innovations in kenya

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this will be thread solely dedicated to new development and discovery of new technology and ideas taking place in kenya. let me start the ball rolling.

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Pedal power for Kenya's mobiles


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46105000/jpg/_46105598_bike226.jpg It takes an hour of pedalling to charge a phone completely

Two Kenyan students are hoping to market a device that allows bicycle riders to charge their mobile phones.
Jeremiah Murimi, 24, and Pascal Katana, 22, said they wanted their dynamo-powered "smart charger" to help people without electricity in rural areas.
"We both come from villages and we know the problems," Mr Murimi told the BBC.
People have to travel great distances to shops where they are charged $2 a time to power their phone, usually from a car battery or solar panel.
"The device is so small you can put it in your pocket with your phone while you are on your bike," said Mr Murimi.
It is estimated that some 17.5 million people out of Kenya's 38.5 million population own a mobile handset - up from 200,000 in 2000.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46105000/jpg/_46105623_charger.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif We took most of [the] items from a junk yard http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif


Pascal Katana

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Young Malawian invents wind generator (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8165262.stm)

Although similar devices already exist in other countries, they are not available in Kenya.
The two electrical engineering students from Nairobi University have been working on their own invention, which they are selling for 350 Kenyan shillings ($4.50) each, over the last few months during their university break.
In Kenya, bicycles are sold with a dynamo to be attached to the back wheel to power the lights.
The dynamo lead can be switched to plug into the charger instead, they explained.
Mr Katana explained it takes an hour of pedalling to fully charge a phone, about the same time it would if it were plugged into the mains electricity.
The BBC's Ruth Nesoba says after a short ride, the phone's battery display indicated that it was charging.
Guinea pigs
The cash-strapped students used old bits of electronic equipment for the project.
"We took most of [the] items from a junk yard - using bits from spoilt radios and spoilt televisions," said Mr Katana.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46105000/jpg/_46105622_dynamo.jpg The dynamo is attached to the back wheel

Workers with bicycles at the campus were used as guinea pigs, including security guard David Nyangoro.
"I use a bicycle especially when I'm at home in the rural areas, where we travel a lot," he said.
"It's very expensive nowadays charging a phone. With the new charger I hope it will be more economical, as once you have bought it, things will be easier for you and no more expenses."
Mr Murimi says so far they have only made two chargers - but are making five more for people who have seen it demonstrated.
"And a non-government organisation in western Kenya wants 15 so they can test them out in rural areas to see how popular they prove," he said.
The two friends are about to start their fifth and final year at university in September.
"We are not planning to stop our studies," Mr Murimi said.
Kenya's National Council for Science and Technology has backed the project, and the students hope they will find a way of mass-producing the chargers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8166196.stm

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http://www.nation.co.ke/image/view/-/534852/highRes/66507/-/maxw/600/-/vrc0im/-/eco.jpg An Eco-toilet in Nairobi's central business district. Photo /FILE
Posted Wednesday, February 25 2009 at 17:30

The lake side city of Kisumu is one of the beneficiaries of a five month project by two local firms, planning to construct a total of 18 water and sanitation facilities in seven towns across the country.

The East African Breweries Foundation and Ecotact are involved in the Sh 32 million Blocks of Hope which to put up facilities such as those recently constructed in Nairobi.

Targeted towns include Nairobi, Kisumu, Kakamega, Eldoret, Nanyuki, Karatina and Thika explained Gerald Mahinda, the EABL Foundation chairman, during the launch of the project last week.

The facilities are designed to serve as water points, where the public will be able to get drinking water. Like the latest public toilet facilities within Nairobi City, there will be public information points, shoeshine centres, newspaper and magazine vendor points and other viable add-on enterprises most of which have been encompassed in the design.

“We recognise that water is a basic need and an important catalyst for both economic and social development of the country. We however cannot de-link water from sanitation especially in the informal settlements” said Mahinda.

The EABL Foundation has in the recent past been involved in provision of water and sanitation projects, which include construction of ablution blocks, sinking of boreholes, earth dams and provision of water tanks to various parts of the country.

Provision of water and sanitation facilities across the country has been named as key catalyst to meeting the Millennium Development Goals and Kenya’s Vision 2030. In response, the Government of Kenya has acknowledged the need to link private sector in development of sustainable, environment friendly water services and waste disposal projects.

According to statistics, rural urban migration is on the rise, and it is evident that urban centres are unable to cope with increasing demand for water and sanitation services.

“Our aim is to provide appropriate ecological sanitation systems in order to reduce water losses, contaminations and thus improve environmental and public health. These ablution blocks are environment friendly, and like in the ‘Iko Toilet’ facilities, no water will be needed for flushing,” said Kamithi Nganga, the Ecotact chairman.

Water and sanitation access in sub-Saharan Africa remains poor and has been recognized as one of the major contributor to poverty.

In Kenya, sanitation services, especially in the urban centres', fall below 30 per cent coverage. This poses a great danger in terms of public health as well as urban decay. For the last 20 years, the population in Kenya’s urban centres has continuously grown at over seven per cent with no corresponding growth of the infrastructure.



http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/artandculture/-/1222/534846/-/item/1/-/napwsqz/-/index.html

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Murungaru’s other love

http://www.nation.co.ke/image/view/-/647208/highRes/97563/-/maxw/600/-/offillz/-/murungaru.jpg
By GAKIHA WERUPosted Saturday, August 29 2009 at 14:06

Clad in grey khaki trousers, a blue windbreaker and matching cap, the hefty man edged closer to Olivia and scratched the back of her ears. Olivia sniffed his jacket briefly before ambling heavily across the concrete floor to the furthest corner of her shed to lie down, not interested in the big man or his visitors.




“Madam, we are not in a good mood today, are we?” the big man called out after her. Olivia did not respond. She can’t talk.

Olivia is a resident of Amboni Farm in Mweiga, just outside Nyeri town. She is a prized cow, the product of years of meticulous breeding. The big man is former powerful minister Chris Murungaru whose other love outside politics is cattle breeding and dairy farming. Dr Murungaru the cattleman is hardly known outside local and international research stations.

Best stock

By making use of modern technology, Amboni Farm currently boasts among the best stock one can find anywhere in the world. Olivia, for instance, produces between 40 and 50 litres of milk a day. For most dairy farmers, getting 15 litres a day from a cow is considered quite an achievement. Buying Olivia would require one to part with something in the region of Sh250,000.

From the superior stock, Amboni Farm supplies semen to local research stations such as Kabete and to farms in countries like Zambia, Malawi, USA, Canada and New Zealand, among others.

“Animal breeding has been my passion through most of my working life. This is something I started long before I went into politics. It is something I can’t let even politics interfere with. This is my other life,” says Dr Murungaru, a former MP for Kieni where the farm is situated.

And on his 22-acre spread lies a nugget that can catapult thousands of small-scale farmers into middle income earners in a short span of time given the right knowledge and tenacity.

“I have always been fascinated by the idea of making maximum use of small pieces of land to get maximum returns for the farmer. The secret is breeding, breeding and more breeding,” says Dr Murungaru.

When he established the farm in 1986, he soon realised that through utilising innovations in technology, it was possible to get a cow to give more milk than people thought was possible.

Although it has taken 23 years of research, the farm today has cows that would make any dairy farmer’s dreams come true.

