In recent years, Kresten Buch has become a name strongly associated with the emerging mobile-based startup scene in Kenya. The Berlin-based “serial investor” is behind several projects and initiatives designed to support the wealth of young entrepreneurs and innovators in Kenya and the rest of the East African region, mainly through the seed-investment company 88mph, and through the professional social network, HumanIPO, which he co-founded.

Kresten’s latest venture, Startup Garage, is set to open in Nairobi in mid 2012, and will be the largest coworking space in East Africa to date. He also plans to introduce a desk-exchange between coworking spaces in Nairobi and Berlin, in which betahaus will take part.

You initially worked within Denmark and Northern Europe. How did you become interested in Kenya, and what made you eventually change your focus to East Africa?

It all started when I sold a company in 2006 to investors in Eastern Europe. As part of that sale, I had to build a company in Eastern Europe, so that was what first got me out of Denmark. Following that, I decided to take a 14-day business course at Stanford University, and it was there that I then met David Owino, then the COO of Kenya Data Networks Limited. At that time, I was looking to start investing in tech companies, and he told me a lot about what was going on in East Africa: about mobile money and the growth of the mobile industry. Soon afterwards, I decided to spend a week in Kenya to see this for myself, and that’s how eventually started working there.

There’s plenty of talk about mobile business leading the way in regional development, not only in East Africa, but in a lot of developing regions of the world. How widespread throughout the economy and throughout Kenyan society are the benefits of this development – are they limited to only certain economic sectors or certain classes of people?

Mobile technology has really increased its presence in Kenya these days. For instance, the biggest mobile operator in the country, SafariCom, has over 22 million subscribers, and the population of Kenya is 40 million. One thing mobile technology has brought to a lot of rural Kenyans is the ability to have a bank account. SafariCom offers subscribers access to banking services, so they not only get access to a phone – something they may not have had before, but also the opportunity to send or receive money from the cities, or from abroad, with their mobile bank accounts. Phones prices are also much lower these days – you can easily get a perfectly-functional, Chinese-made smartphone running an Android system for about 80 USD.

Despite there being such a promising, talented population, Africa is still unfortunately associated with poverty, corruption, political instability, and the resulting capital flight, which, of course, deters potential investors. Do you believe that, through the growth of the mobile start-up scene – this so-called “mobile revolution” – this stereotype can eventually be overcome in the international community?

That’s definitely one of the more interesting challenges we are trying to face. There needs to be a change in the way people look at Africa – too many people only associate it with poverty, charity work, and so on. Africa also needs to be seen as a land of opportunity that is attractive to investors. We hope that we can eventually create some kind of regional success story through our work which would spread worldwide thanks to social media, ultimately changing everyone’s perceptions of Africa for the better.
One thing I’ve noticed is that, when you’re in Kenya, you feel surrounded by growth – strong population growth, economic growth, and so on. You’re able to take on projects which may not have the same impact on the markets in Europe. For instance, we founded a football website, Futaa.com, which found great success in the Kenyan markets – something that would not have happened as readily in Europe. A lot of people who do show interest in investing in East Africa mainly see the region as a source of cheap labour, and ignore the true potential of the local population and markets.

Will this also change the way in which business is conducted between Europe and Africa, as people become more aware and more respectful of the local population and business culture?

Of course. Obviously, I encourage Europeans to go down to Africa and start something. It’s great for the local population to be able to collaborate with foreigners, exchange skills, experience and expertise, and to eventually start their own companies based on that. I think that all successful economic growth is based on interaction between nationalities. In order for the economies in East Africa to grow, the local population has to be a part of it; and as equal players. I would love to see small companies being formed by a mix of nationalities – that’s one of the reasons why I’ve decided to start a desk-exchange with betahaus and other coworking spaces in Europe.

HumanIPO has just announced a desk-exchange between coworking spaces Berlin and Nairobi, and that betahaus will be participating. What are some of the main differences between the coworking scenes in East Africa and Western Europe, and what could either side learn from this kind of exchange?

When you look at Kenyan startups, you notice that the entrepreneurs there are a lot more hungry and a lot more driven than those in Europe. One of our employees in Kenya, for instance, had his taxi hijacked, and was held hostage all night. The next morning, he went straight to work, as if nothing had happened! Needless to say, many European entrepreneurs can at least be inspired by that level of determination. I also find that, in Africa, people are much friendlier and more passionate. This creates a good contrast when paired with Germans, who are more structured, formal, and reserved.
The space in Nairobi is almost ready for the desk-exchange; so it’s just a matter of enough people from Berlin applying for it. Our newest space, Startup Garage, is about to open, and should be ready in a week. The space has about 120 desks – not quite as big as betahaus, but so far the biggest coworking space in East Africa. Mind you, coworking is still a relatively new trend over there, as many Kenyan companies still hold on to a very traditional, hierarchical office mentality. However, there are more and more young, educated people today who are embracing the concept of coworking – of working openly with others. We’re hoping that, by allowing Kenyans to work in German spaces, and vice versa, we can not only promote coworking in Kenya and in East Africa, but also change the perspective many people in Europe have of Africa, and of doing business there.

