The Learning Journey to Silicon Savannah (2022) – Day 1

First, the whole team met at Baraza Media Lab, (an initiative that serves as a crucial building block in strengthening the Kenyan media ecosystem, working to rebuild trust amongst the key players in the ecosystem and the public, and putting in place resources that will help address challenges being faced in terms of business models) were introductions took place and Maurice Otieno, the Executive Director gave us a short background story of the Organization. Vincent Kiio from Trine, Joshua Murima from Briter Bridges, and Yuwa Maki also represented their respective organizations very well by giving the team short but detailed presentations of how their companies operate on a day-to-day basis. This was an important exercise since the team from Vienna needed to understand the business ecosystem in Nairobi, Kenya and there couldn’t be a better way to showcase it. The team also got a chance for Q&A just to get a better understanding.

 

Later in the day, we took a site visit to Twiga Foods’ Warehouses along Mombasa Road, Nairobi where we were privileged to be taken through their logistics cycle (from when the Twiga foods vendors bring in their products to the warehouse, Sampling the product to make sure it’s of good quality, packaging and storing of the product and dispatch of the product to Twiga Food Suppliers) It was quite fascinating to see products we find readily available in the market go through a rigorous process just to meet market requirements.

 

After a fruitful day, the whole team made their way to the Austrian Embassy, Nairobi where we got a chance to meet, network, and dine with Dr. Christian Fellner, Austrian Ambassador, and Edith Predorf, Commercial Counselor of Austria in Eastern Africa.