What MPesa has done right and where it is headed
During Afrikoin, the first mobile money and digital currency conference held in Nairobi, I met with Brian Muthiora. Brian joined the local branch of GSMA, the global association for mobile operators, after 5 years at Safaricom handling the regulation issues for MPesa, the mobile money system designed by the Kenyan telco. Over an hour, I had the chance to hear about […]
Cultural awareness and innovation: the challenges facing startups as they go global
To continue our exploration of Kenya as an innovation ecosystem on the fringes of Afrikoin, I met with Samuel Gichuru from the Nailab incubator. A fast-paced and energetic conversation proved helpful in pinpointing a key challenge entrepreneurs face: the management of cultural differences. Kenya is the kingdom of mobile money (the MPesa system), but it is an isolated one. No other country is using mobile money […]
