)?

The tools are very obvious. I use the internet as my first tool. I use that for reading and learning new things on web development. I also use windows (I’m considering using Mac), Dreamweaver, Photoshop, SwishMax, Corel Draw, Flash, FileZilla (FTP), WordPress and other tools and websites I come across online.

How long have you been writing codes or doing any form of web development?

Though I started learning about it sparingly in 2002 but I started doing web development in 2007. And you know web development involves writing codes too.

Can you give some examples of projects you have developed or you have been a part of the development?

I have always developed websites as a team. You should know that it is the best thing we can do. Things are achieved more as a team. I have been part of the development of www.ccfnifes.org,  www.getinspiredng.com and www.9jacorp.com (will be launched on November 6th, 2009).

Which part of web development are you more into?

I am more into building dynamic sites, web content management and web administration.

While developing, do you believe in KISS (Keep It Simple…) and Less is more?

Sure, I believe keeping things simple will make the web to be easily navigable. The website will be somewhat ‘user friendly’. The web users will be able to make good use of the website than one bulky site that gets web users confussed. Less is actually more, focused and direct to purpose. Anyway, keeping things simple does not mean neglecting the core stuffs that should be on the website.

Do you find design patterns useful and do you think they help make codes orderly for teams to work together and future maintenance a breeze?

Yes. I consider design patterns as a foundation or a blueprint. Without them, working together as a team or working on the web in the future will be a hard task to come. It will be like reinventing the wheel over and over again.

How important are deadlines in your work?

Deadlines are very important. I hate being disappointed and I would not want to disappoint others. So what I do is to give my clients enough time. This is done at the start of the basic planning. If I’m going to complete a work in 4 weeks, I will add an extra 1 or 2 weeks. So, at the start, I will inform my client that I will deliver in the next 5 or 6 weeks.

Which do you prefer more: php, python, java, CSharp, ruby, etc?

I prefer and use HTML, PHP, CSS and JAVASCRIPT. I’m learning to incorporate SQL, AJAX

What do you think about open source vs proprietary technologies?

I think both have their own advantages and disadvantages. I like open source for what it is – “OPEN” and also like proprietary technologies because it motivates developers to work and learn more. To me, there is nothing that cannot be learned and made better whether open source or proprietary.

What are some of the challenges you face as a web developer in Africa?

The major challenge is competition. There are lots of web developers and aspiring web developers in Africa. One other challenge is the image to which we see ourselves and which other nations of the world view Africans. The last challenge to web developers in Africa is limited access to Information and Internet Technologies and trends.

What do you think could be done to get rid of these challenges?

To get your share means that you have to devise your own uniqueness. It is your uniqueness and excellent service that draws the market to you. Once this is done, the effect of competition will be minimized. On the image thing, without prejudice, we see ourselves and other nations see us mediocre not until we prove the stuff we are made of. They see our skins as black and thinks we are black within not until we show that we are not judge by the color of our skins but by the content of our minds. On the challenge of limited access to Information and Internet Technologies and trends, what we need do is to get out of our comfort zones and lay hold on the things we should have. So far that some people can have adequate access gives us leverage that we can attain the same. We should make good use of the internet to learn, relearn and unlearn some whacked ideas.

If you are “Jack”, too much work without leisure will obviously make you a dull boy LOL. What do you do when you are off the job?

It is either I sleep or watch movies or go to the cinema, play PC games, go and see friends or read a book at times I just listen to music.

What word do you have for other aspiring web developers in Africa?

I am still aspiring though but my word is simple – and telling myself too. We must keep learning, getting the required knowledge and wisely putting them into practice with our own specialty and uniqueness. I will also say that we should seek more of value, qualitative relationships and good networking with the made web developers and other aspiring web developers. We have a lot to learn and do as African web developers.

How can people interested in working with you get to contact you?

I live on the internet. I have houses on Facebook (www.facebook.com/adesojiadegbulu and www.facebook.com/freeblogger), on Twitter (www.twitter.com/adesojiadegbulu and www.twitter.com/9jacorp), on Naijapulse (www.naijapulse.com/adesojiadegbulu), on Twitternaija (www.twitternaija.com/adesojiadegbulu), on One Page (www.onepage.com/jesusfreak), on Naijaborn, 9jabook, Myspace, Linkedin etc

You can get in touch with me on any of these. You can also get in contact with me on
Phone: +2348059605025
Email: adesoji.adegbulu.com
Skype: adesojiadegbulu
Yahoo messenger: adesojiade
Google Talk: adesoji.adegbulu@gmail.com

Some final words.

