Cameroon seems to have discovered a path to riches, by capitalizing on the fact that millions of people each day forget to type the ‘O’ in ‘.com’. You see .cm is Cameroon’s internet domain or top level domain (tld), and they have decided to point all those spelling mistakes straight to the bank ($$$). Here are a few good examples:

• www.microsoft.cm
• www.google.cm
• www.bbc.cm

As of this writing, the above links point to a site hosted by ‘agoga.com’ that has Ad driven links targeting travel, shopping, cars etc. The ads are less conspicuous on links with names owned by bigger companies that might take all this to offense. Domains belonging to those without high profile lawyers (like me for instance), have their sites redirected somewhere else… case in point – dkfactor.cm. See for yourself.

Camtel, the company that runs this tld for Cameroon has outsourced the management of this revenue generator to a seemingly clandestine operation that can be traced back to Vancouver. This whole thing really stinks… but I have to hand it to whoever came up with the idea for being wickedly brilliant.

 Email This Post

The diamond industry PR machine has a new ally – the web. Their new web site desperately tries to educate the public and clean up an image tainted with blood. For years diamonds from Sierra Leone have been sold to buy weapons for mass slaughter of innocent victims while the diamond cartel, De Beers profits. DiamondFacts.org is really an effort to distance themselves from this carnage… but I doubt anyone is fooled.

I probably need to be focusing more on positive tech developments in Africa rather than pointing out some of the non-desirables, but I feel that all this is part and puzzle of progress.

 Email This Post

In an unprecedented move, the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission web site now allows you to report corruption occurring in Government and the public Sector. The system guarantees anonymity and confidentiality – supposedly. I just hope we’re not sending these reports to the very people we’re trying to nail. All pun aside, the effort must be commended because this is a major step towards transparency.

 Email This Post

Ever dreamt of becoming a venture capitalist? Enter Kiva… a new web site that allows individuals to make small loans to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world. You’ll be surprised to find out what a $100 loan will do to empower the working poor. Here’s how it works:

1. Lenders pick a business and make a loan using their credit card
2. Kiva transfers funds to local partners. Partner disburses  loans to each business
3. Over time, partner collects  repayments  and provides business updates at Kiva.org
4. Funders are returned to lender. Kiva lender may withdraw or re-loan

This is not called a micro-credit concept for nothing. Micro finance payments typically accrue higher interest rates, and what this means is that you can put your money to work and help someone at the same time (have your cake and eat it). This is a very democratic way of helping people in the developing world – making sure the money lands in the right hands, instead of corrupt officials and greedy non-governmental organizations. Put your money to work!

 Email This Post

As it turns out, more than 80% of the software used on the African continent is pirated (illegal). Many can justify this with a myriad of responses like:

• Software is just too expensive – how do you expect us to pay for that?
• The mega-corporations that built this software won’t feel anything – they’ve been over-charging people for years anyway

Many argue too that software piracy is a kind of equalizer for developing countries who need a leg up on the west. I actually believe this is true, because there’s no proof that it doesn’t help. I’m not advocating for piracy, but I’m trying to point out the obvious benefits to developing countries.

We understand that companies like Microsoft have to pay for their development costs, but consider this: The loss of sales to these companies are actually negligible because most people in Africa wouldn’t be able to afford the software anyway!

I can point out one area that will suffer. Local innovation will definitely be stifled, because no developer is willing to spend countless hours writing code only to have their software pirated. Piracy has in effect granted a kind of a temporary monopoly to these big companies. So what to do? It looks like open source software is the one thing that will maintain the balance necessary to keep everyone happy. My thoughts on that later…

 Email This Post

U2's Bono and Oprah are it again with JoinRed.com which has some high profile tech companies like Apple donating profits from the sale of uniquely branded products to Africa's fight against AIDS. By purchasing their specially designed, branded products you'll be contributing to the global fund for AIDS awareness.

Make a difference in someone's life and join today. I think the Red Ipod and Red Razr look really cool. 

 Email This Post

The benefits of broadband are finally being realized with the launch of JumpTV a few months ago. JumpTV is aimed at people living far away from home and want to remain connected to their country. You'll find that it boasts agreements with quite a few African channels:

• Afrisat
• Ethiopia TV
• Family Media
• Gateway TV
• KBC Channel 1
• Rwanda TV
• Star TV
• UBC
• WBS
• …and probably more at this writing

I signed up for a trial to find out just how how good the streaming quality was. At full-screen mode on my lap top, the resolution was extraordinarily good. I did experience some latency issues, but this might have been caused by my connection. Broadband is definitely a requirement unless you're ready to persevere start/stop streaming and choppy video. Subscriptions start at about $9.95/month.

JumpTV went public in August, raising $66-million on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The stock went public at $5.50 and currently sits at about $7.35.

 Email This Post