Author

wakinyi

Reflections from World Cup 2026

by wakinyi July 17, 2026

written by wakinyi

It feels like yesterday when I penned down a post regarding the continental extravaganza that was the Africa Cup of Nations. Thereafter, all eyes were set on the greatest tournament of them all – the FIFA 2026 World Cup summer games which began on 11^th June and end this Sunday, 19^th July. In many ways, the 2026 World Cup was expected to not only provide world class performance as usual – it was notably historical – for the first time it has featured 48 national teams compared to previous edition (s) of 32. The tournament has also been held in 3 host countries for the first time i.e. the North American territories of Mexico, Canada and USA. Such an inter-countries hosting can bring about potential logistical quagmire if not well organized. A total of 104 matches were to be played showcasing tournament all-time favourites such as France, Argentina, Spain and England while introducing debutants such as Curacao, Cape Verde and Jordan out on a mission to raise their national flags in leaps and bounds.

With 102 games played as of today, I reflect on some of my most outstanding moments. That I have watched at least 75% of the games means there were many hours of otherwise regular sleep time vested given the huge time zone differences. Whether it was a good decision to give away that many hours is subject to debate. As one of the official broadcasters SuperSport has been saying, ‘everything can wait’. Because the world cup comes every 4 years and unlike continental tournaments, which I also enjoy very much, it allows us to interact with a good proportion of top league players across the world. For a person who doesn’t really follow club football, The World Cup has always been the place to experience these top ranked talents every 4 years – so you can imagine why vesting many hours in slightly over a month doesn’t feel wasteful. But more than that – and as is the expectation – every fixture presents a learning environment and opportunity to dig deeper into the history and politics behind nations – in one way or the other. You also get to appreciate individual players’ journey – and get a glimpse of what team sport mean to a nation’s pride.

Little Cape Verde gives tournament giants a run for their money

Until this tournament (I must confess), I did not know of countries like Curacao, for example, and little about Cape Verde except the fact that it is a small country to the Western side of our continent. Hence it was good to learn a few things about them – and their fighting spirit if pitch performances are anything to go by. Never judge a book by its cover could not be better explained than seeing it through the match between Cape Verde vs Spain and later vs Argentina for example. That Cape Verde managed to hold the top two FIFA ranked nations winless within the regulated time was a surprise. No predictions could have had these outcomes right, not even the football pundits. Cape Verde was eventually knocked out by Argentina in a thriller battle, but it left indelible memories that no walls of fame can erase. From a tourism perspective, I believe that this little country with a population of roughly 500,000 might also reap from their debut at this year’s tournament – talk of phenomenal advertisement cum no regrets investment when a country sends out it’s squad as the number one ambassador. Such are the kind of success stories that can only be birthed in big stages like the World Cup. At the time of writing this post, information online has it that Cape Verde’s impressive 40-year-old goalkeeper, Vozinha, might be getting a sign-up by a club in the USA following his outstanding saves at the World Cup. “USA is not a big footballing nation so nothing fancy about playing there” might be the kind of reactions we get. But guess what, the world’s GOAT and billionaire athlete Lionel Messi plays in Miami. And if the US group stage matches were anything to go by – I personally think that their players’ lighting speed will be a force to reckon with in future tournaments should the country continue investing in football as they do the more traditionally US followed sports such as American football (NFL) and Basketball (NBA). Beside Vozinha, there are many other stories of new talent being scouted or poached following their tournament performances.

World Cup meets information era cum content flooding – good or bad?

