Fuel saving innovation wins Microsoft award
Cabinet Secretary Ministry of ICT Joe Mucheru (left) and former Minister Samuel Poghisio (right) with Daniel Njoroge of Simple Trace Systems, which was the overall winner of the Microsoft ICT Innovation Awards. The winners for different categories were announced at the Connected Summit 2016. PHOTO | LILIAN OCHIENG
What you need to know:
- Simple Trace seeks to solve these challenges, targeting to help the government save over Sh2.4 billion lost on fuel theft and unauthorised mileage.
- The innovation targets the governments and public service in general, it automates the monitoring of work tickets, vehicles fuelling process and fuel cards.
An innovation enabling county governments to save billions of shillings lost due to inefficient fuel management system has won this year’s Microsoft ICT Innovation Awards at the Connected Summit 2016.
Simple Trace, developed by Thika based technology firm Simple Trace Systems, emerged the overall winner based on its ease of use and convenience.
The innovation targets the governments and public service in general, it automates the monitoring of work tickets, vehicles fuelling process and fuel cards.
It is estimated that the government across its ministries, departments and counties has the poorest fuel management systems falling below the graph at -24.6 per cent. There is an average of 10 per cent unauthorised private mileage and the government is under staffed to monitor over 11,000 vehicles efficiently.
LOST FUEL
Simple Trace seeks to solve these challenges, targeting to help the government save over Sh2.4 billion lost on fuel throughtheft and unauthorised mileage.
The tool was launched in 2015 and is already in use in six counties, it also won the County Solutions Category.
Other winners were Sukuul Solutions (Educational and Training), Abacus Finance (Financial Services), Sokopepe (Agriculture), New-Edge Technologies (Environmental Management), Nairobits (Gender Youth and Vulnerable Groups), Bunifu Technologies (IT Services), Enchanted Landscapes (Tourism), Nairobi Water and Sewerage (Water and Sanitation) and Machakos County (County Initiatives).
Looking at this year’s participation as well as the list of winners and runners up in the ICT Innovation awards, there has been a surge in the number of innovative ideas emerging from the counties.
“Other than businesses and individual innovators from the countries that are now participating in the innovation awards, there is participation by the county governments,” said Robert Mugo acting chief executive.
“This is in comparison to the past, where the entries have almost been exclusively from businesses in Nairobi. There are also a number of firms that are focusing at the counties with their solutions, some of them based in Nairobi, a clear indicator that devolution is taking off.”
The Connected ICT Innovation Awards celebrate Kenyan entrepreneurs that have launched new ICT products and services. The inaugural awards were held in 2011 at the Connected Kenya Summit; the award has since recognized more than 45 new ICT products and solutions.
