The Builder
Building from inside East Africa
Photo coming soon
Nuuh Iftin — Iftin Digital
Digital Builder — Kakuma & Nairobi, Kenya
The story
I grew up and work in Kakuma — one of the largest refugee settlements in the world, and one of the most underserved technology markets on the continent. I've spent years watching businesses operate with paper-based systems, spreadsheets, and WhatsApp groups where proper software should be.
The problem isn't that business owners don't want technology. The problem is that most software is built for other markets, priced for other economies, and supported by teams who've never set foot in the places these businesses actually operate.
So I started building systems from here. Systems that work on low-bandwidth connections, that integrate with M-Pesa and WhatsApp, that can be maintained remotely but feel local.
What I'm working on
StepUp.One
A digital skills platform for youth in underserved communities — helping people build careers in the digital economy from anywhere.
ISP in Kakuma
Building internet infrastructure in the Kakuma refugee settlement — because good software starts with reliable connectivity.
This studio
Building, deploying, and maintaining ready-made software systems for East African businesses — on a model that works for both sides.
Why It Matters
Ground-level context is everything
Most software companies sell into East Africa from Nairobi, Lagos, or London. They've never had to troubleshoot a booking system over a 2G connection, or explain to a bus operator in Turkana why the app crashed at market day.
I build from the ground up. When I design a system, I'm thinking about the operator who checks in passengers at 5am, the agent who needs to reconcile tickets at the end of a 14-hour day, and the owner who wants to know whether the Lodwar–Kitale route made money this week.
That context doesn't come from user research. It comes from being here.
Want to work together?
I'm always open to conversations about what you're building.