Posted by Dele Akinsade

Developer Platforms Evangelism Lead, Sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Islands

“Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time.” – Bill Gates

I am thrilled by the African finalists of this year’s Imagine Cup competition. It’s no secret how innovative African youth are and this year’s winning projects are testament to this. Ten teams from across the continent will be jetting off to St. Petersburg, Russia in June, to compete in the global finals against 120 countries from around the world. In addition to participating in a life-changing event and a chance to win the USD $300, 000 pot prize, our African representatives will have a world stage on which to highlight the role the continent’s local developers play in addressing the most critical issues of the developing world.

You might have heard about our 4Afrika Initiative, which was launched in February this year, and is built on the belief that technology can accelerate growth for Africa, and Africa can also accelerate technology for the world.  It’s this idea that makes me so passionate about our local developers and so excited about Imagine Cup. The competition is just one of our many YouthSpark programmes designed to create opportunities for hundreds of millions of youth around the world.

So join me in applauding and supporting the African finalists for the Imagine Cup 2013 competition:

Nigeria

Team Life Saver from Obafemi Awolowo University and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology  have developed an application called CardioLife, which helps prevent heart attacks by monitoring heart readings on the fly via the Microsoft Windows Phone. It also provides a rehabilitation programme for stroke patients using the Kinect sensor.

Team Life Saver

Tunisia

Wise Team, with members from ENIT, INSAT, and Time Universities, will fly to the finals to present their app, Drive Alive, which reduces the risk of falling asleep at the wheel. By providing a travel schedule, it alerts the drivers to any rest areas along their route and is calculated according to recommended sleep patterns and maximum driving times.

 Wise Team

Uganda

The Ugandan winners, Team Code 8 from Makerere University, have developed a solution called Matibabu that diagnoses malaria without pricking any body parts! This cutting-edge technology uses a light sensor connected to a tablet that is passed over a finger to diagnose the disease.

 Team Code 8

Morocco

Team GreenMust’s winning application makes recycling fun in an effort to promote environmentally friendly habits. Users receive ‘green’ tips and win points and vouchers for checking in their recyclable wastes. It also provides a virtual market place for recyclers and collectors to meet individuals and corporations accumulating a large mass of recyclable wastes.

Team GreenMust

Kenya

Team PI CRAFT from Jomo Kenyatta University are the Kenyan finalists, with their project dubbed Protégé. The application allows people from around the world to search for children’s homes and rehabilitation centres, send donations, and even virtually adopt a child. All through their Windows smartphones!

Team PI Craft receiving their prize: A paid trip to compete in the global finals in St, Petersburg Russia

South Africa

Team SentiMeter from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa have made it through to the Imagine Cup finals yet again!  They have developed a big data social media analysis tool called SentiMeter, which competes with products like Brandseye, Radian 6 and BrandWatch.  SentiMeter has already had interest from companies wanting to buy it.

The Creators of SentiMeter

Egypt

Team Masked Ninjas from Cairo University’s Faculty of Engineering scooped top spot with their application called Videolater. It is designed to give users a more interactive experience of the news by automatically
searching for online video clips of the news item being read. According to the team, “People with smartphones want to touch and feel the news.”  

Participants in Egypt’s final

Botswana

Team Tandabala from the Botho College of Software Engineering have developed a pension payment system called Tandabala. The application enables old age pensioners, World War veterans, and the destitute to receive their social security payments from remote locations. This is a solution to a very important issue as many pensioners in deep rural areas can’t easily reach central payment stations such as post offices. There are already 30,000 registered pensioners who benefit from the application.

Team Tandabala

 Angola

Team UMA, comprising four students from the Angolan Methodist University (UMA) invented the Windows version of the popular game entitled “Don’t Fret” or “Não Te Irrites”.  Played between four competing players across devices, this exciting game can now be enjoyed between friends in different locations.

Team UMA

Ivory Coast

Team Kernel from the Ivory Coast won the West and Central Africa regional finals held in Dakar, Senegal. Their innovation, Neoformily, meaning never forget your family, helps patients with Alzheimer's and memory disorders recognise their loved ones through face and voice recognition.

Team Kernel

Each competing team deserves the highest recognition for the creativity and imagination applied to some of the world's biggest challenges. All of these solutions will have an impact on the future and inspire others.  Since
Imagine Cup was launched a decade ago, over 1.65 million students across the globe have participated and many of them have gone on to create thriving startups in their countries. So let’s get behind these teams and give them our
full support!

If you are a student with a great idea for an app, I encourage you to apply for next year’s competition. Also, don’t forget that Microsoft’s BizSpark programme, another YouthSpark initiative, is a great way to get the support you need to launch your startup business

So what are you waiting for? Dream it, build it, live it, and win it!

By Akhtar Badsah, Microsoft senior director of citizenship and public affairs

Image courtesy of UNHCR Innovation/R. Nuri

Dadaab, Kenya, is home to nearly half a million Somali refugees. For many, the walls of a refugee camp are the only life they have ever known. But education and skills development can break down these barriers, with technology as the catalyst. This is why I am delighted to announce the official launch of the Dadaab Community Technology Access Centre (CTA), a Microsoft collaboration with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), to bring technology access and training to young refugees.

The launch is a culmination of two years’ worth of efforts and I applaud the Microsoft Kenyan office, which has worked closely with UNHCR Innovation on the ground to bring the Centre and our initial investment to life. UNHCR has been a long-term partner of Microsoft since 1999, our first public-private partnership with an international organization. Since then, we have developed a range of innovative solutions like the CTA programme to address the many needs of refugee communities around the world.

Already in Dadaab, 214 computers are being distributed to 39 schools and four vocational centres in the region, effectively increasing formal access by 100% in schools and doubling the number of available computers to vocational learners. These resources will equip students with ICT skills and provide access to a world of knowledge on educational subjects. Computer studies have therefore become a highly valued and demanded course in the community. In just one week, as many as 145 secondary school students will enroll in IT skills classes. Over 800 vocational students have already registered for the 2013 curriculum, and there have been requests for advanced IT courses to become available.

To support this uptake, a ‘Train-the-Trainer’ programme has been initiated to help teachers provide high-quality, community-based tuition. To date, 863 individuals have been trained and many teachers are young refugees themselves. ‘Train-the-Trainer’ also provides community ownership, which is essential for sustainability. And sustainability is the heart of any project’s success!

Sustainability, long-term relationships and engagement are at the heart of our partnerships. We believe it is critical to build the capacity of local individuals by bringing the knowledge, talent and skills of our Microsoft employees to NGOs and communities. And it’s not a one-sided transaction – using the skills they learn, these  communities will help stimulate local economies and fuel economic development in Kenya, benefiting everyone. This scenario is at the heart of our recently launched 4Afrika Initiative, which is built on the belief that technology can accelerate growth for Africa, and in turn, Africa can also accelerate technology for the world.  And just a few months after launch, we’ve already formed strong partnerships to help facilitate this, such as our recent collaboration with the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and local internet service provider UhuruOne, in a TV white spaces project to increase low-cost wireless broadband access.

In Dadaab, we have ensured that each school and the Centre, has a sustainability and livelihood plan. Several schools are offering additional training programmes after hours, where they will charge a small fee, giving them a sense of ownership, generating a flair for business, and providing more learning opportunities.

At Microsoft, our belief is firm in the possibilities that technology offers nations and individuals as they emerge on the world stage. Our BizSpark, YouthSpark, and DreamSpark programmes are some of the ways in which we are upskilling, mentoring, and creating business and employment opportunities for thousands of people through ICT. For refugees, access to a computer and the internet can change their life, open their minds, and spark dreams for the future. With the CTA, the youth of Dadaab will gain more than digital literacy; they will gain access to livelihoods. Together with the UNHCR, our long-standing partners, we aim to embrace refugees as part of the worldwide community’s technology movement and support ICT education and learning in challenging environments.

Fernando de Sousa, General Manager – Africa Initiatives, Microsoft Corporation

In Thomas L. Friedman’s book The World is Flat, he uses a proverb to describe today’s globalized economy:

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.

It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or
it will be killed.

Every morning a lion wakes up.

It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will
starve to death.