However, Dr Murungaru acknowledges that the cost of breeding is on the higher side. An embryo off Amboni Farm for implantation in other cows is quoted at $350 (Sh27,000)
“What we are hoping for is that in the near future we will be able to establish a breeding centre where we can concentrate all technologies to produce high yielding animals that are also accessible to farmers in terms of cost,” he says.




“That we are able to keep 140 animals on 22 acres means that a farmer with an acre can keep four cows. If they produce an average of 40 litres each, the farmer can sell 160 litres a day. If you deduct the cost of production, the farmer would have an income of over Sh80,000 a month.”

Move millions

With this kind of income, Dr Murungaru continues, the country will be able to move millions of people from below the poverty line to the middle-income brackets.

He suggests that the government consider giving credit to small scale farmers to enable them upgrade their animals for maximum returns. He says that once milk production is optimised, a farmer will be able to comfortably service a bank loan or any credit advanced to him and at the same time improve his living standards.

In the proposed breeding centre, four technologies will be combined to produce the ideal dairy cow. The breeding techniques will include basic artificial insemination, embryo transfer (where fertilisation is done outside the womb and implanted in the animal) and gender selection, all of which have been successfully carried out at the farm.

Embryo transfer is important because, under natural breeding, only a fraction of the reproductive potential of one animal is achieved. While the average bull will sire 15 to 50 calves a year, a cow will produce an average 10 calves in a lifetime. In embryo transfer, a cow is treated to achieve super-ovulation.

Once this happens, artificial insemination using certified sperms of genetically superior bulls is applied. The resulting embryos are harvested and transferred to surrogate mothers for gestation. This is already happening on the farm.

“When we eventually get the centre off the ground, we will be able to embrace cutting-edge technology called Genomics. Using this technology, you are able to do DNA analysis of a bull strands to determine how much milk its heifer will produce and how they will look like,” says Dr Murungaru.

Processed and analysed

Gender selection is even more exciting. Here, sperms are processed and analysed to the extent that a farmer is 100 per cent sure he is going to get a heifer instead of having to wait for generations to get it.

“If we can have such centres replicated around the country, we would make efficient means of production available and expose farmers and just as many households to the global opportunities made available by technological transfer,” says Dr Murungaru.

(http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/lifestyle/-/1214/647190/-/item/0/-/130yq4mz/-/index.html)
Though a pharmacist by profession, Dr Murungaru is well versed in animal genetics through personal research and linkages with breeders from around the world.




The farm has produced bulls that have been sold to local research stations where they have continued to set records. The most popular bull at Kabete, called Kaburu, came from the farm. To date, it has sired 10,000 animals.

In addition to breeding, the farm produces 1,200 litres of milk a day from 60 cows. The milk is collected by Brookside Dairy.

The rest of the herd includes calves and cows that are waiting to calf down. The cattle pens are designed to accommodate animals in various stages of development.

The first stage

In the first stage – the nursery – the age of the calves ranges from one day to 12 weeks. Among the new calves are Jelimo and Doris, both sired by a bull from the US. “We only breed heifers unless we have a definite order for a bull. We can’t afford to feed bulls,” says Dr Murungaru.

Orders for bulls come from local and international research stations. The bulls are bred up to an age where they can produce semen for harvesting.

From an early age, calves are introduced to fodder such as wheat straw so they can develop capacity for digestion. At six weeks, they are moved to weaning. Here, their weight gain is closely monitored and balanced feed rations are formulated.

“De-stocking at various stages, and depending on orders, is continuously necessary because we are essentially a breeding farm. Selling specially bred cows to other farmers is our core business. We also have to be holding the exact number of animals we can manage to feed comfortably,” says Dr Murungaru.

Pregnancy confirmed

Heifers that have been inseminated are held in special pens until pregnancies are confirmed before they are moved again to the steaming unit where they wait to calf-down. Cows being milked are dried up two months before they calf-down.

“A few days before they calf-down, we move them to another special holding area and eventually to the maternity for delivery. After maternity we have a ward for recovery,” he said.
A cow’s full potential for milk production after calfing down is 60 days. During this time, they feed from a common trough in a special section to encourage competition, which helps the individual cow realise optimal production.




The cows are also trained to be calm. “For a cow to produce milk to its full capacity, it has to be very calm. Every cow has it own ‘personality’ which you need to understand to help it reach its potential,” he said.

With a river running through it, Amboni Farm uses irrigation to supplement natural rain for growing foliage. Manure from the cows is used on the farm. Foliage grown on the farm is used to make silage, which can be stored for years on end.

Running the farm has its challenges, though. “Because we are on a slope, we are unable to make extensive use of machinery so the cost of labour is high,” he said.

Currently, the electricity rationing programme has slowed down the farm’s operations as chores like milking are done using electric machines. Fodder is also prepared using electricity. Without a standby generator, operations are interrupted every three days in a week.

And the last 23 years have not been without challenges. For instance, when the then Kenya Creameries Co-operative started tottering towards the end of the 1980s, the farm found itself producing milk without a market, something Dr Murungaru describes as particularly demoralising.

“With proper management, market for milk should never be a problem. Countries such as New Zealand depend almost exclusively on milk produced in the country. There is no reason the same should not happen in Kenya,” says Dr Murungaru.

Dr Murungaru’s love affair with cows started as a boy herding his grandfather’s cows around Mt Kenya. He belongs to a generation when the main chore for young boys was looking after cows.

“As a boy, I would graze our cows in Hombe and Gathirathiru forests that are part of Mt Kenya before I joined school. We learnt everything there was to learn about taking care of cows. It was a man’s job and this is how I came to love cattle. Throughout my schooling, all the way to university, I was always around our cows during holidays,” he recalls. However, those were the traditional breed.




(http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/lifestyle/-/1214/647190/-/item/2/-/130yq4kz/-/index.html)
(http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/lifestyle/-/1214/647190/-/item/1/-/130yq4lz/-/index.html)http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/lifestyle/-/1214/647190/-/item/3/-/130yq4jz/-/index.html

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Morris Mbetsa connects a modem to his laptop and quickly logs on to youtube.com. He keys in his name and opens video news clips on him done by international TV channels.
He accesses ‘comments’ section: Users of the site have posted comments, taunting him for refusing to leave Kenya to develop his innovations.
"This hurts," he tells The Standard on Sunday. "I am developing a major innovation and if I launch it without the Government’s assistance, I will quit." http://www.eastandard.net/images/sunday/nh210609_03.jpgMorris Mbetsa, the innovator

