Grant & Co

In fall 2023, I started researching going to Nairobi on a gap year. Nairobi has a lot of startups, it's doing well, it seemed new and different and has more pressing problems to work on than in America. A lot of companies in Silicon Valley work on trivial things like slightly faster websites or better email clients or Tinder for dogs or dozens more. In Kenya, people are working on new kinds of farming, $5 glasses, making consumer goods cheaper, enabling artisans to export crafts to the West, and more.

I found Kyle because he had the top answer on Quora to "Is Nairobi Safe?", I reached out to him and eventually got an internship. I worked mainly on https://sunlight.reviews, a database for entrepreneurs to review funders. Funders are often bureaucratic and slow, but some aren't. We wanted to find the good ones. We're still looking for more reviews, please share!

During the trip I travelled over Nairobi and Kenya. I went with Kyle to a meeting with USAID in Nanyuki; we crossed the equator and went go-karting. I went mountain biking, bowling, salsa dancing, and more in Nairobi. My mom stayed for a week, and we went to Naivasha and Nairobi National Park.

I met lots of cool people staying at The Warren in Westlands, Nairobi. A friend that I originally met when he applied for the demo day I ran took me to his home in Juja and then to his village near Nakuru for 3 days. It was amazing to see village life; everyone was so welcoming and I got plenty of free food. The downtown was lively and the views were great. Though the toilets were not what I'm used to, and I fell off a motorbike because the brakes weren't working.

I loved Nairobi, the hustle and bustle and traffic and all. I loved the people I met who wanted to bring economic and social change to Kenya, the glitzy Sarit Centre Mall and touch rugby on Sundays and the church with a band and buying fresh coconut water off the street. I can't wait to go back.