Rise of the Innovation-Oriented City

City Momentum Index
The current cycle of globalisation, urbanisation and technological advancement is leading to a shake-up of the global urban hierarchy and creating sweeping changes to the geography of commercial real estate opportunity.

In this new era of city competition, success is no longer purely about size or inherited attributes, but revolves around innovation, liveability and a city’s ability to transform and adapt to a constantly changing socio-economic landscape.

JLL’s City Momentum Index (CMI), now in its third year, tracks the speed of change of a city’s economy and commercial real estate market, identifying those cities which have the most dynamic urban economies and are adapting most rapidly to the imperatives of technological and infrastructural transformation.

Key Highlights of 2016
Nairobi’s (11th) impressive demographic and economic momentum is necessitating the creation of infrastructure and real estate to support the city’s expansion as it registers among the highest levels of office and retail construction and  absorption of any city in the CMI. Nairobi is also pushing to become the centre of technology in Africa, with a growing number of tech incubators and venture capital funds opening in the city. The start of construction on Konza Techno City, an innovation hub including space for higher education and technology firms, is laying a solid foundation for the future.

2016 Index
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In Nairobi, garbage trucks are 'data collection ants': a very cool traffic tech solution for African cities

IN November 2013, IBM opened its first research lab in Africa, in Nairobi, Kenya.

It was only IBM’s 12th full-scale, industrial laboratory in the company’s 70-year history, intended to combine fundamental science with applied research. Choosing to launch it in Africa was a reflection of the continent’s rising status as the go-to place for anyone looking for opportunity and innovation.

One of the first problems the lab had to tackle was the mess that is Nairobi’s traffic congestion. Two years prior, the city had been ranked the fourth most painful city for commuters, in a survey of 20 cities around the world.

So IBM got down to the job of designing a data-driven traffic management system that could ease the gruelling commute. Many other cities crunch data gathered by cameras and sensors to predict and manage traffic.

But after tinkering with some designs for a while, the Nairobi researchers quickly realised that they were going to have to re-conceptualise the whole project. read more: mgafrica.com

New beans could transform Kenyan canning industry

Researchers from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, with support from Bio-resource Innovations Network for Eastern Africa Development (Bio-Innovate) Program, have developed superior, better-yielding, drought-resistant varieties of beans.  

The varieties have good canning properties and are resistant to drought and multiple diseases.  

The beans have now gone through validation process by the regulators have much shorter cooking time — about 40 per cent less cooking time compared to what is currently in the market — an attribute that is favourable to the canning industry and consumers because it significantly reduces energy costs. READ MORE: www.scidev.net

Nairobi hackathon to develop World Service chat app

BBC Connected Studio is holding a hackathon in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi next month as it looks to develop a chat app to extend the reach of the BBC World Service to young audiences in Africa.

The Nairobi hackathon  – which will be based around social platforms, specifically the use of chat apps, to reach young audiences – takes place on February 3-4, with a short evening briefing on January 29.

Winning innovative ideas will be eligible for a funded pilot of up to GBP25,000 (US$38,000).
read more: disrupt-africa.com
Developers interested in applying can do so here.

How Africa is out-innovating Silicon Valley

WHEN THINGS turned ugly after Kenya’s 2007 elections, an unlikely group of heroes — young African coders — developed a platform that used cellphones and the Internet to track the violence. Ushahidi, as it was called, would go on to transform not only government accountability in Nairobi but, more broadly, digital mapping around the world.

The African techies were at the forefront of a revolution clicking into place from Lagos to Nairobi — and everywhere in between. Today, Africa’s “Silicon Savanna” has produced innovations as varied as Wi-Fi on public transportation in Kenya to mobile midwifery services in Ghana. read more: www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/05/31/how-africa-out-innovating-silicon-valley/

Inspired by a music box, Stanford bioengineer creates $5 chemistry set

Manu Prakash won a contest to develop the 21st-century chemistry set. His version, based on a toy music box, is small, robust, programmable and costs $5. It can inspire young scientists and also address developing-world problems such as water quality and health.

After talking with graduate student George Korir, Prakash started working with him on a way of pairing the hand-cranked toy with a small silicon chip containing tiny channels for manipulating fluids. These chips, called microfluidics chips, are increasingly common in research labs, but require expensive equipment and electricity to run. The expense and equipment required is a bottleneck in adapting the technology for science education and global health, Prakash said.