Mbetsa has developed a radio station, a mobile phone-based car lock and track system, a Sh200 device that pumps 3,200 litres of water an hour, and a computer application that can be used to keep various records.
Message from PM
He has turned down offers from US, Germany, UK, China and Japan — where similar technology is used.
He says he has an urgent message for Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Cabinet ministers William Ruto, George Saitoti and Chirau Ali Mwakwere.
"That message remains secret. I know they will not give me an audience but I challenge them to prove me wrong," said Mbetsa.
The 19-year-old grabbed headlines internationally last year when he invented ‘Block and Track’, a vehicle anti-theft system that allows motorists to lock their cars using their cell phones.
Fresh from secondary school, Mbetsa combined voice and SMS text messaging technologies to control the vehicle’s electrical system remotely. Using cell phone, one can control the vehicle’s ignition and disable it any time.
Mbetsa has since upgraded the system to sense change of a driver. The new motorist has to give a preset voice command before ignition.
Despite the system’s impressive innovations, only 15 people — all Mbetsa’s friends — are using it. After he was first featured on KTN last year, Mbetsa has received calls from several Government officials promising to support his innovations but no promise has materialised so far. His support comes mostly from abroad and his mother.
Mbetsa has made another discovery that could help traffic police officers net reckless drivers.
The computer application can also help doctors easily track the health record of patients and assist ordinary Kenyans to ascertain products certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs). They can request a ‘key’ using the number on the Kebs label to ascertain whether the item they are about to buy is genuine.
Security system
He has devised a traffic monitoring system via a website where police officers can check records of all motorists.
He has another version which the officers can access the system using their mobile phones. If a motorist has committed an offence, the officer will key in the drivers licence number but will not be able to access the offender’s profile until he requests for a ‘key’ electronically from another authorised officer.
The officer generating the ‘key’ will electronically countercheck if the officer asking for it is on duty.
"This will reduce cases of misuse, where an officer might maliciously want to add details to somebody’s profile even if he is off duty," says Mbetsa.
The officer will get all past offences committed and the punitive measures taken against the driver. http://www.eastandard.net/images/sunday/nh210609_04.jpgMorris Mbetsa demonstrates to friends how his invented water pump works. [PHOTOS: Anne KAMONI/STANDARD]

"The officer has a provision to ‘add new offence’, but cannot edit because many may receive bribes and delete the offence," he adds.
One for Doctors
For motorists who drive off to avoid arrest, the officer will note the car registration number and will be able to know the car’s owner. The officer will also get the owner’s mobile phone number, which he will call to confirm whether the person driving is indeed the owner.
Doctors will also use the system. They can use the national identity card numbers of patients, to create a health record for all Kenyans.
For crime busting, police on patrol will use the system to check the criminal record of a suspect and add fresh offences.
Using a bicycle pump, Mbetsa has also come up with a cheap water pump that can be used for irrigation.
"Why should the Minister for Agriculture (William Ruto) go all the way to Israel to look for technology yet we have ours locally?" he posed.
Mbetsa cleared Form Four in 2006 at Challa High School in Taveta and scored B- (minus) in KCSE. He wishes to study electronic engineering and computer studies abroad but work in Kenya after studies.
His main motivation is to use his gift to lift the lives of fellow Kenyans.
He says he also has a younger brother who has been inspired by him and is also taking the "innovations route".

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/images/misc/progress.gif

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At 24, he was a nightclub bouncer and part-time matatu driver.
At night, Mr Erick Omondi provided security at several clubs and during the day was a driver on several routes in Nairobi.
Sometimes, Omondi slept in a matatus since he did not have a permanent home. He survived thus for two years, making about Sh5,000 a month.
Omondi, now 34, says after sitting KCSE examinations in 1997, he worked for six months as a dough mixer for a Nairobi bakery, earning a meagre Sh100 daily. He also worked as a sweeper and sewage serviceman for a tobacco company.
That was Omondi’s agonising life ten years ago.
However, today he owns a company in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he makes close to Sh1 million a month.
Gardening business
http://www.eastandard.net/images/wednesday/nh200509_02.jpgMr Erick Omondi at one of the picturesque fountains and gardens done by his firm, Real Time Landscape.
The company, Real Time Landscape, was launched in January and has machinery assets worth Sh10 million.
"It is a gardening business. I spruce clients’ villas and mansions, planting different species of trees and flowers and irrigating. I also build and maintain swimming pools," he explains.
He also designs and builds gazebo and pergola shades made of hard wood and used for recreation at residential houses’ lawns.
A gazebo is a pavilion structure found in parks and gardens that provides shade, basic shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest.
A pergola is a garden feature forming a shaded walk or passageway of pillars that support cross beams. As a type of gazebo, it may also be an extension of a building, as protection for an open terrace or a link between pavilions.
Omondi’s firm also specialises in pristine waterfronts and fountains.
Omondi is one of a number of Kenyans in the Diaspora who have started businesses and recorded remarkable success.
With modest education, he has made a name beautifying Dubai homes in a city of more than two million people and where oil magnates own lavish sea front palaces.
Self-practice
Omondi says: "I painstakingly design mostly at night. I taught myself the requisite skills through self-practice using computer programmes."
He says his clients comprise rich UAE residents and expatriates, including Britons and Americans. The lofty and heavily built entrepreneur says in January 2002, a friend told him of bright employment prospects in Dubai.http://www.eastandard.net/images/wednesday/nh200509_03.jpgA completed gazebo
Photos: Erick Omondi/Standard

"I left Kenya a few days later, and started with menial jobs in restaurants, including being a security officer," he says.
He discloses that he lived in a three by two metre room, whose monthly rent was Sh14, 000 for three months. After six months, he got a job as a company sales executive dealing with garden accessories and machines.
Omondi says while working with the American company, he came to the realisation that in UAE, ‘plants were gold’.
He continues: "Dubai is entirely a desert and during summer, temperatures rise to as high as 45 degrees centigrade. Thus, residents invest in private gardens to reduce heat and offer relaxation places."
After two years with the company, he moved in 2007 to another company dealing with household items and hardware.
"I was the depot manager, met and befriended a colleague who came up with the idea of starting a landscaping firm," he recalls.
However, the venture collapsed less than six months later.
"I nearly gave up, but when I looked back at how I had struggled, I decided to start my own enterprise," recalls Omondi.
His mother died when he was in Form One, and his father retired a year later. He died last year. Omondi could thus not acquire college education.
With seven employees — Indians, Palestinians and Filipinos — Omondi says he has secured lucrative contracts less than six months since the company’s inception.
Reaping the fruits
The creative former bouncer-cum-matatu driver says he has three posh cars — BMW, Honda and Nissan Pathfinder — which employees use.
He lives in an apartment for which he pays Sh100, 000 a month. His wife, Ms Hernia Auma, 28, has secured a job as a hostess with an international airline.
"She is my pillar. She supported me in Nairobi, and her encouragement made a contribution to my success," he says in an interview during a recent visit to Kisumu. Omondi has big plans for his business — he envisions a chain of companies in the next ten years.
"I would like to invest in Kisumu. There is a lot of potential in this town. In the next two years, I plan to start a hotel and club. Both facilities will be of international standards," he says.
It is ironical, he says, that water is cheaper in Dubai than Kenya.
His advice to the eight million unemployed youth?
"I started with the jobs most of them look down upon. But they should realise that life is what you make of it. Let them dream, work and start small," he advises.
He says many people yearn for big jobs in foreign countries, but are disappointed that their countrymen in the Diaspora do unskilled and semi-skilled ones.
Omondi has a big heart. He has helped more than 30 Kenyans get jobs in Dubai, and also provided air tickets to some.
"I have accommodated some of my countrymen as they start their lives in Dubai. The gesture is a Thank You to God for what he has done for me," he says.

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^^its really inspiring story:cheers:

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Architect designs a water 'bicycle'








http://www.nation.co.ke/image/view/-/597794/highRes/77857/-/maxw/600/-/wbikf8/-/h+main+pic.jpg Technicians at Mr Lebanon Muchuma’s workshop working on the boat’s keel. PHOTO /ISAIAH ESIPISU
By ISAIAH ESIPISUPosted Wednesday, May 13 2009 at 15:57

After he developed the first manually operated lift that was used to repair a vandalised railway bridge in Njoro last year, a local innovator has now embarked on a high speed deep water cycle.