It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.

When the sun comes up, you better start running

Today, in almost every sense, Africa’s lions are running. And they’re running fast. The lions I refer to are the new breed of African-born tech companies being supported through programs like the Liberalizing Innovation Opportunity Nations (LIONS@FRICA) partnership and Microsoft’s own 4Afrika initiative.

Through LIONS@FRICA, Microsoft along with program partners the US State Department, Nokia, USAID and African Development Bank, are providing resources to emerging African startups with the ultimate aim of promoting economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. LIONS@AFRICA is a public-private partnership mobilizing the knowledge, expertise and resources of leading institutions and corporations to encourage and enhance Africa’s innovation ecosystem and to spur entrepreneurship across the continent. The partnership promotes the 4Cs of engagement to support Africa’s budding startup ecosystem: Capacity, Connectivity, Credibility, and Capital.

LIONS@FRICA was launched last year at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Addis Ababa and today is again front and center with African policymakers and business leaders at the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meeting in Marrakech. In an all-day side event, Microsoft is part of a wide spectrum of technology stakeholders LIONS@FRICA is bringing together to discuss and debate the policy framework and reforms needed to let our lions run as fast as they can. The hope is that by gaining a better understanding of the challenges facing the continents most dynamic and innovative startups, policymakers and institutional stakeholders will have a better sense of how to support their local ICT industry.

Africa’s development is unique in many respects and demands a policy environment that reflects this. When policymakers think about how to create a nurturing and supportive environment for innovative technology entrepreneurs and companies, it is critical to take these factors into account.

Convening events like the AfDB Annual Meetings and WEF on Africa are unique opportunities to bring stakeholders together. Last October in Nairobi, Microsoft was a cornerstone sponsor at DEMO Africa, one of LIONS@FRICA’s
flagship initiatives. At DEMO Africa, forty young African startups were selected to showcase their solutions to a high qualified set of venture capitalists, executives and press members. The startups at DEMO Africa came from a wide range from technology fields: mobile, enterprise tech, consumer tech, social media and cloud. They came from across Africa and many used it as an opportunity to launch their products, compete for awards and announce to Africa and the world what they have developed.

Encouraging innovative entrepreneurship is also one of our leading 4Afrika objectives. By 2016, we aim to bring 1 million African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) online, upskill 100,000 members of Africa’s existing workforce, and help an additional 100,000 recent graduates develop employability skills, 75 percent of which Microsoft will help place in jobs. In addition, we are putting a services offering in place to help qualifying SMEs gain access to free, relevant products and services from Microsoft and other partners. Our aim is to aggregate services, which can help SMEs expand their businesses locally, find new business opportunities outside their immediate geography and increase their overall competitiveness.

Through programs like LIONS@FRICA and 4Afrika, public private partnerships are providing additional resources and support for Africa’s tech startups to thrive.

It’s time we unleashed our lions.

By Kevin Connolly, Windows Business Group Manager for Microsoft Sub-Saharan Africa & Indian Ocean Islands

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.  ~ Henri Bergson

The news has been out for a while but if you haven’t heard, take note. Microsoft is ending Windows XP support from April 8^th, 2014. This may sound scary, but moving onto a new operating system is a completely natural progression, and just like a car needs to be serviced and upgraded, so do computers. This is why Microsoft has a ten year Support Lifecycle Policy.

Windows XP was launched in October 2001. When I think back on the last 10 years, I realize just how much can change in a decade. In 2001, many of us were still using floppy disks, the very first Harry Potter film graced our screens; Africa’s Queen of pop, Brenda Fassie had just released her ‘Greatest Hits’ album, and flip phones were all the rage. Wikipedia had just launched, Facebook didn’t exist yet – and, Windows XP was the latest and greatest operating system on the market with a faster start-up time, a sleeker interface, and exciting new tools like Media Player and Movie Maker.

Over the last ten years, the floppy disk has become antiquated, seven Harry Potter movies have been box-office hits, Africa has mourned the loss of the Queen of African Pop, and flip phones have become a rarity. Wikipedia has replaced encyclopaedias, Facebook has become the most popular website in the world – and, people who are still using Windows XP are now missing out on the latest and greatest technology.

Just like pop culture, technology has changed drastically over the last decade.  As an enabler, it responds to the changing needs of its users. It empowers people by saving them time, improving productivity and removing constraints– from geographical distance to language barriers. It makes what was previously impossible, possible. And the limit to what it can do is constantly expanding. When you start to think of technology like this, it becomes clear why using outdated forms of it cause you to fall behind.

So, relying on XP, which is now 11 years old, could mean you’re doing business at half the pace of everyone else, and coming up against obstacles no one else encounters
anymore. Because of its age, Windows XP also relies on the ongoing delivery of security-related patches to remain secure. When support ends, users will no longer receive new security updates and patches. With more sophisticated cyber threats emerging every day it’s critical that individuals and businesses have a modern OS to protect their data, customer and credit card information, and keep their IP safe!

With Windows 8 having just reached its 100 millionth license activation  and over 60 000 Windows 8 apps available in the app store, there is no better opportunity to embrace newer and better
technologies than now! When it comes to the world of technology, standing still really is falling behind.

And, the good news for SMBs, is that if they register for Windows 8 Pro before 30 June, they’ll receive a 15% discount on Windows 8 Pro and Office Standard 2013

Posted by Fernando de Sousa
General manager, Africa Initiatives at Microsoft

This week, Cape Town is hosting the World Economic Forum for Africa (WEF) and I’m lucky enough to be attending. The WEF covers almost 30 different topic areas that together hold the key to Africa’s continued and increased expansion and economic development. The potential for positive change is huge, which is why I’m so excited to be here and to meet likeminded people who have the ideas and energy to help Africa thrive in the digital age.

Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative is itself trying to achieve more for Africa (it’s in the name!). 4Afrika was launched in February with the aim of improving Africa’s global competitiveness through technology. Two of our stated goals are to make affordable smart devices available to Africa’s youth and to test unused TV broadcast radio frequencies (known as ‘white space’ frequencies) to increase Internet access in underserved areas. In February in Kenya, we launched Project Mawingu, our first white spaces project in Africa.

Today, I’m excited to announce another white spaces collaboration aimed at connecting African students and teachers and giving them the opportunity to engage in the global – and borderless – digital dialogue. In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, we are working alongside the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and local internet service provider UhuruOne to get tens of thousands of university students and faculty members better connected by installing low-cost wireless broadband access at the University of Dar es Salaam, amongst others, and to provide affordable Windows devices and relevant services.  [See press release  for more information]

Projects like this are part of our overall 4Afrika strategy to engage in Africa’s development, address youth unemployment, help recent graduates develop skills for employability, and support the development of young software developers and entrepreneurs.  

The three principal themes of this year’s WEF Africa are ‘Accelerating Economic Diversification’, ‘Boosting Strategic Infrastructure’ and ‘Unlocking Africa’s Talent’. We believe 4Afrika serves all three of these themes. Hyper-connectivity is vital to the economic and social development of the continent, and improving access through initiatives like 4Afrika will help achieve these critical goals.

We’re proud to say that Microsoft 4Afrika is gaining momentum. Since launch we’ve seen nearly 400 apps created by our AppFactory interns, and we’ve touched more than 1,100 developers through DevCamps in Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and Tunisia alone. We’ve also trained around 1,100 partners and government leaders across 14 countries through our Afrika Academy. We’re just getting started, so we’re looking forward to the time here at WEF Africa this week to make sure that as a community, we are working together to pursue common goals and to accelerate African competitiveness and innovation.

Posted by Dele Akinsade
Developer Platforms Evangelism Lead, Sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Islands

Developers are crucial to Africa’s digital development. Without local developers to rely on, Africa would struggle to gain ground in an increasingly digital global economy. And, they are important to our ecosystem in Africa because we rely on them to make our offerings locally relevant. For example, when Windows 8 was launched worldwide last year, African developers seized the opportunity to create new apps to address Africa’s unique opportunities and challenges.

To support the development of a vibrant, strong developer community in Africa, we hold frequent Microsoft DEV Camps across the continent. They are not only a great opportunity for developers to learn from experts and network with each other, but also to have valuable hands-on time to practically apply what they have learnt to an IT problem. What’s more, they are completely free!

