I've been tracking the Kenyan tech ecosystem and seeing a disturbing pattern. These weren't bad ideas or incompetent founders. They were solving real problems with significant traction.
The core issue: venture capital models designed for Silicon Valley don't translate to markets where: - Most customers earn <$2/day - Cash-on-delivery is preferred over credit cards - Infrastructure failures are weekly occurrences - Government approvals can take years - Regulatory frameworks change unpredictably
M-Pesa succeeded because it was built FOR African realities, not DESPITE them.
Wrote a deep dive examining why "Silicon Savannah" isn't working and what might work instead.