- skunkworks - Skunkworks Site

Real-time election transmission
by Jambo Creative 08 Mar '17

08 Mar '17

Hi Skunks, As elections are gearing up, i made an app that allows users participate in mock elections and view the aggregate poll results in real-time. This was mostly a project to prove that real-time election data transmission is possible. Please see below, what the app is all about. Amua is Kenya's first mock election platform that allows you to participate in mock elections by voting for your preferred candidate across a variety of electoral areas and view the results in real-time on the mobile app. You can also view the presidential results in real-time on our website. The app is available for download here --> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devs.prevenes.amua1 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devs.prevenes.amua> The video on how to use the app is available here --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuRrDYokzzA2 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuRrDYokzzA> Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Regards, Jame

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Fwd: Open Forum : #ShineTheLight on March 8h!
by Barrack Otieno 08 Mar '17

08 Mar '17

Dear Listers, This is for your information and attention. Best Regards ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lia Kiessling via Internet Society <Mail(a)connectedcommunity.org> Date: Wed, Mar 8, 2017 at 1:28 AM Subject: Open Forum : #ShineTheLight on March 8h! To: otieno.barrack(a)gmail.com Hello Open Forum! I can't believe it's been a year since we launched #ShineTheLight! This year the UN has chosen the theme Be Bold for Change... == Please, reply above this line == ------------------------------ Open Forum <https://connect.internetsociety.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer…> #ShineTheLight on March 8h! <https://connect.internetsociety.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer…> [image: Lia Kiessling] <https://connect.internetsociety.org/people/lia-kiessling> Mar 7, 2017 5:28 PM Lia Kiessling <https://connect.internetsociety.org/people/lia-kiessling> Hello Open Forum! I can't believe it's been a year since we launched #ShineTheLight! This year the UN has chosen the theme “Be Bold for Change” so we’re celebrating women who are boosting online trust. These can be women who are building the technology that drives the Internet, to bloggers speaking out against human rights violations, or any number of the millions of women out there who are making the Internet a more inclusive place just by logging on. *How to take part* If you’re on social media, you can share your story using the hashtag #ShineTheLight This year we are also using the tag #ShePersisted <https://twitter.com/hashtag/shepersisted> – a hashtag that’s a great one to follow for conversations on women who are out there and pushing for change. *Here's an example:* I want to #ShineTheLight on @ildasim <https://twitter.com/ildasim> for making sure everyone has a chance to lend a digital hand #ShePersisted More tomorrow and Happy International Women's Day! Lia ------------------------------ kiessling(a)isoc.org Senior Manager, Creative Content Note: replies will be sent to the full discussion group. ------------------------------ *Reply to Sender Online <https://connect.internetsociety.org/communities/all-discussions/postreply/?…>* *View Thread <https://connect.internetsociety.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer…>* *Flag as Inappropriate <https://connect.internetsociety.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer…>* You are subscribed to "Open Forum" as otieno.barrack(a)gmail.com. To change your subscriptions, go to My Subscriptions <http://connect.internetsociety.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions>. To unsubscribe from this community discussion, go to Unsubscribe <http://connect.internetsociety.org/HigherLogic/eGroups/Unsubscribe.aspx?Use…> . -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Vpn config ..open vpn and pptp vpn
by geoffrey gitagia 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

Hi Guys Quick one.. I've configured both open vpn and pptp vpns and both are working well except that whenever the client connects it locks out users.. Now here is the setup Vpn server is on my LAN behind a firewall Client machine is on the cloud Both vpns work Objectives 1. Use my LAN monitoring server to get snmp stats from the cloud server 2. Continue accessing the cloud server outside my LAN via its public ip

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skunkworks Quote: Migrate Mails From Cpanel to Google Apps
by Mary Wabera 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

Hi, Update... 500 Email accounts, each email address is about 300 MB Google apps has already been bought. Indicate how many hours it will take to migrate the entire bunch Regards Wabera On Mon, Mar 6, 2017 at 12:00 PM, <skunkworks-request(a)lists.my.co.ke> wrote: > Send skunkworks mailing list submissions to > skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > skunkworks-request(a)lists.my.co.ke > > You can reach the person managing the list at > skunkworks-owner(a)lists.my.co.ke > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of skunkworks digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Quote: Migrate Mails From Cpanel to Google Apps (Mary Wabera) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 6 Mar 2017 11:37:28 +0300 > From: Mary Wabera <marywabera(a)gmail.com> > To: Skunkworks Mailing List <skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke> > Subject: [Skunkworks] Quote: Migrate Mails From Cpanel to Google Apps > Message-ID: > <CAK+rsT+MARD9vknBuHyTabdMsaM+Wo4t9mh67L3OT8h3zr5fNA@mail. > gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Hello, > > A friend of mine is looking for someone to migrate his organisation mails > from c panel to google Apps, anyone who can do it please inbox me with a > quote. > > Regards > Wabera >

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Quote: Migrate Mails From Cpanel to Google Apps
by Mary Wabera 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

Hello, A friend of mine is looking for someone to migrate his organisation mails from c panel to google Apps, anyone who can do it please inbox me with a quote. Regards Wabera

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EANOG Mailing List...
by Michael Bullut 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

Greetings Team, Anyone still using the aforementioned mailing list? Warm regards, Michael Bullut. --- *Cell:* *+254 723 393 114.**Skype Name:* *Michael Bullut.* *Twitter:* * @Kipsang <http://twitter.com/Kipsang/>* *Blog: http://www.kipsang.com/ <http://www.kipsang.com/>* *E-mail:* *main(a)kipsang.com <main(a)kipsang.com>* *---*

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iPhone 6 plus Sim card Tray - Model 1524
by Alvin Ochola 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

Afternoon Skunks Anyone with an extra simcard tray for this phone or know where I can purchase one kindly assist. Regards Alvin Ochola Sales Director Greenline Technology Limited -ICT Solutions Cell +254 - 722 - 313923;Watsapp +254 - 722 - 313923;Skype - <alvinochola>

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Government websites
by Oliver Ndegwa 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

Hi Listers, Just saw this as a requirement for a website developer in a GOK agency RFP.. ----------- The Lead developer; Qualification and Experience of the Lead Consultant in similar assignment ;; i) At least a Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in ICT, Computer Science, Web designs or related field with a minimum of 7 years of professional experience; - 15Marks ii) At least a Master’s Degree or equivalent in ICT, Law, Business Administration, Public Administration or related field with a minimum of Five years – 15marks iii) Less than five years’ experience but not below I year - 3marks iv) 10 Extra marks for 15yrs experience in development of Web development for Public organization -10marks (Attach Employment records including length of service and projects handled. -------------------- Like really for a website. or am wrong.. I don't get it Warm Regards, Oliver Ndegwa

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Re: [Skunkworks] Launch of the Digital Gender Gap Audit Scorecard and Workshop for leaders and ICT Industry Stakeholders
by Barrack Otieno 02 Mar '17

