On July 8 2012, the Kenya Open Data Initiative
celebrated its one year anniversary. The initiative, launched by the President on
the same day last year, was aimed at making key government data freely
available to the public through a single online portal. The data available
would include such information as census, national and regional expenditure,
and information on key public services. So far,
the portal has been used in research and education, creation of Mashups - a Web page or application that uses and
combines data, presentation or functionality from two or more sources to create
new services - and journalism. Some of the Mashups include Kenya Budget Explorer, an initiative of Twaweza to
visualize the Kenyan budget, and Mzalendo, a portal that keeps an eye on the
Kenyan parliament highlighting the latest news as relating to parliament;
Hansard recordings; information on MPs and their participation in parliament.
The anniversary of Kenya Open Data Initiative was
celebrated at the Open Data Development for Development Camp held at the
iLabAfrica – Strathmore University on the 27th and the 28th of June 2012. The
event was organized by ICT Board Kenya, Kenya Open Data Initiative, Open for
Change, World Bank, NaiLab, @iLabAfrica, Akvo, 1%CLUB, Hivos, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and Development Gateway, among other
collaborators. The event assembled Government officials, educational
researchers, software developers, journalists and other players in the ICT
experts. The aim was to share experiences and networks, build tools, and show
the power of Open Data. In essence, the event highlighted the importance of
Government as a source of local content and how players in the ICT space would
enable the citizens to access data provided by Government.
Local content can be created either for local or global consumption, meaning contextual origin in the region it is utilized or served from. Another aspect of local content is content hosted in data centers that are local to the country, for instance the google cache servers in Kenya or the web content on the .co.ke domain names. At the moment, unfortunately, over 90% of Internet users in Kenya are net receivers of information from foreign sources in the US and Europe. How can we change this? The Kenya Open Data Initiative is certainly an effort towards the right direction. Citizens would be enticed to access local content if more Government services were available online such Identity Card and Passport application, Birth or Death Certificate application, Title Deed search and application, Business Licenses application and verification, Driving License renewal and so on. The mobile payment systems can be integrated for any form of payment required for the services.
Another way of creating local content is by capturing the local cultural activities and traditions or even better producing content in the local language. For instance; the locally contrived ‘Kulahappy’ comedy animations that have been done in Swahili. The XYZ show has also attracted online viewers, especially the Kenyans in Diaspora who want to catch with the local political intrigues. E-Commerce is an emerging concept of local content. Portals such as Mama Mike’s has provided a unique solution to facilitate incoming remittances by enabling Kenyans living abroad to send goods and services to their family and friends back home. Through the portal, Kenyans abroad can buy supermarket vouchers, buy airtime, pay electricity bills or school fees, send gifts or flowers and so on.
Funding can be a challenge in producing local content. In an effort to promote local content, Kenya ICT Board’s Tandaa has been running a $4 million three-year grant program to support the development of local digital content. Applicants can apply for up to $50,000 for companies, $10,000 for individuals and $150,000 matching grant for established companies. The short listed applicants are taken through a business strategy training that assists in understanding how to write a business plan, price products and develop a marketing strategy. The program began in 2010 with the first round of funding to 15 grantees worth $689,526 while the second round had 30 grantees selected for funding worth a total of $1.28 million. The second round has 2,000 applicants, indicating the quest of many Kenyans in venturing into creation of local content.
