Thus Spaketh Idd Salim

<< Part 1 Here

Along came Safaricon

Those guys from henga (Wahenga) once said ‘Mtegemea Nundu Haachi kunona’. That is normally the truth because as we see it all over, then BIG companies are always helping out the small ones, even if via mergers and acquisitions, for the good of everyone. Google just bought AdMob last week for USD 750M [KSHS 54.7 B].

However, In Kenya, the saying was officially changed to ‘mtegemea nundu, haachi kusota’.

The 2003 experience

I vividly remember in 2003. I was co-habiting at UoN with some of my Starehe Old Boys. Like most Kenyan Coders, I was all-brains and bubbling with Ideas, but NO Money. So, Me and my Friend Wasena Angira went to Safaricon with our very brilliant Idea. We called it 2GeS [2^nd Generation Email Service]. This solution would help one aggregate all his emails using a simple web Interface we had created and would get an SMS when new mail checked into any of his/her email accounts. Via USSD, the user would then quickly peruse his emails and decide whether it is necessary to rush back to the office or cyber to read the mails. User could set parameters and priority levels based on sender, subject or message body.

Assuming Safaricon was there to help the innovators be able to finally afford some groceries, we did the demo, shared the documentation and the entire concept. Talk of a cute gal walking with a shirt with the words ‘Take me, I am single and desperate’ in Westlands.

‘Very nice concept, we will get back to you in 2 days’, was the response. And so we walked back to westlands stage smiling at each other everytime we saw a nice car because we knew, ‘we will own 2 of those each, soon’.

OHHH!! How wrong we were!!

We got a regret email stating that Safaricon was not immediately looking at email over SMS and that they will get back to us.

Needless to mention some time after that, Safaricon and Google did a replica of that system. Thanks to God, it flopped. Amazingly, [possibly just coincidence].

I do not have enough facts to intelligently comment on the origins of mPesa, OkoaJahazi or Sambaza concepts, but I know some people that talk about coders who went to Safcon, were told off via email or call, only to see their product on a billboard and all over news. Powered and Owned by Safaricon, ofcourse.

The 2009 experience

So, fast-forward 2009. We are more equipped and stronger. More technically adept and mentally sanguine. We develop and test Sembuse version 3. A mobile Social Network that comes with Real-time Cheap Messaging, Operator Agnostic payment, SIM-Independent Revenue model and a ground-breaking Advertising Engine [ManenoAds].

So we go to Safaricon with after a request for a meeting from JM, we send an NDA and they send an email saying that all but MJ have signed the NDA, but we can proceed with the meeting. We go to Safcon House and meet with a group of 3 marketing department staff and 2 VAS Staff. All names available. We take them through the system and all its workings, discuss revenue models etc.

‘Very good product. So, what do you want from Safcon’, The VAS lady asks. ‘One-off Licensing cost and a revenue share’, Says TM. ‘Hmmn, Revenue Share? How does 90% Safcon and you 10% sound’, She Asks.

Ohh dear! 2003 all coming back to me.

We found a way to get off the meeting amicably and they were to ‘get back to us’. Till today, we have not yet received the NDA. MJ bado hajasign.

Amazingly, [possibly just coincidence] Safaricon started a CLASSIFIED service on Safcon Live, aiming to cannibalize on our ManenoAds ad engine. Needless to say, it was a kindergarten implementation of our concept.

The advice

I have shared this idea with a lot of people and the following was the collective advice I have got on how to deal with Kenyan Corporates:

1. The NDA is just a piece of paper. Go to ALL meetings with a lawyer. No phone calls. Insist on Emails and always CC your lawyer.
2. Don’t deal with middle or low-level staff. They will steal your Idea, package It as theirs and sell it to senior management. They are mostly under-achievers who will do anything to get noticed. They are kawa people like you who HATE to see you walk in with an Idea and walk out with a check right before their very eyes. Above all, they will just waste your time.
3. If you can’t deal with SENIORS or OWNERS, then it is not worth your time. God has given you that Idea and he will open other doors for you.
4. Don’t be intimidated by company size. Remember, Companies like Safaricon are just ‘Jogoos was shamba’. With their 12M subscribers they are non-entities in the global scene [read: Mjini]. Using LinkedIN and simple google searches, you can find bigger fish who can take up your idea in a more professional level and manner.
5. Look for a VC or a non-kenyan investor to put money in your idea and LAUNCH BIG. A small launch is like a small erection. It impresses no one and just exposes your Ideas to the hunters and gatherers.
6. Offshore is better. Why Non-Kenyans? Because there are no real investors in Kenya. We have not met someone who can put USD 100k in faith and equity on an IT startup. Kenyans have no faith. All we have met are people who want to put KSHS 1M for 80% ownership of your solution and your life. Remember it is Software. Not Bread.
7. Never give up. Like Jose Chameleone said, ‘Chako ni Chako’.

More Soon…