This article from 2008 mentions one of the early tech community groups, Skunkworks. The Skunkworks community was a precursor to many who ended up getting involved in setting up the iHub including Josiah Mugambi who is quoted here.
*** Excerpt from article below ***
"The distinctive digital experience in Nairobi inspires confidence in its youthful community of programmers, bloggers and Web enthusiasts. Over the past year, about 600 people in Nairobi--most under 25--have coalesced into a group called Skunk Works, sharing ideas and encouraging new businesses. In June, it held an all-day workshop that included sessions on using the Android phone operating system from Google, developing applications for digital maps and creating content for mobile phones.
“Possibilities are opening up for us,” says Josiah Mugambi, one of the group’s organizers.
The prospect of marrying low-end mobile phones with the Internet is earning Nairobi notice from outsiders, who wonder whether the city might emerge as a test-bed for tomorrow’s technologies."
TM: I think based on the discussion they are few and far between in that we could see that there is a lack of data sharing between individuals, government institutions and even activist groups. Either through activists being told they have to write in a particular way for their work to be ‘acceptable’ in academia or be it data retention by institutions and individuals in their laptops that can benefit a larger audience for fear of legislative sanctions.
AO: consultant researchers; students; curious people; data centers; market research companies; academic departments and administrators; NACOSTI; KEBS; KNLS; KNBS; CUE; KNA; KNM; other libraries and archives; research clubs; funders; open source software community; open data/open science community