The Floppy
monthly
Inside this issue:
Why Local Technology Matters
NaiLab at TEDxPSU
Nov - Dec 2010 Activity Calendar
Design Our Space: A Competition
What You Can Expect
An Appreciation: THANKS
The True Size Of Africa
W
hat does your
dream look like..
World over, most
people quite simply don’t
know. This is not because they
lack any sort of intellectual
2 and present the three main
insight, neither is it because
they have it. Its is mostly be-
cause they don’t have all the
2 ingredients: people!
TEDxChange - Amsterdam was
about people. TED is a global
2 ten people on his or her table
conference that brings people
from all over the world to
share some of their best ideas.
3 nerships, expand networks and
A global conversation from a
local level. Words like “Glocal”
3 come to mind when you think
of the context the videos have
had. They embrace a local but
also global context. In fact, the
3 since then. Meet the people,
limitations set on the ideas
shared on TED.Com are as far
as the people applying them are
4 tember 2010. A super-talented
willing to go. The single most
persistent setback with ideas
however is just that...they are
ideas!
BUILD IT
N
othing beats creating
something for others. From
fashion to food, work to sport,
living space to working space
and areas for learning to areas
to create. The NaiLab, for
many of those that will be in
this space, will be all of these.
The challenge of creating a
culture of professionalism and
efficiency while maintaining a
Volume 1, Issue 1
TEDxChange walks in the door
like in an old western, guns
blazing! Say we get these ideas
and match them up with a
couple of drivers and see
where this goes. What say you?
That was the drive behind
TEDxChange Amsterdam and
exactly what happened at the
Dialogues House of ABN AM-
RO Bank on the 20th of Sep-
cluster of 100 professionals
were the audience hosting eight
creativity and versatility that is
necessary to accommodate for
new and rich media means
building the space that will
encompass these divergent and
sometimes clashing elements.
The 3D video on our
www.nailab.co.ke website has
been long deemed unfit to
cater for the environment we
are working to build. The
drawing boards are now out
and the pencils sharpened..
The NAILAB Newsletter
idea drivers.
Tonee Ndungu was the pitch
carrier for the NaiLab. Three
minutes on a stage would allow
him to sell the NaiLab concept
needs the NaiLab had. Money
could not be one of the needs.
After the eight individual pitch-
es, each idea driver would have
two 40 minute sessions with
for a “way forward” conversa-
tion meant to concretize part-
solidify resources (mostly in
knowledge management and
best practices).
This newsletter is the NaiLab
story after outlining the journey
see the space, understand the
dream, know the progress and
see yourself in the growth of
the Nairobi Laboratory - the
Digital Media Consultancy and
Incubation Lab.
A new design is in the works.
We will talk more about how
we are getting the design in
page 3 but this we guarantee, it
will be the space in the region
for digital media consultation
and incubation.
Keep an eye on this space, the
designs and sketches will be
coming up over the next month
as more conclusive designs get
moved from concept to con-
crete. We can’t wait!
 Page 2
Why Local Technology Matters
If
you have been
one to travel,
there are a couple of
things that will always
draw you closer to or
further away from
memorable trip. The
main ones are the
usual suspects...music,
people, history, archi-
tecture, language and
sometimes the most
Ugandan local food: technology, like important one; food!
local delicacies is not always the same in
So why should technology be any
every part of the world.
different? While some people
prefer to use credit cards, others
use mobile phones. While some
see e-mails as the fastest way to
NaiLab at TEDxPSU
“This, I must caution F or students at Penn State
University, the idea of a
locally started locally run digital
you, will not last for
media consultancy and Incubator
ever. Every move was nothing stunning. But the
you make towards idea of incorporating the needs
of the local corporate digital
your dream, is one
media needs with the livelihoods
step further from of young people from peri-urban
your comfort zone. settlements (also called slums)
was an idea worth sharing.
That step better be
The NaiLab was invited to Penn
worth it.”
State University for the 10/10/10
TEDxPSU event that hosted a
little over 1000 students and
faculty members.
Nov - Dec 2010 Activity Calendar
O
ctober is coming to
a close. The main
stage for partnership
development, fund-
raising and marketing are coming
to a close for the NaiLab team.
We were bold, told and sold all
we offered and planned. Now,
we build.
Corporate and NGOs are two
clients we are beginning with this
coming months with social media
products and solutions that
attract a specific market as well
The Floppy
communicate, others use social
networking. Some carry laptops
while others need little more
than their blackberry, iPhone or
Android mobiles.
Therein lies the importance of
local technology - not borrowed
or copy-paste. Here is a simple
example of how this can be more
pertinent in the developing world
than anywhere else in the world.
UBR stands for Universal Birth
Registration. This is a right every
child in the world as that includes
birth registration, vaccination and
a birth certificate. There is a little
problem of infrastructure in most
parts of the developing world. So
Tonee Ndungu, the creative mind
in the NaiLab was there to make
the presentation. Among many
respected guests at the event
was Rives of the 4am TED Global
fame and a video from the uni-
versally popular Hans Rosling.
Fortunate to have the last spot
on the speaking roster, Tonee
was tasked with closing the event
on a high note and leaving the
students he flew 7000 miles to
present to, encouraged, enlight-
ened and engaged.
“At the NaiLab we are fortunate
as a mass market in the African
and hopefully global scale. But we
do believe in starting small.
Some deliverables for digital
media prospects and some
presentations for online solutions
for our initial corporate clients
are in the works. We have a
week to work on those as we
settle the matter of our three
prism website; a consultancy
portal, incubation portal and
blogging portal all integrated into
one easy-to-use web site.
maybe it is a big problem. What
can localized technology do to
help solve this problem.
How about the Nokia Data
Gathering tool that converts a
simple Nokia phone (E63) into a
Birth registration tool. Infor-
mation collected in an on-phone
form including a photograph
captured from its camera can be
sent to a government phone
number as a series of intelligent
SMS* texts that convert into a
form once received. An automat-
ed system then prints and faxes
the forms to relevant offices
including the child’s parents.
Problem solved!
to have a network that appreci-
ates the value of having a dream
and chasing it. At Penn State
(university) you have the good
fortune of having a dream and
(educators) running alongside
you as you chase it.” Tonee said.
“This, I must caution you, will not
last for ever. Every move you
make towards your dream, is one
step further from your comfort
zone. That step better be worth
it.”
He got a standing ovation.
www.tedxpsu.com
Some events we will be hosting
also include the launch of the
GISWatch report that is a com-
prehensive report on ICT Poli-
cies worldwide that is a copro-
duction of Hivos and APC.
Workshops on social media
tools, activities, action plans and
execution strategies area also in
the pipeline. With all the drilling
and banging (construction) we
think this will be a mostly indus-
trial space. We really like that!