I came to know Mambe as if i had known him before. Thank you for this opportunity to be featured on BlackAmphi.

God bless AfroVisioN Group, God bless BlackAmphi, God Bless Africa. We would make God and our continent proud!

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Victor Asobo Taka from Bamenda Describes “His World”

After hearing from Mambe Nanje Churchill and Minang Suh Franklin, we are back again on Hello Cameroon. This time, we shall be moving up North from Buea (the base of AfroVisioN Group) to Bamenda (Abakwa Town) to meet a software/web monster who has been breaking walls and creating highways for IT to flourish in the town and the country at large.

He has been an inspiration to many people around him and by this interview, we hope he gets to inspire and encourage more people. Here we go…

What are your names?
Victor Asobo Taka my friends call me toofinevicky [2 fine Vicky]

Where do you live and work?
Live in and work in Bamenda, NW Region of Cameroon.

How did you get the skills in software development
(University, professional school, online certifications, study from home, internet)?
I was introduced to turbo Pascal in High School [C.P.C Bali], this gave me the ability to try html from scratch, and did the rest at home.

What are the tools you use in your daily activities (windows, WAMP, visual studio, Dreamweaver, Netbeans, eclipse, etc)?
Windows as my OS, WAMP, Dreamweaver, notepad, depending on the complexity of the job.

How long have you been writing codes or doing any form of software engineering/development?
I did my first coding with notepad in 2003

Can you give some examples of projects you have developed or you have been a part of the development?
www.flexcominstitute.com
www.aziccul.org
www.glomaships.com
www.bamendacitycouncil.com
www.directcameroon.com – Part of the Team
www.justiceandpeacebamenda.org
www.bamendauniversity.com – Part of the team

Are you more into object oriented programming or structural/procedural programming, or something else like aspect oriented etc.?
Object Oriented Programming [OOP]

While developing/engineering do you believe in KISS (Keep It Simple…) and Less is more ?
Controlling complexity is the essence of computer programming.
Beauty is more important in computing than anywhere else in technology because software is so complicated.
Beauty is the ultimate defence against complexity.
That’s why in my development, I try as much as possible to Keep it Simple.

What are some of the software development design patterns you have used (eg MVC, Facade, Observer, front controller, singleton)?
Separating the presentation logic from business logic is a more professional development pattern. This is efficient when I have multiple objects needed to coordinate actions across the system I’m developing else the singleton pattern is used.

What software development cycles have you used before (Extreme Programming, SCRUM, Waterfall, Agile, Itterative, etc)?
Depending on the project at hand, and as a developer, I strive to implement the Agile Software development methods or cycles. Well… not like I’ve used all, I mostly use the XP (Extreme Programming). This gives room for a lot of checks and accuracy in coding,

Do you find design patterns useful and do you think they help make codes orderly for teams to work together and future maintenance a breeze?
Definitely, I find patterns useful, we all need to be guided sometimes, it also depends on you ability and methodology, and yes design patterns can guide a team, if only you play by the rules.

Do you work in a team environment if so what tools do you use for collaboration (eg Collabtive, unfuddle, Basecamp)?
Most often I work alone, I also have a small network with associate developers. We seldom use a collaborative software environment.

How important are deadlines in your work?
Deadlines are important as the air we breathe. Deadlines are what makes us popular. Deadlines are what keep clients coming back. Deadlines also makes our pockets swell… lol

Are you into software outsourcing and do you think it will help enrich and empower Africans?
I believe so much in people. I believe that making people grow makes you grow indirectly. Outsourcing does not empower Africans, it makes then dependent to the west. With handwork and determination we will be able to develop our own stuffs depending solely on us Africans.

what do you think about software development frameworks like Kohanaphp, codeigniter, hibernate, django, castle monorails, .NET frameworks, J2EE frameworks?
Personally, I think frameworks are a good idea, when it comes to complex applications. One of the most outstanding advantages is time; it gives room for rapid development. It also enhanced opportunities with a repository of reusable application code. Besides this it reduced risk and reduced cost of project deployment, also reduced cost by dramatically lowering the amount of low-level coding. I think they are a good support for us.