With financial support from the government, Thaddaeus Lebanon Muchuma, formerly a ship builder in Germany is developing what he calls a hydropedalplane, which according to his calculations, will be able to cruise at a speed of more than 50 kilometres per hour in deep waters.

“It is a bicycle on water. The only difference is that it will be moving at a high speed, which is ideal for maritime sporting. It will be as good as the existing motor boats. But it won’t use fuel, and it won’t need any form of power apart from limited human energy,” said Muchuma, a trained naval architect.

Scientists from the Kenya Industrial Property Institute have assessed the concept and design, and are in an agreement that it is viable. As a result, the institute has already patented the design on his behalf for him.

Project

On a global scale, the project design has been recognised as viable by the World Intellectual Property Organisation. “My project design was one of the only three application fielded by Kenyan scientists for the 2007 WIPO patent application.

It was assessed and given a reference number after passing all the tests,” he said displaying certificates from KIPI and WIPO.

The engineer presented the idea at the last year’s National Council for Science and Technology’s conference, after which he received a funding of Sh200,000 from the government.
“The entire project will cost Sh3.8 million when completed by the end of this year,” said Muchuma.

Last year, Muchuma constructed support pillars to be used in the repair work on a 100 feet high railway bridge after it had been vandalised in Njoro, within the Rift Valley Province.

Then he had constructed a manually operated lift, which was able to lift engineers and heavy equipment and materials from the ground using very little human energy. He has so far patented the lift technology.

Speed

If the hydropedalplane project succeeds, then Kenya will go down into innovation records for having produced the first ever manually propelled boat that moves at a high speed.

So far, the only way Kenya supports engineering innovation is through Annual Engineering Students Exhibition, which in most cases concentrates on electrical and electronic engineering projects.

Gap

In Kenya and on the entire African continent, there exists a wide gap between those who generate and store scientific knowledge and the end users. “Embracing more innovative projects, and as well recognising the innovators will definitely bridge the gap,” says the naval architect.

Pedal power is the transfer of energy from a human source through the use of a foot pedal and crank system.

This technology is most commonly used for transportation and has been used to propel bicycles for over a hundred years. Less commonly pedal power is used to power agricultural and hand tools and even to generate electricity.

(http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/artandculture/-/1222/597792/-/item/0/-/b1uva9z/-/index.html)

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The ping of a text message has never sounded so sweet. In what is being touted as a world first, Kenya's biggest mobile operator is allowing subscribers to send cash to other phone users by SMS.
Known as M-Pesa, or mobile money, the service is expected to revolutionise banking in a country where more than 80% of people are excluded from the formal financial sector.
Apart from transferring cash - a service much in demand among urban Kenyans supporting relatives in rural areas - customers of the Safaricom network will be able to keep up to 50,000 shillings (£370) in a "virtual account" on their handsets.
Developed by Vodafone, which holds a 35% share in Safaricom, M-Pesa was formally launched in Kenya two weeks ago. More than 10,000 people have signed up for the service, with around 8m shillings transferred so far, mostly in tiny denominations.
Safaricom's executives are confident that growth will be strong in Kenya, and later across Africa. "We are effectively giving people ATM cards without them ever having to open a real bank account," said Michael Joseph, chief executive of Safaricom, who called the money transfer concept the "next big thing" in mobile telephony.
M-Pesa's is simple. There is no need for a new handset or SIM card. To send money you hand over the cash to a registered agent - typically a retailer - who credits your virtual account.
You then send between 100 shillings (74p) and 35,000 shillings (£259) via text message to the desired recipient - even someone on a different mobile network - who cashes it at an agent by entering a secret code and showing ID.
A commission of up to 170 shillings (£1.25) is paid by the recipient but it compares favourably with fees levied by the major banks, whose services are too expensive for most of the population.
Mobile phone growth in Kenya, as in most of Africa, has been remarkable, even among the rural poor. In June 1999 Kenya had 15,000 mobile subscribers. Today it has nearly 8 million out of a population of 35 million, and the two operators' networks are as extensive as the access to banks is limited.
Safaricom says it is not so much competing with financial services companies as filling a void.
In time, M-Pesa will allow people to borrow and repay money, and make purchases. Companies will be able to pay salaries directly into workers' phones - something that has already attracted the interest of larger employers, such as the tea companies, whose workers often have to be paid in cash as they do not have bank accounts.
There are concerns about security, but Safaricom insists that even if someone's phone is stolen the PIN system prevents unauthorised withdrawals. Mr Joseph said the only danger is sending cash to the wrong mobile number and the recipient redeeming it straight away.
The project is being watched closely by mobile operators around the world as a way of targeting the multibillion pound international cash transfer industry long dominated by companies such as Western Union and Moneygram. Remittances sent from nearly 200 million migrant workers to developing countries totalled £102bn last year, according to the World Bank.
The GSM Association, which represents more than 700 mobile operators worldwide, believes this could quadruple by 2012 if transfers by SMS become the norm. Vodafone has entered a partnership with Citigroup that would soon allow Kenyans in the UK to send money home via text message. The charge for sending £50 is expected to be about £3, less than a third of what some traditional services charge

[vikas11]

ketone aldehyde (http://www.useful-chemicals.com/?p=22) resins with wide compatibility, process for their preparation, and their use. The invention relates to ketone-aldehyde resins with wide compatibility comprising cycloaliphatic ketones and, in particular, formaldehyde and, if desired, further monomers, to a process for their preparation and to their use as hard resin in paints, printing inks and other coatings, especially in pigment preparations.

[Social Entrepreneur]

Pedal power for Kenya's mobiles


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46105000/jpg/_46105598_bike226.jpg It takes an hour of pedalling to charge a phone completely

Two Kenyan students are hoping to market a device that allows bicycle riders to charge their mobile phones.
Jeremiah Murimi, 24, and Pascal Katana, 22, said they wanted their dynamo-powered "smart charger" to help people without electricity in rural areas.
"We both come from villages and we know the problems," Mr Murimi told the BBC.
People have to travel great distances to shops where they are charged $2 a time to power their phone, usually from a car battery or solar panel.
"The device is so small you can put it in your pocket with your phone while you are on your bike," said Mr Murimi.
It is estimated that some 17.5 million people out of Kenya's 38.5 million population own a mobile handset - up from 200,000 in 2000.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46105000/jpg/_46105623_charger.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif We took most of [the] items from a junk yard http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif


Pascal Katana

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif

Young Malawian invents wind generator (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8165262.stm)

Although similar devices already exist in other countries, they are not available in Kenya.
The two electrical engineering students from Nairobi University have been working on their own invention, which they are selling for 350 Kenyan shillings ($4.50) each, over the last few months during their university break.
In Kenya, bicycles are sold with a dynamo to be attached to the back wheel to power the lights.
The dynamo lead can be switched to plug into the charger instead, they explained.
Mr Katana explained it takes an hour of pedalling to fully charge a phone, about the same time it would if it were plugged into the mains electricity.
The BBC's Ruth Nesoba says after a short ride, the phone's battery display indicated that it was charging.
Guinea pigs
The cash-strapped students used old bits of electronic equipment for the project.
"We took most of [the] items from a junk yard - using bits from spoilt radios and spoilt televisions," said Mr Katana.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46105000/jpg/_46105622_dynamo.jpg The dynamo is attached to the back wheel

