Month: December 2020

In 2016, How we made it in Africa first interviewed Zucchini Greengrocers, a retailer focusing mostly on fresh produce. At the time, the company operated just four stores in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. Six years on, it has evolved, both in terms of its overall retail strategy and the items offered. There are now 10 stores spread across the city, mostly in shopping malls….

The Dreamer

December 20, 2020

By Gloria Mwaniga Odary At a young age, Amadou Daffe loved to reconfigure his and his sister’s electronic toys—and as he grew up, his curiosity…

The Problem-solver

December 12, 2020

By Gloria Mwaniga Odary When COVID-19 struck Africa and country-wide lockdowns began, Obi Ozor, founder and CEO of Kobo360 —an African company that is digitizing…

The Maker

December 10, 2020

When Shola Akinlade was 16, he got a gift that captivated him: a computer. “All I wanted to do was lock myself in my room and just make software. I wanted to solve problems.” he recalls……..

The Outlier

December 5, 2020

Growing up in Morocco, Niama El Bassunie observed the many highs and lows her parents experienced as they ran the business they started 45 years ago—an enterprise she was always expected to join. But even as her siblings were signing on, she was eyeing an opportunity to help small businesses in Africa use the Internet to securely buy and sell goods online. She envisioned a pan-African digital marketplace as varied and vibrant as the kiosks, boutiques, and shops scattered throughout Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, and Togo.

The Solution Provider

December 1, 2020

It all started with bananas.
Peter Njonjo and Grant Brooke decided to sell bananas to informal vendors scattered throughout Nairobi after a deal to export fruit to the Middle East fell through. Offering African fruit to African buyers would be straightforward, they figured. It wasn’t. As they immersed themselves in Kenya’s informal economy, the duo spotted problems in the system that moves farmers’ goods to families’ plates…