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Coetzee, an Engineer by training, not been a regular train commuter in Cape Town and seen
the problems mostly black people have to deal with regarding trains and delays.
The main point in this case study is that Coetzee had to be part of that community, to
provide it with the solution. Now imagine if black learners from a young age are equipped
with numeracy, science and problem solving skills, how many societal problems could they
solve using technology just like their counterparts in Kenya and Nigeria?
Technology Education starts at Grade 1 with numeracy skills, because a learner who enjoys
and excels at the subject from an early age is likely to continue with it further in life. This is
where resources by the Basic Education Ministry need to be concentrated, and not on Grade
12 results.
Ecosystems vs EGOsystems and Funding
Following on Erik Hersman’s contribution where he not only observes what differentiates
the various technology communities across the continent but also offers insights into what
makes for a competitive tech community, Victor Asemota from Ghana talks about building
technology ecosystems.
Asemota further narrates how technology ecosystems are similar to natural ecosystems
where it is important to maintain a certain equilibrium lest the ecosystem vanishes and
doesn’t last the distance.
With education in place, a connected community put together in an ecosystem that is
balanced, then comes the need for capital to fund the projects that make economic sense
and show promise of becoming profitable. Given his fund management experience,
Mbwana Alliy from Tanzania goes on to explain on an efficient method that technology
start-ups should adopt to raise funding. Added to this, I further go on to elaborate on the
various options that technology start-ups have for funding with emphasis that they explore
bootstrapping.
Policy Making and Governance
Collecting accurate internet user data is very critical to government policy making argues
Tim Katlic from the United States in his contribution. Making the argument that “Internet