Kenyan Techie Lectures at the CeBIT in Hannover

 

Kenya has been well represented at the currently ongoing CeBIT trade fair in Hannover this week. 

James Odede, who describes himself as a “disruptive dreamer” on Twitter was on Tuesday at the CeBIT discussing “Startup Promotion for Digital Innovation in Africa” and “What can Germany learn from Africa?”.

Let me first explain why this is a BIG deal. CeBIT is the largest IT expo in the world, with close to a million attendants every year. Moreover, this techie isn’t your kawaida Nai techie, he comes from Maseno and is one of the brains behind the LakeHUB that was launched last week in Western Kenya. It’s a big deal because we’re having the world listening to experts from other parts of Kenya….I love it. The iHub in Nairobi is not the only place to be as a techie, we now have one in Kisumu.

A recent graduate from the Maseno University but already a serial entrepreneur, James is at the CeBIT on behalf of his other project, “Mobi-Dawa”. Mobidawa is a phone app that not only gives you details about different medicines, but also reminds you when to take your medicine. Moreover, it allows you to directly send your feedback to the phamarceutical companies.

James is also a fellow of the Ampion East Africa Program, which is run by Ampion Africa, a start-up from Berlin that helps finance start-ups in Africa. (Read: Ampion Venture Bus)

In addition to his involvement in the start-up scene, James also doubles up as a volunteer. He recently raised money from google to set up the Computer Science for High School (CS4HS) students program, and built the region’s first co-working space.