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Wanting to be “the Google of Africa” would be a far-fetched dream for most, but for Abel Masai, this aspiration is attainable.

Masai is the founder and CEO of Kocela, a Kenyan company specialising in mobile solutions.

The company’s open-concept space has all the typical characteristics of a startup: colourful post-it notes displayed along the wall, coffee and tea available all day, and a team of 14 bright minds, all under 30 years.

As a student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Masai had intended to work in computer repairs and maintenance, but in 2011, he attended a workshop on smartphone app development and was immediately hooked.

“I decided to abandon computer maintenance and instead focus on software development,” he says.

Two years later, he founded Kocela.