The global reach of the Internet extended farther into Africa, as the Orientation network of portals Thursday launched a regional site in Nairobi, Kenya.
Orientation Kenya features an index of Kenya related Web sites, as well as a comprehensive directory of reviewed Web sites in or about Kenya and a selection of local Kenyan news and media sites.
Orientation has a partnership with Swift Global Kenya, one of Kenya’s leading
telecommunications service providers, to produce and maintain the portal. No financial specifics were disclosed.
A major goal for Orientation Kenya is the development of the Kenyan Internet community, the companies said. There is direct access to all the Kenya-related Usenet discussion groups and IRC chat
channels.
“We expect this to play a role in stimulating further development of the Internet both in Kenya and throughout East Africa,” said Sebastian J. Willis Fleming, director of Swift Global Africa. “The world will begin to see that East Africa is no longer part of a ‘Dark Continent,’ but rather a fast
developing homogenous economic zone with huge opportunities in all areas of
leisure and commerce.”
Orientation is a division of The Black Box, Inc., a multimedia company based in Hong Kong. Other portals include Orientation Costa Rica, Orientation Sri Lanka and Orientation Romania.
“The launch of Orientation Kenya demonstrates our commitment to building a
global community of locally focused Internet communities, regardless of the
size of each individual country,” added Phil Ingram, Orientation’s marketing
manager. “Countries like Kenya have much to offer but they are overlooked by
the major portal sites, which are more committed to instant profit than
playing their role in developing the Internet on a global scale.”
