StartUp Magazine August 2018

FRESH.INSPIRING.ANALYTICAL

AUGUST 2018 STARTUPMAGAZINE.CO.KE

KSHS. 350/ USHS. 9000 TSHS. 6000/ RWF. 2200

HOW SAMCHI CREDIT LENDS TO IMPACT ENTREPRENEURS The company’s key aim is to empower entrepreneurs by giving them access to credit HOUSING FINANCE HF GROUP’S digital transformation takes shape

OPINION An Open Letter to Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge

WOMAN OF POWER How retrenchment shaped Daisy Nyaga’s penchant for success

TRAVEL Thrilling but dangerous horse riding experience in Limuru Kenya August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

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Contents

12 HF Whizz seeks to deliver frictionless digital experience to HF customers.

It also seeks to offer comprehensive business functionality and to drive the group’s profitability.

-HF MD Sam Waweru

18 Daisy Nyaga talks about her experience in finding fulfillment after a disheartening retrenchment from a leading airline

32 E-gaming is emerging in Kenya and East Africa as an industry: delivering revenue growth of over 25% a year and seeing African games and gamers move into the global arena.

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

34 Adisa Hudson writes about the thrilling but risky adventures of horse riding in Limuru

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August

2018

Contents 10

National Bank at 50

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National Bank is celebrating 50 years since its formation. With a rich history behind it, the bank has embarked on a new business strategy to drive its profitability and enhance service delivery.

SAMCHI CREDIT The company’s key aim is to empower entrepreneurs by giving them access to credit 26

12

Housing Finance

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Woman of Power Daisy Nyaga talks about her experience in finding fulfillment after a disheartening retrenchment from a leading airline

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30

Fintech An Open Letter to Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge

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Innovation How E-game is rising in East Africa

My Hustle Reuben Kimani shares on how he started a thriving land investment firm that banks on affordability and service excellence

Climate Change Statement by Ambassador Karen Pierce, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the Security Council Open Debate on the Climate and Security

Interview Experience the magic of hand-roasted Ethiopian coffee -An interview with Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu

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Young African Entrepreneurs How young entrepreneurs are impacting lives across the continent through their ventures.

How HF Group’s digital transformation is taking shape.

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Main Story

Coffee Break 34.

36.

39.

40.

Travel and Leisure Book Review Blog Review Song Review

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

4 Managing Editor Sylvester Habil Okumu sylvester@startupmagazine.co.ke Associate Editors Wachira Kambogo Adisa Hudson elizabeth@startupmagazine.co.ke Contributors Karen Pierce Ben Roberts Anup Singh Business Development Manager Washingtone Terry Aluoch Murrel Marketing Executive Irene Okoth Operations Simpson Ayodi Photographer Decorus Click Photography Creative Designer Kreative Hub Media

Published by Kreative Hub Media 4th Floor, Bihi Towers, Moi Avenue next to Bazaar.

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StartUp Magazine is published monthly. Copyright 2018 Kreative Hub Media. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced or transmitted in any form including photocopy, or any storage and retrieval system without publisher's permission in writing.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the publisher. Readers are advised to seek professional advice before acting on any information contained in this publication.

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Editor’s Pen

New Power Tariffs Ridiculously Insane!

Someone wrote and said that life and especially in Nairobi is not a walk in the park. It is difficult to survive. It takes morethat 8-5pm job to hack life in the city. To live a basic but comfortable life, it takes thinking outside the box to thrive. Life can be tough; from the housing challenges, traffic to prowling hungry money sucking and corrupt public service providers. As if the struggle is not enough for a middle class Kenya, the whole thing has been toppled up by what I would consider a scam where the masses are blinded by sweets in exchange for Cadburychocolate in our hands! Just the other day, Energy Regulatory Commission in conjunction with Kenya power gave us what is basically a raw deal. It is unfortunate that with their new tariffs, Kenyans

will be expected to cough out more money to enjoy the lighting of our world. The scrapping off of the standing charges and increasing the unit charge by a whopping 52 per cent has already begun leaving pain amongst the low energy consumers. The charges are ridiculously crazy!

Anyway, as we reflect on the realities of the new tariff, have a look at our August Edition.

Enjoy the read and be inspired to open your entrepreneurial antenna.

Adisa Hudson

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August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

StartUp Stories

Letters to the editor “I grew up in rural Migori amidst tribal violence that put everybody’s life at risk and I decided early on that I wanted to do something to change lives and provide opportunities for people in these communities.”

Eddy Gicheru Oketch (Kenya) In Kiswahili, ‘ongoza’ means ‘lead.’ It is a fitting title for an organisation dedicated to eliminating violence, educating the youth and crafting the leaders of tomorrow. Created by Eddy Gicheru Oketch, a young Kenyan who emerged from a life of tribal violence and tragedy with a vision, Ongoza educates Kenyans about the positive dynamics of different tribes working together. His commitment to seeking empowerment and peace has helped him become one of 200 leaders selected for the Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa programme.

Oketch started his journey with education. He attended the African Leadership Academy, Friends School Kamusinga, and Trinity College in the USA and finished his education at Yale University with a Masters in Global Affairs. After the violence that followed the 2007 elections, Oketch started Ongoza, a business focused on youth economic empowerment and committed to fostering peace.

“Over time I have come to learn that employees are core to the success of any business. Thus treating them with courtesy is key. Without them you have no business to be in business.”

Microfinance key for growth I got a copy of your July 2018 edition which premiered Micro Cap Holdings as the cover story. The firm is doing a commendable work empowering micro entrepreneurs as they are the ones who hold the key to unlock our economic potential. MSMEs employ millions of people in Kenya and enhancing their access to finance is key for their growth.

Kevin Kipyego Banker, Eldoret

Life’s Good with LG I am an ardent user of LG product and I can confess that they have the best home appliances solutions in the region. Their latest LG Insta View refrigerator is just awesome. I’m looking forward to buy the product after reading it in your magazine.

Susan Kimani Nairobi

Hell’s Kitchen on my bucket list

Sheila Mwarangu (Kenya) A consultant civil and structural engineer, Sheila Mwarangu took charge, in August 2017, of a company that was started three decades ago by her father Engineer James Gathara. Currently a partner and Managing Director at Gathara Consulting Engineers-specialists in the design of building structures, Sheila is a trailblazer in engineering with remarkable academic and professional track record. She has successfully grown her family business to be a force to reckon with within the industry. She has undertaken various engineering projects both in the United Kingdom and Kenya that saw her named among the achieving “Top 40 Under 40 Women” in Kenya by the Business Daily Africa in 2017.

“The Gifted Hands Network is my dream come to life thanks to the hardships faced by my mother and other blind women in our country and communities,”

Andrew Mukose (Uganda) Andrew Mukose is a young entrepreneur who wanted to solve two of Uganda’s most pressing problems – breast cancer and employment for the visually impaired. He wants to solve this through his initiative known as Gifted Hands Network. This organisation aims to reduce breast cancer deaths by training blind people to become medically certified tactile examiners. Mukose is one of 200 young leaders who have been selected to become a part of the inaugural Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa programme that convened for five days in Johannesburg beginning on 14 July 2018.

Mukose’s work is inspired by his mother, a single parent who was a highly successful lecturer at a university in Uganda until she lost her sight due to a tragic car accident. She was forced to stop working, leaving the single-parent family facing enormous financial and emotional strain as they tried to get by without a steady income.

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

I have never read about Hell’s Kitchen in Malindi.

Despite being an adventurous person I am only synonymous with Hell’s Gate in Rift Valley. Now that you featured it in your last edition, I cannot wait to visit the site this fall.

Emma Nyakeri Student, Bondo

HAVE YOUR SAY ONLINE The editor welcomes reader’s opinions but deserves the right to edit them for publication. Please email to info@startupmagazine. co.ke More comments are published online about news stories published on startupmagazine.co.ke

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August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

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poa! internet launches unlimited home Internet service for Alliance Concrete to boost ready mix concrete availability in Kenyan villagers Nairobi News

A section of Alliance Concrete Ltd’s fleet of Truck Mixers A panel of local and international investors are set to fire up the local building and construction sector following the setting up of a new ready mix concrete plant.

batching plant. The plant is complemented by a fleet of 15 Concrete Truck Mixers, 2 fixed pumps and 2 boom pumps with over 40 metre pumping capacity.

The investors, who have also sealed an exclusive supply partnership with Savannah Cement are set to launch to market the new Alliance Concrete Limited, to provide ready mix concrete in Nairobi and its environs.

The firm’s General Manager, Mr. Kemal Gocmen said the firm has invested in state of the art concrete batching plants and related customer delivery infrastructure to meet growing market demand.

Ready mix concrete refers to factory prepared cement, sand and aggregate mixture delivered to construction sites for immediate application as per the customers’ specifications. Such deliveries enhance construction project efficiencies by cutting onsite concrete mixing costs and time.

The new firm, with a Kshs 600 million investment outlay, will also be seeking to capitalize on projected demand, as the government’s Big Four agenda flagship goal to provide more than 500,000 affordable housing units gets underway.

The firm’s batching plants located in Kitengela and Dagoretti, will be exclusively fed with Savannah Cement products and formulated to meet specific needs from single unit domestic dwelling construction to large scale project works.

At its Nairobi production base, Alliance Concrete Limited has installed a 120 cubic meters per hour

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

He further said the firm will be banking on similar experience gained in Turkey to develop the local market potential. “After having spent almost two decades in the ready mix concrete market in Turkey, which is the biggest RMC producer in Europe, we brought our expertise to Kenya to meet the challenging demands of its booming construction sector by using our large, modern fleet and fully automatic plants situated strategically in Nairobi.”

Savannah Cement Managing Director, Mr. Ronald Ndegwa said the firm had moved to seal the partnership with Alliance Concrete as part of a market diversification strategy.

“As a manufacturer we are exploring alternative market opportunities to guarantee our growth in an increasingly competitive market,” Ndegwa said and added, “Such diversification includes raising the volume of ready mix concrete deliveries in association with Alliance Concrete to complement the existing bagged and bulk cement sales.”

