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  • Using StarCraft to Boost Your Tours & Travel Business

    Posted: September 30, 2011, 3:49 pm by wham

    No idea if this can work but…..

    Let me paint you a picture. Imagine your organization at the centre of an exciting online event that generates passionate conversation all over the Internet: on news websites, on Facebook, on Twitter, on YouTube, and on other websites. Imagine your organization featuring prominently on YouTube videos viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. Imagine reaching up to 15 million people through one marketing campaign. Now imagine these people passionately applauding your organization.

    What am I talking about? Too good to be true – you say?

    StarCraft 2 is a computer game published by Blizzard Entertainment and which is played primarily online by millions of players. StarCraft is one of the best-selling computer games in history. In South Korea, it is a national sport whose matches are televised and whose players are national celebrities.

    StarCraft 2 has spawned immensely popular online tournaments throughout the world. The tournaments are followed by millions of people worldwide. The companies that sponsor these tournaments include: Microsoft, Intel, Nvidia, Samsung and many others – and this is just a selection of the biggest names. Needless to say, these companies benefit greatly for tapping into an exploding “e sports” industry. How exactly do they benefit?

    1. Tournaments are almost entirely played online and so they generate passionate activity and discussion from fans on many websites including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Tournament sponsors are usually prominent in these discussions.
    2. Tournament videos are created and posted to YouTube and similar websites. They are often viewed by hundreds of thousands of people during the tournament itself and by many others afterwards. These videos usually prominently feature tournament sponsors.
    3. E sports is relatively new. As such, video game players are very appreciative of anyone who supports it.
    4. Everything that is put on the Internet is still going to be there years later.

    Now, we all know that there are probably hundreds of Kenyan tours and travel businesses out there. Indeed, with the Internet it is extremely easy to start such a business. But how easy is it to profit from one? I put it to you that actually making a decent amount is much more difficult than most people think it is. In my opinion, this is mostly due to two reasons:

    • There is a great amount of competition
    • How does a small Kenyan company market to Europeans, Americans, etc in a cost-effective way?

    StarCraft 2 and “e sports” can make the second problem go away. I see this as an incredibly accessible marketing channel. How so? What if your organisation organised (or partnered with these guys) a successful StarCraft 2 online tournament? What would you get out of it?

    1. You would get your name out there amongst possibly hundreds of thousands potential tourists
    2. Your investment would reap continual benefits as long as you exist – two years from now, people will still be able to watch YouTube videos of the tournament in which you featured

    I do not know about you, but I think that this is something worth thinking about…

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  • Things Stronger Than The Kenyan Shilling

    Posted: September 27, 2011, 5:41 pm by Kelvin

    Perhaps as a shock, #ThingsStrongerThanTheKenyaShilling is currently trending GLOBALLY on Twitter!!!

    A trending topic is a word, phrase or topic that is posted (tweeted) multiple times on the social networking and microblogging service Twitter.

    #thingsstrongerthanthkenyanshilling

    I think this points to Kenya being an important part of the Internet, ama aje? Sure, the trending topic is for the wrong reasons but still nice to see. Here are a few interesting tweets:

    Ok, ok, I know we are in interesting economic times, but a global Twitter trends for #ThingsStrongerThanTheKenyaShilling Really?
    @reutersJeremyG

    #ThingsStrongerThanTheKenyaShilling What? I don’t care about Kenya,there’s nothing there… Except Paul Tergat and other athletes I guess.
    @KingNurk

    #ThingsStrongerThanTheKenyaShilling Strong tea ya mluhya
    @massakku

    #ThingsStrongerThanTheKenyaShilling Mike Sonkos intelligence
    @mailumailu

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  • Market research vs. Responding to customers

    Posted: September 21, 2011, 9:34 am by naomi

    Is there a difference between market research and responding to customer needs? Some interrelate the two and obviously there is a difference.

    Market research means you the entrepreneur goes out there and source data about your customers needs and wants. At this stage you are not yet responding to a need, you are merely finding out if indeed there is a need. How many Kenyan entrepreneurs can say with a serious face that they have carried out their market research and that is why they are in fact offering the service or product that they are?

    Responding to a customer need means provide the customer with a solution for an issue that they have brought out to you the business person. Are you able to respond to your customers need at the right time or do you do it when it suits you best?

