Kabissa was founded in 1999 by Tobias Eigen with the idea that Internet and Communication Technology (ICT) could revolutionize the work of African civil society. Building on the years of ICT consulting experience Tobias Eigen had in Africa, Kabissa began by providing African civil society organizations with much needed accessible, affordable, and secure web and email hosting services.
During the next three years Kabissa's membership grew and the organization gained increasing recognition online and through word of mouth. In 2002 Kabissa won the ICT Stories Competition, an initiative of infoDev and the International Institute of Communication and Development which sought to capture the learning process that accompanies the introduction and implementation of ICTs for development. That year, Kabissa added a part-time Program Manager, Kim Lowery, to its staff. She would soon become Kabissa's co-executive director along with Tobias Eigen. Also in 2002,Kabissa applied for and received its first major grant from Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development for the pilot phase of Kabissa’s Time To Get Online training initiative.
Kim and Tobias went on to set up an office at Dupont Circle in Washington DC where for the next five years they along with dozens of interns and volunteers continued to develop its hosting services and training program. One intern, Liz Trautman, went on to become Kabissa's third employee as Member Relations Manager from 2004-2007. During this timeKabissa received support from major foundations including the Ford Foundation, Open Society Institute Information Program, Open Society Initiative for West Africa, the Hurford Foundation, National Endowment for Democracy, Yahoo Employee Foundation, and Lonely Planet Foundation (now Planet Wheeler Foundation). They trained hundreds of activists and development practitioners in end user and training of trainers workshops in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Morocco and distributed thousands of copies of the Time To Get Online manual. In partnership with Tanmia.ma in Morocco, the Time To Get Online manual and training program was localized into French and Arabic.
In 2007, Liz joined the Peace Corps in Benin and Kim went to work for the Academy for Educational Development. Kabissa followed Tobias to Bainbridge Island, WA in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and became a volunteer organization with no employees. In 2009, Kabissa announced a new focus on social media and launched the new online community platform to connect people and organizations for Africa - no matter where they are in the world. At the same time, Kabissa streamlined its internet services and shut down the server hosting websites for its member organizations.
Read on about Kabissa's founding: Thank you Way Back Machine! 2002: Story of Kabissa's Founding Wins ICT Stories Competition
