Connecting + people Supporting + Start-ups Surfacing + information
What is iHub and iHub Research? *iHub_ : Nairobi’s Innovation Hub for the technology community is an open space for the technologists, investors, tech companies and hackers in the area. This space is a tech community facility with a focus on young entrepreneurs, web and mobile phone programmers, designers and researchers. It is part open community workspace (co-working), part vector for investors and VCs and part incubator. iHub research focuses on technology and its uses in East Africa. We facilitate local research capacity building and conduct local qualitative and quantitative research in East Africa, by East Africans. We bring information on technology and its uses to the technology community, enabling entrepreneurs and developers to make better decisions on what to build and how to build it! iHub Research emerged from discussions in ICTD2010 on the dearth of research originating from Africa. It is one of several initiatives that the Network for African Researchers has instigated.
MAJOR RESEARCH PRODUCTS DATA SCIENCE AND VISUALIZATION LAB
MARKET RESEARCH AND UX RESEARCH
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (R&D)
MAJOR RESEARCH
AREAS • MOBILE AND WEB
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• ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION
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Mobile Usage at the Base of the Pyramid - A longitudinal study of the usage patterns of mobile phones at the economic base of the pyramid in Kenya. Mobile Technology in West and East Africa - A comparative serial study on the growth and usage of mobile technology in the East and West African region, Market Research - Commissioned market research studies around mobile and web for iHub entrepreneurs and interested corporations,
ICT Hubs - An in-depth research series to understand the various factors that make up an ICT hub in Africa and how such models affects the entrepreneurs in the spaces. African Innovation Index – Generation of an African Innovation Index to understand African Innovation and categories of innovation in Africa. GSMA – Study of the barriers faced by Kenyan entrepreneurs developing and scaling mobile and tech startups, with a focus on what could catalyze growth in the sector and better engagement within the wider ecosystem, which includes mobile network operators, investors, tech incubators and others.
• GOVERNANCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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• COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
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M-Governance Project - An investigative study looking at the role of mobile technology in promoting transparency in governance in Kenya, Open Data Initiative - A study into a Kenyan Open Data Initiative multi-stakeholder process of transforming open data into usable mobile applications and increasing public usage of open data, Umati - A flagship study using a developed methodology to monitor dangerous inflammatory speech online. Open Data in Developing Countries (ODDC) – A two-year research project that aims to define open data in the context of developing countries and assess impact of open data in the global south through multi-country case studies
Robotics and Gaming - Studying the use of hardware and artificial intelligence technologies to address social and economic issues faced by East Africans Data Visualization lab – Innovating on data science: collection, storage, analysis and visualization of data and research findings 3Vs Crowdsourcing – Case study of Kenyan 2013 elections to test the viability of passive crowdsourcing in an election context
IN-HOUSE RESEARCHERS
• Full-time, Africa-based researchers who conduct local work under iHub research VISITING SCHOLARS
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
• PhD or Masters students who are doing local research and use iHub Research as their base and participate in active skills transfers. RESEARCH FELLOWS
• Long-term post-doctorate who work out of iHub Research for up to six months and collborate with some of our work. MENTORSHIP
• Senior and experiences researchers willing to train and advise budding researchers either virtually or in-person. CONSULTANCY
• Need some tech research done? Get in touch.
RESEARCH TEAM
Jessica Colaco
Director of Partnerships.
Angela Crandall Research Lead
Leonida Mutuku
Hilda Moraa
Research Manager
Senior ICT Researcher
iHub Research is made up of a group of passionateindividuals who are driven and motivated to deliver quality reasearch in the East African ICT sector. The iHub Research team is drawn from a diverse group of talented individuals whose distinct skills make up exceptional synergy. The team is commited to producing stellar content for its clients and to giving back to the larger technology community through their research insights.
Anne Salim
James Ndiga
Rhoda Omenya
Chris Orwa
Albert Otieno Orwa
Christine Mahihu
Varyanne Sika
Zack Adell
Junior Researcher
Statistician
Outreach Coordinator
Research Assistant
Grants Manager
Research Assistant
Junior Data Scientist
Designer
COLLABORATORS & CLIENTS
Connecting + people Supporting + Start-ups Surfacing + information
www.research.ihub.co.ke Twitter @iHubResearch 2nd floor, Bishop Magua Centre George Padmore Lane Off Ngong Road Nairobi, Kenya