This major inaugural program supports the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
- SDG One: No Poverty
- SDG Eight: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- SDG Nine: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- SDG Ten: Reduced Inequalities
Impact Integrated Information and Communication Technology Laboratory or ImpactLab is an incubation center created by Olives Media that uses media, technology and innovation to conduct experiments on integrated, global eCommerce platforms to solve seemingly complex public policy challenges.
To be located both at Jewel Complex, next to Thika Road Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, the first chapter of the incubator should have a team that identifies complex public policy challenges that may exist now or in the future and come up with integrated global information technology based or eCommerce solutions to solve them. Our central pillars are the following:
- Open and collaborative learning and development
- Solving a currently unaddressed challenge or preempting an emerging one, especially on issues of democracy, freedom of expression, proper public policy and governance.
- Active maintenance of technologies demanded and utilized by people on the front lines of any environments or authorities that suppress freedom of expression, media or access to information.
- Entrepreneurship to ensure sustenance and profitability
- Use of Technology to empower local communities and to reach those yet unreached with technology.
Olives Media hopes to launch mega relational database (social media and eCommerce) platforms that could revolutionize certain industries in Africa, by using this laboratory. We have the concepts in place as we create this infrastructure to launch each of them.
Impact Lab will launch branch labs in different counties across Kenya where young people with various ideas, and even to an extent, various economic problems can simply walk in to have a discussion on the way forward that is beneficial to both him/her and the lab. Impact Lab will be a space that will be used to inspire the explosion of entrepreneurship, from training to launching of businesses.
All integrated, global online platforms mentioned on this site are being developed by Impact Lab after which they are handed over to various departments with Olives Media and various stakeholders interested in them around the world to use them to solve the identified problems. Impact Lab will also have hosting capabilities with latest cyber defense systems to be able to host the platforms.
OUR SUSTAINABILITY MODEL
Impact Lab gets revenue through the following methods.
1) Development of government Public Policy Portals
Fulfilling the programs main mission of using media and technology to solve public policy challenges, Impact Lab does experiments on Public Policy based ePortals that ease public policy processes and make access to information more easier, while managing resources at the same time. We conduct experiments on what public processes are workable using information and technology. This reduces bureaucracy and outrightly takes out corruption in the management of public resources. Should we make an experiment on one and succeed, we get contracts from the government to implement the system and improve it going forward.
2) Investment In Individual Ideas
We have come up with the best way to ensure an individual with a brilliant mind and a brilliant idea can simply walk in, without cash and without any equipment but just his idea and turn that idea into a potential billion dollar enterprise while solving a major problem in society at the same time. Impact Lab provides all the support the individual needs to turn their idea into an awesome success. But takes 25% stake of the entire business idea that has been brought in.
This should happen so that as the idea grows into a profitable venture, part of the revenue the new business accrues come into the lab to help sustain the lab’s activities, provide economic activities and then fund other ideas. Our work is to guide the new venture in finding the best pivots until the new venture turns into a business and then get the 25% revenue out of it to fund other ideas as well.
We also work with the government to launch online portal based public policy processes that help with the management of public resources. the development of such ideas means that we can win
The objectives of this program include the following
- To contribute to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, by ensuring recording, storage, proper protection and dissemination of accurate data to various stake holders in the private, public policy and governance sectors.
- Creating new open source circumvention technologies that fill a current need of targeted users; improving the security, usability, and adaptability of existing open source internet freedom technologies.
- To counter disinformation, promote reliable independent sources, and facilitate access to information for ordinary citizens on public issues. Thus ensure easy access, credibility, transparency and accountability in the service we provide to the various stakeholders.
- To support freedom of expression, a diversity of public opinion and representation, and counter illegal hate speech online, particularly in times of societal stress or crisis (Voice and Participation), like potential post-election chaos (Even taking legal action against government if necessary should rights and freedoms be infringed).
- To incubate, support and conduct projects that emphasize applied research that focuses on real-time monitoring and analysis of both technical and political threats to internet freedom, including network interference and shutdowns.
- To support various departments of government and all other stake holders, both local and international, with proper data as evidence should there be disputes on data in any public policy or democratic processes.
- To ensure there’s constant existence of peace and tranquility among the diverse ethnic and religious groups after a democratic process. This is meant to ensuring continued protection and improvement of human rights and fundamental freedoms and to protect the minority and the vulnerable groups in society.
