mLab Launches Application Testing Facility as the Target Community Protest

m:lab has launched its application testing services supported by InMobi. The facility which is equipped with mobile devices like Tablets, feature phones and smartphones, will be accessible to both members and non members. Mobile apps developers will have access to the facility for a fee of Ksh 500 per hour while members of iHub, university community and m:lab community will have specially subsidized rates.

The announcement was met by protest from the target community who termed the testing fees for non-members prohibitive. The developers, some of who were attending the CIO100 event at Safari Park, asked why they should pay an hourly fee of Ksh 500 while the facility is funded and managed as a non-profit entity. The developers thunks that a fee of Ksh 1.00 per minute or Ksh 60.00 per hour would have been well for the testing facility since most of the local app developers needs lots of testing to ensure that their apps runs well on the targeted platform.

A good number of local developers believe that there is a gang which is mostly composed of foreigners who masquerade as Kenyans but use Kenyans for their very own selfish gains.

Lots of happening at iHub and m:Lab are increasingly becoming confusing with many would be members of the two facilities believing that something close to human trafficking and exploitation of Kenyans is happening at iHub and now being spread to m:Lab. The people behind the facilities believe that they don’t need to address the concerns and so we will continue to raise them.