Where I've been, and what I actually did there.

The American chapter.

I joined UC Berkeley's Center for Effective Global Action to work on two large-scale randomised controlled trials in Western Kenya — synthesising the findings into briefs and presentations for policymakers, funders, and partners. Along the way I designed a field-team tracking system to improve data quality, helped drive high-stakes fundraising proposals, co-led the launch of a new public website for the Kenya Life Panel Survey, and managed Professor Ted Miguel's web presence. This was also the year I discovered Polymarket, the year my son Leo was born, and the year the idea that would become Forecast Arena finally crystallised.

The four-country chapter.

I managed data-collection teams across Kenya, Ethiopia, Somaliland, and Rwanda — building remote and in-person systems to keep implementation standardised and data quality high across very different operational realities. I co-developed Pharo's Global Monitoring Framework (GMF), an organisation-wide dashboard that tracks real-time project performance across sectors and countries, and trained senior leadership and non-technical staff to use it. I also wrote the quarterly board reports — turning thick monitoring data into crisp insight for the people making strategic decisions.

The first time I built a company from scratch.

I started Econsult Africa as a data analytics and visualisation consultancy with a single conviction: Africa has data; what it lacks is the storytelling layer that turns data into decisions. I built the company end-to-end — strategy, client acquisition, budgeting, delivery, partnerships. I secured paid engagements across education, healthcare, and financial inclusion. I built custom dashboards and infographics for NGOs and social enterprises. I ran workshops on data storytelling for nonprofit teams. The work is still going — and Forecast Arena now sits within it as Econsult's most ambitious project.

The Zambia chapter.

I implemented a large-scale cluster-randomised trial across 273 schools in Zambia, evaluating an education intervention that has now been adopted across the continent. I co-authored the baseline report. I worked closely with Zambia's Ministry of Education — translating the technical machinery of RCTs into accessible language so that government partners could engage meaningfully with the design. I collaborated with cross-country teams in India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Côte d'Ivoire, helping shape the global evidence-use strategy. I also helped set up the organisation's Measurement, Learning, and Evaluation department from the ground up.

The competitive internship.

I was selected through a competitive process for top-performing African students in the J-PAL MicroMasters in DEDP. I summarised findings from a qualitative study on teacher behaviour change, and produced slide decks and infographics for senior officials in Zambia's Ministry of Education, informing the design of a subsequent RCT. Brief but pivotal — it's how I got into TaRL, and how my fieldwork career truly began.

The product chapter.

I worked on business cases for tech products, blending user research, market analysis, and behavioural insight into product strategy. I learned how good products are shaped by how they should feel, not just by what they should do. Looking back, this was the season I started thinking like a builder, even though I was still trained as an economist.

The voice chapter.

I produced and hosted Wallstreet Mtaani, a show built around translating complex financial concepts into plain language for the everyday Kenyan listener. I also hosted episodes of the main Kenyan Wallstreet podcast and wrote news articles for the website. It was the first time I really took my macroeconomic thinking public — and in retrospect, it was where the seed of The Economic Whisperer was planted.

The Spain chapter.

I led the development of Country Reports on Kenya and South Africa, synthesising economic, political, and development indicators into policy-relevant narratives. I brought African context to international research teams. This was the year that taught me — quietly but permanently — that institutions, not money, build societies.

Where it began.

My undergraduate degree was a double major in economics and finance. My thesis explored how M-Pesa could be integrated into Kenyan monetary policy — an early signal of the obsession that would, much later, produce Forecast Arena.