Press Release: ict@innovation Training Handbook released: "Free your IT-Business in Africa!"

(Accra, Bonn, 01.06.10) The open training material "ict@innovation: Free your IT-Business in Africa!" is part of the initiative ict@innovation, a partnership of FOSSFA (Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa) and InWEnt - Capacity Building International of Germany, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The handbook includes numerous successful business models suited to the African context, such as Software Selection, Software Installation, FOSS Training, Maintenance and Support, Software / Systems Migration, Consultancy, Software Localization and Internalization, FOSS Customization as well as Technical / Legal Certification. Eight in-depth case studies of successful African IT-businesses give concrete avenues for Free and Open Source business models that work in Africa. Other key sections focus on Knowledge and Skills for FOSS Entrepreneurs such as communication and business skills and on FOSS Training as a Business in Africa.

Bringing together Open Source and Business expertise across Africa

Nnenna Nwakanma, FOSSFA Council Chair, acknowledged this book as a great joint achievement and its meaning for ICT business in Africa. The training handbook has been collaboratively developed by more than 50 FOSS experts from Africa and beyond, who have contributed their expertise and helped put together this wealth of knowledge including detailed examples, model presentations, assessment tests, exercises and assignments. For their contribution/involvement “we would like to thank the team of experts, editors, authors and trainers, and particularly thank our training partners, the United Nations University Maastricht Economic and social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT), the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (AITI-KACE)” says George Nyambuya, ict@innovation Africa Coordinator for FOSSFA and InWEnt- Capacity Building International, Germany.

A starting point for new businesses: "ict@innovation: Free your IT-Business in Africa!"

“Free your IT-Business in Africa!” is a comprehensive starting point for anyone planning to start an IT business around Open Source technologies. It is particularly suitable for Training-of-Trainers and for advanced courses within ICT-associations, training institutions as well as universities.

The book consists of different training modules divided into three thematic parts:

1. The first part - African FOSS Business Models - introduces basic FOSS concepts and provides practical case studies across the African continent.

2. The second part - Knowledge and Skills for FOSS Entrepreneurs – focuses on FOSS communication and business skills which are vital for businesses and contribute immensely in helping young entrepreneurs leverage FOSS to gain a competitive advantage. Innovative and cost effective tools and techniques, community building and networking, and FOSS strategies which are vital for starting and sustaining a viable FOSS business in Africa are also covered in this part of the syllabus.

3. The third part FOSS Training as a Business – aims to foster understanding of some of the requirements for becoming a FOSS trainer, and identifies the opportunities that exist for FOSS training as a business in Africa and further introduces a global look at Linux training worldwide.

The book is available for free download at the following link of the ict@innovation website: http://www.ict-innovation.fossfa.net/node/4252. In the spirit of sharing and mutual capacity-building, the training material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike licence. Therefore, distribution, remixing and updating of the materials by their users is encouraged. For further information please visit http://www.ict-innovation.fossfa.net/wiki/public-wiki/ictinnovation-training-materials or make use of the contact pool of African http://ict-innovation.org/wiki/public-wiki/course-advanced-african-foss-business-models/FBMTrainers.

 

For further information please contact

• George Nyumbuya, FOSSFA/InWEnt ICT@Innovation

Tel: +27 (0)12 423 6313
Fax: +27 (0)12 342 8594
E-mail: george.nyambuya[a]inwent.co.za

• Petra Hagemann&Balthas Seibold, InWEnt

Tel: +49-228-4460-1382,
 
Fax: +49-228-4460-2382

E-mail: petra.hagemann[a]inwent.org

About ict@innovation

The ict@innovation programme builds capacities in African small and medium ICT enterprises to make a business with Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) – inter alia through through a training-of-trainers programme on the topic of African FOSS business models in 10 countries in Southern and East Africa. In this context, the Advanced Training Material on African FOSS Business Models for IT-SMEs is an important milestone in the endeavour to harness the potential of FOSS to drive innovation, add local value and create sustainable and affordable ICT solutions in Africa. See http://www.ict-innovation.fossfa.net/

About InWEnt and FOSSFA

InWEnt – Capacity Building International,

InWEnt, Germany, is a non-profit organisation with worldwide operations dedicated to human resource development, advanced training, and dialogue. Our capacity building programmes are directed at experts and executives from politics, administration, the business community, and civil society. We are commissioned by the German federal government to assist with the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. Further information on InWEnt's IT-Programms: www.it-inwent.org. Further information on InWEnt: www.inwent.org/en/

The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA)

FOSSFA is the premier African FOSS organization, and was founded in 2003 under the auspices of the Bamako Bureau of the African Information Society Initiative within the mandate given by African governments in 1995 to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The vision of FOSSFA is to promote the use of FOSS and the FOSS model in African development, and the organization supports the integration of FOSS in national policies. FOSSFA also

coordinates, promotes, and adds value to African FOSS initiatives, creativity, industry, expertise, efforts and activities at all levels. FOSSFA partners with development organizations who share these goals towards a participatory and gender-mainstreamed sustainable development and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa. Further information on FOSSFA: http://fossfa.net Published by ict@innovation, 2010/06/01