#hivecolab

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Labeja Yafes has developed a solar stove...with capacity to cook food in 1 hour max with adequate sunshine @lmarkreiff @BOSCOUganda http://pic.twitter.com/Ls834A1xCW

— Hive Colab (@hivecolab) August 19, 2017

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Hub Jumpin'

Tomorrow I’ll hit up my fifth innovation hub in Africa. I’ve been lucky to have had the opportunity to visit several different co-working labs and tinker spaces during my two months in Kenya. It’s exciting to experience hubs at different levels of maturity with varying approaches to change. I am thankful for my association with Kenya’s own iHub, which maintains a certain cache and reputation in the tech hub community. I’ve noticed that dropping the iHub name works a bit like a skeleton key, allowing known associates access to a number of Africa’s tech labs—and perhaps more importantly, their managers. These thought leaders and visionaries have been particularly helpful as I begin to weave together a cohesive story for my forthcoming thesis (focused on the trickle-down effects of Africa’s tech hubs). Besides interviewing Erik Hersman at the iHub, I’ve met with managers at Kampala’s Hive Colab and this Thursday I will venture to South Africa’s Jozihub in Johannesburg. Smart people with smart ideas working to inspire smart change in Africa. Smart.

While labs like the iHub and the Hive Colab appear seemingly independent, many are connected through a larger umbrella network called AfriLabs. According to their website, “AfriLabs exists to support the growth of communities around African technology hubs and to encourage expansion of the network by providing tools and resources for new and emerging labs.” It is great to see AfriLabs link best practices and best people across countries and disciplines, connecting disparate dots throughout the continent. This type of coordinating body can help set a course for Africa’s tech hubs—allowing them to calibrate their short-term and long-term goals. I certainly need to do more research on the AfriLabs model.

But beyond talking to people at places like the iHub and governing bodies like AfriLabs, I am quickly realizing that I need some context from labs located outside of the African continent. After wrapping up my summer in Kenya, I aim to glean more insights by exploring hubs in my own backyard. Cambridge, Massachusetts is a hotbed of innovation thanks to MIT, Harvard, and the city’s incredible density of graduate degrees. Only a few blocks from my house lies the Cambridge Innovation Center (or CIC). CIC claims to have “more startups than anywhere on the planet”. While this fact seems suspect, the CIC is definitely working on the edge of change. I better get myself back to Massachusetts to understand what makes the CIC tick and see if there are any exportable lessons for Africa’s own tech ecosystem. A trip to MIT’s Media Lab is also in order. Ethan Zuckerman of the Media Lab's Center for Civic Media sits on Ushahidi’s Board of Directors—and I have a feeling that Ethan would have some salient advice for my thesis, and frankly, my career. But for now, onward to South Africa. 

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Time for a Rolex

While only 400 miles from Nairobi, Kampala feels a world apart from life in Kenya. This weekend I hopped on an Embraer 190 and flew to Entebbe for a weekend reunion with Team Fletcher—East Africa style. The trip was a needed shot in the arm, providing a slice of Medford, Massachusetts in the middle of the Ugandan jungle. Four wayward Fletchies—me, Clint, Anjali, and Heather—all assembled in Kololo, a leafy neighborhood perched on one of Kampala’s seven hills before heading eastward for some R&R in Jinja. Our crew spent the majority of our time in Jina, lounging nearby the Nile River. Our schedule consisted of mandated pool time, chilled Club beers, and an intense daylong whitewater rafting expedition. And though I do hold a special place in my heart for Nairobi, the long weekend was a lovely escape from the traffic and smog of Kenya’s “Green City in the Sun”.

Before rafting/swimming/nearly drowning in the Nile (pinch me…the Nile!) our group toured the Hive Colab, a tech and innovation workspace located in Kampala. The Hive maintains a complimentary mission to the iHub: incubate and educate young businessmen and businesswomen, providing them an array of opportunities to flex their entrepreneurial acumen. On Friday, we met with Hive managers Barbara Birungi and Brian Ndyaguma. Both were incredibly helpful and spoke candidly about the unique interaction between tech and employment in Kampala.

Brian noted, “Technology is a double-sided blade. Consider this: When you create a good app you often rob the economy of jobs—so you have to proceed carefully.” He emphasized the importance of thinking through the positive and potentially negative effects of Uganda’s venture into the knowledge economy.

Barbara had similar things to say about Hive’s emphasis on creating quality jobs in Uganda. In a recent blog post, she underscored the importance of generating ideas that in turn generate jobs—particularly in a country where young unemployment stands at 82 percent. It was exciting to see Barbara and Brian’s hope to harness the positive power of technology for the betterment of all Ugandans.

But beyond rivers and routers, I think my favorite part of the visit was my encounter with the Ugandan rolex. No, it’s not a flashy watch but rather a thin omelet wrapped in a warm chapati (flat, unleavened bread). So, why aren’t these bad boys available in Kenya? I am sure they would sell like hotcakes—quite literally.

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TMS Ruge is a young Ugandan, involved in several creative and development projects in his home country.