02 Mar '17

Listers, The above mentioned meeting is happening now. You can participate remotely through the following link: https://livestream.com/accounts/23663258/iaowirat The meeting is organized by the International Association of Women in Radio and Television with the support of the World Wide Web Foundation, the Embassy of the United States of America and UNESCO. Best Regards -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Safaricom Email
by geoffrey gitagia 28 Feb '17

28 Feb '17

Dear Skunks Anyone having issues with safaricom Emails? My accounts hosted on their email platform were compromised , i told them it's a issue on their side they need to investigate , they have refused and now its a send a test message every hour or so ... Also just read about some banks being hit by ransomware and some 4 million websites hacked.. No details on the above . -- GG

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Nice Article on Disaster Preparedness(or the Lack-of)
by Denis G. Wahome 27 Feb '17

27 Feb '17

Hi, Just come across this from a different forum; https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/02/23/kcl_external_review/ Regards, Denis

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Fw: [kictanet] "Talk to Safaricom" Way Forward
by Walubengo J 27 Feb '17

27 Feb '17

Apologies for crossposting. FYI. walu. ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Grace Githaiga via kictanet <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Cc: Grace Githaiga <ggithaiga(a)kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Monday, February 27, 2017 11:31 AM Subject: Re: [kictanet] "Talk to Safaricom" Way Forward #yiv1441484591 body, #yiv1441484591 p, #yiv1441484591 td, #yiv1441484591 div, #yiv1441484591 span{font-size:13px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;}#yiv1441484591 #yiv1441484591 body p{margin:0px;}Thank you so much Steve for taking time to engage with the community. You shared alot of information and I am sure the community will feel free to engage with Safaricom going forward. We applaud all listers who kept the debate alive and asked questions that elicited information that has not been in the public domain. The plan now is that Walu will compile the responses in a report form, but provide an executive summary. The executive summary will form part of the presentation during the cocktail and listers will be free to ask questions that they deem not satisfactory or those that need further clarification. Walu will complete this task in another two weeks. So we are talking of March 10. The cocktail will be held at a date to be announced in due course. So keep it here! Once again, thank you all who participated. This engagement has been valuable. Best regards Githaiga, Grace On Friday, 24-02-2017 at 13:42 Stephen Chege wrote: Dear all Below are the responses to the Supplementary Questions that have been asked following earlier responses. Again, please feel free to ask follow-ups. As mentioned, it has been great engaging with you all. Walu and Grace over to you now for the next steps. regards Steve Machuhi.Good and well thought through responses except bundles expiry... not convincing. If bundles must expire, why not 'convert' them into airtime - you'd still have your revenue assured. Or create an Expired Bundles' Foundation and donate them to a cause of victim's choice. It does feel like theft--Machuhi, thanks for your suggestion. However as I mentioned before, Safaricom is among the few operators that allows customers to “rollover” the expired resources only requiring you to top up your line to reactivate them. Walu@Steve, Still absorbing some of your responses. On affordability of data you wroteOver the last 7 years, the price of data on our network has dropped by 80% for example, in 2010, one GB was Sh2,500 versus the current Sh500. Over the last year, we further reduced the price of data on our network by 37%. We keep on reviewing customer needs and react accordingly where we can. Data in Kenya is relatively more affordable than say South Africa (where 1GB is Sh582), US (where 1GB is Sh1,814) and in the UK (1Gb is Sh1,944).It seems ITU has a different way of looking at affordability. They look at the monthly cost of entry level mobile data (500MB) as a percentage of the country's Gross National Income. So whereas the cost in real terms for data in Kenya maybe equal to or less than what is charged in SA, UK or USA, the Kenyan citizen bears a bigger burden in accessing internet - given our lower income levels. Indeed from the Measuring Info Society 2016 report (pg136). ITU place the mobile data affordability for Kenya at 136 out the 178 global economies surveyed. What’s your take on this? Interesting and valid perspective Walu. However it is also important to take into account the level of development and enabling environment (or lack thereof) of where the network is located. In Kenya, while you can enjoy the same 4G experience as say someone in say in New York, the cost of rolling out services here is prohibitively high as it is not a build-on on existing infrastructure but actual greenfield rollout. The cost of putting up BTS, wayleaves for backhaul fibre, microwave fees, high initial licence fees, spectrum usage fees all of which are paid to the Communications Authority, international access links, security e.t.c I think our prices are competitive when compared to more mature markets that have more embedded infrastructure and which can leverage on pre-existing efficiencies. @Steve: As you prepare to avail feedback on competition questions, kindly address this observation: The management of Airtel has been quoted as attributing their diminished fortunes to the acts/omissions of the regulator and Safaricom: -Has the regulator by any chance shown more affection towards Safaricom than other players? Walu, I think every operator can gripe about what the regulator has done to them or not done for them. I could state the things which we think our regulator has not done to facilitate further growth by Safaricom, but that is not how we operate. I will also not speculate about what the other companies may have said. However I will say that if it is the expectation of any operator that the regulator represents their best chance to make a profit in any market then such an operator is seeking to use regulatory support to achieve the success that it should seek from the market. I firmly believe that it is not the role of any regulator to ensure that any operator makes a profit – that is the role of the market. The regulator’s role is to ensure that all players in the market have an equal opportunity to succeed and the necessary incentives to do so. The market will then decide which operator does and which one does not. Market entry and exit is a feature of competitive markets. What word of encouragement do you have for your industry brothers who would like to be Safaricom at adulthood? Advice “roho safi"Kamotho, we certainly do not see ourselves that way. But one insight that drives our company is the knowledge that Kenya is not a market that readily accepts ‘one size fits all’ solutions – to make it here, you must consistently focus on the customer and provide solutions that meet the unique needs of this market. The other one is investment. If you invest in your network you are likely to grow and this will fuel further investment and more growth. Still wondering if there will ever be an M-PESA app-Sidney OchiengAs mentioned in my earlier response, we are in the advanced stages of trialing an M-PESA App which will be part of the Safaricom App we have already released. Mwendwa KivuvaThanks you Steve for bringing this up. Under which law will CA be implementing a monitoring system on Operators' platforms? As far as my little legal knowledge stretches, any intent to access citizen's private data can only be accompanied by a court order (court of competent jurisdiction they say), and the access cannot be in perpetuity. It can only be for a specific finite task, mostly investigation. I hope CA can also respond to this.Mwendwa, in all fairness I would direct that question to the Communications Authority. I would further add that what I stated earlier was that there should be more robust public debate on the issue. In the current dispensation it is not enough to ‘engage’ the operators alone but the people whose confidential information is affected as well. George Sidney RalakI've been on postpaid since 2013, all that time, I have been receiving 100 Mbs per month, we are now in 2017, is there a way Safaricom can add the amount of bundles it gives to its postpaid customers? 100 Mbs cannot even last one day and to make it worse it, there is no way one can sambaza bundles to a postpaid number. Since I rarely exhaust the voice bundles given to me, maybe there should be a plan to choose which bundles to receive more than the other. Lastly, to those unused voice bundles at the end of every month, instead of just wiping them out, and you don’t carry them forward like you used to anymore, why don't you convert them to Bonga points instead.-There are a number of PostPay plans that are designed to satisfy the various needs of our customers. Our PostPay Advantage team will reach out to you on this query. Going forward, we are preparing an exciting new proposition that will allow you to decide for yourself what you want to do with resources you have purchase from us. Henry(a)article19.orgI am interested in knowing if Safaricom will be publishing any transparency report soon? Secondly, how many government requests for user data has safaricom received in the last five years as disaggregated by year and how many of the requests were acted on positively?Henry, I have touched on this question before but to be clear, we do not get requests from government. Where we do get requests, it is usually in criminal investigations and court proceedings where typically the information sought is call data records. I just have one question for Safcom with respect to Competition. Are they willing to:a) Be split into several independent units? As in make the Mobile money business (MPESA) a separate and autonomous unit from their Voice and Data side of business? b) Open up MPESA service such that if I vuka (migrate) to competition e.g Airtel, I do not lose the MPESA facility?Obviously this would be an affront to their 'stronghold' but sometimes it may spice up the market a bit. This may be necessary considering that their market share lead has not changed much over the last 10years. Which may point to a market failure or maybe they are just clever than everyone else- Walu.Walu, we currently operate in the way we do because, at this point in time, this is how we believe we can best serve customers. Whether or not we operate in a different model should be entirely up to us and based on our own timelines and aspirations. To cite an innovation as the reason why a company should be split up is inimical to the stated objective of any policy or regulatory framework. Secondly, innovations in the technology space move rapidly and what may be considered a standard or accepted way of doing things can be easily disrupted and replaced by the next innovation. Every day we read about new ways of sending money, many of which are network and indeed geography agnostic. Given that, is this talk about forcibly splitting M-PESA from Safaricom called for? What signal does this send to innovators and investors? What is the legality of such a call? Should this be the main focus of regulators/policy makers? Does this help the customer in any way? We cannot develop by cutting our companies into small business units. Our goal as a country should be to grow the SME to big corporations that can compete regionally and globally. Safaricom remains a small player compared to other operators who have continental outlook- MTN, Etisalat. In terms of M-PESA, we think there is enough for everyone. At the present 90 per cent of all payment in Kenya are still done in cash. This is what we need to focus on and we believe, as the Kenya Bankers Association has shown, it can be done through innovation. Note:All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom’s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here to read the policy.http://www.safaricom.co.ke/images/Downloads/Terms_and_Conditions/safaricom_email_terms_and_conditions.pdf Co-Convenor Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) Twitter:@ggithaiga Tel: 254722701495 Skype: gracegithaiga Alternate email: ggithaiga(a)hotmail.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracegithaiga www.kictanet.or.ke "Change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged and come together to demand it. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change – but in yours"---Barrack Obama. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.