Do you think those frameworks will help African developers easily adhere to software development best practises?

Yes and no.
Development of PHP scripts without a preconceived plan to manage them is asking for a headache. The goal of a framework is to make the process of writing web-based applications simpler. A good framework is easy to learn, simple to use, intuitive to work with, easy to extend or to modify, rapid to build (maintain) applications with and of course stable.

Different framework have different coding convention, depending upon the framework, you’ll have to learn coding convention for the same framework which you want to follow, also while coding using these frameworks, sometime you’ll not find any library or helpers which might be useful for you. Also, frameworks are not for the small projects, because in a very simple project custom coding will work faster than setting up a framework, and our African market relies on small projects.

Therefore, on a personal note, frameworks have helped me very much to understand especially my elasticity in development. Any Developer who wants to go as far as possible will be advised to understand how frameworks work, who knows, one day the west will rely on us to deploy huge projects.

Which do you prefer more: php, python, java, CSharp, ruby, etc?
php is my Joker

What do you think about open source vs proprietory technologies?
open source matters a lot for me. Not only does it make me satisfy my clientele, it’s really educative too. That’s why I am joining forces with one of my collaborators on the first open Source CMS Cameroon has never come across. Watch out for “ No Stress” CMS…

What are some of the challenges you face as a software developer in Africa?
The Clients… They really don’t know what they want. They give you parameters to follow, and at the nuke of time, they change every thing. Client is King but that will not mean we are slaves.

What do you think could be done to get rid of these challenges?
It’s like we need to sensitize the public about our profession.

What word do you have for other aspiring software developers in Africa?
Dream, get a mentor, be crazy, and speak the truth… lol

How can people interested in working with you get to contact you?
on FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/victor.taka
on Twitter: http://twitter.com/toofinevicky
Yahoo Mail: toofinevicky@yahoo.co.uk
Gmail: toofinevicky@gmail.com

Please can you tell us one thing you either love most or hate most about your job, clients or collaborators?
What I hate the most are clients or collaborators who don’t settle their bill appropriately.

Thanks for your time and please give us some closing words.
Thank you too, and thumbs up for the great job you are doing, peace & love to Africa.

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Ihas Idriess, CEO of PC Klinic, Shares his Views

…sincerely, I can’t explain. Maybe Nigeria has taken a vow to take the Black Amphi emblem, flag and logo hostage until another Afro nation pays a ransom. Francis .O. Oghuma, Ugo Uchechukwu (UCHEUGO), Ola White Yusuph and now another guest still from Nigeria?

The success stories up to this point have been very exciting and educating and we do hope these web, software and business “celebrities” hiding in plain sight will continue sharing their world with eager fans.

Shhhhh! Silence please. We have one more guru on stage.

What are your names?

My names are: Ihas Idriess (the official way I write my name is iHAS iDRIESS lol)

Where do you live and work ?

I live in Yola, the Adamawa State Capital in Nigeria, you know in Naija nobody survive on one job…so I have two full time jobs, 1. I am a Computer Programmer with Federal College of Education, Yola. I write computer applications for my employers, accounting and payroll packages mainly and sometimes I lecture programming and networking courses, I also work in my company pcKlinic Nig. Ltd as MD/CEO

How did you get the skills as a business man (university, professonal, school, online certifications, study from home, internet)

Can’t say exactly how, but I think it’s mainly due to my condition, I mean myself being a physically challenged person (I am a cripple), I grow up wanting to prove that I can make the difference in my life and I always wish I will change the life of other physically challenged around… I want to prove all pundits who believe that once you are physically challenged you are condemned to street corners collecting alms’ (sadaka) wrong. So I think it is this zeal that kept me going… am a fast learner, I learn on the trade (lol). I did not go into any class to learn business skills and today I thank God, I employ on full time over 7 intelligent bright young guys with over 10 interns.

What are the tools you use in your daily activities (windows/Mac/linux, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, twitter, salesforce, facebook, etc)

Hmmm…. I juggle between Linux n Windows depending on the work at hand….. all servers that we deploy for our clients are Linux Based, and we also use Linux to secure all networks we handle especially wireless. I use only facebook for my social networking.

