Fantsuam Foundation
Encyclopedia
Fantsuam Foundation is a Nigerian non-profit organisation working in the field of Information and Communication Technologies
(ICT) that is working to develop a rugged computer suited for African conditions. Known as the Solo computer, this wooden-encased PC is being designed to cope with the "heat and dust" of Africa
. The British Broadcasting Corporation featured this organisation's work on the Solo computer.
. Founded in 1996 in Jos
, Nigeria, Fantsuam Foundation is a non-profit organization
working on gender and youth focused microfinance
and ICT (or information and communication technology) services and development in rural communities of Nigeria.
were surprised by the "digital renaissance" experienced by the affected area in Kafanchan
. They claimed that the people of the area were "eager to join the information age, use computers and get on-line".
John Dada of Fantsuam told the Association for Progressive Communications
in an interview, "FF had been involved in importation of refurbished PCs for civil society
organizations in Nigeria. We soon realized that these PCs were as vulnerable to heat, dust and unreliable power supply as the brand new ones. We found a UK-based design team that was working on a system that addressed these three 'rural tropical' issues."
Fantsuam plans to develop this into a small industry that can serve the local population.
"It is our way of bringing cutting edge technology to rural Nigeria, and promoting rural ICT entrepreneurship
and associated downstream employment opportunities," says Dada.
of a normal PC.
The Solo has no moving parts to fail as the hard drive is replaced by a flash card
and is specially engineered to work under 8.5 watts of power. It runs on the Linux
computer operating system
, which greatly reduces the cost that would otherwise be necessary for the purchase of an operating system.
They are giving workshops and demonstrations to potential users of the new system. The system currently prices at around $1200. But John Dada argues that might not be a high price for a machine that lasts for 12 to 15 years. In the long run the costs will even out because there will be no expensive maintenance bills or software upgrades, he says. But coming up with the initial investment is not easy.
Says Dada: "In five, ten years time my hope is that each village in Nigeria -- I'm not asking for too much -- each village in Nigeria can have one Solo. If one village has one Solo the whole of Nigeria will be networked. To me that would be moving into the 20th century for Nigeria."
Information and communication technologies
Information and communications technology or information and communication technology, usually abbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for information technology , but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of...
(ICT) that is working to develop a rugged computer suited for African conditions. Known as the Solo computer, this wooden-encased PC is being designed to cope with the "heat and dust" of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The British Broadcasting Corporation featured this organisation's work on the Solo computer.
Wireless internet in northern Nigeria
It is the lone provider of wireless internet service in northern NigeriaNigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Founded in 1996 in Jos
Jos
Jos is a city in the Middle Belt of Nigeria.The city has a population of about 1.5 million residents. Popularly called "J-town" or "Jesus Our Saviour" by the residents, it is the administrative capital of Plateau State....
, Nigeria, Fantsuam Foundation is a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
working on gender and youth focused microfinance
Microfinance
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services....
and ICT (or information and communication technology) services and development in rural communities of Nigeria.
BBC's interest
British telecasters from the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
were surprised by the "digital renaissance" experienced by the affected area in Kafanchan
Kafanchan
Kafanchan is a town in southern Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. It is the location of a junction station of the Nigerian Railway Corporation,and it sits on the line connecting Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kafanchan, Kuru, Bauchi, and finally Maiduguri....
. They claimed that the people of the area were "eager to join the information age, use computers and get on-line".
Solo computer's plans
Now Fantsuam Foundation is working on a revolutionary solar-powered alternative computer, tailormade for the "developing world".John Dada of Fantsuam told the Association for Progressive Communications
Association for Progressive Communications
The Association for Progressive Communications is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, human rights, protection of the environment, and...
in an interview, "FF had been involved in importation of refurbished PCs for civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
organizations in Nigeria. We soon realized that these PCs were as vulnerable to heat, dust and unreliable power supply as the brand new ones. We found a UK-based design team that was working on a system that addressed these three 'rural tropical' issues."
Fantsuam plans to develop this into a small industry that can serve the local population.
"It is our way of bringing cutting edge technology to rural Nigeria, and promoting rural ICT entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response...
and associated downstream employment opportunities," says Dada.
Starting with micro-finance
He also noted that the BBC coverage significantly helped highlight their program. Drawing global attention, this film reported how the Fantsuam Foundation, started as a micro-finance project with only twenty-five clients, turned out to be a huge success and administration became a problem. They report great success in regards to classroom work and training with new users.High temperatures, dust and PCs
The new computer is called Solo and they're developing it in partnership with a group of software designers based in Britain. The Foundation reports that high temperatures and dust are a large factor in causing a high number of crashes, especially when combined with pirated software versions. The Solo computer is designed to get around these troubles and Fantsuam is now field-testing the latest prototype, which is approximately the size of a single card from the motherboardMotherboard
In personal computers, a motherboard is the central printed circuit board in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple...
of a normal PC.
The Solo has no moving parts to fail as the hard drive is replaced by a flash card
Flash card
Flash card can refer to:* Flashcards used for education and training* A form of Flash memory...
and is specially engineered to work under 8.5 watts of power. It runs on the Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
computer operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, which greatly reduces the cost that would otherwise be necessary for the purchase of an operating system.
Cheaper in the long-run
The Fantsuam Foundation plans to produce Solo computers for the general market.They are giving workshops and demonstrations to potential users of the new system. The system currently prices at around $1200. But John Dada argues that might not be a high price for a machine that lasts for 12 to 15 years. In the long run the costs will even out because there will be no expensive maintenance bills or software upgrades, he says. But coming up with the initial investment is not easy.
Says Dada: "In five, ten years time my hope is that each village in Nigeria -- I'm not asking for too much -- each village in Nigeria can have one Solo. If one village has one Solo the whole of Nigeria will be networked. To me that would be moving into the 20th century for Nigeria."