After graduating from their computer science courses in 2013, three friends – Alexander Odhiambo, Mutie Mule and Rayyidh Bayusuf – began a struggle that many graduates in Kenya often go through.
For months, they knocked on several doors looking for work, but despite their academic qualifications, they were unable to secure a job with good terms.
“When we finally got employed at a local tech company, we at times went for months with no pay but remained loyal because of how difficult it had been for us to get a job in the first place,” said Odhiambo in an interview with Powering SMEs.
To earn a steady salary, the trio developed various technological solutions that they asked their employers to sell so that the company could make some money, but the employers were unresponsive.
“We had the skills and technology, but having just recently come out of the university, we had no networks to derive any monetary value from our innovations,” said Odhiambo.
As fate would have it, the computer scientists struck up a friendship with an entrepreneur who worked in an office next door to theirs and had a background in marketing.
“One day, as we were brainstorming in the office, we decided to just walk across the hall and pitch our products to the gentleman, Jinal Savla. To our surprise, he agreed to work with us,” said Odhiambo.
This led to the formation of Solutech Limited, a company that provides technology-based business automation solutions to companies, particularly those involved in fast-moving consumer goods.
“When we formed the company, very many people wondered whether we were going to succeed because all the co-founders were coming from different cultural, religious and ethical backgrounds,” said Odhiambo.
Many of those close to them also questioned whether the four co-founders would be able to work harmoniously together, as previous case studies have shown how difficult it is for start-ups to retain even one co-founder.
Contrary to many people's beliefs, however, these differences actually worked in their favour, as they were able to leverage each other's strengths and numbers to take the business to the next level.
“While we were good coders, Jinal was a very aggressive salesperson who enabled us to get our first client within the first week of our newly formed partnership, when we did not even have a bank account,” Odhiambo recalled.
They had good coding skills, but there were many things the computer scientists did not understand about the world of business. As a result, there was a slight mismatch between what they developed and what the market needed.
“You are able to build a better product when you can immerse yourself into what your clients do and innovate based on that. When we started doing that is when our business started to grow,” said Odhiambo.
Solutech co-founder and CEO Alexander Odhiambo during an event to celebrate the company's 10th anniversary.
Photo credit: Pool
This year, the firm marked its 10th anniversary, having served a clientele of over 100 manufacturers, distributors and marketing agencies in 10 countries, operating in various sectors.
“We are very grateful to our first clients for believing in us when we did not even have a portfolio of other clients whom we had worked with before,” said Odhiambo.
The entrepreneur attributes the firm’s sustainable growth to maintaining trust which he says is the ultimate currency that builds loyalty, drives collaboration and unlocks opportunities that no amount of money can buy.
“When you are handling data for all these companies, some of whom are in the same business, you must have a lot of integrity. We courted some of our customers for up to seven years before they could trust us to do business with them,” Odhiambo said.
The company, which was started by four people and with just about Sh40,000 in capital, currently employs 50 young people directly and about 2,000 indirectly.
“Youths account for 35 percent of unemployed people in Kenya today and Solutech was formed to try and solve this problem at least for us, the four co-founders. But now the Solutech family is huge,” said Odhiambo.
Every quarter, the company takes on four young people in its internship programme to identify fresh talent and allow those it cannot hire to gain experience before returning to the market.
CEO Odhiambo was recently named in the top 10 of the Africa Business Heroes competition, which recognises leaders whose innovations are driving positive change in Africa.
“Today, we are happy that our first employers never took our advice because that is how we were able to start Solutech Limited, which is a business that is not just out to make money but to solve a real problem,” said Odhiambo.
In the coming year, the firm plans to introduce data analysis as a service, with its ultimate mission being to enable African businesses to make informed and data-driven decisions.
“What we have noticed over the years is that we have helped our customers collect so much data, tons and tons of data, but the biggest problem is how to consume and make sense of this data,” said Odhiambo.
The company is also investing in advanced logistics to help reduce one of the biggest costs in distribution, which is logistics, by using new technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence.
They are also developing a product called Dukasoft, a business-to-business (B2B) platform that will allow their clients to interact directly with their customers through the platform, replacing the need for salespeople to visit stores.
“Based on demand from our clients, we are also building a people management platform called Kazi time, to manage the several salespeople they interact with,” noted Odhiambo.
The firm is also working on revamping its flagship product by building an all-new Solutech SAT360 to better serve its customers, not only in Kenya or East Africa but also in other parts of the world as well.