How long have you been doing business in Africa?

I started making real money in programming since 1998, but my company came into existence around 2000, so I can say I have been in ICT business for 11 years.

Can you give some examples of products (name+description+web link) you have launched to the market or you have been a part of (urls, screen shots if offline)?

We did a lot of jobs for companies and multinationals, and most of our work are proprietary so we hand over full ownership to our client… but I think our portfolio on our site say it all.

Are you more into web ventures, desktop software or general consultancy and services?

General consultancy and services… any IT deal we handle from programming to networking we do a lot of out sourcing. But basically we concentrate on deploying networks, LAN/WAN/VOIP

What do you use for your accounting (eg frontaccounting, webERP, excel. google docs, etc)

Mainly Excel

What do you use to manage you team, staff or contract workers(collabtive, unfudle, basecamp, etc)

Collaborative is the best method, but base on the work we are handling the tides may change.

What quality assurance mechanisms have you put in place to ensure that your products are top notch?

We try as much as possible to involve the client from the project design to implementation down to deployment, this way our product always come out the best, it gives our clients 100% satisfaction and this is our watch word. Our clients must have 100% satisfaction.

Can you tell us some of the business strategies you employ for competition and what results you have been getting ?

When we learn of a project and decided to pitch for it, I will then create an adhoc research team for that particular project, they scout for information both online and otherwise on the client and our possible competition. We gather and brain storm extensively on both the client and possible competition before the pitch or submit our proposal. This way we are able to stay ahead of our competition and to our client we always are able to second guess them.

What are the difficulties you face with the government and tax systems in Africa?

The major problem is the corruption in the tax system, and also the fact that in most African countries ICT is new and the tax system do not have room for it, so at the end your are being over charge for your product.

How difficult is it to get capital/investment for your ventures in Africa ?

Very very difficult… our investors believe in buying and selling and doing deals on physical things, they can’t understand how it is possible for them to invest money on an idea in your young head lol

Do you use kiva or veecu or other online microfinance systems to raise funds?

Not at all, I don’t have any idea of their existence

How do you get capital for your ventures (VC, family, loans, etc)

From what the company has as its savings and on rare occasions my personal savings.

What is the criteria and tools you use to employ your staff ?

I am so much particular about team player… I employ only team players, because when it’s ICT you have to work as a team in all you do else success will elude you.

Its known that most IT professionals in Africa change jobs at a very rapid rate. What do you think could be the cause ?

I think it’s because of the fact that IT is dynamic and a growing technology.

How do you ensure that you retain the best talents or always have the talents in place to do the job ?

It is difficult but I make sure all guys in my company have a sense of belonging and I make them feel that they have a stake in company’s success, and I ensure their pay package reflect the pocket and success of the company.

What is the minimum educational level you consider in the people you employ ?

I don’t give much shit about paper qualification… if you can drop codes for me your good… I also look for enthusiasm and team player in whoever I consider for employment.

What are some of the challenges you face as a business man in Africa ?

The major challenge was my age when I start, am now 30 when I start I was younger and also the stereotype of people considering the fact that I am physically challenged was a big huddle for me, I always have to go out of my way to tell my client not to worry, I can handle the stairs I can find a way of going up the building to work on their VSAT etc….

What do you think could be done to get rid of these challenges ?

Hmmmm difficult to say, I think I will advice people to treat all equal both young and old…

How can people interested in working with you or for you get to contact you?

On my email, gsm and facebook: ihas@pcklinicng.com, +2348024650275 and ihasidriess on facebook

Are u married?/Do u have children?

No am not yet married, but I will pretty soon.

How soon?

Before the end of the year or very early next year

Who is the lucky girl?

lol May be am the lucky guy, her name is Beekiss

Am sure she is also into IT

lol why?… she is not, she is an accountant, but she use computer a lot in her work… very beautiful and intelligent girl, very independent minded.

You sound so much in love, how long have you been together?

Yeh!! I have never felt this way before, yes am so much in love and am proud. I have known her for 3 years plus.

What is the strength of your love?

I think our strength is we are very honest with each other and we respect one another so much

We wish you luck and hope we will get an invite for the wedding

Sure you will

Thanks for your time and please give us some closing words.

