The Entrepreneurial (and Fun!) Ushaverse Family

“How’s your summer going?” I have been asked this question countless times from friends, family, and former colleagues since landing in Nairobi four weeks ago. This open-ended inquiry is usually followed up with, “What’s Ushahidi like and how are the people?” While I cannot claim to be an expert, the last month working in the Ushaverse (the collection of enterprises and initiatives launched by Erik Hersman, Juliana Rotich, David Kobia, and others) has provided me with a healthy taste of life in Kenya’s magnetic entrepreneurial tech scene. And I am happy to report the experience has been incredibly positive.

Over the last six years since graduating from college, I’ve worked for a number of different organizations. Each one maintains a unique feel. Some are massive, with thousands of employees seamlessly operating around-the-clock. Others are smaller in shape and more defined in purpose. A few are global with networks that stretch from Boston to Bangalore. Ushahidi manages to straddle the line between a local outfit and an international enterprise. It is global while remaining lean and agile. This is a beautiful thing. Despite having less than 30 full-time employees, Ushahidi manages to operate worldwide. There have been over 60,000 Ushahidi deployments in 159 countries since Ushahidi launched in 2007. Enabled by a combination of open-source platforms and whip-smart staff members, Ushahidi has unquestionably created an international impact and recognized brand.

So what is the secret sauce that brings this small yet potent cohort of bloggers, coders, policy wonks, and ultimately leaders, together? Passion and good humor. Consider this: Every Monday the Ushahidi team logs onto Hipchat and connects to a global conference call. The weekly touchpoint provides an opportunity for Ushaverse employees to inform their colleagues about product breakthroughs, solicit advice on thorny deliverables, and advertise upcoming events. But besides these professional updates, the weekly call offers a chance for our remote team to connect. This week’s call included way too many bad puns, a bounty of baby pictures, and epic travel stories from the field. At first glance, these virtual updates seem silly (and some may say unnecessary); but I believe they help bind together a remote team spread across time zones. They represent Ushahidi’s dedication to fostering a positive and productive culture that’s not afraid to have fun.

Last week marked the halfway point of my summer with Ushahidi. Simply put, the time has flown by. In four short weeks, I have mocked up a business strategy for a new Ushahidi product, spoken at Tech4Africa in the iHub, ran a half marathon alongside rhinos with a dozen of Ushaverse colleagues, and blogged nearly every other day. In true Ushahidi form, my midway mark was celebrated with a bit of pomp and pageantry. At approximately 3pm, Erik Hersman strode into the batcave (our co-working space located below the iHub) holding a Crowdmap sweatshirt. With a firm handshake and a few snapshots, I was bequeathed a gray hoodie. While only a temporary member of the Ushahidi team, I felt welcomed (and perhaps slightly awestruck). It is this type of camaraderie that drives the Ushaverse forward—and I am very, very proud to be associated with such a path breaking, human-centered organization.

¡Hola de Kilimani!

It is hard to imagine that here, in the heart of Kilimani, Señor Pete is pumping out California-quality burritos. But it’s true. The small Mexican café gets started early. As customers line up for their morning chai ya maziwa (the local milk tea), Pete’s staff is busy making tortilla dough and smashing farm fresh avocados into a tangy guacamole. Located on the ground floor of the iHub, Pete’s is just one of many strange juxtapositions I have come to know during my first few days in Kenya. While an authentic Mexican restaurant in Nairobi indeed seems odd, at further examination Pete’s success actually makes sense. The café is truly representative of Kenya’s unique blend of east and west—and underscores the country’s multicultural vibe and grand global ambitions.

Beyond burritos, this global outlook is apparent throughout Bishop Magua Center—the office block where both Pete’s and Ushahidi (my employer for the summer) are located. Several years ago Ushahidi launched the iHub, a tech workspace and innovation hub aimed at empowering Africa’s next generation of technocrats. Following iHub’s lead, many other organizations set up shop at Bishop Magua including the Praekelt Foundation (an incubator for mobile technology which improves the health and well-being of people living in poverty), FrontlineSMS (a text-based software provider), and a branch of GSMA (an alliance of mobile network operators). Besides these big names, smaller start-ups are making noise. M-Farm, farmforce, Savannah Fund, and many other micro-entrepreneurs building mobile apps and games are located right here in Kiliamani.

Clearly, the iHub and others have sparked a bit of a revolution here in East Africa. Not a day goes by without a new article proclaiming Kenya’s emerging tech sector and promise of growth. Nairobi’s been called Silicon Savannah with high hopes of transforming Kenya into an economic powerhouse. With this growth comes the possibility of high-paying jobs and strong opportunities for professional advancement. It is indeed exciting—and I feel privileged to play a very small part this summer through my fellowship at Ushahidi.

So next time you bite into your Chipotle burrito, think about its brother being consumed at Pete’s, working to fuel the talented, innovative young minds at Bishop Magua Center. Call it growth by guacamole or burrito diplomacy, either way economic advancement and additional foreign investment is certainly in Kenya’s future. You can read more about my summer in Nairobi here at my Tumblr: http://nairobridge.tumblr.com