Samsung launches world's first solar-powered notebook

Kenya is among the pioneer launch markets selected to enjoy the benefits of the world’s first solar powered laptop.

In a pioneering move, Samsung Electronics Nairobi office has confirmed the launch of the Samsung Netbook NC215S lap top in the local market as part of a global launch that kicked off in key African markets last week.

Speaking in Nairobi, Samsung Electronics East Africa Business Leader Mr. Robert Ngeru confirmed the availability of the new solar powered 10.1 inch solar powered-netbook in Kenya as part of the ongoing Samsung Built for Africa campaign.

The Samsung Netbook NC 215S Ngeru explained features an eye-catching and intelligent large front solar panel located on the cover of the netbook and will be available across the firm’s local dealer network.

The new Samsung solar laptop Ngeru said is loaded with a front cover panel that captures energy from the sun and allows the user to recharge the battery automatically and without cost.

“the Samsung Netbook NC 215S is an aggregation of Samsung's diverse forward thinking technologies and it satisfies the needs of global market consumers by integrating 'environmentally-friendly green IT technology,” Ngeru said.

 And added: “Using about 2 hours of bright-mid-day sun, the user can charge the battery life by one hour with a fully charged battery lasting up to 14 hours of usage, and the battery can be charged up to 1000 times over 3 years.” 

Samsung NC215S soalr notebook has great edge over other notebooks available in the market due to its 14.5 hours stand-by capability with to the others. 

The unveiling of the Samsung Netbook NC 215S comes just months after it was showcased at the Samsung Africa Forum event in Nairobi last May. During the electronics exhibition, the Samsung NC 215S attracted the attention of the public last especially considering the spotty electricity coverage in Africa. 

And following its African launch, the new solar powered Netbook is also set to be launched in Russia, the U.S, Europe, and South Korea before the end of this month.

Available only in black, the netbook’s solar panel can also be used to charge a smartphone, MP3 player and other devices via its USB port, even when the PC is switched off or in power-saving mode.

The Samsung Netbook NC 215S also features an ultra-portable and stylish design, weigh­ing just 1.3kg and featuring a slim display rim that’s as thin as a finger. The new laptop is also loaded with a SuperBright anti-reflective display and can do almost anything with a powerful dual-core Intel® AtomTM processor and genuine Windows® 7 Starter.

 

US certifies BlackBerry Smart Card Reader secure

 August 22, 2011

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) announced today that the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader™ has achieved FIPS 140-2 certification level 3 – the highest certification achieved by any wireless smart card reader on the market. Smart cards support security programs like the U.S. Department of Defense’s Common Access Card (CAC) program and the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) which calls for a mandatory, government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the federal government to its employees and to the employees of federal contractors. FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) certifications are assigned by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

 “Our customers value the robust security provided with BlackBerry products and services and smart card readers are particularly important within the government sector,” said Scott Totzke, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Security at Research In Motion. “This advanced certification of the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader for the U.S. Federal Government demonstrates our ongoing commitment to meet and exceed the expectations of our government customers.”

The BlackBerry Smart Card Reader is designed to work with personal identification cards issued by government organizations or other high-security organizations. Users insert a smart card into this lightweight reader and wear it on a lanyard as a two-factor authentication device for secure access to BlackBerry smartphones, desktop computers and facilities.  BlackBerry smartphones and desktop computers automatically lock when the user’s smart card is not in proximity.

 FIPS 140-2 level 3 certification of the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader also verifies advanced security features of the smart card reader itself, such as tamper evidence and self destruction of critical security parameters upon device breach.

World Bank responds drought in Horn of Africa with US$500 million aid

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2011 – On the eve of the international emergency summit on the unfolding tragedy in the Horn of Africa, the World Bank today announced it is providing more than US$500 million to assist drought victims, in addition to US$12 million in immediate assistance to help those worst hit by the crisis.

More than 11 million people in the region have been hit by one of the worst droughts in 60 years, resulting in widespread hunger, deaths, and the loss of subsistence crops and livestock. Rising food prices and deteriorating livestock prices have exacerbated the situation, and the UN is warning of worsening conditions in the coming months.

Immediate relief and recovery is the first priority, and it is important to act fast to reduce human suffering,” said World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick. “But we also have an eye on the long term solutions of economic recovery and drought resilience that are key to re-establishing livelihoods and ensuring that droughts don’t take such a heavy human toll in the future.”