Thank you very much too, am also honored to be hosted on this great site… it’s a pleasure to be associated with young great minds… I believe the future of Africa is in ICT

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Ola White Yusuph of Nigeria Gurus Talks Business…

After Francis .O. Oghuma and Ugo Uchechukwu (UCHEUGO), we are going back to Nigeria to meet a renowned businessman in Nigeria who despite all the beds of roses (few) and beds of thorns (unlimited) is working hard to make ends meet, happy doing business and proud of his origin.  Through this interview, we hope you will get to know him (better), appreciate the way he does business and have his views and opinions about doing business in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

On behalf of the Black Amphi team, I welcome you here and thank you for honouring this invitation. What are your names, please?

Ola White Yusuph

Where do you live and work?

Live and work in Lagos, Nigeria

How did you get the skills as a business man (university, professional school, online certifications, study from home, internet?)

Just like any other IT and Computer geeks, I do not get my skills from university days; I got practically all through online certifications and internet research

What are the tools you use in your daily activities (Windows/Mac/Linux, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Twitter, SalesForce, FaceBook, etc)?

I use Windows, Microsoft Office and Google Apps, love twitter and FaceBook anyways

How long have you been doing business in Africa?
Can you give some examples of products (name + description + web link) you have launched to the market or you have been a part of (URLs, screen shots if offline)?

2009 would be my 3rd year as an IT Entrepreneur, I provide website and online application development services, I lecture in workshops and seminars. I have two companies to my credit which are Naija Gurus and Good Living Foundation.

Nigeria Gurus is an organization that encourage, promote and celebrate Nigeria within the country and the Diaspora, right now the website lacks update because of too many activities on our sleeves but we are working on the beta version of the website and which also has three sub companies; WhitesoftX Web design Studio, Xplore Promotions and Naija Media Planet. WhitesoftX Web design Studio offers web design and development and General Info.Tech. solutions. Xplore Promotions is an Event Management Outfit. Naija Media Planet basically helps to promote the Nigerian Entertainment Industry and its people, both at home and abroad.

Good Living Foundation envisions a world, in which communication saves lives, improves health and enhances well-being, through extensive communication and social mobilization programs being carried out at both the national and local levels. We are working on some media productions which include Documentary and Movie to mark our humanistic values and devotion to human welfare.

Are you more into web ventures, desktop software or general consultancy and services?

I think I would say I’m more into offline IT venturing, though part of online is providing web services but that could be given just 30% attention

What do you use for your accounting (e.g. Frontaccounting, webERP, Excel, Google Docs, etc)

I use Microsoft Excel

What quality assurance mechanisms have you put in place to ensure that your products are top notch?

Well, to the best of our capacity, we always give out best to serve our clients/customers and we receive a lot of testimonials, I think that’s some kudos and giving us way ahead

Can you tell us some of the business strategies you employ for competition and what results you have been getting?

Basically, I have tried a thousand times to create a better niche online doing online business but just doesn’t work YET for us in Africa, may be in little future time we could be the focus but I finally settles for direct and physical services and I think it’s working for now but right now, we don’t need to deceive ourselves in Africa, online business is not just working for us as it is for the Americans and other continents.

What are the difficulties you face with the government and tax systems in Africa?

Tax is minimal in Lagos, Nigeria and no problem whatsoever with that, it’s cool by me

How difficult is it to get capital/investment for your ventures in Africa?

Capital/Investment? In Nigeria? Forget it! We’ve been fooled a couple of times. Nothing comes out of it. Sometimes they ask for impossibilities. Just imagine a situation whereby you would need a Loan of 1M Naira and they request for property worth 2M Naira and even post you that you must operate a good relationship with them for six months before they can grant your loan. That is total nonsense to me. Forget it. No help from anywhere. WE STRIVE to sponsor everything by ourselves. It’s a big problem for us and it makes our business crawl. That’s why other continents are better than Africa; they help each other through thick and thin.

Do you use kiva or veecu or other online microfinance systems to raise funds?

I don’t use any of those, they always suspects any request from Nigeria is a fraud and delays a lot and besides, they don’t give good amount of money, it can’t help grow a big aspiring business

How do you get capital for your ventures (VC, family, loans, etc)?

