<div dir="ltr"><div><div>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....<br><br></div>My two cents,<br><br></div>Mblayo<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Mar 12, 2018 at 11:14 AM, anyega jefferson via kictanet <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:x-small">Follow the money, chief, which strategy creates the lowest operating costs? </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:x-small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:x-small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:x-small">And we kinda can't begrudge anyone , for seeking profit maximization, though i'd think Kenyan developers are the most affordable </div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div class="h5">On Mon, Mar 12, 2018 at 12:04 PM, Watila Alex via kictanet <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a><wbr>></span> wrote:<br></div></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div class="h5"><div><div style="font-family:Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><div>Good Afternoon,</div><div>Are kenyan developers to expensive or unable to meet the grade. or is something else happening here</div><div><br></div><div>Article from <a href="http://kenyanwallstreet.com/m-kopa-solar-fires-18-of-its-staff-including-all-developers-outsources-work-to-a-foreign-company-linked-to-new-cto" class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281enhancr_card_0967216432" target="_blank">M-Kopa Solar fires 18% of its staff including all developers, outsources work to a foreign company</a></div><div><br></div><div id="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273aenhancr_card_0967216432" class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273ayahoo-link-enhancr-card m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273aymail-preserve-class m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273aymail-preserve-style" style="max-width:400px;font-family:Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Segoe UI,Arial,sans-serif"><a href="http://kenyanwallstreet.com/m-kopa-solar-fires-18-of-its-staff-including-all-developers-outsources-work-to-a-foreign-company-linked-to-new-cto" style="text-decoration:none!important;color:#000!important" class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273ayahoo-enhancr-cardlink" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><table class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273acard-wrapper m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273ayahoo-ignore-table" style="max-width:400px" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td width="400"><table class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273acard m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273ayahoo-ignore-table" style="max-width:400px;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgb(224,228,233);border-radius:2px" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273acard-primary-image-cell" style="background-image:url("https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/jATSd-KuXU0IWC-oe8DLXGIXiMKfRPL1Jk3N4e2QjBwzUkt_XmKKWnoDPf0NuWJ45LSk4VsdhVo3F-ewuf9kGK_fWMWmhS6EW-nxCX5xvjZqcoDLVt8WIDwd4TH4glKeepB24fUGfXiTPp9DeLXn7kledHBKQQk7IDilR-nIYOOxuz65NIxu8ar1N3huaYQTQBcJ6dE8FkqomaJgU5_8p6oetHmH1tKxLhfCrbp04yxb9TY9lpbot9MEY9DY9CZkhKbs2mjhZb1MFTGMwFyP-jx1Sw=s0-d-e1-ft#https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/8AQt8ZSvV_S5sUAQJP94UQ--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/http://kenyanwallstreet.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/M-Kopa-Solar.jpg.cf.jpg");background-color:rgb(0,0,0);background-size:cover;border-radius:2px 2px 0px 0px;min-height:175px" valign="top" height="175" bgcolor="#000000" background="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/8AQt8ZSvV_S5sUAQJP94UQ--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/http://kenyanwallstreet.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/M-Kopa-Solar.jpg.cf.jpg"><table class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273acard-overlay-container-table m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273ayahoo-ignore-table" style="width:100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273acard-overlay-cell" style="background-image:url("https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/9MX9QEEylZURXXw0qJZnW-GOGq9S53Yf6zspbeA7sKoimRZl3Stf-KY4D33XOCes4VlI7tG9MDzorvSJYTKzqign_kw3MbH1BZ2Q3osnaZpcUU-GVMnOkH_nBditME69atOoU75L1mk=s0-d-e1-ft#https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png");background-color:transparent;border-radius:2px 2px 0px 0px;min-height:175px" valign="top" bgcolor="transparent" background="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png"><table class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273ayahoo-ignore-table" style="width:100%;min-height:175px" height="175" border="0"><tbody><tr><td class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273acard-richInfo2" style="text-align:left;padding:15px 0 0 15px;vertical-align:top"></td><td class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273acard-actions" style="text-align:right;padding:15px 15px 0 0;vertical-align:top"><div class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273acard-share-container"></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><table class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273acard-info m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273ayahoo-ignore-table" style="background:#fff;width:100%;max-width:400px;border-radius:0 0 2px 2px;border-top:1px solid rgb(224,228,233)" border="0" align="center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;border-radius:0 0 0 2px"></td><td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:12px 24px 16px 12px;width:99%;font-family:Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Segoe UI,Arial,sans-serif;border-radius:0 0 2px 0"><h2 class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273acard-title" style="font-size:14px;line-height:19px;margin:0px 0px 6px;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,"Segoe UI",Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(38,40,42)">M-Kopa Solar fires 18% of its staff including all developers, outsources...</h2><p class="m_-2444568715909110953m_-1236580337176708281ydp8c9c273acard-description" style="font-size:12px;line-height:16px;margin:0px;color:rgb(151,155,167)">Kenya based pay-as-you-go solar provider M-KOPA Solar has fired undisclosed number of staff including most of it...</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div style="font-size:inherit;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px;border:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.6">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.</span></div><div style="font-size:inherit;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px;border:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.6">The exercise, which was completed in December last year affected a number of employees and some of whom were absorbed by</span> <span style="margin:0px;border:0px;padding:0px;font-size:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;font-family:"Open Sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.5">Safaricom according to the source.</span></div><div style="font-size:inherit;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px;border:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="margin:0px;border:0px;padding:0px;font-size:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;font-family:"Open Sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.5">We sought comments from the company’s CEO and Co-Founder Jesse Moore, who confirmed the layoffs and explained that they were </span><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.6">necessary due to rising costs of technology and there was need to generate profits and give returns to investors.</span></div><div style="font-size:inherit;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px;border:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.6">“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.</span></div><div style="font-size:inherit;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px;border:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.6">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.”</span></div><div style="font-size:inherit;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px;border:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.6">On whether the company had outsourced the IT services to a company that is linked to the new CTO, this is what he said.</span></div><div style="font-size:inherit;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px;border:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.6">“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.”</span></div><div style="font-size:inherit;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px;border:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.6">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.</span></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Regards,</div><div><br></div><div>Alex</div><div><br></div></div></div><br></div></div>______________________________<wbr>_________________<br>
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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.<br>
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<br></blockquote></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="m_-2444568715909110953gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">Anyega M Jefferson<br><br></div><div><a href="mailto:jeffersonanyega@gmail.com" target="_blank">jeffersonanyega@gmail.com</a><br><br>0703824326<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br>Start where you are,use what you have and do what you can.<br><br></div></div></div></div>
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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.<br>
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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.<br>
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