Month: October 2012

I added some functionality to the blog so you will from now on be able to click on the images in the posts to view larger sized images.  No more little pictures you can’t see very well.

I was forwarded this great idea today that uses Coke’s amazing distribution system in Africa to distribute life saving goods where they wouldn’t otherwise be shipped.

Check out the story here: http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680640/piggybacking-on-cokes-supply-chain-to-deliver-aid

Direct link: ColaLife

Apparently the rainy season is upon us in Nairobi.  Last night we went to the second night of Oktoberfest.  The music was awesome, the energy of the people was amazing and generally it was a good night.

Then the rain started.

Quickly the giant tent started to show it’s weaknesses by leaking at every seam and even pooling water in many places.  This pooling caused the tent to sag in areas, stretch the fabric and then turn areas into mini showers.  Eventually it rained so much that the whole tent started to leak so it was as if it was raining indoors.

Toward the stage in the front the sagging got so bad that what was once 20-30 feet above the ground was now an area of water about the size of a swimming pool that caused the tent to sag to the ground.  It was ridiculous how fast it happened too.

As such, they started evacuating everyone.  We had already moved to the back way before this happened.

End of  it all things were ok and the tent held together, but I kept picturing the tent bursting open and the whole thing coming crashing down.

We found refuge in a tent outside the large tent where we spent the rest of the night selling fake products from a company called Seneca whose abandoned tent we took over.  It was fun.

When we finally made our way to the parking lot it was flooded with deep puddles of muddy water and mud was everywhere.  It’s amazing how much rain we got and in such a quick time.

Jacob and I went out today to see the Toi Market.  He needed some shirts and heard that you can get really good deals.

We arrived and the place was packed.  The shops are about 8ft x 10ft all clumped together in an area that’s a couple acres big. The building is made of wooden pools, corrugated sheet metal, old plastic bags and whatever else people can find.

You can find pants, shirts, bags and other trinkets all at very discounted prices.  It’s mostly secondhand and we even saw a bag that had a Goodwill tag on it.  The price of the bag was $6.99, but the vendor was selling it for 1800 Kshs; more than twice the price on the tag.

Jacob and I ran into a salesman who walked us through the narrow, rocky and uneven paths to his shop toward the back.  This guy was a trip with his Grease shirt and his neverending flow of compliments.  We probably went through two dozen shirts as Jacob tried them on.  He even went so far as to buy us a couple of cokes, sending someone off to get them.  I wish salesmen were this awesome in the U.S.

Haggling is an art form that we both realized we don’t have.  At the end of the day though, Jacob was able to get 4 shirts for less than $20.

I found one thing very interesting while we were there. Local people really don’t appreciate you taking pictures without asking.  If you look closely in the first picture of this post you will see a fair amount of displeasure on their faces.  I later wanted to snap a picture of this kiosk below and people were really mad.  I apologized, asked if I could take a picture and then they were ok with it.  So, when in doubt, ask for permission while in Kenya.

After learning my lesson I saw a really cool image of this guy cooking fish in oil.  I asked if I could take a picture and he said ‘200.’  That’s about $2.50 so I respectfully declined and thus no picture.

When you come to Nairobi, don’t bother with the touristy markets, go to the Toi Market near Kibera as it’s definitely an interesting experience.

Every Wednesday night 88mph sets up a dinner with guests that range from entrepreneurs to investors.  It’s an opportunity to learn a bit about other businesses in Kenya and primarily to ask for advice and tips.

Tonight we had Dylan and Ben come in from Kopo Kopo.  They are two guys from the U.S. (Seattle and Arkansas) that developed a product to help merchants receive payments from mobile phones.  People here pay for everything with their phones.  The system is called M-pesa.  You go to any number of locations across the country to deposit cash into your M-Pesa account.  You can then send and receive money in this manner.

They felt that the east African market was the best place to implement due to the high usage of mobile payments.  Now they both live here and are almost 2 years old as a company.  A very interesting story and certainly was a big risk, but sounds like it’s paying off for them.

Here’s the view from my bedroom window from the 4th floor at the Eldon Villas.  Isn’t it lovely?

And just to the right is where I have lunch every day.

So essentially my world during the week consists of an area that’s roughly the size of a football field. I need to get out more.

I got the chance to talk to Shannon this morning via text messages after two weeks of little contact.  It was great.  She is having tons of fun and is sorry to see that her journey is close to its end.  Today is a relaxing spa day for them with a little shopping.

I put in one last ditch effort to try to get Shan to come to Kenya for a bit, but we realized it would be very difficult to get the flights figured out in less than a day.  So Shan will be heading home today after what I understand was an awesome trip.  Wish her safe travels and she’ll be back home tomorrow.