Effred Technologies has built software and supplied engineers from Gurugram since 2010. Here is how it works from Nairobi: six and a half shared hours a day, invoices in US dollars, and the data protection points to settle before anyone starts.
Some companies in Kenya need more engineers than they can hire in time. Others need one skill that is hard to find locally, or a whole product built while their own team runs the business. That is the work we do, for clients in 14 countries, including teams in Africa.
English is the working language on both sides, and the time difference is small. Most of the work happens while both teams are at their desks.
Kenya runs on East Africa Time (EAT, UTC+3). India runs on Indian Standard Time (IST, UTC+5:30). India is two and a half hours ahead, and neither country changes its clocks, so the gap stays the same all year.
| City | Time zone | Your 9 am is, in India | Shared hours | Shared window, your time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nairobi | EAT (UTC+3) | 11:30 am | 6.5 hours | 9 am – 3:30 pm |
| Kampala | EAT (UTC+3) | 11:30 am | 6.5 hours | 9 am – 3:30 pm |
| Dar es Salaam | EAT (UTC+3) | 11:30 am | 6.5 hours | 9 am – 3:30 pm |
| Kigali | CAT (UTC+2) | 12:30 pm | 5.5 hours | 9 am – 2:30 pm |
In practice, a team in India starts its day at 6:30 am Nairobi time, so work is already moving when you arrive. Hold stand-ups, reviews and pairing between 9 am and 3:30 pm Nairobi time, and agree a short written handover for the end of your afternoon. Time zone is one of the first things we ask about on the first call.
Kenyan and Indian public holidays differ. Put both calendars in the contract so nobody is surprised by a quiet day.
| Model | How it works | Best for | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff augmentation | One or more people join your team, your stand-ups, tools and sprints. You direct the work; we handle contracts, salaries and equipment. | Filling a skill gap fast | From 1 person, monthly |
| Dedicated team | A full squad of engineers, QA and a lead, working only on your product. | New products and long roadmaps | From 3 people, quarterly |
| Project delivery | We build an agreed scope. A short paid discovery ends in a written plan and a fixed estimate; then you see working software every two weeks. | A product or system with a clear scope | Discovery in 1–2 weeks, then two-week sprints |
Contract-to-hire is built in too: work with someone first, then move them to your own payroll on terms agreed upfront. Not sure which model fits? Our guide to staff augmentation, dedicated teams and outsourcing compares them on control, speed, cost and risk.
For a project, the first one to two weeks are a paid discovery: goals, constraints, a written plan and an estimate. Design comes next, then two-week sprints with a demo at the end of each one.
Kenya’s Data Protection Act, 2019 (opens in a new tab) has been in force since 25 November 2019, and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (opens in a new tab) (ODPC) enforces it. If people in India will work with personal data about your customers or staff, settle these points first:
Then write it into the contract. The ODPC’s guidance expects a written transfer agreement that lets you verify the recipient’s data protection, names the countries the data goes to, covers breach reporting, records and audits, rules out onward transfers for the recipient’s own purposes, and has the data deleted or returned at the end.
On our side, we can sign an NDA before we see anything, and the NDA and IP assignment are in place before anyone gets access. Our engineers work in your repositories and your accounts, so you decide where the data is hosted.
If you also collect data in neighbouring countries, check their laws too: Uganda’s Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019 (opens in a new tab), Tanzania’s Personal Data Protection Act, 2022, overseen by the Personal Data Protection Commission (opens in a new tab), and Rwanda’s Law No. 058/2021, whose data protection office (opens in a new tab) runs authorisations to store or transfer personal data outside Rwanda.
This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Check the current rules with the ODPC or a Kenyan data protection lawyer before personal data leaves Kenya.
A few things shape software for Kenya more than most. Raise them in the first call, with us or with any vendor you are comparing:
For the full picture, read our guide to outsourcing software development to India from Kenya.
India is two and a half hours ahead of Nairobi and does business in English. This guide covers how Kenyan and East African companies can set up the work, the contract, payments, tax and data protection, with a plan for the first 30 days.
8 min read
Outsourced software projects often go wrong before the first line of code is written: a vague scope, a team that changed after the pitch, or a contract that left the code with someone else. This checklist covers what to ask, what to read and when to walk away.
9 min read
Five ways to get engineering work done with an outside partner, compared on who directs the work, how fast it starts, what you actually pay for and where the risk sits.
8 min read
A good brief gets you a shortlist worth interviewing. A vague one gets you a week of CVs that miss. Here is what to share up front, the mistakes that waste a first shortlist, and a template you can copy.
8 min read
Yes. Tell us the skills, seniority, budget and your working hours on a 30-minute call. You get three to five vetted profiles in about three working days, interview them yourself, and the person you choose usually starts within one to two weeks, at a fixed monthly rate with no placement fee.
Six and a half on a 9-to-6 day at both ends: 9 am to 3:30 pm in Nairobi, which is 11:30 am to 6 pm in India. Kenya (UTC+3) is two and a half hours behind India (UTC+5:30), and neither country changes its clocks.
US dollars, or GBP, EUR, AED or INR if you prefer. Staff augmentation is one monthly invoice at a fixed rate per person.
Yes, if the transfer meets the Data Protection Act, 2019: a ground in section 48, such as proof of appropriate safeguards to the Data Commissioner; consent and confirmed safeguards for sensitive data (section 49); and hosting in Kenya for the strategic-interest processing covered by section 50. Put it in a written transfer agreement, and check your own case with the ODPC or a lawyer.
Yes. Code, designs and documentation are yours, in your repositories, from day one. The NDA and IP assignment are signed before anyone has access.
Our office is in Gurugram, India. Our people are mostly in Indian cities such as Gurugram, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, plus vetted remote specialists in other countries when you need a closer time zone or a niche skill. We work with clients abroad remotely, in your tools and on your hours.
Updated:
Software, people or growth — a person replies within one working day.