Afrigather Towards the highest of our conversation, Kenneth Ntende, co-founding father of 2 startups—Uganda-primarily based fully rate company Dusupay and challenge instrument company Monkeypesa—tells me that he loves to snort; he teaches “goal a minute of selling” on a Youtube channel below the name of his 2nd company, Monkeypesa.
He always knew he would change into an entrepreneur. Whereas studying economics at Makerere University, he had speed 3 like a flash food eateries.
After graduating from Makere, he did a 3-month stint with the Ugandan Bureau of Statistics sooner than jumping straight into entrepreneurship in 2014 and founding Fxtrader, a platform where folk would possibly maybe maybe well well raise local and worldwide shares. In expose to raise shares, Fxtrader customers needed to deposit money in their trading accounts; but making these horrid-border funds proved tough. So, Ntende began travelling to masses of African worldwide locations to mix present local rate suggestions to Fxtrader.
After solving this rate ache for Fxtrader, Ntende dwelling up Dusupay to lend a hand assorted worldwide companies accept local funds. Dusupay affords infrastructure that enables worldwide companies to carry out and accept mobile funds across Africa.
Ntende founded Dusupay with his lengthy-term friend, John Kigonya Ssambwa. “We’ve known each and each assorted since we were 14,” Ntende tells me. He confessed that their contrasting personalities are complementary for the effective running of Dusupay. “I’m more of an implementer,” he says.
“I’m the actual person that claims ‘We settle on to grow from point 1 to point 2’ and will get it accomplished. Whereas John is the revolutionary one. He’s the one who involves me with solutions of how we must gathered evolve the industry.”
Ntende and Ssambwa met at Namilyango College, a Catholic school founded in 1902 by missionary clergymen and currently Uganda’s oldest secondary school. Over time, the co-founders maintained a terminate friendship that prolonged to their relationship with each and each assorted’s families.
Early days, early learnings
Dusupay’s funds localisation mission across worldwide locations alive to quite a bit of forms and travelling for Ntende and Ssambwa. In each and each country, they encountered various regulations and licensing processes and tax policies, which made your whole course of cumbersome and time-drinking.
“It was our supreme ache and supreme learning curve,” Ntende recollects. “We weren’t prepared for how a lot it will rate us to scale a company across the continent.”
And the device would possibly maybe maybe well well they’ve been?
The One year was 2014: cyber web penetration in Africa wasn’t what it’s at the present time. So, whereas Ntende stumbled on some considerable recordsdata online on processes, regulations, and registration, quite a bit of the localisation work required their physical presence at executive locations of work and dwelling out of suitcases for weeks.
From the starting up set aside, Ntende’s imaginative and prescient has been to originate worldwide firms. “In my glimpse, innovators must originate tech gorgeous sufficient for the sector,” he says. “That formula, Africa simply becomes one among many worldwide patrons the use of your answer.”
Dusupay is registered in 18 worldwide locations but active in 11. The startup needed to scale down its direct in Sudan because its economic system was too small, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo because its banking system is “goal a minute of a multitude”.
Ideal One year, Dusupay processed over $200 million in transaction volume, Ntende finds. The company has, since 2018, begun building cultural capital on the Ugandan scene, supporting local sports actions, with plans to put money into the local music industry soon.
In the intervening time, Ntende, is rarely any longer accomplished the use of tech to resolve complications he cares about, for Africa. After running Dusupay for 7 years, he made up our minds to stumbled on one other company, this time one tackling an ache below-solved in Africa.
One gorgeous startup deserves one other
“We had reached some extent, at Dusupay, where every part had stabilised, and we knew what to no longer sleep for thru the years,” Ntende explains about his decision to stumbled on Monkeypesa.
Now, ignoring Ntende’s industry ancient previous and the emblem-name similarity between his new company and mobile cell phone-primarily based fully money switch service M-Pesa, Monkeypesa is rarely any longer a rate answer. It’s an challenge instrument platform that affords a ramification of instrument to firms to lend a hand them prepare various facets of their industry, corresponding to management, sales, marketing, and human sources.
Running 2 important startups is a horrifying assignment he doesn’t settle on to tackle—so, why accomplish it? I seek recordsdata from.
But Ntende has a seek recordsdata from of his private for me: “If I requested you what instrument you use to speed your industry, what would you tell?”
“I don’t speed any industry,” I tell, reasonably cleverly. “What’s the reply?”
“Undertaking instrument is a virgin panorama,” he says, “but no one is being attentive to it because all people is taking into consideration fintech. Of every and each 10 new startups in Africa, 7–8 are in fintech. But must you peer at the challenge instrument world, there’s nearly no one there. I private to be in a suite where I will choose.”
Monkeypesa has onboarded 200 firms onto its platform, as of at the present time.
To stumbled on Monkeypesa, Ntende and Ssambwa reconfigured their partnership. Whereas Ssambwa continues to lead product direction, strategy, and enlargement at Dusupay, he nonetheless is rarely any longer co-founding with Ntende at Monkeypesa. “This time, I needed a more technical co-founder,” Ntende tells me about his decision to co-stumbled on Monkeypesa with Apollo Kalibala.
A rush that didn’t delivery at the present time
It’s been many years now since Ntende began a international replace industry that would later morph into a thriving rate company serving 11 worldwide locations. It’s been a whereas, too, since his first foray into entrepreneurship, running 3 eateries out of a prestigious university campus, a challenge he describes now as “no longer a mountainous deal”.
I don’t agree: “Doing industry whereas in class is a mountainous deal,” I tell. “Food will always be a in actuality important answer.”
But he replies, “No longer like tech!”
My Existence in Tech (MLIT) is a biweekly column that profiles innovators, leaders, and shapers in the African tech ecosystem, with the device of placing a human face to the startups and innovations they originate. A new episode drops each and each assorted Wednesday at 3 PM (WAT). Whenever you seen your tale will curiosity MLIT readers, please contain out this construct.
