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TEDGlobal 2009

Uganda, United States

Director + CEO, Appfrica / Software Developer / Writer; CTO, Question Box

Websites

Bio

Jonathan Gosier is an American software developer, writer, social entrepreneur and the founder of Appfrica.org. Appfrica invests in East African software start ups to create jobs and prevent brain drain. Jonathan also currently serves as the Chief Technical Officer at QuestionBox.org, where he's working to develop a software platform that will allow people in developing countries without computers to get answers from operators using the Internet via mobile phones and SMS. He currently lives in Kampala, Uganda where he is working on two fronts: to encourage western businesses and investors to engage African entrepreneurs, and, in developing parts of Africa, to encourage the adoption of computers, programming and use of the Internet. His novel Muxtionary explores a potential future where the world has become a utopia but Africa is still like it is today.

Q&A

What projects are you working on now that are most meaningful to you?

I think Question Box has the potential to be a service that uses technology to spread information in ways that all people can access equally regardless of education level, language, class or physical ability. The Internet and knowledge of computers, in many countries, is a luxury. What's constant, almost ubiquitous, all over the globe is the mobile phone and verbal communication.

Besides your work, what issues/ideas/pursuits are you passionate about?

Although it's not what my company is focused on, I personally want to help support a literary renaissance in Africa. You can tell a lot about a society through the fiction it creates, and although Africa has a rich history of oral storytelling, writing the stories down is what will help them transcend location and spread to other cultures.

What do you do for fun?

I'm a writer, a programmer, a designer, a blogger, an Internet freak, an activist ... There's not a whole lot that I do for fun that isn't somehow related to what I do for work. From my vantage point, I've got the best job in the world!

Recount a surprising anecdote about yourself that few people know.

In 2006 I quit my job at the time to travel the world. I really had no goal other than to just see what was out there. Three months and twenty countries later I came home with more purpose than I've ever known before.