“There is a link between increasing connectivity and GDP. If you increase broadband by 10%, it corresponds to 1,163% increase in GDP. Investment in connectivity is worthwhile. We've only got 15.6% penetration of the internet in Africa – there is so much more to do.”
- Juliana Rotich is co-founder and executive director of Ushahidi, a nonprofit tech company, born in Africa, that develops free and open-source software for information collection, interactive mapping and data curation. Juliana leads a team that is expanding its global footprint and making crowdsourcing tools available and useful, and catalyzing entrepreneurial initiatives like iHub in Kenya. She serves on the advisory council of Microsoft 4Afrika and Waabeh Ltd. She also co-founded Mobisoko, a mobile marketplace for language and location relevant apps in Africa. Juliana is a TED Senior Fellow and serves on the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Information Communications Technology. In 2011 The World Economic Forum named Juliana 'Social Entrepreneur of the Year'.