Kibera youth browsing using Poa! Internet Community Internet service provider poa! internet has launched Kenya’s first village home Internet service, offering unlimited Wi-Fi into homes in a 48 sq km area around Ting’ang’a in Kiambu County.

The launch comes as the first of a wave of village connections that will eventually provide millions of rural Kenyans with a cheaperand unlimited alternative to 4G data bundles.

Ting’ang’a, with more than 20,000, residents, sits in a coffee and dairy farming zone, without even a bank branch, although as a peri-urban village, set just 35km outside Nairobi, it has benefitted from new tarmac access roads. The county government is also building an open air market in the village to boost its fortunes.

However, as the first Kenyan village to get unlimited home Internet in poa!’s sweep across Kiambu county, Ting’ang’a is now making a small piece of history.

“African internet has for too long been dominated by the challenge of a digital divide, with the rich and urban longsince fully connected, but low-income and rural Kenyans hidebound by a lack of internet infrastructure and poor access to affordable services” said Andy Halsall, poa!’s CEO. However, poa! is now moving to the second stage of its connectivity strategy,connecting rural villages to unlimited Internet, followingfrom its successful launch of affordable internet services in low-income areas of Kibera, Kawangware, Jamhuri and Kabiria.

In Nirobi, which have already connected thousands of slum dwellers.

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News Opera News users rewarded

PG. 10

NATIONAL BANK @ 50 National Bank is celebrating 50 years since its formation. With a rich history behind it, the bank has embarked on a new business strategy to drive its profitability and enhance service delivery.

Opera News MD Mr. Edward Ndichu (L) hands over car keys to Mr. Kennedy Macharia (R) one of the three winners of the ongoing ‘Shake & Win’ World Cup campaign Opera News, the most downloaded news app in Africa, is celebrating the end of a fantastic football World Cup 2018 by giving away two out of three brand new cars to its users in Kenya as part of the “Shake & Win” campaign.

The lucky winners, Kennedy Macharia, a twenty-two years old student, and Richard Kamau, a thirty-three year old designer and printer, were presented today in Nairobi in a private event at the Renault car dealership in the Simba Corp Aspire Centre.

The news app launched a built in “Shake” feature at the beginning of the 2018 football World Cup to reward its users with gifts and prizes in an easy way.

When users open Opera News and click on the dedicated World Cup channel, a shake command pops up on the screen, letting users know that they can shake their phones in hopes of winning an amazing prize.

“We are really excited to see happy winners everyday, and we enjoy celebrating this moment with them,” said Jørgen Arnesen, Global Head of Marketing and Distribution at Opera. “We enjoy so much football at Opera and we wanted to communicate that passion to our users by rewarding them with amazing gifts in an easy way when using our app.”

Macharia and Kamau received the keys of their band new 2018 Renault Kwid’s and shared their excitement with their families and friends who came and pick up the cars with them.

Macharia, currently studying business management at Karen University, mentioned that this was a dream for him.

“I’m really happy and this is a dream come true,” said Macharia. “I saw a friend of mine using Opera News and shaking his phone, so I wanted to win as well. I used to shake and shake and shake every day.

I’m really enjoying the app. It’s fun, and it keeps me updated with everything that happens in Kenya.”

Kamau, who owns a printing business in Nairobi, mentioned that winning this car gives him a new opportunity to travel around the country with his family.

“I can’t explain the feeling,” said Kamau. “I’m so happy about being the winner of the car. This will be a family car. I have two kids who love the animals, so I’m planning to drive with them and go to Masai Mara on a safari and see the animals.”

PG. 12

HOUSING FINANCE HF Group’s digital transformation takes shape

PG. 14

Thousands of winners every day Since the introduction of the Shake feature, Opera News has rewarded more than 100 thousand users in Kenya with amazing prizes.

INTERVIEW

“On average, more than 500 thousand people in the African continent have shaken their phones since the introduction of the feature,” said Arnesen. “This tells us how engaged people are with app and eager to participate to win the big prizes like the cars we are giving away today.”

Experience the magic of hand-roasted Ethiopian coffee -An interview with Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu

Still more chances to win!

Due to the popularity of Shake, Opera News will extend the campaign and will continue giving away prizes to users in Kenya until the 31st of July, 2018.

Available for download Opera News is available for download from Google Play in 16 languages.

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

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Financial Services

National Bank at 50 National Bank is celebrating 50 years since its formation. With a rich history behind it, the bank has embarked on a new business strategy to drive its profitability and enhance service delivery. In the following interview with StartUp Magazine, Mr. Wilfred Musau, the bank’s CEO its progresses, successes, innovations and an oversight of what to expect in the years ahead.

1. As National Bank celebrates its 50 years anniversary, what is the Bank’s strategy to rebuild shareholders confidence?

We are on a consolidation phase and the full year results are a demonstrable evidence the business strategy is gaining momentum in the envisaged, positive direction. Our focus is hinged on the following: • To strengthen the operations and policies of the bank • Taking comfortable risk and secure bank assets and resources •Provide powerful leadership for enhanced shareholder value and returns •Responsiveness to market, regulatory and environmental needs •Develop and leverage on strong strategic partnerships • Be more efficient • Build strong relationships with all our stakeholders • Innovate and grow to our ambition of tier one league 2. What is the bank’s strategy in regaining profitability and market share?

NBK CEO Wilfred Musau Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

At National Bank, value is created through our business model, which acquires inputs in form of financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social and natural capital - and transforms them through our business activities and interactions to produce valuable outputs and outcomes for the Bank, its stakeholders, society and the en-

11

FORECAST We anticipate that over 85 per cent of our customers will move to this platform. Currently, 55 per cent of our customers have registered to use our Mobile Banking platform. Utilization is quite good with an average of 6000 transactions performed over mobile banking per day. vironment.

The bank is also looking at increasing its market share and profits with the following in consideration: • Enhancing our digital offering-products/ channels • The diversification on Non funded incomes, • Deepening penetration in public sector-digital solutions, • Focus on key growth segments Agri, MSME’s , NPL recovery to unlock liquidity/capital.

3. In the wake of the government capped commercial lending rates, banks have looking to build new revenue streams through various means. What is National Bank’s strategy around the capped lending rates?

We have since diversified our business lines like BANCA, Custody and Fund Management, increased play in the innovation space to grow Non Funded Income and new products as well as improved service levels and efficiency.

4.Players in the industry consider National Bank’s entry into mobile banking very late. Why did the bank decide to venture into this line?

Our entry into this avenue falls under our digital bank agenda where we seek to increase efficiency in service delivery and drive inclusive innovative banking. We are targeting usage to increase as we continue to launch new products over this exciting solution 5. What are the offering under mobile banking?

In 2017, we had the privilege of revamping our mobile banking service offering in

FRESH.INSPIRING.ANALYTICAL

pursuit of expanding our retail banking business. The Bank’s NatMobile offering ( mobile app and USSD *625#), now allows users to conveniently access an array of services via their mobile phones as it opens new opportunities for the bank to grow new revenue streams by deepening its digital banking offerings.

The services available on the NatMobile includes account to account & account to mobile transfers, Pesalink, forex rate information, statement requests and applications for cheque books and Debit Credit cards. Other payment services available are school fees payments, mVisa and Kenya power postpaid.

6. What number of your customers do you foresee using this platform?

We anticipate that over 85 per cent of our customers will move to this platform.

Currently, 55 per cent of our customers have registered to use our Mobile Banking platform. Utilization is quite good with an average of 6000 transactions performed over mobile banking per day.

7. Last year, the bank launched its Small Enterprise Banking Unit. What informed this move? What are some of the offerings under this banking unit?

We revamped our Small Enterprise Banking unit to accelerate balance sheet growth while catering for the financial inclusivity requirements of small enterprises.

Under the Small Enterprise banking unit, we have Jenga Chama, Jenga Kilimo and Jenga biashara plus loan. Jenga Chama Loan is designed to avail financial solution to investment groups of three members and above that meet the group’s specific needs and provide financial advice to the groups that suit the current business environment under Asset financing and capital expenditure. Jenga Kilimo Loan is a financial solution that promises smallholder farmers growth, diversification and consolidation of their farming business under the following funding. Jenga Biashara Plus is a specially designed to cater for the financing needs of upper tier micro-entrepreneurs who own well-established businesses and are seeking to expand their operations.

8. It has been 10 years since National Bank introduced Islamic Banking to the Kenyan market. What informed the decision and how many customers do you have as of today?

The Islamic Banking Unit was introduced as part of its transformational strategy that would see us introduce and implement a robust Sales Model and Product innovation with tailored Customer Value Propositions (CVPs) for different customer segments.

Last year, the bank opened 25,000 accounts in its Islamic banking window, National Amanah, almost 19,000 of which are held by non-Muslims.

9.What are some of the misconceptions around Islamic Banking?

•Myth: Those Islamic banks do not have any dealings with non-Muslims.

Fact: Islamic banks are open to all irrespective of religious background; used by many non-Muslims, and exist in various non-Islamic countries.

•Myth: Islamic banks do not deal with or do business with other conventional banks.

Fact: No harm as long such dealings do not involve any matters repugnant to the requirements of the Sharia.

•Myth: Islamic bank does not employ non-Muslims.

Fact: Talent is sought from all persons depending on their capacity to add value to the institution irrespective of their religious background, color or creed.

10. Looking at your customers numbers, would you say that Kenyans have gained confidence in Islamic Banking?

Yes, the confidence in Islamic banks has increased within the financial market. The success of Islamic Banks came to the fore when they were largely sheltered from the Global Financial Crisis, which affected most conventional European and US banks. The absence of some of the more complex derivative transactions that were partly responsible for what happened with Conventional banks are absent in Islamic Banking making it easy to conduct checks and balances.

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

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Digital Banking

HF GROUP’S digital transformation takes shape

HF GROUP MD Sam Waweru

“Good is the enemy of great. And that’s one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great.”-James C. Collins

L ocally, HF Group has made a name as one of the largest integrated financial service providers. From mortgage, real estate development to banking and insurance, the diversified group continues to positively impact the lives of millions of Kenyans Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

every day through its subsidiary companies. Since its inception in 1965, the financial institution has grown to become the leading provider of integrated solutions for the acquisition, development and improvement of property in Kenya.

