Elisha OndijoI think its a matter of patenting your ideas. . . .yes big companies like safcom have money and less ideas. . . . the think Tank behind it remains to be the small fish. Secondly when you pitch your idea here its just trying that you will get an investor its not 100% guaranteed. I for one pitched mine and didnt work out here but i did implement it and am making bucks out of it.

Most of us have this idea of getting an idea and how to work it out BUT yet fail on how you can start small and make big. Patience is a virtue even in business.

Kiprop KiprotichHuman IPO should begin protecting our ideas. Unfortunately, we have a weak law for intellectual property rights. However, Human IPO can now partner with these big companies and kindly request them to fund our ideas they interested in. This way, we can end up working them until we deliver the final product.

David OwinoI dont think Safaricom has money and less ideas. On the contrary, they have a very vibrant Innovation Division. You see when you think of an idea, there is a chance that 1000 plus more people have the same idea. It is just about who has the muscle, the focus and execution ability to translate it into a viable business. How can we get the networks on side and how can we assure them that they are not wasting their time? These are the questions we should be addressing. The other question would be; What stops them from doing it themselves?

Anthony ChegeThere is a saying in kikuyu that translated means that cows can never finish grass from each other. In other words, whether so many companies launch similar products, the most important thing is to note that the customer base will always be their and there will be new customers to be wooed each day. The important thing to note is, as long as the vision bearer behind the concept keeps innovating and thinking out of the box, his or her product will become more and more interesting to potential and present customers

Michael JacksonIt's often said that ideas are cheap, and that execution is everything. That seems to ring true here. I do think though in Kenya, it's a question of the stage of development in the innovation ecosystem. As startup environments develop you often see a change in the M&A approach of large, local corporates as they go from a mentality of "let's build it ourselves" to "let's buy it". There's an inflexion point where a large corporate just looks at what is fastest and easiest to do, build internally or acquire. Sometimes it's also a question of who do they trust more to build the tech the right way, their guys or the startups that are out there. It also doesn't help that Safaricom's market share let's them dictate so much.

LeonardReally good to see that somebody noted this as it happened. I actually caught up and had a chat with Davi from 6ix Degrees yesterday and we reflected on a few things that had happened over the past month.

That aside.

On Ideas vs. Execution:
I agree with everyone that ideas are plenty and anyone with enough resources can pick and execute any idea. But most important for me would be the team behind the idea. I think it should be in every investor's mind to invest in the people rather than ideas. Ideas go through lots of obstacles that anyone who doesn't have the guts to find a way around them would easily quit. Obstacles are there and we wake up every morning expecting them as entrepreneurs. It's part of normal life.

First it was Davi from 6ix degrees and Tusquee who got hit hard when safcom changed their policies on international sms with custom alphanumeric terminating to Kenya. Then came the contacts backup, then the whole of the past week the change in SMS policy.

//these are part of normal life and everyone should expect and plan.

On M-Shwari and M-SAVE:
M-Shwari is much close to the version 1 of M-SAVE here: http://www.humanipo.com/M-SAVE-AKIBA-PAMOJA/v1
The first time we publicly pitched was at JA's event in March 2011 then at IPO48 on 12th August 2011 at the *iHub_. Of course we've been busy solving problems as we face them including after we heard of a Ugandan pitching the same in Kampala last year Nov.
At the core of M-SAVE is to cultivate a savings culture in Kenyans and that so far from the research we've done, can be done by integrating savings to expenditure. I mean, you have a bank account that you can put money as savings at the end of the month but how many of us save?

M-SAVE is still aimed at making saving simple,effortless and integrated to expenditure. This still is not being addressed by M-Shwari so we see the gap.

As always, obstacles always present opportunities and we've seen a rise in interest since the launch of M-Shwari and let's leave it at that.

On preventing big corporates from implementing?
Anyone with an idea on how to do this? I should ask Elisha Ondijo if he has tried patenting anything in Kenya...

David OwinoTotally Agree Lenny. The big difference and I would say a plus to M-Save is that the users only need to opt in and specify how much they want to save each time they spend which is very different from a deliberate 'Saving' Action.

Andrew Kyouraku AzraelHi, David. That is great news indeed, i am interested kindly fill me in.

hildaWhat will be the key value and difference to already what exists like hewani and mobisoko for me to use that platform?

David OwinoWe already have a host of Cloud services that we are delivering through ISPs and moblie phone companies. These are however done in India. We just feel that if we have a local platform where local enterpreneurs who feel that their products have a chance in the market can go, code and launch and try to address the same market we are addressing with the Indian products.

It is however important to say that those who want to build teh platform do not necessarily have to come from Kenya. Anyone in the world who feels he/she can do it is free to pitch for the business.

David OwinoAndrew; I hope that also helps provide some of the info you are looking for and also clearly see what value that brings to HumanIPO. It will be much easier to test your prototypes and present them better.

