TechTrotter: A Journey To Discover The World's Technology Hubs

It's time to broaden our view beyond the "web 2.0" and social media applications often featured on TechCrunch and sites like Mashable. There's larger problems that need attention such as building sustainable eco-friendly buildings in China for a population that will grow by 400 million in the next 12 years, or tackling the decreasing clean water supply in rural India, and bringing broadband internet to third world countries.

Entrepreneurs are tackling social economic issues and other broader problems like global warming by starting companies. Sometimes these entrepreneurs start initiatives  designed to incubate other entrepreneurs or simply start their own innovative solutions.

Technology innovation doesn't only occur in the US and Silicon Valley. There's interesting start-ups, movements, and hot beds of technology all around the world.

But where?

Why is this broader ecosystem of entrepreneurialism so important?

What's driving innovation abroad?

Who's involved and what's it like for these entrepreneurs?

What challenges do these entrepreneurs face? What's holding them back?

Did you know there's a Y Combinator like incubator called Appafrica in Kambala, Uganda?

Where are the next generation of entrepreneurs driving emerging markets in South America?

How can we promote the growth of entrepeneurship in rural countries?

Our good friend Chikodi Chima (recent grad of Columbia University Graduate School of Jounalism and former College Mogul Editor) seeks to answer many of these questions and others by traveling the world visiting it's various tech hot spots, interviewing entrepreneurs, and rediscovering what entrepreneurship means abroad. His blog TechTrotter will be chronicling his journey, the people he meets, and his overall experience. Chikodi describes TechTrotter as a "multimedia exploration of the world's technology hubs told in video, audio, and text."

Chikodi has already started his journey and has a couple of trips under his belt traveling to India and Brazil. He describes TechTrotter as a "multimedia exploration of the world's technology hubs told in video, audio, and text." His mission is to:

Travel through the world of tech and visit the margins of innovation most people in the space ignore: South Africa, Nigeria, Argentina Brazil, Philippines and Ukraine. In these countries is the potential for the next game changing technology, if the right conditions are met.

While we think of tech hubs in Silicon Valley, CA, Bangalore, India, or Silicon Wadi in Tel Aviv, there are thousands of competent programmers in Kiev–the fourth most in the world, Manila and Lagos. It is my intention to meet with them and discover their hopes for the future and uncover some of the obstacles that are holding them back from their greatest potential.

 His latest visit was to Brazil where he visited The Hub and Vila Olimpia, the Silicon Valley equivalent there. Meeting with The Hub's co-founder, Barbara Stutz describes it as "a mixture between a Starbucks, a traditional office and an incubator." Here is a brief excerpt of his post below. But, I encourage you to venture to the blog yourself and follow his story. I"ll be following up with a more indepth interview later and will be helping him promote his story.

Brilliance lives in the mind, but ideas need a place to grow. One of the great things about creative people is that they have no shortage of ideas, but as is often the case, hard currency can be in short supply. Before leaving the States, my friend, David, mentioned an organization called The Hub that builds multi-purpose work spaces, and plans to build one in New York. However, since I was leaving town, it didn’t register at the time how helpful it could be. Looking back at how casually I leaped into the unknown, I realize now that I too needed a hub of some kind to connect me to the people I was hoping to meet in Brazil. After a week of furtive cold calls, I was over the moon when my efforts finally materialized into onsite interviews and a visit to The Hub Sao Paulo.

I truly admire TechTrotter and Chikodi's exploration of new media and entrepreneurial vision.

There's no detailed business plan here, just a bold plan to follow free will, curiosity, and a longing dream.