A back-end engineer is normally thought of as a highly skilled and abnormally intelligent person who sits in the shadows to get things done. …Intelligent because they write the code that rides the tech systems. If you’re not tech-savvy, you might get intimidated just by the word, “code”. Paul Kamasu, a senior back-end engineer at Yo-Waste Inc shares:
What exactly do you do at Yo-Waste?
I juggle around a lot of tasks in line with coding. I write code for the Yo-Waste API; In lay man’s terms, the work I do enables enables all Yo-Waste digital assets to communicate, for smooth user-experience.
What do you think of the product you’re working on?
When I first came to Yo-Waste, I noticed the space was busy and kept wondering what made people that busy and hardworking. With time, I came to appreciate the problem there was in the waste management cycle. The garbage collection companies… how did they manage their businesses when there was much work to be done in between? To manage all that work without any tool is very hard. They indeed needed a tool, so I sat down and started doing what I do best. I started jotting code.
What do you like most about your work?
I just love making things come to life. I enjoy solving serious problems like eliminating garbage from our streets and communities, not problems like writing research papers. that’s quite boring. The fact that you have to write in a specific format, you’re limited and constrained on what to do. In writing code, I get to do whatever I want; I create, and that’s beautiful. It’s easy for me to watch my dreams come to life.
Why are you happy working on Yo-Waste?
Look at Pre-Yo-Waste and Post-Yo-Waste.
Productivity grows in the presence of a tool. If you want to travel from Kampala to Entebbe, if you have a car, it becomes easier. Imagine how easy the Yo-Waste App has made it easy for collectors to do their job and for customers to get garbage collection services in their homes and at their businesses. Being a brain behind this app makes me very happy and fulfilled. When I go to my bed at the end of a good working day, I can be able to sleep comfortably.
What’s a day at Yo-Waste like for you?
When I come here, I just make things happen. I make what’s supposed to happen to actually happen; If we want customers to get a notification through the app, I write that logic into the application and voila! Things start running.
If Yo-Waste went on running, where do you see the waste management industry of Uganda in 10 years?
That’s a long time. Massive change is already in the pipeline. I’ll be a top customer. Imagine paying cashless and having my home clean and free from all the garbage! Oh I can’t wait!