The International Development Association (IDA) which serves as the World Bank's Fund for the Poorest, and the donor-funded Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) are making these funds available with more than US$500 million coming from restructuring of existing projects and immediate reallocation and fast track processing of new projects, including with funding from IDA's new Crisis Response Window, subject to approval by the Board of Executive Directors.  This funding could support the following activities: (a) a regional Enhanced Drought Resilience and Livestock Recovery Program to restore livelihood in all countries in the region; (b) scale up - through additional financing - of the Ethiopia Pastoralist Community Development Project; and the Productive Safety Net Program; (c) a possible new agriculture operation in Ethiopia; and (d) a possible operation in Djibouti. Another US$12 million will be immediately available in GFDRR financing to rehabilitate rural livelihoods; build drought resilience; assist farmers resume planting in time for the next harvest through cash transfers, seeds, fertilizer, and farming tools. In Somalia, the support program will be implemented building on previous rapid response operations and partnership with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and on their presence and ability to deliver in Somalia’s most affected areas, where circumstances permit.

The GFDRR funds are also immediately available for increased payments through the Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Program in Kenya while also supporting regional drought resilience planning based on regional needs assessment and developing regional capacity in Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience.

Following decades of recurring droughts in the Horn of Africa, several World Bank-financed projects have established contingency and risk financing mechanisms that will be used to immediately scale up response to drought affected communities.

 “The recurring nature of drought and growing risk it poses to social and economic gains in this region calls not only for immediate relief from the current situation, but also for building long term drought resilience,” said Obiageli Ezekwesili, World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region.

 This World Bank support builds on strong collaboration with national governments, international agencies, regional and non-governmental organizations. This support includes drought impact assessment in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) and early livelihood recovery in partnership with the FAO. The World Bank is also supporting countries to develop early warning systems and strengthen drought management agencies that help plan crisis response.

A Wake-Up Call for Agriculture in a Changing Climate

 “This food crisis in Eastern Africa is another startling example of why international partners need to put food first,” said Zoellick. “Agriculture is one-third of GDP and three-quarters of employment in Sub-Saharan Africa. When a crisis like this hits, millions of people suffer.

Agriculture is more vulnerable to climate change than any other sector. We need a major international effort to address this challenge now. Climate-smart agriculture, including scaled-up research on drought resistant seeds, and cross-border strategies for drought risk reduction are essential over the medium and long term.”

In the longer term, it is important for countries in the Horn of Africa to prepare for recurring droughts that climate change will make more intense. An integrated approach to food security, poverty, and climate change is needed. The World Bank announced in April 2011 that rising food prices have pushed 44 million people into poverty since June 2010. Another 10 percent rise in the food price index could push 10 million more people into poverty. Global action is critical and international partners could help by supporting small holder farmers with seeds, fertilizer, better weather forecasting, and monitoring crop production; creating better ways to get produce to markets; providing food and effective social safety nets for the most vulnerable.

The World Bank Group is boosting agriculture and agriculture-related investment to US$6 - US$8 billion a year from US$4.1 billion in 2008. The past two years of implementation of the Africa Region’s agricultural strategy achieved more than a doubling of finance to the sector, from about US$0.5 billion per year in 2008 to US$1.2 billion annually averaged over 2009-2010. The World Bank’s Agriculture Action Plan emphasizes increased support in five areas: raising agricultural productivity; linking farmers to markets; reducing risk and vulnerability; improving nonfarm rural employment; and making agriculture more environmentally sustainable, as well as a source of positive environmental services.

Mobikash unveils network-free mobile commerce platform

MobiKash Afrika Limited, a private company incorporated in Kenya, unveiled on Thursday last week the first independent mobile commerce ecosystem in the country.

The platform, which will work across all four GSM networks (Safaricom, Airtel, Orange and Yu) and across all participating banks in Kenya,  will deliver a wide range of services through a growing network of banks and agents.

The MobiKash platform is developed in partnership with Sybase 365, a global leader in mobile commerce and messaging services, with more than 700 mobile operators and an estimated 3 billion subscribers around the world.

The launch follows a rigorous one year pilot programme in three banks - National Bank of Kenya, Postbank and Transnational Bank - in compliance with the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) and Central Bank of Kenya regulatory frameworks.

MobiKash’s CEO Duncan Oduor Otieno said at the launch his company was in talks with players in the financial services sector to bring on board more banks. 

"We are happy to be at the forefront of delivering a revolutionary product that will significantly grow the financial services landscape, by leveraging technology," he said. "The potential for this new mobile commerce ecosystem is unlimited, and the one-year pilot phase has given us an opportunity to gauge some of the ripple effects of such a service in this market."

He said apart from spurring job creation and stimulating economic growth, MobiKash also presents a unique opportunity for individuals and organisations to transform the way they manage their finances.

For the unbanked, MobiKash will offer a universal bank account through its network of agents, which will allow the potential customers to pick a bank account of their choice.  The Popote Account will be accessible through any MobiKash agent, as well as through any of the partnering banks.  This, according to Mr Otieno, will bridge the gap between the banked and the unbanked population.

