[kictanet] Kenya IGF Online Discussions. Day 3. Developments in Fintech and E-commerce

Fri Jul 13 17:40:41 EAT 2018

Dear Listers,

Allow me  to respond to questions 1 & 4.

1. We must not apologize for the speed with which we are moving. Innovation
is our locally developed solution for our local challenges and we have been
successful so far. That said, it is important for us to be introspective
and to address the challenges, some of which have been covered in this
thread so far. Light regulation will create the most conducive environment
for innovation to thrive.

2. Blockchain has been quite the buzzword and most enthusiasts can recite
potential use cases. The truth however that it is still a fairly nascent
technology and we have just began to explore it's  possibilities. From a
policy perspective, there will need to be a purposeful interrogation of the
the interplay between the tokens/cryptos the blockchain platforms that come
with it especially in public service use cases. Should we then develop our
own blockchain platforms whose tokens and management including mining  will
have an element of sovereignty?

Kind regards,

On Fri, Jul 13, 2018 at 12:31 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Good people
>
> Good conversations.  Keep them coming. There are some questions addressed
> to me and I will endeavour to respond to them at some point today.
>
> Thank you all!
>
> *Ali Hussein*
>
> *Principal*
>
> *AHK & Associates*
>
>
>
> Tel: +254 713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>
> Skype: abu-jomo
>
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>
>
> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
>
> Chiromo Road, Westlands,
>
> Nairobi, Kenya.
>
> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely
> mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the
> organizations that I work with.
>
> On Fri, Jul 13, 2018 at 10:46 AM, WANGARI KABIRU via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> " The solution (innovation) is what we most clearly see and what gets us
>> most excited. But our stakeholders don’t necessarily see what we see. More
>> important, their goals are different. They don’t care about our solution
>> but rather about a business model story that promises them a return on
>> their investment within a set time frame." - Ash Maurya
>>
>> Traction, traction, traction...
>> @Barrack, your Wakanda should to know the above by now.
>>
>>
>> Be blessed.
>> Regards/Wangari
>> ---
>> Pray God Bless. 2013Wangari circa - "Being of the Light, We are Restored
>> Through Faith in Mind, Body and Spirit; We Manifest The Kingdom of God on
>> Earth".
>>
>>
>> On Friday, 13 July 2018, 10:10:25 GMT+3, Barrack Otieno via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Dear Carolyne,
>>
>> Many thanks for your insightful responses. Is there any capital flight
>> or would you say the funds are wholly invested locally?
>>
>> Best Regards
>>
>> On 7/13/18, carolyne mimano <carolynemimano at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > Hi Barrack,
>> > Having worked first hand in tech startups and innovation i can tell you
>> > that a lot of the investors are interested in international cofounders
>> as
>> > oppossed to local.Mainly because we do not invest in our own.A lot of
>> > cofounders who get funding are those who leave silicon valley for
>> > Nigeria,Kenya and south Africa.Unfortunately we still prefer to invest
>> in
>> > property -land etc as compared to research and innovation which is one
>> of
>> > the reasons why a huge chunk of tech is foreign led.
>> > Research on tech and innovation should start with the younger
>> > generation.Note people like Mark Zuckerberg had programming tutors in
>> > middle school.
>> > Nairobi Innovation week is just a meeting place for tech enthusiasts,
>> > investors and startups looking for funding.A lot of work needs to happen
>> > all year round behind the scenes.
>> > And yes the government needs to invest more in research as well as
>> we(the
>> > community) investing more in growing the next generation of innovators.
>> >
>> > kind regards
>> > Carolyne
>> >
>> > On Fri, 13 Jul 2018, 9:23 am Barrack Otieno via kictanet, <
>> > kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi Ali,
>> >>
>> >> 1. We have made many gains in the Fintech and E-Commerce space due to
>> >> a conducive Policy environment. I am curious to understand why our
>> >> market is attracting a lot of venture capital. Is it that we are
>> >> innovative or do we offer cheap labor?, is there any capital flight
>> >> associated with the Venture Capital that is being channeled into our
