It is often the people behind the scenes that make things happen. Not always in the spotlight and not trying to be famous, but focused on the issues - these people are the real heroes in life. This is also the case with mPesa. Many people contributed to it being so successful, but the driving force behind the concept, the guy that conceived it initially and drove the project till completion is Nick Hughes.Nick recently left Vodafone and started Signal Point Partners (Read here). What I find really satisfying (and another reason why I will keep on reading the Economist) was that Nick (with Susie Lonie) will be receiving the Social and Economic award for their outstanding contributions in the field (Read here). I think that this is well deserved. One should applaud the Economist to find and recognise the real people behind the success stories.