CIO Africa March 2022 Edition

VOL 24 | ISSUE15 | MARCH 2022 EDITION

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

Edgar Okioga CIO, BAT KENYA, IS POWERED BY TEAM SPIRIT

@CIOAFRICA

Inside >>

KSHS.300 | USHS.9,000 | TSHS.6,000 | RWF.2,200 | OTHER USD.9

BIG TECH: THE FUTURE IS OMNICHANNEL & HERE'S WHY WHY WOMEN IN TECH LEADERSHIP ARE BURNING OUT ICYMI: THE YEAR AHEAD RECAP

/CIOAfrica

/CIOAfrica

/CIO_Africa

Calculate your time savings Run the numbers Rammurugesh Dasu Email: Rammurugesh.Dasu@redingtongulf.com Address: Redington Kenya Limited Whitefields place, School Lane, Westlands, P.O.Box – 383-00606 |Nairobi| Kenya 2

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO @CIOAFRICA

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

3

>> Contents VOL 24 | ISSUE 15| MARCH 2022 EDITION

CIO AFRICA EDITORIAL TEAM Editor-in-Chief Carol Odero

WRITERS

08

>> GUEST EDITOR

16

>> THE ROUNDUP

Kevin Namunwa Steve Mbego Tasha Francis

TECH COLUMNISTS Robert Yawe Michael Michie

PUBLISHER Harry Hare

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Andrew Karanja

OPERATIONS MANAGER Naomi Kangethe

20

>> THE LEAD

34

>> Thinking aloud

Commercial Director Aliza Thobani

MARKETING MANAGER Vanessa Obura

EVENTS MANAGER Ellen Magembe

10

FINANCE MANAGER Teddy Mukabane

EVENT EXECUTIVES Mellisa Dorsila Joan Jepkosgei Justin Maganga Felix Moturi

>> the year ahead recap

Virtual & Hybrid Events Coordinator Stacey Njeri

PHOTOGRAPHY Arthur Kuwashima

BUSINESS CONSULTANT Njambi Waruhiu

EVENTS PLAN LEAD Bonface Shikuku

ADMIN STAFF

42

Videlis Syovata Priscilla Egehitsa Daniel Mwaha

TRAINING Rose Waguthi

CREATIVE DESIGN Samuel g. Ndung’u

4

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

>> HARD TALK

36

>> HERNOVATION

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO @CIOAFRICA

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

5

>> Editorial Team

>> EXECUTIVE TEAM

Harry Hare Chairman & Publisher

Andrew Karanja Director

>> ACCOUNTS

Aliza Thobani Commercial Director

Kevin Namunwa STAFF Writer

Tasha Francis Editorial Intern

MICHAEL MICHIE Head of IT, TripleOKLaw

Robert Yawe CEO, SYNAptech Technologies

Ambrose Gahene Tech Writer

>> SALES TEAM

Purity Kamau

Teddy Mukabane Finance Manager

Accounts Assistant

Vanessa Obura Marketing Manager

NGENGI KAMAU SENIOR ACCOUNT Manager

Steve Mbego STAFF Writer

CAROL ODERO Editor-in-Chief

Arthur Kuwashima Lead Photographer

>> OPERATIONS

>> HYBRID EVENTS >> CREATIVE TEAM

Naomi Kangethe HEAD OF OPERATIONS

Stacey Njeri Virtual & Hybrid Events Coordinator

BILLY OMINGO ACCOUNT Manager

SAM NDUNG’U CREATIVE DIRECTION/ GRAPHIC DESIGN

>> EVENTS TEAM

Ellen Magembe Events Manager

>> ADMIN

Mellisa Dorsila Events Assistant

PUBLISHED BY:

Joan Jepkosgei Account Executive

Justin Maganga Account Executive

PRINTED BY:

Felix Moturi Audience Generation Executive

SHIRU WAWERU EVENTS SUPPORT

Contacts eDevelopment House 604 Limuru Road Old Muthaiga P O Box 49475 00100 Nairobi, Kenya +254 725 855 249 Email: info@cioAFRICA.co

6

IAN WAGGA Digital Marketing/ Graphic Design

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

Ian Obukwa Event Support

MARY KARIITHI Event Support

Videlis Syovata administrator

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The content of CIO Africa is protected by copyright law, full details of which are available from the publisher. While great care has been taken in the receipt and handling of material, production and accuracy of content in this magazine, the publisher will not accept any responsility for any errors, loss or ommisions which may occur.

>> LETTER FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF

TO THINK, OR NOT TO THINK. THAT IS THE QUESTION. “The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.” - Sir Terry Pratchett

In this month’s issue, I have a sit down with Edgar Okioga, the CIO at BAT Kenya, and he talks, albeit very briefly, on First Principles Thinking. Something he teaches his young team. First Principles Thinking sprung from the mind of a philosopher – Aristotle. Experts (thinkers…?) agree that the one man who most embodies this thought process is Elon Musk. First Principles Thinking does the thing a degree ought to allow you to do which is think for yourself.

In a Medium article First Principles: The Building Blocks of True Knowledge, by Mental Models, the idea is broken down.

First Principles Thinking ”is to break down complicated problems into basic elements and then reassemble them from the ground up. It’s one of the best ways to learn to think for yourself, unlock your creative potential, and move from linear to non-linear results.” If you have ever found yourself asking, “what would happen if I did this?” and actually went out into the world and did it, you would be on the right track.

At its most fundamental core, First Principles Thinking is

Here is another analogy the article shares. The difference between the cook and the chef. No, they are very much not the same. The cook made your high school githeri and cabbages. The chef tantalises you with cuisine, the cook makes food. The chef transforms food into poetry. The cook uses the recipes. ”The difference between reasoning by First Principles and reasoning by analogy is like the difference between being a chef and being a cook. If the cook lost the recipe, he’d be screwed. The chef, on the other hand, understands the flavour profiles and combinations at such a fundamental level that he doesn’t even use a recipe. He has real knowledge as opposed to know-how.”

