TBL Inspirer

Volume 1, Number 1 Inspiring Solutions

Manoj Shanker

This newsletter is overdue and I am glad

that it is finally out. This newsletter pro-

vides not only an opportunity to show-

case all the good things happening in the

company but also recognize those who

are contributing in the growth of this

company. I welcome any suggestions to

improve on this and require everyone to participate in the next

CEO SPEAK

Fri 1/2/2009

I am pleased to inform you that we have embarked on a new

journey in 2009 by deciding to open a Software Development

centre in India. The Indian centre will not only be an extended

arm for Techno Brain Africa but it will also pursue global busi-

ness.

The centre will also will be one of the major initiative for build-

ing high tech capabilities for our consultants in Africa

by exchanging program giving them latest exposure & experi-

ence.

Further I am glad to inform you that we

have appointed Anand Mohan as the CEO

of Techno Brain Indian operations. Anand is

no stranger to Techno Brain and has started

his career in Techno Brain and worked for 5

years in various capacities. He moved to

India and after couple of years of working

in Indian industry, he was shifted to US

where he spent valuable 3-4 years and

risen to the position of Vice President in a

reputable firm. We are sure with experience in Africa, India and

US , Anand will do the right job to make Indian centre success-

ful.

I welcome him on board once again and look forward to work

with him to make Techno Brain a global company

Anand is married and has one daughter and currently living in

Washington. He will be taking charge from 1st February

ANNOUCEMENTS

ADDRESS FROM MD &

CHAIRMAN

I am pleased with the way

Techno Brain Ltd has grown

over the last several years. I

am proud that today Techno

Brain is well positioned in the

region and known for its quality

commitment and integrity.

Milestones like ISO 9001-2000

certificate demonstrates that

we are committed to provide

high quality services to our cli-

ents and partners. Today

Techno Brain has become a big

family of 175 employees

spread over the region. I am

pleased with this newsletter

which will bring in all the devel-

opment in Techno Brain and

give everyone, including part-

ners and other stakeholders, to

know closely the progress of

this company

Mahesh Patel

I am pleased to announce that Disha Patel has joined as Direc-

tor for Techno Brain group. She has already demonstrated ex-

cellent leadership & professional skills by driving major projects

for the group and will play a leading role in shaping up Techno

Brain‟s future.

Disha is 23 years old and she has

done BSc in Economics, Politics and

International Studies with 1st class

Honours at University of Warwick

(United Kingdom) and did Exchange

Program (French Baccalaureat Lit-

teraire) from Lycée Dumont D‟Urville

(Toulon, France)

She can speak many languages in-

cluding French, Swahili, Gujarati, Hindi and Spanish. Though she

is already active in Techno Brain, its pleasure to bring her on

board officially.

Tue 9/16/2008

“I am pleased to inform that

following individuals have

shown exemplary perform-

ance and contributed signifi-

cantly towards growth of

Techno Brain. As a matter of

recognition for their achieve-

ment they get promoted in

their respective areas.”

Techno Brain Ltd. „s CEO,

Manoj Shanker

PROMOTIONS

Joel Gachomo: Head - Projects

Most outstanding performer in every aspect

of our business. At a young age Joel has

shown tremendous talent, maturity and com-

mitment to his job and he has quickly risen in

the company in last 3 years. He has contrib-

uted tremendously in the areas of pre-sales,

product development, project implementation

and developing new recruits. In his new posi-

tion as Head- Projects he will have bigger responsibility to man-

age projects, training & development of new team, improve our

s/w product development capabilities and develop country pro-

ject heads across all offices. Currently he is heading the Malawi

Local Government project.

Saj Abraham: Head - Pre Sales

Saj has done a tremendous job in the areas of pre sales since

he has joined Techno Brain 18 months back. His

ability to understand new technology and pre-

pare pre-sales activities is commendable. He also

provided excellent to support sales department in

bidding process, demo and client engagement. In

his new role as the Head of Pre Sales, he has to

develop Techno Brain‟s pre-sales capability in

each country, improve & streamline activities like sales demon-

stration, documentation process for bidding, strategy to counter

competition and establish systems and processes to integrate

Pre-sales function within Techno Brain „s ISO quality process

HEAD OFFICE

PO Box 10295,

Plot Number 1380/208,

Bibi Titi Mohammed Road,

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

Tel: +255 22 2113502 / 2118302

Fax: +255 22 2118298

Email:info@technobrainltd.com

URL:www.technobrainltd.com

Boaz Kurubieja- Project Manager

He played a major role in building capabilities

for Public sector financial management strategy.

