In Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, an entrepreneurial group of technologists are finding ways to blend tech with development.
Kpetermeni Siakor, 26, a
Thanks to the scholarship from the Foundation, Siakor had the opportunity to study at Ashesi University in Ghana (given that there’s hardly any IT-related degrees available in Liberia itself). Siakor, though born in Liberia, has spent much of his life in Ghana.
When he returned home to work on iLab, he says he was surprised by how little he knows about his own country. “I took for granted things I had access to -- electricity, water, a good education, Internet access, etc.”
During the civil war, Liberia lost most of its infrastructure, particularly power grids. The country relies on generators. Consequently, less than one percent of the population has access to the Internet.
So, Siakor is in a unique position. After the 2011 presidential elections, he helped establish iLab as a public space for students, entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts to access courses and training -- for free. Oh, and they also have a reliable Internet line. iLab stemmed from Ushahidi’s work in the country -- using mapping technology, first pioneered in Kenya, for election results.
He and his colleagues, however, found a new purpose for Ushahidi’s digital map: tracking health centers in Liberia during the Ebola outbreak. With crowdsourced information, they were able to compile a list of over 15,000 Ebola cases around the country.
“We were able to reduce the time it took to get reported cases to decision markers (ie. the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare) from 5 days to a matter of minutes,” Siakor says.
As Ebola began to spread throughout the region, Siakor called countless doctors and journalists, asking, “What can I do to help?” He got a surprising answer, he recalls: “I don’t know. What do you think you can do to help?”
With the tables turned, he started figuring out how he could play a role.
“That was the beginning of an effective involvement.”
This is the solution he devised with his team: volunteers were assigned to emergency dispatch units in the country. They would take in calls from the public -- people reporting new cases. That information was, then, plugged into the Ushahidi platform. Public health officials could see this data in real-time, helping them figure out where more supplies (and manpower) were needed and where the virus was at its deadliest.
Looking back, Siakor says the answer isn’t just international aid. “Liberians need to be empowered to help themselves.”
Getting the skills, however, is the hard part with such limited educational resources in the country. That’s where MasterCard Foundation wants to make a dent.
Siakor’s scholarship was more than just a check, says Reeta Roy, MasterCard Foundation CEO. “We ask our scholars to think about how they are going to give back -- much more deeply than just a project, but how will they give back over a lifetime.”
The Foundation has committed to work with scholars in Africa for the next 10 years, hoping to raise a new generation of homegrown leaders, addressing the development challenges of the region through its youth learning and financial inclusion efforts across the continent. Already, $500 million has been allotted to the scholars program, which started in November 2011. Ashesi University in Ghana, Siakor’s alma mater, has received $13 million to support the scholars program.
“Imagine how different the Ebola story would have been if more Liberians, Sierra Leoneans, and Guineans had opportunities like the MasterCard Foundation scholarship,” Siakor says.
