[kictanet] M-Kopa Solar fires 18% of its staff including all developers, outsources work to a foreign company

Mon Mar 12 13:39:05 EAT 2018

Brian

Exactly! In one sentence you have hit the nail on the head. The new game in
town is P2P (and here I mean Path 2 Profitability not Peer2Peer) :-)

Regards

*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>

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Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely
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organizations that I work with.

On Mon, Mar 12, 2018 at 1:30 PM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Hmm, they've burnt through US$ 152 million in less than 7 years... and are
> downsizing instead of scaling up...I'd be a very worried investor if I had
> skin in *that* game....
>
> My two cents,
>
> Mblayo
>
> On Mon, Mar 12, 2018 at 11:14 AM, anyega jefferson via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>> Follow the money, chief, which strategy creates the lowest operating
>> costs?
>>
>>
>> And we kinda can't begrudge anyone , for seeking profit maximization,
>> though i'd think Kenyan developers are the most affordable
>>
>> On Mon, Mar 12, 2018 at 12:04 PM, Watila Alex via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>> Good Afternoon,
>>> Are kenyan developers to expensive or unable to meet the grade. or is
>>> something else happening here
>>>
>>> Article from M-Kopa Solar fires 18% of its staff including all
>>> developers, outsources work to a foreign company
>>> <http://kenyanwallstreet.com/m-kopa-solar-fires-18-of-its-staff-including-all-developers-outsources-work-to-a-foreign-company-linked-to-new-cto>
>>>
>>> M-Kopa Solar fires 18% of its staff including all developers,
>>> outsources...
>>>
>>> Kenya based pay-as-you-go solar provider M-KOPA Solar has fired
>>> undisclosed number of staff including most of it...
>>>
>>> <http://kenyanwallstreet.com/m-kopa-solar-fires-18-of-its-staff-including-all-developers-outsources-work-to-a-foreign-company-linked-to-new-cto>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Kenya based pay-as-you-go solar provider M-KOPA Solar has fired
>>> undisclosed number of staff including most of its developers. According to
>>> people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity, the developers
>>> work has now been outsourced to a foreign company that is linked to the
>>> company’s new CTO.
>>> The exercise, which was completed in December last year affected a
>>> number of employees and some of whom were absorbed by Safaricom
>>> according to the source.
>>> We sought comments from the company’s CEO and Co-Founder Jesse Moore,
>>> who confirmed the layoffs and explained that they were necessary due to
>>> rising costs of technology and there was need to generate profits and give
>>> returns to investors.
>>> “I can confirm that we completed a restructuring process in December
>>> 2017. This was done to reduce fixed costs and keep us on the path to
>>> profitability. Overall, the company reduced headcount by 18% covering all
>>> departments and all levels in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and UK. We are
>>> outsourcing more of our technology work, maintaining a smaller in-house
>>> team to work directly with outsourcing partners in Kenya and overseas.” he
>>> noted.
>>> He went on to say that this was the right thing for the company’s
>>> long-term sustainability, “This means building a sustainable, profitable
>>> company that offers impact for customers and returns for investors.”
>>> On whether the company had outsourced the IT services to a company that
>>> is linked to the new CTO, this is what he said.
>>> “In mid-2017 our Acting CTO was seconded to us from one of our
>>> outsourcing partners, when our previous CTO left the company. Our board
>>> approved this and the individual is strictly recused on procurement
>>> decisions with companies where could be a potential conflict of interest.”
>>> The company was started by Nick Hughes, an Englishman, and his Canadian
>>> co-founder, Jesse Moore. Hughes is a former executive at Vodafone, while
>>> Moore was working for the GSMA Development Fund, a mobile
>>> telecommunications industry group, where he was in charge of identifying
>>> opportunities to make mobile services available to people in developing
>>> countries. M-kopa is one of the best-funded startups in Africa having
>>> raised more than $152 Million since inception in 2011. However, a big chunk
>>> of this financing is in form of debt.
>>>
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Alex
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Anyega M Jefferson
>>
>> jeffersonanyega at gmail.com
>>
>> 0703824326
>>
>> Start where you are,use what you have and do what you can.
>>
>>
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>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
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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.
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