Workers with bicycles at the campus were used as guinea pigs, including security guard David Nyangoro.
"I use a bicycle especially when I'm at home in the rural areas, where we travel a lot," he said.
"It's very expensive nowadays charging a phone. With the new charger I hope it will be more economical, as once you have bought it, things will be easier for you and no more expenses."
Mr Murimi says so far they have only made two chargers - but are making five more for people who have seen it demonstrated.
"And a non-government organisation in western Kenya wants 15 so they can test them out in rural areas to see how popular they prove," he said.
The two friends are about to start their fifth and final year at university in September.
"We are not planning to stop our studies," Mr Murimi said.
Kenya's National Council for Science and Technology has backed the project, and the students hope they will find a way of mass-producing the chargers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8166196.stm

This is very encouraging to see. The youths of this nation are very talented and most of them are educated. I encourage entrepreneurs who have ongoing or upcoming new projects to check out Esther Passaris (http://www.estherpassaris.com/grants) personal website and access the financial grant she is offering. This may seem like a small amount of money but take an entrepreneur into greater heights. For more information about this financial grant visit her Blog (http://www.estherpassaris.com/blog/the-monthly-entrepreneurs-grant/).

Social Entrepreneur (http://www.estherpassaris.com/grants)

[desert burner]

Energy firm jolts market with new stove

http://www.nation.co.ke/image/view/-/650474/highRes/98474/-/maxw/600/-/yofv14/-/stove.jpg

One of the energy-efficient stoves that use firewood, charcoal or gas depending on a client’s requirement.
An energy equipment firm says it has broken new ground in the fabrication of energy-efficient stoves that reduce power consumption by 60 to 70 per cent.

Ngara-based Rapid & Quality Results Engineering makes stoves (jikos) that use firewood, charcoal or gas depending on a client’s requirement.

The product portfolio covers hot water systems, heat recovery and central heating systems designed to cut energy use.

According to Rapid’s technical director, Allan Kuria, the stoves and fryers dubbed AK- Eco fri and made of stainless steel save money by retaining and amplifying heat.

“The stoves and deep fryers are properly insulated. They are multi-fuel and use a minimum amount of either wood, charcoal or gas with easy adaptability,” he said.

At AIC Kijabe hospital, the jikos used are both gas and firewood (smokeless). Slightly over one kilogramme of gas prepares lunch for over 300 patients and staff.

Compuera Girls Mangu is using the the jikos on firewood but is seeking to convert to biogas in a few weeks’ time when the institution’s digester becomes operational.

Mr Kuria said many restaurants folding up due to the escalating cost of electricity and power rationing.

While fish and chips outlets would close down during days of power rationing, a survey of Ngara area showed it was business as usual for those who stopped using electric deep fryers as far back as two years ago.

When using charcoal, a bag will process up to 8 bags of potatoes.

Antony Maina of Goodhope bar and restaurant said his power bill had gone down from Sh65,000 last year to Sh11,000 currently.

“We prepare chips and other foods whether electricity is available or not. The stove is economical as one bag last for three days,” he said.


The fryers in use at Jambo Grill on Thika Road, Mooreland Hotel opposite Stima Plaza, Hunters Grill, Express Fish and Chips on Tubman Road, Sandton Palace Hotel and White Cafeteria in Ngara enable the outlets serve clients throughout.

Some institutions also use the AK- Hot water systems for heating.

A wheelbarrow load of firewood heats water for over 800 students at Loreto Girls High School in Limuru. Ten kilos of Kahawa coal heats water for over 200 soldiers at British Army Training Camp in Nanyuki.

“Previously I would use a sack of charcoal every day to cook. Since I installed the jiko, a bag of charcoal lasts three days,” said John Ndegwa who runs South Tetu tea kiosk in Ngara.

About 80 per cent of the Kenyan population rely heavily on biomass-based energy for cooking and heating. Over 90 per cent of educational institutions use wood fuel to prepare meals inevitably leading to massive cutting of trees.

Rapid is also seeking partners to roll out the replacement of archaic cooking systems in homesteads and other institutions with its product. The jikos are also designed to use waste briquettes, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or biogas with slight modification.

“The environment will benefit substantially, since forests will suffer less degradation and tree loss reduced by at least 60 per cent. Water resources will be better protected due to reduction in forest destruction,” said Mr Kuria.

Rapid’s products are a result of research in alternative energy going back to 1994 in Tanzania and the Maasai Mara national parks.

[desert burner]

Biogas firm targets rural areas, farmers

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/image/view/-/647694/highRes/97726/-/maxw/600/-/yhqi18z/-/biogas.jpg A Ministry of Energy official describes the workings of a biodigestor at a Nairobi International Trade Fair.


As the energy crisis bites, right after fuel prices shot through the roof, some Kenyan firms have gone green and are busy developing alternative energy sources.

One such green technology firm, Pioneer Technologies has teamed up with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology to develop biogas-based systems for cooking and cheap electricity.

The biogas is derived from manure through “anaerobic digestion” — without oxygen — using custom-built biodigesters. The biogas is made up of methane and carbon dioxide.

Pioneer’s managing director Samuel Nene says the biogas is produced through three systems: the plastic tubular digester (the cheapest and not complicated), the fixed dome and the floating drum, which are more versatile and come in varying sizes for different customers. These cost $500-$2,000 a piece.

“The digesters are built to capture the gas from the decomposing waste and transmit it through outlets linked to homes or institutions where it is used by specially-made Pioneer biogas burners. The exhausted waste goes out through another outlet as organic fertilizer which is more refined than the manure meaning nothing is lost in the process,” he said.

The firm has special biogas generators to convert the gas to cheap electricity for use by rural farmers.

He also adds that some potential customers such as schools, hospitals and similar big institutions are in a better position to use these bio-digesters for they use vast amounts of expensive fuels that eats heavily into their budgets.

The firm has partnered with USaid, and Lands ’O’ Lakes to provide technical assistance and training to users especially farmers and rural dwellers.

The growing number of firms such as Pioneer that have entered the green energy field by inventing stoves and electricity systems that are energy-efficient through using green sources is encouraging to the government as it grapples with power shortages.

This is important considering the widespread use of ozone-polluting carbon fuels, the main cause of the worsening climatic changes being witnessed globally, according to scientists.

For Keny, climate change-altered seasonal weather patterns, drastically reduced rainfall, drying lakes and rivers have now been sharply brought home by a ravaging drought that has persisted for two years resulting in the devastating famine now wreaking havoc across the country leaving a third of the population facing starvation.

It has also been the cause of the crippling water and energy shortages that are bound to see Kenya’s growth rates stagnate this year too, say economic analysts.
“The biggest challenge is creating awareness about the use of efficient alternative energy through the use of readily available biomas,” said Mr Nene.

[melbatman]

Energy firm jolts market with new stove

http://www.nation.co.ke/image/view/-/650474/highRes/98474/-/maxw/600/-/yofv14/-/stove.jpg

One of the energy-efficient stoves that use firewood, charcoal or gas depending on a client’s requirement.
An energy equipment firm says it has broken new ground in the fabrication of energy-efficient stoves that reduce power consumption by 60 to 70 per cent.

