Kenya

Kenya’s sole power distributor recently made headlines after declaring an interim dividend of Ksh 0.20 per share for the first time in nine years. Kenya Power's general manager for finance Stephen Vikiru speaks to CFO East Africa about the milestone, which marks a major turnaround for the utility.

Saint Augustine once said, "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." For Yas Tanzania CFO Innocent Rwetabura, FINCA Uganda CFO Robinah Siima, Nyumba Group CFO Vishal Soni, and Watu Credit CFO Steve Onyango, journeying to different parts of the world has left a lasting impression, with each yearning to return to these uniquely inspiring destinations.

BasiGo CFO Jonathan Green is a man on a mission to transform Nairobi’s transport system. He explains how his desire to use finance and technology to drive social impact led him to create a start-up with an ambitious vision for e-mobility in Africa.

In an insightful interview, ALN managing partner Daniel Ngumy, who will be a judge at the 2025 CFO Awards for East Africa, emphasises the importance of dynamism in today’s finance leaders. He highlights the need for integrity in the profession, recognising the awards as an important platform for enhancing the profile of CFOs in the region.

When Nyumba Group CFO Vishal Soni lost his mother in 2018, he was left rudderless. All of his career decisions until that point, including rejecting any job offers outside of his native Mombasa, had been made with her in mind.

Jubilee Health Insurance CFO Eugine Mutekhele has navigated an intriguing journey, changing careers with relative ease. He chronicles his path from humble beginnings in tech to the C-suite of one of the region's largest insurers.

While some people may enjoy curling up under a blanket with a good book, others are more drawn to the pleasures of visual media, like films and TV series. Kioo financial controller Dipen Patel, Bamburi Cement group CFO Eugene Antera, and Dolphin Professional Services CFO Noel Ngonyani speak to CFO East Africa about the films they have drawn life lessons from.

Fifteen years ago, AAR Insurance Group CFO Hosea Kiprop won the US Green Card lottery. He went through all the stages of applying for permanent residency, but at the last minute, he changed his mind.

Effective 1 January 2025, Miriam Kaggwa will assume the role of COO after nearly two years as the company’s CFO, while group finance director Sanjeev Panwar takes on the CFO role.

Maryanne Mwai has been appointed as the Africa head of finance at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. With a career spanning 16 years across manufacturing, audit, and business transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa, Maryanne brings to the role extensive expertise in strategic financial management, business process transformation, risk oversight and compliance.

EABL group CFO Risper Genga Ohaga and ICEA Lion General Insurance CFO Zipporah Mungai Chege recently participated in a multistakeholder committee to develop a roadmap for the adoption of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in Kenya.

As the curtains start to fall on 2024, more than 100 finance leaders from across East Africa gathered at Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi for the exclusive 2024 CFO East Africa Year-End Summit. The highly-anticipated event, which took place on 28 November, was CFO East Africa’s seventh summit, all of which have been well-received by CFOs across Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda since its launch in 2023.

If Dr Rachael Gitonga were not the CFO of ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company), she would run a cafe with a bookshop inside it. She would spend her days running and working out at the gym in the morning, swimming in the afternoon, and taking walks in the evening. That is how much she loves working out.

Safaricom CFO Dilip Pal delves into the company’s strategies for managing foreign exchange risks, diversifying revenue, balancing major investments, and delivering customer value.

Get ready to shine a spotlight on the region's most exceptional finance leaders - with nominations now open for the inaugural CFO Awards for East Africa.

Kenyan CFOs put their gardening skills to the test when they responded to the call from the Kenyan government to participate in national tree-planting, during the unexpected special public holiday on 13 November 2023, which was dedicated to the cause.

Returning to Africa has been as much a personal journey as it has been a professional one for WPP Scangroup CFO Miriam Kaggwa, who is a chemical engineer by training, a scientist by nature and a finance leader by choice.

The transition from the private sector to the public sector is often seen as challenging, but Patrick Chonde, the acting general manager of finance at Kenya Airports Authority, believes that the gap between the sectors is narrowing. However, he does acknowledge that some differences do still exist.

Wangeci Kanjama, a long-term executive at Safaricom Group and M-Pesa Africa, is leaving the Vodacom telecommunications family to join Spiro as the Group CFO, effective November 2023.

CFO East Africa chatted with Daniel Ngumy, managing partner at Anjarwalla & Khanna, Stanbic Bank Kenya's Dennis Musau and EABL's Risper Genga Ohaga for this two-part special feature on tax in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.