MobiKash chairperson Muthoni Kuria said that the MobiKash model also allows bank customers to conveniently withdraw cash directly from their bank accounts at any of the MobiKash agent outlet without revealing their bank account details to the agents. MobiKash thus allows one agent to conveniently and seamlessly serve all the banks in the market.

MobiKash customers will have the capability to link up to 15 bank accounts to their mobile wallet. This innovation is the first of its kind in the world, according to the company.

Central Bank of Kenya Governor Njuguna Ndung'u hailed the new sevice and said MobiKash had fulfilled all the necessary statutory requirements to offer Mobile Money Transfer Mervices and Integrated Mobile Banking and Payment System.

Information Minister Samuel Poghisio said Kenya continues to make good progress in its quest to leverage ICT in delivering tangible benefits across the socio-economic spectrum.  He said: “With our efforts concerted towards achieving Vision 2030, innovative breakthroughs such as these take us many steps closer towards realising the broader ideals across diverse frontiers.”

He said that the launch of MobiKash would complement initiatives GSM operators that have so far seen about 14.5 million subscribers access mobile-based financial services.

The company targets to enroll about 300,000 subscribers within the first six months of its operations.  MobiKash subscribers will access the wide range of services to be provided by over3,000 agents  who have already been contracted to be activated after this launch. MobiKash plans to enlist more agents across all the 47 counties in the next six months.

20 East Africans win Acumen Fund business fellowships

By Alfred Otieno Ogola

The Inaugural Acumen Fund East Africa Fellows programme has been launched featuring 20 of the region’s top business innovators in the field of Social change development.

Drawn from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, the fellows will receive high-quality training in leadership and social change development, geared towards building a community of future leaders who will address the needs of their own communities.

“The aim for the East African Fellows programme is to harness the power of social innovation in creating solutions to the region’s most pressing problems. Though hundreds of NGOs exist in East Africa, pumping millions of dollars in foreign assistance each year, people are still living in and dying of  poverty”, said Jacqueline Novogratz the Founder and Global Chief Executive of Acumen Fund, based in New York.

Novograts explained that real change and development in East Africa, would only come through a radical change in approach to social problems, defined by a bold set of East African business, nonprofit, and government leaders.

Among the fellows is Edward Agaba, senior business advisor leading the “Consolidating The Gains” project, by TechnoServe Uganda. The project that aims to increase the incomes of smallholder farmers by reducing the transaction costs along the banana value chain has so far reached 26,000 farmers in the districts of Mbarara, Isingiro and Ntungamo in south western Uganda.

Another beneficiary is Julio De Souza, Chief Operating Officer of Nuru Energy of Rwanda. A social enterprise that produces and distributes low-cost rechargeable lanterns, the firm has sold over 12,000 units in East Africa, and aims to sell five million lanterns by 2015.

The first of its kind in the region, the East Africa Fellows Program that borrows from the success of the Acumen Fund’s Global Fellows Program, is a partnership with the KCB Foundation that has donated Sh16 million towards the initiative.

“By supporting initiatives like these we hope to maintain and showcase our leadership in the region as we move towards our ambition to become the preferred financial solutions provider in Africa, with global reach”, said Dr. Martin Oduor-Otieno the KCB Group Chief Executive.

The prestigious fellowship is a twelve month program aimed at supporting sustainable business with potential for a big social impact. Among others, the fellows will receive support in refining and scaling up their own projects through execution skills developed over the course of the year. 

The class of 2011-2012 will have access to a network of African and global leaders who are developing innovative solutions to poverty, in addition to continual guidance and mentorship on strategy, innovation and problem solving.

The fellows will be taken through five multiday seminars, a regional study trip of social change models in other countries and which shall then culminate in an innovation conference where they will showcase their projects and newly acquired skills.

Also in the inaugural class are Patricia Leila Jumi, Managing Director of GrowthAfrica Capital in Uganda, which has assisted over 1500 small business owners and entrepreneurs grow their businesses into strong and profitable companies.

Rachel Gichinga is, Co-Founder of Kuweni Serious, online change makers initiative that targets educated and middle class Kenyans. Joining her is Soiya Gecaga, Founder and Executive Director of “We The Change” Foundation, which seeks to provide early childhood education and care to children in marginalized communities in Kenya.

Other fellows include Charles Kalama Founder & Director of EcoPost, an integrated waste management company that utilizes waste plastic as a resource to manufacture aesthetic, durable and environmentally friendly fencing posts.

 Also in the 2011-2012 class is Wagikuyu Miring'u Marketing Coordinator for Kickstart International, which aims to transform Africa from subsistence to commercial agriculture through low-cost capital equipment.