NAIROBI, Kenya, July 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- At the Global
Entrepreneurship Summit co-hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama in
Kenya this weekend, IBM (NYSE:
IBM) announced a new innovation and collaboration space at iHub –
the heart of Nairobi's tech
community.
Tapping expertise from IBM's existing Innovation Centre and
Research Lab in Kenya, the new IBM
Innovation Space @ iHub will be an open working environment
for software developers and start-ups designed to foster
entrepreneurial business growth and provide open access to IBM's
years of global expertise in technology-based innovation.
"Africa has millions of
entrepreneurs who are experts in their own markets and who are now
looking to technology to differentiate and compete on the global
stage," said Nick Nesbitt, Country
General Manager, IBM East Africa. "With the IBM Innovation Space @
iHub, we are extending our presence right into the heart of the
local technical community so that entrepreneurs and start-ups have
access to the tools and expertise to succeed in this exciting new
era of Africa's economic
development."
The space will provide early-stage entrepreneurs and start-ups
with access to IBM expertise, education and technology tools –
especially in the areas of cloud, Big Data analytics, mobile and
security. The IBM Innovation Space @ iHub – the first of its
kind in Africa - is set to give a
boost to the fast growing tech entrepreneur ecosystem in
Kenya and beyond.
"iHub and IBM are passionate about supporting and empowering the
success of African entrepreneurs," said Erik Hersman, Co-Founder of iHub. "By setting up
an IBM Innovation Space within the iHub community, we are giving
local developers and start-ups unique access to IBM's expertise,
business connections and resources which will help propel them to
the next level."
Located inside the iHub building in downtown Nairobi, the Innovation Space will be open to
any of iHub's 17,000 members allowing them to drop in and get
insight, advice and training from IBM experts in business and
technology including scientists from IBM's Africa research lab. IBM will also conduct
monthly workshops and events for developers who will also be able
to join the IBM Global Entrepreneur program through which they can
qualify for free access to IBM Cloud services and get credits for
Bluemix, IBM's Platform-as-a-Service, as well as SoftLayer
infrastructure.
One company set to benefit from the new IBM Innovation Space is
Bitsoko - a digital currency start-up funded by the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation. Bitsoko which has been working out of the
iHub for the past 6 months has used Bluemix to develop a mobile
wallet application based on Blockchain technology.
"There is a real buzz in Kenya
and across Africa right now in the
entrepreneurial community as technology and increased access to
global markets is propelling us into a new era of African
innovation," said Allan Juma,
Bitsoko co-founder and Chief Developer. "As a Kenyan entrepreneur
with global ambitions, being able to interact with a company like
IBM and discuss ideas, extend our professional network and access
cutting-edge technologies is a potentially game-changing
opportunity."
The IBM Innovation Space @ iHub, Nairobi will be open from August 2015 and follows in the footsteps of
similar spaces in New York,
Boston, Uberaba (Brazil), Amsterdam, Tel
Aviv, Istanbul,
Bangalore, New Delhi and Singapore. Nairobi marks the first IBM Innovation Space
in Africa with others to follow in
the coming months in line with IBM's investment into innovation
ecosystems across the continent.
IBM has operated in Africa for
almost 100 years. Today, its operations span 24 countries,
including South Africa,
Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, Kenya
and Tanzania. Nairobi is also home to IBM Research –
Africa: IBM's 12th
global research lab and the first industrial research facility on
the continent of Africa. With
facilities in Kenya and
South Africa, IBM Research –
Africa is driving innovation by
developing commercially-viable solutions to transform lives and
spark new business opportunities in key areas such as water,
agriculture, transportation, healthcare, financial inclusion,
education, energy, security and e-government.
For more information on iHub, visit:
http://www.ihub.co.ke/
For more information on IBM, visit:
http://www.ibm.com/us/en/
Contacts:
Jonathan Batty
IBM External Relations
Telephone: +254 722 174 040
Email: jonathanb@uk.ibm.com
Vera Rosauer
IBM External Relations
Telephone: +254-710-537-030
Email: veraros@ke.ibm.com
Jessica Colaco
iHub
email: jessica@ihub.co.ke
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150725/243301
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ibm-expands-reach-to-african-entrepreneurs-with-innovation-space--ihub-300118750.html
SOURCE IBM Corporation