[kictanet] Kenya's Tech Startup scene leaves investors underwhelmed

Tue Jan 6 02:46:23 EAT 2015

.....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
>> 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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> 
> 
> -- 
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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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