The Speaker Faculty

This is the complete list of the confirmed contributors so far at
Mobile Web EastAfrica, with the available biographies. 

As more and more of the leading lights from the mobile industry are confirmed their details will be included here:

  • Rick Joubert, Executive Chairman, Yonder Mobile Media / Founding Chairman, South African Mobile Marketing Association
  • Erik Hersman, Director of Operations, Ushahidi
  • Isaac Nsereko, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Uganda (subject to final approval) 
  • Vincent Maher, Portfolio Manager: Internet Services, Vodacom
  • Eric Cantor, Director, AppLab Uganda, Grameen Foundation
  • Brett StClair, Country Manager – South Africa, AdMob
  • A Senior Representative from Safaricom
  • Agosta Liko, Founder, PesaPal
  • John Wesonga, Tech Lead, Multiple Choices
  • Jose Henriques, Executive Head: Online Product Management, Vodacom
  • Steve Mutinda, Founder, Shimba Technologies
  • TMS Ruge, co-Founder, Project Diaspora
  • Kahenya Kamunyu, CEO, ViRN Instruments
  • Judy Kiruri, Managing Director, BrandKey Marketing
  • Alice W. Munyua, Convener, Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) and East African Internet Governance Forum (EA-IGF)
  • Dr. Paul N. Mbatia, Chair & Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology & Social Work, University of Nairobi
  • Wilfred Mworia, Founder, African Pixel
  • George Lutta, Managing Director, Media Initiative East Africa (MIEA)
  • Steve Vosloo, Fellow, 21st Century Learning, Shuttleworth Foundation
  • Marten Schoonman, ICT4D Project Manager, Media Focus on Africa Foundation
  • Moses Kemibaro, Business Development Director, Dotsavvy
  • Paul Kukubo, Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board
  • Kris Senanu, Managing Director, Access Kenya
  • Cyril Ogana, Chief Software Officer, Cymap Business Solutions
  • John Karanja, Founder, Whive.com
  • Edith Ofwona-Adera, Senior Program Specialist, International Development Research Centre
  • Dr Kahindi Shedrach, Medical Director, Angelic Missions Mobile Hospital
  • Emer Beamer, Founder, Research and Development Director, Butterfly Works
  • Kennedy Kachwanya, Operation Manager, Maduqa.com
  • Mbugua Njihia, Chief Executive Officer, Symbiotic Media Consortium

BIOGRAPHIES:

Paul Kukubo is the Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Information and Communication technology (ICT) Board).
Mr. Kukubo held senior roles in Marketing and Advertising including a Directorship at McCann-Erickson Kenya before co-founding the technology firm 3mice Interactive Ltd, East Africa's premier e-commerce solutions provider. He was previously Chairman of the Marketing Society of Kenya.
Mr. Kukubo holds a BA in Economics and Sociology (Hons) from University of Nairobi and has completed an Advanced Management program in Strategic Planning from AF Sweden. He is a regular contributor on technology strategy and publishes his own blog www.paulkukubo.com. He was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Kenyans to Watch by The East African Standard, the longest-serving newspaper in the region.  He is married to Betty and they have two young children. He holds a deep interest in photography.
Other Roles:
• Non-executive Director and Co-Founder of 3mice Interactive Ltd.
• Non-executive Director, Kenya School of Professional Studies

Rick Joubert is a mobile media evangelist and internet entrepreneur. He established his reputation in mobile media through having led the creation of a dedicated Mobile Media business unit within South African mobile operator, Vodacom (www.vmm.co.za), one of the first mobile phone operators in the world to do so.
Rick is the founding chairman of the South African Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and recently invested in mobile marketing services provider Yonder (www.yonder.co.za), and Ringco (www.ringco.net), a mobile media platform developer. He will be assuming the roles of Chairman and CEO at these companies respectively.
He also has interests in the South African Internet services space is the non-executive chairman of second tier ISP Intdev Internet Technologies (www.intdev.co.za)
Rick is a frequent speaker on topics related to new media and especially mobile as the 7th of the mass media.
Rick’s blog:   www.rickjoubert.com
Rick on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickjoubert

