After declining a lucrative employment contact extension in the United Kingdom, almost ten years later, KEVIN MAIKA has formed i-Centric, which has managed to curve its own niche in the tech sector. The company has recently expanded into South Africa, the continent's most advanced economy. MAIKA recently opened up to KOOBONYE RAMOKOPELWA on pertinent tech matters, collaborations and ESG.
BOTSWANA GUARDIAN: Kindly provide background to the formation of i-Centric.
KEVIN MAIKA: When my contract with a UK employer was coming to an end in December 2014, I debated on whether to sign the contract extension they had put before me or start my own business. At the time, I had noticed this 'technology gap' back in Botswana, so I set out to attempt to close it and the only way to do that was by starting my own tech company. i-Centric started operations in January 2016.
GUARDIAN: The company operates in the diverse tech sector. As tech a driven business, what specific area do you focus on?
MAIKA: We have five key areas that we focus on, namely; System development – where we develop custom software for businesses, then Managed Services – which is outsourced IT support, then Cloud Migration – where we migrate business' operational data and systems to the Cloud, including Microsoft 365. We also do general IT Consulting, advising businesses on the general technology spectrum, and finally, we got Website Development.
GUARDIAN: What has been some of the major challenges that the company has encountered since it was established some ten years ago?
MAIKA: Our biggest challenge has been that some local businesses and organisations are still not quite open to new technology ideas, especially when it comes to issues of data migration and the Cloud. Some of them are still clinging onto the traditional means of running an IT environment. In 2015, I wrote an article in this publication advising businesses on virtual meeting tools and the importance of running data and systems from the Cloud and have people working from home. In developed countries, this had been normal practice since 2008, unfortunately not many paid attention to that article because 5 years later when COVID 19 hit, we started getting so many calls on that.
GUARDIAN: What kind of courage and inspiration has kept i-Centric going for all these years?
MAIKA: Our courage has not only been about growing the business but we would also like to see a Botswana that is technology-driven, where businesses and the ordinary man understand the basic aspects of technology, be it mobile phones or general computing.
GUARDIAN: Which major projects has i-Centric undertaken in recent years? MAIKA: Interestingly, the two major projects we have undertaken are actually outside Botswana. In 2016, we collaborated with our partners in the UK for a project for the London City Council, and then we are currently working on a project for Investec Bank in Johannesburg, again through collaboration with partners.
GUARDIAN: What competitive edge does the company has? MAIKA: Over the years we have built strong partnerships with other companies in the tech space to enhance our own skill set. That has given us an edge particularly in handling big projects. Another factor to note is we assist every client, regardless of how small/big they are. We extend payment plans to small businesses and start-ups in whatever services they may need, mostly emails and websites.
GUARDIAN: Competition is rife in the tech space, both here in Botswana and elsewhere. How has the company managed to survive this over time?
MAIKA: We have always maintained that the best way to survive competition is to embrace other people’s inventions and build some kind of collaborative relationship with your competition. That normally gets us to where we can adopt and enhance other people's ideas for our own benefit.
GUARDIAN: Within the broader tech industry, Artificial Intelligence (AI) appears to be taking centre stage. How prepared is the company to this phenomenon that seeks to totally change the tech landscape forever?
MAIKA: That is interesting because AI has been around for a long time, only it wasn’t put out there like it has been lately where it suddenly appears like it is something new. We have had laptops and mobile phones that unlock using face recognition, you have autocorrect, Apple have had Siri since 2011, we have had these vehicles that you can instruct to perform tasks via voice, all that is AI. As great as it appears to be, AI will always have its limitations and reliability issues, calling for the constant need for human interaction and support, and as technology companies, we will continue to leverage on those gaps.
GUARDIAN: Government still continues to be the biggest spender within the economy. How supportive has government been to a citizen owned and led business like i-Centric?
MAIKA: I would say it has proved difficult to collaborate with the government at whatever level mainly due to the procedures they have in place and the channels one has to go through before getting their ideas listened to. Since inception, we have never undertaken any government project, our business has survived largely off the private sector. I spoke of a project we did for London City Council in 2016, that’s an idea we pitched to the local city council where they would remotely monitor their field workers, their output and movement, but it was met with some skepticism. We ended up getting a contact in London who arranged for us to pitch the idea to their council, a few emails later, in less than 2 months they sent us a letter of engagement.
GUARDIAN: What is the importance of companies such as i-Centric to a developing economy like Botswana which is seeking to become a knowledge based economy-highly diverse and digitally transformed? MAIKA: Simply put, we are the experts, we are the right people to steer this vision, directly or indirectly.
And when I say 'we' I mean every other tech company, not just i-Centric. This is actually a highly welcome vision by the government. We would like to see collaboration between ourselves, the government and its representatives like your Botswana Innovation Hub, BITRI, BoFiNet, regulators like BOCRA. I say this without necessarily thinking of the business side of it and potential financial gains but simply emphasising that we have valuable ideas we are willing to share with the government to help in this transformation.