Various activities we will pursue at ImpactLab Includes
- Maintenance of proper, top notch technological infrastructure with latest cyber defense systems to help with the development of eCommerce or online media projects or programs. Initially, heavy dependence on Amazon Web Services to store our data. But as time goers by, develop Impact Cloud for the storage of our own data. Heavy use of Starlink Network to deploy our technology to the most needed rural remote places to help government services easily.
- Recruiting the best Information Technology brains from Universities and colleges, both local and abroad to create technology base solutions to public policy challenges. We have strongly considered University of Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), India Institute of Technology (IIT), Stamford University (SU) and Massachusetts Institutes of Technology (MIT).
- Giving Internships to the best brains and then putting them into teams within the lab. Each team will then be given a public policy challenge that they create platforms to solve. We have some of those heavy challenges in Kenya now that really need solutions. We then pitch these prototypes that we come up with to governments and international agencies that may be interested.
- Analyzing current Public Policy and eCommerce challenges and monitor the government’s efforts towards using technology to improve service delivery or protect and enhance freedom of opinion. Bringing in various stakeholders from Government, Finance, Non Profit, Entrepreneurs, Academia and Independent Constitutionally empowered institutions to get them involved in experiments that may solve major public policy challenges.
- Supporting early startup technology based entrepreneurs and turning their innovative theories into solutions and businesses that can create employment. We intend to mentor and collaborate with any individual that comes in with a brilliant idea and turn their noble idea into a business.
- Collection and analysis of the target market’s response data on research projects that we have been contracted to spearhead. Releasing findings to the public on the various specific research projects or contracts that the company may be given by various stakeholders (majorly a for profit venture).
- Promotion and visibility of our projects through various well connected and easily accessible media channels. Getting both non-profits and investors on board to either fund or support ideas with proven business models.
- Communication Consultancy, Data Back up and Protection for any clients interested in us.
Some of the project ideas we are developing and intend to maintain include
- Bribeleaks: An artificially intelligent platform that receives anonymous tips on corruption from whistle-blowers, (public officials within national and county governments) within Kenya. These whistle blowers must have their identities covered and the evidence stored in our secure servers. The major concerns for report will be instances of corrupt dealings and nepotistic favors. (These instances would then be cleverly exposed on our public broadcasts)
- Greendeal; An artificially intelligent platform that teaches young people how to use locally available materials to develop renewable energy solutions to power their local businesses and activities. This site should also present solutions from other parts of the western world to Young Kenyans to inspire green energy creativity.
- Voteller: An artificially Intelligent purely electronic voter process platform that has social media aspect to it. Accessible only to registered voters.
- GovWork: An artificially intelligent public private partnership resource and opportunity allocation platform that allocates work to private companies and to the best candidates to be employed by the government, avoiding human decision making process in the system. This is to fast track fairness in selection of employees, resource accountability and government asset recovery.
- MyTax: An artificially intelligent Individual profile based tax platform that transfers all individuals above 18 onto it and manages their tax systems. We will take to record every individual who has reached 18 Years old and begin to analyze and manage the flow of their economic income to determine how much tax the individual ought to pay.
- FriendGuard: An artificially intelligent integrated, global online platform that prevents or reduces the chances of an extremist attack by profiling photos. This site also receives tips from members of the public on potential areas of violence just before, during and after election. This information is then either given out to the public during our broadcasts or handed over to intelligence agencies.
- YouthLead: An artificially intelligent platform where the youth share information on how to campaign for leadership and use the cheapest means to get their policies proposals well understood among the electorate and win democratic contests.
Impact Lab will be managed by Olives Media Board of Seven, under the Board is what we call “Startup Managers”. These managers are the team leaders assigned to each idea that is undergoing testing and iterations or pivoting until the idea turns into a company. Impact Lab’s major indicator is in the interest our projects and services generate. This may be directly quantified by:
- Revenue in terms of investment
- Prototype Surveys to determine public response and interest.
- Successful projects that we launch.
Each project team will be allocated a special presentation week to present their latest developments before the company board. This helps the Board to determine whether a project is worth another lifeline or scrapping and also whether there is need in team restructuring to improve the lifeline of a project.
All integrated, global online platforms mentioned on this site and those that are yet to be revealed inside Olives Media or ImpactLab are creations of Olives Media and ImpactLab and as such are copyrighted and patented protocols subject to copyright and patenting laws of the United States, the Republic of Kenya and world trade organization. Copying or Licensing of the same technological protocols without the express permission of Olives Media or ImpactLab will lead to prosecution.