The HFC Internet Cafe: Uganda, Africa?

The past two days have been pretty interesting. For the past six months I’ve been thinking about our work here in Uganda, and I realized a few things. First, it’s really expensive to put a computer lab in every school we want to help. Second, we need a source of income to fund our work. Third, there’s a lot of tourist dollar here and a distinct lack of a clean, fast, high-end Internet cafe.

These three things led me to think about a model that I’ve seen work over and over again here in Uganda: a tourist trap that funds community projects.

In my daydreams, I imagined the cafe. It would have all brand-new gear based on our nComputing model and thanks to Deep Freeze, the cafe would be guaranteed virus-free. (In an area infested with viruses, this would be a plus). We would take the fastest available Internet connection (right now that’s 256k ADSL) and max it out. We would push a caching squid proxy, use “bandwidth accelerator” techniques like the old dial-ups used in the States, and stuff like that to make whatever’s fast here really fly. Our machines would be free of spyware and malware and all the crud that slows the machines down. We would have wireless access for laptops (of course) and a patio where customers could chill. We would serve light food, the best coffee in town and sodas. We would have a bathroom, too, so customers could spend weeks on end in our place (racking up a monster bill) without having to leave for any life-sustaining function whatsoever. We would have an XBOX 360 and a Wii for the gamers (there are NO video games in town). And all the money would go back into our community centers.

Our community centers would be awesome. We would have the same high-end setup as the cafe, but it would be in the (strategic) heart of the villages. We would offer CBT and even instructor-led training at a small fraction of the going rate. (Going rate=3 months salary, our price=maybe a week salary or less per course). We would offer Internet access, and a reading room with volumes of PDF and paper-based computer books. (Remember when computer books used to be on paper?) We would have stations available for learning various technologies (wireless, networking, cabling, PC repair, etc). We would open the community center to area schools and (for a small fee) they could bring their students in for a computer class.

Eventually our trainees would enter into their own computer-based businesses, and the center would be a launching pad for them. Locals would know that the best work (for the best prices) could be had by coming to the HFC community center. If you’re thinking this sounds an awful lot like a “hacker space” / geek hangout, then you’re super-close to what I’m thinking. We would offer the best tech and gear and all the information to help anyone become proficient enough with technology to sustain them. Those hardcore gems in the rough (hackers!) wouldn’t have to go ANYWHERE to get better access to top-notch training, and the beauty is that it’s all paid for by tourist dollars flowing in from the cafe.

It’s a cool model, and before this week, I imagined the cafe (the catalyst) to be two, three, or four months down the road. But this week, it’s here, and I can’t deny that it’s here.

I met Josh at church. He’s a Ugandan guy, currently in Senior 4 (10th grade). He asked what we did, and I gave him the pitch, up to and including the community center/cafe idea.

He said, “Oh, you’re looking for a place in Jinja?”

I answered that of course I was, but that places on main street were expensive (starting at about 1M/= or $500 per month) and even those places were small.

He said, “Do you want me to look for a place for you?”

I reacted in about the same way you’d expect.

I answered, “Sure.”

And in the back of my mind I thought Yeah, right. You’re in tenth grade. Good luck with that. Have you’re people call my people.

In two days time, he called me and he had two places. There was more to Josh than met the eye. Within hours, the postage stamp sized place on Main Street was gone. It was too small and too expensive and on the wrong side of town, too far from the tourist section. The other place was pristine, cheap and HUGE, but it was a solid two blocks off of Main Street, although it was on the “right” side of town.

I fell in love with the place, and it “felt” right. There was a large covered patio (chairs, tables, very cafe-like…sweet!) and a bathroom. Water was already run to the site. This was our cafe. We went to talk to the lawyer representing the landlord, and he was in Kampala. We arranged to come back the next day. I spoke to the source of the best coffee in town (“Flavours cafe”) and she was excited about the idea of partnering. She thought maybe she could host the coffee service for us. Months back, the best cook I know (Mary, our helper and hotel/catering trainer) offered to help us with the cooking and kitchen staff. Things were starting to click.

