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In this issue, you will find:

Message from the Director General: P1 149,000,000/-Tshs Awarded to Ten Innovators:P 2

Internet Security Workshop launched at COSTECH: P3 Nanotechnology enables low cost water filter system: P4

Cyber related fraud costs TZ 10 Billion: P6

Cyber crime-ICT experts grapple with theft, online piracy: P7

Pacts Seeks Dar’s Science, Technological development: P9

Pictorial: P10

October 2014: Issue No. 35

Message from the Director General

Dear readers, Welcome to our October issue of the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) e-newsletter. As it has been our tradition, we share with you different science, technology and innovation events that have taken place at the COSTECH, in the country, and abroad. We had a number of events in this Month of October. COSTECH in collaboration with the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), the Inter Islamic Network on Information Technology (INIT) and the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), organized the Internet Security Workshop from 20th to 25th October 2014. That International Workshop had a very significant role to play in social economical-development as it brought together local and foreign experts to discuss several challenges facing Information and Communication Technologies. The International Workshop was a good platform for local ICT experts to learn different Internet security programs to curb online piracy. It is our hope that our Local ICT experts have gained much from that Workshop and they are now ready to face cyber crime, theft and online piracy challenges In this Month, We also awarded 149 Million Shillings to Ten Tanzanian Innovators who won the ICT innovation Competition .That was one of the efforts of the Government of Tanzania and Finland through the TANZICT project to support innovation system in Tanzania. COSTECH in collaboration with TANZICT have been organizing this competition every year to stimulate a culture of entrepreneurship in our country. We believe that entrepreneurship is very important in Tanzania as it creates value by devising solutions to real-life problems facing the society. COSTECH through its directorate of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness will also continue supporting innovation systems in our Country. As you read along, you will discover other important events which involved Science, Technology and Innovation in this Month. With these few words, I sincerely hope that this e-newsletter, together with our website, will serve as a valuable source of information to a number of stakeholders, particularly researchers, scientists, innovators, Academics, institutions and the public at large who are looking forward to collaborating with us.

With kind regards,

Dr. Hassan Mshinda DIRECTOR GENERAL.

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By Theophil Laurian Pima 2nd October 2014, Ten Tanzanian Innovators have been awarded 149 Million Shillings at the Innovation Fund Award Ceremony held at the COSTECH Buni hub. This is one of the efforts of the Government of Tanzania and Finland through the TANZICT project to support innovation system in Tanzania. TANZICT stands for the Information Society and ICT Sector Development Project. It is a bilateral collaboration project between the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology of Tanzania (MCST) and Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The project’s overall objective to strengthen a Tanzanian information society with enhanced capacities to contribute to the achievement of the Government’s socio-economic development goals. Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Communication, Science and Technology, the Permanent secretary of the Ministry, Dr Patrick Makungu said the competition aimed at stimulating a culture of entrepreneurship in Tanzania. He said entrepreneurship is very important in Tanzania as it creates value by devising solutions to real-life problems facing the society. “The solutions should be so compelling that people are willing to part with money to buy the solution. Our country’s development requires creativity from individual citizens because it is from them that we shall create economic value – including quality employment, new demand and government revenue”. He emphasized adding that the support will enable the awardees pursue their business ideas to fruition and

that their success will help others along the way. “I challenge the winners to receive these awards as a debt to society and apply themselves fully to achievement of their business ideas”. He insisted calling for Tanzania innovators to join incubators and participate in future innovation fund award competition. For her part, Ambassador of Finland in Tanzania H.E. Madame Sinikka Antila said if Tanzania is to achieve its vision of becoming a middle income country by 2025, its economy has to become more productive in every sector. She said there is a need to develop new ideas and ways of doing things.“Globalization means market and collaboration is no longer bound by geographical borders”. She noted adding that solutions found in Dar es Saalam can find a worldwide market and generate larger revenue that ever could be possible locally She said starting in January 2015,Finland will also launch its new BEAM program to mentor Finnish companies to partner up with companies from developing countries to solve needs in those countries. The program will be implemented by Finland’s best innovation experts from the TEKES innovation agency. She hopes to get as many Tanzanian companies involved as possible. She also promised to start a new program which will be a successor to the TANZICT project for supporting Tanzanian domestic innovators. Meanwhile COSTECH Director General Dr Hassan Mshinda said the award ceremony is the second since the commencement of TANZICT project preceded by the first held in

May 2013 of which the six successful candidates received awards. He said COSTECH looks forward to supporting different ICT entrepreneurs through allocated Innovation space. The ten winners of the competition are Yakub Leslie,Benedict Tesha,Fayaz Valli,Thomson Lutta, and Josephat Mandara. Others are Abdul Bashiri,Patrick Moshi,Musafiri Mbilinyi,Godfrey Magilla and Grace Makanya.They come from DTBi Incubator, KINU Incubator, and the Buni Hub. The Winners came out as overall winners to the latest Calls for Application. TANZICT makes several of these calls for application each year. Grant applicants were required to propose entrepreneurial ICT solutions to real-life problems faced by society. Winning entries were judged on how best they meet criteria for business sustainability and value creation.