DEV Camps are an important part of our commitment to Africa. The Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative, launched in February 2013, is built on the belief that technology can accelerate growth for Africa, and that Africa can also accelerate technology for the world. We know that African developers not only have the potential to solve local challenges, but to solve global ones too, and this is why we’re increasing our investments even further in reaching out to African developers.

So don’t miss out on the opportunity to be part of Microsoft developers’ community by participating in one of the upcoming Microsoft DEV Camps in Africa, taking place in Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia and Kenya in 2013. If you are unable to attend any of the Camps, you can start perfecting your development skills through our array of online resources:

- DreamSpark provides students with software design and development tools at no charge.

- Microsoft Virtual Academy provides free online IT training & learning of Windows, Microsoft Technologies through courses designed by industry experts.

- Channel 9 keeps you up to date with videos from people behind the scenes building products at Microsoft.

- Microsoft Learning provides online computer training, and online computer certification for all Microsoft technology products, courses, and exams.

- BizSpark provides free software, support, visibility, and community to promising start-ups and visionary entrepreneurs.

For details on upcoming DEV Camps in your region, you can follow these Facebook pages and groups: Microsoft Africa; Africa Apps, Microsoft DPE WCA, DPE Nigeria, DPE Indian OceanIslands, and DPE East and Southern
Africa.  

You can also follow @MicrosoftAfrica and @AfricaApps onTwitter.

Posted by Robert Kayihura, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft

Today, we are celebrating World Intellectual Property Day, a global event that brings attention to the importance of intellectual property in encouraging innovation and creativity. This year’s theme is ‘Creativity: The Next Generation”.

This got me thinking –when we look at the next generation in Africa, what do we need to do to ensure they are able to be as creative as they possibly can be in solving future challenges?

Finding creativity in Africa certainly isn’t the challenge. Like anywhere in the world, people across the continent have been coming up with creative solutions to everyday challenges for centuries. People are naturally innovative and in Africa this is particularly evident when you look at the informal sector, where people have found extremely creative ways of making a living and addressing local needs and challenges.

New skills needed to use new tools

However, thanks to technology, there is far more potential to solve what were previously considered unsolvable problems. Think about all the breakthroughs we’ve seen in healthcare in the last decade. Yet, while information technology (IT) is more ubiquitous and continues to advance; the disconnect between the people who experience certain challenges and those that have the ability to solve them is widening. So while there may be an app for almost every purpose in the world; most people in Africa don’t own smartphones, and those that have challenges that could potentially be solved using IT also don’t have the means or in many cases the know-how to create relevant apps.  

Local solutions to local challenges

This is why we are so passionate about supporting local developers, entrepreneurs and startups on the continent, and about ensuring the next generation has the skills and tools needed to empower themselves and contribute positively to society.

The realization of how important it is to support innovation in Africa is largely what has informed our recently launched 4Afrika Initiative. We started noticing through our work across the continent that a huge number of young people were really set on coming up with their own solutions to local challenges. While many of them succeeded without any help, these encouraging trends confirm what we’ve observed in other parts of the world – the most effective way to solve challenges in Africa, is to support the continent’s young people, aspiring entrepreneurs, and the regions small and midsize businesses by helping them access the devices and IT services they need to do the ‘problem-solving’. After all, this is a far more sustainable approach!

The missing ingredient

But there is one thing missing from this mix that is necessary to support a strong culture of innovation: a widespread understanding of the concept of intellectual property (IP), and a respect for the protection of ideas.

Last month in Tanzania African Ministers gathered to discuss the role of innovation as a driving force of social, economic, and environmental development. Countries that are highly innovative have greater development potential, and the protection of IP is central to ensuring the link between the two.

Recently I wrote about how important IP is to start-ups, and how strong IP legislation can really make all the difference when it comes to attracting investors. As I noted, inventions protected by patents are worth on average 200% more than unprotected inventions. For African entrepreneurs to have the chance to take their ideas to market and compete against global companies, they must have the assurance that all their hard work will not be stolen from them.

So this World IP Day, I urge you to consider the place innovation has in your life and in the future success of Africa – and to spread the word about how important it is for us to collectively support the culture of innovation that is already rooted in our history.

Posted by Robert Kayihura, Director of Legal & Corporate Affairs, West, East, Central Africa (WECA), Microsoft

Imagine you’re in charge of a multinational organization. Some of you may be already, but most of us aren’t that lucky (or unlucky, depending on your point of view). But imagine that you are the CEO of ‘You Corp’. You and your board want to expand your business into different countries and sell your product to new customers. What three things should you look for in order to ensure your business takes off?

First, you’re looking for demand. If your company is not offering something that customers want, you may need to rethink your plans. Let’s assume You Corp’s product is the best in its category and something a lot of consumers want to own.

Second, you need a supply chain. You’ll be importing your goods at first (maybe forever), and you need assurance that your new market or region has a transportation network and customs infrastructure that can support truck-loads of your product coming in and landing on store shelves in good time.

For some, the third factor may come as a surprise: make sure your intellectual property (IP) will be protected. IP is essential for business success, regardless of product or geography. IP protection safeguards four very important assets: patents (your inventions); trademarks (the symbols and other designs that distinguish your product or company); trade secrets (the confidential business intelligence that gives your company a competitive advantage); and copyrights (works of authorship that lead to successful books, films, music and other creative expressions).

‘But IP merely funnels riches to the already-rich!’

Not so. The protection of IP is as important to start-up companies as it is to large and wealthy multinational organizations. IP protection is what gives small and start-up ventures the confidence to compete against more established firms; it offers the assurance that their investment of time, effort and money will be protected and ultimately rewarded with the growth and success they deserve. In fact, when it comes to start-up companies, their entire value is often based on their IP, and attracting funding is dependent on how well that IP is protected. This makes IP a primary factor in attracting outside investment - and that, after all, is an important way to stimulate national and regional economies not just in Africa, but across the world.

The importance of IP to economic development 

It is well established that inventions protected by patents are worth on average 200% more than unprotected inventions. This doesn’t just mean more profit, it means more start-up capital, new and high paying jobs and services, and the creation of new industries. In turn, this all leads to increased economic growth and development which ultimately benefits society as a whole.

At the end of the day, IP protection is about fair competition. With a fair and level playing field, talented individuals, as well as small and mid-sized companies across Africa, will not only compete successfully against wealthy and more established multi-national companies, they will create jobs, improve people’s lives and help transform the region.   

Posted by Dele Akinsade
Developer Platforms Evangelism Lead, Sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Islands

It’s that time of the year again: the Microsoft Imagine Cup competition season is in full swing, with local finals taking place across the continent.  The competition brings together student innovators from every corner of the globe to showcase their great ideas for new apps -- and this year the competition is stiffer than ever.

The winning prize pot is a life-changing USD $300,000 – enough to encourage any student developer to put their head down and do some serious coding! But, as clichéd as it might sound, winning isn’t everything at Imagine Cup. The experience of presenting to a panel of expert judges, taking your idea from concept to marketplace, networking with like-minded developers from across the world, and of course, all the fun that’s to be had – is a once in a lifetime, life-changing experience. 

As always, I’m most excited to see what innovations come out of Africa, and which teams make it through to the Worldwide Finals in St. Petersburg, Russia this July. Last year, teams from Egypt and Algeria won awards and Team Cipher256 from Uganda won a Grant Award for WinSenga – a handheld device that can scan a pregnant woman’s womb to monitor baby movements and detect ectopic pregnancy or abnormal foetal heartbeats. This innovation addresses a local challenge in Uganda – lack of access to affordable antenatal care. But it also has the potential to be used in many countries in Africa, and other parts of the world. This is exactly the kind of ‘exchange’
that we referred to when we launched the 4Afrika Initiative, which is built on the belief that “technology can accelerate growth for Africa, and Africa can also accelerate technology for the world”. And while Team Cipher256 didn’t walk away with a prize at the finals, they received $50 000 through the Grant Award program, which is driven by Microsoft YouthSpark, an initiative that aims to help young people pursue an education, find employment, and foster entrepreneurship.

