The top 4 Kenyan Startups to look out for
In this article, we will introduce 4 of the most promising Kenyan startups from the Savannah Fund, a fund that invests in startups from the East African community. Founded by Mbwana Alliy, the Savannah Fund operating from Nairobi currently has 9 startups in portfolio and can be found here. #1 – Zatiti, “Powering mobile e-commerce” Zatitti […]
Starting a Business in Kenya: Market Analysis
Facts (as of 2012): GDP – USD$40 billion GDP growth – 4.6% GDP breakdown – Services: 61% / Industry: 14.8%/ Agriculture: 24.2% Inflation rate – 7.4% (2014) Pros: Highly beneficial geographical position/ Regional financial centre/ Forthcoming monetary union/ Well-educated labor/ Growing government support/ Strong mobile market/ Diversified economy/ Highly social community/ Strong diaspora Cons: Security issues/ High […]
The Potentials & Futures of Iran
How can Iran grow its startup ecosystem and its economy? Working with our Iran-based correspondent Natalie Corpuroglu, we have envisioned potential endeavors and proposals that could help build global startups with minimal resources. Tap into the diaspora’s wealth and networks to scale globally “There is a growing recognition that transnational communities facilitate increased trade, investment and […]
Startup books #1: How Asia Works, by Joe Studwell
We at Innovation is Everywhere are fans of history and economics, as we try during our travels to see why some countries succeed in developing their economic strengths and reap benefits in terms of growth, wealth and global influence. How Asia Works – Success and Failure in the World’s most dynamic region, by Joe Studwell (Amazon), […]
BRICS series #5: Remitix, a South African solution for cheaper remittances
Remittances are a huge market startups are entering, although most are stealth players such as South Africa Remitix. I’ve met their CCO, Ernst Janse van Rensburg, back in May 2014 in Lagos, Nigeria, during the Mobile West Africa conference. Remittances and their high fees are an obvious target for startups in the emerging markets The rise […]
Iran Entrepreneurship: Market Analysis
Facts: GDP – USD$987 billion (2013) GDP growth – 1.5% (2013) GDP breakdown – Services: 44.5% / Industry: 44.9% (2013) Inflation rate – 42.3% (2013) Pros: Large Farsi-speaking market/ Useful geographical position/ High education/ Influential diaspora/ Economic liberalization/ Low cost of living Cons: Competing with entrenched government sector/ No platform for bank transfer/ Brain drain/ Visa difficulties/ Language […]
Iran connectors & events of 2014
Connectors: Mohsen Malayeri/Shayan Shalileh/Reza Hashemi/Said Rahmani Khezri/Patrick McDermott/Misagh Shakeri/Muhammad Arrabi/ Pejman Nozad Events: Startup Weekend/Startup Global Battle/Tedx Tehran/Global Entrepreneurs Week Iran Organizations: Iran Entrepreneurship Association (Incubator)/ Karya (Online startup school) Hear the words of any wizened real estate agent, ‘Location, Location, Location’. Similarly in today’s world, where you are placed in the giant ecosystem of […]
A brief overview of Kenyan startups
In the postcolonial era, Kenya emerges with independence and a capitalistic economy. However, the Kenyan startup success story does not begin here. Due to a series of factors; corruption and a lack of technical expertise resulted in a relative stagnant economy. This lasted until the implementation of major economic reforms and anti-corruption campaign in the […]
The Iran Mobile Market: Connectivity in 2014
Mobile subscriptions: 83.2m (Largest in the Middle East) Internet penetration: 55% Facebook users: 58% Mobile penetration: 110% – 143% (2014 – 2017) Smartphone users: 8 million A country with a very strong engineering culture but lacks business skills when it comes to startups. A country with political highs and lows – although recent political changes […]
Startup movies #1: A crocodile in the Yangtze (Alibaba)
I’ve just watched A Crocodile in the Yantgze yesterday night, which wraps-up part of the story of Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, China’s e-commerce giant. The director is none other than Porter Erisman, a US citizen who has been Alibaba’s vice-president between 2000 and 2008 (the company was officially founded in 1999), so it’s an insider point of […]
