In this article, we discuss the role and inspiring entrepreneurial journey of Kamal Budhabhatti- a visionary leader, founder, and CEO of Craft Silicon and Little. He unleashed the power of technology to bring transformative change to the financial sector and developed the software to bridge the gap for marginalized communities in Kenya.
About Kamal Budhabhatti
Kamal Budhabhatti is a visionary leader who has a made significant impact in the field of innovation and technology. He is the founder and CEO of Craft Silicon Ltd which provides software solutions in financial sectors. Under the leadership of Kamal, Craft Silicon has emerged as a global software development and service powerhouse.
Entrepreneurial Journey
Kamal Budhabhatti founded Craft Silicon in the year 2000 under his visionary leadership, Craft Silicon is recognized as a powerful software house in the BFSI space for emerging markets. He established Craft Silicon to amplify his mission of societal betterment in Kenya. Kamal’s journey began with the start of Craft Silicon which initially provided software solutions to the banking sector was quickly evolved into a fintech innovation powerhouse. Since 2015, he has been serving as a CEO and is responsible for building a company from a single office in Africa to development centers and relationship offices in India and the USA. Later Kamal expanded his businesses and started offerings to encompass core banking systems, mobile banking applications, and innovative digital payment solutions.
Kamal also plays the role of Group Chief Executive Officer at Craft Silicon and has a prominent role in the development and growth of the company. To add more value to the future innovation of products and technology, in the year 2019, he decided to get the designation of Head of Product Dreams and Designs. Today, Craft Silicon has over 1,000 employees and serves over 300 financial institutions, and over 100 million end consumers across several African and South East Asian countries. Hence single-handedly he manages different roles and responsibilities in the company and strives to achieve success.
In the year 2016, Kamal launched Little, Africa’s first innovative SuperApp platform, which seamlessly combines mobility, delivery, daily essentials, payments, and technology. He serves as a chief executive officer and has a prominent contribution to making Little a preferred everyday everything platform in Kenya. Little evolved from being a simple transportation solution into a super app platform that includes Food and Parcel Delivery, entertainment, financial literacy programs, and essential insurance coverage along with offering comfortable, reliable, and affordable services to both individuals and corporations. Little has over 3.1 million+ individual clients and 5,000+ corporate clients, and Kamal continues to provide innovative thinking, delivering unique solutions to make Little a big success.
Kamal Budhabhatti is not just a CEO but is also well-versed in different programming languages like Java, mobile computing, and C#. Apart from technology and innovation, he is interested in sports and air piloting. Kamal believes in the power of people, “Associates are the Assets of Craft Silicon and Little; with their commitment, even the impossible is possible”. He is also an avid reader having an interest in a wide range of books including philosophy, success stories, autobiographies, management, and technical literature.
Awards and Recognitions.
Kamal for his exceptional entrepreneurship was honored with ‘The Africa Award 2010 for Entrepreneurship,’ and for his technological innovation at Little, he received recognition from the ICT Authority of Kenya during the Connected 2017 event. Kamal was recently awarded the ‘Fintech Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the 2023 Africa Bank 4.0 Awards.
Kamal Budhabhatti is an exceptional entrepreneur proposing great leadership qualities. His visionary role has redefined Kenya with economically robust, socially inclusive, and technologically advanced. From addressing financial issues to transforming transportation Kamal has a profound impact on technology and innovation. Being successful and creating positive societal change is a dream of many entrepreneurs and Kamal is one who made it happen with his hard work and intelligence.