Sustainability Performance: At a glance (31 March 2012) - Safaricom

Innovation
Supporting the next generation of innovators
Safaricom Academy
As a market leader in innovation, Safaricom, in partnership with Strathmore University, has started The
Safaricom Academy, a Master’s degree program in Telecommunication, Innovation and Development
(MSc TID)
This program equips students with the know-how to develop applications for both mobile phones and
computers.
The program started in March 2010 with a class of 30 students and grew to two classes of 60 students in
2011. It catered for a day class and an evening class of 70 students in total, fully sponsored by Safaricom.
The outcome of the course has seen some students develop commercial quality applications, some of
which have won acclaim, such as the application that runs the NASCOP HIV test system and dashboard.
@iLab Africa
Safaricom is also the lead sponsor for @iLab Africa; a state of the art innovation and incubation lab to be
used by the students and other innovators from the region. The KShs 20 million sponsorship was used for
the setup and equipping of both the innovation and Incubation labs.
The innovation lab focuses on equipping students with hands-on technical skills to develop applications for
every type of platform.
The incubation lab focuses on imparting business acumen to the graduates by providing the right
environment for them to launch their technology companies. It also provides an environment where venture
capitalists are able to partner with these start-up companies.
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Innovation