Unlike previous editions where I was too young to properly follow matches or had limited outlets from which to access information, the 2026 World Cup has happened in what I would call a truly expansive information era. Not that the 2022 tournament didn’t, not sure why I was not as vested at the time. I remember being quite proactive in 2018. This year’s edition is at a time when there is more than enough information available at the click of a button – talk of pre/post-match analysis, to AI generated clips or documentaries that bring viewers/readers up to speed with the (human) story behind each athlete and game. In short, a fan has pretty much good background knowledge to decide if/how to rally behind their preferred teams. But too much information readily available also means more cases of misinformation or disinformation. You can bump into content that is fake and intended to spread propaganda or fuel hate towards certain. And there are cases where legit images seem to be deepfakes because it is difficult to gauge what is right or not today. For example, I bumped on an image where Spanish teenage superstar Lamine Yamal (then a 5-month-old baby) is carried/being bathed by the global superstar and legendary player Lionel Messi. The pictures give the impression of a son-father banter aimed to gain public attention ahead of the big finale clash between Spain and Argentina. It was resounding to realize that these photos, originally shared by Lamine’s father in 2024, are real and were shot as part of a UNICEF charity campaign in 2007 in partnership with a Spanish sports media outlet. Lamine’s parents had entered and won a raffle to have their then toddler participate in a photoshoot with Barcelona’s players. Who would have thought about a Messi (then 20 years old and described by the photographer as shy and had never held a baby)-Yamal coincidence nearly 19 years later? I first heard about Lamine by chance through an 8-year-old who follows him closely as do many other Gen Alphas and Zs. I kept wondering whether this was another Youtube sensation like I Show Speed and why he’d been featured in Coca Cola billboards a few weeks leading up to the World Cup tournament. At the time, I was more familiar with brands like Kylian Mbappe, Leonel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr, Harry Kane, Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Achraf Hakimi. I knew very little about the likes of Erling Haaland, Vinny Jr and other young stars we have come to love or appreciate thanks to this tournament. So yes – World Cup season is an opportunity to not only experience the crème de la crème but have an idea of the multimillion signings that are now the current top fleet players.

The human-side of athletes, are the nerve-wrecking investments worth it?

Sometimes we question why elite sports are such a big business empire or why so much money would be invested in a single human-being and the extent to which even some clubs go as far as insuring the player’s most coveted assets – the foot. That is because from a fan lens, we do not necessarily see the bravery that a player puts on to excel in 90 minutes + each time. They basically let go of moral fear and throw their bodies out there to face opponents in the hopes that they can properly carry the dreams and hopes of their nations through the tournament and emerge victors. For example, one of the main injuries of this tournament occurred when Canada’s midfielder Ismael Kone suffered a major injury in a group match against Qatar. He underwent a surgery with reports indicating that it will take several months to fully recover. For spectator, this may sound like just another football injury because the society has normalized it, right? To a player, however, I think these moments are some of their most dreadful career nightmares, because history also has it that there are players who have had to let go or slow down their careers after suffering life changing injuries meaning. A physically fit body being a players’ most important asset – it goes without doubt that injury prospects influence if and how a player chooses to face an opponent, especially in games where the squad is generally known for too much physically or fouls. While from a fan lens we might think that a top-ranked player is performing below expectation in certain games, truth is there will always be underlying factors that affect how individuals show up. This goes to say that even as we criticize how our national teams’ performances as disgraceful, shambolic and many other terms I have seen online – we have to learn how to do it in a respectful manner – because these are human beings like who sacrifice their own lives on the pitch to treat us to the kind of entertainment we often feel entitled to. Take for example what an excruciating injury could do in a severe head-on.

A finale orchestrated by History – Yamal vs Messi Clash

Credit: CBS Sports Golazo

As we gear up for the finale game, I am glad to have witnessed yet another World Cup tournament. There have been low and high moments, I still cannot believe that tournament number one favourites France were knocked out at the Semi-final, or that African giants Senegal bottled up a 2-0 lead in under 5 minutes, or that nearly all of the 9 African countries who qualified for the round of 32 ended up losing games in which they could have won. And that England will not be getting anywhere close to the World Cup final when it seemed so close in under 5 minutes to regulated time during its semi-final game. Talk of split-second heart breaks and failed haramball – football spectating can kill by the way – consume with an open mind. Finally, who will forget Norway’s Viking row? Their fans simply brought on a magical cheering tradition that might live on the stadiums for a while.