GUARDIAN: In Botswana, the tech sector, although still at a developmental stage, is surely worth millions of Pula. Will you be kind enough to tell us i-Centric's share of this market in Pula terms?
MAIKA: It is difficult to measure the market in that manner but I would say yes, we have built a good business relationship with the private sector and that has helped us to stay afloat over the years. The scourge that was Covid-19 put us through a hard learning curve as a business as well as the clients we work with, to where we now almost steer our inventions and ways of working to be 'COVID -19' ready.
GUARDIAN: Sustainability and ESG are all important elements of emerging corporates like i-Centric. What are some of the projects that the company has taken that are focused on giving back to the community and as well as strengthening corporate governance systems?
MAIKA: We are currently developing an online employment network portal that we have called Nsize that aims to provide support and opportunities for employment to youth, technical and vocational training graduates. Young people graduating from Technical and Vocational Training institutions are faced with the challenge of attracting a suitable market for their specialist skills, which in turn contributes to escalating unemployment rates. A notable gap exists in the digital space to connect graduates with potential employers.
These graduates currently rely on word of mouth referrals and rudimentary methods such as traditional notice boards and posters to advertise and promote their skills. Through our passion to make an impact in Botswana’s economic development, we would like to use our expertise in the development of ICT solutions to support a sustainable employment of vocational trained youth in our communities.
GUARDIAN: Partnerships and collaborations are key in today’s business world. Which strategic partnerships has kept the business going over the years?
MAIKA: We have various partners across all our areas of speciality with 2 in South Africa, 1 in the US and 3 in the UK. Most of these partnerships developed from personal relationships I have built over the years with key figures at these companies. Our partners include software development companies, Cloud services companies including big corporations like Microsoft and local law firms, where we have been heavily engaged on issues of data protection, following the recently passed Data Protection Act.
GUARDIAN: Where will the next growth story of i-Centric come from in the next 5 years?
MAIKA: We have recently registered in South Africa and hope to break into that market and make an impact over there from a technology standpoint. Businesses in South Africa are more open to technology, hopefully that will work to our advantage.
Aside of that, our vision and goal has always been to drive technology in Botswana and be seen to be making an impact in digital transformation. Over the next 5 years, we hope to achieve that goal by developing various online tools that automate business processes. In the past 18 months, we have developed 3 different tools that we run as SaaS (Software as a Service), these include Tender Management Portal, File Management System for law firms and an Asset Management/Inventory System. The hope is that in the next 5 years we can have many local businesses running their operations through tools developed by us.
CONTACT: [email protected]
KEVIN MAIKA: When my contract with a UK employer was coming to an end in December 2014, I debated on whether to sign the contract extension they had put before me or start my own business. At the time, I had noticed this 'technology gap' back in Botswana, so I set out to attempt to close it and the only way to do that was by starting my own tech company. i-Centric started operations in January 2016.
GUARDIAN: The company operates in the diverse tech sector. As tech a driven business, what specific area do you focus on?
MAIKA: We have five key areas that we focus on, namely; System development – where we develop custom software for businesses, then Managed Services – which is outsourced IT support, then Cloud Migration – where we migrate business' operational data and systems to the Cloud, including Microsoft 365. We also do general IT Consulting, advising businesses on the general technology spectrum, and finally, we got Website Development.
GUARDIAN: What has been some of the major challenges that the company has encountered since it was established some ten years ago?
MAIKA: Our biggest challenge has been that some local businesses and organisations are still not quite open to new technology ideas, especially when it comes to issues of data migration and the Cloud. Some of them are still clinging onto the traditional means of running an IT environment. In 2015, I wrote an article in this publication advising businesses on virtual meeting tools and the importance of running data and systems from the Cloud and have people working from home. In developed countries, this had been normal practice since 2008, unfortunately not many paid attention to that article because 5 years later when COVID 19 hit, we started getting so many calls on that.
GUARDIAN: What kind of courage and inspiration has kept i-Centric going for all these years?
MAIKA: Our courage has not only been about growing the business but we would also like to see a Botswana that is technology-driven, where businesses and the ordinary man understand the basic aspects of technology, be it mobile phones or general computing.
GUARDIAN: Which major projects has i-Centric undertaken in recent years? MAIKA: Interestingly, the two major projects we have undertaken are actually outside Botswana. In 2016, we collaborated with our partners in the UK for a project for the London City Council, and then we are currently working on a project for Investec Bank in Johannesburg, again through collaboration with partners.
GUARDIAN: What competitive edge does the company has? MAIKA: Over the years we have built strong partnerships with other companies in the tech space to enhance our own skill set. That has given us an edge particularly in handling big projects. Another factor to note is we assist every client, regardless of how small/big they are. We extend payment plans to small businesses and start-ups in whatever services they may need, mostly emails and websites.
