On this episode of Chini Ya Maji podcast, CEO and Co-Founder, Pamela Muriuki, shares her entrepreneurial journey and the birth of GiftPesa. Discover how she transformed gifting from a side hustle into a game-changer. Dive into her business model, focused on appreciating the most deserving employees and service providers. Tune in to listen to this e…

On this episode of Chini Ya Maji podcast, CEO and Co-Founder, Marvin Tumbo, shares his entrepreneurial journey and the birth of Scale. Discover how he transformed procurement from a side hustle into a game-changer. Dive into his business model, focused on surfacing the best service providers, building trust and reputation and ensuring equal opportu…

In this episode, delve into Kevin Mutiso's captivating journey. From his discovery of Warren Buffet to his deep dive into the world of stocks, we explore his transition from data entry to launching his own startup. Discover the invaluable lessons learned from his entrepreneurial setback and his bold vision to transform Africa into the most futurist…

Peter share his Journey of Innovation and hard work. An inspiring conversation that walks us through how the idea of TWIVA came about and how building a product in a new market is not easy. Enjoy the Podcast!

Title: Building Middle East and Africa's first Super API for a comprehensive payment solution Nader started out as a curious young man in the 1990s, intrigued by technology. He decided to pursue engineering in order to build and create solutions. Through his passion for understanding the tech world, he discovered that knowledge alone is not enough,…

Betting on Solar Energy to Address Climate Change and Impact Lives Samir Ibrahim grew up in Orlando, Florida. His parents always told him that the opportunities he had were not available to them back home. As a child of immigrants, Ibrahim knew that it was important to use his opportunities to help others.In this episode of our Founders series, hos…

BOLDNESS CREATES OPPORTUNITY My father had plans for me but I wasn't keen on that... he wasn't very happy to support me. For a lot of young Africans this statement isn't new to them. It's not easy chattering your path against your parents' will. So many questions are already asked to us in the startup world about the description of our work and for…

The Wowzi Journey: Connecting The Dots When you come up with an idea and you talk to the market and you see how it gets translated into a solution, it's magic.Brian Mogeni and his Co-Founders Mike Otieno and Hassan Bashir wanted to connect capacity and opportunity and the greatest insight that came by was that 'People trust People,' The major quest…

THE 'FOUNDER-PROBLEM FIT' APPROACH The most overlooked aspect by entrepreneurs "One of my challenges was realizing I didn't need to have just technical skills... As a founder I need to know how to pitch"Idorenyin Obong or as we'd like to call him 'The Writing Techie' found himself in a situation that a lot of founders find themselves before their l…

Leveraging Tech in the African Logistics Landscape "It's going to take some time for us to stop comparing ourselves to each other and other countries... and start asking the question of why we didn't do better"Mark Mwangi was never your average student, he never settled, not from his days in high school to his days as a truck driver making ends mee…

A New Era of Businesses with Social Impact I think we are entering a new era where businesses can't ignore their social impact ~ Tracey Turner Growing up, Tracey just like many young people, did not have a clear path for what career she wanted to pursue. She was ambitious and spontaneous and had a stint of wanting to pursue so much including being …

LET'S TALK INVESTMENT "We want to turn out one million African investors and we have the capacity to go for such a goal" Meet Richmond Bassey, the Co-founder and CEO of Bamboo, an investment platform that gives people the tools to build wealth from the ground up through real-time access to the global marketsCatch him and our host Mark Karake as the…

Scaling Fintech in Africa "The reality in Africa is that if you really want to scale today, you need to run a hybrid strategy, meaning digital and part physical." ~Timothy Nuy Meet Timothy Nuy, a man who was always intrigued and interested in business in the financial services space. Hear how he started as a call centre agent and moved to African D…

Embracing the Disruptive Nature of Entrepreneurship "Be comfortable with failure. Fail at this, fail at that and keep failing but just make sure that you learn from them" Eerik was an adventurous young man growing up in Estonia Northern Europe where he tried his hand at everything from lawn mowing to being an infantry team lead even opening a bar b…

Bold Changes: It's Not As Bad As It Sounds "Many times we step away from giving stuff a try because we think that the fallout is going to be worse than it actually is"Femi Kuti. Mr Femi Kuti came from being a doctor to an investment banker to finally to an entrepreneur and the founder of Reliance Health: A technology driven health insurance company…

CATEGORY CREATION: AN INSIGHT INTO UNIQUE SOLUTIONS "If you've been doing something painfully for so long, it becomes a dull ache, eventually you don't realize you have a problem"When Sam Wanjohi started POPOTE INNOVATIONS LIMITED, he's idea was to find a software solution system for his company's payment. Little did he know that this was the birth…

