A European trade director who sends his own clients back home. Robert Bach Casanovas has run the Nairobi office of Catalonia Trade & Investment (ACCIÓ) since 2017, and he is blunt: the traditional model of European companies exporting one-size-fits-all solutions to Africa is languishing. What works now is demand-driven partnership, co-manufacturing and localizing solutions for the mass market, not the niche. We discuss why Barcelona's fintech ecosystem realized it must learn from Kenya, how frugal innovation could rescue Europe's aging public health systems, and the three frictions that kill European business in East Africa: the information gap, financing, and lack of presence. Plus the talent bridges being built between Barcelona and Nairobi business schools. If you work in trade, investment or EU cooperation, this one is required listening. Share it with a colleague still selling the old way.

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