#Connect2016: Two Cloud-based solutions developed to promote service delivery get funding through Microsoft 4Afrika Innovate4Gov program

Microsoft partners have introduced two new Cloud-based solutions, developed to promote service delivery focused on citizens.

BioSIM and eCabinet Solution will receive funding and technical support through the Microsoft 4Afrika Innovate4Gov program, to help them implement and scale.

“As Africa’s urban population grows, and some of the governments undergo devolution, ICT – and particularly cloud computing – is becoming an integral part of service delivery,” says Azza El-Shinnawy, Director of Government Solutions at Microsoft 4Afrika. “Innovation should be at the core of how governments manage their programs and service delivery to its citizens. Citizens are now more than ever coming up with their own solutions in a hyperlocal context. Through Innovate4Gov, we bring together the demand for innovation in the public sector, with the supply of innovation in the private sector.”

BioSIM, developed by I Choose Life, is an application that helps track student enrolment, pupil and teacher attendance, performance and school fees. It works to generate real-time reports that help governments and policy makers make informed decisions around education and benchmark quality.

On the other hand the eCabinet Solution is developed by TechnoBrain. The solution is designed to help cabinet members draft and publish papers and proposals, record and manage meeting minutes and correspondence, and monitor relevant activities.

“Governments across Africa are placing more and more importance on initiatives which will transform the way they work through ICT,” says Robert Mugo, Ag CEO, ICT Authority of Kenya. from the Information Communication Technologies Authority of Kenya. “When properly designed and implemented, ICT can improve efficiency, simplify compliance with government regulations, strengthen citizen participation and trust, and save costs. Governments are hungry for innovation in this space to help identify and fill gaps.”

The Innovate4Gov program, launched in 2015, is designed to promote innovation in the public sector space. It encourages startups, independent software vendors and developers to create local solutions in direct response to challenges and opportunities for better service delivery identified by governments. The program also works with governments to train civil servants in embracing innovation and information technology.

This is in line with the Government of Kenya’s National ICT Masterplan to invest in and expand the way ICT is used in delivery.