A good thing? Or a wolf in sheep's clothing??



IBM links researchers, African students

By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Technology Writer
Tue Nov 20, 4:34 PM ET

When technology companies talk up the potential of the developing world, they usually mean places that already are hotbeds like China or India.

IBM Corp. is placing bets on African countries where it has launched a mentoring program for college students.

The project, called Makocha Minds, using the Swahili word for "teachers," puts 250 of IBM's top researchers in regular contact with engineering, math and computing students at universities in 10 sub-Saharan countries: Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, Senegal, Botswana, Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria.

The participants chat mainly by e-mail or phone, but in-person meetings could happen eventually.

The students usually want general guidance on becoming successful or pursuing advanced degrees, rather than help with their homework, said Mark Dean, head of IBM'S Almaden Research Center in Silicon Valley and leader of the project.

Dean said the project lays groundwork for IBM to do business in Africa, where potentially groundbreaking research is being pursued on diverse topics like plant genomics and nuclear power.

"We believe that Africa is that next emerging opportunity," he said. "We need to be familiar with different cultures and languages and operations in the African countries. What we want is the African people and African businesses to look at IBM as a trusted provider."

Other technology companies have tried strengthening their interactions in Africa, including Google Inc., whose foundation has backed business-plan competitions in Ghana and Tanzania. However, experts in international technology development said IBM's mentoring program appears unique.

For now....massa's done ENOUGH in Africa. I am very suspicious. Whatcha want NOW? Our brain cells? cuz that's ALL we really have left. I guess massa wants to tap into that too....since he's been pratically EVERY where else getting the job done for less money. As a customer, I want to be able to talk to customer service in ENGLISH thankyou very much. And there are capable people in the U.S. who can use these jobs. So why is massa going elsewhere? I know! cheaper employees. Sometimes you get what you pay for. But in our case, will these "cheap" employees hinder more than help? I'm not trusting.....