VeSeL: Village e-Science for Life Blog

I just launched a project called Mobile Movement, a microfinancing website that connects young entrepreneurs in the slums of Nairobi with the rest of the world using mobile technology.

We just launched and would love to get loads of people to log on. The youth in Nairobi are standing by their phones, and answer any and all questions! We also have a Facebook application if anyone is interested.

Mobile Movement is a partnership with a UN agency (UN-HABITAT) and is a winner of the Digital Media and Learning Competition at the MacArthur Foundation.

Cheers,
Leba Haber (ITP)

Labels: development, finance, handheld, ict4d, kenya, mobilephone, social_change, technology Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 6/18/2009 02:55:00 PM 0 comments

Send a Cow runs sustainable agricultural programmes in nine countries in Africa to help small-scale farmers overcome poverty and malnutrition. We were founded in 1988 by a group of UK farmers who sent cows to families in post-conflict Uganda.

Labels: agriculture, charities, development, finance, funding, kenya Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 4/13/2009 10:16:00 AM 0 comments

'Africa has new trading partners. It doesn’t have to grovel to the west' more

Labels: development, ethics, finance, funding, government, grant, social_change Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 2/07/2009 01:50:00 PM 1 comments

Vodafone Group Plc, the world's largest mobile phone group by revenue, launched a mobile money transfer pilot scheme between Britain and Kenya, aiming to increase its role in the growing industry and potentially boost customer loyalty.

more

Labels: development, finance, handheld, kenya, mobilephone Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 12/09/2008 11:43:00 AM 0 comments

Under the partnership with international nonprofit Unitus, the foundation will lend financial support to Jamii Bora Trust, a microfinance institution in Kenya.

Jamii Bora Trust will use the funding to extend its reach into small farming communities and develop new microfinance products for rural farmers, according to Whole Foods Planet.

more

Labels: agriculture, development, finance, kenya Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 12/09/2008 11:33:00 AM 0 comments

'Booming stock markets, bustling city centres, huge reserves of natural resources and soaring economic growth. Welcome to the new Africa. '

'Some of the best value companies are in Kenya, where Nairobi is a fast-growing business hub for East Africa.'

Details here.

Labels: finance, funding, kenya Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 11/14/2007 09:03:00 PM 2 comments

When one thinks about Microfinance Banking, it is vital that the players (in this case the owners of the MF Banks) are not absorbed in get-rich-quick schemes, but in developing people and their current pecuniary grade. Opinion piece

Labels: development, finance, kenya Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 9/19/2007 08:12:00 PM 0 comments

Technology is altering humanitarian work and now 'the first people on the ground are often computer geeks'. Donors can track shipments, workers on the ground can coordinate with each other, messages can be more easily sent to communities.

This has implications for non-emergency aid. 'The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation draws vast detailed maps showing who is vulnerable to food shortages (“poverty mapping”).' Computers can keep public health records and identify early-warning signs.

Mukuru lets people in the developed world send cash and fuel to developing countries (soon to include Kenya).

Complete story here.

Labels: finance, information, kenya, linking, local, map, mobilephone, SMS, social_change Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 9/01/2007 02:53:00 PM 1 comments

Interesting article on the recent TED conference in Tanzania. Normally stands for 'technology, entertainment, design' but in this case should be 'technology, education, development' or similar.

Labels: conferences, development, education, finance Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 6/21/2007 11:47:00 AM 1 comments

A kind of peer-to-peer method of microloans. See specifically this farmer in Kiambu (north of Nairobi).

Labels: agriculture, finance, ict4d, kenya Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 5/22/2007 10:16:00 PM 0 comments

This article discusses the economic aspects of growing maize.

Most Kenyan farmers still have faith in maize - so much so that 90 percent of them regularly invest in this crop. About 75 percent of Kenya's farmers are small-scale producers, and more than 70 percent of farmers are women

The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been controversial in the Kenyan maize sector.

Labels: agriculture, finance, government, kenya, maize, seeds Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 5/20/2007 01:08:00 PM 2 comments

The World Bank has earmarked and agreed on $165 million (Sh12 billion) in financing for Kenya, Burundi and Madagascar for high-speed Internet connections.

Kenya is the largest beneficiary, getting about Sh8 billion under the proposed Regional Communications Infrastructure Programme for East and Southern Africa.

more

Labels: finance, ict, kenya, web Links to this post

Posted by Kevin Walker at 4/08/2007 05:03:00 PM 0 comments

"KickStart, established 1991 in Nairobi, is a non-profit organization that develops and markets new technologies in Africa. These low-cost technologies are bought by local entrepreneurs and used to establish highly profitable new small businesses." Website includes information on the technologies and business model. The technologies are not currently ICT based but they are "always searching for new profitable small business models for Africa, and as we find them we will continue to develop and promote the required new technologies. Although only thorough market research will tell, we see the potential for many new small business models including everything from low-cost well drilling or improved milk transport services, to the generation and sale of electricity or the low-cost provision of communication and business services in small towns".

Labels: agriculture, development, finance Links to this post

Posted by josh_u at 11/06/2006 11:08:00 AM 0 comments

A book (pdf available online) on marketing intended for small-scale producers, contains an interesting anecdote about Kibrigiwi farmers' experience with marketing of tomatoes and the history of the current switch to French Beans, sweet potatoes and maize.

The Rural Finance Learning Centre "is about providing financial services for people living in rural areas. This Learning Centre aims to assist organisations in developing countries to build their capacity to deliver improved financial services which meet the needs of rural households and businesses." A variety of training, online lessons and publications are available.

Labels: agriculture, education, finance, Kibirigwi Links to this post

Posted by josh_u at 11/03/2006 12:40:00 PM 0 comments