I'm an Appfrica Labs Fellow!

Just over a month ago, when I arrived in Kampala via bus from Nairobi, I immediately started spending time with Jon Gosier, founder of Appfrica Labs, a for-profit incubator and software development firm in Kampala. Sensing that this fantastic company was growing both its bottom line and its international prestige (Jon was just named a TED Fellow), I immediately agreed when Jon offered me an opportunity to work on business development.

This week, we finally announced that I will spending the rest of the summer (at least) as an Appfrica Labs Fellow. I'll mostly be working on status.ug, a internet-mobile social network portal for Uganda (more on this soon).

Why Appfrica Labs? Since I left Uganda close to three years ago, both my research and private sector work has mainly been around two connected questions: What is the effect of digital technology on society; and, what communications policies will best promote innovation and growth in emerging market technology sectors-- both with a regional focus on Africa.

Appfrica Labs gives me a perspective on these questions from one of the leading innovators in East Africa. Not to mention, after meeting the amazing Ugandan developers that Jon works with [check out the great list of ongoing projects], I'm confident that he has the right business model to succeed. I'm happy to be on board!