Geniuses, we all know, think differently. And no, I am not simply talking about high IQ minds. First Principles Thinking is said to be the most powerful way to think. This is how you solve complex problems and challenge other people’s assumptions. Which does not mean browbeating someone into submission with your intellect. Where is the joy of a hearty debate in that?

Musk is quoted as saying ”Well, I do think there’s a good framework for thinking. It is physics. You know, the sort of First Principles reasoning. Generally, I think there are — what I mean by that is, boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there, as opposed to reasoning by analogy. Through most of our life, we get through life by reasoning by analogy, which essentially means copying what other people do with slight variations.”

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

Fast forward to 2022, where anyone with their own opinion risks being cancelled by those who disagree with their perspective. We no longer have robust debates. Instead, our opinions are kept close to the chest, where no one dares speak. Some will say you must speak your truth – which is a rather careless way of encouraging people to diarrhea words and leave you with the stench. The performance of authenticity is about being the worst version of the self.

about thinking like a scientist.

@CIOAFRICA

Growing up, there was a TV show whose name has been consumed by the ether of my mind and therefore forgotten, that attracted quite a bit of attention. These were debates done by pupils and students. They were very earnest with their clealry teacher-curated opinions. But, no one let that get in the way of a healthy debate.

And just like that, you have principles to live by. www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

7

>> GUEST EDITOR

RACHEL NJIRU

Director of Operator Partnerships - Infobip Kenya

AFRICAN ENTERPRISES MUST EMBRACE THE CONCEPT OF THE

CONNECTED CX TO BUILD LASTING CUSTOMER CONNECTIONS

8

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

Many African enterprises have lagged behind the rest of the world in digital communication platform adoption, but COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation in parts of Africa. This has highlighted an urgent need for universal digital access to ensure that people can work and communicate.

Connected customer experience At the same time, African enterprises recognise that a connected Customer Experience (CX) would enable them to achieve their client-centricity imperatives, says Rachel Njiru, Director of Operator Partnerships Africa at Infobip.

Njiru says that measuring customer engagement regarding why and how customers are purchasing their products and not their competitors’ is essential for businesses in a growing and increasingly competitive market.

The customer then needs to be convinced why they should continue buying their products. This presents a massive opportunity for brands that only increases over time and can be used to build a loyal customer base.

To achieve this, enterprises should adopt a unified customer approach to fully understand their engagement with customers, which can be done by leveraging data insights and opportunities that stem from the personalised customer journey.

”Customer preferences are changing, which creates new challenges. However, this can be used as an opportunity for organisations to leverage the knowledge they have about their customers.

Businesses must start evolving with customers’ needs and expectations,” says Njiru.

Consistent and streamlined interactions Njiru explains that CX ensures all customer interactions are consistent and streamlined to match their requirements and preferences. Thus, enterprises can create customercentric operating models, where the organisational structure, systems and operations all function with one goal in mind – delivering a quality experience efficiently but at a reasonable cost to the customer. ”Infobip remains a leader in global communications and aims to be innovative, reliable and available and to provide simple and measurable solutions that support enterprises in the region. We currently handle more than 12 billion transactions monthly, which is enabled by our infrastructure being scalable, with about 40 data centres strategically located globally,” she says.

Njiru adds that Infobip has extensively expanded its local support recently.

Doing so has enabled them to reach their partners and customers faster, and provide solutions in line with their needs while still meeting their local requirements based on proven global best practices.

The Infobip product stack has three layers – communication channels, customer engagement solutions and platforms, and connectivity.

This allows the company to provide a communications product stack that easily connects to enterprises’

infrastructure and is tailored to their specific needs. The new era of digital engagement has led to massive growth in CX and the Customer Platform-as-aService (CPaaS) market.

Opportunity to innovate Njiru notes that this is an opportunity for enterprises to innovate around digital transformation, with Infobip’s innovative Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products taking customer engagement to the next level. ”We can create the ideal customer journey for an enterprise’s clients, gather feedback, consolidate customer data, personalise engagements with customers based on their needs and behaviour and provide tools to measure this engagement and improve,” she says.

Njiru adds that by combining Infobip’s market-leading SaaS platforms, such as Moments, its omnichannel communications solution, Answers, its intelligent chatbot building platform, and Conversations, its cloud-based contact offering, enterprises can build and deliver a seamlessly connected omnichannel CX and launch engagement campaigns quickly and easily. This will help drive better business through revenue growth and customer stickiness.

Since its inception in 2006, Infobip’s mission has been to provide accessible and innovative global communication technology that creates seamless interactions between businesses and people. To do so, it must continue to be innovative, as innovation is a powerful social and economic tool for the longterm prosperity and sustainability of all global economies. ”Infobip is endlessly innovating, supporting digitisation, and finding easier ways to drive contextual conversations. We also support accessibility to information and affordability of service for enterprises across the globe that want better engagement with their clients. We are truly playing a part in shaping how the world communicates,” Njiru concludes. www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

According to a study by the International Trade Centre, the African population is growing by 2.5 per cent a year on average, more than double the global growth rate of 1 per cent, which translates into a rapidly growing labour pool that will require employment opportunities.

”Companies face many challenges during the transformation to customercentricity. The advancement of modern technology is leading to a convergence of information and communication and the acceleration of globalisation and competitive environments.

@CIOAFRICA

Africa is the second-largest continent in terms of population and is experiencing a boom that will see the number of people living in the region double by 2050. Yet, despite this rapid growth, many of Africa’s enterprises continue to lag behind the rest of the world in terms of digital communication platform adoption.