Ngara-based Rapid & Quality Results Engineering makes stoves (jikos) that use firewood, charcoal or gas depending on a client’s requirement.

The product portfolio covers hot water systems, heat recovery and central heating systems designed to cut energy use.

According to Rapid’s technical director, Allan Kuria, the stoves and fryers dubbed AK- Eco fri and made of stainless steel save money by retaining and amplifying heat.

“The stoves and deep fryers are properly insulated. They are multi-fuel and use a minimum amount of either wood, charcoal or gas with easy adaptability,” he said.

At AIC Kijabe hospital, the jikos used are both gas and firewood (smokeless). Slightly over one kilogramme of gas prepares lunch for over 300 patients and staff.

Compuera Girls Mangu is using the the jikos on firewood but is seeking to convert to biogas in a few weeks’ time when the institution’s digester becomes operational.

Mr Kuria said many restaurants folding up due to the escalating cost of electricity and power rationing.

While fish and chips outlets would close down during days of power rationing, a survey of Ngara area showed it was business as usual for those who stopped using electric deep fryers as far back as two years ago.

When using charcoal, a bag will process up to 8 bags of potatoes.

Antony Maina of Goodhope bar and restaurant said his power bill had gone down from Sh65,000 last year to Sh11,000 currently.

“We prepare chips and other foods whether electricity is available or not. The stove is economical as one bag last for three days,” he said.


The fryers in use at Jambo Grill on Thika Road, Mooreland Hotel opposite Stima Plaza, Hunters Grill, Express Fish and Chips on Tubman Road, Sandton Palace Hotel and White Cafeteria in Ngara enable the outlets serve clients throughout.

Some institutions also use the AK- Hot water systems for heating.

A wheelbarrow load of firewood heats water for over 800 students at Loreto Girls High School in Limuru. Ten kilos of Kahawa coal heats water for over 200 soldiers at British Army Training Camp in Nanyuki.

“Previously I would use a sack of charcoal every day to cook. Since I installed the jiko, a bag of charcoal lasts three days,” said John Ndegwa who runs South Tetu tea kiosk in Ngara.

About 80 per cent of the Kenyan population rely heavily on biomass-based energy for cooking and heating. Over 90 per cent of educational institutions use wood fuel to prepare meals inevitably leading to massive cutting of trees.

Rapid is also seeking partners to roll out the replacement of archaic cooking systems in homesteads and other institutions with its product. The jikos are also designed to use waste briquettes, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or biogas with slight modification.

“The environment will benefit substantially, since forests will suffer less degradation and tree loss reduced by at least 60 per cent. Water resources will be better protected due to reduction in forest destruction,” said Mr Kuria.

Rapid’s products are a result of research in alternative energy going back to 1994 in Tanzania and the Maasai Mara national parks.

this is a terrific product. where is it available and at what price?

[desert burner]

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/665460/-/unfsvg/-/index.html

[desert burner]

By Alex Kiprotich

Local universities have emerged tops in innovativeness at the ongoing Nairobi International Trade Fair.

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology students have won unmatched public admiration for their technological creativity.

The students say they intend to demonstrate to the country research is the solution to our many socio-economic challenges.

At their stand, the students drew crowds for their four inventions. This saw the institution declared the best research and development organisation.

The students have invented a shoeshine product made from weeds, a computer-based voting system, an automated irrigation system, and a hologram to boost war on counterfeits.

Peter Ogoti is the student behind the shoeshine product. The bio-shoe polish is made out of locally available weed, whose name he declines to reveal. He says he intends to patent the product first.

He insists it is environment-friendly. "Unlike those (shoe polish) in the market, this one has no petroleum products," he says.

The weed is first dried and crushed into powder then soaked in an organic solvent. "The solution is then filtered to remove the solvent using a rotating evaporator," he adds.

Ogoti is a Master of Science student. He says if the shoe polish were produced commercially, it would create jobs besides using a weed that would otherwise be a nuisance.

He collaborates with Prof Gabriel Magoma, the Vice-Chancellor Mabel Imbuga and Dr Esther Magiri in the research.

Michael Kamau and Adrian Mwai, Mechatronic Engineering students, have worked on the electronic voting machine. Kamau says the bungled 2007 presidential election results was their driving force. "We embarked on research to come up with a foolproof voting aid," he says.

The invention is unique, he says. The voter can confirm the accuracy by getting a print out showing the candidate of choice.

"Kenyans need to be sure. They cannot just believe they voted if they only press a button. They need a confirmation," says Mwai.

The voting machine

The two have already earned a date with the Interim Independent Electoral Commission for a presentation.

The system also checks out possibility of multiple voting. Once somebody votes, the name is deleted and the data register cannot recognise the thumb again. "A voter has to put his thumb on the thumb reader to be recognised if indeed one is a registered voter," he says.

The irrigation system is automated and uses solar energy to pump water.

More to it, Elizabeth Mueni says, the system is capable of detecting moisture in the soil to regulate amount of water needed. This means it is only soil with minimum moisture, which is irrigated. "I realised even as the Government plans to invest in irrigation, we still waste a lot of water in drip irrigation," she says.

Mueni, a Biomechanics and Environment Engineering student, says the machine will only release enough water for maximum use.

"A sensor detects soil moisture. It is registered in form of pressure, which is converted into electrical signals to a circuit. This sends a command to the pump switch to either allow water to flow or switch it off," she explains.

Calvine Ominde, a Masters of Science student came up with the hologram for designing security logos to curb counterfeiting.

The invention has advanced security devices to detect fake documents.

"It is a three-dimension emblem that will make it impossible for counterfeits to succeed. It can be applied for both laboratory and commercial use," he says.

"Instead of using water marks on certificates, a unique holograph can distinguish fake from original documents," he explains.

He says his invention would come in handy by the time Kenya realises Vision 2030 goals since rate of forgeries will have gone higher.

"More fake currency notes, bank credit cards, university certificates, sensitive Government documents will find way into the market. The challenge is how do we differentiate authentic documents from fake ones?" poses Ominde.

He says the emblem has three-dimensional special information and can be used by anyone to verify the authenticity of documents.

Ominde partners with Dr Geoffrey Rurimo and Dr George Nyakoe in the project.

The researchers now want the Government to fund them to improve on their inventions.

Mass market

"What we need is the Government to fund such innovations for the mass market to industriliase," said Ogeke Araka, a researcher.

He says the Government should emulate industrialised nations in appreciating technological innovations.

"If we are serious in achieving Vision 2030, our higher education must invest in research and technology, which the Government should fund," he says.