Eric Cantor is an experienced entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial leader who has spent the last fifteen years on the cutting edge of technology and development. He now blends those disciplines to lead Grameen Foundation’s Application Laboratory and Community Knowledge Worker initiatives in Uganda.
Before joining Grameen Foundation, he was with Acumen Fund where he worked on technology issues both internally and with a number of investees. Prior to that, he established, managed and advised startup Internet and technology companies; worked with non-governmental organizations in developing countries; and managed complex projects. In the mid-1990s, he started an Internet Service Provider in the Washington, DC area called Internet Interstate, which was acquired by Verio, Inc., and he later held a variety of positions in management and marketing for both large and small Internet companies.
Eric has a BA in International Relations from Emory University and an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University, for which he completed a number of projects including troubleshooting the operations of a microfinance organization in Honduras.

Jose Henriques is focused on bringing the Internet to the masses and is the Executive Head of Internet Services of Vodacom. Currently on assignment from Vodafone HQ in London, he has been with Vodafone Group for over 5 years, launching Content and Mobile Internet Services for the Vodafone global footprint. Prior to Vodafone, he was Head of Open Platforms at Orange, after years in Consulting at Andersen. He holds a Degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Coimbra in Portugal and a Masters in Management of Information Systems from Texas Tech University in the USA.

Erik Hersman is an international technology influencer with a keen eye on the impact of web and mobile advancements and technology innovation across Africa. Raised in Sudan and Kenya, Erik brings unique energy and insight to the world of technology and innovation – bridging the gap between Africa and Silicon Valley. He has a B.S. in Business Management from Florida State University.

An avid blogger, Erik writes two different technology-related blogs - AfriGadget and WhiteAfrican. He is frequently a speaker at meetings and conferences dealing with technology in Africa, mapping, blogging and web application development, including; TED Global, DEMO, Picnic, PopTech, SXSW, Where 2.0 and Web 2.0.

TMS Ruge (Teddy) is the co-founder of Project Diaspora– an organization aimed at connecting the African Diaspora to socially-relevant development projects in Africa. Project Diaspora’s mission is to engage Africa’s 3 million-strong Diaspora population and their $40 billion in annual remittances to move Africa from an aid-dependent continent to an investment destination.  Teddy is also a social entrepreneur currently assisting several indigenous farmers organizations in Uganda move from subsistence farming to large-scale commercial farming of moringa. Teddy serves as an Organizational Development Consultant for socially-responsible enterprises with double-bottom lines looking to invest in East Africa. 
A mobile phone technology enthusiast, Teddy also frequently blogs about the African ICT sectors and its effects on development. He has written several articles regarding the emerging push to connect Africa to broadband internet on the Project Diaspora blog.
Teddy received a Communications Design degree from the University of North Texas and when he isn't up-country in Uganda, works as a professional photographer, web and graphic designer. His clients include the Dallas Cowboys, Haynes & Boone law firm, and MW Logistics, Agape Boarding School, & BNSF. He is also the official photographer for the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas, and the Dallas Chamber of Commerce. 
In his previous life, Teddy was a Uganda national record-holder in the decathlon and pole vault and, formerly, the high jump. He was also a one-time Ugandan Olympic hopeful in the decathlon. Teddy was born in Masindi, Uganda to a Sudanese father and a Ugandan mother. He grew up in Uganda, Kenya and Dallas, TX, but, you already knew that, didn't you?