    The importance of carrying out market research will actually help you know and understand your customer, you will actually be able to meet their needs easily, you’d ordinarily be better prepared.

    You normally find that a brand such as Bata has done its market research when it comes to its line of Marie Claire shoes for women. The shoes are classy, they are affordable, comfortable and Bata actually change the range every now and then so a shoe you buy in this month will be replaced by a different design in a month or so. The brand has really worked hard to get itself back to where it once was. The average Kenyan lady wants to look good and these shoes do that. Don’t fret, Bata didn’t pay for this, I am simply speaking my mind.

    Responding to customer needs is difficult because sometimes you simply are not sure how to respond or for that matter how much it will cost you to respond. Mobile phone operators in Kenya really had to respond to the customer needs by reducing their costs, remember the tariff battle of 2010. Well perhaps not the best example since there were many other factors that preempted the changes. Responding to a customers need could range from simply producing an additional report for your client to reducing a transaction cost for your client.

    Have you done your market research or are you continually finding yourself trying to catchup to your customers needs?

    Naomi Kinyanjui is an aspiring entrepreneur, a Procurement Specialist by profession with a passion for life, writing and making a difference. Follow her on Procurement Mentality 101 blog where the talk is all about supply chain and procurement and maintaining professionalism in such a controversial field.

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  • Kenya’s Economy and Government Spending

    Posted: September 20, 2011, 11:40 pm by wordseller

    As the economies of many African nations fall back into bad habits, Kenya’s government has decided to fight back. Kenya has become the first African nation to publish detailed government spending plans on the Web in an effort to fight persistent corruption. East Africa’s foremost economy, which intends to be a center for information and technology innovation, anticipates the data to improve financial transparency for citizens, lenders and investors.

    “It will be particularly useful to policy makers and business persons who require timely and accurate information in formulating policies and making business decisions,” President Mwai Kibaki said, upon launching the site www.opendata.go.ke.

    “I also call upon Kenyans to use this government portal to enhance accountability and improve governance in our country. Reliable and timely data is the basis for determining whether government is delivering services effectively and accountably.”

    According to Kibaki, the country’s information, communication and technology sector is expanding at about 20% annually. The web site will offer information ranging from the national census to government budgets. Graphs and maps will show, for example, how much is apportioned to education and health facilities around the country, allowing for easy examination and evaluations between regions. Such financial information about the government was not as easily accessible before now. In a process hindered by bureaucracy, those seeking the information had to get approval from authorities or buy it from the government printer.

    “This is the first open government portal in Africa, making Kenya one of the world’s leading exemplars of open data … better enhancing transparency and accountability in government operations,” said Johannes Zutt, World Bank country director for Kenya.

    The data is taken from key sectors including planning, education, health, finance and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics on population. Kenya fell down the grades of Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index last year, falling to 154 out of 178 countries. The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) has said graft and misappropriation of government funds consume up to 40% of gross domestic product. Several departments have been involved in corruption scandals, with some ministers facing graft charges, but none have been convicted so far.

    This transparency is all well and good, however, reflecting policy misperception and investors’ receding confidence, four prominent regional currencies – Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania’s shillings and Ghana’s cedi – have all hit record lows against the dollar this year. By contrast, South Africa’s rand, a deeply traded emerging market currency rather than a more exotic “frontier” unit, is at a four-year high. With an election impending next year, the central bank has undervalued the impact of soaring world fuel and food prices, even cutting interest rates in January in the face of accelerating inflation. It has since overturned the change, but the damage has been done. Together with its selling of shillings to build reserves, investors’ already slim trust in the currency has vanished.

    “Africa now is an international attraction. If we do not continue to develop our skills, we could well find someone asleep at the wheel,” said Roy Daniels, head of trading for Africa at Rand Merchant Bank in Johannesburg.

    Author Bio:
    Kate Croston is a freelance writer, holds a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She writes guest posts for different sites and loves contributing high speed internet service related topics. Questions or comments can be sent to: katecroston.croston09 @ gmail.com.

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  • Write A Business Plan That Is Not Boring

    Posted: September 20, 2011, 10:54 am by Kelvin

    A business plan is any plan that works for a business to look ahead, allocate resources, focus on key points, and prepare for problems and opportunities.

    Here’s how to write one without boring the life out of its readers: Don’t Make My Eyes BleedSimilar Posts:


  • MedAfrica

    Posted: September 19, 2011, 5:38 pm by Kelvin

    Here’s a very interesting presentation on MedAfrica which a very ambitious Kenyan company seeking to solve very real and appropriate healthcare related problems.