9

STEVE MBEGO

Writer

5G Will Enhance Connectivity, Create Jobs in 2022 Kenyans will experience better connectivity, more job opportunities and better services in 2022 as local telcos roll out the 5G network, Kris Senanu, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at Safaricom, said during his presentation at The Year Ahead event that brought together experts to share their thoughts on technology trends to watch out this year. ”5G will take the opportunities brought by the Internet and smartphones to another level. We are going to see a proliferation of jobs because of 5G,” Senanu said.

He revealed that Safaricom has deployed 150 base stations across the country that will be operational 10 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

by April 2022 year. With the rollout of 5G, Senanu said, ”5G will enhance connectivity. Fixed wireless access is a good way to give people connectivity especially those in places where our fibre does not cover”.

According to him, the 5G network will have a significant impact on agriculture, education and health sectors as it will make monitoring and sharing of information reliable. ”With 5G, the ability to have HD quality signal in terms of monitoring has been enhanced. On health, 5G will help telemedicine by enhancing speed and reliability. 5G will help connect hospitals.

Doctor-patient engagement, hospital to hospital engagement,” he said.

He added that it will allow organizations to have their own private networks which come with enhanced capacities and improved security.

While Kenyans are generally earlier adopters of technology, their uptake of 5G technology may be hampered by the high costs of 5G devices according to Senanu. ”The challenge is that 5G devices tend to be much more expensive and so it will take some time for that price to come down. As more network providers across the world adopt the technology it means that more vendors are going to build devices around the 5G technology,” he said

>> THE YEAR AHEAD RECAP

Omnichannel Customer Experience To Gain Prominence This Year

Covid-19 Influence On Business Models For the past two years, Covid-19 occasioned a significant shift in business models. This trend is set to continue in 2022 as the pandemic persists through mutations and companies try to adjust to the changing business environment.

Moreover, there is no cause to worry.

Shaukat Ali Khan – CIO, Aga Khan University & Hospitals who gave a presentation on Covid-19 Influence On Business Models at the CIO Year Ahead event said organisations should come up with technology solutions to make changes or meet challenges brought by the pandemic.

Noah Amoke Business Development Manager at CM.com while explaining the importance of the omnichannel approach said: ”Multichannel approach leads to different silos. Different organisations need to implement a single centralized data channel that will enable them to monitor customer behaviour and communicate to them”.

Niladri Roy COO, Little Cab explained that the pandemic pushed more customers to embrace online shopping and therefore organisations should make their experience better. ”The Pandemic did help with the transformation of the mind of the

To develop the right omnichannel approach, Amoke advised online businesses to ”try to visualize what your customers’ motivations, needs, expectations, and pain points are.

The journey is no longer a linear one, because customers sometimes take a step back, analyze competitors’ offers, or take their experience multichannel,” He added, ”Write a clear customercentric vision so that you and your team know what your goals towards pleasing customers are. Focus on long-term relationships with your customers in order to increase customer lifetime value,” The main takeaways from the panel are that businesses should develop a central platform and database to manage their customers. They should meet customers where they are on the digital platforms. They should strive to make sure that customer experience is consistent through all digital platforms.

While using the case study of Aga Khan University and Hospitals, Shaukat demonstrated how organisations could ensure business continuity by coming up with technology solutions.

For example, the Aga Khan University and Hospitals developed an app to facilitate online clinic appointments.

Through technology, they enabled teleconsultation for customers who were hesitant to visit hospitals physically.

They also used technology to meet regulatory requirements such as enabling distance learning through online classes after governments banned physical classes. They also developed an online platform to report covid-19 statistics in real-time as mandated by the government.

The main take-away from Shaukat presentation is that for organisations to survive the pandemic, they need to come up with technological solutions covering the affected operations. www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

In a panel discussion at the The Year Ahead event, experts affirmed that more companies this year will adopt the omnichannel approach to meet the unique needs of customers who are scattered across different digital platforms.

customer from physical shopping to online shopping. Businesses have to reach customers on all platforms available in the market,” he stated.

@CIOAFRICA

As the digital economy continues to expand and as more customers embrace online shopping, companies should strive to give them a seamless experience through the omnichannel approach.

This year, it’s expected that organisations will continue to adopt technology solutions to manage personnel, adjust to changing consumer patterns and perhaps meet new government regulatory measures.

11

>> NEW APPOINTMENTS

Congrats on your

STEVE MBEGO

Writer

NEW APPOINTMENT

Twitter Hires Bemnet Yemesgen As Global Head of Creative Strategy & Brand Identity In the new role, Yemesgen will oversee the Twitter creative studio, leading a global team responsible for honing, shaping and designing the Twitter brand and how it shows up on the platform, in the company and around the world. He will report to the Vice President of Brand and Consumer Marketing, Beverly Jackson.

Bemnet Yemesgen has joined Twitter in the newly created role of Global Head of Creative Strategy and Brand Identity. He transitions from Discord where he has been a Creative Director.

Jackson said, ”Bemnet is a creative and strategic brand leader who ‘gets Twitter.’ He’s a creator at heart and is exactly who we have been looking for to round out the marketing leadership team. I’m confident he will take Twitter branded content and experiences to the next level, including products like Spaces, Communities, Twitter Blue and more.”

Patricia Ithau Appointed Scangroup CEO WPP Scangroup PLC has appointed Patricia Ithau as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Executive Director. Her appointment takes effect on March 14, 2020.

Ithau is currently the Regional Director at the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Development Economies – Seed.

She is an executive with over 25 years of experience spearheading the expansion of top consumer brands in the region including Unilever, Diageo/ East African Breweries Limited (EABL) and L’Oreal.

Ithau also sits on the boards of Absa Bank Kenya Plc, Trademark East Africa Ltd and the British Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

She also is a trustee on the boards of Vodafone 12 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

Foundation UK and M-Pesa Foundation.

