Appfrica has only been around for a month or so but the support from around the globe has been extremely encouraging. This article from Blog Herald profiles the conference and I answer a few questions about why Appfrica was created. A few other blogs round the web have also mentioned our efforts (1, 2, 3). But more importantly, the group that helped to make this possible TEDC is allowing Appfrica founder Jonathan Gosier to moderate a panel at Makerere University on July 31, 2008.

tarting off as a panel at the Technology for Innovation and Education in Developing Countries (http://cs.joensuu.fi/tedc2008/) at Mekerere University, Appfrica is a place where leaders in the tech industry from around the globe will use their collective knowledge to tackle the world issues of hunger, sustainable energy sources, HIV/AIDS and more. It takes place on July 31, 2008 at the esteemed Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Key area of focus will include push technologies, the semantic web, mobile devices, new ways to engage the world marketplace using the web and taking applications “off-the-grid” for use in undeveloped areas.

As referenced by TEDC, the 2007 World Bank Report entitled “Building Knowledge Economies: Advanced Strategies for Development” states that the four key drivers for successful knowledge economies in the 21st Century are education, information technology infrastructure, research and development focused on innovation, and free market based economies. The goal of Appfrica is to help cultivate minds and encourage entrepreneurship, collaboration and free-market competition with this research in mind.

When: July 31, 2008 through August 2, 2008
Where: Kampala, Uganda
Attendees: 50 people have regsitered to attend so far.
Registration: To register email us here. Registration is currently on hold but will open up again in late June after we can reasess space and resources.
Details: For more information including price click here.

About the Author: Jonathan Gosier (Founder) is an American-born software developer, writer and social entrepreneur. He currently lives in Kampala, Uganda where he is working on two fronts: to encourage western businesses and investors to engage African entrepreneurs and to encourage the adoption of computers, programming and use of the internet in the developing regions of Africa. He is a huge advocate for promoting the ways in which a semantic web will benefit emerging economies in the world.

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