His valuable contribution in understanding the

working of local governments and designing the

solution lead us to win Malawi local Government

contract. In his new role he has to Project man-

age large financial management/ERP solution

projects and I am sure the experience he will

gain in implementing Malawi project can be very useful for roll-

ing our similar future projects in the region.

Alfred Mugo - Country Manager Solutions, Kenya

Alfred Mugo has been promoted to the role of

Country Manager- Technical, Solutions Division

of Techno Brian Kenya based on his outstanding

performance so far in managing the Solutions

Division and excellent track record.

Jose Vivek Aroujo has been promoted

to the role of General Manager for

Techno Brain - Malawi and Mozambique

based on his excellent work. Vivek has

been instrumental in the TBL-Malawi‟s

growth so far. Congratulations!!

KEY PROJECTS COMPLETED - 2008

Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA) – Human Resource Man-

agement System.

Kilimanjaro Airport Development Authority (KADCO) –

Landing and Parking Billing System

Tanzania Electric Supply Company Ltd (TANESCO) – Consul-

tancy and implementation of collaborative communication

system.

National Environment Management Council (NEMC), Tanza-

nia – Consultancy services and implementation of Inte-

grated Financial Management System (IFMS) (Microsoft Dy-

namics NAV)

Malawi Electoral Commission – Field Data Capture and Elec-

tion Warehouse Management System

Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF) – Integrated Fi-

nancial Management System (IFMS) (Serenic)

The Principal Secretary for

Zambia’s Ministry of Home Af-

fairs, right, and Techno Brain’s

Corporate Business Manager,

second left, follow an AFIS

demonstration at the Tanzania

Police Headquarters.

Other Notable Projects

VODACOM, Celtel (Zain) -

Enterprise Service Agree-

ments (ESA)

TANAPA, Alliance Insurance,

Noremco – Microsoft Li-

censes

National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Uganda – Integrated

Financial Management System (IFMS) and Human Resource

Information Management System (HURIS), and Payroll, Mi-

crosoft Licenses.

Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) – Integrated

Financial Management System (IFMS)

Standard Chartered Bank, Uganda – Access Control Sys-

tems

Warid Telecom, Uganda – Customer Relationship Manage-

ment (CRM) development support

TRA Data Warehouse Training

Zambia Police Automated Fingerprint Identification System

(AFIS)

Sumadhura Technologies, Uganda – Microsoft Dynamics

NAV ERP.

Lilongwe City Council – Techno Brain Human Resources In-

formation & Payroll System(HURIS)

ALAF Ltd. – Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Techno Brain’s Boaz Kurubeija

(Project Manager) and

Millicent Kavugila (Functional

Consultant) celebrating the

signing of the ERP solution

contract for Alliance for Green

Africa (AGRA), a milestone

project for Techno Brain Kenya. Tobacco Control Commission (TCC), Malawi – Biometric

Registration System

KickStart – Microsoft Dynamics NAV Enterprise Resource

Planning (ERP) implementation.

SBC (Pepsi) - Microsoft Dynamics NAV Enterprise Resource

Planning (ERP) implementation (have also already imple-

mented Techno Brain‟s Payroll System)

Alliance for Green Africa (AGRA), Kenya – Enterprise Re-

source Planning (ERP) implementation.

Tanzania Police Quarter Master Office – Inventory Manage-

ment System, Microsoft Dynamics NAV Enterprise Resource

Planning (ERP) implementation.

Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) – Customs/Car registra-

tion integration project, Oracle and .Net technologies.

Malawi Ministry of Finance- Messaging & collaboration

Ministry Of Local Government and Rural Development, Ma-

lawi – Integrated Financial and Revenue Management Sys-

tem (IFRMS)

Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Kenya – Consultancy

services for the implementation of a new and improved

Management Information System.