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Peter Kirn is a musician, sound-designer, composer, educator, and writer, specializing in DIY electronic music and interactive visual arts. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Create Digital Media, GmbH, an online magazine and community for those involved in music technology and audiovisual arts.
A member of betahaus since November 2011, Peter has already hosted events and workshops at Open Design City for users of the MeeBlip – an open-source synthesizer he co-designed – and plans to hold more events this year.

You are the co-creator and developer of the MeeBlip Synthesizer, and have already hosted a workshop here at Open Design City. Do you plan to hold any more MeeBlip workshops or any similar events at betahaus or ODC in the future?

Following my talk at the Create Art and Technology conference in November 2011, I hosted a very informal MeeBlip workshop at Open Design City. So far, these are the only MeeBlip-related events I’ve hosted here. Of course, I have a lot of plans for this year, and that includes more workshops and events at betahaus and ODC.
These events are generally attended by a mix of musicians and electronics geeks, but my long-term goal is to introduce a wider range of people to electronic music and synthesizers. The MeeBlip project is still in the early stages, and we have yet to win anyone over who isn’t already interested in this field. We hope to do a better job of making the MeeBlip more available in the future, and accessible to people everywhere.

You run the company Create Digital Media GmbH, which, among other things, publishes the two sites CreateDigitalMusic and CreateDigitalMotion. Could you tell us a little more about that?

I started out with CreateDigitalMusic, which focused on using technology as a window into music. It’s not just a gear site, nor is it a typical music site. CreateDigitalMotion was founded at a point when, very early on, it became apparent to me that a lot of musicians were moving from working with sound to working with visuals, especially with interactive visuals. I think that, as a musician and a live performer, you work a lot with time – an element most visual artists and designers often do not consider in their work. However, we have a new generation of artists and designers, as well as musicians who cross over to these fields, who do think in those terms – taking visual media and adding to it the element of time.

We’ll also be rebooting our social efforts with a site we’ll call Create Digital Noise; part of what I’m working on here in Berlin is engineering that site and creating something new for people exploring technology for music and motion. If anyone is interested in how social connections work for creative people, I’d love to talk.

There has been a backlash in recent years against the use of inexpensive software to produce music, with many blaming such software for the overall deterioration in the quality and value of music nowadays. Given that you specialise in external hardware, what do you think of this viewpoint?

Both James, the co-designer of the MeeBlip, and I are hardware users: we love the feeling of turning knobs, flipping switches, and so on. But we always try to be as open-minded as possible. Since I first started writing CreateDigitalMusic, I have always tried to cover everything. I try not to be too concerned about how people make music or what they use, whether they make music with an old GameBoy, big racks of analog gear, or an iPad. I think this backlash we’re seeing is mainly against the lack of variety in output, and the idea that people no longer have a choice in what they can do. Everyone has different tastes, different musical backgrounds, and access to different forms of gear. The great thing about music is that electronics, when in the hands of a musician, are no longer seen as disposable. If you give a musician an iPad, and a newer version comes out, they’ll simply get the newer one and have two musical instruments!

What inspired you to move from the US to Berlin, and what attracted you to betahaus in particular?

I recently moved to Berlin from New York to give both myself and Create Digital Media a new place to grow and develop. At the moment, I think there isn’t any better place for that than Berlin, and especially betahaus. I’ve always been interested in the intersection of technology and creativity – these sites themselves are examples of this intersection – and I see a lot of that at betahaus. It’s always great to see people from different fields – web people, musicians, people working with technology – come together to work on things. There is a strong sense of technological ingenuity, not only at betahaus and in Berlin, but throughout Germany in general, and I’ve been able to meet a lot of smart and interesting people since coming here.

Coworking spaces can benefit just about any kind of work, allowing for increased productivity, inspiration, and a sense of community. Unsurprisingly, we are beginning to see more spaces that apply the principles of coworking to a number of different fields that reach beyond traditional office work.

Since September 2011, a former apartment in Neukölln’s trendy Reuterkiez has housed a co-sewing space – Nadelwald. This new space offers sewing equipment, patterns, workshops, and other facilities for designers and hobbyists alike to be inspired, create projects, and share their ideas and creations with others. We asked founder Swantje Wendt a few questions about her charming new space.

How did you come up with the concept of co-sewing – the idea of applying the principles of co-working to sewing?

