Frustrated by the back-and forth involved when seeking services from public and private entities, Hezron Muriuki set about developing a solution, to make it easier.

“Paying for a service meant getting the invoice printed from the relevant office, going to make the payment at a bank outside the premises, photocopying the deposit slip, before submitting it. We began thinking of how to have all this done under one roof using technology to be able to serve customers where it is most convenient for them,” he recalls.

That marked the birth of Nouveta in 2016. Its name is a play on a combination of French and Latin words, which translate to ‘new life’. “We sought to breathe new life in service delivery. We wanted to integrate payments in delivery of service,” Hezron explains.

He adds that the firm’s goal is to develop technology solutions that help organisations engage customers effectively, on whichever channel is convenient for them. These solutions are delivered through mobile, web, portable devices, SMS, social media, among other customer touchpoints to facilitate service delivery. It also supports serving customers who present themselves physically at the premises.

With just two staff members, the firm started building platforms. So exponential was the growth, that by the sixth month, its head count tripled.

Today, Nouveta has 44 members of staff. “We have had ups that have been an opportunity to celebrate, and downs from which we have learnt. We have focused on building resilience in our operations. We are not in this game to win, because there is not a startstop whistle. We are in the business of innovations and building clever, future-proof solutions that will not need to be replaced in a few years,” he says. The firm’s approach is co-creating, implementing and co-owning solutions with the client.

It has not been smooth sailing for Nouveta. In its early days, it was challenging getting a financial service partner. Many of those they approached were skeptical about backing a two-year-old startup. This led to cash flow challenges.

“I was once told that we were not going to succeed and that I had better get back to employment,” Hezron recalls.

Nonetheless, he soldiered on. In 2018, the firm encountered what he describes as ‘an existential crisis’, not growing as fast as projected. So bad was the situation that at some point, the directors considered folding.

“We sat back and resolved to continue doing what we were doing. We were clear that our strategies were solid enough to turn around the business,” he says.

Soon the search for a financial partner that had the firm knocking on many doors, led to National Bank in early 2018. This kicked off conversation that culminated into a strategic partnership that continues to date.

“National Bank listened to us and realized that we knew what we were talking about and our solutions had traction. They have been supportive including the senior leadership, who always step in whenever there is an issue,” he explains.

Together, the bank and Nouveta is supporting service delivery for Nairobi City County, which was anchored on the firm’s flagship solution – RevenueSure.

In what was the firm’s biggest deal yet, it involved provision of an end to- end service delivery solution to not only facilitate payments via mobile, web or bank, but also generate digital certificates.

“Working with Nairobi City County has forced us to rethink our strategy and how we wanted to grow as a business. When we started, we had not imagined that we would be a service provider for a county. When we got the opportunity, we went full steam ahead. We have learnt a lot on this assignment. Our focus has been on providing services to the county, while giving Nairobians a service they can access and use conveniently,” he says.

A WhatsApp payment platform has also been launched for Nairobi County services. Though the firm currently operates in Kenya, Nouveta has its sights trained on other markets in the East and Central Africa region, as well as Francophone Africa.

“We are attracted to markets that are under-represented when it comes to technology solutions. Our solutions are very repeatable; we can go to any new market,” Hezron says.

Locally, he sees opportunity in the aggressive digitization of government services. This has been further necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires minimal physical contact. Already, the firm sees the pandemic opening up opportunities.

“Luckily, our solutions are technology-based and were needed more during the pandemic, leading to increased uptake of our customer engagement and experience solutions,” he says.

This was after the initial shock, when the pandemic struck, which saw a client halt services, directly affecting 19 staff members. The physical offices also stayed shut in compliance with containment measures to halt spread of the virus.

Even as Nouveta aggressively pursues opportunities locally and beyond, it still grapples with the challenge of getting the right skill set.

“Our culture has been to hire for attitude and not for skill. We train them to do what we need them to do to deliver to our clients’ specifications. We are not concerned with CVs, and what was studied in school. They just need to have certain skills and attitudes,” says Hezron, who has a science degree and worked as a strategy consultant at a globally renowned consulting firm and later in technology and customer services firms.

Going forward, Nouveta has lined up a number of solutions targeted at different industries that have gaps. This includes a digital wallet for school fees, a SACCO solution for serving members and an aggregated platform for the hospitality industry.

“Customer engagement and experience is changing every day. The future looks very different from what we have currently. Service delivery is moving away from face-to-face interactions with technologies such as virtual reality. We envision a future where organisations will anticipate needs before one knows that they need them. We are focused on the impact of our solutions,” he adds.