In 2020, she was awarded a Head of State Commendation (HSC) for her contribution to enterprise development in Kenya.

She holds an MBA in Strategic Management from the United States International University – Africa (USIU) and a B Com degree from the University of Nairobi.

Ithau takes over the leadership of Scangroup following the resignation of Bharat Thakrar as CEO and board member in March 2021.

Apart from Discord, Yemesgen has also worked with brands including Adidas, Nike Foundation’s Girl Effect, and USA Today.

He said in a statement, ”I’m thrilled to join the Twitter family and extremely excited to contribute to Twitter’s mission of serving the public conversation.

Twitter’s impact is truly global and has given everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without borders and barriers. I’m deeply passionate about the platform and the role Twitter plays in our daily lives, and I look forward to crafting engaging content and experiences that will continue to extend the brand’s impact globally.”

Tesh Durvasula Joins Africa Data Centres As CEO Cassava Technologies has appointed Tesh Durvasula as the new Chief Executive Officer of Africa Data Centres (ADC) effective 7 February 2022. ”Durvasula will be responsible for driving growth, innovation and strategy of Cassava Technologies’ data centres to meet Africa’s accelerating demand for data and digital infrastructure,” the company said in a statement.

Durvasula is an experienced technology and real estate industry executive with a 25-year track record of successful leadership and value generation in the digital infrastructure sector. He will lead the ADC team as the organisation rapidly expands its footprint of hyperscale data centres throughout Africa with a plan to add an additional ten data centres in the top ten economic centres in Africa.

Prior to joining ADC, Tesh served in a variety of executive roles at CyrusOne, culminating in his appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. And, before that, he served as president of Europe operations for CyrusOne, overseeing CyrusOne’s expansion into England, Ireland, France and Germany, helping grow CONE into one of the largest publicly traded REIT’s in the US. ”The potential to grow digital infrastructure is bigger in Africa than anywhere else and this will provide a number of opportunities for economic transformation. I am extremely pleased to be joining Africa Data Centres and Cassava Technologies, especially now as Africa has become one of the fastest-growing data usage regions in the world. I feel we are well poised to make an invaluable contribution to Africa’s rapidly developing digital ecosystem,” concluded Durvasula.

ADC has five data centres in Africa. In total, the continent has 81 colocation data centres from 15 countries with the most concentrated in South Africa.

Deloitte East Africa has appointed Anne Muraya as its CEO, with effect from 1st June 2022. She takes over from Joe Eshun, who has been appointed as Deloitte Africa Managing Director for Businesses.

Anne will be the first female CEO for Deloitte East Africa, overseeing offices in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and other East Africa locations the firm operates, including but not limited to Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Somalia.

Before her appointment, Anne was the first female East Africa Audit Leader and Managing Director for Responsible Business and Public Policy for Africa.

She is a certified public accountant with vast experience spanning over 19 years in Audit & Assurance, managing several listed/private companies cutting across multiindustries and Eastern Africa.

She is a Member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) and also a Member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants Rwanda (IcPAR).

Anne is also a member of Deloitte Africa Audit Executive Committee (Exco) which is responsible for setting the strategic direction and focus areas of the Africa Audit & Assurance business and overseeing the implementation of this strategy and DEA Management Committee Meeting.

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

Hardy Pemhiwa, President & CEO of Cassava Technologies, ”We are delighted to welcome Tesh into the Cassava Technologies family and look forward to leveraging on his extensive industry experience as he leads our data centres business into its next phase of rapid expansion to meet the increased demand for data centre capacity in Africa.

Following the conclusion of our $300m funding with the US IDFC and the recent $90m equity investment by IFC, it was imperative that we scale up our management team”.

Deloitte East Africa Appoints Anne Muraya as New CEO

@CIOAFRICA

Strive Masiyiwa, Cassava Technologies Executive Chairman and Founder, said, ”At Cassava Technologies our objective is to empower individuals and businesses with technology, based on our vision of a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind. Through our digital infrastructure and services, we are empowering our customers to fully participate in the fast-growing digital economy in Africa.

Expanding our data centres footprint and management capacity is key to our strategy”.

She holds a B.Ed in Science (Mathematics and Chemistry) from Kenyatta University. www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

13

>> NEW APPOINTMENTS

Dr Bright Mawudor Leaves Dimension Data to Join Xetova as CTO Cybersecurity expert, 2016’s/2021’s Top 40 Under 40 winner, and featured in Tribe of Hackers, Dr Bright Gameli Mawudor, has revealed that he joined Xetova as the Chief Technology Officer.

hundreds of public presentations for over five years. He has also participated in a couple of CIO Africa tech events including the CIO Fintech Summit and the CIO AI & IOT Summit.

Dr Mawudor joins Xetova after serving for over three years at Dimension Data, Middle East and Africa as the Practice Lead. At Dimension Data, he managed security services and consulting and directed a team to provide Cybersecurity services to clients of Internet Solutions.

Before Dimension Data and Xetova, Dr Mawudor has also worked at Cellulant, Ushahidi, A.Harvest, and Youth Dynamics.

He served at Dimension Data till late last year and has joined Xetova early in 2022. At his current workstation, Dr Mawudor will be leading a technology team of Software Engineers, Product Managers, Data scientists, Analysts, and cybersecurity experts to change the outlook of data utilisation.

Dr Mawudor is known for his work at AfricaHackon where he participated in

At Cellulant, the Group Head of Information Security and Risk prior to becoming a Cybersecurity Engineer.

He was also a Cybersecurity Engineer at Ushahidi and an IT Consultant at A.Harvest.

Despite switching from Dimension Data to Xetova, Dr Mawudor will continue doubling up as a part-time Cybersecurity Lecturer at Strathmore University. He is also expected to continue with his active participation with AfricaHackon in technology events

and talks.

