It was a rare occasion as techies, students, government officials and entrepreneurs gathered in the same room to discuss challenges and opportunities in Kenya’s technology sector. The event, known as Barcamp Nairobi, is an annual meeting that brings members of the sector together to discuss current issues and plan collaboration.

This year's conference was sponsored by the Kenya ICT board, Google, Yahoo and Wananchionline, who provided bandwidth for bloggers to stream live.

“The informal conference seeks to bring together the techies, people who make the applications, tools and those who use them,” said Erik Hersman, a Kenyan blogger and conference organizer. "They come together to address the challenges and issues facing Kenya and how they can improve."

The event format gives presenters five minutes to speak, but others are allowed to interject, and the presentation becomes a discussion, Hersman explained.

Bitange Ndemo, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication, chose to sit with the crowd and make his contributions to the conference “just as a lecturer,” commenting on the education system and whether it is promoting innovation among the students.

Other participants discussed challenges ranging from lack of capital and general poverty to negative attitudes from government officials and lack of support from universities.

One student from Moi University, for instance, explained how a group of students developed applications for the university. The university ignored the students and instead invited multimillion-dollar bids from the private sector.

But Ndemo gave hope to students in his closing remarks, noting that the ICT board has funds to support content generation among the youth.

“If the board does not release the money to you upon application, just walk to my office,” Ndemo said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.