Over the years, HF Group’s star has shone brightly. The group has completed multi-billion shilling projects, which have propelled it to the market leadership position in property finance and develop-

ment. Despite the milestones, the institution is now raring to move from a Tier 2 bank to a Tier 1 financial institution. One of its key strategy to achieving this goal has been digital transformation, which it started in earnest in 2016 when it introduced a core banking system.

The digital transformation journey seems to have gathered momentum as the institution introduces HF Whizz, a digital banking service accessible through a mo-

13 bile app interface, that gives customers a simple and fast banking experience. It allows them to access and control their finances from anywhere, at anytime.

With the HF Whizz App, you can manage your account, access instant loans deposit money into your account, transfer cash, pay bills, track your experience, buy airtime and do so much more on the go.

HF Whizz marks the Group’s entry into the mobile lending segment, a rapidly growing and competitive industry.

Its launch carries great significance to the financial institution as it will accelerate the group’s digital strategy.

According to HFC Managing Director, Sam Waweru, the digital product brings together years of research and development and an expansive partner network.

“It marks the advancement of the group’s strategic focus on digital banking. With HF Whizz, we are delivering value to our customers even as we show the technological benefits to our shareholders,” he says.

HF Whizz seeks to deliver frictionless digital experience to HF customers. It also seeks to offer comprehensive business functionality and to drive the group’s profitability.

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HF WHIZZ APP

HFC sees the product becoming a key business unit for the entire group.

“We have a big vision of making this a Sh2 billion business in two years. We hope to impact one million customers .”

With the HF Whizz App, you can manage your account, access instant loans deposit money into your account, transfer cash, pay bills, track your experience, buy airtime and do so much more on the go. pany that has been so good to one that’s great in the digital space. The answer was HF whizz,” said Mr. Njuguna.

To make the app a roaring success, Mr. Waweru says the institution intends to change its way of doing business. First, he says, there’s need to change the organization’s culture and strategy to focus on digital transformation. “There’s a lot of work going on about culture change and strategy and people are starting to see the small wins,” he says.

Although the digital product was launched in July, the company has spent two years on research and development.

Looking at their product, you can easily tell it was designed with the modern customers in mind. It’s now available to smart phone users, with all its digital features aimed at the youthful customer, micro entrepreneurs or anyone who wishes to experience flawless digital banking.

The institution’s Chief Digital Officer Nancy Matimu says that they already have an integrated marketing strategy in place as they intend to take the product to the mainstream.

“From billboards, to TV commercials to digital and social media, expect to see us everywhere,” she says of the institution’s go-to-market strategy.

With the aim of becoming a top-tier bank by 2020, HFC has fully embraced mobile technology and embarked on strategic initiatives that will the business transform into a multidimensional digital financial services player.

With a mobile phone penetration of 90% in Kenya, and transactions of over Sh1.22 trillion in Q22017,HF Group sees opportunity in the digital space, the reason it’s angling for a piece of the pie. With HF Whizz, it has declared its interest to be at the forefront of provision of next generation financial services. Having invested heavily in innovation, the institution is keen to offer solutions that are convenient and easy to use.

So, will HF Whizz be a roaring success?

What does it mean to the financial services group?

According to HFC Chief Information Officer George Njuguna, HF Whizz is a technology whose time has come.

“We asked, how do we transform a com-

HFC MD Sam Waweru (l) showing HF Group Chairman Steve Mainda (c) HF Group MD Frank Ireri how to activate the HF Whizz the banks new digital banking solution August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

Interview

Experience the magic of hand-roasted Ethiopian coffee -An interview with Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu Every coffee lover knows that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and the finest producer of specialty coffee in the world. It is the source of the best hand roasting artisans.Hospitality, which is the core of Garden of Coffee doesn’t get any more authentic and heartfelt than in Ethiopia. It is woven inside Ethiopian culture; the epitome of Ethiopia’s Artisan Roasted Coffee culture with coffee informing all significant interactions – social, business and other.As the founder of Garden of Coffee, shares in an in-depth interview with Start Up Magazine it is not just about producing coffee, but rather the authentic craft and heartfelt hospitality delivered inside each cup of coffee that served!

1.Where is Garden of Coffee based?

We are based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

finest hand roasting artisans by the end of this year.

2.How many hand roasters does Garden of Coffee employ and what does it take to maintain them?

Currentlywitha team of 17 of the best hand roasting artisans in Ethiopia, we anticipate employee increase of up to 40

In terms of remuneration, each roasting team member of Garden of Coffee earns on average the equivalent salary to a bank management employee!

We don’t just expose coffee lovers to the finest coffee around but also, most im-

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

portantly connect them with the finest artisan coffee roasters.Interestingly, many of these artisans are women who until Garden of Coffee had never been able to leverage their immense knowledge of hand roasting coffee into a profitable livelihood.

3.What does coffee roasting process entail?

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We source the finest beans directly from the farmers. These are then re-selected by our team of the artisan hand roasters who then prepare and roast them by hand, watching, smelling and hearing every single bean roast. It’s a magical process that allows us to bring out the absolute finest quality from each bean. In the end, what one gets is the finest coffee ever sipped.

Beans are individually hand selected and roasts are specifically crafted for each individual coffee drinking session. My mom taught me the same virtue that every Ethiopian learns growing up: The more perfect the green coffee bean, the more even the roast, and the better the taste.

Just as the finest wines begin with the finest grapes, truly exceptional coffee begins with the beans.

Hand-Roasting coffee is an art in Ethiopia that involves multiple skills and elements. Our artisans are deeply skilled in creating the perfect conditions for a perfect roast.

Our unique, one of a kind hand roasted on demand model means that our gifted coffee artists roast only for your specific order. This is not small batch coffee roasting – this is personalised roasting – the ultimate roasted coffee experience.

All orders are hand roasted for individual customers on our magical ceramic roasters. The ceramic roasters based on the traditional Ethiopia ceramic cone roasters are made by hand.

The artists personally select each green bean for every single order ensuring they are smooth and perfectly shaped.

They also inspect every roasted batch for cracked or burned beans as any imperfect beans affect the final taste of coffee.

4.In what ways is your process similar to traditional Ethiopian coffee roasting and in what ways is it different?

Garden of Coffee is the reverse of factory roasting. We deploy technology to allow our artisan roasters to hand roast while precisely measuring heat, [barometric] pressure, humidity – allowing them to adjust for natural acidity – and specific characteristics of the beans. We meticulously monitor the temperature of the roasting beans and the ambient environment to

Bethlehem Alem, Ethiopian Entrepreneur-Founder Garden of Coffee and Sole Rebels ensure consistency in every coffee we deliver.

The artisan coffee crafting techniques we use are often multi-generational skills passed from parent to child and have flourished here in Ethiopia for millennia.

By engaging with Garden of Coffee and our ecosystem of coffee roasting artists , our customers are ensuring that this legacy of coffee craftsmanship lives on and flourishes, while also providing a platform for high quality job creation, essential for an emerging nation like Ethiopia.

In addition our customers not only get to select their beans of choice and their type of roast, they can select who roasts these beans thus fostering direct relationships with the coffee roasting artists.

5.In Ethiopian coffee ceremonies, coffee gets brewed three times. Is this some-

thing you’d want folks in the States to try doing with your coffee to try to replicate the experience?

But of course, we would love for people to drink their Garden of Coffee coffee three times J …. That means people will need lots of Garden of Coffee which in essence implies more business and more sustainable livelihoods for our team of roasters and consequently growers.

6.Can you tell me a little more about Origin Trade? Do you select the coffees?

How do you select them?

Some particular elements beyond Fair Trade, Direct Trade and many of the other trade models make Garden of Coffee unique. Such one of this is what is termed as the Coffee’s “Fourth Wave / 4th WAVE. Garden of Coffee heralds the beginning of an evolution on the current August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

16 Ethiopia’s legendary single origin coffee, hand roasted by Ethiopia’s top coffee artisans. This Café-Roastery gives people an opportunity to experience first-hand the depth of the artistry that IS Ethiopia’s hand roasting artisans The Café-Roastery has an incredible menu of foods and breads that we have created with acclaimed local chefs and bakers.

paradigm of specialty coffee known as the 3rd wave. This is a new movement that we as a coffee nation are defining and identifying.

The 4th Wave is about coffee producing nations taking control of the means of production and adding value to our coffees our own way. At Garden of Coffee, we believe that charity begins at home.

As such, there could be no better place to begin The 4th Wave than in coffee’s birth place and the home of coffees’ richest coffee culture: Ethiopia.

We are excited about this new movement as it will allow people like us to exert direct control over the Ethiopian coffee experience in all facets; including the history, the context, the varieties and origins, the methods – everything from growing to roasting, and the outcomes that are all integral parts of the experience of drinking Ethiopian coffees.

The end result then will be something coffee lovers everywhere are craving; a more exciting, authentic and rewarding Ethiopian coffee experience.

The other element is the ‘OriginTrade’.

Like the 4th Wave this is a new movement we are defining as a coffee nation.

Origin trade basically means that we source, process, roast and package our coffees right here in Ethiopia where we grow them. This ensures quality coffee for our customers, low impact for the environment and an engine for prosperity and change for the growers, processors and roasters.

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

Origin Trade believes that to rightly affect lasting prosperity, coffee producing nations must brand and package and sell their own coffee. Such a move then ensures that: 1.The value of this coffee is preserved in terms of quality for the final consumer.

2.The value created economically by roasting and packaging at origin is immeasurable.

3.Our interests are directly aligned with our farmers and our entire value chain in a way that external actors could never be thereby giving farmers’ incentive to deliver their most amazing beans.

8.Why the decision to branch out into coffee?

My driving passions as an entrepreneur are always about sharing Ethiopian cultures with the world, and finding exciting ways to keep these cultures vibrant and fully relevant.

I began Garden of Coffee so that people everywhere can experience the magic of hand-roasted Ethiopian coffees, roasted at their source by Ethiopia’s finest coffee artisans. I knew that once people tasted Ethiopian coffee that has been hand roasted by traditional Ethiopian coffee artisans, their coffee perspectives would be forever changed. The result – a more exciting, authentic and rewarding experience for lovers of Ethiopian coffees.