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This problem of certification of video evidence
by Grace B 25 Feb '17

25 Feb '17

Hi good people, Is there anyone here working in tech for rights? When I saw the report that a hate speech case was thrown out because the video evidence presented was not certified, I wondered if anyone has an app that certifies/time stamps pics as they are being taken. This could be among the areas where legal and tech help each other out.... I know there may still be problems with admissibility of such digital certification but is there an app in the first place? -- Grace L.N. Mutung'u Skype: gracebomu Twitter: @Bomu <http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profile/GraceMutungu> PGP ID : 0x33A3450F

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Re: [Skunkworks] [kictanet] "Talk to Safaricom" Responses to Day 5 Questions (Technology & Elections)
by Walubengo J 24 Feb '17

24 Feb '17

Thnx Steve for you diligent responses. Its clear Day 5 questions on Technology and Elections were not entirely within the Safcom domain. It would be nice to hear supplementary comments from CA and IEBC on the same (both of whom are able represented on this list). regards. walu. From: Stephen Chege via kictanet <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Cc: Stephen Chege <SChege(a)Safaricom.co.ke> Sent: Friday, February 24, 2017 1:35 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] "Talk to Safaricom" Responses to Day 5 Questions Dear all Below are the responses to Day 5 Questions. No questions were received for Day 6. It has been great responding to your questions. I look forward to more. regards Steve Talk-2-Safaricom, Day 5 of 6 (Friday): Technology & ElectionsAs we go into the general elections, Safaricom is likely to be one of the Technology providers for IEBC. What are the concerns of users/citizens on this matter? Guideline issues:a) What assurances are there that the results transmitted are safe and secure?b) What are the chances of failure in the transmission system?c) Should the result transmission system be mobile (GSM)-based or should we go Satellite or both?d) Will Safcom play along in the even Government demands an Internet shut-down before, during or after elections? Questions+Comments from Discussions: Ali HusseinWalu Thanks for keeping the conversation going. My questions/comments are:- 1.With Safaricom's wide network could we get a mapping of where the gaps for connectivity are in relation to Polling Stations? It would be great to see which Polling Stations will have limited or no connectivity during the elections so that we can plan to mitigate that eventually now. I believe the Communications Authority would be best placed to respond to this given that they have a holistic picture of coverage from all operators across the country. 2. Would it be asking too much for Safaricom to liaise with USF/CA on the above to better identify the gaps? Safaricom’s network rollout strategy is primarily driven by the need to cover Kenya’s human population and geographic areas that are relevant in achieving that goal. We continuously provide this information to the Communications Authority and have worked with them on the issue of the USF where we have given our feedback as to the best approach to fill in the access gaps. 3. A Internet Shutdown request is a real possibility after media reports quoting DG Wangusi of CA. http://www.iafrikan.com/2017/01/14/the-kenyan-government-will-only-shut-dow… Will Safaricom as a matter of public interest commit to tell the public in case this order is something that must be enforced due to 'National Security' matters? Ali, this is a difficult question for many reasons, not least because an answer either way may position Safaricom as either not being responsive to Government directives or being too willing to comply. I will respond by saying that Safaricom will not do anything that is outside the law with regard to such a request. In addition it has been reported that Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru has stated that there is no such intention (http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/2017/01/government-will-not-shut-intern…) and we can all collectively hold the Government to this. Luke OkeloOnce again Thank you kindly Walubengo for moderating this final but not least opportunity to engage with Safaricom 1) I wish to know if using technology Safaricom will make any provision to allow the general public to verify their votes themselves? 2)Is there a web or mobile platform they can provide that allows each individual voters to act as an independent election monitor and check the results based on your polling station where you just voted? 3) Lastly with regards to level of assurance that transmitted results are safe and secure, what encryption standards are Safaricom using to transmit the results? 4) Will the encrypted results be shared with any other transmission machines or will they be tallied in a database at the polling site before final relay to Nairobi? I think as a private and non-biased telecom provider in the upcoming elections, its most probable for Safaricom to build capacity to monitor the digital footpath of the votes both from a security point of view as well as transmission point of view, This will allow for forensic audit and verification later on in case a dispute arises Luke, I would say that these questions are premature as we have not been contracted by any entity at this point in time to participate in any capacity in the upcoming elections. Walu JI would add another question: Assuming Safcom will be main transmission provider for the presidential results, what plans do they have in place in case Al-Shabaabs hit their masts on d-day? Ama we just go manual as per the provisions of the revised law? Walu, we cannot make that assumption andipso facto I respectfully decline to speculate on this issue. Rosemary KoechDear Listers, My query is in regards to data protection and privacy in regards to the use of Safaricom users telephone numbers. There have been several instances of text messages and calls from political aspirants. How does Safaricom protect our data especially the data we give at registration and during m-pesa transactions? How does Safaricom protect the treasure trove of data it has in regards to Kenyans? Kind regards, Rosemary, I responded to an almost identical question in some detail earlier in the session, please let me know if you have further queries. I would however hasten to add that there are many places where we expose our mobile numbers and which are not a secure as they should be kept. All of us give our names. ID numbers and mobile numbers to security guards when we access many buildings, shops, malls, etc. We have no idea how those books with all our details are stored and secured, if at all. I believe that any person collecting what may be considered confidential information should be under an obligation to deal with it in a particular way. Grace Bomu@Walu, as far as I can tell there is no direct law under which the Internet can be switched off. But there could be other views on the matter. My question to Safaricom is what they would do in the event that they were directed to shut down the Internet in part or in whole. Would they honour such a request? And Since you raised the issue of the law, it would also be interesting to know whether there is anything in Safaricom's licence agreement that requires Safaricom to assist the state for national security or public order reasons. I am asking this in comparison with MTN Uganda which told its customers that it had complied with the shutdown directive from the Regulator in compliance to such a condition in the license agreement. Regards, Grace, our operating Licence does not have specific provisions to shut down any services. In the past, Section 88 in KICA allowed the Minister of Internal Security to among other things, take temporary possession of telecommunication systems. This section was repealed and no similar provision has been put in place since. Edwin KiamaWalu, I would indeed be very interested in what Safaricom would do if requested by GoK to; 1. Listen in to my calls & texts, install a snooping app in my phone, use the network layer to turn on my mike and camera even when my phone is off. 2. Jam the signal in my neighborhood for whatever reason. 3. Shut down the internet in a particular area or the whole country. Regards, Edwin Kiama Edwin, Safaricom is a public mobile network and cannot undertake any of the functions you have cited. It should also be known that a number of institutions operate network jamming devices which are outside the control of mobile operators and if these are deployed, it should not be assumed that any operator has shutdown services. Boniface WatibaI see great questions raised from the listers' threads. Just to delve in... 1. Will Safaricom give in to "orders from above" requiring the Internet to be shut down on August 8th?2. In the event that Safaricom gives in, how do you plan to "compensate" for the losses incurred? Boniface, please see my response to Ali above which I believe addresses your questions. Note:All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom’s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here to read the policy.http://www.safaricom.co.ke/images/Downloads/Terms_and_Conditions/safaricom_email_terms_and_conditions.pdf _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.