Lower floor shot #1

Lower floor shot #2

Yesterday, Josh found ANOTHER place. It was $100 more a month, but nearly 50% larger, and it was an easy block off Main, and in plain sight from the largest tourist spots. But it was in horrible shape. It was dingy and in poor repair. The (lead?!) paint was peeling from the walls, the windows were glazed with age and gunk. There was no bathroom, and no water. But it was an easy walk and I felt swayed by the three essentials of real estate success: location, location, location. Josh went in search of the lawyer / landlord. Yesterday, he found his “broker”, who wanted a fee to introduce us to the lawyer. He told us this between strokes of his shoe shine brush. I doubted the legitimacy of this particular broker/shoe shine guy. We went to meet the lawyer to discuss the first place, which I’ll call the Lubas Road place. (That’s a code).

I met with him, and found the price had been jacked up $100 a month. Curious. He also wanted a one-year contract. (This was the negotiation part). So I offered the original price, paid 6 months in advance with the option to renew. He picked up his phone to dial the landlord, but he was out of airtime. He told me to come back tomorrow. This is Africa. Business at the speed of a lazy hippo.

I went back to the Lubas Road place to take another look. Still pristine, still “the” place, despite being a bit farther than the typical tourist might venture. We walked to the back entrance and that’s when I saw steps going up, and a huge courtyard. I asked about both. The courtyard was gorgeous. There was grass, and shade trees. I pictured picnic tables, outdoor snackage, hammocks, wireless laptops, and “movie night” once a week (free of charge) on a massive screen (from our projector we brought which is useless in a classroom running Net Support). We went up the steps, and found a second rental property. There was a full kitchen. (Wait!!! Cooking food for the cafe?) a shower and full bathroom, and five rooms. I pictured the HFC office, and a reading / study room, and a room for our employees. We opened the door to another room and it was quite big. I pictured a private classroom seating about ten students. The upstairs was pristine. Super clean, freshly painted with all new appliances and fixtures.

We went back out and followed the steps up again to the roof. There I found a breathtaking view of Lake Victoria. It almost felt waterfront. Stunning.

So I’m on the verge of making the biggest most hugest most ginormous gamble since packing up and moving to Uganda. I think I’m about to cough up six months rent for this place and I just might kill the HFC bank account doing it. Now we’ve got two schools on tap (both AOET schools) and that money’s already spent on their gear, but the rent alone will wipe us out. But this is the place. Between the cafe downstairs and the courtyard and the living / office / kitchen space upstairs, this feels like “it”.

And tomorrow, I need to make a decision, and I need to make a payment.

Why now? Why not wait until there’s more money? Two reasons. First, I’ve seen with my own eyes how fast real estate goes here. Second, it’s a step of faith. We’re going to have to take some gambles if this is going to fly.

So far, we’ve done OK. We taken some small steps (Peter’s, St John’s Wakitaka) thanks to equipment and financial donations, and our trajectory at this rate is low. So I either hope and pray for someone with deep pockets (or many people with shallow pockets) to step in and float us, or I take a step towards another stream of income that will free us to make BIG changes in this, one of the world’s most devastated and struggling societies.

I need about $400/mo for the downstairs ($2,400 down), $400/mo for the upstairs ($2,400 down), about $300/mo for 256k Internet, $2,000 for a table of six nComputing stations, and another $1,000 for tables and chairs. For the cafe side to really take off, we’ll need another infusion of funds (like $5,000) to get the cafe side off the ground IF (and only if) we’re renting the upstairs with the kitchen. If we don’t rent the upstairs, the kitchen will require some construction plus some equipment (stove, oven, sink, etc, etc). In the long run, the upstairs seems the better investment.

I’m completely stressed about this, but somehow quite at peace about it at the same time. I can’t explain why I think this is it. (Well, I could explain it, but that would get pretty theological and I’d confuse myself because faith is kinda hard to explain.)

*** ( Insert catchy, heart rending and quite clever ending paragraph here. This is the paragraph that will spur even the most lax reader to donate money and then call all the rich people they know to donate more money. Short, but sweet, and not too sappy. Don’t forget to write this part. It’s the most important!!! ) ***