7.Is there anything you want STARTUP MAGAZINE readers to know about Garden of Coffee?

First is that we would love to create some coffee just for you so please feel free to visit our web shop at www.GardenofCoffee.com .

9.When and how did you start this journey It literally began in my mother’s house.

One day a few years back, we were sitting enjoying an exquisite traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony in my family home here in Addis.

It all began with a loving tradition that we grew up with in my mother’s house – my mother handwashing finebeans that she had self-selected at the market and skillfully preparing these exquisite beans, the magical coffee aromas imaginable as she began hand roasting the beans on a hand crafted ceramic roaster, skillfully rotating each bean in the same way her mother had done before her and her grandmother before that.

On that note, I ampleased to announce the opening of our 1st Signature Garden of Coffee Café-Roastery in Addis Ababa.

This very unique Café-Roastery showcases the magic of Ethiopia’s Artisan hand roasted coffee. Located in the Bole area of Addis Ababa, Café-Roastery serves

Then right there while we sipped the coffee, came the question. How could we give a more unique and dynamic coffee experience to coffee lovers worldwide , one that captures both the critical uniqueness of our Ethiopian coffees and the magical artisan culture that envelops them – from

Does it make sense for Ethiopia, the producer and in fact the originator of the finest, most legendary Arabicas on the planet, to ship our magical raw green beans thousands of miles for roasting when we can produce the absolute finest roasts right here using our own talented roasting artisans? Clearly it doesn’t.

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the bean growing, selection and to its magical hand roasting ?

This in turn helps us achieve a level of excellence in taste and quality that is not possible from any other commercially available coffee on the planet.

It was a vital question; one that excited and daunted us. The answer, however, soon became clear, we would leverage technology to allow coffee lovers to immediately experience the magic of personal batch artisan roasts that were selected, prepared and roasted in the traditions where those beans originate from in the different regions of Ethiopia! With that, Garden of Coffee was officially born.

10.How long did it take from start up to getting the coffee ready for export?

We have been perfecting the roasting techniques for almost 2 years locally. But as we say this is truly a coffee brand that has been millennia in the making as the preparation and roasting techniques we are employing have been perfected here in Ethiopia over centuries.

11.How many brands of coffee do you have and in which countries will they be available – will you capitalize on the Sole Rebels avenues for distribution?

Currently we are offering 6 Ethiopian single origins. Ethiopia is home to thousands of undiscovered varietals and we intend to let our customers experience as many of them as possible. We are also opening stand alone Garden of Coffee ateliers where people can come and experience the magic of our hand roasting while enjoying related foods and products.

Garden of Coffee ateliers are magical spaces where people can physically inhabit our tagline of Live Coffee-they can step inside the culture of coffee we are delivering and interact with the brand. The Boutiques allow people to order live roasted coffee for immediate consumption or for take away consumption at home. There are some interesting technology elements being built into the boutiques that will create a very exciting experience.

Through the boutiques will we be able to give Ethiopian coffee lovers the richest most authentic Ethiopian coffee experience while providing employment to both diaspora Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians alike.

12.You mention no other coffee brand in

“We focus exclusively & passionately on Ethiopian coffees in the most intimate manner possible, allowing us to bring you the rarest and highest quality Ethiopian coffees.

Ethiopia controls all facets of its brand – why is this and how are you doing things differently?

Correct. To date there isn’t a single global Ethiopian coffee brand that controls the brand in all facets that is recognized as a brand with a unique value proposition and voice.

What Garden of Coffee is doing differently is embracing traditional Ethiopian roasting methodologies as opposed to employing factory roasting using roasting machines which is what other roasters do.

We do this not only because hand-roasting coffee is an ancient art that we strongly feel is worth preserving and promoting, but because we believe this method of coffee roasting is the key to unlocking Ethiopian coffee’s true magical tastes.

That’s the critical distinction.

We also roast only for each customer’s individual order which results to quality coffee experience. Our unique one of a kind hand roasted on demand model means that our gifted coffee artists roast only for your specific order.

13.You’re a very ecologically friendly brand – being Fair Trade Certified with soleRebels and now Origin Trade Coffee – why is this important to you and also how has this impacted or affected your company’s bottom line. Can we talk a bit about how it makes financial sense – lots of companies believe that being environmentally friendly is too expensive or will cut in on their profit margins – what are your thoughts on merging the two for a profitable business. You advice on how this can be done?

With Garden of Coffee we are redefining Ethiopian single origin specialty coffee through Authenticity and Focus. We focus exclusively & passionately on Ethiopian coffees in the most intimate manner possible, allowing us to bring you the rarest and highest quality Ethiopian coffees.

That is our mission and it’s what we live and breathe!

We believe that nothing makes more sense from a final product quality point of view than for single origin coffees to be provided to the final consumer of those beans by the origins themselves. So we chose to focus on Ethiopia not simply because Ethiopia is our home but most importantly because Ethiopia is home to both the highest quality coffees and the most talented artisan coffee roasters. So there is every reason for us to focus only on Ethiopia as it means we can give you the best coffees you have ever experienced!

Parting shot for the readers?

In Ethiopia, we don’t just grow coffee. We live coffee each and every day. It is embedded in the DNA of our daily life. Coffee personifies Ethiopia and we in turn personify it.

We grow up surrounded by family members harvesting the finest beans and then hand selecting and hand roasting these beans and preparing them into the most magical coffees ever sipped. We will never disappoint.

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

18

Woman of Power

How retrenchment shaped my penchant for success training which I attended. The training partly taught about personal development and overcoming challenges. For the first time the training was so relevant to me. It appealed to my situation.

GNLD kept me busy and I started selling their products making a little income.

I did that for two years but the income hadn’t matched my previous salary . I had come from a high income career and I struggled adjusting my lifestyle. I had to change a lot of things and it was a great learning experience.

I acquired a new mind power and learnt to overcome drastic challenges.

Imagine going into a new town with a new product, not knowing anyone, striking conversations with strangers and making money out of it? But I did it!

Along the way I got a new employment offer from Labtech Electronics as the service delivery manager-They sold scientific equipments to institutions like schools, colleges and universities. I held the job for about 18 months.

Daisy Nyaga talks about her experience in finding fulfillment after a disheartening retrenchment from a leading airline

i

n September 2012 I came back from a flight from Netherlands to be shocked with a retrenchment letter that afternoon.

I felt like the whole world was crumbling on me.

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

My 7 years stint as a flight attendant with Kenya Airways had come to a halt. The shock left me heartbroken. I had to pick up the pieces and rise again.

At the time I was a member of NeoLife, formerly GNLD. I had subscribed to their nutritional supplements which had helped my asthmatic daughter overcome her condition.

The next day NeoLife had a members

All this time the KQ case was ongoing and we didn’t have the benefits yet. We were hopeful that the courts would give us better compensation or reinstatement.

In November 2014 I opted out of the case and took the little package that KQ had offered me. It was a critical moment for me that I had to approach with care and a lot of spiritual guidance.

I used part of the retrenchment package to Start Elyama Foods (K) Ltd, my company.

During my stint with KQ I used to travel

19 to Asia and I realized that many people there were using electric steaming lunch boxes in their business premises or offices.

It was very convenient and healthy.

FRESH.INSPIRING.ANALYTICAL

ELECTRIC LUNCHBOX

Lessons from the book •Your employer is not your daddy or mummy. Your employer is in business to make money. And as much as he would care about your welfare, you must be personally responsible for your own future.

Back home through my interactions, people wanted to eat and live healthy lifestyles. They would carry food in normal lunch boxes to office and by the time they wanted to eat it was already cold or had spoiled.

I figured out that the electric lunch boxes would solve their worries.

Electric lunch boxes are portable. You can carry food to work with ease and plug it to an electric powered socket when you want to warm your food. They come in different colors and keep your food fresh.

I ordered for a sample and I was happy with it. I then ordered for a batch that cost about Kshs 300,000.

I thought I would sell in six months but they amazingly sold out in two months. I ordered for more. All this time I kept my day job. So I employed a social media and marketing manager.

He would manage my social media pages and take care of the orders. In the evening I would take count of the orders at home and organize for a delivery through a courier company. So the arrangement never had an impact on my day job while my hustle thrived.

The company grew at a pace that I did not expect that forced me to quit employment to fully focus on nurturing it. Along the way I also realized that I needed to diversify my product line or introduce a new product altogether so that I could capitalized on the already established customer base.

The lunch boxes came branded, with a one year warranty and I never heard a complaint from any of my customers. They were serving them well and some of them kept asking me if I had any other equally good products. We are now in the process of introducing a Three in One Breakfast maker that has a Frying pan, a coffee or

I am a currently a fulltime employee as the Chief Operations Officer for a Credit Financing company based in Nairobi.

Tea maker and a Mini Oven.

The demand for lunch boxes kept rising that made me order for a full container.

So I gathered all my savings and cash and splashed into the business.

The business picked up well until a major scare towards the end of 2016. There was an economic slowdown in the build up to the 2017 general elections.

I had tied down all my finances to the consignment and I was unable to clear them off at the port. I began experiencing some cash flow issues. I thought that some customers would pay in advance to help me clear the consignment but it wasn’t forthcoming.

For the first time the business had a blip.

I was faced with a hard decision of looking for money to so that I could clear the consignment and start selling. I had to consider employment so that I could raise extra capital and ended up at Advanta Africa-an ICT Mobile VAS company.

I later got into a deal with my shipment firm and began to release the goods in batches. It was such a relief.

All this experiences shaped the way I perceived employment and entrepreneurship.

I wanted to share it with other people so that they could learn some incredible lessons and avoid the pitfalls that I encountered.

In particular, I wanted to teach employed people that they can build a stable savings fund and even start a side hustle while keeping their day job.

This informed a book I launched in March this year called ‘Beyond 8 to 5’ or simply beyond employment.

•You should maximize your opportunities at the work place. Don’t get too comfortable and be blind to the advantages that the job comes with. There are always financial and social benefits at your workplace, skill advancement, networks among others that you should be keen to exploit.