M2M, Republic of South Africa – Public Sector Accounting

System, Serenic Navigator 5.0

Tostan, Senegal - Public Sector Accounting System, Serenic

Navigator 5.0

KEY PROJECTS WINS - 2008 / 2009

Manoj Shanker, CEO Techno Brain Ltd., exchanges

agreements with Ms. Dorothy Banda,

Accountant General, Malawi)

Digimarc (L1) team Mike and

Tony in consultation with the

Country Manager Techno Brain

Kenya, Alfred Mugo,

in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania

December 10th, 2008: Malawi delegation visit finalizing Ma-

lawi‟s Passport Information System, Techno Brain HQ 4th

floor conference room.

October 10th, 2008: Cisco Technologies Seminar, Techno

Brain HQ 4th floor conference room.

September 26th, 2008: SharePoint Demonstration, Techno

Brain HQ 4th floor conference room.

September 23rd - 26th, 2008: Digimarc (L1), ID/Drivers

License Systems Demonstration, Techno Brain HQ 4th floor

conference room.

September 12th, 2008: Mentored Learning (see Mentored

Learning Kick-off in Dar, above)

September 9th, 2008: Visit by Mercy Gardiner, Microsoft‟s

Partner Account Manager visited to discuss on our pipeline,

high level company plans, as well as company training and

marketing plans.

August 19th, 2008: Digimarc (L1) delegation comprised of

Clint Cuny, Regional Sales Manager, Eva Minot, Marketing &

Operations Senior Consultant, and Mike Newman, Senior

Consultant, from Delaware, USA, visited us for positive dis-

cussions on ID and passport projects in east and southern

Africa

July 31st, 2008: Michael Kanui and Ian Joule of Microsoft

East and Southern Africa visited for high level channel and

partnership discussions.

March 3rd - 7th: Tommy Djarlo of Microsoft visited to sup-

port the launching of MS CRM in the Tanzanian market

(Microsoft‟s Customer Relationship Management software

package)

CORPORATE EVENTS

Techno Brain Ltd.’s employees pose for a group

photograph after the success-ful launch of MS CRM at the Kilimanjaro Kempinski hotel

in Dar-es-Salaam

Nemko’s Lead Auditor, Svein,

auditing our ISO processes,

while Jimmy and Kiran look on

Techno Brain Ltd has passed a surveillance audit with flying

colors! On August 18th 2008, Techno Brain Ltd (Tanzania)

went through a rigorous audit surveillance test done by Lead

Auditor Svein Grahnstedt of Nemko

In summary, the audit was conducted

according to the agreed audit pro-

gramme. The company has increased

its turnover 2.5 times since the previ-

ous financial year.

Documentation that was surveyed included Management Re-

view, Internal Audit Reports, Non-conformances and CARs,

and System Documentation

Next audit: Between June and August 2009.

ISO 9001:2000 AUDIT

Boaz (Techno Brain Uganda) and Michael (Techno Brain

Tanzania) admiring our nominations for the Microsoft

ESA Awards.

MICROSOFT PARTNER SUMMIT 2008 FOR EAST

& SOUTHERN AFRICA

Techno Brain Ltd was well represented in the Microsoft 2008

Partner Summit held on October 15th – 18th at the Mombasa

Serena Beach Hotel. The main attraction of the event was Mi-

crosoft East and Southern Africa Partner programme Awards

for the year 2008. Though, we could not emerge as champions

in any specific area, Techno Brain‟s performance in 3 areas

from a Microsoft partnership perspective received applauses‟

when we received the following certificates:

Learning Solutions Partner of the Year – 1st Runner

Up

Enterprise Partner of the Year – 2nd Runner Up

Solutions Partner of the Year (Business Intelli-

gence) - 2nd Runner Up

During the same time as the Partner Summit, Techno Brain

Ltd had sent 8 of its consultants to attend the Microsoft Part-

ner University Training Program held at Sun „N Sand Beach

Resort in Mombasa on October 13th – 17th.