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/news/InsidePage.php?id=1144025624&cid=159&

[Mwafrika]

Another innovative Kenyan

R0HCW7lyIHQ

[desert burner]

by Dann Okoth
If you thought your handset is just for making and receiving calls, well think again.
A couple of young Kenyan entrepreneurs are about to change all that.
And the ingenious idea could prove handy, as your phone could soon replace laptops during your trip to a seminar or travel abroad.
Simusoft Enterprises, a new firm behind the new concept wants to revolutionise the use of mobile phones — drastically changing it from a tool for making and receiving calls to a portable miniature computer.
"We basically deal with installation of software into the phone from our own site to supply customers with a variety of products," says John Wekesa, Simusoft co-founder and chief executive officer.
Perhaps the most interesting development by the company is the phone locater concept, a device to locate your phone when it is stolen. Mr Wekesa says the software works in such a way that the phone memory is manipulated to only recognise your sim-card.
"When the phone is stolen any number dialled on that particular phone will revert to the owner. In this way it would be easy for the service provider to locate where the caller is and ultimately lead to an arrest," he explains.
And the daring duo from Mombasa could soon enable you demobilise your car when it is stolen anywhere within a radius of 500 kilometres — a development that would challenge established car-tracking companies.
Stopping carjackers
"We are working on a number of new products and by next year we hope to come up with a product that can stop carjackers by disabling the vehicle engine while in motion through a mobile phone," explains Wekesa.
The company’s range of products includes:
Blacklist: This gives one the peace of mind by barring certain people from calling you. The unwanted callers could include marked numbers, unknown numbers, private numbers and the system also blocks unwanted Short Message Services (SMS).
Joikuspot: Which makes the phone to be a hotspot, where one can use the phone to access Internet through a laptop.
Dictionaries: Enables the phone user to access the dictionary in different languages including French, Germany, Portugal and English.
Bibles: The Company also has software for 18 different versions of the bible that can be loaded onto the phone; they include the King James Version, The Revised Standard Edition, New King James Version, Darby Bible and Kiswahili versions.
Once hooked, the reader can also read the Bible in other languages such as French, Germany and Portugal.
Quran: They also offer Quran in Arabic and English.
Lately, the company has developed ‘Office Ensuite’ a product that makes your phone to work like a computer.
Portable miniature computer
"It has QuickBooks, Microsofthttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/mag-glass_10x10.gif (http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/InsidePage.php?id=1144026633&cid=14&#) word Google maps -— for direction purposes," he observes.
Additionally, he says, the clients can have their phones installed with You-tube for faster downloads from the phone.
"Instant messenger which offers quick and faster platform for chatting and Antivirus such as Kasperky which prevent your phone from any virus are among other benefits," he adds.
The mobile phone can be transformed into a portable miniature computer that makes the ordinary office mobile, says Wekesa. He said the firm’s products can be accessed by mobile handsets that are GPPRS enabled.
"We have hard problems with clients who own generic handsets since activating them to access our products," he says.
He said each product has a link that expires after five minutes of inactivity.
Already, the firm has over 100 clients and plans to expand business throughout the country to capitalise on the fast growing mobile telephony market.
"Our biggest challenge since we started a year ago is lack of funds to purchase some of the software, which are mainly sourced abroad," he says.
Before venturing into the business, Wekesa and his partner Dennis Nyamburata were self-employed in the jua kali sector.
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/InsidePage.php?id=1144026633&cid=14&

[desert burner]

By Victor Mukele
Traffic Police seem unable to tame rampant matatu mischief. But three men in Nakuru think they can help catch drivers who cheat on speed governors.
The technicians have devised a speed governor they claim is harder to tamper with.
The team of mechanics, who say they have spent the last five years perfecting the technology, use the mobile phone technology to relay signals that control the gadget.http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/images/wednesday/nhcap211009_04.jpgMain picture and inset, Geoffrey Muturi demonstrates how the device works.

Mr Geoffrey Muturi, Mr Geoffrey Njehia and Mr George Kuria say their innovation can beat all tricks employed by matatu operators to tamper with speed governors.
The innovation has also styled to punish rogue drivers who try to tamper with them.
The gadget is fitted with a mobile phone SIM card that communicates automatically with its system once a certain speed is reached by a vehicle.
If, for instance, the vehicle exceeds the pre-set 80 kilometres per hour speed, the gadget is wired to switch off the engine automatically.
After switching off, it cannot restart until a pre-timed duration lapses.
In the meantime, the gadget sends a short text message to the vehicle owner’s phone alerting them that it had been over speeding and has switched off. It confirms the time and place where the vehicle was speeding.
Speed limit
A road test to demonstrate how the gadget works produced the results as the manufacturers had explained.
As the vehicle that was fitted with the device exceeded the 80kph speed limit the engine went off automatically.
The mechanics and the media team waited for an hour that the manufacturers call ‘punishment duration’ for over speeding.
Muturi says the innovation is flexible as it allows one to adjust the speed limit and the ‘punishment duration’.
If the device is tampered with, the vehicle will not start since it is part of the car’s starter circuit.
Muturi says the innovation, if adopted by the Transport Licensing Board, can help reduce cheating on speed governors.
"For example, if the TLB oversees the fitting of all speed governors on matatus with this device, it can develop a database with all information of the vehicles and monitor their movement automatically," adds Njehia.
"You don’t need a camera or a police speed gun to know a vehicle is speeding, the gadget relays information to your phone. It can also be connected to relay information to a computer online," says Njehia.
Kuria says all messages from the device can be directed to a central database confirming the cars that have been speeding.
Smooth journey
It has not been a smooth journey for the trio as they have met challenges while trying to perfect their invention, they said.http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/images/wednesday/nhcap211009_05.jpgA message the device has relayed to a mobile phone. Photos: Boniface Thuku/Standard

Despite their creativity, they say one challenge has been acceptance by the people of Nakuru where they make the gadgets.
"They take time to understand and believe what we are doing," says Kuria.
"On many occasions I have been called to Nairobi to fit the gadget only to find that the customer is from Nakuru and had travelled to Nairobi while we can fix it at cheaper rate here in Nakuru," adds Muturi.
The trio did not disclose how much it costs to fit the gadget saying they are still in the trial phase.
Trademarks
Muturi says Kenyan consumers have no faith in locally made goods preferring to stick to the trademarks from Asia and Europe.
"There are a lot of innovations in Kenyahttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/mag-glass_10x10.gif (http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=1144026727&cid=4&ttl=New%20device%20to%20catch%20cheating%20matatu%20drivers#) but the has not yet acknowledged them," adds Kuria.
The technology they have employed has been pioneered in European and Asian countries to automatically time devices like fridges and electric appliances.
Njehia says public transport operators have devised means to beat the speed governor making it difficult to tame over speeding on Kenyan roads.
He says drivers get away with over speeding since most of their cars are fixed with a micro switch for immobilising speed governors whenever they want.
"If you have noticed, most matatus over speed but when an inspection is carried out, the gadgets are found to be in place," adds Kuria.
Kuria adds that the switch which is readily available and at a cheap cost, is hard to trace in a vehicle, beating police efforts to curb cheating.
Their new gadget, which works like a cut-out when switched on reacts to the continuous flow of current of electric current and switches off when interfered with.