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WhatApp Stories
by Paul Njoroge 24 Feb '17

24 Feb '17

What do you think will be the impact of the above, I'm thinking a Gikomba mama who has never heard of Snapchat or Instagram but gets to announce her new arrivals, such a win! -- Its all in the </head> Best Regards, Paul Njoroge. <https://twitter.com/#%21/p_njoroge> *Skype: njorogepaul*

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Concept: Consumer-to-Business for direct bank-to-bank payment system
by Isaac Kiplagat 23 Feb '17

23 Feb '17

Skunks, Since the recent disruption of traditional banking by mobile banking, I have been a keen follower of the technological development around banking sector and especially the concept of *Pesalink *recently launched by IPSL (This died as soon as it was launched). I know, this space offers unlimited opportunities. Kindly read through my concept and, if befits your position, share your expertise, regulatory and business opinions around this. Feel free to share anywhere/anywhere. Kind Regards, Isaac Kiplagat [image: Inline images 2]

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Android Mobile Developer
by Sharon Anyanga 23 Feb '17

23 Feb '17

Good afternoon, @iLabAfrica Strathmore University is organizing a two month training for Android Mobile Development. During this period, the facilitator will focus on purely application development in android after which the students will be will be required to build an application of their choice on the android platform. The training is scheduled to start on the 6th March to 28th April. The month of May will be used to do the project and assessment. The course costs Ksh. 45,000. The classes will be in the evening from 5:30PM to 8:30PM daily. Please find attached our brochure for more details. Use the link below to register for the course. http://bit.ly/2ktTbpm -- *Kind regards,Sharon Warinda* *Research Scholar* *@iLab Africa, Strathmore University.* -- *Note: *All emails sent from Strathmore University are subject to Strathmore’s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.strathmore.edu/en/email-policy> to read the policy. "Visit our Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/StrathmoreUniversity>Page and Twitter <https://twitter.com/StrathU>Account".

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Vpns
by pink panther 23 Feb '17

23 Feb '17

Morning skunks I need assistance on how to link 2 offices together. Any help with the above will b highly appreciated Regards George

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JOB OPPORTUNITY: SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING EXPERT
by William kibe 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

Good afternoon if you know someone who has the following qualifications please tell them to forward their CVs to me offline. Requirements. 1: Degree or Diploma in Mass communication 2: Demonstrable social networking experience and social analytic tools knowledge. 3: Background in leads generation and follow-up to closure. 4:Social media understanding from Youtube,Facebook,Twitter 5: Understanding in HTML and webdesign in general will be an added advantage. 6:Has knowledge in Google adsense 7: Generate, edit, publish and share daily content (original text, images, video or HTML) that builds meaningful connections and encourages community members to take action8 8: Self starter. Regards Kibe William

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Fwd: [Internet Policy] FYI - Joint statement by 50 orgs on proposal to require social media passwords at US border
by Barrack Otieno 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

Listers, For your information and attention. Circulate widely ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dan York <york(a)isoc.org> Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2017 14:50:11 +0000 Subject: [Internet Policy] FYI - Joint statement by 50 orgs on proposal to require social media passwords at US border To: Internet Policy External <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> FYI, today the Internet Society joined with 50 other organizations to issue a joint statement expressing concerns about a proposal to require disclosure of social media account passwords as a condition of entry to the U.S.: https://cdt.org/insight/no-to-dhs-social-media-password-requirement/ We published our own companion statement as a post from our President and CEO Kathy Brown: https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/public-policy/2017/02/internet-society… That has been shared on our @InternetSociety social media channels at: https://twitter.com/internetsociety/status/834044479501959169 https://www.facebook.com/InternetSociety/photos/a.10150120109253239.254763.… https://plus.google.com/+InternetSociety/posts/92XyJvx4yzk Additionally, we also published a supporting post explaining more about why social media accounts are of such a great concern: https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/tech-matters/2017/02/danger-giving-soc… We will be circulating that on our social channels as well. Any assistance with amplifying these messages on social channels would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Dan -- Dan York Senior Manager, Content & Web Strategy, Internet Society york(a)isoc.org<mailto:york@isoc.org> +1-802-735-1624 Jabber: york(a)jabber.isoc.org<mailto:york@jabber.isoc.org> Skype: danyork http://twitter.com/danyork http://www.internetsociety.org/ -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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OT: Shipping items to South Africa
by Kisakye Alex 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

