 I'm doing fine. I'm doing amazing. Glad to be here. Thanks for the invite. You're welcome. So what do you do, Maena? Maena emo he is a youthful eccentric digital expert. Chinangumungumu. Okay. Digital expert who measures in digital advertising, digital marketing, web development, software development and anything to do with the digital space. You're also a director? Yes, and the director must digital. Yes. Where we majorly work in software and digital. So where did this journey start? Who is Maena? Lusamewa, Wapi, Kampasulifanya, Nimi? Okay. So this digital journey started about... Actually, it started when I was in high school. That is when I got my first blog. I think in FOM2. And in FOM2 I did some poetry here and there, some few articles. Then after school, I found myself really inclined into digital. So I find myself on running people's Facebook pages. Actually, one of the first people who trusted me with their Facebook pages was my English and literature teacher who had a business outside Hustle. So she gave me her page, her business page and I ran it. Got into uni, did film and theater. I have also done journalism and mass communication. So professionally I've done this for the last four years. Okay. Yes. And right now journalism umie kakando you're into the digital space? I find myself rubbing shoulders with journalism because I'm also a creative director at an alternative agency. Okay. Yeah, that is where I practice my journalism skills at. But full time I'm on the digital space and trying to help small businesses improve on their digital presence and try to tell them that there's business in the digital space. Just because I'm a digital expert because Kauna is operating TikTok, Facebook when a digital expert. So who is a digital expert? Trust me everyone will say that they are a digital expert. But trust me there's a lot more to be being on the digital space. There's a lot more to ensuring that you're targeting the right people for your posts and that you're sharing the right message because that is where businesses have a problem in also making sure that you're consistent in making your digital presence felt. You get. Yeah, so that is one of the problems also being a digital expert means that you're able to analyze and get data from your audience. And what your audience would want, what your audience don't prefer and what are the right times and what are like there's a lot to look at. What is the right time to do your post? What is the right time to make this post? And what is what numbers are you getting to? So it's it's it's quite it's it's huge. So is there a cost that Mtu and Ashule kusoma amani YouTube is your friend? Okay, this is how it started. Having studied journalism and film and data. I wasn't taught that in school obviously. So we've digital digital marketing and the internet space also web development trust me itself thoughts and I've sharpened these skills these skills for so long considering eight years like and it keeps changing also so you keep learning in the process. YouTube is my friend. I also do paid courses on Kusera Udemi. You have to like to look for these skills out there. So yourself taught so for someone who wants to become a digital expert can you tell us some some of the places to look for these courses where to learn. Okay, so some of the areas to look for these courses are Udemi offers these courses. Also if you go on to YouTube and search anything to do with digital marketing web developments of the development trust me you will get people who are out there training people for free. Yes, but for you you have to do like an in-depth research. You've already gone to YouTube and you need to get more because YouTube will just do it on atafania juju. Lakinif for you to get deeper and get to know what happens what really happens you like have to go deep into your pocket also and try get some paid courses for that. And what are some of your the tools you use for your work? What tools do you need? Okay, some of the tools that we use they are quite a number and the analytics tool is one important tool to use. Some other tools there are other tools that also help you in getting some target audience. There are other tools you see as a creative. Okay, digital and being a creative also goes hand in hand because whatever message you share out there should be the right message and it needs some creativity. So what happens is you also need creative tools that will help you in at least getting the right message and curating the right message for your audience. Yes. So you're a director? Yeah, I'm the director. You look quite young. Okay. Honestly, yes. I mean honestly, yes. That is one comment that I get with most people. Like for you this young you go into a board meeting and they're like okay are you the person we were talking with on phone? You're the person who will do this for us? Yes, and my team. And they're like how did you like it's a story that I have to mention for every person I meet in the business world. Like how did you get here? And how did you get there? Okay, so what happened is starting off at an early age and learning a few things here and there. I was able to meet some few people out here who were in the same space and the first thing that I did is putting myself out there as much as possible. Going for doing those volunteer volunteer programs for people and companies and also projects. That was one of the milestones that I did that I got into this project. I helped in this on the digital space and this is what I achieved. So that helped me to move on to the next step. That also I've also managed to get myself here by interacting and networking with very many people. It's important to network. It's one skill that we as youth need to have. So starting this at let's say 16 now on 23 and starting it officially at 19 I had to put myself out there badly. So the director of Mast Digital. What type of company is Mast Digital? What do you guys deal with? Okay, so Mast Digital is a software and digital company. We mostly deal in software development, web development, digital marketing, advertising, copywriting. Those are our majors. And in doing that we have also measured on SAS. SAS is a software service where we offer solutions for the masses and publics. In the software world we need for companies they need you need to streamline everything that you do in your company. Like you need to streamline from the HR to the digital department, from the accounts to the management and we help companies get softwares that align the whole companies and