A few weeks ago, I was looking for industrial masks the kind that can really keep out even the most minute dust particles. Process was go onto google, do a quick search, find a few options in Nairobi, see who has a physical location on their website then visit to make the purchase.

This was not the first time I was going through this process; I’ve done it while looking for all sort of things from a custom white photo frame to a starlink kit. This could really be a key e-commerce process and maybe it’s time we make the pet project uzakitu take this fully into consideration.

I’d like to say that this process is mainly because commerce is social in Kenya but the bigger truth is that I prefer to see what I’m buying first (trust). I have tried a couple of times to let the merchant just send it over without having seen it first but 8 out 10 times there was always a flaw here or there.

This trust thing is true for most other tech startups and businesses in Kenya, whether you are in e-commerce, logistics or fintech, if there is a way for your service or product to have some form of normal “boring” human contact then it somewhat becomes trustworthy.

M-pesa agents were there for convenience but it has created major trust in the long run, Pickup Mtaani agents are there for convenience but it has created trust, Jiji had to go and physically try to verify merchants and leave a verified sticker at their shops, Jumia had to eventually try and have local drop-off points, even new startups like Kapu immediately went for this option, M-kopa now has agents in almost every corner within the Nairobi metropolitan, even betting companies do this.

We would like out tech startups to be nice, clean, glitz and glamoury but it seems to create the trust that eventually turns into proper revenue, we have to somewhat become a normal small Kenyan business at the corner of the entrance to an estate, or have some association to that roadside kiosk that people visit a lot.

The tech has to somehow fit and be seen in the normal everyday lives of normal everyday Kenyans, because this is what we all are. Glitz and glamour is nice for an introduction but longevity seems to ingrained in being normal or even boring but efficient.

How can your tech startup fit into normal Kenyan day to day? Not what you think it should be, but what is there already, what is your boring?

We’ll circle back with a case study of our own.