The course detail were as follows:

Portals & Collaboration (SharePoint Server 2007 & Share-

Point Designer 2007)

Enterprise Project Management (Project Management &

Project Server and Professional)

Custom Development Solution (Visual Studio 2008, Office

Business Applications & Web Hosting on Windows)

Dynamics (NAV 2009, Compete including Dynamics AX 2009)

L1 consultant Tony, center, demonstrating L1 technology to Techno Brain’s consultants

L1-ID / TECHNO BRAIN LTD PARTNERSHIP

L1 – ID is the leading producer of secure driver licenses and

identification cards in the world. In addition, its leading edge

biometric solutions provide an additional level of protection

and security to the world citizens. Techno Brain Ltd has part-

nered with L1 – ID to provide its security solutions exclusively

in 11 African countries. Techno Brain and L1-ID are actively

engaging in seeking the above mentioned projects in the re-

gion such as the Tanzania National Identification project, Ma-

lawi Drivers License project, etc

Techno Brain consultants who attended the Microsoft Partner University Training Program in

Mombasa, Kenya. From left: Benjamin, Monica (both from Techno Brain Kenya); Asuman (Techno Brain Uganda); Mari-

yah, Nicholas, Michael (all from Techno Brain Tanzania);

and seated, Boaz (Techno Brain Uganda).

Renovations of Techno Brain Ltd.‘s corporate headquar-

ters in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, are complete. A significant

change is to our “Software Technology Park” that has been

successfully completed and has been able to sit a lot more

consultants, enhancing our software development activities.

New computers and monitors have been installed, a number of

new faces have been joining the Techno Brain family.

TBL Malawi will soon be moving to its new premises , TBL

Malawi has gradually but surely with the help of every one at

TBL Headquarters and other branches created a niche for it-

self in the Malawi market today.

COUNTRY OFFICES NEWS - SOLUTIONS

Techno Brain’s new Software Technology Park

Vijay Balabhadra, left, New Horizons GM (Nairobi) and

Shivrinder Pal, right, New Ho-rizons GM (Dar-es-Salaam) attended the New Horizons

Regional Spring Conference in Dubai, UAE, April 2008

“This is an accomplishment to be proud of. Dorothy, Alex, it’s not just New Horizons of Kampala, Uganda that relies on the suc-

cess of individuals like you; it is the success of the entire New

Horizons Global Network. Thank you for your contribu-tions, which have helped New

Horizons stay the industry leader in training“

Darius Shey,

Group VP International, New Horizons Computer

Alex Mukama and Dorothy Nan-

fuka of New Horizons, Kampala,

Uganda, have both been named

as members of the President‟s

Club, 2008, the highest world-

wide recognition for New Hori-

zons sales professionals. Because they have received collec-

tions of over US$ 140, 587 and US$ 121,301 respectively,

they have earned a level of recognition reserved for a highly

select group of sales professionals at New Horizons centers

around the world. Congratulations!!

On September 12th, 2008, Techno Brain‟s New Horizons Train-

ing Center, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, hosted a Mentored

Learning Seminar, which was attended by IT Managers, Net-

work Engineers, and System analysts from various Organiza-

tions including Government. A 20 person Seminar Target was

attended by 14 Clients who at the end of the day walked out

with Mentored Learning Approach and its Benefit.

In terms of growth the training division has grown by 40% in

Tanzania, 34% in Kenya as compared to last year and we will

try to achieve a growth of 45% and 40% respectively by year

end 2009. In terms of New Courses we are planning to launch

ERP Training using Microsoft Dynamics NAV for Tanzania; Ora-

cle11g & ERP Training using Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Applica-

tions training (Share portal) and programming courses us-

ing .net architecture and core Java etc for Kenya.

New Horizons center, Nairobi, Kenya, recieved an Outstanding

Achievement award by the New Horizons Corporation for being

one of the highest revenue growth centers in the Middle East

and Africa region.

TRAINING NEWS

Vijay Balabhadra, right, New Horizons GM (Nairobi, Kenya),

poses with the Outstanding Achievement Award. Left is the CEO of New Horizons Worldwide, Mark Miller

Techno Brain Uganda Ltd., (TBUL) with its quality delivery

and services has today become one of the leading ICT Solu-

tions and Training Company in Uganda. Over the last 1 year,

TBUL has become MS Gold Certified Partner and has acquired

competencies in the field of Microsoft SharePoint, Unified Com-

munication, Dynamics NAV & CRM, Microsoft Enterprise Soft-

ware Advisor, and Certified Partner for Learning Solutions

(CPLS) for Uganda. A major milestone is that TBUL has em-

barked on the path of being ISO 9001-2000 certified.