And for the Spain-Argentina, or if you like Yamal-Messi aka ‘Son-Father’ champions clash on Sunday, may the best team of the pitch win! Because it is difficult having to choose between the outgoing legend and possibly the current/next generation’s legend.

July 17, 2026 0 comment

World Environment Day 2026

by wakinyi June 5, 2026

written by wakinyi

Happy World Environment Day 2026. This year’s commemoration, like those that have come before – is about the call to action, because it’s now or never.

As a scientist who spent a significant number of years studying the science of weather before shifting gears while remaining within related borders, it would be assumed that I would have a better grasp of what’s going on in as far as climate change is concerned. The truth of the matter, however, is that even the most experienced scientists struggle to get it right today. And technology advancements or computer-aided tools do not make it any easier. The forecasts do not always hold – and when they do, they still fail to pick the extreme scenarios for which the crisis is far dire.

Over the years, I have come to the realisation that whereas decision makers and actioners (which is essentially all of us) know a little or a lot about what needs to be done, in practise we barely live what we preach or recommend. Unfortunately, we are more concerned about living today than dwelling in the horizon future we know nothing about. Talks about pursuing a below 1.5-degree celsius average global warming rate will continue while we continue to register unprecedented temperature spikes. More conference of parties will be convened, and more climate finances will be poured towards adaptation and mitigation. More locally led climate actions will be initiated. But we still be left in a limbo situation.

Is it all a lost affair? Not at all. There is always hope for those who believe in it and go for it, right?

For this year’s WED, I want to highlight one such story of hope. In the quiet hills or rocky areas of Western Kenya region live communities that are taking measures one step at a time. We all know the adage about cut one tree and plant two, and the continuous mission that has been afforestation measures. So, I will not try to re-emphasise that. I was however recently touched by how instrumental these actions truly are – when communities internalize and do the right thing to restore their own environment, one tree at a time. For a dry place that barely received rainfall decades ago at a time when the capital city was praised as the green city under the sun and everyone wished to make that maiden move to experience the glow, cool and greenness of Nairobi, things seemed to have changed drastically. Visiting this rural area today would now feel like your Nairobi of the past – weatherwise. The rains have become a bit more frequent, you can smell, see and feel the green atmosphere, as trees quickly reshape the local climate. The roads may be muddy and barely passable when it rains cats and dogs, but that is a small trade-off compared to the flooded and messy roads within the city environs orchestrated by either poor infrastructural development, concretization and skyscrapers everywhere in the name of modernization without regard to proper storm and sewerage water drainage systems, or urbanites simply clogging drainages through poor waste disposal without thinking about the long term consequences. As I look at this small village where hope now beckons, I am convinced that small actions in response to climate change make a whole lot of difference. But we must be honest with ourselves – as leaders, as industrial shapers, as communities, you name it. We can either make it better or worse.

Until the next post, Happy WED 2026 as you act now for climate.

June 5, 2026 0 comment

Careers inspiration investments positivity

Career Circles – 2

by wakinyi March 21, 2026

written by wakinyi

Amidst shrinking opportunities comes what most of us have heard many a times – the power of networks – or otherwise referred to as connections. I usually have a problem with the word connections. The many or rare occasions I have heard it used, it gives the connotation of ‘using influence to gain opportunities or favour.’ And yes – there is some level of truth behind the misconception. But should this always be case? I do not think so. I think that connections if well used can and should open genuine doors that you wouldn’t otherwise have known about but if you did the probability of getting through are close to none. Connections are not necessarily about asking for preferential treatment or advantages – but rather being given the platform to be seen through the door so you can prove that you deserve to be inside in the room. There is something special about networks which is the tendency to associate with or want to work with people with whom you have built trust. It is human nature to trust third parties within our network in the hopes that birds of a feather flock together, than go scouting for trust from complete strangers.

