Running a Kenyan organization? What we learned building for you.

The finance manager of a mid-sized SACCO called us last year. He had a simple request: build a member portal so people could check their savings and loan status online. He was tired of the long queues at the counter every month end.

We built it. It worked. From our experience, but in the first month, only 12% of members used it. The queues stayed long.

That project taught us more about building for Kenyan organizations than any textbook could. It was not about the code. It was about the people using it, the phones in their hands, and the megabytes they were counting.

Your biggest competitor is not another website

It is WhatsApp. Or a paper register. Or a phone call.

From our experience, most organizations come to us wanting to replace a system that, in their eyes, is broken. But for the person using it — the parent calling the school, the patient walking to the clinic, the member standing in that SACCO queue — that old system works. It is familiar. It does not require learning anything new. It does not eat data.

A new website or app is not just a new tool. It is a change in habit for every single person who interacts with your organization. If the new way is not at least ten times easier than the old way, people will not switch.

The numbers that shape every decision

You cannot build effectively for Kenya without knowing the ground you are building on. The data tells a clear story.

From our experience, 145%— Kenya's mobile penetration rate, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya's Q3 2024-2025 sector report. This means more people have mobile connections than the total population.

That number is why we design for phones first, desktops second. But the next number is just as important.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the average household size was 3.9 people as of 2019. Think about what that means for a family budget. Data is a shared, precious resource. If your school's website uses 5MB to load a single page, that is a real cost for a parent checking a fee balance.

We learned to build pages that load in under 2MB, total. Often under 1MB. It is not just about speed. It is about respect for the user's shilling.

M-Pesa is not a feature, it is the front door

Early on, we treated M-Pesa integration as a nice-to-have. We were wrong.

For a hotel, a 'Book Now' button that leads to a credit card form is a dead end. For a clinic, an appointment system that requires a bank deposit will see no-shows. From our experience, adding a direct M-Pesa STK Push or Paybill option increases completed transactions by 60% or more for most of our clients.

The integration must be smooth. The user must not leave your website or app. They tap 'Pay', get a prompt on their phone, enter their PIN, and get a confirmation — all within 20 seconds. Any friction and you lose them.

What works for a school fails for a salon

We used to think a content management system was a content management system. Now we know better.

A school website needs to show term dates, exam results (securely), staff lists, and have a fee payment portal. The person updating it is likely a school administrator who is not technical.

A salon website needs a booking calendar that syncs with the stylist's phone, a gallery that is easy to update daily, and maybe a way to sell products. The person updating it is the stylist between clients.

The tools must fit the rhythm of the work. We stopped selling one-size-fits-all solutions. Now we ask: 'Who will update this? How often? On what device?' The answer changes everything we build.

The one lesson that matters most

Go back to that SACCO manager. From our experience, why did only 12% use the new portal?

We built what he asked for. But we did not build for his members. We did not go to the queue and ask: 'What would make you use this instead of coming here?' We did not realize that for many, the monthly trip to the SACCO was a social ritual. It was how they caught up with friends. The portal solved a logistics problem but ignored a human one.

The lesson is this: Technology does not solve human problems. Thoughtful design does. And thoughtful design starts not with a brief, but with a conversation with the people who will actually use what you are building.

For the SACCO, the solution was not just a portal. It was adding a small loyalty points bonus for the first five members who used the portal each month, and training the counter staff to actively promote it with a smile. From our experience, usage went to 45% in the next quarter.

The tool was good. The strategy around the tool was what made it work.

So, if you are thinking about a new website, an app, or any digital tool for your organization, start with the simplest question: Who is it really for? And then go ask them.