Amidst all the challenges and obstacles in our lives, we all have an inherent desire to shine and excel in what we do. We want to achieve success and victory, and it is not easy to become the "absolute best" in a broad societal context. Imagine if we focused on incremental "wins" and celebrated each step forward as a contributing factor to our ultimate success. However, we are a microwave generation that strives for instant gratification, which overshadows the beauty of the journey itself.
But is it really important to be the crème de la crème in society? The perspective varies. The answer, as always, is...it depends!
Sometimes, you can achieve one-off excellence, feel a rush of excitement, and spark a sense of accomplishment. Which motivates you to consistently deliver impressive results and garner the admiration of others. While at it, you may push too hard and try to outshine everyone else. In the process, you might inadvertently offend or upset others and cross boundaries that should have been respected.
One of the perks of being at the top of your game is the admiration and respect you receive from those who look up to you. This recognition fuels your pride and bolsters your confidence, a testament to the fact that you have achieved more than others. As always, the higher you climb, the stronger the wind is against you. The flip side of triumph is that the pressure to stay ahead can be overwhelming. To uphold your status, you must cultivate unwavering resilience, a readiness to push boundaries and embrace pressure as a catalyst for continued growth.
Africa is home to more than a billion people, each with their own unique story. We want the world to lend us an ear and respect our voices. We want to shape our narrative and communicate our achievements and challenges in an African manner. Regrettably, historical prejudice and bias have hindered our ability to fully realize this aspiration. Consequently, there's a sense of resignation, accepting the distorted views as if to say, "Who cares?"
Africa is frequently generalized as a single entity, overlooking the vibrant spectrum of cultures and traditions across various countries. In Kenya, we take pride in our identity as a hub of innovation, yet our success stories are often relegated to the sidelines and fringes, rarely becoming the main focus. This tendency can stifle the recognition of potential ideas, hindering the broader acknowledgment of our accomplishments. Sadly, the script never changes. We are stereotyped as a dark continent with a promising future yet to be harnessed.
Transforming an idea into a widely accepted reality is a marathon, not a sprint. Each tweak and iteration of your idea provides invaluable lessons. The raw and incendiary aspect of our success stories is never documented. Even by ourselves.
As a country, Kenya is a trailblazer in mobile banking and tech startups. Our innovation mirrors the diversity of our backgrounds and experiences. We try to come up with solutions to our existential challenges. But every solution introduces new problems to address.
I realized a vice had gripped us, though on a small scale: the ingrained mentality to exploit systems rather than work within them to create positive change. Our innovative digital payment platform, designed to tackle community-specific issues, exemplifies this shift. By developing solutions tailored to our unique circumstances, we can break free and build a thriving, equitable society.
While we consistently strive to tailor our solutions to align with the daily challenges we encounter, substantial barriers hold us back. A significant portion of the population faces dire financial constraints, and there's a disconnect between skilled individuals and platforms that offer meaningful income opportunities.
There is a window of vile opportunity that has been created. Clever and intelligent individuals develop schemes to outsmart the system using various counterfeit and fraudulent applications. In my recent experience with my cousin, he demonstrated how Mpesa was manipulated through a message-sending app, which serves as a stark reminder of how vulnerable our systems are.
He, among others, was a guinea pig in a racketing scheme that aimed to hoodwink recipients of cash. Mostly, we have to show the Mpesa message on our phone, and the recipient is satisfied.
When viewed on their phones, the message indicates that they've made the payment, even though, in reality, they haven't. Strikingly, this information does not appear on the recipient's phone. There is trust recipients have with an Mpesa message. In certain instances, deceptive apps created by individuals facilitate the transmission of messages to all parties involved, yet the recipient's account remains uncredited. Woe unto you, though, if you are caught.
In my cousin's case, I presumed that being a college student, he would likely return and boast to his peers about how he exploited the discovered loophole to outsmart the system. It proved successful in his situation.
Several days later, while on public transportation, the conductor instructed us to show him the payment confirmation message we had received, which he also counterchecked on his end. As I presented the message, it brought to mind my cousin and his questionable methods. In my mind, I wish I had the app my cousin had to try and put it into use.
The public transportation system we utilized was designed in such a manner that the conductor also had an application, enabling him to receive messages from passengers who made payments. This allowed him to verify whether each individual had paid the correct amount. And he was generous enough to show us the transactions that were done by all passengers.
I concluded that the strategy devised to combat chicanery had, to some extent, proven effective. Nevertheless, it is only a question of time before cunning individuals find a way to outsmart that system, as they are likely to achieve it in the long run.
Hasta La Vista Baby.
