a bit of a crazy story

Kenyan e-⁠resident and Estonian startup visa holder Mike Opondo has ambitious plans to grow his business Kontorva throughout Europe and Africa

"Mine is a bit of a crazy story," says Mike Opondo. "Because, as of January 2023, I didn't even know where Estonia was."

He really didn't. Mike is an entrepreneur from Nairobi, Kenya. Some clients of his firm Kontorva include Travel World Safaris of Kenya; Ong’anya Ombo Advocates LLP, a Nairobi-based full-service law firm; and Cardinal Destination Management of Johannesburg, South Africa. There are images of elephants and giraffes in their advertisements, and neither ice nor snow.

"It was one of those countries that you just don't hear about, you don't know about," Mike says.

A year later, he was living there.

About Kontorva

Kontorva is a Kenyan startup that specializes in matching developers to clients. The developers Kontorva makes available are vetted and specialized in blockchain, web3, and AI, as well as Internet of Things engineers. By using Kontorva's platform, clients can skip the sourcing process, quickly identify the best matches for their projects, and hire them. This leads to cost savings and faster turnarounds for projects, a boon to clients and developers, Mike maintains.

Educated as a lawyer, Mike's interest in software development and technology in general was an outgrowth of the work he was doing for NGOs in Kenya, where he assisted them on security issues and monitoring online extremism. "I had to learn about data analytics and data science," he says. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, he began consulting NGOs about data analytics. "I just got sucked into the tech world," he says. "Then I took courses on software development."

Between 2018 and 2020, Mike picked up certificates in full stack software development, computer programming, and AI for business outcomes. He was also licensed by Coursera, the online course provider, for data analysis with Python and Databases for SQL and Data Science. His new career direction also took him to Canada, where he worked as an analytical consultant. Upon returning to Kenya, he set up Kontorva, but quickly decided he needed to set up an office outside of Africa.

"My company needed a branch in either North America or Europe," says Mike. "It's just the nature of what we are doing."

The market constraints in Kenya, and in Africa at large, are related to demand. "For development and connecting developers to companies that are looking for them, there is a bigger market in Europe and North America than there is in Africa," Mike acknowledges.

Given his foothold in Canada, he considered setting up a Kontorva office there. But the migration process was cumbersome and took months, which led him to look into Europe.

"We were looking at the Schengen Area," says Mike. He considered applying for a UK Global Talent Visa, but wanted "bigger coverage," meaning a country that was part of the EU. The next contenders were Germany, Portugal, and a Northern European country he had never heard of.

"That is how I stumbled upon Estonia," says Mike.

An earnest e-⁠resident

Mike's discovery of Estonia led him to its e-⁠Residency program, which would allow him, following a thorough vetting process, to set up Kontorva remotely and operate as a European firm.

Africa has not exactly been a hotspot of e-⁠Residency adoption (yet). Thousands of e-⁠residents originate in Ukraine, Germany, Spain, and Finland. Egypt is the top African country for e-⁠Residency, but it's number 30. South Africa is number 49 and Nigeria is 52. Kenya is number 89, but that doesn't mean the program has had minimal adoption there. There are more than 80 Kenyan e-⁠residents. More than 20 Estonian firms have been set up by them.

Kontorva is one.

With Cairo the sole pickup point for an e-⁠Residency kit, Mike opted to travel north to inspect his potential new digital homeland. He arrived on January 8, in the middle of the long Estonian winter, when snow is on the ground from late November through early April.

Obtaining e-⁠Residency was smooth. Mike was granted e-⁠Residency in a month and set up the Estonian office of Kontorva. He then applied for a Startup Visa, which would allow him to stay in Estonia. By March, his visa was approved. About the experience, Mike says:

Getting used to Estonia's business culture

Coming from Kenya to Estonia was admittedly a trying transition. The average temperature in Kenya throughout the year is 25 degrees Celsius in winter and in summer. Cheered on by all that sunshine, Kenyans are, in Mike's words, an outgoing crowd. They are open and friendly. Sometimes, he admits, they are a little too friendly.

"If someone comes to visit you at home, all of your neighbors will know about it," Mike says.

In Estonia, you might pass your neighbor everyday and not exchange any words. "People are a bit closed, they keep to themselves, they mind their own business," says Mike. One recalls the cover of the November 2010 edition of The New Yorker which named a "monosyllabic Estonian exchange student" as being among the bizarre guests who might turn up at Thanksgiving.

But there are positive aspects of that now famous man-of-few-words, no-nonsense attitude.

"In Kenya, you have to know somebody when you are doing business," Mike says. While this might help a platform developer like Kontorva get its foot in the door, it might hinder honest feedback that could be of value. In Estonia, the potential client won't care about such things:

Ambitious growth plans

Despite the cultural obstacles, Mike is staying. Kontorva has been working to establish itself in Estonia, by courting domestic clients and developers alike. In the next year or so, the firm might expand to Latvia, Lithuania and maybe some other countries in the neighborhood like Poland.

"We do intend to establish a long-term strong brand presence in the Baltics, then Eastern Europe, then the whole of Europe in stages, over the coming years," says Mike. "Concurrently, East Africa, then Eastern and Southern Africa, then the whole of Africa," he says.

He adds that Kontorva would like to mimic the expansion path of the Estonian firm Bolt, by targeting emerging and under-served markets.

Kontorva is at its core a team of six, with Mike and his co-founder Sherylle Pheona at the helm, plus three developers and one marketing lead. It does have about 100 developers in its talent pool. Sherylle, he notes, runs operations for the firm from Nairobi. "She's the alternative CEO," says Mike. "That's how much involved she is in the day-to-day running and growth of Kontorva on the Kenyan front."

And as for Mike, well, he thinks he's going to be in Estonia for some time.