What Prakash and Korir invented is inexpensive, hand-powered, self-contained and programmable. "It's important to bring open-ended tools for discovery to a broad spectrum of users without dumbing down the tools," Prakash said.  read more: phys.org/news/2014-04-music-stanford-bioengineer-chemistry-video.html

Most Innovative Companies In Africa

African startups, nonprofits, and big businesses are tackling a range of challenges, from shopping to social good.



1. iHUB
For connecting, amplifying, and accelerating Africa’s tech community. Erik Hersman's iHub has become an important resource for Kenya’s tech community. The not-for-profit is a hybrid coworking space and university commons, which has grown to more than 10,000 members in just three years and has led to the launching of 150 companies--many of which are dedicated to finding technological solutions to Africa-specific problems.


2. SANERGY
For bringing sustainable sanitation to Sub-Saharan Africa. More than 12,000 people living in Kenya's slums are now receiving daily portable toilets containing toilet paper, sawdust, soap, and water thanks to Sanergy's sustainability model--local residents purchase and manage the sanitation facilities, allowing them to become micro-entrepreneurs. Every day, the waste is collected and transported to a management center where it’s treated according to the governmental standards and turned into fertilizer for use by East African farmers who can’t afford the otherwise high prices.



3. ONE ACRE FUND
For fostering a new generation of farmers in Africa. The model is simple, but the impact is huge. One Acre Fund estimates it will represent Africa’s largest network of small farms in just a few years. The company provides farmers seed and fertilizer on credit, delivers the materials nearby for pickup, trains the farmers to use them, and helps them sell the harvests. Since launching in Kenya in 2006, One Acre Fund has expanded to surrounding Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania, reaching more than 180,000 farmers and aiming to hit 200,000 by the end of 2014.

See more: www.fastcompany.com

Philips picks Nairobi for innovation centre

image source: www.newscenter.philips.com

Philips on Friday  announced the establishment of its Africa innovation hub in Nairobi, Kenya, which underlines the company’s commitment to invest in Africa.

The hub will work both on the creation of new inventions as well as marketing. The hub will be located at the Philips East African Headquarters in Nairobi.

It will do application-focused scientific and user studies to address key challenges like improving access to lighting and affordable healthcare as well as developing innovations to meet the aspirational needs of the rising middle class in Africa. Source: www.the-star.co.ke

Research hub lifts Kenya's tech status
The facility will be tasked with developing and deploying application-focused scientific and user studies that will aid in improving access to lighting, affordable healthcare, as well as creating new inventions to meet needs of Africa's growing middle class.

The Philips Africa Innovation Hub will be located at the Philips East African headquarters in Nairobi, and will kick-off with ventures that are under development as well as those in pilot phase.

The Amsterdam-based firm says international researchers together with African talent will operate on the concept of “open innovation” and will work in close collaboration with the R&D ecosystem of Kenya and Africa. Read more: www.businessdailyafrica.com

About Philips Research: www.research.philips.com/about

90 years of Philips Research: www.research.philips.com

Boy scares off lions with flashy invention

Richard Turere, 13, doesn't like lions. In fact, he hates them. Yet this bright Maasai boy has devised an innovative solution that's helping the survival of these magnificent beasts -- by keeping them away from humans.

Living on the edge of Nairobi National Park, in Kenya, Turere first became responsible for herding and safeguarding his family's cattle when he was just nine. But often, his valuable livestock would be raided by the lions roaming the park's sweet savannah grasses, leaving him to count the losses.
read more: edition.cnn.com/2013/02/26/tech/richard turere lion lights

Google Zeitgeist Young Minds from Kenya 2012

Google invited creative young minds to apply to be part Zeitgeist Young Minds, an opportunity for young people to showcase how they are making a positive impact in our world.  This year’s 10 worldwide winners have now been named. They include two Kenyans, two South Africans a Nigerian.

Joel Mwale, 19
Skydrop Enterprise Inc has brought safe drinking water to a community of 5,000 and has become a profitable enterprise from selling bottled water across Kenya and Uganda.

Simeon Oriko, 23
The Kuyu Project trains school children on how to use social media for social change and promotes digital literacy.

see more at source: Google Africa Blog

The Zeitgeist Young Minds's channel on You Tube