GUARDIAN: Competition is rife in the tech space, both here in Botswana and elsewhere. How has the company managed to survive this over time?
MAIKA: We have always maintained that the best way to survive competition is to embrace other people’s inventions and build some kind of collaborative relationship with your competition. That normally gets us to where we can adopt and enhance other people's ideas for our own benefit.
GUARDIAN: Within the broader tech industry, Artificial Intelligence (AI) appears to be taking centre stage. How prepared is the company to this phenomenon that seeks to totally change the tech landscape forever?
MAIKA: That is interesting because AI has been around for a long time, only it wasn’t put out there like it has been lately where it suddenly appears like it is something new. We have had laptops and mobile phones that unlock using face recognition, you have autocorrect, Apple have had Siri since 2011, we have had these vehicles that you can instruct to perform tasks via voice, all that is AI. As great as it appears to be, AI will always have its limitations and reliability issues, calling for the constant need for human interaction and support, and as technology companies, we will continue to leverage on those gaps.
GUARDIAN: Government still continues to be the biggest spender within the economy. How supportive has government been to a citizen owned and led business like i-Centric?
MAIKA: I would say it has proved difficult to collaborate with the government at whatever level mainly due to the procedures they have in place and the channels one has to go through before getting their ideas listened to. Since inception, we have never undertaken any government project, our business has survived largely off the private sector. I spoke of a project we did for London City Council in 2016, that’s an idea we pitched to the local city council where they would remotely monitor their field workers, their output and movement, but it was met with some skepticism. We ended up getting a contact in London who arranged for us to pitch the idea to their council, a few emails later, in less than 2 months they sent us a letter of engagement.
GUARDIAN: What is the importance of companies such as i-Centric to a developing economy like Botswana which is seeking to become a knowledge based economy-highly diverse and digitally transformed? MAIKA: Simply put, we are the experts, we are the right people to steer this vision, directly or indirectly.
And when I say 'we' I mean every other tech company, not just i-Centric. This is actually a highly welcome vision by the government. We would like to see collaboration between ourselves, the government and its representatives like your Botswana Innovation Hub, BITRI, BoFiNet, regulators like BOCRA. I say this without necessarily thinking of the business side of it and potential financial gains but simply emphasising that we have valuable ideas we are willing to share with the government to help in this transformation.
GUARDIAN: In Botswana, the tech sector, although still at a developmental stage, is surely worth millions of Pula. Will you be kind enough to tell us i-Centric's share of this market in Pula terms?
MAIKA: It is difficult to measure the market in that manner but I would say yes, we have built a good business relationship with the private sector and that has helped us to stay afloat over the years. The scourge that was Covid-19 put us through a hard learning curve as a business as well as the clients we work with, to where we now almost steer our inventions and ways of working to be 'COVID -19' ready.
GUARDIAN: Sustainability and ESG are all important elements of emerging corporates like i-Centric. What are some of the projects that the company has taken that are focused on giving back to the community and as well as strengthening corporate governance systems?
MAIKA: We are currently developing an online employment network portal that we have called Nsize that aims to provide support and opportunities for employment to youth, technical and vocational training graduates. Young people graduating from Technical and Vocational Training institutions are faced with the challenge of attracting a suitable market for their specialist skills, which in turn contributes to escalating unemployment rates. A notable gap exists in the digital space to connect graduates with potential employers.
These graduates currently rely on word of mouth referrals and rudimentary methods such as traditional notice boards and posters to advertise and promote their skills. Through our passion to make an impact in Botswana’s economic development, we would like to use our expertise in the development of ICT solutions to support a sustainable employment of vocational trained youth in our communities.
GUARDIAN: Partnerships and collaborations are key in today’s business world. Which strategic partnerships has kept the business going over the years?
MAIKA: We have various partners across all our areas of speciality with 2 in South Africa, 1 in the US and 3 in the UK. Most of these partnerships developed from personal relationships I have built over the years with key figures at these companies. Our partners include software development companies, Cloud services companies including big corporations like Microsoft and local law firms, where we have been heavily engaged on issues of data protection, following the recently passed Data Protection Act.
GUARDIAN: Where will the next growth story of i-Centric come from in the next 5 years?
MAIKA: We have recently registered in South Africa and hope to break into that market and make an impact over there from a technology standpoint. Businesses in South Africa are more open to technology, hopefully that will work to our advantage.
Aside of that, our vision and goal has always been to drive technology in Botswana and be seen to be making an impact in digital transformation. Over the next 5 years, we hope to achieve that goal by developing various online tools that automate business processes. In the past 18 months, we have developed 3 different tools that we run as SaaS (Software as a Service), these include Tender Management Portal, File Management System for law firms and an Asset Management/Inventory System. The hope is that in the next 5 years we can have many local businesses running their operations through tools developed by us.
CONTACT: [email protected]
