Just over a week ago, I sat down with Mark Kaigwa – someone I’ve known, admired, and watched help shape Kenya’s digital ecosystem – for what turned out to be my longest podcast episode ever on Pure Digital Passion.

We went deep — 1 hour and 40 minutes deep — exploring what we often get wrong, and what we’re finally beginning to get right, in Kenya’s fast-changing digital landscape.

🎬 Mark Kaigwa’s Origin Story: Storyteller to Strategist

Mark’s journey didn’t begin in marketing. Raised in a family of creatives, he started out in film production and scriptwriting, working with global players like Warner Bros. Interactive. But a growing curiosity around how Africans were using technology led him into advertising, and eventually to launching Nendo — an insight-first, Africa-centric digital agency that’s all about strategy grounded in reality.

💸 Megabytes as Currency

A core theme from our conversation: megabytes are currency. In Kenya, every click, stream, and download costs money. This economic reality directly influences digital behaviour. Users avoid outbound links, heavy apps, and unnecessary data drains. If you're not designing for data-conscious users, you're missing the point.

📱 Kenya’s App Graveyard

Mark highlighted the fate of many apps launched with excitement but quickly abandoned. The reality? Kenyans don’t want more apps — they want lean, fast, mobile-first web experiences. Apps have to earn their place on already-cramped phones.

🧠 Social Listening: It’s What’s Not Mentioned

Mark made a strong case that the most valuable social media insights aren’t in hashtags or mentions. They’re in the untagged, unbranded conversations — what people say about you, without naming you. If your digital strategy ignores this, you’re missing what matters.

🎵 TikTok’s Mashinani Mavens

Mark introduced the idea of “Mashinani Mavens” — rural and peri-urban TikTok creators changing the content game. These aren't your Nairobi-based influencers. They're grandmothers, shopkeepers, students — crafting relatable, vernacular content that’s algorithmically surfaced. It’s authentic influence that can’t be manufactured.

🎰 The Rise of Sports Betting & Algorithmic Newsrooms

A sobering moment: the most Googled word in Kenya for over a decade has been a sports betting brand. Betting is deeply embedded in digital culture, particularly among the youth — and it poses a serious, under-addressed public health concern.

We also discussed platforms like Opera News, Scooper, and Phoenix Browser — apps that many brand managers overlook, but which now serve as the default news experience for millions. They’re fast, localised, and powered by algorithms — not editorial desks.

⛔ Zero-Click Content & Practical AI

Today’s platforms don’t want users to leave — they want them to stay put. This is the “zero-click reality”, where platform-native content wins and outbound links lose. It’s flipping traditional digital marketing logic on its head.

On AI, Mark is pragmatic — not hyped. From replacing clunky USSD menus to creating tools like MsaniiGPT for localised content generation, he sees AI as a powerful tool for solving real African problems.

💡 Final Thoughts

Mark closed with a powerful call to action:

Question everything. Localise everything. Test everything.

Too much of our digital strategy is borrowed and repackaged from outside Africa. But Kenya — and the continent — has its own rhythms, its own behaviours, and its own realities. The only way forward is insight-led and context-aware execution.

👉 If you’ve ever worked in marketing, communications, media, or technology in Kenya, this is the one podcast episode you need to watch or listen to. It’s layered, enlightening, and yes — epic.

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