""We have hundreds, if not thousands, of pilot projects: health, manufacturing, 3D printing, education … you name it. Some last a year, two years, or three years, and some are past proof of concept – saying 'yes, we can scale this'. The more you have an atmosphere where things like this are happening, the higher the likelihood that you're not going to get an M-pesa, but something greater and possibly in a field or sector that needs it the most.""

“"The exposure part has been a continuous experiment. Nothing is written in stone. History is ahead of you, and it's up to you to make it. With this mindset, there is no problem with making mistakes. Fear of failure and rejection is diminished because no one else has set the expectation for you to fall below. You set your own expectations."”

“"I've understood some essentials about good communication and branding and have taken some of those concepts to invest in my own personal brand by really connecting with entrepreneurs (young and old) and with investors. I set out to meet people and make an impression."”

“"However, sometimes I feel that dealing with governments can be very high level: a lot of handshakes, exchanging of flags and books, and that's awesome. But what does the ecosystem have to gain? What are the incentives for a Kenyan entrepreneur to work with a developer based in Berlin? … Is there an incentive for working together and forging partnerships? What's the government doing to make it easier for this to happen?"”

“"We are in a very unique place, but you can never stop learning, especially with how far we still have to go. Shared experiences, in both directions, set the tone for sharing ideas and potential partnerships. We can learn what we have in common and what we don't, and I might discover what I have to learn from the Berlin scene, and Nairobi could probably teach Berlin a thing or two as well."”

“"There's plenty of room, plenty of problems and plenty of challenges that are going to need smart people to tackle them."”

“"People assume that it's more of the high-level stuff that makes change happen. I really believe, though, that it's the organic stuff, initiated by the community and on the fringes – the stuff that might not have been on the government's radar previously. This is what's really going to transform our country and the rest of the East African region, if not the whole Continent."”