Dr Mawudor holds his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in IT Convergence and Application Engineering from Pukyong National University and his Master’s Degree in Computer and Information Systems Security from the same institution.

He got his Bachelor’s degree in Applied Computer Science from Daystar University.

Mark Dunford Appointed Knight Frank Kenya Managing Director Knight Frank Kenya has appointed Mark Dunford as the new Managing Director, following the stepping down of Ben Woodhams, effective April 1, 2022.

In a statement, the real estate consultancy company said, “Ben will be moving to a new role within its parent company, Knight Frank LLP in the United Kingdom to run the Africa Desk and the company’s Africa Capital Markets service line”. He The former boss has been the Managing Director at Knight Frank Kenya for 19 years, having joined the 14 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

Kenya office in 2003. Prior to that, he was the General Manager of the Tanzanian office for four years.

Mark is an experienced real estate professional and former Head of East Africa at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

He said he looks forward to moving back to East Africa. “Knight Frank is a truly global firm with the benefit of a very talented and experienced local team based in Nairobi. I am excited by the prospect of collaborating with our partners in Kenya and across Africa to continue moving our business and iconic brand forward.”

Alistair Elliott, Senior Partner and Group Chairman, Knight Frank said they look forward to seeing their Kenya business’ next chapter under Mark’s leadership.

KBA Appoints Christine Onyango as Communications and Public Affairs Director Banking industry umbrella body Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) has appointed Christine Onyango as Director of Communications and Public Affairs.

Christine takes over from Nuru Mugambi who has since transitioned from the Association to pursue graduate studies.

Until her appointment, Christine served as I&M Bank Head of Marketing, a position she held for 10 years.

A recognized business strategist, Christine has cumulative banking industry work experience of 19 years. She previously worked for a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest banks in the United States (Bank of America), Credit Bank Limited and Gulf African Bank.

Christine is a recognized leader in marketing, corporate communications, and business strategy, delivering results through effective marketing campaigns, brand, and relationship management.

She is a holder of a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration & Management from Amberton University, Dallas, TX and an Associate degree in Business Administration & Management from Colin County Community College, Plano, TX. KBA is the financial sector’s leading advocacy group and banking industry umbrella body that represents total assets in excess of $40 billion.

Nokia Appoints Pius Ang’asa As Country Manager For Kenya

Nokia has appointed Pius Ang’asa as Country Manager for Kenya.

In a statement, the company said Ang’asa will be the primary interface with local authorities and government and be responsible for establishing and leading the Country Sales Committee (CSC) to foster Nokia’s business in the country across all customer segments.

Rajiv Aggarwal, Market Unit Head of Central, East and West Africa (CEWA) at Nokia, said, “Kenya is a key market

Pius holds a degree in Engineering from Moi University and an MBA from the University of Nairobi. He has over 21 years of experience in the telecoms industry in different geographies and roles ranging from project management and account management.

He joined Nokia in 2011 as an Account Manager on the Airtel account and is currently in charge of the Airtel accounts in Kenya, Madagascar, and Congo Brazzaville. In addition, he has had roles such as Branch Manager of Nokia Congo Brazzaville as well as a Country Management Team member for Nokia Madagascar. www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIOAFRICA

Commenting on the appointment, Pius said, “I look forward to working closely with the various players in the market to further strengthen the telecom network infrastructure to enable world-class broadband services and customer experience in Kenya. With Nokia’s comprehensive portfolio of products and professional services, we are committed to bringing advanced mobile, fixed, IP and optical network technologies with software capabilities and professional services for telecom operators and enterprises in the country.”

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

for Nokia in the region and we are determined to play a key role in the development and transformation of the telecoms industry in the country. We believe that Pius will play a critical role in this based on his vast experience and wish him all success in his new role.”

15

Kevin Namunwa

Writer

STEVE MBEGO

Writer

TASHA FRANCIS

EDITORIAL INTERN

what’s

trending

now!

THE LATEST NEWS, TECHNOLOGY, TRENDS AND INNOVATIONS FROM ACROSS AFRICA 16 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

>> THE ROUND-UP

BasiGo Secures $4.3 Million Seed Funding from Novastar Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, and other Silicon Valley Investors manufacturer in the world. These buses are capable of traveling 250km on a single charge and offer a more modern and comfortable passenger experience than current diesel buses in Nairobi, including USB Charging and Wi-Fi connectivity for all passengers.

Novastar is a global VC working from the entrepreneurial centers of Lagos, London, and Nairobi. Its business ventures aim to build businesses that create value for the many, not the few. Novastar entrepreneurs pursue solutions with the potential to transform markets and sectors, ranging from healthcare, finance, education to agriculture, information, or mobility.

The arrival of two 25-seat state-ofthe-art buses come ahead of the pilot program, and are currently undergoing reliability and feasibility testing in Nairobi as a way of preparation. It sources electric buses from BYD Automotive, the largest electric bus

73 per cent of Kenya’s electricity comes from renewable sources, each BasiGo electric bus will help to dramatically reduce the air pollution and climatewarming emissions that come from Kenya’s diesel buses. Through this round of funding and business model, BasiGo plans to deploy over 1,000 locally assembled electric buses in Nairobi over the next five years, and has recently opened a charging and servicing depot for electric buses adjacent to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. ”Confronting the climate crisis and building a sustainable business to help catalyze the electrification of transportation across Africa is an extraordinary opportunity," said Alex Roetter, General Partner at Moxxie Ventures. “BasiGo has the vision and an exceptionally talented team to meet this challenge head-on, and Moxxie is thrilled to support their critical mission.” www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

BasiGo is a provider of electric buses for public transport operators and will operate on an innovative ”Pay-asyou-drive” battery financing model.

