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by Tim R Nichols

Africa, Tech Hubs, & GDP

October 20, 2012 in Africa, iCat Fellow 2012, LGT VP, M2M by Tim R Nichols

The tech market in Africa is currently growing at an exponencial rate as the fiber optic cables reach the barren coasts from Senegal to South Africa. Tech hubs are sprouting up almost as fast as companies looking to invest in emerging models to enter the market. Cell phone penetration is at an all time high where the conversion from “feature phone” (basic Nokias) to smart phones is under way creating new opportunities in the market.

There is a direct correlation between the GDP growth and tech hubs in Africa where incubation labs will introduce new business practices, development, programmers, entrepreneurs, creatives and investors with a space to work, network, and create.

Using the Usahidi platform, you can view this correlation mapped out:

https://africahubs.crowdmap.com/

These spaces will become the central nervous system for tech in the community and serve as a landing pad for technology and business in Africa. They will be key in facilitating new points of exchange for long-term expats, fellows, and finding local talent to be submerged in the next wave of innovation from the bottom up in Africa.

The GDP growth in Africa:

And the tech hubs:

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by Tim R Nichols

MBPT rollout @m2m

August 8, 2012 in iCat Fellow 2012, LGT VP, M2M, mothers2mothers by Tim R Nichols

Monday was the big day for the mother baby pair tracking project where we rolled out 20 smartphones to five sites around South Africa in one of the poorest townships in the country called Khayelitsha.

m2m works filling the gaps where the country’s medical system fails to provide adequate medical attention to patients, and in a place where the HIV rate is one out of ever four people, time is critical for these women.

The tracking program is designed to help m2m employees locate and update the client’s record from the field using smart phones to help make them adhere to the medication schedule. If they fail to take the medication on time, the body can build up a resistance and it’s likely they will pass the virus on to the baby.

Along with client record retrieval, the system also adds the electronic forms to queues based on where they are in the antenatal or postnatal process, notifies the mentor mother of upcoming tasks, and will go as far as sending an SMS to the client for their appointment.

A couple pictures from the rollout from the sites:

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by Tim R Nichols

mHealth kick off @ m2m

July 26, 2012 in iCat Fellow 2012, LGT VP, M2M, mothers2mothers by Tim R Nichols

This week I started the user acceptance training (UAT) for one of the largest rollouts of mHealth to date at mothers2mothers. The system will capture information through a smart phone and record all the data throughout the PMTCT cascade to help deliver healthy babies.

The mHealth system for tracking and evaluation will be used to link the HIV positive mother starting with the first visit at any of the sites in South Africa, until 18 months after she has delivered her baby. The m2m mentor mother will have the device on hand and be able to query key indicators during the PMTCT cycle which should compliment the entire process. Because of the migratory nature of the clients, previously it was difficult to measure how effective the program was when the mothers went from one site to another, sometimes in the same day. The previous paper based system would not allow the mentor mother from one site to know that the client had already visited a m2m client, which clinic, when, and for what.

The system is using a custom built application installed on the smart phone and is connected to a custom server in the main office. The application will also send notifications based on a queue to help with active client followup, or ACFU.

This very ambitious process is scheduled for rollout next week, so stay tuned for more updates from the field!

Some pictures from training:

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by Tim R Nichols

m2m in action – photos

June 20, 2012 in Africa, iCat Fellow 2012, M2M by Tim R Nichols

Enjoy some pictures from the sites where mothers2mothers works across Africa:

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by Tim R Nichols

Fringe Benefits – iCats Program

May 16, 2012 in Africa, iCat Fellow 2012, M2M by Tim R Nichols

One of the great things working as an iCat in new countries, cities, and continents are the endless options for exploration. This last week I jumped on a plane and in two hours I landed in Maputo. Maputo is the capital of Mozambique, which has had a turbulent past and sits on the East Coast of Africa on the Indian ocean. I worked my way up the coast landing in fishing villages, townships, and small cities where I visited with people, ate local cuisine, and relaxed on the 25 degree Celsius water of the Indian ocean.

Being fluent in Spanish helped me break the language barrier as the majority of the country speaks Portugese as it was under control of Portugal until 1975. I lived in Argentina for five years, and often visited Brazil where I noticed that suddenly Portugese makes sense after picking up Spanish. The people in Mozambique are super nice, intense, and willing to help with anything.

One of things I noticed was the excessive amount of garbage spread all throughout the country. I asked around and it turns out that the sanitation process was never properly developed and thus the streets are the dumping grounds. It’s sad to see as the city of Maputo has potencial to be a great place and is missing a proper system of waste disposal. The majority of the waste seemed to be plastic, and it seems like a posible solution could be a plastic-to-energy solution as much of the southern tip of Africa is also lacking sustainable amounts of energy and is hindering overall growth.

Regardless of issues the country might have, it’s a stunningly beautiful place:


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by Tim R Nichols

Site Visit Reality – Khayelitsha

April 11, 2012 in Africa, iCat Fellow 2012, M2M by Tim R Nichols

Last week I went on my first “site visit” (sites are the clinics where the women from m2m work) with mothers2mothers after hearing so much about it. One thing is to work in an office were I have daily meetings in virtual rooms mapping out workflows for processes that have been dictated by program and support staff, but it is a completely different reality to drive 30 minutes outside the city to see where they will be implemented. When I arrive to the clinic, I notice the queue of women sitting patiently with their babies waiting for a visit with the m2m staff who works diligently at attending to their concerns and needs, helping make them feel confortable. The m2m clinic is tidy and organized and located next to the main health clinic in the informal township called Khayelitsha. The township is in dire need of health care education/HIV prevention with m2m helping to fill the gaps where it has a population of around 450,000 and over 40% are below the age of 19. Around 70% of residents still live in shacks and one in three people has to walk 200 meters or further to access water with an HIV prevalence rate of around 30%.

However dire the circumstances, in small, tight communities interesting things happen including such innovations as the Community Exchange Program where people can register to work and then earn credit, which eventually leads to obtaining goods and other services. A social network by which no legal tender is associated but people are able to purchase and redeem credit for hours worked. Another great inspiration is the Khayelistsha football for hope center built by steetfootballworld, which are supported by LGT VP and fellow iCats. Alongside those innovative social projects the mentor mothers from m2m work to control the spread of HIV to newborn babies silently under the cover of the tin roofed houses that make up the town.

As I drove out of Khayelitsha running over extension cables crossing the road that are used for power between the sectors of the villages, I realized the real value of my work and the challenges that lie ahead.

Pictures from Khayelitsha:

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