Field notes
Writing for the people who actually build.
Practical pieces on M-Pesa Daraja, WhatsApp Cloud API, custom ecommerce, and the operational realities of running software in growth markets. New posts every two weeks.
- M-PesaDarajaEngineering
How M-Pesa STK push works (and how to add it to your website)
Most M-Pesa tutorials are six years old and reference dead endpoints. This one is current, runs in production at TrafficBuddy and angaze.co, and covers everything from OAuth to callback handling.
9 min read - WhatsAppEngineeringKenya
The complete WhatsApp Cloud API guide for Kenyan businesses
Seventy percent of Kenyan ecommerce decisions still happen inside WhatsApp. This is how to operate it like infrastructure instead of a chat sidekick.
8 min read - StrategyEcommerceKenya
Shopify vs custom ecommerce in Kenya: a decision tree
Most agencies in Kenya push you toward Shopify because it pays them a recurring affiliate. We sell custom builds and Shopify both, and most days we recommend Shopify. Here is the honest decision tree.
7 min read - M-PesaDarajaProduction
Daraja sandbox to production: the checklist nobody publishes
Safaricom's docs say 'Apply for Go Live'. They do not mention the seven things that get applications rejected. This is the checklist we run for every Angazé client moving to production.
6 min read - OperationsFoodDelivery
The delivery-first ecommerce stack for Nairobi
Most Kenyan food businesses run on five disconnected tools: a website, WhatsApp, a phone book of M-Pesa transactions, a paper notebook, and Glovo. This is the integrated stack we build instead.
7 min read
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