I am one of those people who prefer to hit a contact and find out what an opportunity is all about. I find it as being strategic rather than ill-intended getting an upper hand. There are situations, at least in my experience, where you miss out on great opportunities because you simply never knew or heard about them early enough. A regular catch-up phone call could have easily given you access to that information. While it is good to give everyone an equal playing field meaning nobody gets an upper advantage because they knew somebody within a network – I also believe that it is good to reach prospective outstanding candidates and encourage them to submit their applications for available opportunities. It is easier to have a few strong proposals than hundreds of irrelevant and sometimes displaced applications. Let’s face it, sometimes we submit applications for opportunities that we are not qualified for because it gives us hope in knowing that our records exist in a system somewhere and anything could happen.

While I am a strong believer in the power of networks to provide firsthand market intelligence, I have recently come across networks – who either due to a misunderstanding of connections or genuinely out of bad experiences are very unreciprocating when it comes to leveraging on network referrals. It could also be out of fear of risking own reputation, as I gathered from a friend who mentioned that nobody wants things to go wrong and be blamed for having made the referral. This rings a bell of a recent experience in which a network was contacted with the aim to recommend a candidate for a role because the candidate matched the profile and had strong skillset. There was no malice or special favour intended in the referral move. However, the impression gathered by the recipient was that their network was asking for a special consideration outside meritocracy – which is the exact word that was used in the conversation. This was quite embarrassing and bruising. Because the referee happens to a be a person of honor known for upholding integrity. So much that they would not go out of their way to make non-merited references if they had no first-hand experience of the ethics and quality of work output of the party they are recommending for due process consideration.

Caught up in the above discussion, I was unsure of the advice to give. I am person who equally believes in competency-based offers rather than rewarding cronies, it doesn’t matter how close or powerful the subject is. So, when a network gives you a reply to insinuate that you were seeking preferential treatment, it makes you question yourself endlessly. For example, has your sense of integrity failed the moral test? Has your understanding of how things should work in a transparent world been wrong all along? Is the world too corrupted that it is no longer possible to make genuine referrals, so bad that if you tried to nominate or mention credible resources – you are seen as the propagator of rotten eggs within the broken system? I am usually of the opinion that there is no need to pursue a rigorous but blind process if there is room to make use of well researched or justified minimum shortlists – it saves everyone the human and commercial resources while enhancing process efficiency, if you ask me. Is it always the right thing to do? Maybe or maybe not – but if transparent and backed by institutional policy – then there is no harm in doing so. I also believe that time and space define a lot of things but are often overlooked.

With or without ‘connections’, outstanding talents will always shine at the right time or space. Networks help to enhance the visibility chances which is not a bad thing and should not be regretted or be considered as embarrassing.

Networks exist for a reason, and it doesn’t hurt to reach out and make inquiries that do not amount to collusion or seeking advantageous information. Networks are valuable to the extent that we make them work correctly. For as long you are not gaining any special treatment or favours, it is okay make referrals of great experts or service providers. You have a first-hand experience of their performance or delivery standards and can therefore articulate their competency better than expecting a computer-based algorithm to run through and pick the best candidates. Human intelligence will always remain smarter than we think or imagine – nothing – not even artificial intelligence can replace that.

Until the next post, happy moments leveraging on the power of your networks without getting it twisted.

March 21, 2026 0 comment

Careers

Career Circles – 1

by wakinyi February 28, 2026

written by wakinyi

Happy last day of February 2026! Just like that we are two months down into the new year, ten more to go, uh! What usually happens to babies born on 29^th February (leap years), do they celebrate every four years? That’s a rhetorical question – no answer required.

In my professional journey, I have come across people for whom the first question in your interaction is ‘are you technical’? Or sometimes you hear conversations that ‘so and so is not technical’. I normally ask myself, what exactly do we mean by somebody is technical or not? Can’t we let their skills or work speak for itself? Not too long ago somebody asked me the same question at an industry event, and I went on to reply by asking them to explain which technical skill (s) they were referring to. It was a fumble to get their answer. And this got me thinking how we get it all wrong if we peg technicality on basis of education background and not necessarily the actual expertise or hands-on experience that somebody brings to the room. End of day, nobody pays for papers only if we can’t apply what was learnt, right?