As I earlier said, we strive to sponsor everything by ourselves, it’s a big problem on me and it makes our business crawl, that’s why other continents are better than Africa, they help each other though thick and thin

What are the criteria and tools you use to employ your staff?

Skills, not Degrees! What I believe in is ability not certificates. Let’s get live not just diplomas; wizards in any field would have a good place in my staff profile

It’s known that most IT professionals in Africa change jobs at a very rapid rate.
What do you think could be the cause?

Yeah, that’s right. Our problem is basically money, and we work to get money! And again, my people are afraid. Afraid of what will happen if they re-arrange. That’s why most of them like to do what the crowd does. Do what the system say they will allow them to do. We just need to break free from crowd mentality so that we can achieve the new reality.

How do you ensure that you retain the best talents or always have the talents in place to do the job?

I do encourage and empower them a lot, though, some come and leave and again I make it a contract work for some of them in percentage. I still retain those I believe are sure of what they are doing and they are not just working for money

What is the minimum educational level you consider in the people you employ?

Secondary school certificate WITH professional certificates and SKILLS most importantly, I test and trust them in various ways before I employ

What are some of the challenges you face as a business man in Africa?

Not enough money to achieve the best, no government empowerment and lack of support from international bodies, basically its all about money, if I have enough money within, I don’t think anything will stop me from achieving the best

What do you think could be done to get rid of these challenges?

I don’t see any hole through these challenges for now because our governments are not ready to empower anybody, they are all there for themselves by themselves, we still have a long way to go in leadership in Africa, our governments are the ones ruining us, it’s not that way in overseas, government encourage and empower the youth and young professionals and they even celebrate them because they believe in them, our African leaders don’t believe in us, they believe is wealth, they just want to be rich and famous without contributing to the development of the future of our communities, that’s why they embezzle money

What word do you have for other aspiring entrepreneurs in Africa?

Believe in yourself. Don’t question your talent. Instead, rededicate yourself to the process of becoming better to achieve your goals.

How can people interested in working with you or for you get to contact you?

Through my email address (olawhite@naijagurus.com) and phone numbers (23418705501 and 2348056159604.

Thanks for your time. We do hope your words spark stars of encouragement for all. Feel Free to contact us anytime for any necessary updates you will want to share.

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Afrobotics – Keeping an Eye on Robotics in Africa

Here we come again!!!

…as we all stood at attention in front of the Black Amphitheater, singing our melodious anthem and looking up to the black, white and green flag waving in the sky, part of my attention was focused on the gigantic African map on the front wall, right of the blackboard. As I stood still admiring the little shapes and colors that represent the various countries and territories on the African continent, I realised that we have been to three countries already; Cameroon (Mambe Nanje and Suh Minang), Nigeria (Ugo Uchechukwu and Francis .O. Oghuma) and South Africa (Vinny Lingham and Justin Stanford).

Turning my head slightly to the West, Ghana caught my attention. The very first thing, out of a thousand, that I set my eyes on when my feet touched the soil was Afrobotics, born of  Nii Simmonds, Henry Barnor and Ayorkor Mills-Tettey.  What is Afrobotics? Could it be African Robotics? Let’s find out.

The Concept, the Mission, and the Benefits

Competition is probably the greatest factor that motivates people to set bigger goals and embark on achieving them. When a group of people are allowed to compete with another group or compete amongst themselves, they are urged to think, research and develop skills that can help them stand out of the crowd. Engineering, science, innovation, and entrepreneurship, though growing at a fast rate, are relatively at the embryonic stage in Africa. What can be done to boost the growth rate?  Nii Simmonds, Henry Barnor and Ayorkor Mills-Tettey figured out that the key players in the above mentioned fields are students, especially those at the university level. How can these students be inspired to be science, engineering, and technology leaders? How can self-confidence, communication, and leadership be fostered amongst them? Competition is the answer.

Robotics is the science and technology of robots, and their design, manufacture, and application. Robotics brings together the power of computer science and engineering to build automated electro-mechanical systems that intelligently interact with the environment to make production more worthwhile by improving on efficiency and output in agriculture, factory, health, education and other related fields. Through robotics, computer scientists and technologists can effectively design, implement and integrate skills that are essential for them to carryout their duty. With applications ranging from agriculture to factory automation, from healthcare to education, robotics is a fascinating and fun way to develop creativity as well as the design, implementation, and integration skills that are essential for computer scientists and technologists.

