Sendy raises $3m for expansion

[Nefertiti]

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A good sum for a 2yr startup stealing the thunder from all the boda bodas. Most FDI ought to come in through startups especially the disruptive kind.


http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/companies/Seven-tech-startups-to-get-up-to-Sh150m/4003102-4177416-tqdwgnz/index.html

[gout]

It is interesting to see the venture capitalists moving away from race as the most important factor in committing funds in Africa. So many promising start ups have failed due to having no mzungu pusher.

[RV Pundit]

exciting; this is kind of capital and fdi that we need to pursue; 1000 such companies each getting 3m dollars a year as fdi; easily 3B dollars; or about NEW SGR every year.

[Nefertiti]

It is interesting to see the venture capitalists moving away from race as the most important factor in committing funds in Africa. So many promising start ups have failed due to having no mzungu pusher.

Once startups become the thing there - like how Bollywood or Nollywood picked up steam - you will see an outbreak of new companies solving all kinds of problems. We could do alot with more startups to solve water or drought or energy or education or whatever problems. M-kopa or Sendy or Jumia are just a start. It is not really race but clout. Confidence that Nairobi can be a startup hub. A critical mass of successful startups serves as an indicator that Kenya has a strong enough ecosystem to support startups which attracts capital. It takes some pushing before the walls finally cave in. If you read tech & VC blogs you will be glad to see Nairobi pop up as often as Bangalore. No other African capital has managed this.

[Nefertiti]

A good sum for a 2yr startup stealing the thunder from all the boda bodas. Most FDI ought to come in through startups especially the disruptive kind.


http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/companies/Seven-tech-startups-to-get-up-to-Sh150m/4003102-4177416-tqdwgnz/index.html

Correct link: http://disrupt-africa.com/2017/11/kenyas-sendy-raises-3m-funding-round/

[Nefertiti]

Factor the ecosystem - the supply chain of talent, housing, spenders, taxes, etc - that accompanies the capital. It's the boomerang that happens in the Silicon Valley every day. If you go to Bangalore you can see the dramatic difference to the rest of India. I think Bangalore is 15% of India GDP like California. The Silicon Valley is a wealth factory - where a few billionaires are minted monthly - with many millionaires as the icing.

exciting; this is kind of capital and fdi that we need to pursue; 1000 such companies each getting 3m dollars a year as fdi; easily 3B dollars; or about NEW SGR every year.

[RV Pundit]

Precisely - which is why GoK really need to invest in tech infrastructure around Nairobi & Kenya - I am talking about fiber to every house at least in Nairobi - 100mbps pipe - and then Konza city need to be up and running - it could become the start up city where GOK establish hubs for free to start ups.

I hope Uhuru can tap Ndemo to head Konza City - he is one visionary is who is responsible for all this.

Once startups become the thing there - like how Bollywood or Nollywood picked up steam - you will see an outbreak of new companies solving all kinds of problems. We could do alot with more startups to solve water or drought or energy or education or whatever problems. M-kopa or Sendy or Jumia are just a start. It is not really race but clout. Confidence that Nairobi can be a startup hub. A critical mass of successful startups serves as an indicator that Kenya has a strong enough ecosystem to support startups which attracts capital. It takes some pushing before the walls finally cave in. If you read tech & VC blogs you will be glad to see Nairobi pop up as often as Bangalore. No other African capital has managed this.

[RV Pundit]

And fact that they actually peform solve some real problems - Kenya or Nairobi has been NGO capital - getting lots of billions but the money has very little multiplier - compared say to Sendy or Ihub or Jumia or Mpesa - who actually solve real problems - making the economy more efficient and more productive.

Factor the ecosystem - the supply chain of talent, housing, spenders, taxes, etc - that accompanies the capital. It's the boomerang that happens in the Silicon Valley every day. If you go to Bangalore you can see the dramatic difference to the rest of India. I think Bangalore is 15% of India GDP like California. The Silicon Valley is a wealth factory - where a few billionaires are minted monthly - with many millionaires as the icing.

[Nefertiti]

Yes NGOs have no multiplier. High bandwidth internet is really big. Digital space is really underinvested. But the real deal is education. Talent is a capital magnet - it's California and Bangalore's biggest selling point. I really don't think our colleges are upto speed. We have a skill gap which can be filled by more Andela types. Importantly I don't think we market ourselves well as a country. We're tunnel-visioned on tourism. Any business forum - like TechCrunch Berlin am attending early Dec - we should have a desk showcasing how easy it is to setup or invest in Kenya. Malaysia, Turkey, Qatar and such hire "Market Liaison" consultancies that are actually a marketing front for their country.

And fact that they actually peform solve some real problems - Kenya or Nairobi has been NGO capital - getting lots of billions but the money has very little multiplier - compared say to Sendy or Ihub or Jumia or Mpesa - who actually solve real problems - making the economy more efficient and more productive.

Factor the ecosystem - the supply chain of talent, housing, spenders, taxes, etc - that accompanies the capital. It's the boomerang that happens in the Silicon Valley every day. If you go to Bangalore you can see the dramatic difference to the rest of India. I think Bangalore is 15% of India GDP like California. The Silicon Valley is a wealth factory - where a few billionaires are minted monthly - with many millionaires as the icing.

[RV Pundit]

Such a refreshing read Robina. Gives me hope for this country tech space.

[hk]

This is one thing kenya is excelling in FDI. If safaricom ecommerce project can team up with sendy to handle logistics(I believe safaricom is a sendy investor with already one click payment implemented) the platform can really take off.