Greetings all, Can anyone recommend a shipping company I can use to ship equipment from Nairobi to Jo'burg? thanks Alex

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Re: [Skunkworks] [kictanet] "Talk to Safaricom" Responses to Day 4 Questions (Waiting for Day 5 Responses on Tech & Elections)
by Walubengo J 20 Feb '17

20 Feb '17

Hey Listers, Looks like we got deep into the alleged CA spying that we forgot to wrap up the above. @Steve, Thanx for Day4 responses but can we have the final Day 5 Responses today? I believe this was on Technology and Elections. regards. walu.nb: This does not ofcourse stop us from discussing other important matters. I suppose we can all 'chew gum while walking' :-) From: Stephen Chege via kictanet <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Cc: Stephen Chege <SChege(a)Safaricom.co.ke> Sent: Friday, February 17, 2017 1:48 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] "Talk to Safaricom" Responses to Day 4 Questions Dear all Below are the responses to Day 4 Questions. Only a few questions were asked on that day. regards Steve Talk-2-Safaricom, Day 4 of 6 (Thursday):-Infrastructure & Universal AccessGuideline: Safaricom continues to expand its network beyond urban areas. What has been your experience of Safaricom services in semi-urban and rural areas of Kenya? a) Rural area:-Voice quality, InternetAccess(bandwidth), Mobile Money (MPESA) b) Safaricom contributes to the Universal Service Fund to extend communications to underserved areas- how has this impacted your rural communities c) The government has the National Optical Fiber Infrastructure, to what extend does Safcom use/not use it and why?d) To provide services to under-served areas, the Universal Service Fund has been provision with Safaricom being the largest contributor, how effective is this fund? It's a mix of questions and experiences. Floor is open till midnite today on this one. Lets hear you views. Questions+Comments from Discussions: Barrack OtienoHi Walu, 1. What is Safaricoms policy on Infrastructure sharing?, my question regards Community ISP's that may want to piggy back on its masts. What are the charges and guidelines? Thanks Barrack, this is a very good question. Safaricom supports infrastructure sharing and we have been hosting (and being hosted) on our competitors infrastructure since we began operations in 1999. Currently we share our towers, BTS rooms, power, fibre and other network elements with our competitors and other organisations.Safaricom shares infrastructure with Airtel, Telkom Kenya, Multichoice, KWS, KBC, Wananchi, JTL, PANG, Liquid Telecom, Access Kenya and many more. Having said that we believe that all licensees have the obligation of investing and building their networks as required under their licence conditions. Going back to your question – yes, we’d be able to host community ISPs depending on what elements they want to share which would also determine the cost. This would also be contingent on the ISPs compliance to statutory licences and regulations. Rosemary KoechMy query is in regards to the quality of data and voice the quality heavily deteriorates just past major towns and cities. Is there a plan to ensure better service delivery?Rosemary, we keep this issue top of mind. As you would expect, urban centres tend to have more density when it comes to network coverage to cater for the higher population numbers, however your experience should not be any worse once you leave the major town or city as our coverage is designed to seamlessly cover the majority of the land mass. It would be good if you could share locations for us to review.We have contracted independent consultants P3 to continuously monitor our network performance and take random drive tests to ensure that we continue to connect our customers. In rural areas, we have embarked on a rollout plan that will see us reconfigure our network to better serve rural customers in the future. Kevin KamonyeDo you have/ have you had plans to roll out services in other countries. What are/were the challenges experienced. I think the current Kenya-only limited market share and the demands of better margins from investors could be the key reason that we are always feeling the pinch of your pricing. Also, it seems like am getting congestion along Naivasha Rd; calls sometimes take a while to connect or they do so without any ringing tone. More people are moving into the area, kindly see what to do about this and even better 3G (at least) coverage. KevinWe are currently only licensed to operate in Kenya and so we cannot share experiences of rollout in other countries at this time. However, as mentioned in a separate response to Sidney and a few others, we currently offer the most compelling pricing for data and voice services and remain the top investor in Kenya in terms of mobile infrastructure to enable us continue to provide cutting edge technologies to our customers.Our technical team is investigating the Naivasha Road issue. Grace BomuI have seen Safaricom branded trenches in satellite towns such as Kiserian but we are yet to get broadband or services such as Safaricom box. Was the fibre exclusively for the security contract?Grace, you’re right the trenches you have seen are part of our rollout project to deliver fibre in Kiserian. Once we finish in lay the infrastructure our team will return to do the last mile connectivity making it available to end users. For now the concentration has been on getting the fiber to the town.On the Big Box, this should be available to you. You can buy the decoder from any of our retail shops for Sh4,999 and have the team set it up for you. Seehttp://www.safaricom.co.ke/TheBigBox/ for more information on the box. Racheal NakitareWe know Safaricom contributes to USF, but how is the same ploughed back to open up our underserved areas? Has Safaricom attempted to apply for the same funds to improve our poor infrastructure especially in peri urban and rural areas. Are we eligible? Kind regards Racheal. Racheal – We had answered this question in some length in earlier answers, do let me know if you need any more clarification beyond that response. Note:All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom’s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here to read the policy.http://www.safaricom.co.ke/images/Downloads/Terms_and_Conditions/safaricom_email_terms_and_conditions.pdf _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.

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Fwd: [kictanet] Invitation: Hacks/Hackers Nairobi Meetup, Wed 22 Feb, 6 - 8 pm, Nairobi Garage, Ngong Rd.
by Barrack Otieno 20 Feb '17

20 Feb '17

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Florence Sipalla via kictanet <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2017 11:32:41 +0300 Subject: [kictanet] Invitation: Hacks/Hackers Nairobi Meetup, Wed 22 Feb, 6 - 8 pm, Nairobi Garage, Ngong Rd. To: otieno.barrack(a)gmail.com Cc: Florence Sipalla <flo(a)codeforkenya.org> Topic: Think Before You Post! Date: Wednesday, 22 February 2017 Venue: Nairobi Garage, Ngong Road, Piedmont Plaza, 4th Floor Time: 6 – 8 pm Today, many people can easily access the internet either on their cellphones, through free Wi-Fi at educational institutions or workplaces. The thousands of cyber-cafes that have come up in most urban and some rural areas have also increased internet access. Access to digital media technologies means that everyone can now become a publisher (blog) can create and distribute radio (podcast) and TV (video) far and wide especially through social media platforms. But how many people think of the risks they face when they click that button to share some interesting content they have come across or have created? There have been reports in the media of people being arrested <http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/04/08/blogger-david-zawadi-arrested-for…> because of what they post online and others have lost their jobs <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/22/pr-exec-fired-racist-tweet-ai…> as a result of statements made online. When journalists publish online, they are bound by their code of ethics. What issues should other netizens take into consideration before posting information online? Our guests for the February session of Hacks/Hackers Nairobi #HHNBO will help us address the following questions: 1. What ethical considerations do I need to make before posting online? 2. What are the legal ramifications of what I post online? 3. Do my posts pose a risk to my personal security? In addition, Code for Africa will showcase tools to track deleted tweets. Guest speakers: Henry Maina – Article 19 <https://www.article19.org/pages/en/east-africa.html> Grace Githaiga – Kictanet <https://www.kictanet.or.ke/> Hacks/Hackers Nairobi is a forum where journalists and techies meet on a monthly basis to discuss issues that affect their work. Speak out! Let your voice be heard! To participate in the conversation, please sign up here <http://bit.ly/2kx7IA4> and share the invite widely. Follow us on Twitter <https://twitter.com/hhafrica> and Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/HacksHackersAfrica/>. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Banks unveil own mobile money transfer platform: Pesalink
by Job Muriuki 18 Feb '17