I am always of the opinion that if you are a professional, then you are technically knowledgeable or experienced in a certain field of practise. The degree of specialization or level of experience is what differs from one professional to another. The latter is often shaped by your prior context or subject area of work. You have either for example worked in the financial services sector as a risk or investment analyst, or you have not. You have either worked as a rig engineer in the oil and gas sector or you have not. You have either worked in the legal profession as corporate transactions advisor, property lawyer, criminal lawyer or you have not. You have either worked in the engineering field as a production engineer, machines installation and maintenance engineer, systems controller or you have not. The kind of conversation you bring to a table having worked in a certain space versus having only read widely about it are two different things – one is working knowledge; the other is mostly literature knowledge. To me, all these define the extent of technicality. However, they should not be confused with technicians with ability to fix hardware or craft material things with own hands which I will speak to later as I think those constitute a definite technicality regardless of the field – you either can or cannot fix a car engine for example.

While you may be considered as technical in one sector, you are non-technical in another where you have never practised, nor has the relevant knowledge and skills applied there, hence the term layman. This explains why from a communications perspective, it is recommended to address the public in a non-technical language, which means avoiding terminology only or mostly known/used by practitioners in a specific field of practise, thereby leaving a general audience struggling to understand what is being said. There is always insistence on using terms found in everyday conversations for easy digestion of the public information. It would be a different thing altogether if the same conversation is taken to an industry audience – the assumption being that the professionals in that space have a good understanding of the terminology or technical lingo which applies there. If you don’t belong in that space, you may end up lost and questioning your intellectual abilities – this doesn’t mean you are not good as a professional – you are simply in the wrong room based on your skillset. It is no wonder that each sector organizes its own professional networks, industry events and engagement bodies. However, and for the sake of public communication, they then try to find a common way to explain information is relevant to a general audience.

Technical – is there a common understanding?

There is a common understanding of the term technical, or so I believe. It often relates to technicians who in practise are people who have the hands-on skills and ability to fix equipment, machines or hand-crafted materials. Except for licensing and accreditation purposes, such people may never even step into an academic room to acquire requisite skills. Instead, they horn these technical skills by working under a more experienced technician in that field through apprenticeship learning by doing. For example, we have technicians in medical and research laboratories, construction sites, communication equipment, automotive industry, aviation or marine vessels, agriculture, shoe, clothes and textiles industry.

I therefore find it rather unconstructive to have conversations that start with– or even judge people’s mastery of a topic based on ‘technical or non-technical’ by virtue of their academic origins. Unless referring to hands-on skills acquired through TVET or technical training programs, in all other scenarios you are probably just more professionally suited to a certain field and therefore can better speak about it or solve everyday problems in it because you have a good understand of how things work there.

The correct question to ask when approaching professionals should be ‘what is your line of expertise’ rather than ‘are you technical?’ The fact you have a certain academic background doesn’t automatically qualify you to be ‘technical’ in that field unless you have practised in it, gained working knowledge, experience and skills and therefore knows what works or not out of practise and not textbook understanding. Textbook understanding provides a good foundation for building up– but should not be the correct technicality yardstick to apply. Experience and practical skills at doing something is and should always be the real yardstick.

This explains why for example, a self-made software engineer who never stepped into any classroom, but is extremely good at developing applications required by top Silicon Valley tech firms will likely get sought after at a higher pay, than a PhD holder who has never really created a real life software used by big companies, or had to bug and fix multi-dollar systems to enhance cyber security, interoperability and redundancy.

The extent to which somebody is skilled is often out of applied knowledge or level of experience working in a specific domain. The combination of both then enables one to be considered an expert in that line or not. We should therefore stop undervaluing ourselves or other professionals by throwing around the term non-technical, instead speak to where their expertise is suited.