The company makes electric buses affordable to operators by allowing operators to pay for the battery and charging separately from the bus. It allows public bus operators to acquire an electric bus at the same upfront cost as a diesel bus and charges customers through a separate usage-based subscription fee.

”We are excited to partner with BasiGo and support the team's audacious vision to transform the public bus transport sector in Africa. Our investment will accelerate the adoption of electric buses through an innovative finance model, leading to a vastly improved experience for commuters as well as better air quality in dense urban neighborhoods”, said Sapna Shah, Partner at Novastar Ventures.

@CIOAFRICA

BasiGo, an e-mobility company headquartered in Nairobi, announced that it has secured $4.3 million in seed funding from Silicon Valley investors such as Novastar Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, Nimble Partners, Spring Ventures, Climate Capital, and Third Derivative for its commercial operations in Kenya, as well as the local assembly of the electric buses in Kenya and the kick-off of its pilot program in March 2022. The company aims to bring electric bus services to sub-Saharan Africa to reduce climate-warming emissions.

”We are thrilled to be partnering with Novastar, Moxxie, and this incredible group of investors, all of whom are deeply experienced in rapidly scaling businesses in this market,” said Jit Bhattacharya, CEO and Co-Founder at BasiGo. ”They understand this extraordinary moment of opportunity and urgency as time runs out for the world to make a meaningful impact on climate emissions. With East Africa’s abundant renewable energy, this market can leapfrog to clean, modern electric transit at the exact moment that African cities emerge as the next center of economic growth. The support and knowledge of this investor group will catalyze BasiGo in its mission to make East Africa a leader in inclusive, sustainable bus transport.”

17

>> THE ROUND-UP

Report: African Banks Need To Up Their Game To Attain Experience Maturity Levels of the 26 banks have scheduled (or recurring) payment features on mobile and internet banking. The number drops significantly when we consider those analytics to drive the adoption of recurring payments.

With changing consumer expectations, increasing competition from fintech and non-bank players and emerging technologies and an evolving regulatory environment, African banks need to up their game to attain experience maturity levels demanded by today’s customers, a report shows.

The KMPG Digital Channels Scorecard Report 2022, which was launched on recently, unveiled insights into the state of user experience on 26 African retail banks channels drawn from Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Senegal.

The featured banks have a relatively large retain customer base in their respective countries and across Africa.

It is based on KPMG's review of 12 retail user journeys clustered into five journey groups across four digital banking channels -mobile banking, internet banking, USSD banking and chat banking. The five-user journeys include digital onboarding, payments & transfers, digital lending, self-service and customer.

Based on the reviews of the capabilities demonstrated by the banks across the five categories, KPMG ranked the banks into four distinct categories both for the user journey and the specific channel. The categories include Leader, Challenger, Follower and Late Starters.

The leader category features banks that demonstrate that they understand 18 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

the expectations of today’s clients and offer a wide range of capabilities across various user journeys to facilitate a wholly digital interaction. Those in the challenger category offer effective and efficient user journeys on their digital platforms but lack key capabilities to ensure they meet user expectations, and they deliver a superior user experience.

On the other hand, banks featured in the follower category have limited capabilities on their digital channels to deliver a wholly digital interaction while those under the late starters category are yet to deliver digital capabilities for user journeys on one or more channels.

Gaps in their digital channels often result in a high user abandonment rate for the impacted customer journeys.

The report found out that only 1 bank out of 26 consistently appeared in the leader category for the five anchor journeys; while another five banks appeared in the Leaders category for two or three anchor journeys. In other words, only six (approximately 25 per cent) of the 26 banks are operating at the experience maturity levels demanded by the new generation of consumers. The remaining 75 per cent have work to do particularly on digital onboarding, self-service and customer care.

The report established that only 12

50 per cent of the 26 banks are yet to embrace the transparency paradigm for fees and charges on the digital channels. The report called on banks to be more deliberate and transparent in communicating transaction costs to users.

Less than 50 per cent of the banks were found to have implemented lending capabilities on at least one digital channel and therefore passing a significant opportunity to address financial inclusion issues, especially on retail lending.

On self-service, the report established that only 34 per cent of the banks have implemented comprehensive cardcontrol functionalities on mobile. ”Nearly 60 per cent of the banks do not provide customers with prompt feedback on issues experienced,” the report says.

The report warned traditional banks that they would lose their market share to new players as customers expect banks to focus on creating experiences that are functional, responsive, intuitive and delightful. ”As new FinTech and neo-banks begin to scale on the continent, the window of opportunity to attain experience maturity levels demanded by today’s customers may be closing faster than imagined for retail banks. To attain these experience maturity levels, retail banks need to be more intentional with product design, journey optimization, leveraging analytics to provide more personalized offerings and building resilient digital channels,” the report states.

Mesh++ networks are the only way to connect your community to the internet in minutes, without cabling or power.

Mesh++ helps you bring WiFi Anywhere.

Setup your network in minutes with the S618 Solar-Powered 2x2 WiFi 6 Router

•

700+ Mbps speed

up to 350 meters

•

Battery life up to 10 days

• Supports up to 500 users

•

/meshplusplus

Weatherproof

•

Easy, 10 minute installation

•

Compatible with traditional power

@CIOAFRICA

• Line of sight ranges

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

THE S618 FEATURES:

www.meshplusplus.com +254 (0) 113632273

For more info, check out our website at www.meshplusplus.com or write to info@meshplusplus.com MeshPlusPlus Ltd., 3rd oor, Rhapta Heights, Rhapta Road, Westlands, Nairobi, www.cioafrica.co | MARCHKenya 2022 | CIO AFRICA

19

>> THE LEAD

BIGGER. BETTER. FASTER. STRONGER ARTICLE by

CAROL ODERO

Who doesn’t want to be a winner? BAT Kenya are certainly comfortable with their winning streak and culture. It makes interviewing their CIO, Edgar Okioga, a breeze wrapped in forward-thinking leadership.