Mbugua Njihia is a techpreneur with over 7 (seven) years experience in the new media industry with focus on web and mobile development. Instrumental in the set up and operations of one of Kenya’s inaugural value added service providers, and having worked at key positions in leading web and mobile service firms in Kenya, he possesses unique insight that marries technology with the market place. He has handled key accounts on web and mobile for firms such as Coca Cola, East African Breweries, Nation Media Group, Royal Media Services, Equity Bank, Standard Investment Bank, Central Bank of Kenya and Zain. Mbugua’s current role as CEO of Symbiotic Media Consortium is to implement the strategic goals and objectives of the company, to give direction and leadership toward the achievement of the organization’s philosophy, mission, strategy, its goals and objectives as well as seek out new business and partnerships that continue to grow Symbiotic  Media going into the future. Their strength as Symbiotic lies in their ability to craft uniquely African experiences on mobile creating platforms and services with an Africawide appeal that deliver value to both telcos and consumers alike.
http://www.mbuguanjihia.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/creativemind
Twitter: @mbuguanjihia

Steve Mutinda is a technology entrepreneur specializing in designing cutting edge mobile solutions. He holds a Bachelors Degree of Computer Science from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He has worked with leading mobile-based organizations in Kenya such as Safaricom and Cellulant.

John Wesonga is a blogger, techie and entrepreneur.  With over 7 years experience in the technology industry, he's passionate about technology, innovation and Africa.
John is CEO/Tech Lead of Multiple Choices, a technology company whose vision is to put African content online through the development of low cost, localized web applications. As Technology Director at Multiple Choices he has spearheaded the development of a corporate blogging application specifically targeted at CEO’s and business leaders.  Pioneering the use of Ruby on Rails for commercial web development in East Africa.  
He also started the TIDE (Technology, Innovation, Design & Everything) event, a monthly event that brought together business leaders, aspiring entrepreneurs and students to share and engage in meaningful discussion about the challenges of starting and running a successful business in East Africa.
His previous experiences includes consulting UNICEF NY, where he led the development of an open source story collection platform, as well as development of an emergency child registration platform.  He has also worked for UNDESA (UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs).
Currently he is working in Tanzania where my focus is on usage of mobile technology to improve access to health care (mHealth), and how community health workers can use mobile phones for data collection.
Blog: http://wesonga.peupe.net
Linkedin : http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwesonga

Agosta Liko has over 10 years IT experience in Banking and Financial Services. Prior to starting PesaPal, Liko founded Verviant Consulting Services - a Software Outsourcing Company based in Nairobi, Kenya. Liko has extensive Financial Services Experiences acquired from First Citizens Bancshares Inc, where he worked on Wire Transfer, Loans Origination and Anti Money Laundering Systems.

As CEO of Verviant, Liko consulted for G4S Compliance and Investigations, the worlds largest Insurance Fraud Investigations Organization and AutoNation, Americas largest Automobile Retailer.

Kahenya Kamunyu is CEO at ViRN Instruments, a small web application company that specializes in simple applications and web services. Through this, he have developed Wallapa - Simple Travel (www.wallapa.com), Ukurasa - Simple Reading (www.ukurasa.com), Clip49 - Simple Media (www.clip49.com) as well as Zuqka - Be Famous (www.zuqka.com). Offline, ViRN Instruments currently has interests in a new project called Yoghurt v3.0 - Simple Delights which is funded through our Micro Finance arm.

A self trained Software Developer, Kahenya has 15 years experience is software development in Open Source Fields.

Brett StClair spent 14 years working in mobile media all over the globe – engineering, implementing and selling mobile operator infrastructure from London to Mongolia.
After a decade in London, Brett returned to his birthplace, Johannesburg, to start his own mobile media agency. Brett is now utilising his extensive knowledge of the South African and African mobile media market as Country Manager for Admob, the world’s leading mobile advertising platform. His passions are family, freedom, the frenetic buzz of developing mobile technology, fine humor and, occasionally, a round or two of golf.

Alice Munyua is convener of the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet), and the East African Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF). She is an experienced advocate for African civil society and works on Information Communication, policy, regulation and internet governance. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), vice chair of the Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC-Kenya's ccTLD ),   member of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number’s (ICANN’s) Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)  representing Kenya. She is also involved in Gender research in ICTs for development in Africa.

