We Interview Mark Kaigwa The Chief Of Communications At East African Web Startup Got Issuez.

Mark Kaigwa is Chief of Communications at Gotissuez.Com. A man who wears many hats from web to film, he recently directed his first film Dawa and is a co-curator of TEDxNairobi.

TechMasai: What is GotIssuez and how was it founded?

Mark: GotIssuez Limited (Ltd) is the web startup behind Gotissuez.Com. The website was originally founded by Kevin Rombe and Anthony Mwangi in December 2008 as a side-project, a “by the way.” However, by February 2009 it began to show its potential and a small community began growing within it. GotIssuez Ltd began to add members to its core team. By May 2009 Sarah Njeri, Esbon Wahome and Mark Kaigwa had all joined in to take GotIssuez.Com full on into its ambitious future.

Gotissuez.Com was borne out of a huge gap between consumers and companies, with major flaws in service delivery from the latter, yet no clear way to report or resolve complaints. Its development curve has been steep with plenty of new ideas being added to achieve this vision.

GotIssuez now serves as a platform where users can Rant and Rate issues for Rewards. We crowdsource customer service issues, complaints and resolutions.

TechMasai: What Is the Kenyan technology sector like?

Mark: The Kenyan technology sector is growing steadily. We’re seeing a crop of innovators take to the interwebs and the mobile space to solve problems that are both unique to our situations and have some element of global appeal. It’s a great space to be in right now, though it will take some time before we see it fully appreciated and the spotlight shining on it. Investors too are slowly making their way into the space, partnering, financing ventures and startups involved in technology. As the recession becomes more of a reality for Kenyan investors, we might see them look towards the web.

Right now, you have a lot of ISPs (Internet Service Providers) heavily involved and getting more people in the cities connected now that TEAMS and SEACOM are available. They’re also providing portals with local content to suit their particular clients and cater to niches and new markets. This kind of approach and the democratization of such industries is setting the pace for content producers and innovators to approach the market.

The mobile phone space is a great place to be now as far as opportunities go. You have the likes of African Pixel who just successfully published two iPhone apps to the iTunes Store so there are plenty of innovators making progress. You also have Wesley Kirinya, another Kenyan Videogame Producer who just produced iWarrior – an African inspired videogame to the App Store as well. The government’s also getting involved with several initiatives like ICT Villages and even promoting robotics. They had Robocon – where university students and college students prepared robots which they showcased in the contest.

The examples of people using technology and international organizations and companies looking to the Kenyan space are numerous including Ushahidi – the revolutionary crisis mapping and reporting platform that has just released an instance for the recent Haiti earthquake as well. They’re an example of a great collaboration and are charting the way in terms of technology. Another highlight was Warner Brothers coming to make Pamoja Mtaani (Together in The ‘Hood) their first videogame project in Africa, which I was a part of. We’re on the cusp of a revolution where social media, the internet and technology are about to really impact the future of this country.

Techmasai: What is the internet mostly used for in Kenya?

Mark: If we look at the statistics, we can see Search, Social Media and Webmail being the most frequent reasons for internet use. Statistics measuring internet use on mobile phones reflect this as well with Opera Mini, one of the most popular mobile web browsers, publish State of the Mobile Web, a statistics report based their platform Kenya are the 3rd highest users of the Opera Mini platform, with South Africa and Nigeria first and second respectively. The future of the internet in my opinion is through the mobile web more than through PCs. We’ve put a lot into our Mobile platform at GotIssuez because we know that’s how over 50% of people access Facebook and other social platforms.

TechMasai: What are the challenges you face as an entrepreneur in the region?

Mark: Funding is always a challenge. But I think it should never be a challenge to starting. Most great ideas don’t begin with lots of funding. But the risk you face in putting all your time, effort and money into starting a business is always tricky, especially if it’s a web-based business like GotIssuez. Lots of people ask “How do you get your money” and if it’s not clear cut how the firm will make its money then it loses some respect and gets categorised as a hobby or isn’t taken as serious. Twitter still doesn’t have a business model but has around 18 million people but no business model…yet. We need an evolution in perception towards the web locally, and this will only come with a couple success stories (which is what we’re trying to be).

If you’re operating in a web environment, opportunities for funding aren’t yet as straightforward and as forthcoming, though there are people looking to support all the different techies out there. I think in our case, making time for the business (because we’re all in full time jobs now) is a challenge. You want to take the leap, but at a stage where you’ve got enough to commit and watch the business grow. It’s tough to secure funding here and working capital.

TechMasai: Does marketing a web 2.0 product locally and internationally, represent a problem? If so how can this be improved?

Mark: I think it represents an opportunity more than a problem. From a marketing standpoint, clear objectives and a strategic approach will help you make best use of the social web no matter where you are. I think web 2.0 products right now are at an advantage because the web is universal and it’s possible with the right channels to get a decent amount of coverage. Places like The West, there’s so much online, but here you have the chance to be great. To be a pioneer. To be the case study that everyone refers to in your country and to put yourself on the world stage in less time.

You can really stand out and that’s the opportunity that the social web lends to this continent. Though in the case of GotIssuez you can say that the internet hasn’t penetrated Kenya as much, there are still over 4 million people who have access to the internet and millions more on their cell phones. For us we’d love to grow with the country as it grows and I think that should be the dream of many web startups to have such a place in local web culture that as penetration of the internet grows, so does your platform/site/service.

If you look internationally, and at Africa specifically, you have the likes of Afrigator which I consider to be a great story of an African web startup and a success story that many can learn from. This charts open-mindedness in the environment as a result of such a story in the market and it prompts investors and innovators to really leap forward with ideas.

TechMasai: Africa faces an image problem locally and internationally which scares away investors and limits our option for creating a cohesive business environment. What are your opinions on this situation, and what if anything can be done to rectify this?

Mark: The image problem is something I had been aware of, but I think having been able to travel to Silicon Valley and to The States I see it even clearer now. Again the need for a success story of a web startup out of East Africa would be great but as it stands the market’s ready for trailblazers to lead the way.

To be very honest with you, I think Africans are the future of Africa. It is really us and our successes that will hopefully find their way into the international space and raise awareness about how we’re doing business in Africa. Africans in the diaspora as well ought to be involved, and they ought to be the first to support businesses back home.

The revolution has begun. And no matter what the media abroad may broadcast about the continent, Africans are innovating and it will be us that will pioneer history for the internet and the mobile web. And GotIssuez will hopefully be one of them!

End of Interview

Mark Kaigwa apart from his participation in Got Issuez is also involved in film making. He recently wrote and directed a Eastern African film called Dawa. The rest of the team involved include

Assistant Director – Moses Serugo
Director of Photography – Lucas Mwanzia
Sound Guru – Sam Miring’u
Editor – Janet Madiangi
Unit Production Manager – Robert Ssedyabane

Trailer Edited by Njuguna Mwangi
Starring Isaac Muwawu, Adnan Senkumba and Felix Bwanika.
Follow Dawa on Twitter – http://twitter.com/dawathefilm

Below if the trailer in HD