Faith MurigiI am interested count me in. Maybe more details via email? murigi49@gmail.com

David OwinoOk thanks. Will send you the info.

Tefo MohapiI am aware of 1 company (a startup) doing something similar to what you mentioned. Where do I e-mail you?

David OwinoTefo; You can email me on David@humanipo.com or owinod@gmail.com
Will be nice to do it with a start up.

David OwinoHi Tefo I hope you got my email address!! David@humanipo.com or owinod@gmail.com

Ernest John Ndung'u@David,Count me in,this is superb!!

David OwinoHi Ernest; How do you want to participate? Do you want to do take a shot at coding the system or do you want to be part of a focus group of earlyvangelists who will want to test drive the system and point out its weaknesses?

Tefo MohapiHi David, will e-mail you tomorrow morning.

Tefo MohapiHi David, get my e-mail?

David OwinoYes I did and responded. At this stage we are not looking at a business plan. We just want people who will do it and those who will participate as part of a focus group of earlyvangelists

collinsAm interested in coding, can I get details at ndegecollins@yahoo.com?

Boris PADONOUhie David! Am interested in coding, OR group of earlyvangelists can I get details at padbor@gmail.com?

Senyo Nyendu BenardDavid,please i will like you to tell me how you started?

David OwinoSenyo. It is a very long story. The next time I am giving a talk, I will send you an invite.

Regsrds

Michael MarosiHi David, I'm taking you up on the challenge (..."If you are interested in building the platform, hosting your application on the platform and making a contribution towards the development of the platform, please let me know.").. my email is michael@markandryse.com, you can reach me then I will reach you. Thanks.

Alfred KibetIs this started yet ?

David OwinoMarosi; We only received a proposal from some American guys who we are now going to get started with on clearly defining the specifications. Once they get started , I will post on this wall calling for those who want to be part of the development and we will include you. I hope that works for everyone.

Alfred KibetDavid who qualifies to participate?

David OwinoKibet; That I will be able to answer later but the intention is to create a pleasurable experience for entepreneurs and developers and to help them achieve their objectives.

Alfred KibetThank you, this is a nyce idea am sure a good number of people will be interested, so i guess we expecting a superb platform. All the best to the team...

Michael MarosiThanks David, I'm eager to part of this. Will await your announcement!

Anietie Martinswe are already working on an application to place on the APP store, we have a team of developers (web/mobile) we will like to contribute in the areas of infusing mobile payment solutions to reach everyone in the African community. Martins From Nigeria also an applicant for 88mph 2012.

John Samson KaranjaI think Safaricom (Which is 90% of the Mobile Internet Market) checks the number of Data Subscriptions on their network.

This activations typically happen when kids borrow their parents phones to surf Waptrick and other free ringtone and music sites.

Usually the parents have no idea of the Internet/Data capabilities of their phones so they are usually left wondering why Kshs 20 seems to be deducted everyday by Safaricom for no apparent reason.

its the kids...

stephen pinyamr david i have read alot about you can we link up i need to speak to you about some I.T projects preferably you can send me your email adress mine is 0725075657 and my adress is pinyastephen@yahoo.com

David OwinoThanks a lot John. May there be more kids.
Stephen, my email address is owinod@gmail.com

Andrew Kyouraku AzraelRegards,
I have a start up i would like some mentoring, how can i link up with you and can you suggest some mentors?
Thanks for HUMAN IPO, i is wonderful

David OwinoDear Andrew. I am in Nairobi Kenya and can be found any day I am not travelling. On more mentors. I will send you suggestions. If the discussions are kept online, a lot of other mentors will see and will contribute. What is teh business about?

Kiprop KiprotichMost of these users are social media enthusiasts who are largely made up of young population. They are hungry for self development products.

Andrew Kyouraku AzraelThanks for responding, i have an idea of creating a family of geography related apps. Currently i am in school learning mobile application development (be done by may) in addition i am a geography and environmental student at university of Nairobi. But the concepts i have are pretty solid i believe, for instance i am working on a cab service that lets persons order a taxi and even schedule "pick ups".
More work needs to be done hence i would appreciate the assist of an angel investor preferably.

David OwinoOk. Send me your revenue model then we see what we can do. It is important that the revenue model is clear and easy, then the business plan can be extrapolated from there.

Andrew Kyouraku AzraelKindly give me your email address.

David OwinoDavid@humanipo.com or owinod@gmail.com

David OwinoAndrew; Perhaps before you send the email. I suggest you watch the following video and try and generate a business model canvas for your idea. After that the discussion will be more exciting and useful.
http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html;jsessionid=387EF1FD2E55E50507E8981FF178CF8E?mid=2877

David OwinoMake sure you watch the entire talk not just the one on teh canvas

Andrew Kyouraku AzraelAlright thanks, will email after i watch it

jude clarkmy ubuni.org business model is banking on those 14.5 m internet users and also that those users will do more than hand it over to the kids :