Techies look Google associated Sh132 million online security grant

Kenyan technology experts are among those invited to apply for a grant from the Africa Online Safety Fund (AOSF), a $1 million (Sh132.4 million) fund organized by South African-based capital advisory firm Impact Amplifier (IA) with financial support from Google.

The contestants, who will be chosen from Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa, will have to pitch solutions to problems such as cyberbullying and harassment, terrorist recruitment and promotion, fake news, and financial scams.

According to IA, while the dramatic increase in internet access in Africa over the last decade has created new opportunities for socioeconomic development, it has also created new challenges.

“There are three categories of funding: Transformative, Maturing and Catalytic. The Transformative projects are intended to be larger in scale, reach multiple geographies and/or potentially large numbers of beneficiaries, and be scalable as a solution,” said IA in a statement to newsrooms.

“The Maturing projects are intended to test ideas at a larger scale, try new ideas within existing projects, and reach new audiences while the Catalytic projects are intended to be smaller, targeted, and potentially only locally or culturally specific.”

Transformative projects are eligible for up to $50,000 (Sh6.6 million), while Maturing and Catalytic projects are eligible for up to $25,000 (Sh3.3 million) and $10,000 (Sh1.3 million), respectively.