>> >> market. I ask this considering the long debate about who invented and
>> >> owned MPESA. It eventually turned out that after all it was not a
>> >> Kenyan.
>> >> 2. How much is the Kenyan Government through the parent Ministry of
>> >> Information and Communications Technology pumping into the FINTECH and
>> >> Innovation Space. Better still do we have any Research and Development
>> >> fund to support the sector beyond the Nairobi Innovation Week. I
>> >> appreciate the fact that we have a CS who is at the fore front of
>> >> Innovation but are we matching the same with the kind of budget being
>> >> allocated to the Standard Gauge Railway?
>> >> 3. I would also like to find out from listers that might be in the
>> >> know , how many Kenyans have access to mobile money and gaps if any
>> >> that might exist. Is there any research that has been done that is
>> >> showing the current status of the Fintech and e-commerce eco-system.
>> >>
>> >> asking for Wakanda
>> >>
>> >> On 7/12/18, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> >> wrote:
>> >> > Dear listers.
>> >> >
>> >> > Since the advent of Mpesa, Kenya has been recognized as Ground Zero
>> for
>> >> > Mobile Money/Payments Innovation the world over. According to a World
>> >> Bank
>> >> > report one in every ten human beings regularly using mobile money is
>> a
>> >> > a
>> >> > Kenyan.
>> >> >
>> >> > Over the last few years Fintech (Financial Technology) has become all
>> >> > the
>> >> > rage. American startups are setting up in Kenya. The more common ones
>> >> that
>> >> > we know are Branch and Tala who combined have raised over $150m of
>> >> venture
>> >> > funds in the last few years. These two are mainly mobile lending
>> >> platforms.
>> >> > Insuretech is taking root. Payment Platforms are proliferating. Banks
>> >> > are
>> >> > jumping onto the Fintech Bandwagon with mainstream banks like
>> Barclays
>> >> and
>> >> > HF Group launching their mobile lending apps. Equity Bank boldly
>> >> announced a
>> >> > few weeks ago that they are building an API Bank. Banking as a
>> Service
>> >> as it
>> >> > were.
>> >> >
>> >> > Not to be left out, Blockchain and it’s offspring, Bitcoin is
>> threading
>> >> to
>> >> > complete the upheavals in the financial sector. On top of it all the
>> >> > government is playing catch up on regulation with the announcement of
>> >> > the
>> >> > Finance Bill 2018. See analysis from KPMG on this.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> https://home.kpmg.com/ke/en/home/insights/2018/06/finance-bi
>> ll-2018-analysis.html
>> >> >
>> >> > To ponder:-
>> >> >
>> >> > 1. Are we moving too fast? Is there a need to take a chill pill and
>> >> reflect
>> >> > on the gains and achievements of the sector?  Should we regulate
>> >> > lightly
>> >> or
>> >> > heavily?
>> >> >
>> >> > 2. Should we regulate and cap the mobile lending platforms? Are they
>> >> playing
>> >> > a crucial role of financial inclusion or are they just loan sharks on
>> >> > steroids?
>> >> >
>> >> > 3. How about the Credit Reference Bureaus? Are they stuck in a time
>> >> > warp
>> >> or
>> >> > is the legislation in place encumbering them from innovation?
>> >> >
>> >> > 4.  Lastly is the BlockChain conversation being overhyped? And how do
>> >> > you
>> >> > separate the technology from the cryptocurrencies it spawns?
>> >> >
>> >> > Over to you Listers.
>> >> >
>> >> > Ali Hussein
>> >> > Principal
>> >> > AHK & Associates
>> >> > +254 0713 601113
>> >> >
>> >> > Twitter: @AliHKassim
>> >> > Skype: abu-jomo
>> >> > LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>> >> >
>> >> > "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act
>> but
>> >> > a
>> >> > habit."  ~ Aristotle
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Sent from my iPad
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Barrack O. Otieno
>> >> +254721325277
>> >> +254733206359
>> >> Skype: barrack.otieno
>> >> PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
>> >>
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>>
>> --
>> Barrack O. Otieno
>> +254721325277
>> +254733206359
>> Skype: barrack.otieno
>> PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
>>
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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.
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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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>

-- 
Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu
Advocate
Legal and Regulatory Specialist- Oxygene MCL
Tel: +254 718 181644
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