20 Kenyan start-ups worth watching

4 Aug 2010

Kenya is abuzz right now. The outlook for technology and innovation in Africa has never been brighter, and Kenya is positioning itself strategically in anticipation of a wave of groundbreaking web and mobile emerging market products and services. The resources being put into the Kenyan IT sector currently demonstrate how seriously the country is taking the challenge to become Africa's innovation hub.

The Kenyan Government, through its ICT Board, recently closed the window for proposals for its $4-million grant towards local content and software applications using mobile and/or the web. This was a concerted effort by the government to meet its mandate to make Kenya a Top 10 Global Tech hub. The government made a call to innovators and entrepreneurs to propose both innovative applications and content for the Kenyan Government as well as the private sector. The response was remarkable with over 2,000 proposals sent in.

Fast Facts on Kenya:

Kenya has the 7th highest Facebook population in Africa with an estimated 760,000
The CIA Fact book reports that Kenya has a 85% literacy rate
There are an estimated 4-million Kenyans online of Kenya's 40-million population
Mobile internet subscribers stand at 1,98-million according to the Communications Commission of Kenya's latest figures

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Source: Memeburn

Launched in April 2010 by Matthew Buckland, Memeburn is a news and opinion platform tracking tech culture, innovation and business. It plays particular attention to the web, mobile, social media, online media and social networking fields. Key opinion-leaders contribute to Memeburn, providing their insights on the online industry. Subscribe via email or RSS for regular updates. Follow memeburn on Twitter at @memeburn.

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