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Writing & research

Field notes, research and case studies. We publish what we learn, including the parts that did not work.

SENPAILatestField note 082 Oct 2026A health ID from birth, and every trade-off behind itAn experimental answer to a NITDA Builders Festival challenge: why a "health BVN" on its own would not work, why we built on the NIN instead of competing with it, why the ID is issued at birth or at the first vaccination, how bulk-issued IDs make offline registration possible, the portable summary that travels with the ID, how matching, consent and sync are designed, the bugs that taught us the most, and what is still not built.Read →

Field notes

9 notes written while the work was happening, grouped by what they are about. Read a project's notes in order and you have the whole story of how it was built, including the parts we got wrong.

SENPAIIn build8 notes
  1. 01What is a company?
  2. 02The company systems index
  3. 03Building a company operating system
  4. 04How does an institution remember?
  5. 05The Nigerian startup ecosystem map
  6. 06What we found building the Nigerian ecosystem record
  7. 07Can a stranger tell what your organisation does?
  8. 08A health ID from birth, and every trade-off behind it
Senpai CollectiveLive1 note
  1. 01We spent four years training African creatives. Here is what was missing.

Artifacts

Things we built and gave away. A field note is something you read, an artifact is something you use, and each one has the notes behind it attached so you can see how it was made.

SENPAI1 artifact
  1. 01DiagnosticLiveThe company systems indexA company is the part of the work that keeps happening without you. This measures how much of yours does: 41 capabilities across eight domains, one question against each of them, and a per-domain breakdown of where you are weakest. Free, about six minutes, no account.Run your index →

Case studies

The work itself: what the problem was, what we built, and what it produced.

  1. In pilot2026

    Heritage Atlas

    The cultural map of Nigeria

    Read →
  2. Live2026

    Senpai Collective

    The platform the community runs on

    Read →
  3. In build2026

    Health ID

    A health ID from birth

    Read →
  4. In build2026

    National Energy Dashboard

    Nigeria's power data, checked

    Read →
  5. Live2026

    The Nigerian Startup Ecosystem Record

    A record that shows its sources

    Read →
  6. Live2026

    Civic Notes

    Nigerian law in plain English

    Read →

Blog

  1. blog27 Jan 2020

    Why You Should be Building an MVP and Not a Full-Featured Product

    An MVP product is a product with only a basic set of features, released in order to test a new business idea and gauge people's reactions.

    Read →
  2. blog10 Jan 2020

    What is a social enterprise?

    A social enterprise is an enterprise that prioritizes the positive transformative effects its actions have on the well being of a community...

    Read →
  3. blog9 Nov 2019

    Designing a community driven design company The senpai collective

    The journey of building a startup has been very interesting and very hard, especially being a community based startup in Nigeria...

    Read →

Press release

  1. Press release17 Aug 2020

    The Senpai Talent Accelerator Program

    Join the senpai talent program

    Read →

Index

Everything we have published, newest first.

  1. Case studyCivic Notes
  2. field-noteA health ID from birth, and every trade-off behind it
  3. Case studyHealth ID
  4. Case studyNational Energy Dashboard
  5. Case studyThe Nigerian Startup Ecosystem Record
  6. field-noteCan a stranger tell what your organisation does?
  7. field-noteWhat we found building the Nigerian ecosystem record
  8. field-noteThe Nigerian startup ecosystem map
  9. field-noteHow does an institution remember?
  10. field-noteBuilding a company operating system
  11. ArtifactThe company systems index
  12. field-noteThe company systems index
  13. field-noteWhat is a company?
  14. field-noteWe spent four years training African creatives. Here is what was missing.
  15. Case studyHeritage Atlas
  16. Case studySenpai Collective
  17. Press releaseThe Senpai Talent Accelerator Program
  18. blogWhy You Should be Building an MVP and Not a Full-Featured Product
  19. blogWhat is a social enterprise?
  20. blogDesigning a community driven design company The senpai collective
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We are building the digital infrastructure Africa needs, and publishing the whole thing as it happens. Field notes from inside the work, research, case studies, and the decisions that turned out wrong. Roughly weekly.

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