Building Africa's Champion for e-commerce "With a curiosity mindset, there is an endless number of things that you can ultimately discover and potentially create value in," Daniel Yu. Excited to host Daniel Yu, Co-founder and CEO of Sokowatch now rebranding to Wasoko as they announce their &125M series B round of financing (full equity raise) along…

Why Social Impact Technologies are a Game Changer for Africa "The best and newest technology is going to be technology around social good," Eldrid Jordaan. Eldrid Jordaan is marked by one purpose; Serving his people to make things better. Six years down the line, he serves as a connector of government, civil society, private sector and citizens at …

Building Africa's Tech Ecosystem "To invest is human, to exit is divine," Idris Ayodeji Bello Meet Idris Bello, a man who had a stable career at Chevron Corporation and Exxon Mobil but had an itch for innovation and entrepreneurship. He later moves back with his partners to Lagos, Nigeria and pursues his passion for building an ecosystem of African…

Challenging the Status Quo: Solve Problems "If you do something you enjoy, it always pays forward," Adebiyi Aromolaran Meet Adebiyi Aromolaran, Head of Africa Expansion at Dlocal, an Uruguayan financial technology company; who has vast experience in Africa's fintech and Banking ecosystem spanning over 15 years. Join him and Mark as they take a dive…

Talent: Africa's Most Promising Resource "On the continent, we don't have enough talent especially the good talent that everyone is looking for. There is more demand than supply, " Yusuf Adewale. Join Mark and Adewale, CEO & Co-founder of Talent QL and Alt School in this riveting episode as they dig deeper into the scarcity of talent in Africa and …

Hi Chini Ya Maji Family, thank you for tuning in to yet another episode on the CYM PodcastIn this episode, we host Preston Ideh, CEO and Co-founder of Stears which is a data powered insights company inspired by the likes of Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters He seeks to empower people to make better decisions by providing them with the necessary informa…

The Beauty of Learning as an Entrepreneur "Entrepreneurs should know when you get a no, it's part of the journey." Henry Chibuzo. The hunger to learn is a key differentiator in how an entrepreneur navigates challenges he/she encounters and emerges successful. Join us in this episode with Henry Chibuzo, Founder & CEO of Schoolable, as he takes us th…

The Power of Passion-Driven Solutions "Do something that you are passionate about. You will not put your mind to something if you are not excited about it," Martin Nielsen. In this episode, we host Martin Nielsen, CEO and Co-Founder of Mdundo who is passionate about revolutionising the African music industry. Join Mark and Martin as they unpack Mdu…

Overcome Fear and Lean into the Unknown "You cannot have a thriving economy without a functioning consumer credit ecosystem," In this episode, we host Yvonne Johnson, MD and Co-Founder of Indicina, a fintech infrastructure start-up focused on AfricaListen in to learn how Yvonne got into the financial services industry and how she chose to address t…

The Power of Collaboration in Unlocking Opportunities "Success is layered on top of the success of others," Wiza Jalakasi.In this episode, we host Wiza Jalakasi, VP, Global Developer Relations at Chipper Cash, a lover of Africa Fintech travel, culture and life. Listen to Mark and Wiza as they unpack Africa's tech ecosystem, its players, its current…

Betting on the right team of co-founders "One of the most important things to do when you are starting a tech company or any company is to look for good cofounders because they will definitely define the success of your company," Mutie Mule.In this episode, Mutie Mule, COO & Co-Founder of Solutech Limited, discusses the growth of Solutech from ince…

Overcome Your Obstacles, Don't Settle! "The journey of entrepreneurship is not very straightforward," Wilberforce Seguton. In this episode, we host Wilberforce Seguton, CEO & Co-Founder of Bunifu Technologies, a leading tech scale-up in Nairobi, Kenya with its main focus being software development and information security. Get to hear Seguton's sto…

Believe in yourself and take the risk" If you want to tackle a problem at scale, you want to take the route of entrepreneurship," Franziska Reh.Meet Franziska Reh, CEO & Co-Founder of Unconventional Capital, a fintech company focusing on early-stage investing in Africa, who is a corporate financial consultant-turned-fintech entrepreneur. Listen to …

Live life by creating solutions that have a positive impact "It is ok to take risks if you really believe in something," Kageni Wilson. In this episode, we host Kageni Wilson, Founder and CEO of Finplus Group, a white-label fintech platform in Nairobi for fintechs in Africa. Get to see how a nerdy and creative individual got interested in the world…

