Cipher Zero is a Nairobi software & security studio. We design, build and defend digital products for businesses that can't afford to break.

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CIPHER ZERO

0 engineers,
one team
0% Kenyan
built
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✦ Built to hold

We turn bold ideas into software that is fast, secure and actually ships.

Most software in the region is built fast and patched later. We work the other way round — security, performance and clarity are decisions we make on day one, not repairs we make after a breach.

Three engineers, no account managers, no hand-offs. You talk to the people writing the code. That's why we move quickly and why nothing gets lost in translation.

✦ What we do

Everything between
the idea and the users.

✦ Who we build for

Every business in Nairobi
needs a real website.

Most shops here still run on a Facebook page, a WhatsApp number and hope. We build the real thing — fast on mobile data, findable on Google, and simple enough that you can update it yourself. These are the businesses we know well.

01

Professional Services

  • Accounting & Tax Services
  • Law Firms
  • Insurance Agencies
  • Real Estate
02

Shops & Retail

  • Auto Parts
  • Fashion & Boutiques
  • Shoe Stores
  • Books & Stationery
03

Health & Wellness

  • Pharmacies
  • Opticians
  • Gyms & Fitness
04

Food & Hospitality

  • Cafes & Restaurants
  • Bakeries & Cakes
05

Creative & Events

  • Events
  • Photography Studios
  • Printing & Stationery
06

Transport & Logistics

  • Courier & Logistics
  • Travel Agencies
  • Driving Schools
07

Everyday Services

  • Cleaning Services
  • Cyber Cafes

Your trade not on the list? We still want to hear from you — tell us what you do.

✦ Selected work

A few things
we've shipped.

Fintech2025

Lunexa

An M-Pesa-backed payments dashboard for a Nairobi retail chain. Reconciliation that used to take a day now takes four minutes.

Read more →
Security2025

Creatify

A full penetration test and hardening pass on a SaaS platform. Fourteen findings, three critical, all closed inside two weeks.

Read more →
Logistics2024

Strategix

Offline-first delivery app for a courier fleet. Drivers keep working through dead zones; the data syncs when signal returns.

Read more →

✦ How we work

Four steps.
No surprises.

  1. 01

    Listen

    A free call. You tell us the problem, we tell you honestly whether software is even the right fix.

  2. 02

    Scope

    A written plan with a fixed price and a real date. No hourly billing that quietly doubles.

  3. 03

    Build

    You see working software every week, not a status report. Change your mind early and it costs nothing.

  4. 04

    Hand over

    You own the code, the servers and the accounts. We stay on for support only if you want us to.

✦ A place for your voice

What clients say
after we've gone.

“They found a hole in our checkout that two other firms missed. Fixed it in a day and then explained it to my team so it wouldn't happen again.”
Wanjiru KamauOperations Director, Retail
“The app works on a matatu with one bar of signal. That was the whole requirement and they're the only team who took it seriously.”
Samuel OtienoFounder, Logistics Startup
“Fixed price, fixed date, and they hit it. In this industry that alone is worth writing a review about.”
Aisha MohamedManaging Partner, Consultancy

✦ The team

Three people.
You'll know all of us.

Dan Gatobu

Co-founder · Lead Engineer

Architecture, backend and the parts that have to stay up at 3am.

+254 710 948 426

Stanley Maina

Co-founder · Security Lead

Pen testing, audits, and the paranoid questions nobody else asks.

+254 720 631 351

Calvin Njogu

Co-founder · Design & Product

Interfaces, research, and making sure we build the right thing.

+254 748 250 671

✦ Get in touch

Tell us what's broken, or what you want to build.

First call is free and we'll tell you straight if we're not the right team for it.

Chat on WhatsApp →