As Kuza Biashara Founder & Chief Mentor, Mr Sriram Bharatam, shares in this interview with CNBC Africa’s Bonney Tunya, small business owners can effectively leverage on technology to Learn, Connect and Grow.

Some Quick Takeaways From This Video

• How young entrepreneurs can benefit from our recent partnership with AITEC-Africa
• Insights into Kuza Biashara training for small businesses
• Insights into Sri’s TED talk on “Why start-ups fail”
• Insights into the TIBU system done by Kuza Biashara’s sister companies to improve healthcare services to TB patients

This is definitely an interview worth watching…and as usual we’re counting on your to SHARE IT!

Aitec Africa has been focussed on ICT publishing, event management, professional development and training in Africa. AITEC has been a market-leader in terms of spreading knowledge on the Internet, computing and telecommunications across most of English-speaking Africa.

iridiumInteractive Limited is an Innovative Business Solutions company that helps some of the world’s leading brands solve their complex business problems. Iridium has success stories across various verticals ranging from Non-Profit, Education, Retail, Healthcare, Consulting, Manufacturing, Media, Entertainment and Government.  Iridium is uniquely positioned with varied experience and success stories and recognitions, both International and National.

African banks have a great challenge in overcoming their heritage of colonial banking, which was designed to cater primarily for government, corporate and high-worth individuals. The bottom part of the pyramid has been badly neglected. Now that the mobile operators are setting the pace in terms of providing low-cost banking services, banks are scrambling to catch up. This they can do not only through technological innovation, but also through a customer-oriented corporate culture and service innovation.

Entering its eighth year as the region’s leading banking forum, AITEC Banking & Mobile Money COMESA Conference 2014 is set to address the key issues faced by the region’s increasingly dynamic financial services sector. The 8th edition of AITEC Banking & Mobile Money COMESA Conference 2014,  slated to take place on the 10th & 11th of September, the event will draw over 350  Banking & Finance professionals from Banking / Mobile Banking industry from the COMESA region and a representation from the Industry & SME Sector .

The 2-day event will showcase

• 04 Indepth Workshops
  • Latest anti-money laundering threats and strategies
  • Achieving compliance with ISO27001
  • Securing data in on-premise and cloud infrastructure
  • Effective incident response and investigation

• Focused on 09 Topics
  • How can banks better support SMEs – and fire up the economy?
  • Innovation for inclusion,  Solutions for consumer services
  • Mapping low-income financial needs and services
  • Solutions for financial inclusion,  Security strategies & solutions
  • Core banking: Breaking the meld
  • Agent banking for financial inclusion
  • Regional payments integration

Which will be presented by

• 58 speakers
• delivering insightful keynotes, panel discussions and breakout sessions.

iridiumInteractive is the Digital Partner of AITEC Banking & Mobile Money COMESA Conference 2014.  Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Sean Moroney, AITEC Africa Chairman said “We are pleased to have signed up with iridiumInteractive as our Digital Media Partner for all our events.  It is through them that we will be reaching out to a wider audience plus provide interactive participation in the conference, both pre and post conference.”

Speaking on this occasion, Sriram(Sri) Bharatam, Iridium Interactive CEO and Founder said, “The best part about the TIBU solution is that it simplifies the delivery of health care services for patients and health workers alike and provides a cost-effective platform to reach every person requiring treatment across the country.”

TIBU is the only comprehensive disease tracking and health information system available globally. TIBU seamlessly integrates treatment and monitoring from patient to health facility to county and provincial health offices, and finally to Ministry of Health in Nairobi. This hybrid solution connects patients and providers through Android devices and Internet Cloud infrastructure and can successfully operate even in remote locations where there is no electricity and mobile signals.  TIBU’s real-time mapping, data analysis and reporting capabilities empower Ministry of Health staff at all levels to monitorand take immediate corrective actions, such as re-supplying warehouses when drug shortages arise or reallocating staff when patient demand increases.

In less than four months of national roll out across Kenya, TIBU captured electronic medical records for 75% of all Kenya’s TB patients and has reimbursed over US$300,000 (approx. Ksh. 28 million) to patients through more than 146,000 mobile payments via M-PESA. Android tablets are used to access electronic health records and to deliver short training videos developed by Iridium interactive to Ministry staff on how to operate TIBU, how to use the tab device itself, and how to gain or update medical knowledge and skills.

