Strathmore student wins Kenya Facebook challenge

Wilfred Mworia, a student at Strathmore University, is the winner of the inaugural Kenya Facebook Developer Garage, sponsored by Market for Change (now Samasource), Facebook and the University of Nairobi.

Targeting the 10 percent of Kenya's 60,000 Facebook users who buy and sell on the Internet, Mworia developed the "MarketPlaceOnMaps" application, based on Google maps, for use by Kenya's real estate industry. The application allows real estate investors in Kenya or abroad to view the exact location of a property, plus details of the property, surrounding area and available social amenities. Using the Facebook platform, sellers can provide a phone number at which they can be contacted, or they can chose to receive messages from potential buyers through Facebook accounts, says Mworia.

Since receiving the award, Mworia says he has received four job offers from organizations that have visited Facebook and seen what the application can do. His network has improved, and the usage graph on his Facebook application has risen.

Coordinated by Jessica Colaco, a technology consultant in Nairobi, the competition was intended to spur innovation and competition among local students and developers and enlighten them on the marketing and educational value of Web 2.0.

While local universities have been blamed for producing half-baked graduates and failing to adapt to changing technology, Mworia says the adoption of multiple platforms could change this.

"Students should not be made to choose [between Microsoft and open-source platforms] and forget the rest," he said.

"What they need is to be able get excited by technology, create communities and understand why both platforms implement security the way they do."

The next Facebook Developer Garage will be held in 2009. Mworia calls it an open invitation for students to contribute to content development instead of simply acting as content consumers.