[kictanet] Got talent? Matiang'i is looking for you

Sun Mar 23 09:21:44 EAT 2014

Again, my point is missed entirely. I don't see where arrogance comes in.
Is it possible to be a world leader without MNC partnerships? Yes. Is it
possible with MNC partnerships? Yes. There's no singular formulae for
success. That's what I am against. Is it possible for mobile to make
billions? Yes. Is it possible for ERP's to make billions? Yes. This whole
argument came up because people are trying to distill the tech ecosystem
into singular stories.

Some companies can succeed without partnership others need partnership to
succeed. We shouldn't be disparaging local companies as local champions -
if we can't conquer our own market how do we aim to conquer others?

Equity is now a regional player. It's growing. Slowly. So is KCB. One day
at a time, one battle at a time. So is KAPS, Cellulant, Seven Seas, Innova,
Pesapal etc. I don't see how their success is trivial given that they have
slain giants. Equity is in battle with some of the most cash rich companies
in the world (Barclays/SCB etc) but understanding their local context
helped them beat these giants. They succeeded without a direct partnership
from a foreign bank. They are now becoming a multinational bank. They
understood the local customer and operating environment.

Again, my issue isn't MNC's. It's the singular models for success being
pushed. I'm against that. Wholeheartedly.

Sent from my mobile device, excuse brevity

On 23 Mar 2014, at 09:06, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:

Phares

Many ways to skin a cat. What you are describing are local companies that
are local champions. What I'm aspiring to is world domination. Surely you
see that?

Take Seven Seas. You only need to walk into their offices to see the
direction and partnerships they have put together. We don't need to be
subservient to MNCs. We can learn from them and outdo them. Surely you
aren't so arrogant as to think that we can grow to be world leaders on our
own?

*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 23, 2014, at 6:30 AM, Phares Kariuki <pkariuki at gmail.com> wrote:

Ali,

You miss my point - did the companies partner with MNC's? Yes. At various
points, in various ways - Samsung Elec partnered with NEC, Lenovo grew from
partnerships with IBM, however companies like LG never really did partner
with anyone.

My problem is partnership with an MNC being used as a silver bullet,
assuming that local market knowledge and technical expertise cannot be
enough on their own.

Various companies succeed using different paths. Some partner, others
compete.

On IBM, your statement confirms rather than repudiates my assertion. Five
odd years ago, it was not that IBM 'would rather', it was that IBM 'would
only' go through the local channel.

I'll give a simple example in sectors outside of ICT - Keroche, Equity Bank
java until it's recent buyout, many local hotel chains, Bidco etc. These
are companies that basically grew largely without MNC partnership because
they had a combination of local market knowledge, technical expertise and
good management. Actually, our financial system is largely dominated by
local players who with the exception of NIC & pre independence KCB have
largely been locally grown.

There's no silver bullet. No company *has to* partner with an MNC to
succeed and partnering with one doesn't guarantee success. We need to let
these companies write their own stories and need to at least have faith in
our ecosystem that we pride ourselves in to deliver a few wins.

Sent from my mobile device, excuse brevity

On 23 Mar 2014, at 06:01, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:

Phares

Far be it for us to be as arrogant as to think that we can't learn anything
from partnering with whoever...

Toyota didn't become the great company it is today by going the Lone Ranger
way..Neither did LG, Samsung, Lenovo et al. In fact if you trace their
history you will see (without exception) how they stepped on the should of
giants and then surpassed them - from GM to Sony.

Allow me also to correct you on IBM. They would rather partner with a local
company than deal directly for various reasons...in fact like most
Multi-Nationals they have a deliberate strategy of empowering local
business partners. Of course their interest is the bottom line but who is
to say that interest cannot be symbiotic?

This of course must be cemented by a deliberate government strategy of
ensuring local content in major infrastructure projects (IT or otherwise).
It is one way we can build capacity and ensure a good piece of the pie
remains in-country.

*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 23, 2014, at 1:24 AM, Phares Kariuki <pkariuki at gmail.com> wrote:

Multinationals are not born with skill. Skill is developed. The
multinational is in the business of maximising profit ergo, as soon as they
can cut the local company out of the value chain, they will. Example. IBM
started out in Kenya by partnering with local companies. It's going direct
to the customer more and more. Not less.

Focusing on the end device means we don't own the rest of the value chain -
we can be easily interchanged.

