What is FOSS? FOSS is any computer program which can be freely used, modified and distributed. Software developers can customize, change or add to FOSS. "Free does not mean 'no cost'. It means developers have the power change the programs' codes and the responsibility to share the enhanced program. FOSS has a great potential to create business and learning opportunities in Africa," says Balthas Seibold, a Senior Project Manager at InWent - Capacity Building International, a not-for-profit organisation from Germany.

Paraphrasing Victor Hugo, Eng James Rege, the Chairman of Kenya's Parliamentary Committee on Communication and Member of Parliament for Karachuonyo said FOSS is an idea whose time has come. "Propriety software has impeded our entry into ICTs. Our entry into FOSS is long overdue," Eng Rege remarked at the ict@innovation programme workshop at Strathmore University in Nairobi. The workshop was held from 9th to 12th March 2009.

"FOSS challenges people to think thus encourages innovation. It is also easier and quicker to learn. This means it can be easily adapted to businesses processes in public and private sectors. The government should embrace available and affordable technologies that will enable citizens to interface with its functions. This will also help curb corruption as E-government enhances transparency in government," Eng Rege said.

"Government should also create an enabling environment for technologies to develop. Just as it has reduced taxes on tractors to encourage farming, it should also stop charging taxes on mobile phones to encourage their use and thus encourage their penetration. And this should be done across the East Africa region so that technological development is not skewed," he said.

The legislator's views were echoed by Mr Gakuru.  "In the current fiscal year, the government has allocated Kshs500 million. The figure has been incremental for the last few years. And where is this money going to? It is going to foreign businesses. This is because although the government's ICT policy states that it will promote local software, 99% of software it is using is proprietary and largely foreign," he observed.

"The government needs to change its mindset if it has to realize its Vision 2030 which stipulates that 50% of software in government systems should be locally developed. The time to start working towards achieving this is now," he said.

Mr Gakuru said that government departments and state corporations routinely violate Section 34 of Public Procurement and Disposal Act when in ICT equipment tenders; they specify trade names instead of given performance specifications. "Such practices close business opportunities for local software developers thus hindering local innovation as most popular trade names that are referenced are foreign. Senior government officials need to be sensitized on these issues," he said.

Mr Gakuru said that at the East Africa ICT Policy and Regulatory Harmonisation Workshop held in Entebbe (Uganda) last week and which he attended at the invitation of Kenya's Ministry of Information and Communication, two resolutions were made. "One was that member states should deliberately promote FOSS to save scarce national resources, boost innovation, and increase business opportunities for citizens. Secondly, the East Africa Community should set up an Institute of Emerging Technologies that will among other things research and promote FOSS," he said.

The aim of the workshop in Nairobi was to build capacities in Africa for small and medium ICT enterprises with the use of FOSS. The ict@innovation programme which organized the workshop encourages the growth of African ICT industries, particularly in Southern and Eastern Africa through:- spreading FOSS business models for enterprises in Africa, fostering FOSS certification and supporting innovative local FOSS applications for social and economic development.

"FOSS is about using freedom and responsibility on the part of developers. The workshop was about taking this concept and helping developers exploit the business potential inherent in their initiatives. The workshop underpinned Strathmore's mission of providing all-round education in an atmosphere of freedom and responsibility to realize its vision of becoming an entrepreneurial university," Siebold said.

ict@innovation is a partnership of FOSSFA (Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa) and InWEnt - Capacity Building International (Germany). The programme focuses on FOSS as a key technology to drive innovation, add local value and create sustainable and affordable ICT-solutions. Funding partners are the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Germany and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA).

Among other things, the workshop studied cases of African businesses that offer FOSS related services. These included Ethiopia's Amest Santim Systems PLC; Kenya's OPENWORLD; Mozambique's CENFOSS; Nigeria's Software Resources Ltd; South Africa's GIS Global Image PTY, and Linux Holdings; and Uganda's Linux Solutions. Next on ICT@innovation agenda include a series of advanced training courses on African FOSS business models. For further information and registration see: http://www.ict-innovation.fossfa.net/

The workshop's 24 participants were drawn from countries in eastern and southern Africa met three members of the Skunk Works forum who are operating FOSS SMEs to learn what they were doing. They also gave the members materials to help them strengthen their businesses.

For more information and opportunities to join ICT@inovation see: http://www.ict-innovation.fossfa.net/