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When thinking about Africa, science and technology are not the first things that come to mind. Yet, there is some great innovation happening in Africa. So where is it? Finding African science and technology projects is not as simple as it sounds. Not because the projects don't exist, but because there is no central database or directory for them. To find projects you have to search hundres of links and read a plethora of articles and for your effort, only a handful will come to light.
I am not sure where this will go, but I've decided that if nobody else is doing something about this problem, then perhaps I should. So I have started a website called, 'The Marker - technology web' at http://www.themarker.co.za . Off-the-bat I realize that I cannot do such a project alone. Not because of financial restraints, but because if such a website is to build credibility it needs the participation of industry players. In the coming weeks I hope to make contact with some people in my immediate network whose ideas and experiences I think will be priceless for such a project. So far, I am formulating this as I go along, seat of the pants kind of thing. I am not even sure the value in building The Marker has anything to do with me or my business interests, I just have a notion that it will help down the line. However, I am convinced that, if not for personal gain, there will be something to be had on a national level. This really needs to be something of a government thing, but let's not go there for now. In the beginning, I expect this to be driven by individuals who may possibly be part of private organizations with an interest in the sector. For the future, I hope that it may evolve to something of a Private and Public Partnership and then maybe evolve to the point where it has enough recognition to motivate greater participation on a government level. At present they're just not flexible and agile enough to do this and I am not sure they have the mind set. I could be wrong about this and will be pleasantly surprise if, before the next month is out, a few key government bodies have come to the dicussion. If anyone out there has ideas they would like to share, please let me know. I will update on the progress of this project here and, of course on The marker website.
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