Do you remember those moments before big trips where you’re packing your bags diligently (maybe overpacking) and think of all the ways you’re going to use all the things you carried? Clothes, event posters, thepla away from India (very Gujrarati, I know), etc. All these things seem so important and necessary that you just can’t travel without them. It only takes one incident to break that belief.

When your bags are left behind in Mumbai.

By the time we landed in cool, lush Jomo Kenyatta Airport, Nairobi, we were told that there was NO way our bags would arrive that day. Maybe the next day, but no confidence instilled by the staff there. In hindsight, this was probably my first introduction to Kenya Standard Time.

So, we rallied.

Mural at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport

After a slightly traffic-filled ride to The Kenya School of Government, we checked into the homey rooms at their hostel. Jet lag knocked all the worry and consciousness out of us for a couple of hours.

Once we woke from our coma-like sleep, Prisca from Navari’s team took us to a mall called the Sarit Centre (proof: Indians are the most emigrated nationality). We got minimal supplies, hoping that our bags would arrive the next day. We ate a hearty lunch, headed back to the venue and found ourselves an early night. Day 2, everything was about to begin!

The next morning, Rushabh and Nikhil joined us at the Kenya School of Government, bags intact. We headed to Kenya Red Cross Society HQ for a very interesting meeting. It was my first such meeting. We met Susan Mwihaki, the Deputy Secretary General, along with Kelvin Njenga and Taariq Twaha from their Digital Transformation team. Hearing how passionately they implemented Frappe for their operations was truly thrilling.

Not just that, they also wanted to become a proponent for open source systems across national non-profits across the continent. The biggest feeling in that meeting was the shared belief of not just the product’s capability, but also a bigger belief in the power of open source. Imagine, all the money spent on licensing could be better directed towards the Red Cross’s actual goal.

A quick photo after the meeting at KRCS

After what felt like the world’s best coffee (it was a sunny day, we were hungry), we headed to Nairobi National Museum for the partner meetup. A unique place to discuss business, but that’s how it becomes adventurous. And a good choice, for that matter. The vibe was more comfortable. All the partners who attended were experiencing something new with each other. We had an interesting round of exhibits, but people were more than distracted catching up with each other. Our subsequent stop was the snake park. Where yes, to everyone’s (and my own) shock, I found myself wrapped in a LITERAL SNAKE.

A few features from Nairobi National Museum

The adrenaline rush of a moving reptile close to my neck aside, we finally settled down to eat, and the real conversation began. Partners raised all kinds of concerns, thoughts, and opinions. Rushabh, Ankita, and Nikhil appraised them. There were talks of changes, some surprises, and enough laughter to seem both productive and endearingly endless.

Partner meetup

5th March was training day. People started showing up way earlier than expected, while we were still prepping the rooms. Around 75 people had registered for ERPNext & Frappe Framework trainings, but over 90 people showed up. The training went well, but was far from the most interesting activity that day.

In the evening, after all the chaos from the trainings had slowed down, we all gathered to paint the mural. The Frappeverse mural is a beloved tradition for any Frappeverse event across the world. The whole team hand-paints a distinctly themed mural on a large piece of cloth. This year, Navari’s team came together to own this task.

As they got down to business, we could see how each element was a homage. To themselves, to the sponsors, to the country and so much more. We could see a very happy team, very gladly painting and bonding. One of the more wholesome moments for sure.

Frappeverse Africa 2026 mural

And then another surprise. Our bags arrived! Truth be told, it took Julia (from Navari’s team) a trip to the airport and some very typical persuasion techniques to get them back. But I’ve never been this happy to see two ugly yellow bags.

With all our marketing material intact, we woke up fresh the next day ready for the 2026 edition of Frappeverse Africa. As any event goes, it wasn’t without hiccups, but all solvable because everyone involved worked as a team! The day began with setups but slowly moved into a smoother flow of talks, tea breaks and networking.

12 hours, a ballroom dinner, an absurd amount of rain, and the relief of a good event. Here are some of the best features of interest (as Sherlock says) from the day.

1. The dance and music show, which got all of us grooving to traditional African tunes. Partners, customers, team members all ended up on the stage by the end.
2. The absolute variety of talks. From integrations and features to personal journeys and student clubs. The products were adopted with so many different missions in mind.
3. The fact that I had to literally beg people to come back inside the auditorium after tea breaks. Although I was worried about time, people were too engrossed in conversation. So cool, only if I could get the worry of running late out of my mind. But Kenya Standard Time prevails.
4. The vibe that this community carries. I’ve said this before, but there’s something about people finding each other and working toward a common goal that makes me almost too excited.
5. Muchai & Prisca! From Navari’s team, who took the lead to make sure everything was done well and genuinely showed some noteworthy initiative. Along with the rest of the team, they had everything covered, reduced collective stress and translated ops effortlessly.

