BongoHive
BongoHive Technology and Innovation Hub have today signed a memorandum of understanding with MTN Zambia. MTN Zambia seeks to provide support to Application and software developers in Zambia through a partnership with Bongo hive, the first technology and innovation hub in Zambia built on an entrepreneurship hub concept. The support is aimed at stimulating interest in technology advancements among the youth and exposing them to an economic platform, being in a country where only half of the working age population are employed and more than half of the population is under 15 years of age.
“With over 5 million potential users, the market prospects are bright. This sponsorship will provide an enabling environment in which developers are able to conceptualise, and bring to life applications that not only make lives better for business enterprises and the masses, but are also money making ventures for the young people. The MTN platform will be substantially rewarding for the many unemployed but tech-savvy youths. The challenge is now up to young people out there to be as innovative and creative as they can be. We are here to provide the support, training and mentorship. We will provide the MTN assets to assist this,” said Charles Molapisi, CEO MTN Zambia.
It’s evident that many youths are incapacitated by the lack of resource support, both infrastructural and monetary, required in developing and modeling ideas to aid economic breakthrough. The Application development initiative stems from the premise that, telecommunications thrives on research on new products and services that enhance the lives of consumers and improves productivity and effectiveness.
“We have been supporting entrepreneurs for about 5 years now so this partnership represents a big milestone and holds big expectation for our entrepreneurs and the startups we work with in the community. The partnership will help accelerate what we have built so far. It’s our goal that the startups can be able to leverage on this partnership and be able to not only start businesses and make money for themselves but also create an impact in their communities. Our motivation is that we put Zambia on the map by supporting that local entrepreneurs and bring down the barriers he may face, provide access to the facilities and assets he needs . A person with a great idea should be able to walk into Bongohive and get access to the content, training and internet to start working on their ideas. BongoHive itself looks to grow the entrepreneur ecosystem, ’’ said Lukonga Lindunda, Director at BongoHive.
The new world of telecommunications offers an integrated service allowing access to all media forms from voice, audio Videos or Data; meaning that specific applications are needed to run innovation and convenience through provision of required actions by the user. The range of applications may not be limited to voice calls, video conferencing, instant messaging, web and internet based communication etc.
MTN Zambia being a company that provides a technological foundation for societal communications, enabling participation and development among communities regardless of their geographical positioning, is interested in leading the delivery of a whole new digital world to its customers through provision of interactive and useful applications.
“MTNZ will provide unlimited access to the internet, Market related training to guide developers on what kind of applications to develop, that are easy to sell to the market and are attractive to the targeted customer. Technical related training to guide developers on what is required to develop applications that seamlessly integrate with MTN (Application Programmes Interface) API’s and systems.
This is all meant to make our customers’ lives a whole lot brighter,” said Charles Molapisi.
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About BongoHive:
BongoHive is Zambia’s first technology and innovation hub. Established in May 2011 and based in Lusaka, the goal was to build upon the entrepreneurship hub concept that has already proved successful in several other Sub-Saharan countries. In alignment with our values, BongoHive was established as a social enterprise that contributes to local social and economic development through skills development, professional networking and technological innovation, to unleash the untapped potential of young people seeking to succeed while making a difference through their careers.