How your life unfolds is your responsibility

You are a member of the Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Board, the Digital Impact Alliance and an advisor to several councils. What have these prolific engagements taught you?

 I have been working as a consultant and an advisor within a broad network of academia, development, government and commercial entities, all which have broadened my problem-solving abilities. Through the Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Board, I have been able to appreciate the complexity of achieving flagship projects; it takes extreme coordination. In most of these engagements, I use my experience in technology and the African innovation angle to explore emerging markets and to create linkages between innovation ecosystems. This has been a very exciting experience for me.

Tell us three experiences about your life in college that stand out…

The realisation that my life and the way it unfolded moving forward was my responsibility was a major discovery. Secondly, recognising that I was on an equal footing with my male counterparts greatly helped to shape my worldview and counteract some of the self-doubt that I previously felt. I also realised early on that diligence and teamwork are vital elements in whatever career path one chooses.  

Why do we still have fewer women than men investing in technology?

 Women have always been part and parcel of the tech story. Today there are many women on the frontlines of dynamic start-ups and behind the scenes pushing the tech conversation forward. Locally, there are third generation companies being created on top of established platforms like M-Pesa. Companies like Farm Drive, founded by Rita Kimani and Peris Bosire look at alternative credit scoring models and helps farmers to access agricultural loans. That said, we need to increase the pipeline of women in technology.

As a keynote speaker at major global technology summits, you travel a lot. How do you relax?

 I love yoga. I also enjoy tree-planning activities with Greening Kenya, an organisation of young PR professionals, bloggers and media personalities. We plant trees together around Nairobi.

Have Africans been able to innovate enough technological solutions for Africa-specific challenges?

 Many African companies are creating solutions for the continent’s problems. An example is Cellulant, which provides mobile payments and digital commerce services and which has scaled its operations to eight African countries. That said, we need more in terms of scaling and getting local people to use local products by exposing them to these companies and their products. There are many emerging Kenya inventing solutions not just for the Kenyan market but also for other African countries. Their stories too need to be told.

As a co-founder of BRCK, what was it like to be part of a hardware company that is creating technology for connectivity, education and the Internet of things?

 This journey greatly expanded my set of skills. Every part of the process was instructive, not just advocating for the idea, but also putting it on Kickstarter; getting social capital to help create the solution; attracting investors; helping it to scale and open doors for the company. There was also the complexity around figuring out components and tariffs and the regulatory environment such as licensing from the Communications Authority of Kenya. Unlike hardware start-ups, software start-ups can pretty much be based anywhere, and can scale quite quickly.

The Ushahidi app allows people to report violence/disasters and appeal for relief. Rate Kenya’s disaster preparedness in relation to this coming elections…

Kenyans have been more proactive this time, engaging with the election before it happens, and keeping an open dialogue. It is encouraging to see the civil society and business community working tirelessly to educate voters as the elections approach. This is the most effective way to prepare, and to prevent possible poll chaos. With platforms such as Ushahidi available for these organisations to leverage technology effectively, it is easier now to manage election-related data.

Few young Kenyan techies have been able to make money from their technological innovations. What is the missing link, and how can we remedy this

situation?

This is an issue of sustainability. Technology entrepreneurs should be supported as they figure out monetisation strategies. Supporting them early on as they explore ways of scaling is integral, because scaling is where you make most of your money and enjoy the greatest impact of your idea.

If you would have any wish granted, what would that wish be?

There’s an incredible enterprise in Turkana County called Learning Lions, started by Ludwig Bayern, an ICT training centre and the remotest tech hub in Kenya that is training Turkana youths in graphic design, coding skills, media production, film, photography and editing. It is an amazing enterprise that inspires m me. My biggest wish for Kenya and Africa’s youth is to be able to create solutions in tech, movies and anything else, and have the right support that recognises the worthiness of their ideas, gives them the opportunity and exposure to the necessary tools and mentors them to flourish.

Limited access to capital deters graduates from entrepreneurship. As the 2011 World Economic Forum Social Entrepreneur of the Year, what is your advice to them?

 The importance of prototyping can never be overstated. The cost of assembling a prototype idea has reduced substantially over the years. The space is different today, with such incentives as Internet connectivity, which enables you to put your idea out there and get traction. You can also use this as the momentum to make a case for capital from potential sponsors. Before you cite lack of capital, you have to start with a prototype. Noteworthy is that some ideas thrive best through collaboration.