Konza Technology City – Africa’s “Silicon Savannah” Konza Technology City, dubbed “Africa’s Silicon Savannah”, some 60km from Nairobi, is one of the most publicized elements of Kenya’s Vision 2030. The US $10bn project aims to create a world-class technology park on roughly 2,000 hectares of land. Connected to Nairobi (60km) and to Jomo Kenyatta International…
Oil in Turkana: A Curse or a Blessing for Kenya? On March 26th, 2012, President Mwai Kibaki made an historic announcement: Kenya has struck oil in Turkana County! The announcement had barely been made before the debate was on in every office, café, bar, and online medium on whether this was a curse or a…
Less than 3 weeks to clear another zero-rated consignment. That must be a new record for DHL! After the Kyoto Flash solar torchlights, which DHL took a month to get through Customs, we received the first samples of the new Kyoto Village Charger. This is a solar panel with 4 charging outlets. Jon Bøhmer‘s latest…
Mashujaa Day – Heroes Day: Kenya’s New National Day Today’s Mashujaa Day (Heroes Day) was a first-ever in Kenya. It used to be Kenyatta Day, dedicated to the admiration of former president Jomo Kenyatta. In all his modesty, he instituted it himself during his reign Mahujaa Day is now a National Day honoring all the…
Breakneck competition between Kenya’s mobile operators Whenever a text message pops in these days, I pray it is not more spam from the operator. Too often, it is. Safaricom and Zain seem to have gone crazy with their sms advertizing, and there is no way to stop them! I have no idea what Yu and…
DHL + Customs: A Recipe for Delays While I was successfully bullying the dreaded container of Kyoto Box solar cookers through Customs in Mombasa, people from the same useless government institution were doing their best to delay our business in Nairobi. A consignment of our latest product, the Kyoto Flash Mini torchlights is currently on…
Attempting to bring a container into Kenya can give you several heart attacks, and is by no means a recommendable exercise for any sound-minded person who cares about his mental well-being. Had Franz Kafka been alive today, he would doubtlessly have agreed that Kenyan bureaucracy by far eclipses his nightmarish descriptions of their counterparts in the pre-WW1 Austro-Hungarian empire. Here’s a step-by-step guide to experiencing a true Kafka process in the 21st century.
Garissa Town is the headquarters of Garissa County, and the gateway to North-Eastern Kenya. Going to Garissa by road, will initially send you through Thika Road. Perpetually jammed over the past decade, this road is currently being upgraded into a 12-lane superhighway. This prestige project of president Mwai Kibaki and his coalition partner, Prime Minister…
Eldoret, the unofficial capital of the Kalenjin community, in the heart of Rift Valley, was the first place I visited in Kenya outside Nairobi. Back then, I was a young and excited trainee through AIESEC, the global student organization that brought me to Kenya the first time. That was on my 4th day in Kenya,…
There are many positive aspects about Kenya. KPLC – Kenya Power and Lighting Company – is not one of them! I am writing this from my Sony Ericsson X10, whose battery is about to die. Since morning, the power has been gone. Not just in my building, but in the entire Kilimani area in Nairobi!…
