Former Israeli pilot on mission to boost Kenya’s e-commerce

By Lillian Kiarie

Kenya: “If you’ve watched the 1996 film Jerry Maguire, you’ll recall the phrase ‘Show me the Money’. The lead character, played by Tom Cruise, is not up for a small talk while trying to cut a deal; all he wants to be assured of is that there is money.”

That is the philosophy Mr Eran Feinstein, the CEO of 3G Direct Pay, kept in mind when starting his online payment solutions company in Kenya in 2006.

“With the growth of online payment services globally, what many companies focus on is the end result — making money. But what about protecting that money from fraud?” he asks.

“I vowed that when I started my company, fraud protection would be one of the focal services I would offer clients.”

Today, the man originally from Israel has kept his word and created an e-commerce platform that accepts all major credit cards, mobile money and e-wallets, with fraud protection the priority.

It took Mr Feinstein a while to get to this point, though.

He started out as a pilot with the Israeli army while in his early 20s. He flew for about six years and during his travels realised there was a gap in payment options between airlines and customers.

“Before I started working in aviation, I had studied computer science and business administration. I knew the solution lay in IT. To pursue my interest in this field, I knew I’d have to get skills in it as I eventually wanted to branch out and start my own company,” he says.

Feinstein vividly recalls the afternoon he went knocking on his boss’s door to tell her he wanted to stop working as a pilot and move to the IT department.

Taking the plunge

“I gathered all the confidence I had and after she welcomed me into her house, I told her that with the two degrees I had in IT-related areas, I was capable of being more efficient in the IT department. She looked doubtful, but I eventually convinced her to give me a chance,” he says.

He used his skills in IT and experience in the airline industry to develop solutions in e-commerce and soon made a name for himself as a consultant in the field.

“When you love your job, you become good at it. I knew the crucial elements in the development of e-commerce strategies and programming.”

In 2006, Feinstein was contacted by regional airline Airkenya as a consultant.

“I saw this as an opportunity for growth. After my consultancy ended, I decided to take a risk and take advantage of the gap I had noticed in Kenya and set up a business here that would address it,” he says.

And thus 3G Direct Pay was born and started by creating online payment systems for the transport sector.

The 44-year-old moved his wife and children to Kenya despite not being sure what the future held, but he was optimistic business would pick up.

“Unlike other countries I had visited, Kenya did not have a facility that allowed customers to pay for air travel services through online payment systems. Most African consumers had not embraced this trend and thought of it as a risky venture,” he says.

Today, 3G Direct Pay has its international operations headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, a place Feinstein says is a strategic location for partnerships with international banks, while Kenya hosts the offices for operations in Africa.

He cites starting a business in a new environment with different cultures and laws as one of the key challenges he faced.

“The pace in Kenya was a little bit slow compared to Israel. I found it a bit challenging but soon learnt how to ease up and plan ahead so everything falls in place.”

Partnerships

In February, 3G Direct Pay formed a partnership with merchant services provider Kopo Kopo to provide a payment service for travel operators in East Africa.

“We came together to form an online solution dubbed M-Swipe that unlocks all modes of payment, from credit cards and PayPal to mobile money platforms like M-Pesa in Kenya and Togo Pesa in Tanzania,” he said.

Feinstein says he has come to fall in love with Kenya’s serene environment and beautiful weather.

“I also love running as it re-energises me. I intend to participate in the Nairobi and Lewa marathons — even though in a race with Kenyans I’m always among the last, it still feels fantastic to run alongside them,” he says.

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