18 Feb '17

While we have all been worried by mpesa dominance could Pesalink <https://www.youtube.com/user/businessdailyafrica?feature=iv&src_vid=dTSf7VW…> be a forminable rival to it? Regards, Job Muriuki, Skype: heviejob

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Re: [Skunkworks] [kictanet] "Talk to Safaricom" Responses to Day 3 Questions (innovations/innovators)
by Walubengo J 17 Feb '17

17 Feb '17

Thnx Steve. Day 3 was on innovations...so al the innovators out there. Hope u spare time to read this and react (if need to). walu. From: Stephen Chege via kictanet <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Cc: Stephen Chege <SChege(a)Safaricom.co.ke> Sent: Friday, February 17, 2017 1:30 PM Subject: [kictanet] "Talk to Safaricom" Responses to Day 3 Questions  From: Stephen Chege Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 17:56 To: 'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions' Cc: 'Grace Githaiga' Subject: "Talk to Safaricom" Responses to Day 2 Questions Dear all Below are the responses to Day 3 Questions. Apologies, I was not able to send these yesterday. regards Steve Talk-2-Safaricom, Day 3 of 6 (Wednesday) :-Innovators, Innovations & SuppliersGuideline: Safaricom has been quite innovative and keeps coming up with new ways of doing things. As an innovator/developer/supplier, tell us your experiences with regard to Safaricom Innovation as well as their procurement ecosystem. a) Is their development platform and application programmable interface (API) sufficiently open?b) Are the issues to do with Intellectual property /Patents/Procurement clear and adequate?c) Whereas the gain-sharing agreements are private and confidential, how can they be made better?d) What is Safcom take on Bitcoin/Blockchain technologies? Questions+Comments from Discussions: Luke OkeloGood morning all. Thank you Mr.Walubengo for the good moderation so far much appreciated My question is what is the number of annual incidences/cases reported involving mpesa fraud? And are they ever resolved successfully? Secondly If I am carjacked in a matatu as often happens to passengers here, can Safaricom introduce a red flag system where I can discreetly notify relevant authorities that I am withdrawing from my mpesa account under duress? That is to say a silent alarm to raise awareness that there is a crime taking place, and maybe even remotely use my phone GPS location service so that I can be tracked and the culprits apprehended in the act? Blocking the mpesa account at such a sensitive time may not be too wise as the thieves may end a victim's life accusing him/her of non-cooperation Thank you kindly Luke, the different types of fraud that you see across the M-PESA platform ranging from social engineering to outright theft are viewed as crimes, and so these matters are referred to the Police. Safaricom is able to support with investigations where necessary. As ICT practitioners, we are aware that many of the new threats to security will come via these which platforms which we increasingly interact with every day. On our part we continuously educate customers and agents at regular intervals on the emerging threats so that they can protect themselves. Law enforcement personnel should also be trained to deal with and be able to prosecute crimes in this area. K.MachuchiGood coverage. Can we fit in Safaricom's attitude/ policy towards its existing and prospective suppliers. a) existing: payment for goods/ services provided.b) respect for supplier IP and remedies in case of breach by staff.c) prospective: artificial barriers and how they can eliminate/ minimize corruption in procurement. We are committed to growing Kenyan businesses and offer preferential support to innovative local businesses. We also invest heavily in building local expertise in the critical mobile sector – and this includes everything from partnering with local universities to create the relevant curriculum to deliver ready for market engineers to enabling the growth of the small business owner.We currently work with 830 local companies who form 84 percent of our supply chain.We have many examples, but companies such as Linksoft, Broadband Communications, Netsol and Adrian (who started literally from scratch years ago) have now grown on the back of Safaricom’s business to become multi-nationals operating across several countries in East and West Africa.In 2015 we commissioned KPMG South Africa to undertake a “True Value Study” i.e. to examine the true impact of Safaricom in Kenya’s economy. This study found that the value that Safaricom created for the Kenyan society in one year (2015) was estimated at around 10 times greater than the actual financial profit the company made in the same period. This was measured in actual impact on small Kenyan businesses who now exist solely because of Safaricom.At Safaricom we have an open invitation to any supplier who wants to be considered for business with us in a relevant areas. That is why we have published on our website, comprehensive information on how to do business with us. In addition, the applications for pre-qualification are all done online on a robust platform which has automated much of the evaluation and scoring with a fully auditable document trail. See http://www.safaricom.co.ke/about-us/suppliers.We absolutely will not work with any companies that have known track records for unethical behavior, nor do we participate in such behavior on our part. Mildred AchochGood morning everyone, Thank you to the KICTANET moderators and Safaricom for this opportunity to engage. First, I would like to echo Grace B's sentiments. Thank you Safaricom for being in almost every part of Kenya. It goes a long way in assuring me that you guys will be around for a long time. Secondly, kudos for being one of the first companies in Kenya to embrace the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the goals) Regarding the fact that you are in almost every part of Kenya, my question is: is there a way you can partner with Kenyan filmmakers to promote Kenyan films and series/web series? I applaud innovative initiatives such as Skiza tunes and Blaze. These say to me that similar initiatives can be implemented to promote Kenyan filmmakers. Media convergence is already here with us; as a market leader, Safaricom should be at the forefront of innovative initiatives related to this.Stephen Njoroge Mildred, this is an important area of focus for Safaricom as we focus on growing our youth and their talents. The creative economy is one of the fastest growing incorporating music, dance, film and other creative works. The question on film makers is particularly interesting to us as they produce content which Safaricom can make available to our customers in the same way we provide Skiza tunes. Specifically, for film content we require a broadcasting licence from CA. Safaricom has identified this opportunity and in February 2015 we put in an application for broadcasting licence to enable us to carry this kind of content. In August 2015, our application was published in the Kenya Gazette. However to date Safaricom has not received this licence from the Communication Authority. The last we heard from the Communications Authority was in in October 2016 when we were informed that they could not give us the licence until the Dominance Report was released, although this came a year after our application.Nonetheless we want to play in this space as we have a good understanding of what the market wants, we are willing to invest in a platform that can allow consumers to access short-form or even full length films on-the-go for content producers and do our part for the creative economy. But for now we are waiting to hear from CA. We believe the Kenyan market is ready for fully converged multimedia services and we look forward to providing this to our customers and creating this new market for Kenyans content producers. Stephen NjorogeHi John and Listers a) Is their development platform and application programmable interface (API) sufficiently open? ANS: NO!. compared to what is the standard with the like offacebook to have a developers portal (https://developers.facebook.com) and Equity/Equitelportal very easy to use (https://developers.equitybankgroup.com/apis)and https://developer.pesapal.com/ etcsafaricom does not have this well documented and you have to make a number ofguess emails most often to the wrong department or person, Something that couldtake hours ends up taking weeks and sometime months. One get the impressionthat safaricom