processes making it easier for them. We have a digital department at Mast Digital. The digital department is called the Brand Energy and that is where I head the digital team. And here we help small businesses, any business, any business that is out there and is struggling to get the space into the digital space. Well, we've had a problem with, you see, we just we just getting into the digital era. Well, it has moved really fast and people are quite, people do not understand what it is. They're like, okay, what will this digital help you with? Yeah, exactly. So I'm just thinking, if mimi nimi anza biesha reyangundogo, so why should I come to you for any digital help when I can just take my phone and press record na Nikolai Facebook, Nikolai YouTube, why come to you? Yes. Okay, so why you should come to us is because we understand what your audience needs. Come in with your business, we'll tell you who are the right people you'll target because you see, when you take your phone, like immediately you take your phone and go live, the things, well, you'll do it, yes, but will you get to the right audience, you as a page or you as an Instagram, as an Instagram company page, you get. Are you getting to the right people? So we help you get to the right people, we help you target, we help you also make ads from your business posts and that we are able to reach to some bigger numbers which will at least convert and get you some money into your company, yes, because not most people that go on live and not most people go on live and make business out of it because you'll see people who get into the digital space and they stay there and they're like, ay, this thing is not working for me, what's happening? Did you buy it? Yeah, so those are some of the things that because you as a business person you believe, you know, trust me, trust me, I learn daily, I go on to Instagram, I go on to Facebook, I go on to Twitter and these things are changing, these things are diverse. I learn a lesson daily from these platforms. So you as a newbie or you as a new person into this space makes it difficult for you to understand what you need to do and how you need to do it, yeah. So when I come to you, when I go to a digital company, what are some of the services that I will get from them? Okay, some of the services that you'll get from us is one, messaging, like copywriting. What message are you sharing with your clients? Two, how are you putting like advertising? Like you see, copywriting, then advertising that for you to get your clients, also analyzing and getting analytics for your company and getting to lower the right market for your company, yes. Apart from that? Apart from that we'll help you manage and take care of your socials that you don't have to worry about your socials at any time. We are the right people to do that for you, yeah. So you have my logings, you have my passwords, you have everything? Yes, I have everything. And I'm safe, like I don't have to worry about... Trust me, you're safe. Trust me, you're safe because you see what we do, we also with the digital space means security. And you see security is one of the, it's one of the key measures that you have to tighten when you're starting your digital journey. And hakas are out here terrorizing people. So you need to make your digital space air tech that no one will be able to penetrate into your space and share their content or get hold of your accounts. So we also help you with security on your digital space. Okay, so I'm just wondering how the structure of a digital company is. So what's the structure of the company, the kind of professionals that a digital company has? Because I want to believe that there's so much work and you cannot be the only person who is working. Exactly. So when it comes to a digital company, obviously there has to be the management and the management for our companies, the directors and for each director is in charge of each department, for every department. We have a director who leads on the software development sector. We have a director who heads on the website, the software and the website are together and when it comes to the digital space, this is quite wide. We have the designers, the graphic designers. We have the social media people, people who handle your social media, the postings and all that. In that social media also we have people who come up with a copy, copywriters. In that space also we also have people who do analyze data and analytics, people who bring all the data collected together and tell you that this is what you need to do for your business. Yes. So if I wanted to start a digital company, is it expensive because I'm thinking about the space, the equipment you need, the employees, so how is the capital like? Honestly, it may be expensive but trust me if you have the skills, this is what I tell people like success makes preparedness. So what you need to do is you need to push and make sure that you're ready. You have your skill sets. You having your skill set ready gives you that pedestal that you're able to run a successful digital company. From there, make sure that you get your clients that you're able to push and make sure that you're reaching to as many people as possible and telling them this is what I do. Yo, make noise as much as possible. Yo, I'm a digital marketer and this is what I'll help you with. Do it for free. I don't care. Just do it. Just make sure that you're out there and people get to know about you. On the part budgeting and all that because you see with digital it's vast and it grows daily. Yeah. So another investment that I'd ask people people who are looking to get into our space is get as many skills, get to widen your skills as wide as possible. Get those cost era courses. You then go on to YouTube and make sure that you learn. It takes time before you get to open an office and get employees on board. Yes. And that's quite expensive but for you to get there you must have built gradually. You get. It may take an year or two but you'll get there eventually as long as you're consistent. Trust me, the digital space is one area that really pays. People don't know that. Let me tell you the truth. How well does it pay? Outa kula shina, baby. It's outa kula shina. Outa kula shina. It's outa kula shina. It's outa kula shina. It's outa kula shina. It's outa kula shina. It's outa kula shina. It's outa kula shina. It's outa kula shina, baby. Okay, talking about employees I'm just thinking you just can't take anyone from outside and bring them into your company. So what kind of