Vacancy: Mobile Social Incubator (MSI) Project
REPORT TO: Project Director
Location: Kampala
Job Description (Duties):
Job Summary:
The Incubator Manager (IM) is responsible for managing the Mobile Social Incubator (MSI) website and initiative to develop the incubator. The site, in phase one of the project, will aim to create an open innovation platform for Grameen Foundation activities in mobile money and mobile agriculture by building a community, pulling information from various industry sources on a daily basis and crowdsourcing ideas for development in AppLab. The Incubator Manager will also work with the project team to ensure that all Grameen Foundation members are populating the site on a frequent basis with project updates. The second phase of the project will aim to include crowd funding into the site in support of local social entrepreneurs innovating with the mobile channel and targeting the poor and poorest people in Uganda. Finally, the Incubator Manager will be responsible developing a plan on how to scale the platform to other ICT4D domains such at mHealth and mLivelihoods and in the process develop strategic alliances within the ICT4D sector.
The project: The Mobile Social Incubator will combine a virtual collaboration space (a website) with a physical one (our AppLab in Uganda) to promote innovation with mobile phones to
benefit the poor. This takes our initial AppLab concept and goes one big step beyond, providing an open innovation platform for idea generation, catalytic funding for innovative ideas and a means to field test and develop promising opportunities.
While the concept is domain-independent, in the first stage of our efforts we will limit the scope to mobile financial services. Together with CGAP and MTN we will soon be launching a Mobile Financial Services Incubator in Uganda. This effort aims to extend the benefits of mobile money to the poor through innovation in product design, new ways of thinking about agent networks and modifications to the way services are delivered (e.g., by creating intuitive, numbers-based User Interfaces for people with good numeracy but low literacy).
The Mobile Social Incubator will serve as a vehicle to crowd source a range of ideas to explore, provide a forum for collaboration to improve concepts and a means to communicate results and learning. We will couple it with our proven testing and rapid iteration approaches in Uganda, prototype concepts and identify solutions with potential to achieve impact at scale. The power of the model comes from this unique combination of a virtual collaboration space and a well-established physical one. Further, it lends itself to a “crowdfunding” model for innovative ideas by using a model similar to kickstarter (see below), where entrepreneurs put together a budget and source funding from the international community to develop their ideas further.
Duties and Responsibilities:
* Develop a strategy for Mobile Social Incubator growth and sustainability. * Develop a business model for the Mobile Social Incubator to ensure long-term sustainability. * Work out a communications plan that results in the engagement of the ICTD community. * Engage in community outreach activities across East Africa to engage local developers. * Look for donor funding to scale-up the Mobile Social Incubator when needed. * Work with the project team to develop a structure for the Mobile Social Incubator. * Work with tech team to ensure that site is operating at all times. * Scan the market daily for interesting information items that can be included in the Mobile Social Incubator. * Monitor content that is uploaded to the Mobile Social Incubator by visitors. * Make suggestions for how the site can be improved. * Update functionality of the site at various stages. * Liaison with site visitors to ensure that questions are answered. * Handle requests from site visitors for funding and mentorship. Necessary Qualifications: Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
* 5 + years business development experience with start-up organizations or incubators. * Deep commitment to eradication of poverty and alignment with Grameen Foundation’s mission. * Experience working in developing countries. * Experience in content development and research. * Experience with business modeling. * Belief in the potential to leverage information and communication technology (ICTs) for the benefit of poor people –with practical experience. * Strong writing skills. * Strong interest in mobile money. * Understanding of technology, particularly mobile money applications. Education:
* At least undergraduate degree but masters’ preferred How to Apply:
If interested, please submit in person a typed up-to-date CV and application letter with copies of your academic papers to;
NFT Consult – Uganda,Kisozi Complex, Plot 6/8 Kyaggwe Road, Nakasero
Tel: +256 0414237904 / 24, 0312266904
If applying online, please send an email to grameenjobs@nftconsult.com. ( In the Subject line please indicate the position you are applying for i.e “Incubator Manager “)
Attach your CV and application letter ONLY; please merge them into ONE file in MS word or PDF format.
