Wasoko founder on building Africa’s fastest growing company in Nairobi

Software developer Daniel Yu saw a gap in manufacturers’ distribution chains and decided to fix it — building a platform to help retailers order goods.

What the US-born techie started while vacationing in Egypt has grown into the fastest-growing company in Africa, according to the inaugural FT annual ranking of Africa’s fastest-growing companies.

The Wasoko founder and CEO spoke to the Business Daily about Wasoko’s meteoric rise, his decision to set up in Kenya after exploring many different markets and his view of the tech industry.

***

When you started, did you think you would get to where you are today?

Absolutely not. The original idea was just something that I came up with as a software developer when I was spending time in Egypt. I built this basic solution and was reaching out to different suppliers across many different markets to run a pilot.

And when I got the invitation and interest from some suppliers in Kenya and I showed up, even then I don’t think that I envisioned this kind of growth and traction.

Every day used to be, very exciting, just kind of wake up and get everything going. But it’s still just the beginning and definitely we still have a lot more for this project.

Why did you pick Nairobi and not Egypt?

So interestingly, the interest and excitement from the Kenyan manufacturers and suppliers and their responses when I reached out to…