Process Matters "Tech is at the core of what we do, " Caine Wanjau. Join Mark and Caine, CTO at Twiga Foods, on this episode as they delve into Twiga Foods on how it has transited from a startup to a scale-up and how it has been impacted by the pandemic. Listen to Caine's riveting story on how he grew from a team of one to a team of sixty. You do n…

Hi Chini Ya Maji Family, thank you for tuning in to Chini Ya Maji podcast, your one stop shop for all startup news and stories. In this episode, we hosted Nick Quintong, CEO & Co-Founder of PayGoEnergy, a technology company in Nairobi that is building hardware and software solutions to help grow markets for LPG. This episode extensively gives backg…

"Entreprenuership is like a bug that once you catch, you can't get rid of & have to live with," - Mutembei Kariuki, CEO & Co-Founder of Fastagger. In this engaging episode, he shares his entrepreneurship background and his transition to tech whose foundation was laid by his father. He also heartily shares his challenges and success stories. Fastagg…

Hi Chini ya Maji Family! On this episode, we hosted Mutethia Mbaabu, Co- Founder CEO and of MarketForce 360, a company that helps consumer brands digitize field sales and increasing their channels of distribution. Call it the salesforce for Africa. In this episode, Mbaabu who began entrepreneurship at an early age highlights his background, custome…

Hi Chini Ya Maji Family! We had the privilege of hosting Andrew Mutua CEO & Founder of Pesakit and a Nairobian to the bone! PesaKit is revolutionizing last-mile access to financial services and digital commerce through mobile money agents, for everyone, everywhere. In this episode, Andrew takes us through his background and of special interest is h…

Hi Chini Ya Maji Family! We had the privilege of hosting Henrik Barck Founder and CEO of Afripods, a platform for podcasts. With an 18 year background in the digital sector, Henrik's story is that of success and failure in equal measure. He was however able to overcome two major setbacks, to be who he is today. In this episode, he takes us through …

Hi Chini Ya Maji Family! We had the privilege of hosting Paul Kimani Co-Founder and CEO of Work Pay. His story is one that you will not only learn from but also be greatly motivated. He is a perfect example of beating all odds to achieve your goals. Paul was able to use all his skills to create his brand and grow as an entrepreneur. Having started …

Hi Chini ya Maji family! As the global pandemic rolls into another week, we are here to make sure you stay informed and inspired by our guests and their stories.This week we hosted Towett Ng'etich, Founder and C.E.O at Uthabiti Healthcare, a pharmaceutical company founded on the need to increase access to safe medicines across communities. He is a …

Hi Chini Ya Maji Family! Another week another special episode. From the field of academia, our guest this week is Dr. Lawrence Nderu, a professor in the computer Science department in JKUAT, with a PhD in AI from the University of Paris. His deep rooted passion for technology is evident not only through his academic achievements, but also in his da…

Hello Chini ya Maji Family! Amidst these trying times, we are back again this week to bring you hope for a greater tomorrow with amazing stories of the Nairobi ecosystem. This week we had the privilege of hosting Ali Hussein CEO of Kipochi. He started his tech journey at Toyota motors as a market analyst, where he learnt the power of technology.Com…

Hey Chini ya Maji family, this week on the podcast we had the privilege of hosting Jason Carmichael Co-Founder and CEO of Tibu, a platform for decentralization of primary patient healthcare by connecting patients to high quality, affordable healthcare whenever they need it, you can say its Uber for healthcare! Jason has a Masters degree in Public H…

This week we had the privilege of hosting Don Okoth, CO founder and country manager freight at Sendy. His story is one of hardwork and determination which started at an early age. Don, is a perfect example of entrepreneurs who understand the process of creating a business from the ground up, and adapting to the market. With the current state of the…

Happy Holidays Chini ya Maji Family! This holiday season we are digging into the archives to share some of our favourite oldie but goodie episodes as a holiday treat to you.This weeks oldie but goodie is an origin story of Mook, a kenyan social-ecommerce platform. Co-founder and CEO Eric Thimba shares the start up’s remarkable journey. Enjoy!…

This week we continue spotlighting VC's and investors creating effective impact in Nairobi's startup ecosystem. Our guest is Royosuke Yamawaki, Fund Manager at Kepple Fund who over the last 15 months has invested in over 24 Nairobi based startups! Kepple Fund, a Japaneses venture capital entered the Nairobi market on August of 2018 and proceeded to…

This week we had the pleasure of hosting Jason Musyoka, Angel Investment Manager at ViKtoria Ventures. Creating successful and lasting connections between startups and angel investors. Jason runs the Viktoria Business Angel Network connecting angel investors with innovative startups that are charting new paths and tapping into large market opportun…