professionals does a digital company have? Okay. So when it comes to the digital space actually we've had interviews from last year, from last year February. We've had about three interviews in between the year and we honestly don't look at papers. What we look at is what you've done. What projects have you been into? What do you know about the digital space? How good are you at it? And how good are you at your skillset? Are you a copywriter? How good are your copies? That is what we look at. Are you a digital marketer? How good are your organizational skills? Are you able to handle one Facebook page? Are you able to... What lengths can you go to with digital space? We also need people who are creative. So it's one of those things that you can do without a degree? It's one of those things. Well, most companies get people with degrees but you see it's not in scope. So it's people who have sat back and have been doing it for some time and have gained some skills out of it. So you just get them on board and tell them, this is your description, this is your job description and this is what you have to do for us. That's all. That's quite interesting. I think I'll get into it. I mean... Please, please... See, we're kind of visual. Thank you very welcome. Okay, so who are your clients? Who do you guys target when it comes to digital? For the past few years, we've worked for anyone and any person you think of out there. Starting from the small businesses, starting from going to the middle-sized companies and also corporates and big organizations, also the government. We've been able to offer solutions for the government also, which means that for... What would you call it? That we've been able to serve all these people starting from the software development services, digital marketing services, web development services. We have served everyone in the industry. Currently, we have about three major clients who we are serving starting from... We used to be the major clients and the big organizations. They come in with... They want a whole package where you offer all the services at a go. So we do software development, web development and digital marketing. Digital marketing in this case is social media management. That is what most clients want. So these three services are offered as a package for for those big organizations and companies. For small traders, what we do is we help them start off the... What do you call it? They are digital journey that if you need... If you're starting a company, we'll set up a company for you. You don't need to stress about anything. We'll get your company registered. We'll get you branded. We'll get you a logo. We'll get your images out there and we'll do the right branding for you. Yes. Okay, that's really interesting. So what are some of the good characteristics of a good digital company? Like how do I differentiate from a good digital company and a work one? A creative aspect. Because you see, we sell emotions and we sell an image. You got it. So if you look at a digital company, you need to look at... What do you call them? The companies they've worked for before. You need to analyze their portfolio and get to know how did they handle these clients and how they manage into also work for these clients. Like how creative are they inserting their message and how resourceful are they and how fast are they also. And you... But the creative aspect is one of the major places you should look at. How creative are they? Because you see, out here you don't want you don't want to read some boring stuff. You just don't want to... We just don't want content. We want some eye-catching content. We want some glusome content. Content that you look at and you're like, okay, let me read through this. Let me get to know what they're saying about their product, yeah. So and if I wanted to like start a digital company, what are some of the requirements that I need? One of the requirements that you need which you could do after you've made some money here and there is register as a company. Yes. You also need to get yourself tools and softwares to get you started on the digital space. You also need to get a budget for the little things. You see, starting a company, starting a digital company also needs that also means that you need to go out there and get clients. And you see with clients comes customer acquisition costs. So you have to get yourself a budget to at least convince a client here. Come on, bud. I'm the right person for this. Yes. So as a director, what are some of your responsibilities? My responsibility is to make sure that things are done and they are done in the right way and are done on time. That I have to ensure that my team is working and they have responsibility. Like whatever is given to them is delivered and is delivered right. Before it gets to me it has to go through them that they have to agree that is this right? Do you feel that the message we are sharing here is okay? Then for me is just ah, go ahead. You feel this is good? You feel this is the right message? Then yeah, let's go ahead. It also means that I have to check up on you see, in business one of the lessons that I have learnt with time is to take care of your people. I need to take care of my people. I need to take care of everyone that is under me. I need to make sure that they are mentally okay and I need to make sure that we are all doing well financially in India. You get that? Yeah, that you are comfortable in your space. Yeah. Yes. As a director also I have learnt that for creatives we need creatives need their space. So actually we don't have any roles at our office. If you feel like you work best at night please come to the office at night. Okay. If you feel that you work best at 2pm please come to the office at 2pm. No one will ask you because you are a creative because I have been a creative before and the employment entrust me getting to getting to work in a very tight environment makes things hard for you. Yeah. So as a director I must make sure that the company is running. And what are some of the challenges that you have faced as a digital company? Woof! Clients. Oh yeah, getting a client on body's head. Like we call it custom acquisition and custom acquisition is a whole process that you've already identified a client and you have to follow up on the client. Trust me it may take you a month well from a day to almost a year because I've had clients that have changed for a whole year that you must keep calling the client. Hey, hello. My name is Alfred. Do you remember me? Hey. Alfred here. Hey. You remember me? Yeah. So you have to make sure that you're following up on your clients. Also when starting you will face face problems on money management. That's another tough meme because I don't have a history in finance like clients who's here. I don't have a history that so you have to learn in the process you have to get the right people. Also so another challenge is are you making the right decision? Okay. So we'll go for a short break but we'll be back after a few minutes so usyende pa hali. Yeah. Why 254 Imagine Mua kupatao fanisi Deville takaviufu rahi bada kufanikiwa usi subirikus kumonamtu jitume moineu. Ili kupataos kizatun hi boneza star 8 1 1 star 9 6 3 hush star 8 1 1 star 9 6 3 hush Waiter remuka 2 chini. At watwa nangotya eh? Una se maunya? Ah, si nina kwa nandia ukucha eh kucha nina kwa nana. Yo hi. Imi puitama nangangapikei. This is the nisan note. Indio motoka. Note that this is the nisan note we are giving out. 