Umbono - Google's Umbono Kick's Off

From: BizTech Africa

Google’s new tech start-up incubator in South Africa has chosen the first four teams to begin the Umbono programme.

Umbono is an incubator that focuses on high-growth tech startups with global potential. It aims to help start-ups transform their web or mobile idea into reality. The programme will assist with seed capital and mentors including Google employees, VCs, and Angels.

After hundreds of applications, the first four teams have been chosen to begin the six-month programme. During these six months, Umbono will help the teams develop their ideas and get their products off the ground, with the intention of seeing some international success stories being made by the chosen teams.

Google says the goal of Umbono is to help develop a vibrant and sustainable internet ecosystem across Africa, and we hope that Umbono will encourage the growth of the developer community and support the South Africa’s already flourishing tech sector.

Satellites and Sun Connecting isolated communities to the world

From: Physorg

A mobile phone unit connecting isolated communities to the rest of the world using satellites and solar power has caught the attention of ESA and the World Economic Forum.

After developing a solar-powered base station for mobile phones that links isolated communities via

satellite, Irish company Altobridge approached ESA for help in bringing the ground-breaking product to the marketplace.

“We were pleased to help with research and development because it connects rural communities that would otherwise have to wait years for phone service,” explains Michèle Le Saux, an ESA satcom specialist.

“This technology makes intelligent use of satellite bandwidth and has proved that a tough business case can work even with low revenue per user"

With ESA’s help, Altobridge has added new features, including local switching of calls and intelligent handover to other nodes in the public mobile network.

Costs have been reduced by integrating the remote gateway unit into a single-board computer inside the low–power, short-range base transceiver station.

Thanks to ESA, Altobridge is showing that mobile services can be provided while making efficient use of satellite bandwidth through patented call handling and signal coding.

The base stations are already being used by local communities in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands and, more recently, throughout northern Iraq.

In June, Altobridge was recognised by the World Economic Forum as a 2012 technology pioneer.

More:ESA

'Smart Pot'

From: Future of Tech MSNBC

By John Roach

Imagine a pot or jar that you could carry to any water source in the world, fill it up and be guaranteed a container full of clean and safe drinking water.

Such a pot is the goal of a new a challenge issued Nov. 17 to inventors in developing nations by the University of South Florida's Patel School of Global Sustainability.

Contaminated water causes more than half of the world's diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhea, killing an estimated 1.5 million children a year, according to world health officials.

The "Smart Pot" challenge is for a technologically advanced, yet low-cost and easy-to-use water purification system that fits seamlessly with the pots and cans already used to collect water.

The treatment of the water will happen automatically at the point of collection. Users, who already have difficulty retrieving the water, won't have to take any extra steps.

Philanthropist Kiran Patel believes a prototype of the Smart Pot is feasible within a year.

The challenge is open to applicants from academic and research institutions, consulting firms and NGOs registered and located within developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Pre-proposal submissions are accepted through March 2012. Five short-listed applicants will get $8,000 to prepare full proposals.

The winner will get an additional $100,000 to build a prototype.

For more information, check out the Patel School of Global Sustainability.