I originally wanted to start a fashion label, specializing in scarves and accessories, and had been searching for a place where I could work on that. Since I couldn’t find a space where I could leave my patterns and materials, I simply created my own space, and began offering it to others.

What kinds of people normally use this space – professional designers, or simply hobbyists?

At the moment, the space is used mostly by people who sew as a hobby and who like to do their own alterations. Only one of our customers is a professional designer who comes here whenever she needs equipment she does not already own.

There seems to be a growing interest in sewing these days, particularly among younger people. Why do you think that is?

I think that, in the case of younger people, sewing and other forms of handiwork can be seen as an alternative to daily work, as many people these days spend most of their time at their computers. They enjoy being able to create something with their hands, something they can be proud of in the end.

You hold a lot of workshops. Do your workshops mainly focus on sewing, or do you branch out into other forms of visual art and handicrafts as well?

Our workshops focus on any skills related to fashion. We offer workshops on different sewing techniques, and even knitting, which is taught by a guest instructor, as knitting is not my area of expertise. I plan to offer a workshop on pattern-making, as that is my specialty.

You have a store here as well. Do people who use this space sell their finished work here?

Yes. It’s part of our concept – you can be inspired by our fashion and pattern books, work on your project and finish it, and finally sell it, all in the same space.

You yourself have worked as a designer, and have done some work for Berlin Fashion Week. Could you tell us a little more about that?

I started out as a tailor, but I felt I wanted to go further in the world of fashion. So I started out working for a Berlin-based high fashion label before working for another, larger-scale label based in Bremen. I found that working for a larger label really limited my ability to be creative – I simply communicated ideas between designers and buyers, and never created anything of my own. When I finally moved back here, I decided to start my own business instead of working for another firm. At first, I wanted to start a label as a designer, but since I was unable to find space to work, I simply created my own, and that’s how Nadelwald was born. 

Starting, managing and maintaining a new business, either as a freelancer or an organised startup, comes with its own set of challenges, and can seem daunting to many. Fortunately, most startups and freelancers face similar challenges, and, in a collaborative environment such as betahaus, need not face them alone.

At the very core of betahaus lie the principles of openness, collaboration, and the sharing of resources among coworkers. These principles are, of course, hardly limited to traditional forms of desk-work. Open Design City, located directly behind the betahaus| café, is a space in which the principles of coworking are applied to physical construction and design projects.

Founded in April 2010, and incorporated into the betahaus shortly thereafter, Open Design City provides a space for creative people – from designers to programmers, artists to activists, or anyone else – to share ideas, resources, and skills with which they can physically realise their own visions. Open Design City has built itself upon the founding principles of hackerspaces and FabLabs, and can be described as a “makerlab/hackerspace/fablab” – a space in which people gather and share resources, ideas, skills, and knowledge in the process of creating something together.

Tom Spoorendonk has been the manager of Open Design City since August 2011. He explains some of the basics, and gives us an idea of what exactly takes place here, and what one can do in this space.

1. What exactly is the Open Design City? How would you, personally, define it?

The Open Design City is a co-working lab, somewhat like a FabLab, except it isn’t limited to digital production. There’s a lot of hands-on work going on here too – laser-cutting, sawing, hammering, soldering, and so on. We do programming and prototyping as well.

2. What can one do at ODC? What kinds of people can use the space?

All kinds of people work here – we have graphic designers, upcyclers, recyclers, stop-motion photographers, theatre design – you name it! I myself am involved in woodworking and carpentry. There are also companies that prototype their products here. Of course, you don’t need to be involved in any of these fields to be able to work in ODC. All betahaus members are welcome to work here.

3. There are many tools available for use in here. Who can use them, and how much does it cost?

Members pay half-price if they wish to rent a tool. Non-members pay slightly more, yet the prices are still quite low – 3 Euros an hour for many tools. We have a few more specialised tools, like a CNC router and a 3D printer, that were actually built by some of our members here. Anyone interested in using these tools can contact the people in charge of them.

4. Who are some of the people who are working at ODC now, and what do they do?

Right now we’re building a bike that generates electricity. This is a project that can be applied to several other fields as well – the concept of generating power simply by pedaling.

5. You regularly hold workshops. What are some of the workshops you’ve held in the past?

We just held a screen-printing workshop, which happens regularly. We also hold Arduino workshops, where people can learn about open-source electronics programming. The Design Thinking workshop was one of the biggest ones we’ve held. Then there is Trash of the Month, where you can learn how we can use materials we normally would throw away. Finally, there’s the Lastenfahrrad Project, which shows you how to turn your bike into a cargo bike, reducing car-dependence.

6. Finally what do you expect for ODC in the future?

More regular workshops, more people coming in – there’s already a community group working here, but I see the potential for way more people to come in here regularly for a short period of time. Students, for example, who may need more advanced tools than what they have at their schools.