Redian Software's Zoholics Kenya journey — highlights 2023 and 2024

Two years of Zoholics Kenya — and what we learned

Zoholics is Zoho's flagship partner and customer event, replicated in major markets around the world. Across 2023 and 2024, we attended Zoholics Kenya as one of the most active Advanced Zoho Partners in East Africa, with our Nairobi-based delivery team meeting customers, prospects and the wider Kenyan technology ecosystem in concentrated format.

For an Advanced Zoho Partner since 2017, these editions were less about discovering Zoho's product roadmap — we get that through the partner channel year-round — and more about reading the Kenyan buyer in person. That picked up signals our pipeline data alone could not.

What changed across the two years

• 2023 — the Kenyan CRM market was still primarily SME-led. Buyer questions were mostly about features and pricing, and proof-of-value engagements were short.
• 2024 — the buyer mix shifted toward mid-market and enterprise. Questions were about multi-country rollouts, M-Pesa integration depth, and Zoho's BFSI capabilities. Deal sizes grew, and procurement cycles got longer but more disciplined.

The shift mirrors what we've seen in our own Kenyan book — Zoho One has moved from being a starter stack for new businesses to a credible operating system for established enterprises managing operations across multiple East African countries.

The partnerships that came out of it

Zoholics Kenya isn't just a Zoho event — it's where the Kenyan technology ecosystem networks. Across the two editions, we built or deepened partnerships with KRA-integrated payment providers, M-Pesa partners, KCB Bank's developer ecosystem and the Kenya Bankers' Association tech community. Several of those relationships are now embedded in customer rollouts.

What's next

We were recognised asZoho Key Business Contributor — Kenya 2026(/blog/zoho-key-business-contributor-kenya-2026-award-winners) at Zoho Inspire MEA in Dubai. Our Kenya practice now operates from a permanent office in Nairobi as our Africa Regional Headquarters(/about), handling rollouts across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and beyond. To see what an end-to-end Zoho One engagement looks like in this region, browse our Zoho expertise(/expertise/crm/zoho) or get in touch(/contact).