By: John S. Morlu II, CPA
Nairobi didn’t welcome me gently.
It grabbed me by the collar, handed me a phone with no charger, a SIM card with no signal, and tossed me into traffic that moves like water — fluid, loud, and slightly life-threatening.
This is Kenya, and specifically Nairobi — East Africa’s loudest whisper and loudest shout. A city that doesn’t ask for your attention. It takes it.
The Hustler Nation (No, Really — That’s the Brand)
The President calls it a “Hustler Nation“.
That’s not campaign fluff — it’s a cultural posture. Everyone here is hustling: the Uber driver running three side gigs; the lady selling airtime while livestreaming on TikTok; the guy roasting maize outside a bank — accepting M-Pesa, of course.
Kenya is a country where ambition wears sneakers, drinks chai, and has five WhatsApp groups for its side projects.
It’s what Silicon Valley used to be before Patagonia vests ruined everything.
Silicon Savannah Is Real (With a Touch of Chaos)
Let’s talk tech. Nairobi is the Silicon Savannah — a phrase coined by someone who probably wore sunglasses indoors and got VC funding from a tweet.
But buzzwords aside, the tech energy here is real. From Safaricom’s dominance (and your entire life running on M-Pesa) to a sea of startups building solutions in fintech, healthtech, agritech, edtech, and “every-problem-you-can-name-tech” — Kenya is solving real problems for real people.
What’s wild is that while people in the U.S. are still writing checks, Kenyans are paying bus fare with QR codes and sending goats as wedding gifts via mobile money.
Let that sink in.
Infrastructure & Vibes
The roads are built with Chinese concrete and African dreams.
They go far and wide — and sometimes nowhere. You’ll find a perfectly paved road ending in a boda boda stand and a goat looking like it’s guarding the gates of Wakanda.
Matatus — the infamous local minibuses — are moving clubs with graffiti, LED lights, and speakers that could power a nightclub in Berlin.
You haven’t truly arrived in Nairobi until you’ve been screamed at by a conductor, sat next to a chicken in a plastic bag, and danced involuntarily to Diamond Platnumz at 7:43 a.m.
A Place Where Rich and Poor Are Next-Door Neighbors
Kenya doesn’t hide its inequality.
You can have a tech campus with rooftop espresso bars next door to a slum with no running water.
And somehow, everyone’s still smiling — or plotting. Either way, it’s inspiring and mildly terrifying.
The young are ambitious. The middle class is rising. And the political elite?
Let’s just say politics here is a contact sport played in suits and tribal math.
The Rules of Business Here? Different. Not Wrong.
Doing business in Kenya? First, forget your MBA framework.
There are rules here — but they don’t care about your textbook.
- Deals close on Friday… or never.
- Everyone has a cousin in government. Including you. You just don’t know it yet.
- Follow-up is an Olympic sport. Ghosting is not personal. It’s strategy.
- Nothing is confirmed until it happens. And even then, confirm again.
If you can’t dance with uncertainty while smiling through your teeth, Kenya will humble you.
But if you adapt? You’ll thrive.
Fun Facts That Will Confuse You:
- Kenyans walk faster than New Yorkers. It’s a fact. Try keeping up. You’ll sweat.
- Nairobi has more coffee shops than some European cities — and the coffee is better. Way better.
- The national obsession with Nyama Choma (grilled meat) is so serious, vegetarians whisper in public.
- English is spoken fluently, but somehow “I’m coming” means “I’m not.”
- Every business idea starts with “We can use M-Pesa for that.”
Final Word: Respect the Hustle or Stay Home
Kenya is not for tourists with tight itineraries and weak Wi-Fi signals.
It’s for builders, dreamers, and people who can improvise a pitch in a thunderstorm using a whiteboard, a car battery, and the back of a receipt.
This is country #88 for me — and I actually have a business here.
It’s one of the few places that makes me want to unpack, unlearn, and build something real.
So buckle up. This is just chapter one.
In My Kenya series, I’ll take you deeper — into the boardrooms, the backstreets, the investment circles, the campus labs, and the minds of people who know that Africa is not the future — it’s the now.
📍Nairobi to the world.
🌍 Business meets rhythm.
🇰🇪 My Kenya begins here.
About the Author
John is an entrepreneur, strategist, and founder of JS Morlu, LLC, a Virginia based CPA firm with multiple software ventures including www.FinovatePro.com, www.Recksoft.com and www.Fixaars.com . With operations spanning multiple countries, John is on a mission to build global infrastructure that empowers small businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals to thrive in an increasingly competitive world. He believes in hard truths, smart execution, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. When he’s not writing or building, he’s challenging someone to a productivity contest—or inventing software that automates it.