My intention was never to gain a following, but simply to allow for an outlet when the moment struck me. So here’s that moment.

Today I was inspired by a post called “300 Words” on Hugh MacLeod’s blog that was basically a call on writers to produce at least 300 words of writing every day. While I might not be able to produce 300 words every day, I’ll try to produce something of interest.

For those not in the ‘know’, nearly all of my time has been swallowed up in African Tech Network. The growth of ATN has been tremendous to say the least. We currently have users from 12 African countries who work in the arena of technology. I am squeezing every hour of my time to improving the site and make it more useful as a resource for technologists. All in all I am happy with the progress.

If you are interested in what I am working on/talking about, follow me on Twitter. Hardly a day goes by I am not conversing on Twitter. And, I promise, most of what I say is not pointless psychobabble but meaningful quips about exciting things.

• First and foremost, you might have noticed that JosefScarantino.com has received a fresh look. I was looking for something not so cluttered and a little more modern, so here it is. Nothing fancy but it works for me. Hope you like it.
• You probably never noticed my freelance web business site, or even knew I had one (used to be located at josefscarantino.biz), but it is now gone. I’ve decided to take the site down. Freelance work has been super busy lately to the point where I am refusing work because it is interfering with my other passions and taking precious time away from me. Soon into the near future I will quit freelancing all together and be winding things down. Not quite yet though. I have a handful of projects to finish up first before the summer comes into full swing.
• I am awaiting the results on entering grad school in the Washington D.C. area. I expect to hear any time now. This will largely determine what I do with myself over the next few years and whether or not to stick around the D.C. area into 2011 and beyond.
• I have been invited to speak at Africa Gathering DC on April 24th, 2010. It is a tremendous honor and opportunity to be included among so many visionaries. I only hope I can live up to the expectations. You can expect a separate blog post to be coming soon on this event and the topic of my talk. Stay tuned.

Don’t have Skype? Well, you need to get it.

In this week’s Kiva Pledge Update I am supporting Tettey, who deals in mobile phones and accessories in Kade, Ghana.

According to his Kiva business page:

Tettey is forty-three. He is married and has four children, all in school. He lives with his wife and children in a rented apartment in a town called Kade in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He works hard to be able to provide for the family. Tettey is a trader. He deals in mobile phones and accessories. He sells in a shop by the roadside in his community. He tells us that he buys the phones from the big cities at affordable prices. Tettey has been in business for three years and wants a loan to procure all kinds of phones in larger quantities in order to expand his business.

Stay tuned for the next Kiva Pledge Update on December 6th.

In this week’s Kiva Pledge Update I am supporting John Lubowa, who currently rides a boda-boda in Lugazi, Uganda.

According to his Kiva business page:

Lubowa John is the leader of his lending group in Lugazi. He is 36 years old, married, and has five children aged 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13. They are all in primary school. John also takes care of seven dependants, including orphans.

John is a hardworking man and has been a boda-boda rider for Lugazi Town Council for the past five years. He shows good customer care towards his clients. His business is seasonal, which affects his cash flow. He is able to make 20,000 UGX a week profit. He has a dream of buying his own bike so that he could earn a larger income and continue to educate his children to the last level. John is requesting a loan to purchase a cow (with a top-up from his savings) so that he could sell milk to diversify his family income.

Stay tuned for the next Kiva Pledge Update on November 22nd.

Other, more regularly updated, ways of finding out what I’m working on are my personal Twitter, the webstartAfrica Twitter, or simply the webstartAfrica blog. All three are updated more frequently than the blog here (for now).

So, other than the occasional Kiva Pledge Update done every two weeks, this blog might run pretty quiet. That may change in the future, but for now the focus needs to be on webstartAfrica.

In this week’s Kiva Pledge Update I am supporting Ayub Mupere’s Group, who is currently operating a clothing boutique in Lugazi, Uganda.

According to their Kiva business page:

Mupere Ayub has had a boutique in Bukamunye for one and a half years. He is a married man with nine children between the ages of 1 and 18, as he takes care of his siblings. He is a determined man and he is lucky that he is able to make 80,000/= profit a week. Before having a boutique, Ayub was a fisherman. He does not regret the change, although his business is affected by high competition. He ensures that he treats his customers well and has quality clothes for resale; hence, more sales. In the future, Ayub wants to be a wholesaler so that he can build a house for his family.

Ayub needs a loan to be able to restock his boutique with more clothes for a steady supply of products. He is the leader of his lending group in Lugazi.

Stay tuned for the next Kiva Pledge Update on November 8th.

In this week’s Kiva Pledge Update I am supporting Margaret Nankabirwa’s Group, who is currently operating a secondhand clothing store in Kampala, Uganda.

According to their Kiva business page:

Nankabirwa Margaret is the leader of her lending group in Namasuba. She is a young woman who is obsessed with the desire to succeed through hard work. She is not yet married and has no child.

Margaret has a business selling secondhand clothes and has a shop in central Kampala. She joined her lending group to be able to access more capital for her business since she could not find any other alternative and, sincerely, she has found it worthwhile. She wants to be an independent lady and, even if she gets married, not leave everything to her husband.

Margaret needs a loan to be able to buy more clothes for increased variety, leading to increased sales and hence more income and profits.

Stay tuned for the next Kiva Pledge Update on October 25th.

In this week’s Kiva Pledge Update I am supporting Semugenya James’ Group, who is currently operating a general store in Lugazi, Uganda.

According to their Kiva business page:

Semugenya James is a hardworking woman with a retail shop in Lweru trading centre. She is 45 years old and married. She is responsible for twelve children between the ages of four and 24 years, some her own and some, orphans.

Semugenya used to be a farmer but was affected by the drop in price of produce and so changed to retail sales. From her shop she makes 200,000 UGX in profits, mostly attributable to the use of her loan and the quality of her products.

At the moment, Semugenya is requesting a loan to restock her shop with more goods and to pay for part of her children’s school fees. Semugenya dreams of becoming a wholesaler as well as educating her children to the highest level.

Stay tuned for the next Kiva Pledge Update on October 11th.

In this week’s Kiva Pledge Update I am supporting Dawa Marita, who is currently in the business of selling bread and beans in Gudele, Sudan.

According to his Kiva business page:

Dawa Marita is currently in the business of selling bread and beans and is requesting a loan to stock more beans to sell. Dawa is 39 years old and is Married with a husband that is a teacher. She has 4 children and her children go to school. With the extra profits from her loan, she hopes to be able to open up a shop BRAC’s holistic approach to poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor encompasses a range of core programs in economic and social development, health, education , and human rights and legal services which are delivered through an extensive network of village organizations. BRAC has become one of the world’s largest NGOs as a measured by the scale and diversity of its interventions. In 2007, BRAC started operations in Southern Sudan. The microfinance program, which is targeted towards returning war refugees, has already formed 418 village organizations with more than 14,000 women members.

Stay tuned for the next Kiva Pledge Update on September 27th.