WHITE COLLAR | ISSUE 010
But we are a technology company, we don't want to feel limited by some regulation, we want to disrupt. So it's a balance; we try to tell them that the beauty of this, educate them, tell them that this is the best way forward. I always say that the biggest thing is let the consumers drive everything. Getting a million or everyone in Nairobi using HydroIQ; I don't think our government would be in a position to deny us. So the more adoption you have, the faster you grow, the more feedback you get from both sides, then more credible you become in front of government.
Do you feel as though your innovations have been better received internationally rather than locally? The biggest difference I think is the culture.
I feel like we have a long way to go as professionals and just as entrepreneurs.
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In Kenya, you grow in an environment where things go slower, lesser expectations, and more understanding to failure. When abroad if you go out and say, “I’ve registered a company and we are doing this,” then you better do that. The standards are already set high. In Europe, you as a start-up, you are obligated to ensure that all your statutory requirements are met from day one. On the work ethic as well, there’s a bit of a difference and it’s mostly centred on to the self-drive of the person. Generally, I feel like we have a long way to go as professionals and just as entrepreneurs. Our systemthat probably was the first question you asked about the educational system educational system - is not giving the right skills to prepare people for the real world. We’re producing graduates with no skills. And you start to wonder why Africa has such a tremendous skills gap.
we are considering Tanzania as a logical next step. Given their farming practices there it seems to be one of the best places to start the east African pilot. For HydroIQ, our biggest target for next year is to hit our target of 30,000 households. I think it could bigger or less, depending on the guys that we work with. We want, in our second year, to cement our presence as the guys who actually bring transparency the water system. Whether you're a consumer, think of a wrong bill and think of HydroIQ; if you’re a water utility or supplier think of your revenue losses and think HydroIQ has the solution. ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
What's next for you your company? For Ujuzikilimo, we've been concentrating our efforts on Central region, it’s our first market and we are working with over 11,000 farmers over there. By the end of the year we’ll be in three other most active regions in Rift Valley and Western. By the end of 2019 we intend to be working with over 100,000 farmers in Kenya. We'll also be setting up at least one pilot in East Africa and
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