Lawrence Muthoga

Dubai · Nairobi

LawrenceMuthoga

Developer, problem solver, dealmaker.

I go looking for problems, then I fix them. These days that means helping startups across Africa and the Middle East build on the cloud and with AI, and building AI agents of my own.

Twelve years at Microsoft and AWS. Kenyan, based in Dubai. I also write essays, letters and the occasional poem.

Say helloLinkedIn Read my writing
Lawrence Muthoga smiling, in glasses and a blue patterned shirt

(01) What I do

Three threads run through everything I do.

  1. 01 Deals

    I help startups make the big platform calls.

    Moving to a new cloud, or putting generative AI into production on Amazon Bedrock, including Anthropic’s Claude. I build the business case, line up the funding and the delivery partner, and stay until it’s live.

  2. 02 Agents

    I build the tools I wish I had.

    Sales admin was eating the hours my team should spend with founders, so in 2026 I started building AI agents to take it on. They read and update CRM data, prepare weekly reports and draft messages, with a human approving anything that goes out.

  3. 03 Ecosystems

    I build the room.

    Founders grow faster when the right people are in the room. I ran the startup programme for Werner Vogels’ Africa visit, organised Kenya Startup Week, and work with the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator.

(02) Builds

Built, not just sold.

I started as a developer and never really stopped. Almost everything here began as a problem someone had learned to live with. Newest first.

  1. 2026

    AI agents for sales operations

    Agents that read and update CRM data, prepare weekly reports and draft emails and messages, with approval gates, rate limits and a starter kit so others can run them.

    Python · GraphQL · Model Context Protocol

  2. Microsoft

    EduCoin

    A blockchain-based token that rewards online learning across platforms.

    2nd place, Education · Microsoft OneWeek Hackathon

  3. 2013

    Lesson platform

    A web platform for lesson management, document sharing and communication in schools.

    Global finalist · Google Cloud Developer Challenge

  4. 2013

    MySpaceCal

    A NASA Space Apps project, with a web app and an Android client.

    PHP · Java

  5. Early days

    OpenDSS

    An open decision-support system for county-level planning, with data visualisation, for the Kenya Red Cross.

    1st runner-up · Random Hacks of Kindness

  6. Early days

    Absentee Doctor Monitoring

    SMS reporting of doctor absenteeism in Uganda.

    2nd runner-up · Random Hacks of Kindness

  7. JKUAT

    Campus Connect

    Voice calls over the university network using SIP.

    1st place, Embedded · JKUAT Tech Expo

A few more builds live in private repos and work systems I can’t show here. Happy to talk about them in person.

(03) Beliefs

Things I keep coming back to.

Lines I’ve said on stage or written down, and still stand by.

AI isn’t just for transforming companies. It’s about transforming society.

Africa Tech Summit Kigali

Africa’s future will be shaped by entrepreneurs who challenge the status quo.

On joining AWS, 2022

Nostalgia is not a strategy.

Essay, 2026 ↗

Be kind. Not necessarily nice, but kind.

28 lessons I’ve learned in 28 years ↗

Own your weirdness. The world is too full of average.

28 lessons I’ve learned in 28 years ↗

Words are the sharpest of knives. And yet, they are the greatest boon of all.

Getting back on the bike, 2025 ↗

(04) Writing

I write, too.

Essays, letters and the occasional poem, mostly on Medium.

  1. EssayNostalgia is not a strategyWatching the death of the world you know, and what it means for Kenya.
  2. LetterPoverty is loudA letter on the sound that never quite goes away.
  3. LetterGetting back on the bikeOr how the words found their way home.
  4. EssayWhy do I write?Of coops and lost words.
  5. List28 lessons I’ve learned in 28 yearsA compilation of shower epiphanies.

More essays, and a handful of poems, on Medium

(05) Speaking

On stage.

Keynotes, workshops and the odd pitch-judging panel, across Africa and beyond.

Lawrence Muthoga speaking on stage at Africa Tech Summit London
Africa Tech Summit, London
Lawrence Muthoga presenting on stage at a CIO East Africa digital transformation conference
CIO East Africa, digital transformation conference

I talk about

  • GenAI, from idea to income
  • AI agents at work
  • Building startup ecosystems in Africa
  • Open source
  • Developer communities

AWS-certified Senior Speaker (2025) · Microsoft Event Speaker, Platinum (2019)

  1. 2026

    AWS Summit Johannesburg

    Idea to Income: Designing, Pricing and Scaling GenAI Products (co-presenter)

  2. 2024

    Africa Tech Summit London

    Keynote

  3. 2024

    Africa Tech Summit Nairobi

    Keynote and masterclass

  4. 2024

    Africa Fintech Summit, Nairobi

    Startup pitch judge

  5. 2022

    UmojaHack Africa

    Message to the competitors at Africa’s biggest inter-university machine-learning hackathon

    Watch
  6. 2022

    Tech Talent Pathways in Africa

    Webinar with Nexford University

    Watch
  7. 2021

    Microsoft

    Principles of Open Source at Microsoft

    Watch
  8. 2019

    Africa Tech Summit Kigali

    Future Summit opening talk on AI in organisations

(06) Story

The long way round.

Lawrence Muthoga smiling, in a white polo shirt outdoors

I studied computer science at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and spent a lot of those years at hackathons. I built a decision-support tool for the Kenya Red Cross and an SMS system for reporting absent doctors in Uganda, and made the global finals of Google’s Cloud Developer Challenge.

Microsoft hired me through its 4Afrika internship in 2014. Over eight and a half years I went from selling Office 365 to supporting African startups (several went on to become unicorns), leading Azure’s developer engagement across Africa, and running the open-source business for the Middle East and Africa from Dubai.

In 2022 I joined AWS to work with founders again. Today I cover startups in the UAE and Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2026 I went back to building, this time with AI agents.

The thread through all of it: I go looking for problems, especially the ones people have learned to live with. Then I don’t stop at pointing them out. I fix them, or I build the thing that does.

Now
Amazon Web ServicesStartup Account Manager, UAE & Sub-Saharan Africa · 2022–now
Before
MicrosoftSeven roles in eight and a half years, from 4Afrika intern to regional business lead. 2014–2022
All seven roles
  1. 2021–22 Azure Open-Source Business Lead, Middle East & Africa
  2. 2019–21 Developer Audience Lead, Africa
  3. 2018–19 Community Engagement Manager, Microsoft 4Afrika
  4. 2017–18 Technical Evangelist, Microsoft 4Afrika
  5. 2016–17 Technical Solutions Professional, Dynamics CRM
  6. 2015–16 Partner Technology Strategist, Dynamics
  7. 2014–15 Office 365 Solution Sales Professional (4Afrika intern)
Studied
BSc Computer Science, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

Full history on LinkedIn

(07) Contact

Say hello.

Founders, investors, event organisers, people building with AI, fellow writers: my inbox is open.