• What we do
  • The People
  • About Us
  • Why Innovation Africa
  • Contact Us
Innovation AfricaCreating the Future Today
  • Feature Articles
  • Innovation
  • Agriculture
  • ICT
  • Technology
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Health
  • Store
  • Contact Us
Menu
  • Feature Articles
  • Innovation
  • Agriculture
  • ICT
  • Technology
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Health
  • Store
  • Contact Us
  • ICT Hubs: What makes them work… and not work?

    October 24, 2011 Editor 0

    Opportunities are opening to young people with high tech skills such as software engineering, design, and development. Many of these skills are being nurtured by Information Communication (ICT) hubs, where technology-oriented individuals gather and collaborate. An ICT hub is a space where technologists congregate to bounce ideas around, network, work, program and design. This is achieved through an enabling environment where community of tech entrepreneurs can grow and innovative ideas can be born from collaborations and the atmosphere of the co-working space.  One example of an ICT hub within Nairobi is the *iHub_.

    Many such ICT hubs are springing up around the world, especially in Africa where last estimates had 46 percent of Africans living in poverty (UNDP 2008). With such hubs being viewed by many as a means towards economic development, it is therefore important to understand what makes these hubs work…and not work. What factors need to be in place to have a tech community flourish with a couple of inputs? What are hubs around Africa doing right? What do they still need to keep working on? What can they learn from each other?

    Research Framework:

    iHub Research is initiating a research series that will disaggregate the unique factors that make up ICT hubs in Africa (Afrilabs). The series will have a special focus on the role of ICT hubs in fostering innovative entrepreneurship. iHub Research will use mixed methods to engage with active members within each hub space around Africa, including focus groups, open workshops and e-surveys. These research instruments will be used to answer the questions below.

    Research Questions:

    1. What impact does the hub have on the individual’s development (skills and personal growth)?

    2. What impact does the hub have on the individual’s start-up?

    3. What is the significance of the hub community to the individual member?

    4. What is the most important factor which makes the members continue to use the space?

    Six categories will be used to frame and compare the different hubs as depicted in the info-graphic below. Hubs will be given a numerical value for each category based on the data collected through focus group transcripts, workshop findings, and e-survey results. This research aims to inform current hubs and future hubs on the community’s opinion of areas of importance and areas of improvement for the hub by looking at the the different guidelines/principles adopted in existing ICT hubs models. For further information about this research contact iHub Research

    October 2011

    iHub Research

     

    Go to Source

    Related Posts

    • Q&A: Denis Kyetere on innovative technologies for Africa’s farmersQ&A: Denis Kyetere on innovative technologies for Africa’s farmers
    • Findings from the African Mobile Observatory Report 2011 (GSMA/A.T.KEARNEY)
    • “African Health Innovation Systems: Preface”“African Health Innovation Systems: Preface”
    • Outgrower Systems Hold Promise for Smallholder African Farmers
    • Asian Interest Means Africa Needs New Economic Vision
    • Innovation prize set to reward African inventors
    Sovrn
    Share

    Categories: mLab

    Tags: africa, African, ict hub

    If You’re Not Failing at ICT4D, You’re Not Trying Hard Enough Nigeria pins green revolution hopes on cassava

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

Subscribe to our stories


 

Recent Posts

  • SL Crowd Green Solutions September 21, 2020
  • Digital transformation in the banking sector: surveys exploration and analytics August 3, 2020
  • Why Let Others Disrupt You? Take the Smart Self-Disruption Journey! August 3, 2020
  • 5 Tips for Crowdfunding During the Pandemic August 3, 2020
  • innovation + africa; +639 new citations August 3, 2020

Categories

Archives

Popular Post-All time

  • A review on biomass-based... 0.9k views
  • Can blockchain disrupt ge... 683 views
  • Prize-winning projects pr... 678 views
  • Apply Now: $500,000 for Y... 605 views
  • Test Your Value Propositi... 533 views

Recent Posts

  • SL Crowd Green Solutions
  • Digital transformation in the banking sector: surveys exploration and analytics
  • Why Let Others Disrupt You? Take the Smart Self-Disruption Journey!
  • 5 Tips for Crowdfunding During the Pandemic
  • innovation + africa; +639 new citations
  • SME Innovation: 10 Priorities for Support Post-COVID-19 
  • Africa RISING Annual Progress Report 2018 – 2019 now available
  • Fodder beet feed supplementation delivers dairy success for Ethiopian farmers
  • Using theory of change for outcome-oriented research
  • Africa RISING partners publish soil fertility management guidebook

Tag Cloud

    africa African Agriculture Business Business model Business_Finance Company Crowdsourcing data Development East Africa economics Education Entrepreneur entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship ethiopia ghana Health_Medical_Pharma ict Information technology Innovation kenya knowledge Knowledge Management Leadership marketing mobile Mobile phone nigeria Open innovation Organization Research rwanda science Science and technology studies social enterprise social entrepreneurship south africa Strategic management strategy tanzania Technology Technology_Internet uganda

Categories

Archives

  • A review on biomass-based hydrogen production for renewable energy supply 0.9k views
  • Can blockchain disrupt gender inequality? 683 views
  • Prize-winning projects promote healthier eating, smarter crop investments 678 views
  • Apply Now: $500,000 for Your Big Data Innovations in Agriculture 605 views
  • Test Your Value Proposition: Supercharge Lean Startup and CustDev Principles 533 views

Copyright © 2005-2020 Innovation Africa Theme created by PWT. Powered by WordPress.org