Re: [kictanet] Would sorting out physical addressing lead to exponential growth in Nairobi?
Andrea Yup. I agree with you. Thats a case of businesses operating DESPITE the Government. Very ingenious rather. However, if you really really want to scale your business unfortunately this needs to be with infrastructure in place working to assist businesses. And in this case physical addressing and (yes) Postal Services for fulfillment is not substitutable. Amazon and ebay would have been dead as dodos by now if those were not in place. Or maybe not...Maybe they would have found a way around it. I don't know. It would however increase the cost of doing business as it is in Africa. Regards *Ali Hussein* *CEO, 3mice interactive media ltd* *Partner, Telemedia Africa Ltd * Tel: +254713601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> Blog: www.alyhussein.com Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with. On Mon, May 20, 2013 at 1:02 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt < andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
Ask the people who deliver things?
Naked Pizza and Hashmi have stored my address with my phone number - and yes, it contains my formal street address plus the details on how to find it. When I place an order, they reconfirm that I'm still at the same address. Plus their delivery person usually has my phone number with him just in case he gets lost (yay for technology - and pizza, obvs).
I think it's a bit more tedious the first time you order when you have to give detailed directions - but if a company is smart and saves those, then that cuts down on processing time with each additional order.
On 20 May 2013 12:49, Andy G <andy.gesora@gmail.com> wrote:
So Nairobi is the most advanced city in East and Central Africa.... So JP Morgan has just been granted a licence to setup a rep office in Nairobi.... So most of the iNGO's and corporates have set up in Nairobi.... So Nairobi is the pioneer in alternative payment systems aka mPesa....
But does the lack of a physical addressing system stifle the potential in Nairobi? CCN previously tried address most buildings in town, but no one ever quotes the "22 Kimathi Street" when corresponding.
A majority of tech startups in Kenya today are web based, with mobile technology (payment systems) providing an overwhelming support system. A friend once quoted as saying 95% of his online payments were on mobile money. We have lots of tech companies that have tried building solutions to make it easier for Nairobi's consumers.... from ordering food online, to shopping, to casual labour, to ticketing... name it. But the achilles heel always remains addressing. Where do i as a tech startup owner send your goods to in Buruburu once you have bought? Or if i have a party and order for drinks online, how does someone deliver in some flats named "Pearl apartments" deep in langata on a nodescript dirt road?
Would perhaps naming of streets and physical addressing help solve lots of issues in Nairobi as well as create many mid level startups and thus jobs that we are so desperately seeking?
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
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www.ratio-magazine.com www.africa-assets.com
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
This I would think should be led by the Kenya postal services recently rebranded romPosta with little improvement in anything else. They are the best placed to benefit anyway. I would imagine it wouldnt be that hard to especially if the counties insist on adressing. Also Posta could change policy and decide not to host mailboxes at their offices and insist on customers gettin a mailbox at their premises like they do it in the US. Or make it way costlier to have physical mailbox at the post office. Mail delivery cost will obviously shoot up but whats the cost of the current system? Its rather annoying to buy something on ebay only to be told we dont ship to Kenya. On Monday, 20 May 2013, Ali Hussein wrote:
Andrea
Yup. I agree with you. Thats a case of businesses operating DESPITE the Government. Very ingenious rather.
However, if you really really want to scale your business unfortunately this needs to be with infrastructure in place working to assist businesses.
And in this case physical addressing and (yes) Postal Services for fulfillment is not substitutable.
Amazon and ebay would have been dead as dodos by now if those were not in place. Or maybe not...Maybe they would have found a way around it. I don't know. It would however increase the cost of doing business as it is in Africa.
Regards
*Ali Hussein*
*CEO, 3mice interactive media ltd*
*Partner, Telemedia Africa Ltd *
Tel: +254713601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
Blog: www.alyhussein.com
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
On Mon, May 20, 2013 at 1:02 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt < andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com');>> wrote:
Ask the people who deliver things?
Naked Pizza and Hashmi have stored my address with my phone number - and yes, it contains my formal street address plus the details on how to find it. When I place an order, they reconfirm that I'm still at the same address. Plus their delivery person usually has my phone number with him just in case he gets lost (yay for technology - and pizza, obvs).
I think it's a bit more tedious the first time you order when you have to give detailed directions - but if a company is smart and saves those, then that cuts down on processing time with each additional order.
On 20 May 2013 12:49, Andy G <andy.gesora@gmail.com <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'andy.gesora@gmail.com');>> wrote:
So Nairobi is the most advanced city in East and Central Africa.... So JP Morgan has just been granted a licence to setup a rep office in Nairobi.... So most of the iNGO's and corporates have set up in Nairobi.... So Nairobi is the pioneer in alternative payment systems aka mPesa....
But does the lack of a physical addressing system stifle the potential in Nairobi? CCN previously tried address most buildings in town, but no one ever quotes the "22 Kimathi Street" when corresponding.
A majority of tech startups in Kenya today are web based, with mobile technology (payment systems) providing an overwhelming support system. A friend once quoted as saying 95% of his online payments were on mobile money. We have lots of tech companies that have tried building solutions to make it easier for Nairobi's consumers.... from ordering food online, to shopping, to casual labour, to ticketing... name it. But the achilles heel always remains addressing. Where do i as a tech startup owner send your goods to in Buruburu once you have bought? Or if i have a party and order for drinks online, how does someone deliver in some flats named "Pearl apartments" deep in langata on a nodescript dirt road?
Would perhaps naming of streets and physical addressing help solve lots of issues in Nairobi as well as create many mid level startups and thus jobs that we are so desperately seeking?
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke');> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/andrea.bohnstedt%40rat...
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt> Publisher
www.ratio-magazine.com www.africa-assets.com
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke');> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Regards, Mark Mwangi markmwangi.me.ke
participants (2)
-
Ali Hussein -
Mark Mwangi