Hello, and thank you for subscribing.
I'm Isaac Mwendwa Muthui. I'm the Founder & CTO of Tamalaki Business Network in Nairobi. This newsletter is where I'll think out loud about what we're building, what's working, what isn't, and what I'm learning about building technology for African industry.
Let me start with the question I get asked most.
"Why does one company build five such different things?"
At Tamalaki, we describe ourselves as an African innovation holding company that designs, owns and operates AI-native platforms across agriculture, manufacturing, construction, exports and smart infrastructure. On paper our ventures look unrelated: a trade platform, factory software, a construction design tool, an avocado-oil brand and an investment consultancy.
But I didn't start with five companies. I started with five gaps that keep showing up wherever African producers try to compete globally.
Gap 1: Trust in trade. A buyer abroad and an exporter in Kenya have to trust each other before money and goods move. Too often one of them gets burned. → AgriTrust Exchange (escrow-protected payments, independent inspections, milestone-based releases).
Gap 2: Systems inside the factory. Processors run on spreadsheets, paper and WhatsApp groups, and can't see their true yields, costs or traceability. → FactoraERP (one manufacturing operating system from intake to dispatch, with an AI copilot).
Gap 3: Clarity before building. People commit money to construction before they know what they can realistically build or what it will cost. → Jengafy (design concepts, itemised cost estimates in local currency and Bills of Quantities before construction starts).
Gap 4: Value left on the table. Raw produce leaves; value is added elsewhere. → Purevado (cold-pressed avocado oil and fresh fruit, exported from Kenya. I co-founded it and serve as CEO).
Gap 5: Capital that can't see the ground. European investors are interested but held back by distance, unfamiliar regulation and unverified partners. → CEA Consulting (Nairobi-based investment consulting that acts as the investor's eyes on the ground).
Each venture stands on its own. Together they're designed to share data, supply chains and capital, which is what Tamalaki's mission means by platforms that "compound across agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and trade."
What "AI-native" means to me (and what it doesn't)
"AI" is the most overused word in tech right now, so here's my working definition.
AI-native doesn't mean adding a chatbot to an old product. It means designing a system so the data it captures every day (inspection photos, batch yields, cost lines, sensor readings) is structured enough that intelligence can actually be useful: answering a factory manager's plain-language question, flagging an unusual yield drop, or estimating a building's cost before anyone pours concrete.
It also means using AI only where it genuinely helps someone decide or act. FactoraERP's own principles put it this way: AI for forecasting, anomalies and recommendations, "never as a gimmick." I'll hold all our products to that line, and I'll tell you here when we fall short of it.
What I'll write about
Roughly every two weeks, you'll get one issue. Some will be practical, some reflective. Topics already on my list:
- Trust as infrastructure: what escrow and independent inspection change in cross-border agri-trade.
- The factory floor: traceability, batch costing and running a mock recall at a Kenyan processor.
- Estimate before you build: why the most expensive construction mistakes happen before construction starts.
- Value addition: what turning avocados into oil teaches you about exports.
- Europe–Africa capital: the questions investors should ask before committing.
- CTO notes: offline-first apps for field inspectors, multi-tenant systems, and building AI features people actually use.
What I won't do
I won't inflate numbers, hype products, or publish claims I can't stand behind. If I mention a result, it'll be one I can show. And I'll keep this newsletter about the work: the platforms, the problems and the people solving them.
One ask
Reply to this email and tell me what you do and which of these topics matters most to you. Exporter, processor, builder, investor, engineer, student. The best questions will shape future issues.
Thanks for being here at the start.
Isaac