The Moveecom trike on display at the SAFIPA Conference 2011
There was recently great excitement for the MoveeCom Mobile Internet Café (MIC) team when they won two awards for their innovative mobile internet café.
The first award was from the inaugural SAB Foundation Innovation Awards which were introduced in November this year. With a total purse of R1.5 million the awards aim to promote innovation delivering sustainable solutions to the daily challenges facing persons in low-income areas. Moveecom received a seed grant of R 100,000.00 towards further development of the project. And within the same month, the team were named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Polokwane Chamber of Business’s Annual Awards Gala Banquet.
The MoveeCom™ Mobile Internet Café (MIC) is an innovative concept that delivers access to IT resources, to under-serviced communities via a mobile communication unit. The fully portable communications system has been designed specifically for deep rural areas and poorly serviced urban areas. It enables communities to have access to technology and information in order to engage with other sectors of society and contribute to their economic well being.
The mobile unit is fully enclosed and is complete with two fixed monitors, two computer keyboards, a four-in-one scanner, printer, fax and copier. The entire system is driven by a generator, and the complete unit is transported on a motor-powered trike. During development, the team paid a lot of attention to the design and sourcing of durable components which could weather extreme environments and be used on a rugged terrain. The mobile unit will provide a variety of uses, such as word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software; internet connectivity and real-time chat; general printing, copying, scanning, faxing and a mobile phone charging station.
Development is currently in process on the second version and there are a number of additional factors to take into consideration prior to launch, including finalising partnerships and legal agreements, SABS processes, and franchise-model development. However, with positive responses to the product having been received during a roadshow during 2011, the team is confident that they will make their planned launch for MIC 2 in the latter half of 2012.
Kerryn is a director at The African Commons Project. She graduated from Rhodes University having majored in Journalism & Media Studies and English and has since worked in the e-commerce arena before becoming involved in the Commons movement. Kerryn was the lead project manager at iCommons and is now concerned with open content, intellectual property and issues of internet governance. Kerryn completed her Advanced Diploma in Internet Governance and Intellectual Property with the Diplo Foundation. 
This is the final edition of the SAFIPA newsletter. The month of November 2011, marks the conclusion of this dynamic initiative.