Until the next post, happy moments identifying and growing your expertise so you can better articulate your technicality!

February 28, 2026 0 comment

inspiration investments

Nuggets of Wisdom 3

by wakinyi January 31, 2026

written by wakinyi

I stepped out on some errands a while back. I needed to do a few repairs around the house and called a plumber to accompany me to the hardware store to confirm we bought the right materials and fittings. He has served us for many years – talk of customer loyalty, or maybe it’s a rigidity to change. I always prefer to work with the same service providers and do things the same way unless a change is very necessary. That’s just who I am.

As we went around searching for the items we needed for the repairs, we noted that most stores were already winding down as it was nearing the end of year. Some had limited stock. It was therefore a bit of a struggle finding everything at one stop. It was in these moments of walking around from one dealer to another that a conversation sparked up. Most of the dealers we visited would tell that they did not have what we were looking for. At some point I got tired and asked one of them, “do you know anyone else who might be having this item?” The response was a cold no.

As we walked away, frustration slowly creeping in as we seemed to be spending too much time trying to locate a certain item, the plumber said,

If we were in the CBD, we would have found and bought all these items in a very short time.” He went on to say “I like shopping there because even when a merchant doesn’t what you are looking for, s/he will either advise you on who might, or even go ahead to go search for the item a nearby shop as you wait at their shop because they don’t want to lose you as a customer. If they find it from a competitor, they will simply add a small mark up to the competitor’s selling price and quickly come sell it to you. Traders are therefore always busy selling either their own items if in stock, or those of their surrounding competitors – provided everyone makes a few coins to carry home at the end of the day.”

As we kept talking, it dawned on me that indeed, there have been a few cases where I visited the small informal traders within Nairobi CBD environs and experienced this kind of ‘hospitality’. I specifically remember an electrical outlet which I grew fond of – because the owner would always offer me a seat as he stepped out to look for items if his shop did not have them in stock. He would buy from other traders and resell; he was fine making a few coins than nothing at all – I assume. As a customer, I was happy to get what I needed without wasting too much time visiting several shops, provided the buying price was within my budget, I could live with that.

It was strange that on this side of the country, traders were not as open-minded as the ones in the CBD. They were not willing to step out and find a product for a potential buyer. To them, business meant selling what I have in my own shop, period. They were not interest in finding out if their competitors could become their allies or associates when opportunities arose.

While it is generally healthy to have competition, I am a strong believer that competitors can also work together for everyone’s benefit – customers and business enterprises. There is a street in a certain town I once visited which had several Asian hardware shops. I would later learn that most of those shops belonged to the same proprietors –in one way or another. They were part of a family business chain – presenting as competitors yet deep down operating as allies who had mastered the power of going separate ways while uniting to ensure business continuity.

In some jurisdictions, bringing business competitors to work together is discouraged for risks of potential collusion that might hurt the overall trade environment. I however think that sustainable business growth could look a lot better if things were flipped a bit. Competitors merging forces where necessary can do good, if you ask me. And by this I don’t mean in the sense of industry associations lobby groups – but actual allegiances that put the customers service first. For example, we are increasingly seeing aggregation especially in procurement, transport, storage and logistics, but also in the built environment business. But back to today’s story, the experiences of small traders in Nairobi’s CBD environs who go the extra mile to find a product just so their clients are served is a good example of how competitors can act as allies. These traders know that making a few coins today through a competitor is better than shutting doors by simply saying no to a potential buyer. They will make referrals to other dealers without hesitation because they understand that there are good and hard luck days for any business. By making a referral today, a competitor will be kind enough to return the favour (although not always the case) and refer clients to a fellow merchant for items when opportunity arises. You may argue that small businesses versus large traders face different hurdles – and therefore their competition scripts cannot be comparable. I am of the opinion that the basics of any operation will always apply, anything however big has a unity start point

Until the next post, happy reflection on what value competition adds and converting rare moments into allegiances for personal or business growth.

January 31, 2026 0 comment