•Save and invest for your future. Even if you are earning peanuts, make sure you are saving a certain percentage. Have an emergency fund.

The book is available through our website www.beyond8to5.co.ke. You can make orders for both hard copies and e-book.

They retail at Kshs 500 exclusive of delivery costs.

The Steaming Electric lunchboxes are available on our site www.elyamafoods. co.ke The book has been well received and I am getting amazing feedback from the people who have read it. The feedback has now encouraged me to start a coaching program to guide people on how they can take advantages of their opportunities at the workplace to create sustainable ventures.

Set to begin this coming September, our training will be holistic. We have partnered with experts in marketing, business systems, legal and certified auditors to give one a realistic roadmap to implement in your business.

I look forward to set a one stop shop for healthy promoting products and introduce cassava based flours under Elyama Foods.

For Beyond 8 to 5, I want to build a community of empowered employees running profitable side businesses and creating employment.

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

20

My Hustle

Reuben Kimani shares on how he started a thriving land investment firm that banks on affordability and service excellence

o

“ur journey can be traced back to 2013 when we started operations as three directors. Bundled with a lot of passion and interest in real estate, we first started the company as a side hustle,” begins Reuben Kimani, the Chief Executive Officer, Username Investment Limited during an interview with StartUp Magazine team.

The CEO and two other directors; Joseph Gitonga, Head of Sales and Marketing and Julius Karanja, Head of Finance and Customer Experience, were all employed at the time of starting the company. He quit two years later to fully focus on the business. A year later, two other directors followed suit.

They started rolling out small projects with a bigger vision of scaling up operations. They believed that with growth, many people would benefit from the venture including the government.

Real estate is capital intensive. So they had little capital to pull the straps, mostly borrowed from friends, relatives and an unsecured loan.

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

“From the moment I quit employment I

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realized that the journey would be crazy and needed a lot of sacrifices. I was accustomed to a six figure monthly salary and lots of other benefits. So I had to sacrifice all this for a monthly salary of Kshs 25,000 when we begun,” shares Mr. Kimani

months after buying the property. Out of the 25 projects, we have already issued title deeds for 21 projects. We also allow for refunds upon request in case someone would wish to be refunded their money after buying a property,” he assures.

Lessons from the CEO

Username Investments was started from a small office at Veteran House in CBD with only one employee and the three directors. With time, as operations grew, there was immense need for a bigger office space. The company later relocated to The Mirage at Westlands, which is the current Head Office and a CBD Office at International Life House. “The rent is tenfold that of our previous office, but we are now comfortable,” he points out.

Username Investment Limited was awarded The 2018 Best Land and InvestmentCompany at The 26th Kenya Homes Expo, something which the CEO says are the fruits of the firm’s employees.

The firm has so far serviced over issued over 5,000 title deeds and formed a client base of over 6,000 clients and we encourage more people to buy properties as they are affordable.

•Any challenge can be solved. The moment you solve a problem that someone hasn’t solve it elevates you.

Our intentions “At the outset we realized that there was a huge gap in the sector. In particular, there was lack of affordable properties. Most young people were willing to buy properties but they could not afford. Statistics indicate that over 50 percent of our population is under the age of 25. We wanted to invest in this generation so that we could empower their future. If you realize most of our projects are under half a million shillings, adds Mr. Kimani.

The firm also realized that many people buy property for investments. So it undertook research and invested in properties that have high potential for growth.

“We first began operations with a small project in Ngong. So far we have done 25 projects and the 26th one is on the rollout in Nakuru County.”

With a view on the millennial market, they had to shift focus and make their products as exciting as ever. “We have a very flexible plan where you can book a property with as little as Kshs 30,000.

Then the rest you pay in 12 equal installments. In addition, we grade the access roads, put a perimeter fence, an estate gate and make sure that water and electricity is available. We also provide individual plot fencing services at request.”

With this in mind, the firm is on course of building A tradition of trust. “We also process title deeds within three to six

Challenges According to Mr. Kimani, real estate is full of challenges with the biggest being fraud. In 2016, Kshs 60 billion worth of fraud was reported to the government.

We were conned Kshs 5 million in 2016 but we were lucky to recover the money.

“The other challenge is getting the requisite capital. Real estate is capital intensive.

Banks could not finance us back then.

Now they can.”

Age barrier has also been a challenge.

“We are young guys and huge properties are mostly owned by elderly people. Most of them rule us out until we tag along our middle aged lawyer or we pay upfront after the agreement. That is when they can trust us.”

•I am a Telecommunication Engineer by profession and I have taught myself everything about real estate in the course of the business.

•We have a commitment to serve our customers with dignity. We realize that everyone wants a good life.

So when they come here with their money to buy a property, we are helping them to realize their dreams and wouldn’t want to compromise that.

•I am passionate about the youth agenda. I advise young people to be open minded. For instance you might have done a certain course in college but opportunities arise in a different profession, you have to realign yourself and capitalize on it. It is good to follow our passion but we have to live practically.

•When you are young you have the time to test the waters, not only in life but career wise. You have rooms to make mistakes and learn from them. Never ever give up. If we could have given up, Username Investment Limitedwould be no more.

“There is also a time we bought land and paid a deposit for it after the agreement.

We then started selling it and the owner then doubled the price even before we concluded the buyout. There is no way we could have stopped the project because we did not want to compromise our name.

So we bought it at twice the price, ate a humble pie but with some good lessons to boot. It was a loss.”

“Right now we do a lot of due diligence before we buy any property. There are also a lot of disputes in the sector but we solve them diplomatically,” he concludes.

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

22

Cover Story

SAMCHI CREDIT Lending that impacts entrepreneurs The company’s key aim is to empower entrepreneurs by giving them access to credit

By Wachira Kambogo

E sther Muchemi, a seasoned entrepreneur, believes that success can be replicated.

"If you run one thing that's successful, it allows you to run more things that are a success. Entrepreneurship is all about principles that work."

While most entrepreneurs tend to settle after realizing success in their respective ventures, Ms Muchemi, the founder of Samchi Telkom never settles. Instead, she focuses her energy on building more sucStartupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

cessful companies, her way of replicating success.

"When I was growing Samchi Telkom, there came a time when I was asking myself, what are the sectors that I want to play in?

I always wanted to make a difference in people's lives, so I chose telecommunications, finance, hospitality, real estate and manufacturing.

Known for founding Samchi Telcom, one of Kenya's largest Safaricom dealerships, among other successful business outfits, Ms. Muchemi's brush with the credit industry happened many years ago, stirring

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ESTHER MUCHEMI CEO AND FOUNDER SAMCHI CREDIT

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

24

Cover Story her desire to play in this competitive field.

As an accountant, she says she once did shylock business; lending money to customers at exorbitant interest rates. She says that although the business made loads of money, it kept disturbing her conscience.

"I felt like I was taking advantage of people's misery and closed the business. " She says she reasoned that there was a way lending could be done in an ethical and professional way.

Her solution was aptly named Samchi Credit, a venture she started 10 years ago.

Through her experience as an unregulated lender, she says she realized there was a huge gap in the financial industry as most people at the bottom of the economic pyramid were excluded from mainstream financial institutions. Seeing an opportunity, she registered Samchi Credit and set out to give credit services to Kenyans, especially those at the lowest point, economically.

Her new company failed to quickly morph into a roaring success as she had envisaged. Instead, it ran into serious headwinds.

"When I started Samchi Credit, we had no physical office. I teamed up with a friend to run it in his premises, an arrangement that worked, although not for long."

After a few years of operating, the company ground to a halt. The two partners couldn't agree on some issues, choosing to end matters amicably. Predictably, this was one of her many setbacks that almost forced her to wind up the business. But she didn't. Through support from her staff, she chose to persevere, building the business from the ground up.

"Although we had challenges, I knew the Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

“

CUSTOMERS

We create a relationship with our customers. We know these are people that had been locked out of mainstream finance, the reason we rarely ask for collateral. We usually look at the customer’s ability to repay loans business was practical. With the right people, structures and the right interest rates, this could turn into a booming business," she says.

As with her other businesses, her philosophy is to start small before scaling, and that's what she did when she reinvested into Samchi Credit five years ago.

Her drive to reinvigorate the business was fuelled by the fact that her son was graduating from the university and could carry on with the lending business.

"I talked to him, and he agreed to join in.

That essentially marked the start of Samchi Credit's revitalized journey."

For Ms. Muchemi, executing this business in an ethical way was an important aspect that she couldn't overlook. She says with the right structures and rates, her business was ethical and could no longer 'disturb her conscience'.

Since then, the business has grown tremendously over the years, serving thousands of small, micro and medium entre-

preneurs and turning around their lives.

So, what makes Samchi Credit tick?

"Our main aim is to positively impact the lives of our customers."

Samchi Credit is popular with customers because it deploys a unique model of lending, where advisors work closely with customers to understand their entrepreneurship journeys.

"We create a relationship with our customers. We know these are people that had been locked out of mainstream finance, the reason we rarely ask for collateral. We usually look at the customer’s ability to repay loans."

At inception, Samchi Credit was primarily doing logbook loans and personal lending. Although the two products are still there, the company now focuses on group lending to impact the lives of many more customers.

"For me, satisfaction is working with people at the bottom of the economic pyramid and bringing them up to a certain level. It's not all about making money, but making a difference in people's lives."

Samchi Credit stands out from most lending companies because it offers advisory services to its customers to inculcate financial dicsipline in them. Ms. Muchemi says that her company gives its customers the solutions they need. "At times, we realize that the problems that our customers face are not just about money. Sometimes they need to change a few things in terms of the way they do business and we are always at hand to advise them," she says.

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Because of this, her company doesn't have many defaulters. She says she believes in empowering women and the youth to become the best they can be as they are the future of this country.

"Empowering women can impact the GDP. You empower a woman, you empower a whole community."

Even as the credit industry in Kenya continues to grow, Ms. Muchemi says the industry needs to get liberalized to change how Kenyans access credit. As it stands, most financial institutions demand for collateral from the youth and women before they extend any loans to them. She says the two segments are disadvantaged because they come from a background where they don't get any inheritance.

