But good things and moments never last forever. Kieti, who has been the lead at m:lab East Africa has announced he will be leaving the consortium, made popular by its annual Pivot East conference to concentrate on his academics.
“As for me, I enrolled for doctoral studies at the University of Nairobi back in 2013. Currently my research area traverses information systems, entrepreneurship and agriculture in somewhat unrealistic ways.” he wrote in a blog post and added, “The last days of February are my final moments at the helm of m:lab East Africa – the m:lab. Its now 4 years since I took up a challenge from the m:lab consortium comprising iHub, eMobilis, University of Nairobi and the World Wide Web foundation to setup and run programs at the m:lab.”
Kieti says working with Erik Hersman, Ken Mwenda, Josiah Mugambi, Toni Eliasz and Dr. Tim Kelly from infoDev was great. He says the four years was a great experience and though at times it was a roller coaster ride, and at times a great thrill, it was a very important learning experience for him.
“With time I was surrounded by a great team; incredibly dedicated with fabulous execution abilities,” says Kieti. “Representatives of the consortium organizations served as an awesome oversight board that became our biggest fans. With such a team and board level fan base, and a clear opportunity to impact the East African start-up ecosystem, I have my considered successes and failures.”
Kieti says he will remain a strong exponent for tech startups in the region and believes that the entrepreneurial ventures are Africa’s best chance for emancipating the masses from poverty and injustice.