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All this comes to you live at 11 a.m. Only on Y244 Asking my friend here if they work with influencers and celebrities aren't you know kaniwa ujiongezeo holluaz amayoni kaziya digital company. Okay. Yes. We do work with influencers and the people who have some high numbers and yes they do need a digital expert for their spaces. Building an audience on social media trust me it's quite a hassle. It's quite a task. So you at least need some people who will guide you on the content that you share and who'll be able to analyze what your platform looks like and what your audience looks like. Yeah. And when it comes to charging them I'm a charging a company for your digital services how do you go about that? It cuts across well we have a standard package but it cuts across different clients. You see there's a small business that we not be able to afford your standard package. So what we do is we customize a package for them that this is what we will be able to do for you at your cost. You guys and with the there are these other the standard package is mainly achieved by the by these big organizations and companies but also we have been able to bring these small companies on board and tell them yeah please come on board we'll help you with this and we'll do it for you at your affordable at an affordable rate that you will be able to raise. Yes. So every business has a risk so what are some of the risks that are digital company experiences? Sharing the wrong message. You've gotten a client a high-end client and on this particular day well you've really shared the calendar with them and they looked at it and you delivered already and they looked and they said it's okay you can go ahead and post then it gets to the audience and it is clapped back on you so you have to handle such fires also with creatives dealing with creatives can be hard because you see we also get mental breakdowns there are these moments where you totally can't think of a thing like you're blank you're totally blank so that is also another problem that we face another risk that we face is clients failing to pay for services you've already offered a client a service and they just just goes to me so it's it's quite tough yeah so you have to keep following up on the client hey where is the money hey you we did this service for you it's it's it's a problem that we are we are facing as a company also business people also are facing this challenge that they do not know where is the right who's the right person trust me if out of every five business startups or companies are three of them will admit a company that will not deliver so it's one of the challenges that we get well you get a client they tell you hey i won't trust you because you know i gave someone else the job and they didn't deliver you know i paid this person the whole amount and they never delivered my website they never delivered the services they just they just sold me some hot air those are some of the challenges so you have to like bring this client on board and tell them hey trust us we've got you trust us like we're the right team to go to we'll solve your problems so no worries just chill let's do it let's get it done for you so you've said you've talked about being the right team yes so what makes you as mass digital the right team we are agile and eccentric you see we are abnormal you see when it comes to when it comes normal is boring so we want to be we want to be that company that will do what people fear and we'll mass ourselves into it we'll take up those challenges and we'll get it done for you yes so what do people fear you see when you come when you bring in a client most clients are like eh is is my business even doing it okay should I even get into the digital space is it even the right space to get into why am I even getting into this like those are some of the fears people have am I doing it right so those are some of the fears that we solve for our clients and also get ourselves into some challenging situations and see how we come out and do you have a physical office am I your yes so you have a physical office we have we are located on Mombasa Road semi business park block bit free yes that is where we are at yeah you can also find us on social media at mass digital Africa mass digital Africa on Facebook on Twitter on LinkedIn and on Instagram yes okay that's really interesting so what piece of advice will you give a young person like you who wants to start a digital company just get started any he doesn't doesn't help to sit back and say no gopa any you need you need to push yourself out there you need to put yourself out there and you need to meet people you need to network that is the only way out of poverty interesting and what's the vision like for you as a person and you as the director of mass digital we are looking at making it public for everyone we are looking at being the go-to software solution company in the country and in Africa that is why it's called mass digital Africa that if you need any service any digital service any software service that you are the company to go to and we are also looking at maybe in some few years make it public and people will come by shares yeah never know as a person I want to be known as the best that ever was in the digital space okay thank you thank you so much thank you very much thank you for taking your time and educating us on the digital space and showing us the importance of actually coming to a digital company I am so that was Mai Namwangi a digital expert and we'll be right back after the break