Erik Herman is at the leading edge of some of the most important and successful innovations in Africa’s fast changing tech scene. A graduate of the Florida State University,  Hersman co-founded
Ushaidi, a crowd mapping app that was used for crisis reporting in the wake of Kenya’s post election violence in 2007-08. The app has been adopted around the world in situations ranging from elections monitoring to managing emergency situations in countries as diverse as Afghanistan, Madagascar, Haiti, and Japan.The success of the application attracted investments from the  Omadiyar Network. Hersman is also the co-founder of Ihub-arguably the heart of Kenya’s tech innovation ecosystem.  I-hub has become the dynamic community of Kenya’s tech innovators, hackers, designers  and investors. It also continues to serve as a model for innovation hubs across the continent. Building on the success of his earlier ventures, Hersman and his associates have co-founded BRCK, the Kenyan tech and hardware company that is behind the invention of the BRCK, a rugged internet router. The BRCK is being touted as a solution for internet connectivity in Africa’s remote areas where internet access remains a challenge. BRCK has raised $3 million to expand its operations and the company has begun to sale the product around the world. The company has also  recently launched the Kio Kit, tablet  based tool for providing digital content in remote areas. Erik is also an avid blogger who runs two websites, White African and Afrigadget. Erick is a Senior Ted Fellow