Judy Kiruri is career Marketer with over 14 years experience with top Multinationals Unilever and Coca-Cola.  Her responsibilities in Marketing and Sales have span across geographies both in Africa and the Middle East. Between 2003 and 2006 she was at Unilever’s Africa, Middle East And Turkey group Head Office in Durban - South Africa where she led the innovation for Skin Care brands Lux, Dove, Fair & Lovely and Vaseline.  She successfully launched new product formats some of which are on the East African supermarket shelves today.  She came back to Kenya with Coca-Cola East and Central Africa division headquartered in Nairobi to take on a Senior Marketing position as the Head of Marketing for the Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe Franchise and later to the largest region, East Africa Franchise including Mozambique and Ethiopia.  She rolled out global campaigns like the Coke Side of Life and Coke Brrrrrrr to name a few. 
She set up BrandKey Marketing Ltd (www.brandkeymarketing.co.ke), a Marketing Consultancy firm in 2008 and having headed up the Media function at Unilever East Africa, Judy knew all too well that the trend was soon going to be all-things-mobile.  She ventured into Mobile Marketing in July 2009 with the launch of MobilePoa (www.mobilepoa.com), a mobile content service providing local and international ringtones, games, themes and wall papers.  Her subscription base has grown phenomenally over the last 8 months.  BrandKey Marketing, is also involved in a host of sponsorships and branding services for clients like Silverbird (Numetro) Theatres; Media Focus on Africa an international NGO among others. She is married with 3 adorable children.

Wilfred Mworia (Will) has been active in the Kenyan development scene for the last 5 years. He has worked for several software companies locally. Before venturing into the startup world he last worked as a technical evangelist (academic) at Microsoft East Africa.

Today, he runs a mobile applications development startup called African Pixel (http://www.africanpixel.com) that focuses on Smartphone applications development. He has also been involved in low end/SMS (mobile apps for social change) type of applications.

Will has also been a speaker at several local technology events and has been involved with the MIT-AITI (http://aiti.mit.edu/index.html) program amongst other initiatives locally.

He has several other ventures including the soon to launch Afrinnovator (http://www.afrinnovator.com)

Will blogs at http://wmworia.wordpress.com

Dr. Paul N. Mbatia is currently a Senior Lecturer and Chair, Department of Sociology, University of Nairobi, Kenya.  He attained his first (B.A.) degrees in Sociology & Economics in 1985 at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.  In 1988, he attained a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Sociology also at the University of Nairobi.  In 1996, he attained his Ph.D. in Sociology at Indiana University, USA.  .His academic interests in sociology are in: Sociology of development; Social Change, Science & Technology; Research Methods and Management of health care by the State in developing countries.  Dr. Mbatia has taught at the Department of Sociology, University of Nairobi, since 1989.

Besides teaching, Dr. Mbatia has conducted many academic researches and consultancies for reputable local and international organizations in Kenya.  From his research endeavours, he has published academic papers and written many research and consultancy reports 

Currently, Dr. Mbatia is involved in the World Science Project.  Since 2000, the latter project has been studying the adoption of Information Communication technologies (ICTs) – including internet and mobile phones – selected developing countries that include Ghana, Kenya and India (see worldsci.net for more details about and outputs of this project).  The project is still on-going.

Moses Kemibaro is an avid digital marketer, technology blogger and entrepreneur. For over a decade he has been at the cutting edge of the Internet, from connecting Kenya's first dial-up Internet customers, to managing ambitious web site projects, and founding Dotsavvy as one Kenya's first digital agencies. Currently, Moses is focussed on leading Dotsavvy into mobile applications and marketing services. 

Prior to Dotsavvy, Moses worked in various capacities for Africa Online, Kenyaweb and 3mice Interactive Media. He regularly speaks at technology events and is often featured in East African media on technology issues. Moses is also a co-founder of the Kenya Internet Marketing Association (KIMA) and sits on the board of the Kenya Network Information Centre (KeNIC). In 2008,  Moses won the Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Kenya Institute of Management's (KIM) Annual Business Awards.

