Kenya is the new India

http://allafrica.com/stories/200809180945.html

The first of three undersea fibre optic cables linking East Africa to the world is expected to be landed by June 2009, and Kenyan entrepreneurs are working hard to build businesses to meet expected demand for inventive products with African users in mind and an eye on global competition.

Investors see potential.

“We’re looking for Africa’s next Google,” said Richard Bell, the chief executive officer of East Africa Capital Partners, a Nairobi-based venture capital group.

The group has created a U.S. $100 million fund with private investors and the United States Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). “The region itself has real global comparative advantage in ICT (information and communications technology)… We have bet the farm on the fact that East Africa is going to see tremendous growth,” said Bell.

With highly skilled tech professionals and improved infrastructure, outsourcing may soon become big business for Kenya. “In places like India and Eastern Europe… they’re getting to a point where there aren’t enough skills around to satisfy the increased demand,” said Bell. “And East Africa is becoming very attractive to them.” At least one outsourcing center, KenCall, has been operating since 2004 and business is growing; KenCall plans to employ 600 Kenyans by October.

In addition to becoming a possible outsourcing hub, Nairobi has begun to attract international attention as a regional innovation center. Google opened an office in the city in September 2007 and recently announced its buyout of Mobile Planet, a Kenyan mobile services company.

Another event, BarCamp Africa, will be held at Google’s Silicon Valley campus this year. The one-day event, according to its web site, aims to bring people together to “exchange ideas, build connections, re-frame perceptions and catalyze action that leads to positive involvement and mutual benefit between Silicon Valley and the continent of Africa.”

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africa is the last bastion of cheap labour left in the world..it was only a matter of time before the globalisation and digitalisation of the african continent would begin..wonder why those handful of pirates have so many countries sending ships there to protect “the waters”.. or the cable layers??..isnt kenya where obama has his roots?? due for completion in june 2009 will mean some companies will be debased hard in the very near future..and look at the countries surrounding kenya..all strife torn..recipe for sending in the troops and the “nation builders”

401

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~ by seeker401 on March 30, 2009.