Design Our Space: A Competition
W
e mentioned earlier
the complexities of
creating a design
everyone is happy with. It is
something close to pleasing your
mother-in-law. There are two
alternatives to this. Try. Fail. List
down best practices. Try again.
Well, no. That will not work. The
next best solution was to crowd
source it. So we did!
Enter the University of Nairobi
class of Architecture and interior
design. Young passionate design-
ers with enthusiasm that can
match jet engines but limited to
canvas and computer imagery.
We wondered what a tour of the
What You Can Expect
F
irst things first; The
Floppy newsletter
will soon grow into
The Byte! We can’t
stay here forever can we? Until
then we will grow ourselves
under the direction of the NaiLab
Business Development Director
Sam Gichuru.
Sam is the drive behind the solid-
ity of the NaiLab. Though you
may see Tonee Ndungu’s face
more than Sam, he is the con-
stant churn that keeps the ma-
chinery moving in the NaiLab.
An Appreciation: THANKS
This is the section that belongs
to you. We have a large number
of people to say thank you too.
Rather than mention names and
leave out people, we figured we
would rather appreciate every-
one that has taken the NaiLab
and made it a facet of their lives.
Beginning with the lovely people
at the 1%CLUB to those at the
1%EVENT that took NaiLab as
their business case. We would
like to say thanks to you. A spe-
cial shout out to Laurens Co-
Volume 1, Issue 1
NaiLab space and a € 2000 re-
ward would be for motivation.
We are yet to have the students
visit the space but the buzz is
almost combustible.
The contest has been organized
with the help of an architect,
structural engineer and interior
designer that will select the bet
concept and have the student
lead on the design as the profes-
sionals implement the concepts.
The beauty of the competition is
that apart from the reward mon-
ey the young person gets, they
get to have their name on the
NaiLab door permanently. There
is nothing as important as owner-
A seasoned professional in busi-
ness development with three
successful companies under his
belt, his prowess at vision man-
agement and concept-to-creation
translate into productive, quanti-
fiable and sustainable results for
NaiLab clients and partners.
Supported but the interdiscipli-
nary board led by 1%CLUB’s Bart
Lacriox, the NaiLab has begun on
a stable platform and will sustain
this momentum as we go.
Careful not to be overly optimis-
tic, some expectations of the
eveld of Accenture for running
our table. All the people on the
table that thrashed out the basics
of getting the NaiLab off the
production line and onto service
delivery, a big thank you.
The organizing team behind
TEDxChange with Jim Stolze and
Ilse Kerling holding it all together.
The NaiLab table had many
amazing people most of whom
we have sent personal e-mails
too. Thanks again for the time
and mind-share. Thank you.
Page 3
ship of the local space.
The contest will last seven days
and require the contestants to
present not only a complete
design, but photographs of mate-
rials they think would be applica-
ble to their concept and keep the
space as ECO-Friendly as possi-
ble. This will include the use of
daylight to light up the space and
energy saving suggestions and
designs.
The competition has been called:
Seven days to Space.
Now all we have to do is confirm
a sponsor. We’re working on it!
“..his prowess at vision
NaiLab include:
management and
⇒ A Complete Working Space
concept-to-creation
⇒ A Comprehensive Website
that will be a global online translate into
portal for Consultancy and
Incubation. productive,
⇒ International and Local digital
quantifiable and
media working relationships by
the end of 2010 sustainable results for
⇒Monthly NaiLab progress
NaiLab clients and
updates until its launch in
January 2011.
partners.”
For Marlon Parker, a speaker,
RLabs founder and all round
inspiration, and your table host
Anna Chojnacka thank you for
the support partnership and
vision you both carry.
Ben white, Emer Beamer (you
helped us get home), Caroline de
Boer, and the lovely people that
took the time to comment, shake
our hands, clap when we finished
and gave us business cards. We
appreciate you so very much. You helped us take off!
THANK YOU.
 4th Floor - Bishop Magua Centre
Ngong Road - Nairobi
Phone: + 254 202 696 530
E-mail: info@nailab.co.ke
sam@nailab.co.ke
tonee@nailab.co.ke
www.twi+er.com/nailabnairobi
www.nailab.co.ke

NaiLab Tip...

The NaiLab - Nairobi Laboratory - is a Digital Media Consulta1on Firm and Incubator in Nairobi. The NaiL-
ab focuses on new, rich and social media solu1ons for the Sub-Sahara African market while inves1ng in
an incuba1on Social Venture that develops clickable ideas that could enhance the digital media space in
this market. The NaiLab consultants execute projects with a vast network of online media experts in the
Eat healthy!
Nairobi technology scene while training young people from peri-urban se+lements to service NaiLab
clients.