Why a local IT partner outperforms offshore for East African businesses

Offshore development can look attractive on a spreadsheet. Hourly rates from South or Southeast Asia are a fraction of European costs. But the full picture is more nuanced.

Timezone and communication cost

A two-hour overlap window between Nairobi and London means critical feedback loops stretch to 48 hours. Sprint ceremonies, design reviews, and incident responses all suffer.

Regulatory and market context

Local data residency requirements, mobile-money payment integrations (M-Pesa, Airtel Money, MTN MoMo), and government e-procurement portals have quirks that a Nairobi team knows by heart.

When offshore makes sense

For highly specialised skills not available locally — niche ML research, rare platform certifications — a hybrid model (local lead + offshore specialist) is often the answer. That is exactly the model MATABARO TECH's team extension service enables.