In many cases, we have the capacity locally, we just don't believe we do.
We continually disparage local companies and the skill sets they have
without bothering to find out how experienced they are/how experienced
their team is. We love holding companies to standards that we don't hold
our own company/government accountable.

I'm not saying that we don't need competent companies - far from that. We
need competent and capable companies. My argument is that statements like
"partner with multinationals" already assume that the local company has no
competence which many times is far from the truth.

I say this having personally worked to build a team with talent that is
unequivocally competent and experienced in its field, but still being
disparaged for being local and asked to partner with random MNC's.

Sent from my mobile device, excuse brevity

On 22 Mar 2014, at 20:50, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:

John

Couldn't agree with you more. The world is mobile. I think what we should
be discussing are solutions that are device/screen agnostic.

Lets also be honest with ourselves. Government/major corporate software
solutions do require a lot more thought process/project
management/enterprise strength security etc. What we must discuss is how we
can ensure the industry engages government objectively and how government
engages industry objectively and honestly.

There must be engagement at both the youth and the enterprise level so that
the industry has a stake in major IT projects by the government and
Parastal sector. I believe there are already inroads in that direction.
Undoubtedly more needs to be done.

Partnering with some of the multinationals to bid for these mega projects
is also critical for us to improve on our skill sets and to add muscle to
the tendering process. On the side of the government they must put in place
measures to insure a certain percentage of deliverable is local content
(this can come in services, personnel etc).

My two cents..

*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 22, 2014, at 1:22 PM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi at gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Kieti,
How comes none of these thousands of software developers are supplying even
a single solution to government. How comes government services are barely
available to the millions of Kenyans via mobile?

See our drift, government should be removing barriers and improving service
delivery for all.

Also, what was the role of governments in the likes of Angry Birds, King
(Candy Crush Saga) and Facebook, beyond providing an enabling environment -
which we don't do here.

On Saturday, 22 March 2014, John Kieti <jkieti at gmail.com> wrote:

> Phares, Ngigi, Conrad
>
> Your focus and preference for server side and enterprise desktop mode
> solutions is very much appreciated.
>
> However the thousands of local software developers getting into the system
> will not fit into just that pie of the value chain you are in for now. More
> so, 30m+ mobile subscribers is no small market place for software
> entrepreneurs. And nowadays the computer does not have to be on your desk
> or lap, in fact most computers among Kenyans are mobile phones. It is not
> bad for policy to at least direct the youth towards the opportunity in
> mobile.
>
> You'll recall that its a global market place and some of the kids we
> deride for writing the so called "mVitus" are earning thee figure dollar
> checks monthly from downloads and ads in india, brazil etc. They just wont
> shout that aloud. More importantly though M-Pesa is seven years old. Many
> mobile solutions targeting local/regional problems will not mature as soon
> as we impatiently expect. We're only 3-4 years into the "mobile craze" and
> most serious attempts are not over 3 years old. There's no short cuts to
> developing competitive advantages - even in mobile, give it time. If you
> are not convinced yet, try the ringtone market and premium SMS services.
> Its a whole big economy out there, with big money changing hands, and its
> all mobile!
>
> That said, what would you rather the CS did about local enterprise desktop
> based solutions and server side services?
>
> Have a nice weekend.
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 22, 2014 at 12:47 PM, Rad! <conradakunga at gmail.com<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','conradakunga at gmail.com');>
> > wrote:
>
>> I'm mystified as well at this obsession with mobile apps.
>>
>> Not that we should not to them, but there is so much opportunity in other
>> sectors - infrastructure, cloud computing, enterprise applications, content
>> management that Kenya can not only benefit from, but we can be competitive
>> globally.
>>
>> Looks like mobile apps will be this regime's Pashas & BPOs
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 22, 2014 at 12:14 PM, Phares Kariuki <pkariuki at gmail.com<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','pkariuki at gmail.com');>
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> A fairly narrow view of the technology sector. It's not all mobile.
>>>
>>> Sent from my mobile device, excuse brevity
>>>
>>> On 22 Mar 2014, at 04:56, Grace Githaiga <ggithaiga at hotmail.com<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','ggithaiga at hotmail.com');>>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/m/story.php?articleID=2000107530&story_title=Got-talent-Matiangi-is-looking-for-you
>>>
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>
>
>
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> '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
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>

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regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
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