CiC Update

[Nate Barthel]

Dear Coded in Country Enthusiasts,

I’m hoping to start a more regular update to this discussion group and wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of our activities as well as discuss where we might go in the future.  

CodedinCountry.org’s Goals

First, I wanted to briefly state our goals at CodedinCountry.org:

1) To increase donor/prime engagement with local software companies.

2) To increase the capacity of local software companies.  

or without the developmentese

1) To increase their number of contracts awarded, or subcontracted, to local software companies.

2) To provide services (if needed/desired) aimed at helping local companies win contracts and deliver on them effectively.

Activities to Date

Most of our activities in the past few months have focused on promoting local software companies through online case studies and corporate profiles, and we will certainly continue with this activity as it is probably one of the more valuable services we can provide.  I encourage you to read some of these case studies and profiles (linked below), particularly if they are located in a region that overlaps with your work and interests.  

Mindflow Consulting - Kenya
Axon Information Systems - Ghana
Nyaruka - Rwanda  
Souktel - West Bank
Esoko - Ghana
Afrisis - Mozambique

Future Activities

The work to date has been valuable - but more needs to be done.  

First, we need to have a more steady flow of case studies/company profiles.  I’d be particularly interested in getting representation from other parts of the world (we have been heavy in sub-Saharan Africa), but any and all would be welcome.  Please email me (nbar...@codedincountry.org) if you know of any companies or organizations that could be featured.

Second, we want to more proactively engage donor organizations and prime contractors to encourage them to use local software development firms.  We are already doing this by providing case studies and highlighting companies, but we can do more.  I’d love to come up with a way to more effectively demonstrate the potential advantages of local software development - something beyond the anecdotal.  Using local companies needs to make business sense, in addition to ‘development’ sense, to donors and primes.      

Third, we would like to start providing more services to local software companies.  First, of course, we’ll need to better understand what the challenges are that exist locally.  As I’ve had the opportunity to speak with these companies about CiC, I have also asked them what challenges they face and what we could do to help.  The answers have been understandably varied, but some themes are beginning to emerge.  I’d love to begin discussion here on this topic.  Essentially: What is needed?  What can we do to help?  

A bit further down the road, with a reasonable understanding of the challenges, we can begin to build out and refine services to local companies.  I should be careful here to differentiate between Coded in Country as a movement and CodedinCountry.org.  Many of you are already, in one way or another, heavily involved in Coded in Country.  You’ve started companies, incubation labs, technology hubs, established fellowship programs, etc.  There is simply no replacing ‘boots on the ground.’  But I still believe that there are some valuable - centrally accessible - services that we can provide.  

---

I hope this give you all an idea of what we have been thinking/doing and where we’d like to go.  I would also be remiss if I didn’t take this brief opportunity to ask for assistance.  Currently codedincountry.org is run as a volunteer organization. If any of you are interested in participating with our activities we’d love to hear from you.  http://www.codedincountry.org/participate/

Thanks.

-Nate