I urge all African students to envisage new ways of using technology to tackle the challenges that Africa – and the world- faces. You never know, next year you could be flown to an exciting location to be a part of the 2014 Worldwide Finals! And don’t forget to stay tuned to the Microsoft Africa Facebook page and @MicrosoftAfrica Twitter handle for updates on the African teams competing at this year’s
competition.

Posted by Djam Bakhshandegi
Corporate Citizenship and Partners in Learning West East Central Africa & Indian Ocean Islands 

Empowering women through education and technology is essential to the economic development of any country. In Africa, the gap between the educated population and the one that has never had the opportunity to go to school is even bigger than in other parts of the world; a difference that is exacerbated when we look at the statistics solely for the female population. Moreover, access to technology in Africa has been limited to the rich for years – a trend that is now starting to change.

When it comes to education in Africa, there is still much room for improvement. According to the United Nations, it is estimated that more than 40 per cent of women in Africa do not have access to basic education. However, the encouragement of African women to chase education in the technology sector has increased in the last years and is opening greater possibilities of bridging the gap between those who have access to opportunities and those who don’t.

 Considering technology as an important factor for the achievement of growth in Africa, there is a general awareness in the continent that women need to be educated in this field. In this sense, the UNESCO report  Science, Technology and Gender identifies that the number of women employed in the scientific and tech industries is increasing in several African countries.

Numerous organisations and foundations are starting new initiatives in Africa with the aim of improving life for women, and contributing to the development of the continent through technology and science. Microsoft is supporting this through its DigiGirlz programme, which is designed to give high-school girls the opportunity to learn about careers in technology, connect with Microsoft employees, and participate in hands-on computer and technology workshops. Every year, the DigiGirlz programme reaches over 500 young high-school girls across the continent. Often, these sessions signal new opportunities awakening in the young women’s minds. They are able to see, hear, and understand what education and technology has brought to others and what it can potentially bring to them.   And, we also recently launched Aspire Women, the official name of the female empowerment portal first disclosed as part of the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative launch in February 2013. It is an official collaboration between Microsoft Egypt, the 4Afrika Initiative and YouthSpark and is designed to empower young women to play a leadership role in their communities, build their skills and self-esteem, and introduce new models for self-employment.

If you’d like to learn more, please explore the links above and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

By: Marc Israel, Office Division Group Lead for Microsoft West, East and Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands

To celebrate the availability of Office 2013 in Microsoft West, East, Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, Microsoft is giving away 12-month Office 365 Home Premium subscriptions.

Office 365 Home Premium, one of the offerings within Office 2013, is a cloud service designed for busy households and people juggling ever-increasing work and family responsibilities. The new offering includes the latest and most complete set of Office applications; works across up to five devices, including Windows tablets, PCs and Macs; and comes with extra SkyDrive storage and Skype calling — all for US$79.00 for an annual subscription, the equivalent of less than US$7.00 per month.

To enter, simply follow @MicrosoftAfrica on Twitter, tell us what you can buy for $7 per month and stand to win a 12-month license key for Microsoft’s #Office365 Home Premium – Office for your whole household, across the devices you love.

Terms and conditions below.

Terms and Conditions

By participating in our Twitter Competition, you fully agree and accept the Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium Competition Terms and Conditions ("Terms and Conditions") and you agree to be bound by them. You also agree to abide by the terms and conditions of any third party website or service where the competition is hosted, if any. In these Terms and Conditions, "Microsoft", "we", "our", and "us" refer to Microsoft Nigeria Limited. "You," "yourself" refers to an eligible Twitter competition entrant. “The Promoter” is Microsoft Nigeria Limited, For the purposes hereof, “Territory” shall mean:  Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti , Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, French Polynesia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, New Caledonia, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, St. Helena, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

1. The Competition is only open to Twitter users aged 18 years and over, residing in the Territory.
2. Prize will be distributed via email in a non-editable Microsoft document.
3. The Competition starts on Monday 25^th of March 2013 and closes at 12:00 GMT +2 on Friday 19^th April 2013. Entries received outside of the Promotional Period will not be considered.
4. To enter the Competition, entrants must have access to a computer, the internet and have a Twitter account.
5. The prize is 1 of 35 Office 365 Home Premium license keys
6. To enter, entrants must follow @MicrosoftAfrica and tweet what they can purchase for $7 to @MicrosoftAfrica using the #Office365 hash tag. The entrants should re-tweet “@MicrosoftAfrica For $7 I can buy........ #Office365. Terms and Conditions http://bit.ly/YzzyNv”.
7. Winners will be drawn at random from all complete Tweets & followers logged during the promotional period. No purchase necessary. Entries are only valid if the entry is completed correctly in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
8. Only 1 entry per person.
9. This competition is not open to employees of Microsoft, their families or agencies.
10. You hereby grant Microsoft Corporation and its affiliates the right to publish your twitter username in online and offline media for this Competition, in the event you are a winner.
11. The winners will be notified by Twitter Direct Message within 48 hours of the Competition closing date.
12. In order to receive their prize, the winners are required to provide Microsoft with their full name and email address. Should a winner not acknowledge receipt of their win, and provide their full name and email address, within 7 days of receiving notice from Microsoft that they have won a prize, we reserve the right to redraw or not fulfill the prize.
13. The prizes will be sent out within 7 days of the winners notifying Microsoft of their full name and email address pursuant to clause 14 and 15 of these Terms and Conditions.
14. If you accept a prize, you will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting the prize, if any;
15. The Promoter will not be liable for any delays in the receipt of entries. The Promoter does not accept responsibility for entries which are not received or delivered.
16. In the event the Promoter believes that an entry contravenes these Terms and Conditions, it reserves all rights to delete the entry at its absolute and sole discretion.
17. The prizes are non-transferable and cannot be substituted with a cash alternative.
18. The prize draw decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.  In the event of a dispute, the Promoter’s decision shall be final in all respects on all entrants. The Promoter reserves the right to amend, modify, cancel or withdraw this Prize Draw and to amend these Terms and Conditions at any time without notice. The Promoter cannot guarantee the performance of any third party and shall not be liable for any act or default by a third
    party.
19. These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by the laws of Nigeria and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Nigerian courts.
20. AMENDMENT To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Promoter reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions at any time. If cheating, a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referred to as force majeure) affects the fairness and /or integrity of this Competition, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Competition. This      right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Competition, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Competition. If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Competition by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek compensation from you for any losses that we incur as a result of your actions to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may ban you from participating in any of our future Competitions, so please play fairly.
21. LIABILITY Microsoft cannot guarantee the performance of any third party and shall not be liable for any act or default by a third party. Participants in this Competition agree that Microsoft will have no liability whatsoever for any injuries, losses, costs, damage or disappointment of any kind resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly from acceptance, misuse or use of a prize, or from participation in this Competition. The foregoing shall      apply in the event your data is not received or lost by Microsoft. Nothing in this clause shall limit Microsoft’s liability in respect of death or personal injury arising out of its own negligence or arising out of fraud. The provisions of this Section shall apply to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law
22. DATA Any personal data relating to entrants will be used solely in accordance with current data protection legislation applicable in your country of residence and in the country where the data controller is located. Entrants to the Competition will not be added to any database list. They will however be contacted on the email address or phone number supplied to be advised if they were successful. Microsoft’s Privacy Statement located at http://www.microsoft.com/privacystatement/en-us/core/default.aspx will apply to this Prize Draw and to all information that we receive from your entry. Please read the Privacy Statement before accepting these Terms and
    Conditions and submitting your entry. Please note that by accepting these Terms and Conditions you are also accepting the terms of the Privacy Statement.

Posted by Fernando De Sousa, general manager, Africa Initiatives at Microsoft

Over the last few years, the East African ICT industry has experienced explosive development and has seen the growth of a thriving developer community. It is also home to the renowned ‘iHub’ – an open space made available for technologists, investors, and tech companies in Kenya. One of iHub’s initiatives, m:lab aims to be a leader in identifying, nurturing and helping to build sustainable enterprises in the knowledge economy. I believe that these kinds of inspiring collaborative projects are incredibly effective in kick-starting the momentum needed for emerging local economies to take off and become globally competitive. And that’s why I’m so excited about the announcement we made today at the Innovation Africa Digital Summit in Ethiopia: Microsoft will be collaborating with iHub and m:lab to help fuel African innovation.

