Dutch IT firm Competa Kicks Off Fair Trade Software Initiative in Kenya
THE HAGUE | The Competa Group – a Dutch IT firm – has kicked off a commercial venture in Kenya this summer that it sees as a new approach to development cooperation. With the support of Sequa, a German non-profit organisation, the company started a vocational training programme in Nairobi in June that will put locals to work on large-scale collaborative IT projects to produce the world’s first Fair Trade Software.
Competa expects this initiative to give the local IT sector a shot in the arm while also providing shared value for the company’s customers, who can purchase products and services with the added appeal of Fair Trade principles and corporate social responsibility credibility at no extra cost.
Coding Together in Kenya
The company began setting up its training facility in June and has already begun certifying instructors while spending time in Nairobi getting to know the key players in Kenya’s public and private sectors. Competa plans to school skilled software developers in the latest project management techniques and have them work together with European professionals on major international projects, giving them the experience to take their skills to the next level while contributing to the local economy.
According to Jim Sangwine, Lead Developer for Competa, Kenya is teeming with untapped talent in need of opportunity. The country’s universities are producing skilled software designers, but the local economy is letting them down. “They have to fight their way through school and when they get out, half can’t find a job,” he says, adding that without the opportunity to develop their skills on the job, it will remain difficult for Kenya’s graduates to find work, creating a vicious cycle of missed opportunities that Competa hopes to break by serving as a catalyst that will bring international best practices to Kenya’s IT sector.
Using the name CodePamoja (using the Swahili word for ‘together’ to capture the collaborative spirit of the project), Competa will train local workers on the job. “These guys already know how to code,” says Sangwine, “but they need help mastering the technical and project management techniques necessary to handle large-scale projects. These are things you can’t learn at University.” Through training and collaboration on Competa’s projects, the company believes it will get local workers ready to take on bigger and bigger projects, which will open up opportunities in the domestic market and beyond.
Fair Trade Software
For Andy Haxby, who founded Competa in 1997 and has since become one of Fair Trade Software’s most prominent advocates, this project is about a lot more than giving a boost to an emerging economy. It is also a commercial venture that should create added value for everyone involved, especially his customers, who can purchase software that comes with an additional unique selling point: a Fair Trade certification that provides “zero cost sustainability and corporate social responsibility,” according to Haxby.
Most consumers are familiar with the Fair Trade label, which offers assurances of transparency and responsible business practices, but until now, it has mostly been associated with consumer goods, not services like software development. Haxby hopes to extend Fair Trade into other sectors, including offering digital employment, which he sees as a key step towards the future of sustainable business.
Unlike outsourcing, in which tasks are assigned to partner companies in developing countries and delivered upon completion, the Fair Trade Software process is based on working in virtual teams. Competa’s staff will team up with Kenyan professionals and follow an ‘Agile’ development process, in which the team, working in close contact with the company’s customers, breaks each project down into increments that can be developed, delivered and tested in short bursts. It’s an iterative and flexible process that allows for regular evaluations and adjustments. “It’s like working with a guided missile instead of a canon,” says Haxby.
Haxby and his team see Fair Trade Software as a model for a new approach to development cooperation at a time when different stakeholders – including officials like Kenya’s president – have been increasingly critical of foreign aid programmes. As Haxby puts it, “the focus is shifting from aid towards programmes that help people build up their own economy.” Competa has also been in contact with the Dutch embassy in Nairobi, where they received positive feedback. The Netherlands is one of Kenya’s biggest investors.
Passing value on to customers
With the programme launch in full swing, Competa is now focused on raising awareness about Fair Trade Software and to present it to new and existing customers. The company recently secured a contract to provide services to the School of European Studies – an internationally oriented public management and business programme at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, in part thanks to the appeal of Fair Trade Label. “Fair Trade principles are a natural fit with the core values of our programme,” according to European Studies programme manager Rajash Rawal, “and we’re proud to be able to choose services that demonstrate our commitment to sustainability and global development.”
About Competa
Competa Group is a Dutch IT services firm founded in 1997 that provides Business-to-Business services. The company is specialised in front end software development as well as IT infrastructure, and is committed to shared value creation through its Fair Trade Software initiative. The company has over 15 years of experience working in a variety of sectors for customers that have included Shell, TomTom, KPN, KLM, ABN Amro, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, police departments and institutions of the Dutch government as well as the European Patent Office.