is under staffed or the staff are just ignoring your email butit not that bad this days I was give a call account manager that is quitehelpful sometime I don’t need to email Ijust call her up.. and things are done.. I think she got the job because of her voice. Stephen, with regard to our API framework I mentioned that we are aware that it is not working as well as it can and that we have already taken steps to rectify this with the help of a world class vendor. We expect that the new API framework will be ready in the coming months. If you are agreeable I would be happy to propose you to “test-drive” the new API. Let me know. b) Are the issues to do with Intellectual property/Patents/Procurement clear and adequate?ANS: Lot of grey line in this but safaricom based competition is very clear on this outlining ownership and all.I am not clear on what the question is here but I will state that Safaricom recognises that good implementable ideas are rare to find and should therefore be protected by their owners. We have provided this and other help to Innovators in our innovation Portal and continue to engage with developers on this basis. c) Whereas the gain-sharing agreements are private and confidential, how can they be made better? ANS: I think safaricom is NOT in the business of sealing ideas but Most employees being Kenyan have a keen eye on opportunities.. other employees have vested interest in competing businesses and will lock you up new idea to be launched where they can eat from..I think having applications to be view-able by more than one employee in the business would help but I would recommend you pray very very hard and if possible fast for 40 days before sharing with this guys in private I believe that this is covered above through the zero tolerance policy we have towards infringement. d) What is Safcom take on Bitcoin/Blockchain technologies?ANS: If bitcoin gained high traction that I would be in a position to purchase sukuma from the kibanda via bitcoin other operators would come toraise at the expense of the home currency just as we don’t trade in gold andgold is represented in reserve via the currency notes, we would trade inbitcoin represented in Kenya currency.. I don’t see M-Pesa in the Picture pastthe currency loading yet they want you to Lipa Na M-Pesa kokote.. but may be amother thinking.. To answer the question Safaricom is more some reason againstbitcoin and has show this by not supporting bitcoin based startups Stephen, regarding Blockchain; the underlying technology behind BitCoin and other cryptocurrencies promises many interesting opportunities where trust is a premium, consensus desired and privacy a must. The distributed ledger could radically alter transaction flows, potentially eliminating intermediaries and reducing or reassigning costs. Without clear, mainstream support from regulators/authorities, it is difficult to see how BlockChain will deliver its full potential. Safaricom continues to monitor this technology and if supported by regulatory approvals, will consider to implement it where it is feasible. Specifically on BitCoin; I think the use of BitCoin or other cryptocurrencies is a much more complex and possibly riskier proposition. For Safaricom, being a licensed mobile money operator, we are unable to experiment with our customers’ money and ignore the clear direction given by our regulator the Central Bank of Kenya (https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/banking_circulars/2075994161_Banking%…) The use of any unregulated, unmanaged, alternative currencies does not come without significant risks. The brief history of BitCoin is a clear example of this. According to Forbes, the past six years has seen 48% of BitCoin exchanges fail, some with enormous losses for customers. It is likely that the use of cryptocurrencies will, in the future become more stable and receive regulatory approval at which point Safaricom will be a ready adopter. Ahmed Mohamed MaawyI will ask 2 questions as a Solutions Architect myself: 1)- As a solutions developer, Safaricom does not provide its platform openly to allow 3rd party integration as does other service providers. And even if some lucky 3rd party do it, the flexibility to implement the solution to meet a diverse set of needs is quite limiting. Somehow makes a lot of us feel as if the payment solution is a "premium access" product available to specific players.The Safaricom API is not a convenient way out of it. Bootsrapping a solution around the API itself requires dedicated develper(s). For instance, stripe payments makes payment gateway integration part of the process not a separate development process. Where is the guarantee (legally binding) also that I can deploy freely a solution based on your payment platform without it being replicated?Thanks Ahmed. Please see my previous responses regarding our API and the planned redevelopments. In addition, let me know if you would like to take be part of the team to review it before we launch. Walu J@Ahmed, Do you mind clarifying a few things. I take it that you agree that Safcoms APIs are not too open. Particularly the payment solution. I presume that would be the MPESA platform which seems limited or restricted to some chosen few developers. Further you say that solutions built around the MPESA APIs are not scaleable to other domains and you seem to suggest a better option out of this. What would this option be? Are you suggesting that rather than trying to plug into MPESA through APIs, MPESA should be released and sold as a module that developers can plug into just about anything they need to - and pay royalties to Safcom on per use basis? Walu, Please see my previous responses regarding our API and the planned redevelopments. The initial design was not as good as we expected it to be and to be clear it was not designed to be closed or to make it difficult for developers to work with. This is counterintuitive as we would want M-PESA to be embedded in as many services as possible. The redevelopment I have mentioned here is going to smooth out those issues and help it become an easy to use interface that it should be. Ahmed Mohamed Maawy Firstly, M-Pesa is definitely being hailed as a global disruptive innovation. This means one thing only. It needs to act so. My response will be simple. This is where I expected M-Pesa would be today with an open all inclusive model:https://stripe.com/Ahmed your comment is well noted. Grace BomuMaybe we should ask the question, what is Safaricom's innovation model? Does it see itself as providing a platform for others to play and (hopefully create solutions) or is Safaricom also a player in the game or a hybrid? I would hope that Safaricom envisions itself providing a space for limitless innovation especially for social good. To arts and culture, I admire the work that Safaricom has done- from the beautiful calendars and adverts to music festivals. I however cringe when there are disputes involving the company and artistes and I hope that the issue of revenue sharing has been resolved. Has it been resolved? I wonder if Safaricom has exploited use of tech and its platforms in this cause. I echo Mildred's plea.You’re right Grace, Safaricom is both an innovator and co-innovates with others. In fact we increasingly describe ourselves as a platform. We see the company as being an enabler of several solutions that can transform lives across a growing number of industries such as the health sector, education, agriculture and financial services. We aim to provide these solutions in partnerships with others – we recognise that we do not have all the answers and these cross-industry pairings can drive more transformation than if each decided to go it alone. So expect more from us on that front.To your question on artists and royalties – this is an issue I take personal interest in. Safaricom has been one of the biggest corporate sponsors of Kenyan arts, having been involved in various music events over the years including Niko Na Safaricom Live, Safaricom Classical Fusion, Groove With Safaricom, Safaricom Youth Orchestra, Safaricom Choir and the Safaricom International Jazz Festival.Out of a desire to see local artists grow and earn from their craft we launched the digital music platform SKIZA in 2009. SKIZA is a ring-back tone service that allows your callers to listen to selected tunes from your favourite artists. The SKIZA platform is run by Safaricom, but the day-to-day management of the content is done by known as Content Service Providers (CSPs) who are