Towards a common vision

Self-starters, creative thinkers and entrepreneurs are vital to the progress of developing economies. If you’ve been keeping abreast our activities in Africa, you’ll know how invested we are in supporting developers and aspiring entrepreneurs with the tools and opportunities they need to reach their full potential. Last month, we launched the 4Afrika Initiative, focused on accelerating adoption of smart-devices, empowering small- and medium-sized businesses, and raising skills development to ignite African innovation for the continent and for the world. Our strategic cooperation with iHub and m:lab is a new example of one of the many ways we are going to achieve this.

Our involvement

Our collaboration with iHub and m:lab will see the start-up community benefit from our global BizSpark programme,  and see us partner on events, research, and consulting projects. We’ll also be establishing a physical presence at iHub, making Microsoft devices like Windows Phones and Windows slates available for testing application and software. Developers hold the key to bringing our technologies ‘to life’ in Africa by making them locally relevant, and there’s no better way to ensure we are supporting them than by talking to and listening to them in person in the places they like to be.

For more information, see the official press release, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

By: Marc Israel, Office Division Group Lead for Microsoft West, East and Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands

Life is getting busier and people are continuously looking for a way to get more out of the time they have at their disposal.

The availability of Office 2013 is a step in that direction. Office 2013 makes the end user more productive in both a work and home environment. With Office you can continue working offline, while the integration with cloud technologies allows you to sync your documents seamlessly allowing you to be far more productive.

Office 365 Home Premium, one of the offerings within Office 2013, is a cloud service designed for busy households and people juggling ever-increasing work and family responsibilities. In a recent global survey,¹ nearly 60 percent of people said they don’t have the time to do the things they want to do, and more than 80 percent said they could save one or more hours a day if they were better organized. Office 365 Home Premium is designed to help people be more productive from virtually anywhere and find the flexibility to do the things they want.

To help people find more time to do the things they want, we are introducing Time to 365 (http://www.office.com/timeto365), a new crowd-sourced website where people can find and share tips, tricks, ideas and inspiration from around the world. Contributors include experts such as “techorating” pro Janna Robinson (http://www.jannarobinson.com) and everyday working parents who have found ways to simplify their lives. Tips on the site include, for example,
an idea for organizing your grocery list with OneNote on your phone, a pointer on how to pick the right-sized TV for your living room, and ways to use Office applications to help plan a child’s birthday party.

What are the top 10 features of the new Office, you may ask?

1. If you are reading, not writing or editing, click or tap View, then Read Mode in Word to hide the writing tools and menus.
2. Re-open a document or presentation, and keep reading right where you left off with Resume reading in Word and PowerPoint.
3. Like a data assistant that finishes your work for you, Flash Fill in Excel detects what you want to do and enters the rest of your data in one fell swoop, following patterns in your data.
4. Dress up your data with conditional formatting such as bars and color scales through the Quick Analysis Lens in Excel.
5. Tired of trying to precisely match the colors of shapes and pictures in PowerPoint? Let Eyedropper in PowerPoint do the work for you.
6. With an improved Presenter View in PowerPoint, the audience views your slides on a main screen, while you control the show on another screen that only you can see.
7. Inline replies in Outlook allow you to reply with one click by typing your response right in the Reading Pane.
8. Grab a quick glance at your schedule, an appointment or your to-do list with peeks in Outlook, without having to switch from email to calendar or other modes.
9. If the sound of typing is distracting, you can handwrite notes in OneNote instead of typing them. This is also useful if you’re faster at writing than at typing.
10. Instead of re-typing information or relying on links to documents, feel free to embed files in OneNote to keep them handy online or offline.

And a bonus one:

Seamlessly integrated with SkyDrive, you can save your Office documents to the cloud in one click, or work offline with your synchronized documents on your computer. A great way to keep your documents secured, while allowing you to stay productive when Internet is not available.

Note:

¹ Microsoft surveyed more than 10,000 people in over 20 countries.

Posted by Orlando Ayala, Chairman of Emerging Markets, Microsoft

In celebration of International Women’s Day, Microsoft is proud to join United Nations Women (UN Women) and artists from around the world to launch a moving and inspiring song and music video, “One Woman.” It celebrates what we all know: to enable the future we want, we must recognize the enormous potential of half of the world’s population – women. To truly unleash that potential, women must be free from discrimination, including the gender-based violence which is the focus of this year’s International Women’s Day. Up to seven in 10 women will experience some form of violence in their lifetimes. This violence causes more death and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined in women ages 15 to 44. Violence against women also comes at a high economic cost, ranging from an estimated US $11.28 billion annually in Australia, to US $32.9 billion annually in England and Wales.

The “One Woman” song aims to galvanize support and raise awareness for this issue. We encourage you to take action and share the song because together we can make a difference by saying no to violence and yes to gender equality.

As a company, Microsoft fully embraces and supports the notion of unleashing the power of women. We know we must level the playing field and open opportunities for all – these are concepts deeply rooted in our core corporate philosophy. When women are fully engaged in our workforce and society at large, they bring great ideas and drive great innovation. This is why Microsoft very much values its partnership with UN Women, a global champion for women and girls. UN Women is a vital force for advancing gender equality, tackling key issues such as ending violence against women and promoting women’s political, social and economic empowerment. By combining efforts, we are able to harness the power of technology to both empower and protect women.

Technology can be a real catalyst for improving the lives of women. This is why we jointly launched the Women’s Empowerment Award to encourage and reward students of any gender to create  technology solutions that address the world’s most pressing gender challenges. The team from Uganda who won the Imagine Cup Grant in 2012 is a great example of what’s possible. The team created WinSenga, a mobile application that allows caregivers to monitor pregnancies and save lives for less than 2 percent of the cost of an ultrasound.

Together, we are also working to make cities safer through mobile technology and to increase the number of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Microsoft’s YouthSpark through the DigiGirlz program and its partnership with the Global Give Back Circle have demonstrated that technology training and mentoring are an effective way to help transform the lives of young women (meet Mary Mwende), and Microsoft is soon expanding this model with the launch of a new site as part of our 4Afrika Initiative.

Empowering women is not just the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do. It has been shown that nations with greater gender equality and higher proportions of educated females have more robust economies. In 2012, the World Bank found that eliminating all forms of discrimination against women in employment could increase productivity per worker by up to 40 percent. The under-utilization of female talent and perspectives not only dampens productivity and IT innovation, it slows economic development. If womens’ paid employment rates rose to those of men, gross domestic product would increase by up to 14 percent by 2020.

And studies show that women invest an average of 90 percent of their income back into their families and communities, which reduces poverty and improves health and education. There is a positive ripple effect of this investment as their children receive improved nutrition, education, and their communities are healthier and safer – saving money on government services and fueling economic growth.

It is undeniable that after the economic crisis of the last decade, the world is desperately searching for a more sustainable and inclusive economic model that enables broader and lasting opportunity. We are convinced that women are and need to be an essential element to chart this critical path forward. Everyone is watching the emerging markets of the world like China, India, Brazil and others, but we believe the most exciting new emerging market for the world will be women and their capability to add tremendous economic value and social growth.

Knowing that women are key to our future, it is critical that we work together to improve their lives and demolish the restrictions they face – whether those are barriers to work or political leadership, more access to enabling technologies to foster entrepreneurship and economic independence, or the toll of gender-based violence. This is why it is so important that we’re here today to spread the message that progress for women is progress for every society. We hope you join us.

Posted by Marius Haman Corporate Attorney, Anti-Piracy, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft Middle East & Africa

Counterfeit software has been around for almost as long as computers themselves. It’s a serious problem for the global economy, and for software developers both large and small. Last year, we touched on how weak intellectual property (IP) rights protection in Africa  contribute to the current struggles of markets across the continent, as it stifles innovation if inventions aren’t adequately protected by law. And this year, on 6 March, we launched our ‘Play It Safe’ campaign, a global initiative to bring awareness to issues specifically related to software piracy.

