Kamal Budhabhatti is the founder and CEO of Craft Silicon, a Kenyan software company with a local base and global aspirations that is steadily making inroads in the world of financial technology as well as transport. He spoke to The Independent’s Isaac Khisa about their planned expansion of the taxi-hailing business to Uganda, their first operation out of the Kenyan market.
What is your leadership style as a CEO?
As a CEO, I believe in empowering the people I work with and prefer to lead by example thereby motivating the team to perform better.
What is your claim to fame as Craft Silicon in Uganda?
Craft Silicon has been working in Uganda for the past 15 Years. Financial institutions like Pride Microfinance, Centenary Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Finance Trust Bank, Housing Finance Bank, Tropical Bank, Exim Bank, FINCA, Ugafode and Habitat for Humanity are some of our clients who have entrusted us to make banking easier and efficient for our fellow Ugandans. This is a big responsibility… We manage our client’s expectations and provide a better banking environment for one and all.
What is your assessment of taxi-hailing business in Uganda compared with the rest of the countries in the region?
Uganda shows a promising growth for the boda-boda in last few years, which confirms that there is a huge potential for another form of transport. Uganda market appears more responsive to the new extents and opportunities. Equating this country with other countries, there is a huge transformation happening, which allows everyone to contribute to the growth of the market. The future is completely bright for the taxi-hailing as more player are entering this market.
Two years ago, you unveiled Little-Ride, a taxi-hailing app, in partnership with Safaricom in Kenya and now expanding the service to Kampala mid-May. What are the key drivers for the planned expansion?
Our Key driver for expanding Little to Kampala is to ease the transport sector and more specifically to the create affordability, efficiency and convenience for corporates in each country. .]