The CEO of New Horizons Worldwide, Mark Miller, is flanked by Techno Brain’s New Horizons Sales Managers

James Kennedy (Dar-es-Salaam), left, and Alex Mukama (Kampala), right, during the New Horizons Regional Spring Conference

in Dubai, UAE, April 2008

Microsoft East Africa Ltd : Training MCSE & MS Office

Ministry of Finance, Malawi : Training on SQL Server &

VB .NET

National Electoral Commission, Malawi : Training on Oracle,

VB, Crystal Reports

Kahama Gold Mine, Tanzania : SQL @005 Administration

Gieta Gold Mine, Tanzania : Training on MCSE / CCNA

UMEME Uganda Ltd : Windows XP & Office 2003

Toyota Uganda Ltd : ICDL Training

Civil Aviation Authority, Uganda : MCSE, Oracle 10g

Oxfam GB, Uganda : Office 2000 Training

Kenya Armed Forces (DOD) : Microsoft, CISCO, Linux,

CompTIA

USAID Kenya : Microsoft, CISCO

Bank of Africa, Kenya : Oracle

Imperial Bank, Kenya : Microsoft & CompTIA

KEY TRAINING PROJECTS COMPLETED - 2008

Kudos to the 8 Techno Brain

consultants who represented

us as students and/or train-

ers at the Microsoft Partner

University in Mombasa,

Kenya! Congratulations for

a job well done!

Jimmy M. Dar-es-Salaam,

Tanzania

On Techno Brain Limited

opening a Software Devel-

opment Center in India.

Mr. Manoj,

Congratulations in achiev-

ing and opening up yet an-

other path towards success

and development which is a

remarkable milestone.

Best regards

Vivek A, Lilongwe, Malawi

Dear Manoj, Congratula-tions Kind Regards

Vasudev Barkur, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania

Hi Manoj and team, Wish-

ing you all a happy and

prosperous New Year.

Congratulations on this

wonderful achievement.

Regards

Ketan Patel,

Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania

KUDOS

Techno Brain Uganda Ltd. (TBUL) pose for a group photograph.

Consultants Jerome Barnabas and Leah Gonda in discussion

Techno Brain’s Elangwa and Amady, Mr. Shija from TANESCO and Mr. Victor Ndayizeye from Belgium Technical Corporation

Top 20 replies by program-

mers when their programs

don‟t work:

20. "That's weird..."

19. "It's never done that before."

18. "It worked yesterday."

17. "How is that possible?"

16. "It must be a hardware prob-

lem."

15. "What did you type in wrong

to get it to crash?"

14. "There is something funky in

your data."

13. "I haven't touched that mod-

ule in weeks!"

12. "You must have the wrong

version."

11. "It's just some unlucky coinci-

dence."

10. "I can't test everything!"

9. "THIS can't be the source of

THAT."

8. "It works, but it hasn't been

tested."

7. "Somebody must have changed

my code."

6. "Did you check for a virus on

your system?"

5. "Even though it doesn't work,

how does it feel?

4. "You can't use that version on

your system."

3. "Why do you want to do it that

way?"

2. "Where were you when the

program blew up?"

1. And the Number One replies by

programmers when their pro-

grams don't work: "I thought I

fixed that.”

JOKE OF THE QUARTER

“Auspicious beginning”

Sales Manager for Malawi

Ninad Mairal and his wife

during the opening of our new

offices in Lilongwe, Malawi on

28th October 2008.

Seems their prayers paid off,

Team Malawi is on a roll!

“Three Musketeers “

TBL consultants, from left,

Abdallah (TBL Tanzania),

Assuman and George

(both TBUL, Uganda)

out and about at

South Beach, Kigamboni

“Gettin‟ jiggy wid‟it”

After hard work and training,

TBL employees show off their

dance floor moves