With the financial support of USAID, theKenya Ministry of Health provided the policy and technical direction to Iridium Interactive to develop  TIBU,  a Comprehensive Solution for Healthcare Delivery in collaboration with its innovation partners, Safaricom and Tangazoletu.

TIBU provides real-time TB and Leprosy data into DHIS 2 or the District Health Information System, Kenya’s National Health Data System and has done so by connecting information systems used by other MOH units or projects. Thus, the TIBU platform has the potential to expand into other disease verticals in Kenya, such as HIV/AIDS and Malaria, or be scaled geographically across Africa.

The 2013 Google Innovation Awards Winners were announced at the “Connected Kenya 2013” ICT event held at the SarovaWhite Sands, Mombasa on May 27-30, 2013. The Connected Kenya Summit is the brainchild of the Kenya ICT Board in consultation with industry players and key government decision-makers. The Summit provides a platform for collaboration, capacity-building and priority sharing between government and the IT sector to link and accelerate implementation of government IT projects to world class standards. The Connected Kenya Summit has been successfully held since 2009.  The theme for the 2013 Connected Kenya Summit was “The County Citizen. Served“

He launched Cause an Effect. It was all about providing relief to those affected by a calamity. He could muster support from 18 corporates. On the Web site, every time somebody clicked on ‘save a life,’ र 9 was credited (50 paise from each company) along with the person’s contribution to a relief fund.

Soon, it gathered momentum. He reached out to the media from a cubicle in a cybercafé. There was no stopping. By the fifth day, a group of kids from Austin, Texas, wrote asking where to send the $100 it had raised.

“We put this e-mail on the Web site — it had a viral effect. In 45 days, we raised र 7.5 crore from 18 million people. Over days, cheques in gunny bags were sent to the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s office towards helping the affected in Odisha,” says Sriram Bharatam, an engineer and the one who dreamt of the idea.

Orthodox family

This effort using the power of the Internet also helped build a global community of millions in no time, says Sriram. It brought him global recognition in the form of the Kauffman Community Award for social entrepreneurship in 2004.

Today Cause an Effect is a non-government organisation focused on sustainable livelihoods. It did its part in providing relief to those affected in India by the 2004 tsunami. The Nasscom Foundation uses its example for training people in alternate livelihoods.

“Sometimes it is important to believe in your dream and pursue it. Everybody is given a chance in life. Success weds those who identify it and pursue it,” says Sriram, a first-generation entrepreneur, who is now creating waves in faraway Kenya with his Internet and digital media projects.

Sriram comes from an orthodox family, where the appetite for risk taking was the least. He studied mechanical engineering and then software engineering. An MBA followed. A gold medallist throughout, he joined HCL-Hewlett-Packard, at that time his dream company. The offer was to sell computers.

“I said no and wanted to do software. They put me in HR,” says Sriram. Three months later, Sriram developed the first e-commerce solution for the company, as well as SAP. He was picked as an ‘intrapreneur’ (out of the 2,500 youngsters) and asked to work with GNIIT.

A stint at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, for an entrepreneurial programme called ‘Birthing of Giants,’ where they pick 60 entrepreneurs every year globally, gave the much-needed boost. These entrepreneurs have a story, are small, but have it in them to grow and make it big.

Cause an Effect has proved to be his turning point to as a social entrepreneur. He started iridium Interactive in 2000 with his chartered-accountant wife Bharathi. “We again started from the same cybercafé called Cyber Spice in Hyderabad. Took space and in fact partnered with him (the owner) to hire three cubicles. ITC was the first client, then came Escorts and Maruti, and it grew,” he says.

The focus was on solving business problems through digital media. “In 2001, I met Naresh Trehan, who was then with Escorts Hospital in New Delhi. He said 80 per cent of the time doctors spend on educating patients. We produced animation films on balloon angioplasty, created a Web site, wherein people could log on and get many simple solutions.” In the last decade, iridium Interactive has been working on several ideas, including a Web site for the blind, which has been recognised among the top 100 innovations by Nasscom. It employs 150 people in India, the US, Kenya and in a few countries in Europe.