There’s no denying that many of us now live in a hyper-connected world. We shop online, bank online, video chat with our friends online and store personal documents online such as bills, photos and contacts. The internet has given us freedom of choice, movement and accessibility. With such a large proportion of our lives now being conducted via the internet, the need for security is clear. But an IDC study, titled “The Dangerous World of Counterfeit and Pirated Software Study 2013” predicts that 2 billion counterfeit programs will be installed on PC’s in 2013. What most users don’t realise is how vulnerable their online lives become when using counterfeit software.

In 2013, one-in-three consumer PCs using counterfeit software will be infected with malware, the malicious code often hidden deep within fake software. The purpose of malware is to steal personal data and send it back to a remote computer, where it is often used by cybercriminals. The effort to combat malware is on-going: in 2013 alone, removing malware from consumer PCs will waste USD $11 billion and consume 1.5 billion hours. I’m sure we can all think of better ways to spend that time and money.

The most effective way to combat malware is to ensure the software you purchase and use is legitimate. The criminal networks that produce and sell counterfeit software go to great effort to ensure their products appear legitimate, making the identification of counterfeit software difficult for consumers.

How to Tell is a Microsoft resource that provides customers with advice on spotting the signs of counterfeit software and how to verify their software is genuine. The site features information on Microsoft’s various security measures and outlines details of what you can do if you have been the victim of counterfeit software.

I urge you to check your PC for counterfeit software because if you’re running fake programs, you could be putting your online life in harm’s way.

Posted by Niyi Omotoyinbo
Chief Consultant for 1st Intellit Solutions Limited in Nigeria
Directory Services MVP

The sixth release of Windows Server offers a complete platform for building a private cloud. Having worked on Windows Server and Active Directory since the first version, I can say that Windows Server 2012 is the best Microsoft Server Platform so far. From my point of view, the latest version of the Windows Server operating system offers businesses and hosting providers a scalable, dynamic, and multitenant-aware infrastructure that is optimized for the cloud.

But what features make Windows Server 2012 the best?

1. Server Manager, which allows users to view and manage virtually all of the information and tools that affect your server’s productivity, is for me one of the exciting and revolutionary features in Windows Server 2012. The ability to manage and view the state of your servers from a single dashboard is just amazing. I am really yet to get over this feature!

2. Windows Server 2012 PowerShell ISE 3.0, which enables users to write, run and test scripts and modules in a graphical and intuitive environment, is also another great innovation for me. I would say this is PowerShell made easy. Just write it the way you think it, and PowerShell will complete the code for you. You do not have to be an expert… just think it!

3. With the new Virtualization in Windows Server 2012, customers can easily migrate without having to change their current network architecture. The new Visualization enables the migration of a virtual machine from a server running Hyper-V to another one without the need for both of them to be in the same cluster or to share storage. It basically helps you to keep living your life while in the Cloud.

4. High Availability for Network with NIC Teaming, which allows multiple network adapters on a computer to be placed into a team, is another great feature of Windows Server 2012. Up to 32 NICs can be teamed and you can always be assured of uptime.

5. With DCHP Server Failover, I do not have to worry about IP leases if my local DCHP is down. This feature allows users to have two servers serve IP addresses and option configuration to the same subnet. Thanks to DCHP Server Failover, I have got my DHCP back covered!

Posted by: Bruce Howe, general manager of Nokia East Africa 

The Kenyan market has shown phenomenal growth in the use of mobile phones and particularly smartphones. Data from the GSM Association shows that the smartphone market is growing at 40% per annum and that this growth will continue up to 2017. The availability of cheaper smartphones will allow segments of the population that are currently not connected via mobile broadband to incorporate internet browsing in their day-to-day life.

This presents a very exciting opportunity, in Kenya and across the African continent. Today, we are launching Nokia Lumia 620, the third and most affordable in Nokia’s range of Windows Phone 8 smartphones, to the East African market. Alongside the flagship Nokia Lumia 920 and mid-range Lumia 820, which were announced earlier this month, the Nokia Lumia 620 offers a fun and youthful appeal at a highly competitive price.

Affordability remains a key issue when it comes to smartphone adoption on the continent. Through our partnership with Safaricom, we are able to package the Nokia Lumia 620 with great data offers, which ensures we are giving the market great value for money. The Windows Phone 8 operating system brings with it capabilities of its own – allowing individuals to do a lot more with their phones and enabling mobility in their every-day life and work.

If we look at the increase in productivity in Kenya, relating specifically to an increase of mobile enabled workers, in conjunction with making more smartphones available on the continent, it is not only a step in the right direction of driving up productivity, but will create other opportunities as well.

Our goals in Kenya are very much in line with Microsoft’s recent announcements around Microsoft 4Afrika – by making more smart devices available to the African market we are driving local innovation, allowing for more entrepreneurship and enabling people to play an active role in growing the African economy.

We are already seeing local apps being developed for Africans, by Africans. Feature phones have always been a priority for us and as we now see both feature and smartphones becoming more accessible. We are working closely with the Microsoft developer teams to ensure that Windows Phone 8 is supported in the African markets, with apps that are relevant and make a difference in our every-day lives.

Some examples of these are:

• Chem Calc - an educational tool that can be used by chemistry students and laboratory technicians to perform chemistry based arithmetic calculations - http://store.ovi.com/content/321872
• Healthy recipes - an illustrated cook book providing healthy local recipes - http://store.ovi.com/content/178468
• Zuru - a one stop navigation application for local tourists interested in exploring the beautiful country of Kenya - http://store.ovi.com/content/120087

Then there is also Nokia City Lens, an augmented reality application which allows individuals to use the amazing maps of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to look at integrated points of interest. It allows you to navigate to key venues, give feedback, add photos, do reviews and make personal comments.

This is not a case of force-fitting global applications in the hope of meeting local demands – we are actively engaging our developer communities and partners such as Microsoft to meet local needs. We are asking Kenyans to do things differently – engage, develop and do business that makes a difference.

Posted by: Djam Bakhshandegi
CSI Program Manager at Microsoft in Africa

Finding a job is still a daily struggle for millions of young people. Although the prospects for economic growth in Africa are good, increasing youth unemployment is limiting vital areas of that growth. Governments and industries must keep pace with supplying the opportunities to harness its potential, or face a problematic future.

With almost 200 million people aged between 15 and 24 in Africa today, the youth community represents more than 60 per cent of the continent’s total population and accounts for 45 per cent of its growing labour force. Experts predict that Africa’s labour force will be larger than China’s by 2035.

So there is a real opportunity here to make young people the drivers of prosperity and growth for an entire region. Yet the International Labour Organisation statistics show that youth unemployment in Africa actually increases as education levels increase. It is a sad truth that young Africans are more literate than their parents, and yet more of them are unemployed. We must start from the ground up to ensure that the young labour force has the capacity to take on this important role in our future. And as such, our efforts must be focused on the core foundation of providing high quality education.

Evidence suggests that secondary school achievement has regressed in some African countries, yet overall literacy is growing and Africa spends more on secondary education than the global average.

So what are we missing? What is the recipe to shift this trend, improve education and make a positive impact on youth employment prospects in Africa? The answer must surely be identifying the right kind of skills that African youth need to succeed in today’s knowledge economy, and then boosting access to these skills.

Mindful that youth is the cornerstone of economic growth and competitiveness, policymakers in the Africa and the Middle East have been undertaking a series of actions and decisions aimed at increasing assistance and opportunities for youth. But this not solely an undertaking for governments. The private sector also has a duty to curb the youth unemployment epidemic, and as a leader in the ICT sector, Microsoft role is particularly critical. As technology becomes more ingrained in industries from manufacturing to healthcare and agriculture, ICT skills are high-priority 21st-century skills for employers. Is this shift evident to youth and is it a reality across educational and professional development courses? We have a clear responsibility to communicate these advancements through open dialogue with education providers, and state the skills they expect future employees to possess.

