Why OLX Became Household Name in Kenya that it Did NOT Deserve

OLX in Kenya is seemingly the new buzz word with all the roads leading there to sell and buy stuff. As I quietly watch this trend of amusement about OLX, I can’t stop wondering when Kenyan techies will wake up the innovative giant within them.

I want to share my opinion on why we should become better technology entrepreneurs.

• Creativity at Stake in Kenya

 I am one of those people who share the opinion that Kenyans who are tech savvy deserve to become more creative. I have constantly become annoyed by some people lack of innovativeness or should I say creativity. There are many people who would make a better online classified website but they are still dreaming of such a day. 

We are not doing well in creating useful web applications and websites that can make a difference in ordinary Kenyan lives. I think it’s time Kenyans started appreciating creativity and began taking the value of websites seriously for communication and doing business.

• Kenyans Love Everything Foreign

I still watch the video of that poor Kenyan who was trying to make airplane somewhere in Central Kenya with a lot of admiration. What surprises me is the unappreciative nature of Kenyans especially for creativity, innovativeness…who cares??? Even our leaders are doing little to support technology innovations …so much talk no walk!

• Kenyans will not buy Kenyan Brands

 It’s a shame that Kenyans lack consistent believe in Kenyan upcoming brands. I somewhat share similar opinion with one of the most recognized innovative Kenyan Kamal Budhabhatti, CEO, Craft Silicon. 

This one answer to the last question on an interview on How we Made it in Africa sums up this article on why we will continue to see our cyber-sphere dominated by OLX et al.

“10. How can Africa realize its full potential?

Africans must believe in Africans. We tend to buy products from the Western world and their companies and do not support local brands. We are always overshadowed by foreigners. For instance, we export most of our software because local companies either do not believe in local brands or are just resistant to local innovations.”

True to this fact above, I am a personal testimony among other developers who have created hundreds or may be thousands of beautiful websites, apps and software for Europe market like this one below:

     What I think

Our people need to realize the true value of websites, web applications and software. Kenyans should also embrace upcoming Kenyan brands for a better future in technology innovation. On the other hand Kenyan techies also should awaken the innovative giant within them for technology innovation progress in Kenya.

About the Author

For 6 years I have worked with businesses helping them create online presence, build a positive online reputation, manage online reputation and market businesses through internet media beyond the reach of traditional media.

Ideally, I help businesses establish online presence through creation of modern responsive websites, Smartphone & tablets visible websites (mobile websites) & blogs, search engine optimization, search marketing, professional blogging, business blogging and digital marketing.

Upon consultation, I will help any business or individual professional achieve the following:

• Create a Professional Website with blog to represent their brand (Help in domain registration, website hosting plan acquisition, design and development of both mobile and desktop ultramodern design website. This is either using freely available CMS or custom PHP, MySQL CMS.
•   Continually create useful content for corporate and business blogs (I work with a team), optimize the content for search engine and social media. Create video content for YouTube marketing and post the content on YouTube for you.
•   Help in creating a brand online presence and grow social media marketing plan for the brand on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media platforms that may be deemed necessary.
• Initiate an email marketing plan for your business through creation of a mailing list, when I design the website, Integrate any software for building mailing lists like Awebar, Mail Chimp and any other.

You can Get in Touch with me for more details regarding my services and consultation. I am currently available.