Most people do not associate Africa with tech – but in the last ten years, Rwanda has struggled with developing a nascent IT industry and the advent of the mobile phone has begun to have a profound impact on day-to-day life in rural African villages. (see article in Business Week) After a discussion with a friend in San Francisco who works on txteagle, a project that allows for Kenyans to make money or cell-phone credit for work on their cell phones, I saw the Africa 3.0 panel on the table for SXSW and was interested, not only due to the conversation with my friend, but also from first-hand experience of life in Sierra Leone when I traveled there in 2008. LinearB and I contacted TMS Ruge, who agreed to be interviewed just in time for SXSWi this year. - Jana
Jana Thompson: This is drawn from your panel questions, but for the readers here at GeekAustin, what is Africa 3.0? How do you define it?
