[kictanet] Start-up Attention Shifting from Kenya to Nigeria?

Wed Mar 12 10:35:42 EAT 2014

This has been inevitable from the very beginning. Despite the fact that
Kenyans innovate faster/earlier, it cannot be overlooked that the sheer
size of the Nigerian market is it's biggest advantage. Several years ago a
friend told me "In Nigeria, it doesn't matter what kind of business you
want to start, as long as you can get 10% of the market - you are sorted
for life".

Problem with giants, is that they move slowly - and Nigeria's legal and
regulatory frameworks that affect different components of the tech/startup
scene are in some cases, light years behind Kenya. Nevertheless, the locals
figure out ways to get things done - and for the lucky ones who can break
through the initial barriers - the sky is the limit. I have friends in
Nigeria's infantile mobile money industry who after 6 months of extremely
limited operations (due to strict central bank regulations) - showed such
phenomenal growth in their business that investors came running from
America with baskets of money.

Nevertheless - it's a global village - what can differentiate Kenya is
developing products and services for the global market.

My two cents,

Best regards,

Mblayo

On Wed, Mar 12, 2014 at 12:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:

> +1 James.
>
>
> *Ali Hussein*
>
> +254 0770 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
>
> On Mar 11, 2014, at 11:59 PM, James Mbugua <jgmbugua at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>  True true.
>
> Like it is said, Feedback is a gift. We do need to listen to such views
> and ask ourselves if they are true.
>
> At the same time, we need to look at technology as more than mobile apps.
>
> There is precious little discussed here about energy, automotive,
> engineering, materials science, biotechnology and so on.
>
> We need to expand our discussion beyond internet policies and mobile apps.
> That is what will make us a tech hub.
>
> J
>  ------------------------------
> From: Phares Kariuki <pkariuki at gmail.com>
> Sent: 3/11/2014 10:02 PM
> To: jgmbugua at gmail.com
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Start-up Attention Shifting from Kenya to Nigeria?
>
> Hype shouldn't matter. Germany is huge in manufacturing, even if a lot of
> the focus is on China.
>
> Hype only matters if Kenya exists purely to be validated by third parties.
> If we have good product, hype regardless, our sector will thrive.
>
> There's an old adage, "good marketing makes a bad product fall faster".
>
>
>
> Sent from my mobile device, excuse brevity
>
> On 11 Mar 2014, at 21:40, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>
>   What's missing in that story which I think is important is the story of
> Demo Africa being hosted in Nigeria this year.
>
> Critical  in that is the open arms that the demo team were received with
> by the highest levels of the Nigerian government in the ICT Sector.
>
>
> http://www.cio.co.ke/news/top-stories/demo-africa-2014-set-for-nigeria-in-september
> .
>
> We have always been masters of the hype which has its value in the scheme
> of things. Now we are loosing the hype to Nigeria and Rwanda. Maybe it's
> not such a bad thing so that we can move beyond the hype and start doing.
>
>  *Ali Hussein*
>
> +254 0770 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
>
> On Mar 11, 2014, at 4:26 PM, Kivuva <Kivuva at transworldafrica.com> wrote:
>
>  Not really, we've been there, done that.
>
> And I still maintain, put PR and confidence ahead, everything else to
> follow
>
>  ______________________
> Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya.
> twitter.com/lordmwesh
> .co.ke CRAZY OFFER @ Ksh1000+VAT,
>  .me.ke CRAZY OFFER @Ksh250+VAT, while stocks last
>
>
> On 11 March 2014 05:42, Gideon <gideonrop at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>  Interesting read here,
>>
>> Start-up Attention Shifting from Kenya to Nigeria?
>>
>>
>> http://www.africa-assets.com/news/guest-post-start-attention-shifting-kenya-nigeria
>>
>> Regards
>> Gideon Rop
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> kictanet mailing list
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>
>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kivuva%40transworldafrica.com
>>
>> 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.
>>
>
>  _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
>
> 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.
>
>  _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pkariuki%40gmail.com
>
> 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.
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
>
> 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.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
>
> 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.
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20140312/7eade429/attachment.htm>