Fig 1:Prof Patrick Makungu(right) presents a dummy Cheque to Mr Yakub Leslie. Looking on Is Ambassador of Finland H.E. Madame Sinikka Antila and Dr Mshinda

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By Sharifa Kalokola On 20th October 2014, The Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) in collaboration with The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), the Inter Islamic Network on Information Technology (INIT) and the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), launched the internet security workshop. The five days international workshop themed “Internet Security: Enhancing Information Exchange Safeguards” intends to provide a forum to the young scientists/researchers, practitioners, academicians, system administrators, systems programmers and students from the developing countries to learn about the latest advancements in the field of internet security. The workshop has brought together participants from Uganda, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, Pakistan and Tanzania. During the event, Professor Patrick Makungu, Permanent secretary Ministry of Communication Science and Technology said that as the information technology sector is growing, the threats to cyber security are increasing.“This is an important workshop since it focus

on training of the trainers’ he added “Lack of technical know-how, lack of laws and legislations specific to cyber crime, coupled with inefficiency digital literacy among the public at large has made efforts to curb online piracy suffer setbacks. Meanwhile, Mr. Muhammad Afiq-ur-Rehman the senior program officer of INIT said that data and applications on networks have to be secured to the optimum level. “The use of computer has become a major element in government and business activities, tampering with these networks can have serious consequences for agencies firms and individuals,”he said. Tajamul Hussain, COMSATS program advisor said that the workshop will allow IT professionals to collectively address relevant issues and challenges related to information and internet security. He added that COMSATS is committed to develop and strengthen linkages among the countries of the south for exchange of resources, technology and knowledge. Dr Aicha Bammoun from ISESCO said that the training is expected to enhance sensitize on the problems

of cyber crime, encourage the preparation and adoption of harmonised framework of cyber security and legal and regulatory environment as to reduce threats in cyber security. On his part, Dr Hassan Mshinda, COSTECH director general said that there is a great need of IT

professional to be equipped skills on cyber security in Tanzania to ensure cyber security. This is the fourth internet security workshop the first three events of this series were held in Syria (2011), Jordan (2012) and Tunisia (2013) respectively. Tanzania is reported to have so far lost nearly 10 billion shilling (equivalent to USD $ 6 million) through cyber related fraud crimes, involving mostly card skimming and ATM thefts. But we are not resting. As of now, there are more than 300 cyber crime cases being investigated, some of which are about to be benched in courts of law, according to the records from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Fig2: A group photo of Workshop participants

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Interview with RAE Africa Prize

finalist Dr Askwar Hilonga

Report from – Alison Nicholl

20/10/2014

The Study about Media Coverage and promotion of Science, Technology and Innovation in Tanzania has revealed that Mass Media in the country do not prioritize Science, Technology and innovation stories in their newsroom. According to that study which was conducted in Dar es Salaam recently, Tanzania Mass Media give priorities to political and social news. Dr Askwar Hilonga from the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science & Technology is one of 12 entrepreneurs shortlisted for the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. The 12 finalists will receive 6 months of training and mentoring support from business development and engineering experts, with an overall winner receiving £25,000 along with two runners-up who will be awarded £10,000 each. Dr Hilonga has developed a new water filter system, integrating nanotechnology with sand-based water filtration to provide clean, safe drinking water. The process is affordable and sustainable and highly relevant in rural settings across Africa where access to clean

water remains a huge challenge. How did you come up with the concept? "I was born in rural Tanzania (Gongali Village) and raised by a poor family. We were regularly suffering from water borne diseases because we could not afford the luxury of expensive bottled water. When I graduated with my Ph.D from South Korea (specializing in nanotechnology), I asked myself an ethical question, “What does my Ph.D mean to my community in Tanzania which is still suffering from water borne diseases?”