Kenya experience

The desire to explore new avenues took Sriram to Kenya. It all started after his visit to East Africa with Nasscom in 2010. In Kenya, 80 per cent of transactions done are through Vodafone’s Safari.com. Further, 70 per cent of the 40 million citizens are connected through M-Pesa.

With high Internet and mobile penetration in Kenya, Sriram saw an opportunity to offer solutions to small and medium enterprises there. So he started Kuza Biashara, which in Swahili means ‘grow your business,’ in 2011. The Kenyan venture is self funded. It benefits about 15,000 small business owners.

Today, it has 55 Kenyans working and is present in 20 locations. The focus is on capacity building for small business owners. These people “don’t know what they don’t know.” For example, they don’t know how to hire employees, take a bank credit, network in conferences, or prepare a balance sheet.

“We have made short videos to educate these small businesses. More than 300 videos today offer a range of suggestions and solutions, at every step of growth. Our partnership with Safari.com is flowering with over 100 hits daily,” says Sriram. These efforts have brought Sriram and his company the Kenya Vision 2030 Innovation Award. The target is to connect a million small businesses by 2015. Pilot projects are underway in Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Ghana and Rwanda. “In the future, we want to replicate this in India, where we can make a much bigger impact,” says Sriram.

Passion, idea, place

What has it taken to traverse such a diverse path as an entrepreneur? The 40-year-old Sriram says it is all about passion, right idea and place. “In my case, I am driven by an urge to make a difference. Don’t start with money, it will come at the end of the day. To cut a tree in six hours, the wise man sharpens the axe for four hours and cuts in 10 minutes. What I am doing in Kenya is this,” he explains.

For an entrepreneur, thunderstorms keep coming. Money is always a challenge. “I never planned investment needs. I have also landed in trouble.” For example, he lost money and almost lost the company iridium Interactive in 2008-09. He had to let go 100 employees as customers defaulted on payment. iridium Interactive is one of the biggest companies in the digital space. He did not want to sell out, as it meant innovation had to be sacrificed. “I also do not believe in private equity as it means the same,” he says.

Cause an Effect was an impulsive, overnight effort. iridium Interactive is a reasoned, commercial enterprise, says Sriram, who now wants to build a sustainable model based on the Africa experience.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

It is difficult to imagine that more than 150,000 people are affected by TB in Kenya every year and it is one of the major causes of mortality in the country. Do you know that in 2010 alone there were about 10 million orphan children as a result of TB deaths among parents throughout the world? It is very difficult to treat a HIV person infected with TB, and what is worse is that they have the potential to infect 15 others.

The estimated number of people falling ill with tuberculosis every year is declining, though very slowly. That is good news, for it means that the disease is being contained. The introduction of the new digital programme called TIBU that will help in controlling TB and managing the data of patients affected by the disease and ensuring zero TB tolerance by the year 2015.

Dr Shahnaz Sharif, the Director of Public Health and Sanitation said TIBU was model that was specially created to ensure proper data management and monitoring of data of all the TB patients in the country. One of the essential features of the programme is that it not only keeps a track of the progress on the treatment of patients but it also keeps a track of patients who have defaulted in their treatment.

TIBU is a unique model that specifically takes care of the challenges of data management and ensures tracking and monitoring the data of all TB patients throughout the country and successfully keep track of their treatment progress. The system also provides incentives to the patients for ensuring that they complete the full course of treatment – Patient Support Allowance – which will be provided through M-Pesa.

The cost of the first phase has been estimated at about Sh. 43 million while the second phase that involves rolling out the programme throughout the country will cost about Sh.130 million. The TIBU integration platform is DISH2 system of social services delivery using mobile technology.

The best part about TIBU is that it simplifies the health delivery services and provides an equitable platform for tackling the disease. The TIBU Collaborative Programme is a revolution in Health Service Delivery and as they say, it is simple, efficient, and trustworthy.

So when I started, I was more relieved than happy (not downsizing the happiness factor). I felt somebody discovered me literally and that’s always a great feeling. To keep an exploring eye on a workforce (“employee” maybe too flat) every time is even more remarkable. I can relish in that because I believe in being fruitful in whatever way I can be.

