C is for Connections.
Last week I emailed Mary Mwangi, the CEO of Data Integrated, a Kenyan ICT company that I would say has pioneered in this field on the continent. Well, the stars aligned and we scheduled a Google meet for this afternoon. It was great. She started Data Integrated in 2012, and it’s been a journey and a half. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t inspired tbh. I’m inspired by Africans (women in particular), doing big things, lessbehonest. She gave me some insights and shared her experience and gave me pointers of what I should be doing as well. Honestly I recognise why people have mentors and advisors and the like. It’s super important, especially for someone like me, who is very clear about the vision and the North Star of things, but I’m not always sure about the objectives and key results. I’m learning though.
I asked her a bunch of questions and she was gracious enough to answer them all and advise me and it was just super helpful. Not everyone will give you their time (for free!) and offer you mentorship as you begin your startup journey, so I’m grateful. I’m so keen to glean from someone who’s pioneered in this field, and learn from the mistakes she made, as well. Alignment is a real thing. Kenya is also on my list of places to travel to this year, not gonna lie.
One thing she mentioned, that stuck out but I’ve kind of been wishy-washy about, is talking to stakeholders. She may be the third person to mention it to me, I think, (I guess the universe is trying to get my attention lol), and honestly, it’s not something I don’t know. You can’t build a service for people without them, and I guess that’s the core of human-centred design thinking. Building with the people who will use your service or product, not just for them.
So the next few weeks look like prioritising talking to stakeholders and the people who will hopefully come on board as our customers.
One step at a time.