Fig 3: Image courtesy of RAE - Dr Hilonga holding the system, among children at the Aslni Primary School in Tanzania

So, now I am focused on developing nanomaterial’s that are suitable for water purification, and I am seeing commercial feasibility of this adventure." What were the drivers behind the concept?

"The drivers behind my concept are a mixture of social need, commercial feasibility, and technical capacity – motivated by my Institution's motto, 'Academia for Society and Industry'." What is the underpinning technology?"The underpinning technology is the ability to manipulate nanomaterials to remove specific contaminants in water in order to make it suitable for drinking. For example, to synthesize nanomaterials to remove a specific heavy metal (such as copper, arsenic, etc.), or to modify it just for the removal of bacteria. I currently have 30 publications

on how to synthesize different kinds of nanomaterials by controlling various reaction conditions (for example, the reaction temperature, pH, reaction rate, order of adding precursors, type of precursors, drying temperature, heat treatment, etc.) All of these are done at a

nano scale to improve the properties/performance of the final product while reducing the cost to make it affordable to under-served communities." What applications do you envisage for the technology? "The primary application is the purification of drinking water in an affordable way so that poor rural communities are able to purchase water, or the filter itself.

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Continue from Page 4 My end-products are nanofilters which have to be Changed after filtering a specific amount of water, depending on the quality of the original water" What is the next stage of development for the technology? "I am currently undergoing training and mentoring as part of being shortlisted for the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Africa Prize for Innovation. At the end of the six month period I expect the product and business model to have developed further, and I will later be looking to adopt nanofilters into other devices of water purification. For example, to be integrated into water vendors’ systems and commercial water filters. In the future, I aim to develop an entire independent system, from filter case to water bottles."

By Theophil Pima 28TH October 2014, A one-day thematic seminar on value chain research has been conducted at COSTECH Headquarters. Giving the opening remarks during that Seminar, COSTECH Director General Dr Hassan Mshinda said Thematic seminar is very important as it brings together researchers, politicians, civil servants, development practitioners and other relevant stakeholders to discuss important components of value

chain research, and to discuss relevant issues concerning the research frontier, policy interventions, and other burning issues related to the research agenda. The former Ifakara Health Institute Boss said Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) has been supporting Research for 3 decades in Tanzania and he was very optimistic that inputs from that seminar would add value to Tanzania Researchers.

Fig 4: A cross section of participants of the Thematic Seminar He said that Seminar which was jointly organized by Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is very useful as it would improve Tanzania research Eco system. For his part, Presenter from University of Sussex John Humphrey, said Value chain interventions are increasingly popular amongst donors aiming to promote market-oriented growth and poverty reduction among poor countries. He said domestic markets are often much larger than export market and observed that

something has to be done for policy makers. He observed the opportunities for small farmers in the domestic and urged policy makers to support small farmers produce He said recent research on expansion of supermarkets in developing countries has raised important questions. He is convinced that the penetration of supermarkets into fresh food retailing in developing countries has been exaggerated adding that Supermarkets are expanding total food sales but their penetration in fresh food retailing is much less and it is there where their impact on sourcing will be greatest. “All this leads to the argument that there are many other segments of the domestic market that require the attention of policy makers “He said adding that in Africa there are big problems with respect to marketing inefficiencies and power inequalities that reduce farmers’ incomes. He however insists that the domestic market has been a little neglected because of the apparent attractiveness of export markets and the push to integrate countries into the global economy. He said the profits are not that big as an entry spread across a much greater number of farmers.

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By Orton Kiishweko

TANZANIA has reportedly lost six million US dollars (over 10bn/-) so far through cyber-related fraud crimes, that involve mostly card skimming and Automated Teller Machine (ATM) thefts. Speaking at the fourth International Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) conference in Dar es Salaam, the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology, Prof Patrick Makungu, said the government was working tirelessly to check the crime. "As of now, there are over 300 cyber crime cases being investigated, some of which are about to be benched in courts of law," he said. This year's conference theme is "Internet Security: Enhancing Information Exchange Safeguards." He thanked the Commission for Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), the Inter Islamic Network on Information Technology (INIT), the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) and the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), for seeing the importance of organising the conference. The conference aims to provide a forum for the young scientists/

researchers from developing countries to learn about the latest advancements in the field of Internet security and promote the use of state-of-the-art technologies, among others. They discussed issues on network security, modern attacks, evasion techniques and defences, malicious code analysis and detection, information security risk assessment and management. Mr Makungu said Tanzania has embraced Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as a key enabler for social and economic development in the country, adding that it has become pervasive in all hosts of the daily activities. He referred to the use of ICT in finances, healthcare, education, defence, mobility, and energy as examples. The PS noted, however, that much as ICTs present developmental opportunities, they also present various challenges that call for the attention of all stakeholders. Mr Makungu further noted that the challenges range from simple loss of data to the compromise of essential information and resources in the government and business organisations. According to a report from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), worldwide, more than 445 billion US dollars gets lost annually with the damage for businesses nearly double than for individuals, through

