Incoming Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa. FILE PHOTO | NMG Peter Ndegwa is Wednesday set to take over as Chief Executive Officer at Safaricom #ticker:SCOM to succeed Bob Collymore, who died of cancer on July 1, last year, a move that will make him the first Kenyan to run the giant telco.
He will be taking over from founding CEO Michael Joseph, who has been holding the position in an acting capacity since.
Mr Ndegwa, an alumnus of Starehe Boys Centre and former East African Breweries #ticker:EABL finance director, will be betting on M-Pesa, data business and Safaricom’s likely entry into Ethiopia to shape the leading telephone services company’s growth in profitability.
The 51-year-old incoming CEO takes the reins at a time when businesses have been hard hit by the coronavirus global pandemic, meaning that he might have to work from home on his first day. But he was upbeat about the task ahead of him, seeing both the challenges and opportunities that the pandemic presents.
“It is time to serve my country. There are two things that I value most, and that is humility and integrity. Integrity is about doing what you say and humility is knowing that there is always something more you can do,” said Mr Ndegwa, an economist and accountant who has just returned from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro as he prepared to take over the corner office at Safaricom’s Waiyaki Way headquarters.
In both the medium and long-term, the father of one, who is married to Jemimah Ndegwa, will have to define his strategy for the company’s offerings, such as M-Pesa, which has emerged as Safaricom’s profit and sales driver in recent years in the face of sluggish growth in voice revenues. The company has been shedding market share in voice to its top rival, Airtel Kenya, which is in merger talks with Telkom Kenya, the third-largest player in the mobile phones services market.
Mr Ndegwa told the Business Daily on Tuesday that his strategy will hinge on M-Pesa and deepening the data business.
“Safaricom is more than just a telecommunications company. Voice is saturated but that what is happening everywhere in the world. Best companies renew themselves,” he said. He added that there are still great opportunities in data, M-Pesa and geographical expansion at a time when Safaricom has announced plans to enter Ethiopia, which is keen to liberalise its telecommunication services.
Safaricom will be looking to upgrade the capabilities of M-Pesa to […]