Microsoft has recently introduced the YouthSpark initiative, a new company-wide, global program with the goal to address the opportunity divide – the gap between those who have the skills, access and opportunities to be successful and those who do not – facing young people. Through this initiative, Microsoft is creating opportunities for Africa’s youth through partnerships with governments, non-profit organisations and businesses alike. We are pledging to
serve youths by providing them with the enhanced technology and business training necessary to help them pursue additional education, obtain employment or start a new business or social venture.

As a case in point, through YouthSpark, in sub-Saharan Africa alone, we have already reached over half a million young people and made $1.1 million worth of software donations to non-Government-organisations.  In addition we have trained almost 30, 000 teachers through our Partners In Learning tools as well as equipping hundreds of small & medium businesses with relevant start up skills.

I am glad that that specific mechanisms are being put in place across the region to foster skills and employability and fight youth unemployment. As policymakers, local businesses, international organisations and non-profits, it is vital that we are not just in the same boat, but that we are all rowing in the same direction. Avoiding the issue any longer is a mistake - young people have the potential, skills and enthusiasm to drive Africa forward and we should give them the best chance to succeed.

Posted by Ali Faramawy

Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Middle
East & Africa

There is an African proverb that reads, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” We couldn’t agree more. Microsoft has been operating in Africa for 20 years, and today we have offices in 14 countries. As we look forward to our next 20 years, we wanted to explore new ways to link the growth of our business with initiatives that spur economic development for the continent. The world has recognized the promise of Africa, and Microsoft wants to invest in that promise.

This is why today, we are introducing the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative, which is designed to help improve Africa’s global competitiveness. Our goal is to empower African youth, entrepreneurs, developers, and business and civic leaders to turn great ideas into a reality that can help their community, their country, the continent, and beyond.

By 2016, the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative intends to:

- help place tens of millions of smart devices in the hands of African youth,

- bring 1 million African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) online, and

- help 200 000 Africans develop skills for entrepreneurship and employability. This will include up-skilling 100,000 members of the existing workforce, as well as training 100,000 recent graduates, 75 percent of whom we intend to help place in jobs.

A smart, affordable device

In Africa today, smartphones account for only about 10 percent of total phones in the market. As a first step toward driving the adoption of smart devices, Microsoft and Huawei today introduced the Huawei 4Afrika phone, a full-functionality Windows Phone 8 preloaded with select applications designed for Africa, by Africans. The Huawei 4Afrika phone, which is the first in what will be a series of “4Afrika” smart devices, will be targeted toward university students, developers and first-time smart phone users to ensure they have affordable access to best-in-class technology, so they can access the information and tools they need to be active global citizens. (See related blog.)

A step closer to connectivity for all

We are also partnering with the Kenyan Ministry of Information and Communications and Kenyan Internet Service Provider Indigo Telecom Ltd. to deliver low-cost, high-speed wireless broadband across Kenya. Using solar-powered
base stations together with TV white spaces, a technology partially developed by Microsoft Research, this project will deliver high-speed Internet access to areas currently lacking even basic electricity. We aim to implement similar
pilots in East and Southern Africa in the coming months to further explore the commercial feasibility of white space technologies. These pilots will be used to encourage other African countries to accelerate legislation that would
enable this white spaces technology to deliver on the promise of universal access to high-speed wireless Internet for the African continent. (See related blog and video.)

 Getting SMEs online 

To help these 1 million African SMEs get online, a new online hub will launch in April that will aggregate available, free services from Microsoft and many others which can help SMEs expand their business locally, find new business opportunities outside their immediate geography, and increase their overall competitiveness. We’re also planning to provide free domain registration for one year for those qualifying SMEs who want to create a professional website. This online hub will initially be available in Morocco and South Africa and will expand to other markets over time.

Developing Africa’s business and thought leaders

The Afrika Academy is another new initiative under the 4Afrika banner aimed specifically at capacity building and skills development. It is an education platform leveraging both online and offline learning tools to help Africans develop both technical and business skills for entrepreneurship and improved employability. Training through the Afrika Academy will be made available starting in March at no cost to higher education students, government elites and the Microsoft partner community.

Why are we doing this now? When we look at the world, many see China or the BRIC countries as the next big opportunity for growth. At Microsoft, we view the African continent as a game-changer in the global economy. We believe deeply in the potential of technology to change Africa, and we equally believe in the potential of Africa to change technology for the world. We are honored to plant this new seed for Africa, and together with our network of partners, we look forward to the next 20 years of growing amazing opportunities for the continent.

For more information, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/4Afrika.

Posted by Robert Kayihura
Director - Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft

Microsoft understands the importance of small and medium businesses (SMBs) to Africa’s economy, which is why in November we launched Keep Your Business Moving. This online program is designed to provide advice to SMB owners as well as the budding entrepreneurs that are key to Africa’s economic future – and as we enter 2013, that future looks very bright.

With a 5.3% increase in GDP expected in 2013, sub-Saharan Africa’s economy is booming. It’s been largely exempt from many of the economic factors affecting much of the Western world, meaning it’s increasingly attractive to outside investors. However, it’s worth noting that the real clout of Africa’s economy comes from SMBs, which account for 50% of African employment and add 20% to the continent’s GDP.

Running an SMB is challenging anywhere in the world, but doing so in Africa means facing up to a unique set of challenges. From a computing point of view, the top three barriers to entry are prohibitively expensive hardware, inaccessible software and, most importantly of all, a non-existent or nascent IT and broadband infrastructure – but Microsoft is committed to help through the provision of innovative solutions and programs like BizSpark and DreamSpark, which provide young businesses, students and Academic institutions with free access to developer tools and platform licenses.

To combat expensive hardware concerns, for example, SMBs can use Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 to virtualize one computer into 10 or more workstations. Not only does this reduce hardware and software costs, but energy consumption and maintenance costs can shrink by 80%. This, combined with a 3G mobile internet connection, allows Africa’s SMBs to conduct business with the rest of the world, even if the landline infrastructure is fragile.

Furthermore, Microsoft BizSpark is a global program that helps software start-ups to succeed by giving them access to software development tools for free. Again, this gives African SMBs and entrepreneurs the tools they need in order to conduct their business.

Another challenge facing Africa’s digital development is skills – not in having good ideas for businesses, but rather how to develop these ideas using modern digital tools. The solution lies in providing training for people, and the youth in particular, to teach them how to use technologies that many of them have never experienced before.

And when it comes to training and providing access to information and tools, a little can really go a long way – particularly when it comes to young people. During a trip to Malawi last year, for example, my colleagues witnessed how quickly young minds absorb information when they witnessed girls from the rural area of Chikwawa, who had never even seen a computer before, learn how to use one and put together their own CVs - in just one day.

So although there is still much to do before Africa realises its full digital potential, initiatives such as Keep Your Business Moving and BizSpark are already making a difference. And by demonstrating the power of computers and making hardware and software more accessible, we are excited to be playing a part in inspiring the next generation of African entrepreneurs and SMBs.

Posted by Dora Mbuyi
Marketing Communications & CPE Lead

Customer support has always been a core focus for Microsoft. The recent roll-out of more local support numbers in Africa is yet another important milestone for us. By expanding our local dedicated support services in Africa to include Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, Ivory Coast, and Namibia; we are underscoring our commitment to the continent.

Evolving to meet customer demand

Looking back over Microsoft’s history, it’s clear that as the company has grown and evolved, so has our support base.

- In 1975, customer support consisted of just two people, Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
- In 1990, with the launch of Windows 3.0, we had just 500 support personnel in place.
- By 1995, we were providing support in 29 languages.
- We went on to launch online support services, and later launched support services on Twitter.

Fast-forward to 2012 and we now have 90 000 employees in over 190 countries supporting and developing varied products and services for our customers and partners. This is not where it ends though.  Our roll-out of local support service in Africa is just another step in our evolution to offer customer support services that reflect the diversity and geographic breadth of our customers and partners.

Posted by Anthony Salcito
Vice President of Worldwide Education, Microsoft

Originally posted on Microsoft on the Issues 
 
One of the profound privileges of my job is that, every year around this same time, we host the Partners in Learning Global forum – this is the Olympics of innovative education. All of the participants (nearly 500 educators from more than 80 countries) are remarkable, but it gave me chills Saturday night as I watched a teacher from Pakistan – a woman named Munazza Riaz – take the stage and receive the equivalent of the gold medal for education. She beamed as she held up the flag of her nation.
 
