Inspired by traditional notice boards, Johan Nel Umunthu, the founder of Mimiboard created a virtual notice board named after a Swahili word “mimi” depicting “I.” The app is designed to pass information, just like a typical notice board.
Just like other social media sites, you have to create an account by signing up on Mimiboard.com. The invention creates opportunity for instant news
Thereafter, you can integrate it with any Twitter handle, so that it displays on your board once, once this is done, the community can add notes to your board via different modes such as SMS or Twitter using any tag or “@handle.”
The new community or personal board can be embeded into your networking site account, for example Twitter and Facebook, or printed out on a weekly or daily bases or displayed on a screen.
Nel says the invention creates opportunity for instant news, since one can easily gather information from ground involving activity, improve engagement and even empower people.
Two months upon its invention, Mimiboard has experienced growth and is currently in use in various parts of Africa for traffic updates, and even as a business site for selling books and addressing various issues.
In Cape Town, it is used in retail centers where everyone is shown live using big screens. A number of nonprofits are also using it to trace missing children and combat crime.