A good Fri-day brought a close to the event. Which was a relief, to be sure, but also signalling that my trip’s other main purpose was much closer.

The dance and music show

In the two months before Frappeverse Africa, I figured that my ROI for the trip would be a couple of unique podcast episodes. The thought of shooting in another continent gave me thrills and also scared the Type A part of me. Little did I know, local access to partners/community was a gift that removed the geographical ceiling of who I could get on The Frappe Podcast.

So I began prepping, three (very dynamic) partners, one customer (cough cough Kenya Red Cross Society), agreed to feature as guests. I had a pre-emptive round of getting to know them and what they’d like to talk about. I prepared a rough idea, but was worried about how much context I could actually approach this with.

When I met them at the conference, it was warm and gave me slightly more confidence. The shoots were scheduled for the days right after the conference. No breaks, no time to worry too much. As a naturally anxious person, this was uncomfortable, but the lessons were worth the discomfort.

We’d booked a co-working space near the business district in Nairobi for the shoots. The more the variables, the more chance of things going wrong. Our setup took twice the amount of time it should have, and because of that, we could only finish one episode on Day 1. That meant three consecutive shoots on Day 2.

The conversation with Yusuf & Moses from ERP Champions Uganda (episode out now) was truly endearing. The two brothers finished each other’s sentences, laughed, told honest stories and had a much wider perspective than most business owners. For two people who chose opposite paths growing up, their partnership is made even stronger because of those experiences.

Yusuf Mulinya & Moses Kisekka from ERP Champions, Uganda

Day 2, the first shoot was with Kelvin Njenga from Kenya Red Cross Society. We went back in time and spoke about how his own volunteering journey began. How that and his interest in systems led him to his current role. We explored the somewhat political dynamics of being a non-profit, as well as the bureaucratic point of view.

Next up was Mark DeBlois from Upande, our partner in Kenya. Mark’s experience spans GIS, bringing Google Maps to the country, and now implementing a specialised version of ERPNext for the water and flower sector. This one left me with more industrial knowledge than I would’ve ever looked up on my own.

Last shoot was with Kushal Patel from Cecypo Ltd, Kenya. This episode was the most “chill” of the lot. Kushal’s family business had been all about hardware. The software division came from open source and ERPNext. Kushal is also very blunt, so his incisiveness about the product wasn’t lost in the conversation. It was a short, insightful conversation about business, life in Kenya, and more. I got to learn more about the close-to-ground perspectives of entrepreneurship.

The Frappe Podcast shoots

On the Sunday in between these shoot days, we visited Nairobi National Park. This was probably the first Safari I’ve taken that I can remember. Took us a bit to get inside, but once we did, we saw wild animals every kilometre. We covered around 3 of the top 5 safari spottings. But hands down, the best part for me was the sky. I found myself getting lost in how blue and clear it was.

A baby giraffe

Another universal experience is bargining. After the safari, we went shopping at the Masai market, right before it was about to close. As we explored jewellery, clothes, shoes and more, I found myself bargaining without speaking the same language. And then to my surprise, one vendor actually bargained back at me in Hindi, which became the funniest highlight of our shopping spree.

One of my favourite tourist highlights, though, was the Karen Blixen Museum. Karen Blixen was a Danish author born in the 19th century who published many celebrated books under pseudonyms. She would then tour metro cities like New York to spread the word about her work as the original author (an iconic move, if I may add). She spent much of her adult life tending to a massive coffee estate just outside of Nairobi. The same coffee estate used to be her home and is now a museum of her life. We toured the home, the age-old coffee machines and her paintings, all inspiring. Fun fact: the home was gifted by the Danish government to the Kenyan government as an independence gift.

While we walked around, I kept thinking about how she might have written her book ‘Out of Africa’. And just as we walked through her bedroom, we saw the original costumes from the adapted movie hanging in her closet. I doubt I'll ever forget the happy surprise!

Karen Blixen Museum

Our remaining days were filled with walks in the Nairobi Arboretum, partner visits and some good dining experiences. Now that I write about this trip, it feels relatively normal. But while I was there, every experience felt new, and everything sparked curiosity. The cats were different, so were the shapes of the trees, and even the vibe in the offices we visited seemed new. Yet, I was constantly drawing parallels to home.

The cutest Mao

I realised we also have India Standard Time (on how late we are), and the cats back home might have smaller attention spans, even the trees might feel more generic. But that’s the force of habit, and also the thrill of newness. I genuinely feel that we notice these things only so that they can subtly broaden our perspectives on the world.

But before I draw too many parallels and use too many philosophical words, I’ll end this. My first trip to Kenya was one I’ll never forget. What Frappe stands for shows up differently everywhere, but it’s the same goal. I’d love to go back one day, with a little more familiarity and much more comfort with being late.

P.S. This blog is being published two months after the event. Maybe Kenya Standard Time did spoil me a little.

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