Ok, you’ve been hearing a lot about Startup Weekend lately…But maybe you aren’t still convinced as to WHY you should come…What’s in it for me, you ask? Well, allow me:

1. Education: Startup Weekends are all about learning. At Startup Weekend Nairobi,   you will get a chance to learn a new skill, programming or business language. Even more cool, your mindset and approach to life and business will change.
2. Enlarged network: Many other likeminded entrepreneurs will be attending this weekend. So it’s a safe bet that you will interact with other driven entrepreneurs who may be able to offer something new to your business, or in turn, give you the opportunity to offer them something in return.
3. Learn how to launch a business: You’ve probably been sitting on your business idea for so long, and wondering how to move it to the next level. Usually, Startup Weekend focuses on techies. But in Startup Weekend Nairobi, we have opened it up to entrepreneurs in a variety of fields- IT, agribusiness, communications, science & technology. Remember that many business problems have a potential technology solution. During this weekend, you will have 54 hours to revolutionize your idea and move it to the next level… why would you want to miss that?
4. Get face time with local and international mentors: No one is in a better position to help you than entrepreneurs who have tried (and sometimes failed) different business ventures. These are the kind of people that we are bringing to you during Startup Weekend Nairobi. The mentors, speakers, volunteers and judges that we have are seasoned entrepreneurs and will offer you invaluable advice and insight, something that you would probably have to pay heftily for.
5. Get access to valuable start-up resources: The winning teams will not only get a cash prize, but also incubation in some of the top business incubators in Nairobi.  A business incubator will offer you business support, helpful seminars and workshops, office space, & free internet access and a chance to interact with potential investors.

If you are still not convinced, I don’t know what will. Grab your ticket now…don’t miss out on the chance of a lifetime.

Today the project Mzalendo gets a relaunch at the Ihub, Mzalendo.com is a great initiative whos mission is stated as “to keep an eye on the Kenyan paliament”, the project co-founded by Conrad and Ory, is seeking to promote a greater public participation in politics, its funded by the Omidyar network.

You want to know about your paliamentarian, this is the site to visit, you will find current political positions, job history, their level of education, and most impressive is the scorecard, that allows you to rate and review the particular member. You can also share this information on social networking,and the ripple effect would be to create a debate around member profiles and leading to greater accountability.  We at the nailab congratulate Ory and Conrad on this great initiative.

1. In which battle did napoleon die ? -
   Answer: his last battle
2. Where was the declaration of independent signed -
   Answer: at the bottom
3. River Ravi flows in which State-
   Answer: liquid
4. What is the main reason for divorce -
   Answer: marriage
5. What is the main reason for failure -
   Answer: exams
6. What can you  never eat for breakfast -
   Answer: lunch and dinner
7. What looks like half an apple-
   Answer: the other half
8. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea, what will it become-
   Answer: wet
9. How can a man go eight days without sleep -
   Answer: he sleeps at night
10. How can you lift an elephant with one hand:-
    Answer: you will never find an elephant with one hand

Sam Gichuru discussion RISD ICT and Development

We held similar sessions with RISD (Rwanda imitative for sustainable development) ,  which is an Ngo based in Rwanda whose work is on policy’s and research geared towards the protection of natural resources, with an aim to reduce poverty .

brainstorming session with a team on social media and its impact in development aid

Sam Gichuru - Discussing ICT and social media with the team at CCOAIB

Sam Gichuru demonstrating use of microblogs to RDO http://www.rdorwanda.org

We held multiple breakout sessions with each organization for the next 3 days in Kigali, each morning routine involved being picked from the Gorillas Hotel and coming back to drop our bags late in the afternoon very exhausted, we covered around 6 organizations and still had a list pending that would have to wait for 2012.

The gorillas was a pretty good place to stay and was central to accessing Kigali, it’s actually a walking distance and we discovered this after paying huge amounts of money for cab drives.

For each break out session, we first did a brief analysis of each organization, measuring how well they adapt to new technologies, what technologies they used in running their day to day programs, and reviewing their current and future plan strategy on ICT.

Most organizations in Rwanda where quite ICT “savvy”, they had wifi connections, the staff had laptops and smart phones and most did use facebook but for personal use only very few acknowledge using twitter.

What seemed a-bit foreign was the use of this tools to facilitate communication within the organization and with partners, facebook was for personal use and after brainstorming and discussion we demonstrated how facebook can also work for the organization in keeping partners updated about project progress, and as a marketing tool to attract more donor funding or strategic partners, this included twitter and using phone videos, we demonstrated on micro blogging and digital story telling.