<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><head><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml><o:OfficeDocumentSettings><o:AllowPNG/><o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch></o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:garamond, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24345" dir="ltr"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24782"><font size="5" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24859">The presumption is that such an entity would've had the potential to attract the best of the developers talent from Kenyan and elsewhere, probably unlike your regular startup without much global attention. </font></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24345" dir="ltr"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_26965"><font size="5" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_26964">We must keep in mind that young people are encouraged, lured and cajoled into tech careers and where this is the direction, they require shockabsorbers to be ready for shortterm career stints.</font></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24345" dir="ltr"><span><font size="5"><br></font></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24345" dir="ltr"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_26020"><font size="5" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_26019">The people element must keep being of concern just as the myriad business objects. Part of the drive in support and celebration of startups and innovators is to be part of the solution by creating (value) employment opportunities not only making Kenya a consumption market.</font></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24345"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24345"><span><font size="5"><br></font></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24345"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_25828"><font size="5" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_25827">In other parts of the world, Robot get fired...;</font></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24345"><span><br></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24345"><span><br></span></div><h1 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-weight: 300; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 40px; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 4rem; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24356">Humans Couldn't Keep Up with This Burger-Flipping Robot, So They Fired It</h1><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24412"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24412" dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.livescience.com/61994-flippy-burger-flipping-robot-flops.html#?utm_source=ls-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=03132018-ls" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24453" class="enhancr2_58669266-8eab-bcd9-0466-1983bfbf5dd6">Humans Couldn't Keep Up with This Burger-Flipping Robot, So They Fired It</a><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24461"><br></div><div id="enhancr2_58669266-8eab-bcd9-0466-1983bfbf5dd6" class="yahoo-link-enhancr-card ymail-preserve-class ymail-preserve-style" style="max-width:400px;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" contenteditable="false" 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style="background:#fff;position:relative;z-index:2;width:95%;max-width:380px;border:1px solid #e0e4e9;border-bottom:3px solid #000000;margin-top:-40px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;"> </td> <td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:16px 12px;width:99%;"> <h2 class="card-title" style="font-size: 16px; line-height:19px; margin:0 0 4px 0;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;word-break:break-word;">Humans Couldn't Keep Up with This Burger-Flipping Robot, So They Fired It</h2> <div class="card-description" style="font-size:11px;line-height:15px;color:#999;word-break:break-word;">Being a fry cook isn't as easy as it looks, as a burger-flipping robot named "Flippy" recently dis...</div> </td> <td style="text-align:right;padding:16px 12px 16px 0;"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </a></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24506"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24412"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24412"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24412"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24412"><font size="5">Be blessed.</font></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24412"><font size="5"><br></font></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24412"><font size="5">Regards/Wangari</font></div><div></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24343"> </div><div class="signature" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24341">---<br><font style="font-weight:bold;font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;" size="2" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24340"><span style="color:rgb(127, 0, 63);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24350">Pray God Bless. 2013Wangari circa - </span><span style="color:rgb(127, 0, 63);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1520913665952_24339">"Being of the Light, We are Restored Through Faith in Mind, Body and Spirit; We Manifest The Kingdom of God on Earth".</span></font><br></div> <div class="qtdSeparateBR"><br><br></div><div class="yahoo_quoted" style="display: block;"> <div style="font-family: garamond, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px;"> <div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, Sans-Serif; font-size: 16px;"> <div dir="ltr"><font size="2" face="Arial"> On Monday, 12 March 2018, 12:13, Watila Alex via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:<br></font></div> <br><br> <div class="y_msg_container"><div id="yiv3098199877"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml><o:OfficeDocumentSettings><o:AllowPNG/><o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch></o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><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 rel="nofollow" target="_blank" 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="yiv3098199877enhancr_card_0967216432">M-Kopa Solar fires 18% of its staff including all developers, outsources work to a foreign company</a></div><div><br></div><div id="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273aenhancr_card_0967216432" class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273ayahoo-link-enhancr-card yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273aymail-preserve-class yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273aymail-preserve-style" style="max-width:400px;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Segoe UI, Arial, sans-serif;" data-url="http://kenyanwallstreet.com/m-kopa-solar-fires-18-of-its-staff-including-all-developers-outsources-work-to-a-foreign-company-linked-to-new-cto" data-type="YENHANCER" data-size="MEDIUM"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" 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;color:#000;" class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273ayahoo-enhancr-cardlink"><table border="0" class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273acard-wrapper yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273ayahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:400px;"><tbody><tr><td width="400"><table border="0" class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273acard yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273ayahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="max-width:400px;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgb(224, 228, 233);border-radius:2px;"><tbody><tr><td class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273acard-primary-image-cell" 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" bgcolor="#000000" valign="top" height="175" style="background-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-size:cover;position:relative;border-radius:2px 2px 0px 0px;min-height:175px;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;"><v:fill type="frame" color="#000000" src="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"/></v:rect><![endif]--><table border="0" class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273acard-overlay-container-table yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273ayahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:100%;"><tbody><tr><td class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273acard-overlay-cell" background="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png" bgcolor="transparent" valign="top" style="background-color:transparent;border-radius:2px 2px 0px 0px;min-height:175px;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:-18px;left:0;"><v:fill type="pattern" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png"/><v:textbox inset="0,0,20px,0"><![endif]--><table border="0" class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273ayahoo-ignore-table" height="175" style="width:100%;min-height:175px;"><tbody><tr><td class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273acard-richInfo2" style="text-align:left;padding:15px 0 0 15px;vertical-align:top;"></td><td class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273acard-actions" style="text-align:right;padding:15px 15px 0 0;vertical-align:top;"><div class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273acard-share-container"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><!--[if gte mso 9]></v:textbox></v:rect><![endif]--></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><table border="0" align="center" class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273acard-info yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273ayahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:#fff;position:relative;z-index:2;width:100%;max-width:400px;border-radius:0 0 2px 2px;border-top:1px solid rgb(224, 228, 233);"><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="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273acard-title" style="font-size:14px;line-height:19px;margin:0px 0px 6px;color:rgb(38, 40, 42);">M-Kopa Solar fires 18% of its staff including all developers, outsources...</h2><div class="yiv3098199877ydp8c9c273acard-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...</div></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="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="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;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;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="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="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="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="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="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="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></div>_______________________________________________<br>kictanet mailing list<br><a ymailto="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a><br><a href="https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet" target="_blank">https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet</a><br>Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/kictanet" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/kictanet</a><br>Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/</a><br>Domain Registration sponsored by www.eacdirectory.co.ke<br><br>Unsubscribe or change your options at <a href="https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/wangarikabiru%40yahoo.co.uk" target="_blank">https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/wangarikabiru%40yahoo.co.uk</a><br><br>The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. 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