# Swekenyi joined Tala as our first Quality Assurance Engineer

**_“When I walk around in my Tala hoodie or T-shirt, people say ‘Hey, you work at Tala!’ and ask ‘can I get a loan?”_** _Swekenyi joined Tala as our first Quality Assurance Engineer in March 2016 and enjoys how his role allows him to think through different roles, with the customer as priority. #MeetTala and read about Swekenyi’s journey below!_

**I am from…** Western Kenya, Kakamega County, Lugari District, in the village called Mbagara

**If I could describe myself in one word, I would choose…** Detailed. Because I love to see things done in a certain way, that is not short of what is expected. If something is not satisfying to the client or myself, I don’t feel that I’ve given my best. A **101%**

**I wanted to join Tala because…** I saw Tala as a way to join a paradigm shift because something like this had not been done in Kenya.

**My position at Tala is…** Quality Assurance Engineer, [I] help in facilitating communication between back-end engineers and android developers, and catch as many bugs as possible.

In my role, I try to become one person that will satisfy the business, make sure the developer delivers the right thing, and — **most importantly** — act as the customer. The customer perspective is most important because that’s where the impact is.

I always want to know about our product: ‘Do [customers] love it? Or is it a pain point? Is it another app on your phone that helps you access money, or does it bring you joy as an application you love to come back to?’

**In my career journey, I started…**

At a web hosting company as a web designer, and in charge of helpdesk. 1.5 years later, I moved into the financial industry and worked as a programmer, supporting and deploying the credit bureau system [being used by banks] across east Africa for the purpose of data sharing with the bureaus in the region. I worked at Cellulant as a QA Engineer, and came to Tala because I wanted to get into the mobile industry and move ahead in my career. **It’s been nice! It’s been one year, and I feel like I started yesterday!**

**Tala is changing financial services in Kenya because…** Traditionally in the Kenyan market, the customer has been doing the chasing for financial access. That’s a pain point for most customers. Tala makes approval happen in a matter of seconds, and the customer doesn’t have to come to our office or do anything extra.

**We are different from our competition because…** Our goal is not to compete for [customers].Our positioning allows us to stay focused on our goal which is providing convenient access to financial services while putting the customer first.

**Three years from now I see Tala as…** An opinion leader, in terms of developing financial services models that are designed for emerging markets.

**My favorite experience with a customer was…** Traveling from JKIA airport, and the lady who checked me into my flight said “When you come back, make sure I get a loan!” This tells me that even in the most unlikely places, people are looking for our services. Even with the amount we give, people believe we are saving their day.

**I am involved in…** My church in youth mentorship as well as in Christian Business Professionals Fellowship for college and University students mentorship.

**I can be found on holiday in…** The coastal towns of Kenya.

_Tala is proud to have Swekenyi as a member of our awesome Kenya team!_