    Click here to view the embedded video.

    They look pretty good, don’t they?

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  • The Long Grind Before You Become an Overnight Success

    Posted: September 12, 2011, 9:50 pm by Kelvin

    I read Seth Godin’s “The Dip: The Little Book that Teaches You When to Quit and When to Stick” over the weekend.

    It has some interesting approaches to life and work. Let me paraphrase:

    If you (or your company) want to be “the best in the world” at something…you need to work through the beginning phase of development and be able to hang on and evolve through the long development phase, which he calls “the dip”…and you need to drop any distracting investments of time and money for which you do not have adequate advantage to make it through “the dip” — this is called “intelligent quitting”.

    The long development phase, which can get progressively more difficult, might be a “dip” with success at the end of the tunnel, or a “cul-de-sac”—a place where you can work forever and never get the rainbow. And you have to learn to discern the difference…

    There are big advantages that accrue to those who are “best in the world”.

    The Dip is a very interesting and inspiring book which I encourage everyone to read. You can take a lot of meaning from its pages but to me, the book’s main idea is that usually “overnight success” is not actually overnight. For you to become really, really successful you often have to go through an extended period of time where you work VERY hard yet you don’t actually feel like you are making any progress.

    This article describes this situation perfectly: The Long Grind Before You Become an Overnight Success.

    The lesson here is that if you are working on a new idea, a new business, a new product…a new anything then you should be prepared for the long and hard-fought “dip” which you very probably will go through on your way to success.

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  • Amazing Low Cost Computer (Kshs 2,500)

    Posted: September 9, 2011, 4:09 pm by wham

    Remember when we wrote about Raspberry Pi a couple of months back? For those who do not know, the Raspberry Pi is an amazing little device that is actually a fully functioning computer. It is not much larger than a persons finger credit cart and consists of not much more than a processor (CPU), a USB port to connect a keyboard, and a way to connect it to a TV.

    The development of this device is at an advanced stage and it should be available for sale in about 2 months. The device itself looks to be very well made and perfect for use in places like Kenya. Because:

    • It is extremely affordable at Kshs 2,500 for a FULL modern computer. Not one of those refurbished things in town.
    • Just for emphasis, this is a full computer system which you can use for Word processing, watching movies, or even playing games.
    • It can be connected to your regular TV. You don’t need to buy a separate screen.
    • It is very mobile – it fits in your pocket and consumes very little power (you can run it using regular AA batteries.

    The video below is of these device being used to watch a movie:

    Click here to view the embedded video.

    I think this device can revolutionise computing in Kenya. Now, personal computers have a chance at being as widely used as mobile phones.

    I am going to get myself one, or three of these. Are you going to get one?

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  • Refreshing Like Chapaa

    Posted: September 9, 2011, 11:41 am by Kelvin

    Well, in keeping with our tradition of changing the look and feel of likechapaa.com every year or so, we are very pleased to announce that Like Chapaa now wears a new look.

    We think (and hope) that this is better than the old one and that it is easier on the eyes and that it makes it easier for you to get around the site.

    What do you think of our new look?

    PS: The new look is courtesy of Nickel Pro.

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  • The “Safari Cup” – Kenyan StarCraft 2 Tournament

    Posted: September 7, 2011, 6:33 pm by tranx

    This is a follow-up to the recent article on “E-sports“.

    Kalongo.com is organising a small StarCraft 2 tournament, the Safari Cup. In their own words:

    “We’re very pleased to announce that we shall be hosting our very first StarCraft 2 tournament, the Safari Cup.

    We intend for this to be a fun event whose primary goal is to bring Kenyan StarCraft 2 players together in competitive play. Let us not let Kenya be left out of the StarCraft frenzy that is currently sweeping the world – ama aje? Sign up and lets have some fun while gaining some skill & experience.”

    So, well, go ahead and sign up.Similar Posts:


  • The Rise and Rise of “E-sports”

    Posted: September 7, 2011, 1:21 pm by Kelvin

    Starcraft II

    Video games have come a long way in the last 15 years. No longer is it a pastime of the those locked away in their bedrooms. Now there is a whole world of video gamers playing with friends, and play against others.

