How to grow a successful tech start-up in Kenya

By Patrick Ndegwa, SEACOM East Africa Business Sales Lead

The tech scene in Kenya is thriving. With an annual growth rate of 10.8% since 2016, Kenya’s ICT sector has contributed to major economic development and job creation. Tech entrepreneurs are working hard to make their mark in this burgeoning business and help establish the country as the world’s ‘Silicon Savannah’.

But it’s not always smooth sailing for local start-ups. Despite expanding Internet access, increasing interest from international investors, and a young tech-savvy population, research shows that 70% of SMEs fail within their first three years. In the UK, 50% of SMEs fail in the first five years, so it's not purely an African problem. Here’s how Kenyan tech start-ups can overcome initial growing pains and set themselves up for long-term success.

4 steps to boosting start-up success

1. Know your product

Before you get into strategies like marketing and networking, make sure you have a valuable product. Understand the problem it solves, dive into research to support its use case. Create something innovative and investigate competitors to see how your offering can disrupt the market. Because the tech space is constantly evolving, consider starting with a minimum viable product (MVP) to test the waters and gain feedback. Keep it simple in the initial stages and use your MVP to better understand your customers’ needs. Then, you’ll be in a position to fully develop the product with improvements based on real customer insights.

1. Have a solid business plan

Before approaching investors, or even tackling marketing, you need to have a solid business plan. It shows credibility to interested parties and will guide decision making. Set out basic business features like operational goals, financial objectives, and your specific target market. Determine timelines and develop budgets for the phases of product roll out. In the fast-paced tech world, customer needs change all the time, so keep some goals flexible and adapt as you learn. Small failures are common when growing a start-up, so don’t let setbacks derail you.

1. Build the right team

Try to surround yourself with people you trust so you can delegate responsibilities and focus on personal strengths. Despite best efforts, entrepreneurs can’t do everything themselves.

This is also an opportunity to give jobseekers in the tech industry a leg up. Kenya's Moringa School offers tech-based learning experiences for students looking to launch careers in coding or software development. In partnership with Ugandan tech hub Outbox, the school offers coding bootcamps, and hopes to train 200 developers each year.

1. Don’t go it alone

Competition is fierce. But, the right tech partners could put your business a rung above the rest.

If you need help, check out one of Kenya’s 48 active tech hubs. Nairobi’s iHub is an innovation centre focused on accelerating tech start-ups and nurturing successful business leaders. It’s part of the Afrilabs network that includes Uganda's Hive Colab. The Swahilipot Hub in Mombasa offers mentoring, training, support, and networking opportunities for business leaders. Starting a new business can be daunting, but there’s invaluable help out there if you look for it.

Kenyan tech start-ups have the potential to transform the local digital economy. But their success depends on more than a quality product and credible business plan. For these businesses to make an impact, aspects like access to Internet, reliable fibre connectivity, and secure infrastructure need to be considered, too. SEACOM is committed to encouraging tech entrepreneurship and building a better economy for everyone. Contact us to find out how we can drive your business forward