Dear all,

Major eyeroll after reading this piece on Techmoran:

http://techmoran.com/kenyas-m-kazi-closes-shop-over-embezzlement-of-nearly-1-million-raised-from-institutional-investors/#disqus_thread

I just had a quick chat with Lino Carcoforo and a couple of points on what the real story is are below - Techmoran are just plain unprofessional for not including any response from the funders.

And I think the real story should certainly be of interest to both the tech and the VC community. I'm sure Lino (copied) is happy to answer questions and discuss.

Have a good day,
Andrea 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Lino Carcoforo <lino.carcoforo@googlemail.com>
Date: 6 February 2014 12:15
Subject: Mkazi- clarification
To: andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com

Andrea, 

Mkazi raised a total of 200,000 USD NOT 1 million USD

Main reasons for winding down,

1. Billing issues with Safaricom - Having negotiated rates through craft silicon to ensure better margins on SMS and USSD, mkazi was not able to bill safaricom directly due to a lack of a tripartite agreement. 

2. Lack of cash flow due to not being able to bill

3. Discrepancy between mkazi system sms sent and safaricom delivery reports. 

4. Failure to close subsequent funding as a result of not showing adequate growth in user acquisition -again, directly tied to lack of marketing spend. 

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