A Bachelor of Business Information Technology (BBIT) student at Strathmore University is breathing new life into Kenya’s tech space with his newly launched Startup Kenya, a crowdmap of Kenyan startups that he says will market the Kenyan tech fraternity globally.
Roger Gichuhi , now in his fourth year of study believes his platform is an answer to the many questions that bedevil the Kenyan tech ecosystem such as: How many startups are in existence? What do they do? And where are they based?
“My platform will make networking easier among busy startup founders, entrepreneurs and even those not directly in the know about the country’s tech space.” Roger says. “Through this we can usher into the Silicon Savannah new investors and fresh opportunities for collaborations and peer advice.”
Roger’s confidence in his new product also stems from the fact that it has the potential of bridging the unemployment gap. When startups have job openings and internship opportunities, the platform will put it on the map.
The inspiration for this young techie started while he was an intern at Afrinnovator under the supervision of Mark Kaigwa, a Strathmore University alumnus. During that time he realised the important role startups play in solving real world problems. Roger saw an opportunity to put them on the map so that the general public can see what they are doing and perhaps employ their services.
Startup Kenya is not confined to use by techies alone but is rather user friendly with interested parties only required to simply fill in a form, submit, and if approved, their startups would be on the map within 24hrs. With all the advantages of his product, Roger expects a successful future for Startup Kenya.
“Strathmore University has equipped me with development skills that came handy when building the platform. Through its alumni connections I met Mark Kaigwa, who mentored me during my Industrial internship. The placement office, through their various career programmes helped me figure out what I’d like to pursue in my career, which is leveraging technology to meet an organisations goals and objectives.
Roger Gichuhi and Mark Kaigwa have been nominated for the Strathmore top 25 under 25.
www.strathmore.edu
Kenya School Report
March 18, 2013 at 3:32 pm
Brilliant concept.