Building for the 95 Percent

Most software is built for the 5% who look like Silicon Valley. We're building for the 95% who don't.

nia · · 3 min read
#company #vision #africa

There’s a pattern in tech. A startup builds something for San Francisco, raises money, then tries to “expand to emerging markets.” They land in Nairobi, Lagos, or Johannesburg and discover nothing works the way they expected.

The internet is slow. The phones are different. The payment methods don’t exist. The users behave “strangely.”

They’re not strange. The software is just wrong.

The 5% Assumption

Most software assumes:

  • Fast, reliable internet
  • Modern smartphones
  • Credit cards or bank accounts
  • English fluency
  • Western work patterns

This describes maybe 5% of the world’s population. The other 95%? They’re “edge cases.”

But here’s the thing: in Africa, the “edge case” is the norm.

What Kenya Actually Looks Like

Let me paint a picture of who we’re building for:

The Security Company Owner

  • 30 guards across 5 sites
  • Guards have feature phones, not smartphones
  • Payroll day means 30 individual M-Pesa transfers
  • KRA compliance is a constant worry

The Restaurant Manager

  • 12 staff with rotating shifts
  • High turnover means constant onboarding
  • Staff need to check schedules constantly
  • Leave requests pile up

The Small Manufacturer

  • 8 workshop employees
  • Some paid hourly, some monthly
  • Overtime calculations are nightmare
  • NSSF contributions always confusing

These aren’t edge cases. These are most businesses in Kenya.

Design Decisions for the 95%

Building for the 95% means different design decisions:

Offline-First Don’t assume internet. Build for USSD and SMS. Sync when possible, work when not.

Mobile Money Native M-Pesa isn’t an “alternative payment method.” It’s the payment method. Build around it.

Low-End Device Support Test on a KES 3,000 phone with 1GB RAM. If it works there, it works everywhere.

Simple by Default Every feature is a burden. Add only what’s essential. Hide complexity behind sensible defaults.

Local Compliance Built-In PAYE brackets change. NSSF rates update. SHIF replaces NHIF. Handle it automatically.

The Smartphone Trap

“Everyone has a smartphone now” is a dangerous assumption.

Yes, smartphone penetration in Kenya is growing. But:

  • Many people share phones
  • Phones get stolen, broken, lost
  • Data is expensive
  • Storage fills up quickly
  • Battery life is precious

Building smartphone-only software excludes millions of people. USSD excludes no one.

Why This Matters Beyond Kenya

The patterns we’re learning in Kenya apply everywhere:

  • India’s small businesses face similar challenges
  • Indonesia’s SMEs need similar solutions
  • Nigeria’s entrepreneurs deal with same constraints

The 95% looks similar worldwide. Software that works for Kenya can work for billions.

Our Bet

Kazisafi is a bet that:

  1. Simple beats complex
  2. Accessible beats exclusive
  3. Local beats imported
  4. Practical beats impressive

We might be wrong. But we’re building for the people we know, solving problems we understand, in a market we’re part of.

That feels like the right bet to make.

This post is part of our series on building software for African businesses. Follow along as we share what we learn.