[AfrICANN-discuss] Kenya becomes the first African beneficiary of IBM research lab

Mon Aug 13 14:55:55 UTC 2012

Yep, really nice, Brian! Really, really nice for KE! Congratulations!

Regards,

Vika Mpisane | Tel: +27 11 314 0077

From:  Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe at gmail.com>
Reply-To:  <africann at afrinic.net>
Date:  Monday 13 August 2012 4:24 PM
To:  <africann at afrinic.net>
Subject:  [AfrICANN-discuss] Kenya becomes the first African beneficiary of
IBM research lab

FYI - sorry for cross-posting... It's just that I am so excited!

Brian Munyao Longwe
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paul Kukubo <pkukubo at ict.go.ke>
Date: Mon, Aug 13, 2012 at 3:43 PM
Subject: [Skunkworks] Kenya becomes the first African beneficiary of IBM
research lab
To: ke users <ke-internetusers at bdix.net>, Skunkworks forum
<skunkworks at lists.my.co.ke>

Press Release

Kenya becomes the first African beneficiary of IBM research lab

August 13, 2012, Nairobi, Kenya  The government today announced the opening
of the first IBM research lab in Kenya. This makes Nairobi the premier
location for IBM research in the African continent.

The lab, a collaboration between Kenya and IBM East Africa, will see the
partners each contribute $10 million dollars (Ksh830 million), over a period
of five years.

Earlier today, President Mwai Kibaki and IBM Global Chief Executive Officer,
Ginni Rometty signed a memorandum of understanding to officially flag-off
the setting up of the lab.

³Kenya vision is to become the top ICT hub in the continent.  IBM¹s
commitment to undertake the proposed research agenda will contribute greatly
to our national priorities as part of Kenya¹s Vision 2030 agenda,² said His
Excellency Honorable Mwai Kibaki, President of Kenya. ³We look forward to
delivering world-class research and innovation through the partnership and
playing an important role as an IT leader on the African continent.²

It is projected that the lab will not only drive innovation but help market
Kenya as a leading modern services economy. The research agendas will be
defined by both parties and will have a strong emphasis on solving
home-based and African problems.

The project will greatly benefit the momentum already established in
cutting-edge mobile money technology, contribute to the creation of
high-value jobs, and bring significant prestige for Kenya.

³IBM continues to expand its operations in key growth markets and we plan to
lead the way by bringing Africa into our global network of IBM Research
laboratories,² said Dr. John E. Kelly III, IBM senior vice president and
director of IBM Research. ³We will work closely with leading African
scientists and engineers from academia, government and industry to address
some of their most pressing challenges and greatest opportunities.²

The Ministry of Information and Communications through the Kenya ICT board
will implement the project, which will see Kenyans also gain in knowledge
diffusion. 

Speaking on the partnership, PS, Ministry of Information and Communications,
Dr Bitange Ndemo said: "In today¹s world, innovation is the main lever for a
competitive national economy, is a source of employment, and has the
potential to improve lives. The IBM research lab, will not only rubber stamp
Kenya as Africa¹s leader in ICT, but will help the country to transform into
a knowledge based economy.²
He was speaking at a press briefing held at Kenya ICT Board offices, and
attended by Paul Kukubo, CEO, Kenya ICT Board, Robert Morris, Vice
President, Services Research IBM, Michael Browne, IBM Research, Director of
Technical Strategy, Kumar Bhaskaran and Program Director Technology &
Strategy at IBM Research, Shanghai, China. Others were Mugo Kibati, Director
General Vision 2030, Josphat Karanja, Head of Infrastructure, Kenya
Education Network (KENET), Takreem El-Tohamy, IBM General Manager, Middle
East and Africa and Tony Mwai, Country General Manager for IBM East Africa.

The research lab is timely coming on the heels of Konza Techno City
Conference in which the country rallied to attract investors into the
silicon park that will drive Kenya towards achieving middle-income status.

Under the partnership, Kenya will provide the necessary environment, the
physical space, facilitate the lab setting up, while IBM will provide senior
specialists, intellectual property and will operate the Lab as part of its
world-class network of global research labs. Both partners are also expected
to oversee governance structures at the facility jointly.

³The Kenya ICT Board has various projects that will compliment the work of
the IBM lab. These are in software certification, open data, enterprise
incubation and support for public sector digitisation,² Mr Paul Kukubo, the
CEO of Kenya ICT Board, said. ³We see IBM as a great partner in advancing
the agenda the board¹s transformation of Kenya,² Mr Kukubo added.

The research facility is expected to be operational this September and will
have its base in Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi.

Africa will be the 12th laboratory in the world-wide IBM network of labs,
joining existing labs in Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, India, Ireland,
Israel, Switzerland and the United States, as IBM continues to expand its
research operations in key growth markets.

ENDS

Background Information:

About Kenya ICT Board
The Kenya ICT Board was established by HE President Mwai Kibaki, as a state
corporation under the State Corporations Act Cap. 446 on 19th February 2007.
The Kenya ICT Board¹s mission is to champion and actively enable Kenya to
adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and
infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment. Its vision is that
Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub by 2030.

Capacity building programs are needed to establish a national strategy to
properly address skills and training issues.
Such strategy would need the input, cooperation, and commitment of many
parties. It needs to be led by the industry and involve partnerships with
the government and education and training providers.

IBM Research - Africa will join existing labs in Australia, Brazil, China,
India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Switzerland and the United States. IBM
Research laboratories are credited with the creation of many of the
foundations of information technology, including the invention of relational
database, disk storage, DRAM memory and much more. IBM Research has been
recognized with 5 Nobel Prizes, and many leading scientific and technical
medals and awards. Recently IBM Research created a question-answering
supercomputer called Watson that defeated the champions of a major televised
quiz show, showing its ability to match humans in answering a wide range of
free text questions.

For more information, contact Ms. Phyllis Nyambura, Communications, The
Kenya ICT Board. Tel: 0700 396 433. Email: pnyambura at ict.go.ke

Paul Kukubo
Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board
PO Box 27150 - 00100
Nairobi, Kenya

12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street

Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960
Fax: +254 20 2211962
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personal twitter: @pkukubo

____________________
Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub

Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT,
through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for
socio economic enrichment

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