Dotsavvy: http://www.dotsavvyafrica.com
Blog: http://www.moseskemibaro.com
Email: moses@dotsavvyafrica.com

Kris Senanu is MD, Communications Solutions Limited; a subsidiary of the AccessKenya Group where he provides strategic and operational guidance to the Internet division of the AccessKenya Group.  His qualifications include Masters of Business Administration from Warwick Business School, Bachelor of Science in International Business Administration from USIU-Africa and he is a Chartered Marketer Chartered Institute of Marketing, United Kingdom.  He has over ten years experience in the ISP industry in Kenya.  Kris is a member of Toastmasters and the NOW Foundation and holds Directorships at Decodan, AccessCyber’s Limited and La Palm Limited.

Marten Schoonman is a project manager (getting things done!) with experience in software development, telecom, marketing and media.. He coordinates the implementation of multi-media communication programs on a national level in Kenya in the field of 'communication for development' and 'ICT for development' at Media Focus on Africa. Programmes include talkshows with Louis Otieno and Julie Gichuru, The Team and Unsung Peace Heroes and focus on subjects such as leadership, democracy and conflict transformation. He has a keen interest in the application of new and social media for development.

John Karanja is the founder of Whive.com which is a mobile and web social media platform where people interact using different forms of media. John has also worked for Cymap Business Solutions as the Chief Technology Officer involved in servicing fund management information systems for leading financial institutions in Kenya.
John has a Masters degree in Sociology from the University of Oxford, England and a Bachelor of Business and Information Technology from Strathmore University, Kenya.
John has 7 years experience in developing web solutions both for small enterprises and larger organizations. He specializes in quantitative and qualitative analysis as well as social media marketing. With this background, John has recently been involved in a number of ongoing projects that involve the analysis of the social impact of ICT in Africa as well as projecting possible growth areas of ICT based solutions for the continent.
John writes regularly on these issues on his blog www.JohnKaranja.com

Edith Ofwona-Adera has over 16 years experience gained from working in government and international development organisations. She is currently a Senior Program Specialist with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada. Her specific focus is on Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), where she has been pivotal in the research work behind the development of Uganda’s and Kenya’s universal access strategies and implementation plans.
She has also managed various innovative community-based ICT projects in Africa that have contributed to improvements in health care delivery; strengthened governance systems and democracy; enhanced education; promoted agricultural production; tackled poverty and gender equality in Africa.
Edith has worked with IDRC for over 12 years in various senior capacities including as Program Manager for the Information and Communication Development Program in Africa. Before joining IDRC, she served, for 4 years, in the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture as a Senior Agricultural Officer responsible for planning, developing and evaluating donor-funded agricultural development projects and programs.  

Emer Beamer, Butterfly Works has been working for 10 years on co-creating digital programs for and with young people on society issues.  In the last few years her with mobile for 'good' projects
include:
- www.learningaboutliving.org in Nigeria where a mobile question and answer service helps young people get accurate information to questions on sexual health. in partner with One World uk
- www.peaceheroes.ushahidi.com which was run in 2008 a prize for peace efforts after the election violence, and combined the forces of new and traditional media: sms, web, radio, print, live, tv and newspaper.
 She is a strong believer in this cross media approach in landscapes where people have access to very different types of medias.
 - Founding digital design for students moving into mobile design, including Nairobits, Addisbits and ZanziBits, where students from disadvantaged background receive hands-on, yearlong training as web design and programmers before moving into full time employment.
www.nairobits.com
Emer is currently developing Sambaza Peace for Kenyan youth (of which a mobile game is a key part) which is a broader eLearning initiative which incorporates: online, Facebook, board game and mobile game approach for getting young people talking and elearning skills on the cause of conflict and their role in solving the key issues.
www.butterflyworks.org