Engineering, science and manufacturing all hold the key to development and prosperity in Africa but are severely hampered by the lack of entrepreneurs who are ready to take risks and venture into the “impossible” and “uncertain”. Afrobotics seeks to motivate African students and bring them together to embrace a collaborative, fun, and challenging competition for sustainable engineering startups throughout Africa. Afrobotics will be a country, regional and continental-wide competition for all African students in the Secondary school and University levels. In addition, she will showcase the students’ creative engineering talents.

The People behind Afrobotics

As we earlier mentioned, Nii Simmonds, Henry Barnor and Ayorkor Mills-Tettey are the main driving forces of Afrobotics. While hoping to get these guys to “talk to you directly” through interviews in the nearest future, Below is a summary of what we have dug about them.

Nii Simmonds is an Ghanaian currently living in Washington DC, Metro Area – USA. He is a holder of a B. Sc. In Management/Finance from Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University and a minor in Information Systems and Statistical Analysis. He also holds a Business Process Outsourcing Masters Certificate from the Wharton School. Mr. Nii Simmonds is a recognized speaker, consultant, and sustainable evangelist on African entrepreneurship. He speaks at frequent events and conferences about entrepreneurship, ICT, sustainable technology, e-learning, globalization, and outsourcing market in Africa and other emerging markets He is interested in creating partnerships that can fuel sustainable growth in Africa. He is currently the Director of WJF Africa Prize at William James Foundation, Co-organizer of Maker Faire Africa and co-founder at Afrobotics. Through His very popular and informative blog, Nubian Cheetah, he seeks to inform those who have an intrinsic interest in Africa’s sustainable development with regards to ICT, technology, business, venture capital and social entrepreneurship.

Mr. Simmonds is a consultant who has experience in corporate finance, supply chain management, competitive intelligence, corporate strategy and outsourcing. He has a lot to offer (and has been offering) to Africa in the following fields;  Business Development, strategic Alliances and Partnerships, product management, Small Business Advising, Entrepreneur Development, Business Ventures, BPO Advising, Biofuel development, Africa Web 2.0, Mobile payment, as well as African connections, Deals, Negotiations and  Value Propositions.

Having a close look at Mr. Simmonds’s Linkedin profile, one can quickly realize that besides William James Foundation, Maker Faire Africa and Afrobotics, his skills have been put to great as a board member (Investors Without Borders), Project Manager – Global health (Booz Allen Hamilton), senior Financial Analyst (Johnson & Johnson (McNeil)), Senior Finance & Competitive Intelligence Analyst (Astra Zeneca Pharmaceuticals), and BPO Strategy Consultant (Cap Gemini).

Henry Barnor was born in Ghana, where he spent most of his early years climbing the educational ladder. After Senior Secondary School, he was admitted to Oberlin College, OH as a 3-2 engineering student.
While at Oberlin he focused on Computer Science and Physics with excursions into Women’s Studies.
At the end of his junior year, he transferred to the California Institute of Technology, CA to finish his engineering program.
Henry graduated with a BA in Computer Science and a BSc in Electrical Engineering and is currently a software engineer in San Jose, CA. The portrait on the right features on Maker Faire Africa on a post that explains how together with Henry Addo (another Ghanaian developer), they built a system that permits people to register for Maker Faire Africa by Mobile Phone.

He is a co-founder at Afrobotics and also a co-founder at GhanaThink, an Africa-focused think-tank based in Ghana that seeks to mobilize and deploy Diasporean volunteer labor for the primary benefit of Ghana, and consequently of Africa and the whole world.

G. Ayorkor Mills-Tettey is a Ghanaian native. She attended Dartmouth College and graduated with degrees in computer science and engineering. She has taught and developed curricula at Ashesi University in Accra, Ghana and is also a 2006 Google Anita Borg Scholarship recipient.  Her interests and research activities include developing optimization algorithms for robotics path planning and task allocation, and understanding the synergies between technology and education, especially in developing communities.