"There's need to review the way lending is done in this country. Financial institutions have the ability to change the lives of many people, only if they were more sensitive to the needs of customers," she says.

According to her, the youth and women need to be empowered financially for them to create jobs.

ey in a project that generates an income.

This is why Samchi Credit needs to know your reason for borrowing."

traders and Matatu crew.

"The main problem is not lack of education or finances, but lack of jobs. How do we empower people to create jobs?"

For Samchi Credit, the demand for credit keeps on rising and Ms Muchemi is aware that her company can be scaled to meet this demand. She's working on a plan to fully scale her business to reach more customers.

Having made significant progress in the world of business, Ms Muchemi has some nuggets of wisdom for the quintessential entrepreneur.

Looking at the impact that her lending business has made over the years, it Is easy to see the connection between access to credit and job creation.

She believes that most Kenyans are entrepreneurs and are only limited by lack of collateral. This explains why so many people say they struggle to get financing for their businesses.

"I'm coming from a point where I believe that if you want to create wealth, you can't do it without borrowing. Knowing what I know today, I would have started borrowing as soon as I had an income." She adds that borrowing accelerates people's ability to create wealth, if they do it the right way. "I won't recommend over borrowing.

Also, you should only borrow to put mon-

Entrepreneurs keep on innovating to remain competitive in an ever evolving business environment. Ms. Muchemi is not an exception. She's known for reinventing herself to create practical solutions. That's why she is creating a unique solution pegged on Samchi Credit, that will allow people at the bottom of the pyramid to own land.

Samchi Telcom gave some land to Samchi Credit. The company is creating a solution that will see customers lease out the land by depositing Sh500 every day for three years, after which they get to own the land. The solution targets customers who make a daily income, including market

Advice to entrepreneurs

"You need to have passion, drive and creativity to make progress in business. For me, I believe in myself and I also have faith in God. I also enjoy support from my kids and all these positives keep me strong."

In the end, she says she doesn't really know if entrepreneurs are made or born, although she believes it's a combination of both.

Going forward, Samchi Credit wants to continue impacting the lives of thousands of entrepreneurs, helping them to create jobs for themselves and for others.

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

26

Young and Enterprising

How these young entrepreneurs are shaping lifestyles through their ventures across Africa Harnessing the power of water grassroots level until they become qualified to become mentors, under the umbrella of WomEng.

Shamiso Kumbirai

Upholding human rights and dignity through sanitation Shamiso Kumbirai, a young engineer, is making a huge impact increasing awareness of the plight of lack of sanitation in communities. “In Grade 10 I was exposed to civil engineering. I loved the feeling of being onsite, but became keenly aware of the need for females to join the civil engineering field,” says Kumbirai.

After graduating, she worked at Unilever Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

but soon left to pursue a Masters in Philosophy and engage on the social aspect of her work. It was there that she was exposed to the water space. “I loved the dynamics between the technical and water sciences because there is a huge social component to the work we as engineers need to be doing in terms of the designs we make. They need to be suitable for the people we are serving.”

For the past 3 years, Kumbirai has been working as a consultant on projects in hydropower, mainly in East Africa, all while empowering women engineers from the

Through Sani4Schools, in partnership with Global Changers, Kumbirai works on highlighting the plight of schools lacking adequate sanitation. “When I did my Masters research I worked in informal settlements and saw the dire state of sanitation — I had to change that reality.”

She joined Global Shakers organisation and began working on a project at Pateng Secondary School, a no-fee learning institution in South Africa. Pateng uses a holistic approach to overall sanitation needs, including upgrading the infrastructure and addressing the menstrual challenges faced by female learners.

Being part of the Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa programme is something Kumbirai aspired to. “I knew I had to be part of the Obama Foundation community with whom I could cross-pollinate ideas and contacts. It will give me access to a network of peers in different countries doing a similar line of work. I see it as an opportunity to grow the reach for Sani4Schools,” says Kumbirai.

“I’m looking to build lasting relationships that can see the continent progress and also get a sense of how best to scale up an idea for greater impact,” says Kumbirai, who will soon be moving to Rwanda.

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How an Angolan news aggregator is tackling the social issue of ‘fake news’

KNWOLEDGE

Knowledge is power and it’s this vision to empower Angolans with information that has seen Almeida selected as one of 200 change-makers in Africa to take part in the year-long programme, Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa. es,” says Almeida. “It’s a neutral platform, and makes it easy for our readers to verify sources. Readers are able to read about a topic from several different perspectives, leaving them more informed and with enough information to form their own opinions about what’s happening.”

Zedilson Almeida

Meet the mind behind Manifexto.com, the go-to source for Portuguese-speaking Angolans looking for reliable news and information

r

“ecently I heard that sometimes Angolans come across a piece of news, and they won’t trust that it’s true until it appears on Manifexto.com,” says 35-year-old Zedilson Almeida, co-founder of a news aggregator for the Portuguese-speaking people of Angola. Almeida is a Fulbright alumnus who graduated from the University of Missouri with a Master’s in Public Affairs; he also holds a Bachelor’s in Busi-

ness and Management from the UK. “When I returned from doing my Master’s, I found it hard to find reliable news.

You never knew how trustworthy the news was, or the agenda of the website that hosted it. We built Manifexto to solve this problem,” says Almeida, who is the co-founder and chief executive officer.

Access to the Internet has radically changed how we consume and share news and information. It’s becoming harder to spot ‘fake news,’ especially on social media.

“Manifexto converges all news in a democratic environment, from reliable sourc-

Knowledge is power and it’s this vision to empower Angolans with information that has seen Almeida selected as one of 200 change-makers in Africa to take part in the year-long programme, Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa. “I’m truly honoured to have been selected and it is amazing to see how the problems we experience in Angola are similar all over the continent, but in different contexts. The opportunity to exchange ideas with some of Africa’s greatest minds has been inspiring,” says Almeida.

“The media industry in Angola is profit-driven, but there so many stories that go untold. We encourage writers to share more stories from other niches in society, make a name for themselves, empower the population, and elevate the overall quality of journalism being produced in Africa.”

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

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Climate Change

Climate change threatens lives and economies across the globe-Speech

Karen Pierce

Ambassador Karen Pierce is the UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the Security Council Open Debate on the Climate and Security Statement by Ambassador Karen Pierce, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the Security Council Open Debate on the Climate and Security

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

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hank you very much indeed Madam President, and may I once again thank and congratulate Sweden for picking such a good menu of themes for us to discuss in the Security Council. I was here in 2007 when we had the first climate change debate in the Security Council and I think this is already shaping up to be a very worthy continuum in that theme and it’s obvious that there’s lots of common ground. Thank you to all of the Ministers who have taken the time to come and be with the Council today and share these very interesting and compelling and very sad stories.

The Earth is known as the blue planet but many of you have given descriptions of how some of the most iconic, geographic features on the planet are being irredeemably affected by climate change.

That’s an important warning to us all and hopefully out of this meeting we can find a renewed sense of commitment to take action. I particularly welcomed what his Excellency, the Iraqi Minister said, about joint cooperation with neighbours to try and solve some of the resource problems that flow from climate change. But I think like many speakers, it was your presentation Ms Ibrahim about your people that was most compelling.

I think you very graphically set out the link between development and security and what it means on the ground for ordinary families and how much they are vulnerable to developments like terrorism because of the incredibly stark and unfair choices that they face. So, thank you for bringing that to the Council’s attention and for the United Kingdom, we will work as hard as we can with Sweden and other partners to try and help the UN come up with answers to address the points that you and the Ministers have made. It must be considered as a holistic issue throughout the UN system so I think we very much welcome Madam President some of the ideas that you and the Netherlands have been setting out.

FRESH.INSPIRING.ANALYTICAL

The interplay between climate and security is not an abstract, theoretical risk – if we don’t manage climate change, we will threaten lives, livelihoods and economies across the globe. With migration, that will begin to impact on all of our economies, even those that are not directly affected by climate change.

One figure that really struck me was the one that I have heard from the World Bank which estimates that 720 million people are at risk of being pushed into poverty by climate change by 2050. So, that’s not only a shocking figure in itself, what it means is that it would be reversing much of the progress that we would have had in the first quarter of the 21st century. So, we’re working against ourselves if we don’t take action to do something about this. That is in addition to the fact that there will be other consequences of conflict and instability that arise from climate change.

My Prime Minister, Theresa May, has gone on record as saying that there is a clear moral imperative for developed economies to help those who stand to lose most from the consequences of manmade climate change. We have pledged 7.7 billion dollars in international climate finance to try and help alleviate the problem. I think the actions and solutions that we agree on in the Security Council need to take into account all the risks that we face today and how they might interact to address potential risks in future. I think the Council has, if I may say so Madam President, been quite good about reflecting in recent resolutions these points, particularly on Lake Chad, Somalia and the Sahel. Of course, the task now is to have effective implementation. For our part in the United Kingdom, we have committed to champion a greater focus on building resilience to climate change and this is for the Secretary-General ahead of his 2019 Climate Summit. We will be collaborating with a range of actors, including governments, aid agencies, regional bodies and the United Nations to launch what we hope to be genuinely transformational actions to build climate resilience.

As I’ve already said, we completely agree

COLLABORATION

We have worked very closely with experts in China, India and the US to look at complex, systemic risks including how climate change interacts with security. We will, with the Chinese, develop a framework to monitor climate related risk continuously and we hope to launch that later this year. with you that we need an improved understanding of climate related risks. We ourselves have been working on climate risk assessment and were one of the first countries to conduct a national climate change risk assessment and we will support other countries in doing theirs. We have worked very closely with experts in China, India and the US to look at complex, systemic risks including how climate change interacts with security. We will, with the Chinese, develop a framework to monitor climate related risk continuously and we hope to launch that later this year.

So there’s lots of good work happening in which I think we can all reinforce each other and make sure that we build on all this progress rather than duplicate it.

I think I’ll just conclude by saying you know we’ve always known, particularly in the UN, about the interdependence between security and development and stability and issues like human rights. That in itself is not a new concept and indeed the Charter alludes to it. But, I think it is true to say that it is now all intensifying as the world becomes more complex and above all it’s exemplified by climate change. And it was given a very moving guise by Ms Ibrahim’s testimony today. So I hope we can all go away from here with renewed determination to put right some of the problems you have all highlighted.

