[kictanet] KENYA’S TECH START UPS AND FLUFF

Tue Jan 13 11:11:53 EAT 2015

Nikolai (88mph) has a useful response and some clarifications on Becky's
blog as well:

See it directly:

http://www.wanjiku.co.ke/2015/01/kenyas-tech-start-ups-and-fluff/#comment-7689

On Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 9:11 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> I like her analysis.
>
> If other VC's have the same attitude, then we're slowly and surely getting
> to the root cause of the 'fluff'.
>
> And almost right on cue, this dropped by my Inbox today. Useful
> comparisons.
>
> http://www.quora.com/Why-is-Israel-so-big-in-high-tech
>
> Waithaka Ngigi
>
> Alliance Technologies
> Nairobi, Kenya
>
> www.A1.io
> On 12 Jan 2015 19:18, "Grace Githaiga via kictanet" <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>> http://www.wanjiku.co.ke/2015/01/kenyas-tech-start-ups-and-fluff/
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 18:05:55 +0300
>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Kenya's Tech Startup scene leaves investors
>> underwhelmed
>> From: kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> To: ggithaiga at hotmail.com
>>
>> According to Robert Yawe: https://t.co/pJfVm9ffxi
>>
>> ______________________
>> Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
>>
>> "There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on
>> higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
>>
>>
>> On 12 January 2015 at 16:21, Phares Kariuki via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>> http://www.wanjiku.co.ke/2015/01/kenyas-tech-start-ups-and-fluff/
>>
>> Wanjiku's take
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 11, 2015 at 1:44 PM, S.M. Muraya via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>> @walu @makali
>>
>> Automation varies e.g. systems (infrastructure) automation vs Business
>> Process Automation.
>> Business Process automation is big in societies which favor
>> efficiency/hospitality over fraud.
>>
>>
>> http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240237777/Forrester-IT-maintenance-saps-budget-as-tech-spending-increases
>>
>> For business automation, locals get along better with locals, and do much
>> better than expatriates.
>> Smart expatriate entrepreneurs/investors focus more on infrastructure
>> automation/management.
>> Business automation involves understanding how an organization or society
>> needs/wants to work.
>>
>> As the Reuters article noted (GSMA research), local investors (which must
>> include public officials) are not well informed.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Murigi / Stanley Muraya
>>
>> *"Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one
>> who takes a city." Prov 16:32*
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 7, 2015 at 8:38 PM, Walubengo J via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>> @David,
>>
>> sounds like a good topic.  Investment in the ICT arena.  I would imagine
>> that high-capital investments are done and dusted i.e. setting up mobile
>> networks, setting up media and broadcasting houses, laying fiber, etc.
>>
>> The remaining area of ICT investment is in the low-capital investment
>> area a.k.a innovations. Software based Innovations along the spirit of FB,
>> Twitter, MPESA, Google, etc.  Essentially Kenya lacks investors in this
>> space.  Local banks only fund the traditional, tried and tested business
>> models like opening up a bakery, building flats for sale/rent, land
>> transactions, etc but have not time to invest in "ideas".
>>
>> So you would probably need to schedule 2 talks/sessions around.
>>
>> 1. Why and how to fund/investment  in ICT ideas/research (get  someone
>> from Govt, Commission for Sci, Tech & Innovation (??) , get someone from
>> Academia, (Dr. Ndemo?) , from Industry ((Joe/Veronica of Safcom
>> Innovation Directorate))
>>
>> 2. Why Kenyan investors dont fund ideas/innovations (get one fellow from
>> Industry(Joe/Veronica of Safcom Innovation Directorate), Govt (Victor,
>> ICTA) , Investment banker/Venture Capitalist (e.g. ????)
>>
>> You can pay me 2Chickens for the advise...IEBC type Chicken not your
>> local luhyia rooster :-)
>>
>> walu.
>>
>>   ------------------------------
>>  *From:* David Makali via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> *To:* jwalu at yahoo.com
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, January 7, 2015 4:32 PM
>> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Kenya's Tech Startup scene leaves investors
>> underwhelmed
>>
>> Folks:
>>  I would like to frame a discussion on citizen tv breakfast show around
>> this issue: IT or ICT as an area of investment and econ growth and her
>> competitiveness of our investment environment. What should the topic be and
>> who are the 2 critical people that should form part of that panel. And why.
>>