20 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIOAFRICA @CIOAFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO @CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

”My last challenge was to be vulnerable. It was really, really hard. My mentor asked me to share something vulnerable in my next forum. The idea was to bring out the leadership element of being humble without using pride.”

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

21

>> THE LEAD The thing about COVID-19 is that it didn’t let people just … well, be. It had to come and upend billions of lives. Leadership is one of the areas it impacted. When your staff is grappling with an ever-moving target that has decimated millions, you have no choice but to transform. COVID-19 shifted priorities. Two things have materialised from this. One is the customer experience and customer’s journey, and the other, is leading with vulnerability. Edgar Okioga, CIO, BAT Kenya, has embraced these, and it has totally transformed his team’s work experience. With his two mentors, one in the UK, the other in Nigeria, Edgar is constantly growing and evolving. ”My last challenge was to be vulnerable. It was really, really hard. My mentor asked me to share something vulnerable in my next forum. The idea was to bring out the leadership element of being humble without losing pride. I was vulnerable to a group. It was the scariest thing I have ever done. Funny enough, it opened up the conversation. Others built on my vulnerability to speak up about things we can do better in BAT.” He adds, ”That single step to be vulnerable as a leader, created a space for others to speak and be heard. I left that session feeling wowed. Vulnerability is actually not a weakness but a strength.

Edgar’s organisation won the CIO Africa Company of the Year Award, 2022, during the CIO Africa Symposium & Awards. They let out a whoop of joy, and now here we are at their spectacular offices about to have a conversation on their winning culture.

Just behind us, is what can best be described as an award wall. It has trophies showcasing BAT Kenya’s certification as a Top Employer in Kenya and Africa from 2018 all the way to 2021, and there’s space for the 2022 trophy, which is on its way. ”This particular wall is a reminder of where we have been, in terms of recognition and awards, and a challenge that we need to fill it up. You notice there 22 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

are several spaces for more. There is one plaque there – CIO Africa – my expectation is to get more of these from all over the world.” A fitting tribute seeing that we are at BAT Kenya offices to interview the man who brought the CIO Africa Company of the Year Award.

First of all, there was no party to mark their CIO award, thanks to COVID-19 safety protocols. But there were high fives, and I would like to think, fist bumps. ”What I did was affirm my team we had done it. That we should maintain that success.” His family asked to go out for dinner. His treat…! ”They’re really proud of me and this particular achievement and said they are rooting for me.”

I am curious. Did you expect to win this award?

Certainly. I expected a win from CIO Africa, because of the excellent work delivered by our team. Specifically, in light of how we are implementing our evolved strategy and purpose to build A Better TomorrowTM for our stakeholders. This is anchored on our Health, Environment, Social and Governance (HESG) agenda for which our primary focus is to reduce the health impacts associated with our business.

While we are clear that reducing the health impacts of our business is our principle focus area, we are also placing a greater emphasis on the importance of driving excellence in environmental management. At the same time, we remain committed to delivering a positive social impact and ensuring robust corporate governance across the business. My team has particularly been instrumental in delivering this strategy through digital transformation which cuts across various areas including portfolio transformation and building a talent powerhouse. Our achievements in these areas were definitive, and I felt really strongly that if this doesn’t cut it, nothing will. We put our best foot forward. We put together a story that demonstrates what BAT, my team and I, have done. I was really keen on this one

thing. If there was going to be the one, it should be the one to win.

And did you expect the GreenEdge Award when you did?

It starts with an ‘employee first’ environment. We had the basic building blocks in terms of remote working and business continuity even before the pandemic hit. Combining all the work that we had done, I felt strongly that we should have received something in this award category given that we had remotely installed an entire factory’s machinery, which was perhaps the highlight of our achievements for 2020, a fete not done anywhere else in Africa. And we did it using the right technologies and people spread out all over the world. This was the one that we could bag an award for.

If you had to tell the tech story of BAT, what would be the narrative?

The tech story starts with the consumer first in terms of gathering insights to meet their evolving needs. It then goes to how do we fulfil these unique consumers’ moments with technology.

Then it goes back to how we enable our staff to deliver optimally, and ends with, what can I do today that is different?

Data. Software. Algorithms. Services.

Your technology sounds a lot like people being a resource.

In my world, technology is an enabler.

For technology to work, we need people who are skilled and empowered. This is part of the BAT ethos. We believe in people being fast, being empowered, being bold, being responsible and being diverse. My work is to activate the technology that allows us to live by our Ethos. Part of it is making tech simple, and fun to use. This helps us perform.

Let’s get to the fun stuff. Did you always know you would be in IT? To be honest with you, I wanted to be an astrophysicist.

I wanted to be a theoretical physicist…!

That really is close enough. But what had you thought you would be when growing up?

I had this idea I would do this heavy engineering stuff because I had a bias towards mathematics and computers.

Back then I was head of the computer club at Lenana School. I’d write lots of programmes, draw very fancy graphs.

I felt I could do something combining computers with professional degrees like engineering. I did both at the same time. But I knew for sure that I

wanted to work with computers. What, specifically, I had not clicked. Now I feel that serendipity led me to where I am today, dealing with computers, but more so, dealing with people.

People are interesting. What is the best part about leading them?

Being surprised every morning.

Throwing a challenge yesterday, that is so difficult, nearly impossible for me to solve, and then the next day, seeing these gleaming faces telling me ‘Edgar, we got it! We got it right!’ It is a very humbling feeling that my team is really good. To me, the fact that they have achieved a milestone demonstrates mastery, autonomy and purpose. That is the feeling I look for every morning.

That is so inspiring. I’ll borrow a leaf from you when it comes to leadership.