    Electronic sports, “e-sports“, is used as a general term to describe the play of video games competitively. Nowadays, professional video gaming is quickly becoming a legitimate sport. A few years ago, poker took the limelight, blurring the line between professional gaming and non-athletic sports. Now, Major League Gaming and dozens of other leagues have popped up around competitive games like StarCraft and Halo: Reach.

    In the nation of South Korea, StarCraft is literally a national sport and is equally as popular (if not more) as sports like basketball or baseball. StarCraft 2, in particular is currently leading a resurgence of e-sports which tournaments organised online on a daily basis. In fact, the major tournaments attract prizes of up to $50,000 for the winner. That’s Ksh 4.75 MILLION.

    Opportunity for our youth
    Locally, e-sports is nowhere near the level it is at in more developed countries but the good thing is that there does exist a strong local gaming community and there are efforts to make gaming popular in Kenya led by NexGen and, to a lesser degree Kalongo. This is a good thing and such efforts need to be encouraged for three reasons (among others):

    • Competitive gaming can actually easily become a legitimate source of income for at least some of our country’s unemployed youth. if people are winning Kshs 4.75 million just for playing a game, why can’t Kenyans get in on some of that?
    • People who are busy get up to less mischief. Again, this helps tackle our country’s problem of having a large number of unemployed, essentially idle, young people.
    • It is always good to see Kenyans out there conquering the world and making our country proud!

    A couple of years ago, some Kenyan gamers qualified for the WCG (which is like the world cup of competitive gaming). The tournament was to be held in China. Unfortunately, our gamers did not have the funds to travel to China so they approached the government of Kenya through the ministry of sports. Sadly, they were not welcome – “esports” was not recognised as a legitimate sports. This needs to change, fast, lest the great and proud nation of Kenya be left behind.

    Opportunity for businesses
    Over the last year or so, the number of Kenyan businesses seeking to market themselves online has grown in leaps and bounds. It seems any business that is “serious” needs to be on Facebook or Twitter and it is not uncommon for the big boys to spend lavishly on Google Adwords.

    To all the “serious” businesses out there: e-sports represents a massive opportunity to market yourselves online!!

    As stated above, e-sports is currently becoming very popular. Very large professional tournaments are beign set up and millions of people are already avid fans of various players and teams. At the very roots of the current resurgence in esports is the Internet. Unlike in the past, e-sports events can now be transmitted “live” to millions worlwide and sites like Youtube make it possible for anyone to be a fan. In fact, popular matches on Youtube are regularly watched by hundreds of thousands of people (see this guy with over 500,000 followers).

    Imagine this: what if a nice and lovely Kenyan company sponsored a Kenyan player or Kenyan gaming event on condition that it be publicized massively online? As long as the said Kenyan company chose to work with the right people, this could be a very cost-effective way to reach hundreds of thousands of people online. The best thing is that this would probably be very affordable at the moment due to the idea being so new.

    In my mind, businesses in the tourism industry especially need to embrace this unique opportunity as soon as possible. What cheaper way would a tourism firm have of reaching 100,000 potential tourists?

    E-sports is here, and it is serious business!

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  • New. Get Paid To Click! Easy Money!!

    Posted: September 6, 2011, 1:19 pm by wham

    Come on, admit it. You’ve been tempted at leas once to sign up for one of these programs. Sindio? Easy money; just sit at home and click on some ads and BAM! You get paid. It cannot possibly get easier than that. Can it? Really, can it?

    How much can one expect to earn? Let’s do the math, shall we?

    Let us assume that you get paid $0.001 (which happens to be the usual amount) for every click you make. That is approximately Kshs 0.095 per click. Assuming you can click on one link every 30 seconds (as it happens, you are usually limited to one link every 30 seconds), this translates to about Kshs 11.4 every hour. Assuming that you work for 24 hours every day, for 30 days, that makes it approximately Kshs 8,200 per month.

    So, that is Kshs 8,200 per month assuming you work for 24 hours every day for 30 days. Now subtract the cost of electricity, Internet and any other expenses you might have.

    Sounds like a waste of time to me. You?

    This post was inspired by a thread on SkunkWorks.

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  • The Complete Guide To Freemium Business Models

    Posted: September 5, 2011, 9:14 am by Kelvin

    Freemium is a business model that works by offering core services or products for free, while charging a premium for advanced or special features.

    Go here to learn all about The Freemium business model.Similar Posts:


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