>> Last year, I tried in vain to get my friend and member of this network,
>> Catherine Adeya, then CEO of Konza city, to come on air for an exploration
>> of the subject but...  Doesn't mirror much the robust discussions I see
>> here (behind the curtains?).
>>
>> David
>>
>>
>> This is official mail. If you doubt the content, call back on
>> +254722517540.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jan 6, 2015, at 9:38 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>> Listers,
>>
>> My 2 cents on this issue.
>>
>> Kenya Technology scene, is actually quite old; I know a few firms that
>> were founded in the 90s, some even earlier, and that are still going
>> strong. If anything, firms founded around the late 90s and early 200s have
>> had a lot more success than in later years, IMO. If you doubt me, check
>> firms like Virtual City, Craft Silicon, AT, SevenSeas, 3Mice, Cellulant,
>> Verve, ReelForge, Turnkey Africa, Lantech, AfricaOnline, Wananchi etc
>>
>> Having being involved in this sector over the last 20 years, I think that
>> the article is quite fair in that in recent times, there has been a lot of
>> hulabaloo of a new IT Startup which in no time bites the dust, leaving
>> investors obviously, licking their wounds.
>>
>> But this didn't just happen overnight.
>>
>> Sometime around 2007, there was a general drift towards mobile
>> technology. There were very nice sound bites, that, if you built a mobile
>> application, and got 1% of the world to buy it, you would be best pals with
>> the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Google Founders who would probably be
>> calling you up to borrow your yacht.
>>
>> This excitement was quickly followed by the "...build it they will come
>> mantra...", and besides, a new city technology city, Konza!
>>
>> This had the quick effect of churning a lot of money into these startups
>> to the point where what traditionally we would call "functions" in an
>> application, was being touted as a full application. These were quickly
>> showcased in the next mobile competition, and the winners of these parlayed
>> across the media as the true technology champions of Kenya.
>>
>> And with the success of Mpesa (that Kenyan application that is not built
>> in Kenya), Kenya had arrived in the technology scene. But this could not
>> have been further from the truth!
>>
>> I have argued before, that if we are to build a local technology scene,
>> it has to first cater for the current needs in the market. The Kenyan
>> Technology scene is heavily dominated by procurement of enterprise
>> applications & technologies. Put together, GoK, Safaricom, Airtel
>> , KPLC, KenGen, KRA, KCB, Equity etc spend not less than Ksh 200B every
>> year in IT purchases.
>>
>> If we ought to make a serious push for technology, then we need to first
>> address the market where local firms are already buying into, instead of
>> concentrating on developing functions wrapped as mobile applications for a
>> market that at most cannot even hit Ksh 100M.
>>
>> This is what every one of those firms that I have listed before did and
>> its no wonder 20 years later, they are still here.
>>
>> And this is the fundamental difference between the Kenya & Nigerian
>> startup scene. There are countless Nigerian firms that are already in Kenya
>> pushing their Nigerian built core Banking, Insurance, Manufacturing and
>> Public Sector solutions. Solid firms that are making applications that the
>> market is already paying for.
>>
>> So, lets not shoot the messenger. Lets reserve our vitriol and energy for
>> the ICT policy makers and ask them to build a policy that leads to
>> self-sustaining ICT growth.
>>
>> Regards
>> Ngigi Waithaka
>> A1.iO <http://a1.io/>
>>
>> On Tue, Jan 6, 2015 at 2:46 AM, Eric Osiakwan via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>> .....you are very far from wrong, actually too close to right.
>>
>> HNY.
>>
>> Eric here
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Jan 5, 2015, at 17:40, John Kieti via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Ali, and other listers,
>>
>> Once in a while, we read articles in media, especially international
>> media carrying very misleading headings on the Kenyan startup scene. The
>> piece you share Ali is one such misleading story
>>
>> I would easily dismiss such an article, not only for it simply
>> "re-tweeting" old unfounded stereotypes but for two other reasons as
>> follows :-
>>
>> 1. The story is built solely on the investment philosophy of one
>> investor - not that its a wrong investment philosophy but that its not the
>> only investment philosophy relevant for a young ecosystem like ours. Even
>> in other advanced ecosystems there's many competing investors with diverse
>> investment strategies.
>>
>> 2. The story fails to capture sentiments of local founders seeking
>> capital and the challenges they face - from a startups perspective.