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

30

An Open Letter to Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge

Fintech

d ear Sir,

Anupe Singh

(Anup leads Banking and Financial Services domain for MicroSave (an international financial inclusion consulting firm with 20 years of experience, 11 offices around the world, 175 staff, managing projects in ~ 50 developing countries) in Africa)

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

I was delighted that you noted that “the risks to Kenyans showed there was a need for regulation in the booming [digital credit] sector” (Reuters report of 29th May 2018). While many of these small digital credit loans are immensely valuable for people facing emergencies, managing cashflow problems or for small scale trading, there are significant downsides that deserve attention.

I sympathise with your concerns about Kenya “being a guinea pig for new technology deployed by foreign companies”.

However, the three largest digital credit lenders (M-Shwari, EazzyLoan and KCB-M-PESA) are Kenyan entities. It is fair to say that in Kenya, as in many other African countries, the development of digital credit was sponsored by international development agencies. This was done with good intentions, if little foresight of the unintended consequences.

However, the continued celebration of the quantity of loans issued without reference to their quality is alarming.

And the quality of this portfolio is alarmingly poor. There is growing evidence that a worrying proportion of these digital credit loans used to finance the sports betting epidemic that is sweeping the continent. Perhaps as a result, a recent study noted that borrowers default on a third of first cycle loans and are negatively listed

on the credit reference bureaux (CRB).

As a result, as on March 31st 2017 10 per cent of the adult population of Kenya was negatively listed on the CRB – nearly a million of these for amounts of less than USD 10. Now, more than a year later, the number of people negatively listed exceeds 3.5 million. Many remain negatively listed because of the Ksh.2,200 required for a clearance certificate to remove their names from the bureaux lists.

There has been much discussion of the interest rates associated with these loans.

However, these largely reflect the risk associated with making them given the high rates of default. Nonetheless, the effective interest rates for many are even higher than those published by many of the lenders. This is because many borrowers (for example day traders) repay well in advance of the monthly duration of the loans. The typical month-long digital loan, with a fixed interest rate for that month, is simply inappropriate for these borrowers. Small wonder that 36 per cent of these loans are repaid within a week – and sad that these borrowers receive no interest rebate.

Clearly, there are many opportunities to re-engineer these loans to make them much more fit for purpose. Relatively small tweaks to the structure, marketing and pricing could increase transparency, reduce delinquency, help borrowers and thus actually increase the returns for the lending institutions.

Given the alarming number of Kenyans now carrying the “negatively listed” stamp, it’s time for policymakers and digital

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CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge lenders to act. The CBK might consider introducing and enforcing: •incentives for auto-submissions from bank databases to CRB to improve accuracy of the bureau data •an amendment for digital credit to the Credit Reference Bureau Regulations (2013) to incorporate a minimum loan amount for the listing •(as CBK has already stressed) requirement that lenders use nuanced credit scoring mechanisms basis the “balance” (value of the loan outstanding) and “number of days in arrears” fields in the CRB’s database. This would allow lenders to vary interest rates and loan sizes according to the credit history/risk profile of the borrower – as M-Shwari already does with loan sizes.

FRESH.INSPIRING.ANALYTICAL

•mandate for all off-shore, app-based lenders to report into the system (note that some, including Branch and Tala, do already report to the bureaus) •regular audits of the CRB digital credit database for accuracy and completeness •accessible, efficient and cost-effective mechanisms for consumers to check their credit history and correct any errors •clear guidance on clearance certificate requirements for financial institutions to follow (e.g. circumstances when these may be requested, the certificate fee schedule etc.)

•mandatory requirements to ensure transparent terms and conditions are communicated to potential borrowers so that customers can make informed choices •minimum standards for customer recourse channels and coordination by partners to address issues/complaints raised by customers and thus drive long-term usage and customer loyalty •a curb on the aggressive, SMS-based, push marketing that is so common, thus reducing predatory lending Kenya appears to have already started with the proposals for the Financial Markets Conduct Bill.

In anticipation of these changes in Kenya, and indeed throughout Africa, digital lenders should seize the opportunity to re-engineer their loan products to better cater to diverse needs of all potential digital borrowers. Many of the digital credit providers (including those in Kenya and those based in South Africa and Silicon Valley) are already working on these types of improvements.

But a little regulatory push may help accelerate the pace of positive change.

Yours Faithfully Anup Singh

PG. 32

INNOVATION This entire gaming ecosystem in East Africa has created an abundance of job opportunities, for 3D modellers, animators, music composers, sound effect creators, User Interface (UI) modellers, customer support staff and others.

PG. 34

TRAVEL & LEISURE Adisa Hudson writes about the thrilling but dangerous experience of horse riding in Limuru Kenya.

PG. 36

BOOK REVIEW The 4-Step Solution for Changing Bad Habits, Ending Unhealthy Thinking, and Taking Control of Your Life

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

32

Innovation

E-gaming rises from East Africa

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E-gaming is emerging in Kenya and East Africa as an industry: delivering revenue growth of over 25% a year and seeing African games and gamers move into the global arena.

The sport is a growing phenomenon worldwide, expected to generate $125.4bn this year, up 15% on 2017, and to attract over 190mgamers,according to theGlobal Games Market Report.

Ben Roberts

The author is the Chief Technology and Innovations Officer at Liquid Telecom

But in the region, the growth is now greater still, spawned by an emerging ecosystem of gaming communities and organisations, including the Africa Game Developers Community, the continent’s first game developers and friends’ community, with its roots in East Africa.

Africa Game Developersisan initiative of Ludique Works, led by Douglas Ogeto, Nathan Masyuko and Lillian Nduati.

Started in January 2018, it already has over 150 members across 12 countries, including Kenya Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Zambia, and Ghana, spearheading the commercialisation of games developed in Africa.

Together with Liquid Telecom, the communityis holding monthly meetings covering development demos, talks, and game showcasing. Games built by members include The Orchard (Kenya), Recce Squad (Kenya), and Kukulu (Ethiopia).

The Orchard develop David Kamunyu is a self-taught game developer whose game is a slow-paced PC game that requires logic and foresight to restore an inherited farm to its original state.

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

The game is not as straightforward as it sounds. The player has to manage their health and well-being, follow the Kenyan seasons for successful crop and animal yields, and play the market to get the highest profits – or earn elsewhere to make ends meet.

Towards the end of 2017, The Orchard was recognised in two international events; A Maze Johannesburg in South Africa, which showcases independent and alternative games and virtual realities, and The Game Mixer, organised by the Goethe Institut, Johannesburg to promote professional exchanges between game developers.

David also emerged as one of the top five game developers in the Digital Lab Africa Competition.

Another rising East African gaming developer is Cukia Kimani, from Kenya, who is currently in Johannesburg pursuing degrees in Computer Sciences, Maths and Digital Arts.

In 2015, Cukia won the Amaze award for his game, Boxer, which he created with a colleague game designer, Ben Crooks.

The game has been selected in several international awards including the Utrecht Indigo Awards 2016, Chicago Bit Bash 2016, and Birmingham Leftfield collection 2016.

Gaming tournaments are also now on the rise in the region. NAICCON 2017 was Africa’s first international multiplayer video game tournament, with a total of 16 PC and console gaming teams from Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. It drewover 3500 creative minds in the animation, gaming and comic book industries.

Nairobi also saw, this year,the largest gaming prize pool yet, of Sh1m,at the second

33

regional E-Sports convention organised

by Pro Series Gaming (PSG) Tournament and featuring Mortal Kombat XL. At the same time, PC gamingis moving into theatres, offering fans, supporters, enthusiasts and newcomers dedicated stages complete with LEDscreens and live commentary and generating a new source of revenue for event organisers, cinema owners, and sound and video agencies.

This entire gaming ecosystem has created an abundance of job opportunities, for 3D modellers, animators, music composers, sound effect creators, User Interface (UI) modellers, customer support staffand others.

In this, David is typical in planning to incorporate local music into The Orchard, and working to draw local advertisers, such as clothing brands and hotels: aiming for commercialisation with an African feel.

As this new array of activity has intensified, Liquid Telecom has played a continuous role in promoting e-gaming. For the past four years, we have sponsored a Ugandan gaming community www. gamersnights.com, which is a multiplayer video gaming community, hosting its

FRESH.INSPIRING.ANALYTICAL FRESH.INSPIRING.ANALYTICAL

OPPORTUNITIES This entire gaming ecosystem has created an abundance of job opportunities, for 3D modellers, animators, music composers, sound effect creators, User Interface (UI) modellers, customer support staff and others. gaming servers and providing its connectivity, which is critical for seamless online video gaming.

Liquid Telecom has also been the connectivity partner for all of the region’s major gaming tournaments, providing technical and connectivity support to achieve modern age video gaming experiences.

Our gaming-quality internet of up to 400Mbps enabled streaming and a gaming LAN Party at NAICCON’s first international multiplayer video game tournament last year.

We have provided this support because we understand that e-gaming is an industry that will bring jobs and growth to the region, both as a competitive sport that is attracting professional gamers and through local content generation.

However, the rise in e-gaming has created issues of addiction, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in June 2018 beginning the process of classifying gaming addiction as a mental disorder, placing it into the framework used to plan public health strategies.

But the nature of the addiction classification has been driven by players setting aside other responsibilities. In 2016, Oxford University researchers found that e-gaming is not as addictive as gambling.

Most gamblers are unable to stop once they start betting. Whereas gaming addicts tend to get so engrossed in gaming that their lives can deteriorate as they neglect other activities.

For professional players and young talents moving into e-gaming as a full-time job, earning a living and taking gaming into the international arena, their hours of focus on gaming are, instead, creating a livelihood.

Thus, with an internet infrastructure that is now running ahead of many regions globally, East Africa is positioned to lead the way in developing Africa’s online gaming ecosystem.

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

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At the back

Travel & Leisure

Horse Riding in Limuru …

Dangerous but Thrilling!