series of cyber crime, electronic theft and online piracy, including infringing intellectual property rights with more than 800 million data records getting hacked into or stolen. He cited the 2014 cyber security index from IBM Security Services, which shows that 23.1 per cent of cyber security incidents are targeted at finance and insurance industry. "It has been predicted that, traditional crimes we see today will move to cybercrime and the need for us to get prepared for them is highly needed. This is due to the rapidly increasing of the use of technology," the PS also noted. Currently, according to the TCRA, 2012 report, Tanzania has about 26,978,436 mobile phone subscribers. This situation, he added, explains continuing access to ICTs, but also extends the cybercrime challenge in the country. Mr Makungu observed that Tanzania, being the leading country as far as electronic money transfer through mobile phone (e.g. M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel money, Eazy Money) is concerned, is "also very vulnerable to cyber-crime and fraud as mobile money transfer and others provide opportunities for cybercrime." Source Daily News, 21 Oct 2014

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By Theophil Laurian Pima ADVANCEMENTS in modern technology have helped countries develop and expand their communication networks, enabling faster and easier networking and information exchange. Currently, there are nearly 2 billion internet users and over 5 billion mobile phone connections worldwide. Every day, 294 billion emails and 5 billion phone messages are exchanged. Most people around the world now depend on consistent access and accuracy of these communication channels. The growing popularity and convenience of digital networks, however, comes at a cost. As businesses and societies in general increasingly rely on computers and internet- based networking, cyber crime, electronic theft and online piracy have increased around the world. A report from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), shows more than US $445 billion gets lost annually with the damage for businesses nearly double than for individuals, through series of cyber crime, electronic theft, and online piracy. The 2014 cyber security index from IBM Security Services shows that 23.1 per cent of cyber security incidents are targeted at finance and insurance industry. Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) report of 2012 shows that the country has about 26,978,436 mobile phone subscribers. This situation extends the cyber crime challenge. Tanzania, being the leading country as far as electronic money transfer through mobile phone is concerned, is a very vulnerable to cyber-crime and fraud. Mobile money transfer and others provide opportunities for the crime. Reports show that Internet Security and Cyber Crimes have cost this country nearly 10 billion shilling (equivalent to USD $ 6 million) through cyber related fraud crimes, involving mostly card skimming and ATM thefts.

Records from the Ministry of Home Affairs shows that there are more than 300 cyber crime cases being investigated, some of which are about to be benched in courts of law. Deputy Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Pereira Silima sees cyber criminals as technology-savvy individuals who are always miles ahead in digital competency compared to the people who try to track or pursue them. "In most cases they can transcend territorial borders, hacking computers and stealing data thousands of miles away while remaining anonymous, “he explained saying that the government also tries to be miles ahead in technological advancement to fight against cyber crime, theft and online piracy. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology Prof Patrick Makungu says the government is ready to face challenges brought by cyber crime, electronic theft and online piracy. He gave the remarks during the inauguration ceremony of the Fourth Internet Security Workshop conducted recently at the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) in Dar es Salaam. Prof Makungu declares that the government has developed various measures to face those challenges, one of them being development of cyber law (Electronic and Postal Communications Act (EPOCA), No. 3 2010). The permanent Secretary says the Cyber Crime Unit in the Police Force is one of the Government strategies to combat the crime, theft and online piracy. "There is also establishment of computer emergency response team (CERT) which comprises a wide range of experts from government ministries, departments, and agencies; academia, banks, telecom service providers, police, military, and media," Prof Makungu said. He called on local ICT experts to make sure they also learn different Internet security programmes to curb online piracy. Commission for Science and Technology

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Continue from Page 7 (COSTECH) Director General Dr Hassan Mshinda, says cyber crime, theft and online piracy poses a great challenge to the country and urges ICT experts to spend their time exploring about this problem. "Cyber crime, theft and online Piracy are a big problem in Tanzania now days. I believe we can reduce these problems through science, technology and innovation as they are best solutions to those challenges," he notes adding that his commission (COSTECH) is a stakeholder in addressing technological problems. Meanwhile, President of the Inter Islamic Network on Information Technology (INIT) Dr Junaid Zaidi advises local ICT experts to secure the data and applications on networks to the optimum level in order to counter the everchanging and technically advancing sophistications of cyber attacks. Dr Aicha Bammoun from ISESCO states that Internet Security training is very important in any country as it enhances sensitization on the problems of cyber crime and cyber security. "Training in Internet Security can encourage the preparation and adoption of a harmonized framework of cyber security and legal and Regulatory environment so as to reduce threats in cyber security in Tanzania," she noted.