I have traveled in all corners of the workplace, teamed up with different guys on different assignments and done different things I essentially enjoyed doing. If I haven’t enjoyed any, it has definitely been noted. I blogged remarkably after coming to iridium Interactive. I explored JQuery too at Iridium. I got to visit Google in my living flesh after I joined iridium Interactive. Definitely, the dot they put the dot on was in my psyche.

I have seen those distinct “circles” forming in the social sphere (some of which I have tried to fit in) within the workforce. On the lighter side aside from work, there still maybe more listeners than performers, a gap which maybe bridging fast. Besides, I am finding good old bachelors waning into their new-found family lives. It had to happen and I know that well.

Currently, I am recovering from all attempts to produce satisfaction if not happiness, and spreading my stuff on the table for the world to choose from. I should be feeling like a beginner somewhere after aging and probably maturing to whatever limit I have. That’s because only a fresh plate is served generously into.

I love iridium Interactive to be honest. I sincerely wish I could contribute ever more from my pool of skills and potential to this company.

Ethan Hunt is all geared to make the fourth installment of the Mission Impossible project possible.  Come December, he will do whatever it takes to clear his government’s name associated with the demolition of Kremlin by rogue elements.

At iridium Interactive, we have our own set of mission accomplishers. Of course, minus the enigmatic presence of Tom Cruise, but possessing the same obsession to find the solution to the task presented to them.
So, unlike earlier huddles, this huddle was special as various teams from iridium chose to interact with each other as to how they went about accomplishing their missions. Some of them worked with the top-tier clients, while others provided solutions to SMEs. But they soon found that the path chosen to derive at a solution to the problems was common.

Four teams got to explain how they managed to come up with simple solutions to seemingly huge problems. Technical jargon was discarded and all teams chose a creative way to explain their process, so that everyone could understand what was being spoken about and even come up with queries.

One of the teams chose to explain their process through a 10-minute skit while another team chose the story-telling format. Two other teams used presentations to explain their processes. This simple effort threw open a new world to most employees who were suddenly aware of what the other teams were involved in and how they managed to come up with ways to solve a problem. There was lots of enthusiasm as interesting facts were revealed and relevant data was presented by all participating teams.

Irrespective of what process one handled, there was a curiosity to know what iridium Interactive was doing and how various teams worked parallel to each other. Almost an hour and half was spent tackling questions ranging from specific process related queries to general philosophy of the company.

Of course, there was much more happening, but as time was a constraint, these were saved for the next huddle.

The evening came to an end with CEO Sriram Bharatam telling how at iridium Interactive technology was not ‘the’ solution to a problem. He laced his speech with interesting anecdotes and stories to tell the team why it was important to understand a problem and look at finding a solution, rather than getting stressed over which method to use.

Keep it simple, keep it practical and enjoy the experience, he reiterated.

The official mail on 24^th created the background by giving a gist of what we can expect—ethnic attire, activity, and fireworks. In the morning huddle that day, Sujana too explained as much. But, even she could not prepare us what was to follow on the 25th.  Many people turned up in their ethnic best, those who could not manage to do so made it a point to, at least, put on their best apparels. The whole office was in a festive mood. Every smiling face and a more enthusiastic body language gave away the whole story. Something special may happen.

By 4pm the terrace was decked up in garlands, and a small portion was soon transformed into a perfect place to do the puja. As soon as the clock struck five, the programmes began. The five tables at the terrace with white canvases, newspapers, scissors, and glue sticks on them were indicating the unfolding of some interesting activities. And the announcement came pretty soon– a collage competition was about to start. “Create a theme of your choice, and add a banner, if you wish”, was the basic direction. A few moments later the five teams were rigorously trying to pull out the best creative rabbit out of their hats.

Once the 15 minutes deadline was crossed, came the next part. The teams now needed to present their theme to the five judges, who too were selected from the participating teams. The teams showed off their creations one by one, while Team 1 stressed on female power, Team 2 displayed what brightness means, and created a montage of cityscapes and smiling faces. Awesome stuff guys! Teams 3 and 4 too were not far behind. They highlighted the festive season and the dazzling and glittering sides of Diwali, Dhanteras, and Laxmi Puja. Team 5 tried to create something different, and their canvas portrayed anti-corruption slogans.