>> Considering that local startups have perceptions such as existence of
>> "vulture capital" and  "racial capital preferences", it is fair to expect
>> that closing even the simplest of deals, or even attracting the requisite
>> pipeline is not for faint hearted or non-committed investors. The writer
>> could have gone under the hood to explore these at the very least.
>>
>> At the very least I would ask myself this when faced with such an
>> article; Can anyone really fairly compare our five year old ecosystem with
>> mature (decades old) ecosystems such as Silicon Valley or Tel Aviv? What
>> yardsticks would be fair across the board?
>>
>> That said, our startup ecosystem still experiences the usual challenges
>> expected at these formative stages. For instance (a) There's still too many
>> parallel entrepreneurs (for justified reasons) running startups
>> sub-optimally (b) we continue to experience a gap in local angel funding
>> (or traction proof funding) which cannot be replaced by foreign capital.
>> (c) Players and commentators in the ecosystem continue to assess startup
>> growth and performance with the same yardsticks applied to consultancies
>> and lifestyle businesses (d) The local market has sustained this uncanny
>> tendency to favor the presence of a non-local when a sales pitch party is
>> granted - if at all such is granted to a startup. (e) In the legal,
>> PR/marketing, accounting and other supporting professions, available skills
>> sets and professional approach are for the most part inflexibly corporate
>> minded  - neither customized nor conducive for working with startups. These
>> to me are new issues below the surface that a writer should be exploring
>> rather than repeating the usual rhetoric damning the fledgling ecosystem -
>> which I find unfounded.
>>
>> I may be entirely wrong, but I could be right in my observations.
>>
>> Best regards
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 4, 2015 at 9:44 PM, Sean Moro
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 4, 2015 at 10:52 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>> Listers
>>
>> A lot of discussions in this area over the last few years. Are the
>> chickens coming home to roost?
>>
>> Have we focused too much on competitions, donor funded money and shared
>> spaces and a lot less on commercially viable ideas/nurturing what is there
>> towards commercial exploitation?
>>
>> My sense is that we now need to move to 3.0 to enable realize the
>> potential of our startups.
>>
>> Read on:-
>>
>>
>> http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Kenya-s-technology-push-leaves-investors-cold/-/539550/2574220/-/13qkohy/-/index.html
>>
>>
>> http://www.gsmaentrepreneurshipkenya.com/GSMA_KENYA-AR2014-060214-WEB-SINGLE-PGS.pdf
>>
>>
>> *Ali Hussein*
>>
>> +254 770 906375 / 0713 601113
>>
>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>> Skype: abu-jomo
>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>>
>> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will
>> have a generation of idiots".  ~ Albert Einstein
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> --
>> My Blog - www.gmeltdown.com
>> '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
>> The ordinary just won't do
>>
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>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
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>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> *Regards,*
>>
>> *Wait**haka Ngigi*
>> Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod
>> Building
>> T + 254 (0) 20 2333 471 |Office Mobile: +254 786 28 28 28 | M + 254 737
>> 811 000
>> www.at.co.ke
>>
>>
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>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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>>
>>
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Warm Regards,
>>
>> Phares Kariuki
>>
>> *E*: pkariuki at gmail.com | *Twitter*: kaboro | *B*: http://www.angani.co
>> <http://t.signaletre.com/e1t/c/5/f18dQhb0S7lC8dDMPbW2n0x6l2B9nMJW7t5XX45wvF6bW1q0NWF5vMtkRW2zWM_W56dMYnf6-jr-d02?t=http://www.angani.co/&si=4935941909643264&pi=8f9156d5-1f3e-4775-e689-bcd797842132> |
>> Angani Limited
>>
>>
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>>
>>
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for
>> people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and
>> development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable
>> behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and
>> bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect
>> privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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>> _______________________________________________
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>

-- 
Josiah Mugambi
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