It is reported that implementing cyber security measures requires skilled manpower. Tanzania still faces a shortage of skilled people to counter such cyber-attacks. An effective cyber attack does not require an army; it takes just one individual. It is therefore advised to train more people to face cyber crime, electronic theft and online piracy challenge. The 4th COMSATS ISESCO- INIT Workshop on "Internet Security: Enhancing Information Exchange Safeguards" was conducted at headquarters of the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) Kijitonyama Dar es Salaam from October 19-23, 2014. It brought together 60 participants from Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt, Tunisia, Senegal, Jordan, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania to add knowledge on internet security. The five-day Workshop was organized jointly by COSTECH in collaboration with the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO); the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS); the Inter Islamic Network on Information Technology (INIT) and the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT).

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By Hilda Mhagama The Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian government, on the establishment of an Information Communication Technology (ICT) resource centre at Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST). The joint venture, set to cost 2.2bn/-, was signed by the Minister for Communication, Science and Technology, Prof Makame Mbarawa and the Indian High Commissioner to Tanzania, Mr Debnath Shaw. Prof Mbarawa said that the donation will go a long way towards assisting the development of science and technology in Tanzania and the East African region, to enable efficient and effective harnessing of resources of nature including human capital. "The essence of the NM-AIST concept is development of local science, technology and innovation capacity to harness resources of nature, including human capital, for the sustainable socio-economic development of Tanzanians and the rest of SSA," he elaborated. The minister explained that the ICT resource centre will ensure world-class performance of its functions of teaching and learning, research and innovation and public service that is responsive to the needs and problems of the society.

Nelson Mandela Institute in Arusha is in a network of AISTs and is tasked to train and develop the next generation of scientists, engineers and technologists who will impact on countries and regional development.

Fig 5: Tanzania Minister for Communication, Science and Technology Prof Makame Mbarawa NM-AIST will be the biggest tertiary learning centre in East and Central Africa projected to accommodate close to 20,000 students as well as housing various independent research institutions, hi-tech factories, laboratories, Technology Park and ICT resource centres. Earlier, Mr Shaw said that the project is a result of India-Tanzania Centre of Excellency in ICT (ITCoEICT) which was founded in 2009 as a result of friendly relations between the two countries and their desires for further strengthening bilateral cooperation in the area of Information Technology.

"This MoU is a sign of formalisation of our proposal in which we will support various ICT programmes in the country," he said. The High Commissioner further said that in 2013, more than 400 Tanzanian students benefited from Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programmes, this shows how committed we are in supporting this area. NM-AIST Vice-Chancellor, Prof Burton Mwamila, said that the centre will help them in realising the dream of becoming a world class institution of higher learning, dedicated to promote excellence in science, engineering and technology. "Through the centre, we will also be able to conduct the cross continental classroom from India to Tanzania," he said. Tanzania and India have traditionally enjoyed close, friendly and cooperative relations. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the political relationship was driven largely by shared ideological commitments to anti-colonialism, anti-racism, socialism in various forms as well as genuine desire for South-South Cooperation.

Source: Daily News Oct 8, 2014

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Fig. 6: Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology Prof Patrick Makungu(center) delivers a speech during the Innovation Fund Award Ceremony. He is flanked by Ambassador of Finland in Tanzania H.E. Madame Sinikka Antila(left) and COSTECH Director General Dr Hassan Mshinda(right)

Fig. 7: COSTECH Acting Director General Dr Dugushilu

Mafunda (right) presents a Certificate to a participant of

the Internet Security Workshop on 23th October

2014.Looking on is COMSAT Executive Director Dr I.E

Qureshi

Fig. 8: Prof John Humphrey from Institute of Development

Studies, University of Sussex presents about Value Chain

approaches.

Fig. 9: A cross section of Participants of the Internet Security Workshop organized BY COSTECH recently

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Announcement

We invite news, features, letters, opinions and analyses about science, technology and

innovation for socio-economic development

Write to:

COSTECH, P.O. Box 4302, Dar es Salaam.

Or email:

info@costech.or.tz

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