The best part was there were less sound and more lights in this whole show. Though people lighted a few bombs, but they never got careless. The image of every employee lighting each other’s fire sticks, once again brought out the true spirit of Diwali. This is a time when we cross the mythological significance of the whole exercise, and imbue it with human relationships.

Amidst all this mirth, the expectation to know the name of the winner of the competition never diminished a bit. The small huddle surrounding Bharathi and Mr Vinod proved as much. While Team 3 came up trumps in the competition, Team 4 got the judge’s choice award. When Vinod Sir was handing over the bags full of goodies, they also symbolised the end of the eventful day. While leaving the office on that day, we also carried something more than the gifts. We carried the warmth of team spirit and the warmth of affection. We knew the candles of enthusiasm will keep burning in our heart for a long time.

iss Diwali mein hum Do Diye jyada jaalaye!!!

Please click here to view more pictures

The three-day meet kicked of with the teams getting acquainted with each other, as many had not had an opportunity to meet. Each successive member of the team nick-named the earlier one and repeated the name until the last member repeated the names and nicknames of the entire team!

Sriram welcomed the team with a refresher on why we exist and the company’s mission and vision.

The three teams—Kuza Biashara Content (KBC) (including website & production), Kuza Biashara SME (KBS) & Project Management Office (PMO) soon went into a workshop mode where they discussed the plans, mode of execution and the resources required. The KBS team in particular, discussed strategies for an increase in closed sales of Zidisha accounts and presented ways of achieving the targets.

An interactive session with a 4-member team from Safaricom saw the Zidisha sales team sorting out operational issues. The Safaricom team reiterated its stance to work with and support the KBS team in its work.

The 3-day meet was not all work, as the team took time out to play games that help team building. A mouth-watering cake cut by the recently wedded chief of sales from Safaricom & his wife marked Sriram’s 40^th birthday too!Day three concluded with all the three teams making presentations on the way forward.

Before the teams parted ways, the iridium Interactive and KuzaBiashara Kenyan team was thoroughly energized. Everyone had understood the company’s vision & had created new bonds.  It is this bond that will now take on the Kenyan SME market by storm. And grow in numbers.

Please click here to view more pictures

Friendship is a link and a friend is the channel through whom great emotion and trust flow. This link brings a new light for guidance, peace, and support. There are many relations which are celebrated and preserved only when they are blood. This is a relation where no boundary for blood or hereditary proof to be in.

“Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love and to be loved is the greatest happiness of existence.” Well said by Sydney Smith.

The same was felt at iridium on 6^th August 2011. It was an unforgettable experience. We at iridium gave a new meaning to friendship. Along with this we made a new relation with whom we never interacted. Wholemind India Foundation is the medium for our new relation and bond. iridium is taking a great pleasure to be a part of Wholemind India Foundation, which is the foundation for the individuals suffering from mental illness.

Shreya took an initiative to prepare friendship bands and rings, and came up with a small stall to collect an amount for charity. The bands where colorful and strong as this relation is! I took four bands of my favorite color. I was pleased with the charity and felt proud to be part of iridium which will be a treasured moment. Some of my colleagues and other members bought as many as possible just for contribution and felt the same as I did. At last, the auctioned friendship band tied by Bharathi to her Best Friend Shreya

The most surprising and exciting jiffy was when there was an announcement of a competition for having a maximum number of bands wore on their respective wrist. It was surprising for me and many others because we were unknown to this and excited because when we came to know, we jumped and hopped to count number of bands on our and others wrist. Finally, Mr. Sanjith was announced as a winner with 8 bands. The day ended with a short movie on friendship development by Ravi and his team, which was a merge of snaps taken by Vamsi during the day. (*v*)

Click on the link to view pics…

https://picasaweb.google.com/104664251248378772872/FriendshipDayCelebrationsIridiumHyderabad?authkey=Gv1sRgCIu0oM79__Xw1AE

Click on the link to view video…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGB4tTbH32M

Though our friendship day started a bit hectic and tedious but the evening re-energized us. This friendship day was the best and exceptional day. I hope all iridium enjoyed this day and every year iridium celebrates this day with a new energy, feel, excitement, surprise and with a new target for charity.