Kennedy Kachwanya  holds  a degree in Commerce ( Finance)  from University of Nairobi and a Post graduate diploma in computer science from Starehe Technical Training Institute
In 2006 Kachwanya founded Finweb Solutions Limited, a company which specializes on online marketing and software development
In 2008  together with a friend cofounded www.Iborian.com, a social networking website.
The same year(2008) Cofounded Maduqa ( www.maduqa.com) , an ecommerce website which utilizes the power of mobile technology and internet, which was cecently described by Standard Newspaper (Kenya’s second largest Newspaper) as “an e-commerce site that gives business owners and clients a chance to connect, discuss, and review products and services in the market . It is One-stop-shop”

Dr Kahindi Shedrach was born on 3rd May,  1976 in Malindi District, Kenya. He attended Mapimo primary school from 1984 and did his KCPE in 1991. He joined Nairobi School –Former Prince of Wales between 1992 and did his Kenya Certificate of Secondary education in 1995. He joined Strathmore College- Currently Strathmore University in 1996 and completed CPA 1 in June 1997. He joined University of Nairobi –College of Health Sciences in October 1997 to pursue Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and graduated in March 2005.
Dr. Kahindi has worked in Thika District Hospital as a medical Intern between January 2005 and February 2006 and later as a medical officer till June 2006. He proceeded to Karatina District hospital where he served between July 2006 to November 2006. In December 2006, he joined Aga Khan University Hospital as a Senior House Officer in the Accident and Emergency Department and Served until October 2009. He worked on part-time at Angelic Missions Hospital from August 2009 and later resigned from Aga khan University hospital to work full-time at Angelic Missions Hospital in October 2009 where he works to-date as the Medical Director.
In June 2008, he started the E-health Project with Mr. Sisinio Muthengi a University lecturer and a long time friend and together they started Angelic Missions Mobile Hospital that would be built on internet and Mobile phone platform. They later enjoined Mr Joe Mwirigi an ICT consultant. 

Cyril Ogana has over 6 years of systems development experience and currently is Chief Software Officer at Cymap Business Solutions, a company he co-founded 3 years ago. The firm offers systems development solutions to enterprise firms within the East African region. Cyril has participated in the architecture of the company’s flagship product, Cymap Fund Manager, which is in use at a number of Kenya’s investment banks and managers.
Cyril is a graduate of the University of Nairobi Bachelor of Commerce (Management Science Option) degree. At the university he concentrated on information systems development and data analysis. His information systems project at university was a systems proposal for automation of the student registration system at the university’s School of Business. His background in data analysis has enabled him set up business intelligence systems for Cymaps clients using a variety of reporting tools.
Cyril subscribes to Cymap Business Solutions philosophy of delivery of services via widely available and well researched media, hence is very keen on Web technologies.
The firm is looking to partner with a web applications frameworks team in 2010 to further improve the speed of development and quality of its software. Cyril is currently working on this project as well as implementing the development roadmap of the firm’s products. In 2010, he will also be working on a case study on behalf of Cymap, “How Kenyan Firms are Harnessing the Power Business Intelligence Reporting Tools To Remain Competitive”.

Steve Vosloo is Communication and Analytical Skills Fellow for the Shuttleworth Foundation, guiding the organisation's strategy in terms of tackling the challenges that face South Africa from an education perspective. He began his career as a web developer, working in both Johannesburg and London during the dot-com boom. Since moving back to South Africa he has developed a passion for the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for socio-economic development.
Steve was the Design & Usability Team Leader at the Centre for e-Innovation for the Provincial Government of the Western Cape and ensured that the award-winning Cape Gateway portal was as usable and accessible to as many citizens of the Western Cape as possible. He has also presented at numerous UN conferences on e-government, local digital content and youth and ICTs.
Steve has a Masters degree in Information Systems from the University of Cape Town and recently completed a one-year Research Fellowship at Stanford University, where he researched youth and digital media.
Steve's hobbies include traveling; from weekends in the Western Cape to any form of far-flung international travel.
Steve's blog contains his thoughts and findings along the journey to research and promote Communication and Analytical Skills in South African schools.

   





 
Make a Free Website with Yola.