DO NOT attach scanned academic papers or documents when applying online
REPORT TO: Project Director
Location: Kampala
Job Description (Duties):
Job Summary:
The Incubator Manager (IM) is responsible for managing the Mobile Social Incubator (MSI) website and initiative to develop the incubator. The site, in phase one of the project, will aim to create an open innovation platform for Grameen Foundation activities in mobile money and mobile agriculture by building a community, pulling information from various industry sources on a daily basis and crowdsourcing ideas for development in AppLab. The Incubator Manager will also work with the project team to ensure that all Grameen Foundation members are populating the site on a frequent basis with project updates. The second phase of the project will aim to include crowd funding into the site in support of local social entrepreneurs innovating with the mobile channel and targeting the poor and poorest people in Uganda. Finally, the Incubator Manager will be responsible developing a plan on how to scale the platform to other ICT4D domains such at mHealth and mLivelihoods and in the process develop strategic alliances within the ICT4D sector.
The project: The Mobile Social Incubator will combine a virtual collaboration space (a website) with a physical one (our AppLab in Uganda) to promote innovation with mobile phones to
benefit the poor. This takes our initial AppLab concept and goes one big step beyond, providing an open innovation platform for idea generation, catalytic funding for innovative ideas and a means to field test and develop promising opportunities.
While the concept is domain-independent, in the first stage of our efforts we will limit the scope to mobile financial services. Together with CGAP and MTN we will soon be launching a Mobile Financial Services Incubator in Uganda. This effort aims to extend the benefits of mobile money to the poor through innovation in product design, new ways of thinking about agent networks and modifications to the way services are delivered (e.g., by creating intuitive, numbers-based User Interfaces for people with good numeracy but low literacy).
The Mobile Social Incubator will serve as a vehicle to crowd source a range of ideas to explore, provide a forum for collaboration to improve concepts and a means to communicate results and learning. We will couple it with our proven testing and rapid iteration approaches in Uganda, prototype concepts and identify solutions with potential to achieve impact at scale. The power of the model comes from this unique combination of a virtual collaboration space and a well-established physical one. Further, it lends itself to a “crowdfunding” model for innovative ideas by using a model similar to kickstarter (see below), where entrepreneurs put together a budget and source funding from the international community to develop their ideas further.
Duties and Responsibilities:
* Develop a strategy for Mobile Social Incubator growth and sustainability. * Develop a business model for the Mobile Social Incubator to ensure long-term sustainability. * Work out a communications plan that results in the engagement of the ICTD community. * Engage in community outreach activities across East Africa to engage local developers. * Look for donor funding to scale-up the Mobile Social Incubator when needed. * Work with the project team to develop a structure for the Mobile Social Incubator. * Work with tech team to ensure that site is operating at all times. * Scan the market daily for interesting information items that can be included in the Mobile Social Incubator. * Monitor content that is uploaded to the Mobile Social Incubator by visitors. * Make suggestions for how the site can be improved. * Update functionality of the site at various stages. * Liaison with site visitors to ensure that questions are answered. * Handle requests from site visitors for funding and mentorship. Necessary Qualifications: Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
* 5 + years business development experience with start-up organizations or incubators. * Deep commitment to eradication of poverty and alignment with Grameen Foundation’s mission. * Experience working in developing countries. * Experience in content development and research. * Experience with business modeling. * Belief in the potential to leverage information and communication technology (ICTs) for the benefit of poor people –with practical experience. * Strong writing skills. * Strong interest in mobile money. * Understanding of technology, particularly mobile money applications. Education:
* At least undergraduate degree but masters’ preferred How to Apply:
If interested, please submit in person a typed up-to-date CV and application letter with copies of your academic papers to;
NFT Consult – Uganda,Kisozi Complex, Plot 6/8 Kyaggwe Road, Nakasero
Tel: +256 0414237904 / 24, 0312266904
If applying online, please send an email to grameenjobs@nftconsult.com. ( In the Subject line please indicate the position you are applying for i.e “Incubator Manager “)
Attach your CV and application letter ONLY; please merge them into ONE file in MS word or PDF format.
DO NOT attach scanned academic papers or documents when applying online