Dotsavvey CIO, Moses Kemibaro, gave a presentation that looked at a brief history of online business in Kenya. The fiber optic cables that now land on the shores of Kenya will have the same massive impact as the Kenya-Uganda railway had on the economy when it was build in the late 19th century, Kemibaro argued in his presentation. The missing link for growth of the Internet in Kenya is content. "Lots of local content already exists, but its not online," he says, "It has to be digitized, edited, packaged and delivered on the Internet and mobile." Presented at the Tandaa Symposium on Local Digital Content, March 8, 2010 at the iHub-Nairobi's Innovation Hub. Hosted by Kenya ICT Board, sponsored by Google.

2. The Internet in Kenya:
15 years on...
Moses Kemibaro
Tandaa Kenya
8th March 2010

3. Leading Thought.
“The future is already here,
its just not very evenly
distributed”.
- William Gibson, Writer and Author.
Quoted the term “Cyberspace”.

4. What does the future look like?

5. Think “The Lunatic Express”.
 The Kenya-Uganda Railway built
between 1895 and 1901 by the
British Colonial Government in East
Africa.
 In today's value cost US$ 793 million
to build when books closed in 1902.
 Ultimately drove massive economic
development in East Africa, and its
still in use to this day.
 So, what about digital local content?

6. We've come a long way....

7. A long way indeed...

8. To get this far...

9. What did the Internet look like in 1995/98?
 Largely analogue dial-up connections
– drops we're a way of life!
 Expensive (Kes. 20,000.00 per
month). Store and forward email.
 Used BBS platfoms mostly.
 “Real” Internet access (web) was
rare. Mostly email and forums.
 The Fax machine was our biggest
competitor.

10. How did the web work back then?
 Very slow – you literally waited for
web pages to load.
 Leased lines we're few and
expensive. KPTC “owned” the last
mile.
 Regulation was highly restrictive.
 ISP's we're few and spent a lot on
bandwidth per month.
 But it grew, and grew, and grew.....

11. Its all changed now...
 SEACOM and TEAMS go live 2009.
 ICT Legislation passed in 2009.
 4m internet users. 18M mobile users.
2m million mobile internet users.
 Mobile IS Internet for many Kenyans.
 Mobile Money is (now) well
entrenched. 8+ million on M-Pesa.
 Last mile is improving, and evolving.
 Internet access costs dropping.

12. But digital local content (still) lags behind.
 There is very limited digital local
content in Kenya – this is going to a
massive opportunity, and a challenge!
 Lots of local content already exists,
but its not online. It has to be
digitized, edited, packaged and
delivered on the Internet and mobile.
 Original content created specifically
for digital channels will be key.
 Content > Interest > Growth > Value!

13. Key factors for digital local content success.
 Availability – Is it readily accessible to
me and can I use it?
 Context – Is it interesting to me?
 Relevance – Does it matter to me?
 Quality – Is it of a high enough
standard for me?
 Cost – Is it affordable enough for me
to access?
 ALL of the above have to be met!

14. Thanks! Questions?
Moses Kemibaro
e: moses@moseskemibaro.com
w: www.moseskemibaro.com
t: www.twitter.com/moseskemibaro
f: www.facebook.com/moseskemibaro