licensed by the Communications Authority. For artists to put up their music for sale on SKIZA, they have to go through these providers, who review the content to ensure it meets our guidelines before listing it in our database.As I’m sure many of you are already aware, 2015 and 2016 were a bit challenging for us, as a result of multiple court cases and injunctions that forced us to hold back over KES 152 million in artists’ royalties while we waited for a resolution to the dispute between the CSPs and the Collective Management Organisations (CMOs), which include the Performers’ Rights Society of Kenya, Music Copyright Society of Kenya and Kenya Association of Music Producers. Though the issue was eventually resolved and the monies paid out, what we would like to see is a more unified approach to growing the industry.I could say more, but let me leave it there for now. John KietiGood afternoon, My take on Safaricom and the innovation ecosystem / community is that although they have evolved slowly, Safaricom has contributed significantly and positively to our collective innovativeness as an economy. That we have moved beyond demanding an API for Mpesa and now we are talking about the API's openness is progress.That Safaricom's Spark Fund has invested in Sendy and other startups is laudable. That Safaricom entered useful partnerships with for likes of iCow, EnezaEducation, and Craft Silicon (Little Cabs), Mledger (acquisition) and many other startups must not be downplayed. That Safaricom gave free bandwidth to iHub for several years and sponsored activities at iLabAfrica is laudable. That said, I would wish Safaricom embraced open innovation and co-entrepreneurship more. For instance it was quite short sighted the way Safaricom flexed its muscle on Kipochi / Kopokopo, and BitPesa / Lipisha Consortium with regard to the BitCoin gateway for M-Pesa top ups and withdrawals. If I were them, I would embrace these startups and others building on block chain technology to further disrupt the Financial Services sector.It does not make sense for Safaricom / Mpesa to embrace the plastic card technology side of FinTech as they are doing with the M-Pesa card while frustrating the block-chain side. By and large let us give credit where its due. Safaricom has truly pushed the limits of innovation to increase value for its shareholders who include our Government. They just need to do more to figure out an ecosystem / collaborative approach to innovation. If they do that, we shall collectively and successfully attack the global marketplace for gains to our national economy. Just my 20 cents. Thank you John, your comments are well noted. With regard to the M-PESA plastic card; we have done research on this and we think it might be useful in some areas of the economy which we plan to explore. We will still continue to innovate and develop around the mobile device as our primary outlet. Ali HusseinWalu Thank you for keeping this conversation going. This in my humble opinion is where Safaricom scores a D- for me. There has been alot of (albeit unsubstantiated) complaints from the Startup Ecosystem of how difficult it is to work with Safaricom when it comes to:- 1. APIs and Integrations with other players especially when it comes to MPesa. There are even cases where people have claimed that Safaricom has acted like a Big Bully. Again unsubstantiated. This is obviously a case of where Safaricom needs to be very cognizant of the role they play in uplifting the Innovation Ecosystem in Kenya and Africa. Did Safaricom hound BitPesa out of Kenya?<http://www.coindesk.com/safaricom-and-bitpesa/> Ali, regarding the API I have given our position in previous responses above and before. The message has come through loud and clear and we are working to fix it. Did Safaricom hound BitPesa out of Kenya? <http://www.coindesk.com/safaricom-and-bitpesa/> Ali, this matter is in court with Safaricom having been sued by Bitpesa and as such I may not be able to say much. I can however say that Safaricom’s decision not to allow encashment of cryptocurrencies through our M-PESA network is based on guidance by the Central Bank of Kenya which we believe applies to all financial institutions. As a CBK licensee we cannot disregard guidance from our Regulator hence our position. (http://www.nation.co.ke/business/CBK-warns-against-use-of-Bitcoin/996-29975… , http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Central-Bank-of-Kenya-warns-of-Bit… ) 2. Its an accepted fact that working with the MPesa API is not a walk in the park. They need to be take a CrowdSourcing Approach to this. To be fair this has improved tremendously in the last few months. However, I believe there's room for improvement. Ali, regarding the API I have given our position in previous responses above and before. The message has come through loud and clear and we are working to fix it. 3. Regulation. Its a fact of business today that Regulation and Compliance can be a major hindrance to innovation. A case in point is the burgeoning FinTech Space in Nairobi. How can Safaricom help startups navigate this area? 4. What is the long term strategy for MPesa?Kenya is renowned the world over for innovation in this space and we should be grateful for the regulatory space that we developers enjoy in this country compared to others. Having said that the financial services space necessarily has boundaries and compliance requirements given its sensitivity. We have a comprehensive hand holding process for our partners that includes helping them navigate the regulatory landscape. Our Ready Business initiative seeks to do the same for small businesses across industries.Our long-term strategy for M-PESA is to ensure that it continues to evolve and remain relevant to Kenyans. As you may have noticed, we have started exploring the P2B space. Given that 8 out of ten transactions in Kenya are still made in cash, there’s a lot of room for a number of providers (and us) to grasp the mobile money opportunity. Barrack OtienoHi Walu, Before the branch closes: 1. Does Safaricom support the TIVET Program or any Village Polytechnics which train most of our Crafts Men upcountry?, would be keen to know what kind of support they extend to this Village Innovation Centres. Best RegardsThrough the Safaricom Foundation we have provided computers for some youth polytechnics around the country, in partnership with Computers for Schools Kenya. These devices aimed to support their drive around digitalizing learning in youth polytechnics. We are considering exploring more opportunities through our youth platform, Blaze. Timothy OriedoOn innovation; I would wish to know how I can access anonymised cell phone location sensor data platform of all safaricom subscribers that will enable building of a recommendation engine to benefit various industries. Safaricom is sitting on a potential natural resource that if opened up can benefit different industries from transport, security, health care , education, environment etcetra Think of an intelligent service that can inform the traffic department that there is a noticeable surge of cellphone signals approaching town from a particular direction say Limuru -Westlands and the traffic lights proportionally allow more vehicles from that direction to pass through. ...wouldn't it be a step ahead in solving our ever present traffic menace?Timothy, I think you are referring to the potential of big-data that we may have accreted based on customer information. To be clear, access to customer information is controlled by law and under our licence both of which obligate to keep that information confidential. Beyond that I believe you are touching on the use of anonymised data records for development initiatives. This is an area that I believe should be discussed robustly and if viable, relevant legislation passed to enable different organisations with useful data to be able to apply this to different uses while affording the source of this information the necessary legal safeguards. John KietiWith "Mobile" contributing about 11% of South Korea's GDP (read Samsung), it is hard to fto resist the temptation to dream about "Mobile" contributing as much as 20% of Kenya's GDP by 2027. Such a dream appears achievable if Safaricom assumes the role of an anchor and sets itself up for more rapid co-innovation with local entrepreneurs and innovators. Best! Thanks John. This is well noted. Note:All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom’s Email Terms & Conditions. 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