Since I’ve worked in Africa I’ve had the opportunity to lead strategic partnerships teams. I led the first integration of a bank into JUMO’s savings and loans platform, effectively kicking off our pivot into a marketplace. After that, I led…
I hear this a lot from product manager blogs and people who read them. I think it’s a bit contrived, honestly. Delight means great pleasure, or something incredibly pleasing, and I’m cynical enough that I think we should seek delight…
Lots of people recommend Robert Cialdini’s book Influence, The Art of Persuasion. I read it a few years ago and I liked it. I’m revisiting it now with a different perspective, and the first couple chapters are great. I think…
This story is actually one of mine. Before I moved to JUMO I was Head of Product for a company I cofounded in Tanzania. We ended up building a great prototype which we dog fooded around the streets of Dar…
Telco operators (MNOs) across Africa are experiencing declining revenues in their core businesses. Generally, in the past seven years, OTT players have taken up to 40% of the market in messaging, 25% in fixed voice, and 7% in mobile voice.…
This week’s mental model is pulled directly from the great Shane Parish. His weekend post on “knowledge compounding” is similar to how I’m structuring my year. This year over each quarter I am doing a ‘crash course’ in some topic…
I’ve started reading about behavioral economics. The first book I picked out is Misbehaving by Richard Thaler. He says that the foundational principle for behavioral economics is the endowment effect. I’m thinking a lot about that these days. Here’s a…
I’m often immersed in the African fintech scene. There’s so much going on here. It’s the home of M-Pesa. Fintech companies are literally improving people’s lives. The products are exciting. I love it. But I think I often miss what…
We all take shortcuts in life if we can. Shortcuts take less effort, and that saves energy. Saving energy is a positive outcome. An example of the path of least resistance is this: The principle of least effort is a broad theory that covers…
We want the outcome of the habit without doing the habit. I heard that in James Clear’s “Atomic Habit” book, and it relates. Over the past few years I’ve struggled to organize my thoughts and stay focused on my goals…