Peter Ndiangu'i: The brain behind OLX

What is OLX?

This is an online classified site that connects buyers and sellers without them having to leave the comfort of their homes or offices. Two individuals started the service in Argentina in 2006 that has spread to more than 100 countries.

How has OLX changed the way people do business?

This is a platform that hosts an old business on a new platform. After more than 200 years of the printing press, it is time to move on to a system that democratises access by giving everyone a chance to buy or sell regardless of what one has in the pocket. All businesses are trying to get their products on a digital platform in order to reduce operating costs.

How have Kenyans embraced the new concept?

Kenyans are among the most innovative people in the world. They have come up with products that have revolutionised the way business is done.

As an example, M-pesa is now the talk of the whole world with even developed countries using it as a case study in mobile money management. Our micro-finance and cooperative movements are the envy of many nations. It is only natural that Kenyans embrace the new online marketing system — and they have if the local listing on the site is anything to go by.

How has this system changed the local lifestyle?

There are two things that have changed the local lifestyle. One, we have a rapidly growing middleclass whose purchasing power is growing by the day. This means that the overall turnover of household items they want to replace is high. On the other hand, there is someone looking for just such an item. Both will meet online. Secondly, about 60 per cent of our population is below 40 years of age. A great number of them are perhaps on their first jobs and may not have the finances for buying very expensive things. They can get good deals online rather than spend days on end looking for such items through legwork. This age bracket is very impatient with non-technological systems.

What about those in the lower category?

As I mentioned, everyone regardless of class in society, has a place in our online platform. Take the case of that furniture manufacturer on the roadside as an example. For him to make a sale, a motorist has to stop, inspect what is on sale from the many artisans around the yard and make a choice. Unfortunately, not many motorists want to do that for security reasons.

Yet the same artisan can make good sales by putting his furniture online since he may not have enough funds to pay up for adverts. We had a case where a roadside florist decided to use the site to sell his flowers. Today, he has hired another person to help him with deliveries. That is the impact we want where an extra job is created through the online service that is so far, free of charge. We can actually eradicate poverty through online platforms.

Free of charge? What about your overheads?

Well, the service is free of charge at the moment though this may change in the future. We want to grow the user base as well as content before deciding on how to structure a revenue generating system.

You are very passionate about the country being computer literate. Do you think the digital talk in the current government is headed anywhere or it is just hot air?

No country has ever developed without taking a huge infrastructure risk worth billions, especially in information technology. We have used the class system — a Western concept of education that is not working. We build more classes year in year out without changing the children’s mindset. We risk becoming a nation of lunatics by doing the same thing over and over again, in the same way and expecting different results every time.

We must bite the bullet and do things differently. True, the initial cost in capital development may be high in the first few years but this will come down as universal content is developed for all schools thus harmonising what every school is teaching. In any case, no one said that a child can only be educated in a four-walled classroom. Think of the business opportunities in terms of producing software, hardware and content.

With those benefits you enumerated, why do you think some are opposed to the idea of computers to school?

Again, it is a question of people refusing to change their mindset. We are sometimes wary of new ideas. Some thought the idea of talking on a hand-held device was impossible due to the high price tags that were attached to mobile phones in the initial stages.

Today, everyone wants to have the latest model or two. Nobody complains that the telephone booths have been out of use for more than a decade in Kenya. Mobile phones have lowered the cost of communication in the same manner that computers will lower the cost of education. In any case, learning involves reading, visualising, doing and listening. A computer combines all these.

Your final word on online services?

We have heard the government calling on local media to come up with as much local content as possible. We have taken that call seriously and I think our site has actually provided a platform for any Kenyan to upload locally produced goods for the whole world to see. I would like to see the site becoming a local utility brand such as Kenya Power or water company.