Nokia DoGood Hackathon: MajiRipoti wins in the global contest

SMS based application aimed at improving role of water service providers

Synacor Consortium, a Kenyan company that specializes in designing and developing mobile websites, web applications and consultancy, recently won the 2012 Nokia ‘DoGood’ Hackathon competition for its MajiRipoti application.

The MajiRipoti solution is designed to act as a link between the general public and Water Service Providers. The solution will allow the Kenyan public to report broken water pipes, sewer pipes and illegal manipulation of the water supply, therefore assisting in the conservation of water and preventing pollution through leaking sewerage.

The company bagged the ‘Open Data’ category at the global hackathon; a Nokia initiative co-organized by Parsons, the New School for Design in New York. The competition, which is part of Nokia’s Helsinki World Design Capital initiatives, aims to promote new ideas for mobile application i.e. “Design and Develop for People and Planet”. 

According to Water Services Regulatory Board of Kenya statistics, the reported national annual water production is 346 billion litres while the average unaccounted for water is 49%. At an average tariff of Kshs40, 000 litres, the annual financial loss through unaccounted for water is approximately Kshs6.8 billion.  The amount of water lost is almost half of what the country produces.

Synacor Consortium Marketing Director, Charlene Migwe noted that members of the public currently do not have an effective channel to raise or report such incidents to Water Service Providers. “We have seen the need to develop solutions which cater for current problems affecting the water industry such as damaged sewerage pipes, to prevent further destruction to the environment and precious water resources. According to USAID, 13 million Kenyans lack access to improved water supply and 19 million lack access to improved sanitation. We believe this solution will improve that situation in our country,” she said.

Commenting on Synacor’s achievement, Nokia East Africa General Manager, Bruce Howe, said: “We are incredibly proud of Synacor’s achievement, as they rose to the challenge in developing an application that stood out on the global stage. Only two entries from the African continent made it through to the finals and we are especially proud to have a winner from Kenya. The energy, enthusiasm and innovation that the developers demonstrated was amazing and we encourage more and more developers to take up such challenges. The mobile content market is growing at a rapid pace and with Nokia Lumia smartphones now available locally, we will require such partnerships to build locally relevant content for our market,” he added.

A total of 10 teams participated in the competition. AppCRAFT, from South Africa, was the only other African Company to reach the finals.

The new solution will shortly be available to the Kenyan public as a mobile application with GPS to allow tracking, and as an SMS based solution to mobile phones without GPS. The application is designed to run on the Windows Phone Platform.

To encourage more people to use the MajiRipoti application, the company will also introduce a game that involves giving individuals ranks depending on the number of reports they have issued and the number of solved issues they have confirmed. All the ranks earned will be published on both Facebook and Twitter networks.

Epson expanding mobile and cloud printing services

Epson has set sights on expanding its mobile and cloud printing services for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, which allows people to print documents and photos directly to their Epson printers from a mobile device.

The new and expanded services being introduced into the local market include original Epson solutions, collectively known as Epson Connect. These new technology has already proved a big hit in other global markets and the company is keen to expand in Kenya its current cloud printing printers’ range (Epson Stylus PX730WD, Epson Stylus BX635FWD) by launching in the next coming months two additional printers, Epson L355 and Epson L550, with iprint functionality. All the Workforce Pro printers being launched globally have mobile and cloud printing capabilities.

In recent years, increasing numbers of people have used smartphones and tablets to send electronic mail, browse web pages, and create presentations and documents. However, it has been difficult for users to print out their work because mobile devices have not been equipped with a printer driver. The widespread use of these devices has also increased demand for printing services for people on the go who want to print documents when they are outside the office or the home.

To meet these needs, companies like Epson introduced into the market original mobile services which include the Email Print and Epson iPrint solutions. Email Print is a service that allows customers to print out electronic mail and file attachments by simply sending an email from their smartphones or other mobile device to an enabled Epson printer. By using this service, people on the move can check mail on mobile devices and print out essential emails and attachments such as documents, presentations and tickets on Epson printers in their home, office, and other locations.

Epson iPrint is a print application for the latest iOS- and Android-based devices. By downloading the Epson iPrint application and connecting to a wi-fi-enabled printer, users can print out a wide range of contents ranging from photos and documents to recipes, coupons, and web pages.

Other revolutionary technologies being employed by the company include Epson Scan to Cloud, EPSON Remote Print, Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print. Epson Scan to Cloud allows consumers to use their printer to scan and share document or photo by emailing right from the printer. EPSON Connect-enabled printers allow users to store their emails or account information for easy access right from their printer´s control panel.

EPSON Remote Print on the other hand enables users to print to an EPSON email-enabled printer anywhere in the world right from their computer or laptop. Since Remote Print works with any Windows® software, users can streamline their productivity without worrying about formatting or fonts.

AirPrint makes it simple to print emails, photos, web pages and documents straight from an iPad or iPhone. There's no software to download, no drivers to install and no cables to connect as the Apple device automatically connects to AirPrint-enabled EPSON printers. Google Cloud Print allows for print on-the-go from a smartphone or tablet using a Gmail or Google Docs account.

"Epson is delighted to announce the launch of Epson Connect," says Mukesh Bector, Regional Sales Manager for East Africa. "We are thoroughly committed to exceeding the expectations of our customers, and firmly believe that Epson Connect and other cutting-edge mobile and cloud services provide enhanced options by allowing enterprise and other customers to connect with Epson devices wherever they may be."

And with the uptake of smartphones set to increase in Africa going to the New Year, the company is keen to introduce solutions that will resonate well with consumers. According to data from InMobi Ad Network, smartphone penetration continues to grow steadily in Kenya, portrayed by the increase of 0.5 percent in ad impressions from Q1 to Q2 2012, to now constitute 10.4 percent of all ad impressions on the InMobi Ad Network.

Epson has also declared its commitment to supporting mobile solutions provided by other companies. By supporting these solutions, Epson hopes to provide a platform for customers to print out documents regardless of their location, and without a printer driver.

Not only do the new printers being introduced into the market offer a very low cost of ownership but they are also Epson iPrint compatible.  The revolutionary mobile application will allow Epson customers to print and scan their documents and photos using your tablet or smartphone. It also enables them to preview and print Microsoft Office documents directly from the cloud using advanced printing options and wirelessly scan and save files from a nearby Epson printer.