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=1144026727&cid=4&ttl=New%20device%20to%20catch%20cheating%20matatu%20drivers

[desert burner]

http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/money/-/435440/675042/-/q16m46/-/index.html

[desert burner]

http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/artandculture/-/1222/675074/-/item/0/-/a1c3ui/-/index.html

[desert burner]

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/-/539444/675106/-/s0fp5y/-/index.html


^^damn every where they is money, you only need to think and exploit the chances plus the knowledge itself in the first place:)

[desert burner]

The post-election violence left many Kenyans with bad memories but if they had their way, such a tragedy would never recur.
It is no wonder that Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology students Adrian Mwai and Michael Mungai attracted a large curious crowd at a recent international trade fair in Nairobi with their invention, an electronic voting machine.
The machine makes voting safer, faster and accurate.
Instead of marking your selection with a pen on a ballot paper, all you have to do is touch the box displaying details of your preferred candidate on a computer screen.
The device scans your fingerprints to locate your identification details from a centralised registry and prints out a ballot paper allowing you to confirm your vote. You can then cast the vote into a "smart ballot box" which verifies the relevant details before accepting it.
If you have voted the machine will reject the ballot. Electronic voting machines are not new but what Mwai and Mungai have created is an improved version.
"We settled on the machine for our class project since we wanted to invent something relevant that solves an existing challenge facing Kenyans," Mwai explains to the crowd.
Mass production
President Mwai Kibaki was so impressed by the machine he promised the Government would help the budding engineers perfect their innovation.
The students are confident that with funds to perfect the machine it could be mass-produced in time for the next General Election.
The Interim Independent Electoral Commission is in the process of testing electronic voting machines from various parts of the world.
The budding engineers boast that their machine is the best because it prints out a physical ballot paper allowing the voter to confirm their choice which gives them confidence that their vote will count.
The students hope their invention would be used in Parliament and during university students and staff elections.
The machine will face its first major test when it is used in the forthcoming JKUAT student election.
"If we succeed in the university election, people can take us seriously," says Mwai.
The duo have patented their machine and partnered with JKUAT to look for funds to perfect and market it.
"We are calling on any person or groups who would like to partner with us to take our machine to the next level to join us," they say.

[grandwiz]

I DOUBT IF THIS THING CAN WORK!! READON

By JEVANS NYABIAGE Posted Monday, February 22 2010 at 18:00

Technology, it seems, can never stop to startle. Imagine a car running on water!

Mr Daniel Wanjuki, an environmental scientist and founder of Ecosave Technologies Ltd, has devised a new technology which, besides saving on the cost of fuel, will help curb global warming. Mr Wanjuki’s innovation uses water to produce what hydrogen gas fuel.

“This technology uses water as the only ingredient to make hydrogen gas which is used as hydrogen fuel that burns 1,000 times faster than petrol,” says Mr Wanjuki, a Master’s in environment science student at Egerton University.

He says the fuel can be used in all types of internal combustion engines – both petrol and diesel powered.

“Fuel boosting using gaseous fuel hydroxy gas, into the engine air intake results in leaner fuel combustion,” he adds.

At a time when countries are grappling with issues of global warming, the entrepreneur says using his technology would reduce a number of green house gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, and carbon monoxide.

He says it also lowers combustion temperatures, as in no black smoke associated with incomplete combustion.

“Water as exhaust is an environmental friendly by-product of the process akin to the role played by trees in the environment,” he said in an interview.

“The product leads to a cooler car engine as the water particles formed from the combustion of hydrogen gas in the presence of oxygen carry away heat more efficiently than regular exhaust fumes.”

Increasing greenhouse gas emissions and fuel prices have led to a growing need for different approaches to how world uses its precious fossil fuel reserves.

In the backdrop of the recent Copenhagen conference on climate change, motor vehicles play a major part in what scientists call the most serious environmental problem the world faces. The automobile’s main contribution comes from the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted as the engine burns fossil fuels.

Vehicles emit roughly 10 per cent of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, which are the main form of greenhouse gas pollution. The fossil fuels are deficient in oxygen, having been formed through incomplete decomposition of organic matter.

When burnt, fossil fuels take up a lot of Oxygen, leading to an oxygen deficient atmosphere that is unsuitable for most life forms, including homeostasis in the human body’s ability to physiologically regulate its inner environment to ensure stability in response to fluctuations in the outside environment.

This might actually explain the disappearance of fragile vegetation and animals from the earth’s surface.

How the concept works

Usually the car battery’s main function is to provide starting power for the vehicle. The alternator replaces the power used during cranking within the first fifteen minutes after startup. As the alternator continuously generates power to the battery while one drives the power so generated goes to waste.

The technology uses the excess power generated by the alternator to drive an on board hydroxy generator. The generator ‘breaks’ water using nanotechnology – the study of the controlling of matter on an atomic and molecular scale to produce hydrogen and oxygen bubbles.

That is chemistry at work. These bubbles are actually monatomic (single atoms or the small particles that form water) in its gaseous form.

In this form the gas is highly flammable. In fact, more flammable than hydrogen. When this gas is injected into the air intake of the engine mixing with normal air, the spark is stronger because this gas explodes/implodes faster than liquid petroleum fuel (diesel or petrol).

The result is a more efficient combustion.

Operating as Ecosave Technologies Ltd, Mr Wanjuki has patented the product and says it will hit the market in the next few weeks under the brand name Rainmaker.

He says the main reason this technology has never been adopted elsewhere is storage of the gas.

“This product is unique in that it functions on board the car hence removing the need to store the Hydrogen gas which has been the main drawback in the adoption of the hydrogen fuel technology,” he adds.

The gadget is powered by the 12-volt direct current from the vehicles battery. The water used is stored in small reservoir 1.5 litres to 4 litres similar to the windscreen washer bottle. One litre of water will give power equivalent to five litres of petrol.

He says the technology saves fuel consumption by 60 per cent but says it can be enhanced depending on the number of generators you install in the car.

It does not involve major engine modification (only a tiny 10-mm incision) in the air inlet manifold to the engine, and will be removed from a vehicle without leaving any tell tale signs. The system allows you to revert to normal fuel without readjustment.

[maasai1]

^^ if it works, its sure gonna be a revolutionary invention. On the scientific side of it, it sounds practical. I wish this creative inventor success in this!:cheers:

[grandwiz]

(The highlighted items will be huge happenings in mobile banking...truly linking m-pesa to the formal banking network...readon)

KCB won the prestigious Banking Innovation Awards for the Year 2009 for its mobile phone banking dubbed KCB Connect.

Receiving the award from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government Hon. Musalia Mudavadi, the KCB Group Information Technology Divisional Director Dr. Tony Githuku said the award demonstrated the bank’s quest for leadership in technological innovation in the Kenyan and regional market in the past one year.

“The bank is leveraging on our new state of the art core banking system, T24, to introduce new technology driven products and services and KCB Connect is one of the products,” said the Divisional Director IT

The KCB Connect launched two months ago is a mobile telephone bank that will change the financial lifestyle of over 17 million mobile telephone subscribers in this country. It provides full banking services on the mobile telephone handset at the touch of a button, including enquiries, banking instructions, funds transfers and utility bill payments.

“A key differentiator between KCB Connect and other offerings in the market is the ability of all mobile telephone subscribers to open accounts on their phones that will enable them to transact with KCB,” said Dr Githuku.

This mobile telephone banking product is currently available to all KCB accountholders and KCB credit cardholders and is targeted at all mobile telephone subscribers no matter their network and where they bank. It is the first of its kind in Kenya and positions KCB as one of the leading technology-driven banks in this region.

The Divisional Director explained that working with Kenya’s major mobile telephone networks, the bank has put in place the necessary infrastructure to enable our customers to transfer funds from one KCB account to another, from KCB to Mpesa and vice versa and from any KCB account to any phone account of the customer’s choice.

“This is particularly significant as it will allow KCB accountholders to transfer money from their Mpesa accounts to their KCB accounts effectively linking the Mpesa system to the formal banking system,” he said.

Dr Githuku affirmed that with the modern communications technology employed in the design of this service, our customers find it easy and convenient to use KCB Connect due to the use of friendly menu screens and a simple access code 522.