Consider the enormous challenges and obstacles Munazza must have overcome to reach this moment. And yet, she is just one teacher – an island of excellence amidst an ocean of schools who don’t have these opportunities – due to lack of training and lack of digital access.
 
There is a lot of talk these days about the cloud. While the cloud offers enormous promise, the reality is that, without access, that promise is empty. In countries like Haiti and throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa, 90 percent of rural schools have no electricity. Without power, digital access is a non-starter. And the opportunity divide for young people widens every day.
 
Nearly one billion young people today face this opportunity divide – a gap between those who have the access, skills and opportunities to be successful and those who do not. Recently, Steve Ballmer announced YouthSpark, a companywide initiative to create opportunities for 300 million youth around the world, helping transform education and expand digital inclusion to empower youth to change their world. 
 
We firmly believe in the power of technology to help close this gap and one of the ways we can move forward is through partnerships. That’s why we are making a $75 Million commitment to unite with six of the strongest humanitarian organizations in the world – World Vision, British Council, SOS Children’s Villages, Plan International, International Rescue Committee and Catholic Relief Services – to tackle education inequalities and close the divide.
 
The $75 million commitment is in addition to the $250 million, five-year renewal of the company’s flagship Partners in Learning program we announced this past week, a reflection of our commitment to holistic transformation of education systems around the world through digital access to youth and capacity building for educators. 
 
An example of this work – Spark a Child’s Digital Future www.worldvision.org/bethespark – has launched in Kenya, scaling across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond over the next five years. For $100, individual donors can help ensure that young people in Africa cross the opportunity divide through a holistic approach including not only a device and connectivity, but comprehensive training and professional development for teachers and school leadership.
 
I want to share a story that illustrates how this model can work in some of the most challenging environments on the planet. Our team recently visited Kisapuk community school in rural Kenya. The school sits 35 kilometers off the nearest paved road. There is no electricity available within 30 square kilometers of the site. However, thanks to our partnership with World Vision, the school has been successfully operating an innovative learning lab, running off solar and 3G Internet access. Amazingly, the school has been self-sufficient for more than two years, earning more than $200 a month in income (after expenses), thanks to cell-phone charging services, printing and offline as well as online learning services. 
 
This is in part made possible via a blended model including Windows MultiPoint Server – which virtualizes one computer into 10 or more workstations – dramatically dropping the cost of hardware as well as reducing energy consumption and maintenance costs by 80 percent. In the latest version of the product, which was released this past week, schools like Kisapuk now have a means to accelerate learning inside and outside the classroom by layering in a 1:1. WMS 2012 allows teachers to layer on classroom management, wirelessly orchestrating the entire learning environment from a single interface. It’s incredibly inspiring that the exact same classroom environment deployed in schools within a 5-mile radius of the Microsoft campus is affordable and practical enough for the least-resourced schools on the planet like Kisapuk. 
 
As I reflect on the host of innovative educators around the world who are accomplishing amazing achievements in the classroom, I am filled with hope. Together with inspiring leaders like Munazza, along with our partners, we will bridge the opportunity divide, equipping the next generation of leaders with the tools they need for a brighter future.

By Dele Akinsade
Developer Platform Lead, West, East, Central Africa & Indian Ocean Islands

The launch of Windows 8 on October 26th was definitely one of the most exciting days of my career so far. Why? Well, you may already know that I am incredibly passionate about developers and the potential that exists for them to make a lasting positive contribution to Africa. And to me, the launch of Windows 8 was a single moment in time that I believe represented the opening of an enormous ‘window’ of opportunity across the continent.

We already know how many talented developers we have in Africa. We have seen them demonstrate that they are ready to compete globally during events like Imagine Cup, DEMO Africa, our Developer Camps, and through the many excellent Windows Phone 7 apps that have been developed by African developers, which we have showcased through our ‘Developer of the Week’ campaign.

The opportunity

 But now, developers, you are faced with an opportunity like no other.

Apps are at the centre of the Windows 8 experience. And we all know that the more locally relevant the app, the more useful it is to the user.

So, quite simply: You have the potential to shape the way Africa experiences Windows 8.

You have the ability to be part of the reason Windows 8 will be the most relevant version of Windows in Africa yet.

And, you have the chance to come up with apps that will address uniquely African challenges, as well as the opportunity to sell globally relevant apps to customers in over 200 markets.

With a global marketplace waiting for your apps, the best tools available for you to use, and a good financial model  – the only thing left for you to do is to get going!

I can’t wait to see what the African developer community has in store for us :)

 Akinwale Ariwodola is a Nigerian based developer and has already developed  three Windows 8 apps: MovieTimes, ClassicRSS and Slyde.

Where to start
1. Register for BizSpark, so one of our network partners can provide you access to the development tools you need.
2. Visit the Windows 8 Dev Centre to get the downloads you need

Posted by Jean-Philippe Courtois
President of Microsoft International

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting two African countries – Morocco and Ivory Coast – meeting with business, academic and government leaders in each. My agenda for both countries focused firmly on three topics which are all top of mind in nearly every country I visit in the world: education, employability and cloud computing.

In Rabat, Morocco I gave an address to 1,000 engineering students at l’Ecole Mohammedia des Ingénieurs in Rabat, encouraging them to take advantage of the many free technologies and programs available to them through Microsoft initiatives like DreamSpark and BizSpark and to get involved in this year’s Imagine Cup, our annual “World Cup” of software development that encourages students to build technology solutions to solve some of the world’s toughest challenges.  

Jean-Philippe Courtois, Samir Benmakhlouf and top Microsoft Student Partners from l’Ecole Mohammedia des Ingénieurs

I was also very proud to announce, along with our Country Manager Samir Benmakhlouf and the Institut Royal de la Culture Amazighe, the integration of the Amazigh language into Windows 8. This language is spoken by roughly 20 million people in Morocco and Algeria, and this integration will enable them all to easily engage in the digital world through Windows 8.

In Ivory Coast, I was thrilled to join our Country Manager Simon Ouattara to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of ICT through which we will jointly provide 500,000 PCs loaded with Microsoft software, including Windows and Office, to Ivorian citizens, with 100,000 of those to be delivered in the next year. As part of the same agreement and in alignment with YouthSpark, our recently announced global initiative to help 300 million youth globally in the next three years to realize their full potential, we are also extending our digital literacy efforts and our Students to Business program in the country, which will help Ivorian students get jobs with local Microsoft partners.

Bruno Koné, Minister of ICT for Ivory Coast, Jean-Philippe Courtois and Simon Ouattara

My second opportunity to connect with students was at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny de Cocody in Abidjan, where I announced a deal that will provide 100,000 students from five of Ivory Coast’s top universities with access to Live@EDU and the Microsoft IT Academy, to enable them to earn Microsoft certifications to help bolster their employability. As this country rebuilds, we believe these investments will play an important role in developing local leaders and business owners.

Overall, it was truly fantastic to be back on the continent connecting with so many customers, partners, students and our own teams who bring such passion to everything they do. We see tremendous potential in Africa and are deeply committed to strengthening and extending our presence and efforts to help all Africans realise their full potential.

Posted by Louis Otieno
Regional Director, Business Development & Strategy for Microsoft Africa

Original source: This is Africa - Where Have Africa's Future Builders Gone?

"Young people around the world are facing an emerging opportunity divide between those who have access to a good education, the skills and connections to be successful and those who do not."

The Education for All and Millennium Development Goals were set out in 2000, but twelve years on the world is a very different place.  Looking around us, there is a great deal of uncertainty. The economic and political landscape of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) continues to evolve following the Arab Spring. A global recession is exacerbating existing unemployment issues, even where the effects of the downturn are less evident, such as sub-Saharan Africa.

In particular, youth unemployment is growing across the region, and this presents a huge problem. We absolutely must not lose sight of the young people who will help shape the economies of tomorrow. These ‘future builders’ have the potential to challenge the status quo, yet in a shrinking labour market their options are becoming increasingly limited. Set to play a critical role in economic revival, our future builders need our support. How can we fashion a more inclusive economy?

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