By Adisa Hudson

A horse is the projection of people’s dreams about themselves, strong, powerful, beautiful. And it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence. The horse life is a life of the highest highs and lowest lows; you never know which is coming next, and horses have a way of spoiling even the most carefully laid plans. Why do we love them again? Oh, right, the beauty and yes, A great horse will change your life. The truly special ones define it…Nan Mooney Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

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FRESH.INSPIRING.ANALYTICAL

Are you an old soul in a young bodyfascinated by the Mexican Cowboy’s hat and boots? Well, Ihave exciting news about alovely place that you can enjoy the Mexican experience in a farmland horse ride.

It is not for the faint hearted though. It is fun; it is dangerous but absolutely thrilling!Located in the tea region of Limuru and a refreshing hour’s drive from the Nairobi CBD is Kawamwaki Farm. Renowned site for affordable horse riding opportunities across the lush green tea plantation expanse, the Farm has an equestrian centre where horses can be hired on hourly basis. The horses are well trained and range from the drama-less well-schooled horses for the beginners to the more dare-devil horses for the riding experts.

Conveniently accessible from the city, the opulent green plantation offers delightful setup for unforgettable trails and places to picnic. Besides the horse riding which is the main attraction in the farm, Kawamwaki Farm boasts of an active tree planting project geared to re-afforestate all the steep land along the Ruaka River fascia.

Charges and Precautions The charges for horse riding is very affordable compared to other horse equestrian centres in the city. A rider incurs the hourly charge of ksh 1500 which entails charges for the right hand wingman or otherwise called groom who accompanies the ride. All riders must sign an indemnity form which is a disclaimer to the effect that the farm is not responsiblefor any incidence. The indemnity basically serves as the acceptance of personal cover during the ride.One hour is the minimal time you can ride the horse but if you opt for more than that, the ride will be much adventurous as you get to the hills top above the farm and havemagnificent view over Nairobi landscape.

The disclaimer form is one of the prerequisite to riding the horse as the activity is deemed one of the most dangerous but thrilling leisure time for all the visitors and especially the novice riders. Besides the indemnity signing, every rider is expected to wear a protective gear or hat

before setting off for an experience of a lifetime. The farm has riding hats that can be used although they encourage the riders to come with their own hats. At Kawamwaki Farm, they guarantee memorable horse rides and walks that will take you through the extensive picturesque of the evergreen tea and coffee plantation over a tranquil countrysidesetting. Early morning rides will be exquisite with the growing rays of the rising morning sun as well as evening ride or walk with the orange glimmer of the equatorialsunset that you can blend with personal country music collection during the sundowner!

As a farm, many other activities take place including educationaltours, walks, tree planting and the organic vegetable production. With the government’s keen interest to protect the land along the rivers and in essence preserve the

water reservoirs, the Farm community intentionally participates in tree planting activities along the Ruaka River.

You will enjoy good coffee or fresh juice before the ride at a modest fee towards supporting the conservation. The horse ride trip can be tied to a visit to Tigoni tea Plantation that offer wide area undulating trails across the settlements, tea farm towards the dam.

You can’t afford to miss out on this!

If you love taking risks, pick up your boots, a hat and let us take a ride of our lives down at Kawamwaki Farm. Cowboys don’t have to be living in Mexico.

We can recreate our own Mexico right here!

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

36

Coffee Break

Book Review YOU ARE NOT YOUR BRAIN The 4-Step Solution for Changing Bad Habits, Ending Unhealthy Thinking, and Taking Control of Your Life Author: Jeffrey Schwartz and Rebecca Gladding Reviewer: Oroni Tendera

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Two neuroscience experts explain how their 4-Step Method can help break destructive thoughts and actions and change bad habits for good.

A leading neuroplasticity researcher and the coauthor of the groundbreaking books Brain Lock and The Mind and the Brain, Jeffrey M. Schwartz has spent his career studying the structure and neuronal firing patterns of the human brain. He pioneered the first mindfulness-based treatment program for people suffering from OCD, teaching patients how to achieve long-term relief from their compulsions.

For the past six years, Schwartz has worked with psychiatrist Rebecca Gladding to refine a program that successfully explains how the brain works and why we often feel besieged by bad brain wiring.

Just like with the compulsions of OCD patients, they discovered that bad habits, social anxieties, self-deprecating thoughts, and compulsive overindulgence are all rooted in overactive brain circuits. The key to making life changes that you want-to make your brain work for you-is to consciously choose to “starve” these circuits of focused attention, thereby decreasing their influence and strength.

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

As evidenced by the huge success of Schwartz’s previous books, as well as Daniel Amen’s Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, and Norman Doidge’s The Brain That Changes Itself, there is a large audience interested in harnessing the brain’s untapped potential, yearning for a step-by-step, scientifically grounded and clinically proven approach. In fact, readers of Brain Lock wrote to the authors in record numbers asking for such a book. In You Are Not Your Brain, Schwartz and Gladding carefully outline their program, showing readers how to identify negative brain impulses, channel them through the power of focused attention, and ultimately lead more fulfilling and empowered lives.

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FRESH.INSPIRING.ANALYTICAL

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Coffee Break

Blog Review Blog name: luciamusau.com Founder: Lucia Musau Reviewer: Adisa Hudson With impeccable style, talents, qualities, and attributes, Musau offers unique culture dynamics on global fashion trends and designs. When it comes to fashion, she says, “Sometimes we lean so much on comfort and forget to pick up style; in most cases one of the two isoften ignored eventually leading to lack of comfort ( personal) or lack of style.For me then, fashion becomes all about making that little effortto unlock the secret to creating a balance between style and comfort” Coming from a business and entrepreneurial background, Lucia has aggressive-

ly pursued her passion on fashion which is evident in her blogging. Luciamusau.com looks at fashion from a unique point of view and is a quick run-to fashion grooming blog for any woman. She blends various cultures and unique fashion styles that take care of both the small size and the plus size woman. Whatever your size, Luciamusau.com has got you covered! The ideas, the fashion tips as highlighted by various developed and developing fashion icons gives the blog an international yet culture-specific aura that will satisfy all kind of fashion taste.

In 2018, Luciamusau.com was nominated

and won the 2018 BAKE Awards for the Fashion and Style Blog Category.

Lucia Musau is a Luxury PR Consultant and an Award Winning Fashion & Lifestyle Blogger. She holds an MBA from USIU – Chandaria Business School, BBA – First Class Hons from Kenya Methodist University and a Certificate in Design Thinking for Innovation from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Besides that she is also an Associate at the Chartered Institute Public Relations.

Paying your Electricity Bill Paying your Electricity Bill with M-Pesa (Safaricom) 1. Select “Pay Bill” from the M-Pesa menu.

2. Enter the Kenya Power business number 888 888 / 501200 / 800904.

3. Enter your full Kenya Power account number e.g. 123456-01.

4. Enter the amount you wish to pay which should be between KShs.100 and KShs.35,000.00 5. Enter your M-Pesa PIN. 6. Confirm that all details are correct.

7. You will receive a confirmation of the transaction via SMS.

Debit Card / Credit Card

How to Buy Kenya Power Prepaid Tokens via M-PESA Paybill Number 888880/501200/800904 • Go to Safaricom SIM Tool Kit, select M-PESA menu, select “Lipa na M-PESA” • Select “Pay Bill” • Select “Enter Business no.”, Enter Kenya Power Lipa na M-PESA PayBill Number 888880/501200/800904 and press “OK” • Select “Enter Account no.”, Enter your Kenya Power Prepaid Meter Number (e.g. 0100 xxxx xxxx x) and press “OK” • “Enter Amount”, between KShs.100 and KShs.35,000.00 and press “OK” • Enter your M-PESA PIN and press “OK” • Confirm all the details are correct and press “OK” • M-PESA HAKIKISHA. You will get a notification with the intended recipient’s name e.g. “Pay Kenya Power KShs.1,000.00 for Account 0100 xxxx xxxx x Press 1 within 20 seconds to STOP this transaction.”

• Kenya Power will then generate prepaid token valid for your meter and send via SMS.

Paying your Electricity Bill with Airtel Money (Airtel) 1.

2.

3.

4.

Select “Airtel Money’’ from the menu.

Click on “Make Payments”.

Select “Paybill”.

Choose Kenya Power Bill for postpaid bill OR Kenya Power Prepaid for purchase of tokens.

5. Enter the amount you wish to pay.

6. Enter your Airtel Money PIN. 7. Under the reference option, type your full Kenya Power account number e.g. 12345601.

8. Confirm that all details are correct.

9. You will receive a confirmation of the transaction via SMS.

You can check your Kenya Power bill by sending the first part of your account number e.g. 123456 by SMS to 95551.

Powering people for better lives

August 2018 Startupmagazine.co.ke

At the back

Song Review

Title: God’s Plan Drake Review by Declan Corea

Startupmagazine.co.ke August 2018

Drake’s new song “God’s Plan” was an overwhelming success Drake’s new song “God’s Plan” was an overwhelming success. It was released on January 20, 2018, and immediately began crushing records. The song has the record for the most plays on the day of release in both Spotify and Apple Music.

There are mixed opinions about it: you either love it or you hate it. Despite any opinions, “God’s Plan” was the #1 song in the world and United States according to Spotify’s charts during its release month.

It was also #1 on the Billboard Top 100 songs of the week as of February 3. Considering that this was the first of his music in nearly a year, it was undoubtedly a wide success.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. “God’s Plan” is overrated. Is it a good song? Absolutely. It’s definitely overrated though.

People love the song (and rightfully so!), but it is definitely not Drake’s best song.

The song feels overplayed and has weak

lyrics to back it up.

On top of this, it lacks a message or theme. It goes back and forth between random topics. An example of this is in the first verse where he states, “Don’t pull up at 6 a.m. to cuddle with me. You know how I like it when you lovin’ on me.” In the same verse, he states, “I don’t wanna die for them to miss me. Yes, I see the things that they wishin’ on me. Hope I got some brothers that outlive me.” Who is ‘them’, Drake? How does this relate at all to cuddling with someone at 6 a.m.?

Despite this criticism, it was a great song. The song had great lyrical timing throughout and a unique, easy-to-danceto beat. But with better lyrics and a comprehensive theme, this song could’ve been one of his all-time best.

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