In Nairobi, it's electric
Five short things (gunpowder and matches feature)
A short one, dancing neatly through the Venn overlaps of “Or So Ben Thought”: sustainability, technology, culture, play and a little dash of random.
One (Nairobi)
This Spring I visited Nairobi, almost 10 years since I sat in candlelight as helicopters hovered and plumes of smoke rose over the nearby Westgate mall. I wrote about the events of 2013 and, though alarming, couldn’t wait to return. The city doesn’t deserve the stereotypes of crime, corruption and poverty that still cling on. It is vibrant, cosmopolitan and bubbling with innovation. Having long threatened to write about the work of Chief Technology Officer and good friend Alex Pitkin, the time had come. Roam was recently featured in Time Magazine’s Top 100 Influential companies and has just launched Africa’s first electric motorcycle. Head over to Medium for all the words on why this is a big deal.
A smartly dressed security guard leads me into the hangar where I’m greeted by the reassuring clang of metal on metal, pop-sparkling welders and the slop of bucket and mop. This is one of three “go-downs” filled with the fruits of Roam’s mission to electrify Africa; boxes, batteries and bike parts litter the space.
Opibus, now known as Roam, was founded in 2017 by a group of Swedish engineers that chose Nairobi as home. In the early years, they lived on top of each other in a small flat on the fringes of the industrial area, pursuing their vision to electrify safari vehicles. It was a smart niche for the startup: electric is cleaner and quieter, the daily safari drives short enough that range is never a problem and every sun-drenched camp receives free fuel year round.
Two (Search)
I’ve had growing frustrations over poor quality (overly commercialised) results without being able to articulate or substantiate it. This does: Google Search is dying.
Three (Plots)
The Gunpowder Plot is alive and kicking. Quite an achievement, given the heavily COVID-flavoured production. The 90 minute experience combines physical sets, actors and multimedia projection with moments of virtual reality, all of which embed visitors in the plot to blow up parliament. It’s a live action, tech-fuelled ghost train ride, sitting somewhere amongst escape rooms, amusement parks, Secret Cinema and Punchdrunk. Historic Royal Palaces teamed up with Layered Reality, an immersive outfit formed off the back of the 2018 experimental show Somnai and commercially successful War of the Worlds. The commercial strategy looks sound, baking a half-time drink into the drama of the show, along with the usual ‘exit via the gift shop’ and green-screen photo opps. Talk to producer Tim Powell (priors: The Lost Palace) for the inside scoop on producing this multi-million pound behemoth. I enjoyed it.
Four (Matches)
In keeping with the above, I adore this stop-motion matchstick animation. The dedication to craft is staggering. Two minutes of eye candy!
Five (Stats)
Some statistics, specifically the generation-defining ones like: the under 30s are (apparently) having less sex, we’re all sleeping less and everything has a semiconductor in it, which is bad news because of the growing skills shortage. This has a ‘make me viral please’ feel, but there is some sense threading through it.
That’s it, that’s all.
Thanks for sending me notes, it’s really nice hearing what you’re up to.
Bye for now,
B.
PS - I used the facilities at make.town the other day and apart from being a wonderfully (emotionally, not meltingly) warm place to be, it also feels like the future: community spaces for productive hanging-out. Repair. Re-use. Re-think our wasteful ways.