She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. She is also student representative for Tech Bridge World, a program that seeks to bridge the gap between technologically advanced and “technologically deprived” communities. As student representative for this program, she is responsible for liaising with other students and participating actively in the development of new and existing Tech Bridge World programs.

That’s it for now. Round 1 of the Black Amphi Tour continues. We have many surprises in stock for you. Many big guns have been interviewed but we can’t “let all the cats out of the bag at once”. They will soon here…

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Minang Suh: young software developer in Cameroon

Minang Suh is a 19yr old Cameroonian, an alumni student at AfroVisioN Group Training Program, www.afrovisiongroup.com/training . He was one of the best students though he was taking the course along with his Maths and Csc course at the University of Buea. It should be noted that he is still having his degree course at the university of buea www.ubstudents.com but taking up some part time work with AfroVisioN Group. Now that we have him on The Black Amphitheater, check out his experience from the interview below.

[BA]What are your names
Minang Suh Franklin

[BA]Where do you live and work
Live in Buea Cameroon and I’m a second year student in the University of Buea. Working at AfroVisioN Group

[BA]How did you get the skills in software development(university, professonal school, online certifications, study from home, internet)
Studied and currently practicing at AfroVisioN Group, Buea Cameroon

[BA]What are the tools you use in your daily activities (windows, WAMP, visual studio, dreamweaver, netbeans, eclipse, etc)
dreamweaver, eclipse, phpdev, kohana, codeigniter

[BA]How long have you been writing codes or doing any form of software engineering/development
I’ve been studying for a year now. I actually started writing codes 4 months ago (June 2009)

[BA]Can you give some examples of projects you have developed or you have been a part of the development
I’m a newbie and presently working on my first project ever: “camerjobs.com” which is going to be a Cameroon job search engine developed by AfroVisioN Group

[BA]Are you more into object oriented programming or structural/procedural programming, or something else like aspect oriented etc.
Object Oriented

[BA]While developing/engineering do you believe in KISS(Keep It Simple…) and Less is more ??
Considering the fact the different algorithms for a particular task serve to solve the task, I believe I KISS

[BA]What are some of the software development design patterns you have used (eg MVC, Facade, Observer, front controller, singleton)
None (beginner here!)

[BA]What software development cycles have you used before (Extreme Programming, SCRUM, Waterfall, Agile, Itterative, etc)
None (beginner here!)

[BA]How important are deadlines in your work
Could cause you not being paid! Would also lose upcoming projects

[BA]Are you into software outsourcing and do you think it will help enrich and empower Africans
Well we all looking for better technology and so if there is a great software or team out there that eases this, why not use.

[BA]What do you think about software development frameworks like Kohanaphp, Codeigniter, hibernate, django, castle monorails, .NET frameworks, J2EE frameworks
Mmm, codeigniter, kohanaphp, mm, great tools developed by great minds and have made development more interesting and very easy.

[BA]Do you think those frameworks will help African developers easily adhere to software development best practises
I think these frameworks are so much organized and help Africans who have studied the programming language in question to do their tasks faster. Though it encourages laziness and less creativity since everything has been coded and given to us as objects to use and do what we want.

[BA]Which do you prefer more: php, python, java, CSharp, ruby, etc
Not much of  an opinion because I have studied just php, but reading from programming forums.  I will say more php and java

[BA]What do you think about open source vs proprietory technologies
It  all depends on what software the developer is creating. We don’t expect the codes of Microsoft to be open source. Man the hackers out there are terrible.

[BA]What are some of the challenges you face as a software developer in Africa
As a beginner I haven’t faced much of a challenge. My only challenge now is me getting to be a better developer

[BA]What word do you have for other aspiring software developers in Africa
Will just say this is a very interesting field your getting into and that  a great developer must first enjoy what he/she does (coding should be like a hobby) before any other gains in it.

[BA]How can people interested in working with you get to contact you ?
(+237)70222251 email: minangsuh (at] yahoo.com

[BA]thanks for your time and please give us some closing words
Big thank you to all the minds at blackamphi. I love what you guys are doing towards  developing IT  in Africa and how you inspire the young African  developers

[BA=BLACKAMPHI]

Ok now you guys had Minang Suh and you all heard what he had to say. We will be looking on more developers like him in Africa.  Stay tuned and our next person on stage will be Victor Asobo.

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