You have interesting insights. Now, getting back to the tech. What is your 2022 priority as CIO? I’m looking at how we can enhance

our supply chain, trade operations and simplify the entire business. It is all about meeting consumer needs. My strategy is to be toe-to-toe with the business, understanding impediments faced when it comes to analysing data, finding this data, and collaboratively experimenting fast and at scale to finding solutions. It really is about unlocking potential by using tech to eliminate waste. For instance, meetings that take two hours. Is there a way to be more agile?

This comes across as an endorsement of standing meetings. Tell me you have those.

Yes. We do. Every morning my team has a 15-minute stand up where we answer three basic questions: •

What did we do yesterday?

•

What are we going to do today?

What are the challenges we need to eliminate? www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIOAFRICA

I drew this from my passion - Space: 1999 (A British sci-fi TV show that ran from 1975 to 1977, visualising an untethered planet Earth following a lunar apocalypse). Millennials probably don’t know about this show. It amazed me. My first movie on this subject was Star Wars, which blew me away. In my mind there was this thing about space, robots and computers. Guess what? I at least landed on one of them – computers. So, close enough.

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

“In my world, technology is an enabler. For technology to work, we need people who are skilled and empowered. This is a part of the BAT ethos.

We believe in people being fast, being empowered, being bold.”

•

23

>> THE LEAD

“I had this idea I would do heavy engineering stuff because I had a bias towards mathematics and computers.

Back then, I was the head of the computer club at Lenana School.”

24 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

Our customer is the centre of everything we do. And in our case, our customer is the trader, as they are the ones with direct contact to our consumers. When COVID-19 hit, one of the first things we thought was, lets protect our traders.

One thing we pivoted to is digital technology. We switched up our trade sales approach to pre-ordering. My team built an easy-to-use application that we deployed. The traders would order what they needed, and we would deliver. We also used a lot of remote technology to protect our frontline trade staff. That is something we were able to build thanks to our robust continuity plans. More so, in line with our ethos. In every particular situation we would ask, ”Is this responsible? Is this fast? Is this bold?

You talked about the very successful remote factory installation. What are some of your other accomplishments as CIO? 1.

This is pretty old. When I joined BAT, we set up a VoIP system and dialed the UK directly. That was the first trigger that tasted of success.

That showed us it can be done.

2.

What I just described as the remote factory. We were the first in the continent. Something to be really proud of. It demonstrates to the business what tech can do – transform and accelerate change.

3.

Today, we are automating our

What we are really proud of is the people part. Transferring skills and enhancing the capabilities of my team and the business at large and enabling them to automate processes sand experiences by themselves. What better empowerment can you give to staff if not the knowledge that the power to contribute is in their hands.

Speaking of people and work. Have you always been prepared for what is now called The Future of Work with a hybrid of working from home (WFH)/anywhere and working in the office? I saw a sign inviting BAT employees to book office space in advance.

We have a very rigorous business continuity plan which puts people first.

We review our business continuity plan every year. We’ve got a number of scenarios. This particular one, guess what? We practiced it. When COVID-19 landed, it was just a matter of triggering the behaviour. Our staff is well equipped with devices and services allowing them to work from anywhere in the world.

WFH became a natural extension from working at the office. The tech and the service were ready. We have 24/7 support globally.

I interviewed a CIO sometime back who said to be a good CIO, you have to be a generalist manning a team of specialists. Are you a generalist?

I have a different view. You have to have the T model (Introducing T-Shaped Managers: Knowledge Management’s Next Generation (hbr.org)). You have to be a specialist in one area, and a generalist across the business. What I find works very well for my team is to be technically competent, but also understand the business end-to-end. I expect this from my team because we

partner with the business. When my team sits in a meeting, I expect them to contribute to the conversation because they have the T model. I expect them to challenge the business when they feel there’s something better that can be done. Let’s not go for 2X. Why not 10X? I expect them to confront areas where we could do better because they have the knowledge. And finally, to coach the business. I am a firm believer that in the early stages you can be technical, but I want my team to accelerate their leadership. It means partnership in decision-making.

The team must be keeping you and themselves on toes. How do you stay relevant and clued in as a CIO and as a team?

Don’t tell, but I play a lot of games...

Games have cutting edge tech showing you the possibilities. I remember the first time Microsoft unveiled the X-Box Kinetic. I got it. It was a blast, seeing myself moving on the screen and it mimicking my movement. Guess what.

What used to be gaming, is now part of business. I am also a voracious reader. Not only about IT, but also, thought leadership on how technology is changing people. I keep myself grounded by looking at myself and asking, how can I make a difference to my (BAT) community? How can I make a difference using tech? And of course, listening for knowledge on things I don’t know but need to get in touch with.

Define being grounded.

I play the guitar, which I failed at and I know I should do better. That, and, being with my family. They ground me. I look at my kids and wonder – if I had a chance to go back, would I be my child? The answer is yes. Being grounded is most of all about reflection, being grateful and being present. It encourages me to not get ahead of myself and reminds me that there is so much to do. Pace it.

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

Let’s talk about the pandemic. COVID-19 has inspired everyone to put the customer first. That is, if they weren’t already. What is the BAT customer experience so far, and why do your customers matter so much to you?

processes. We are creating citizen developer scientists and programmes where staff are empowered to automate their experiences by building simple apps that can make their lives simpler and faster without depending on IT.

@CIOAFRICA

It is part of the agile process. One of the things we are really thinking of, is how to scale agile ways of thinking. The idea is to create an environment where we can fail first, fail forward, adopt tech through experimentation, discovering skills and delivering. We practice this constantly.

You’ve talked about your successful projects. What about the ones that www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

25

>> THE LEAD bombed?

There is this particular one.

We got the concept right.

We got the understanding and business requirement right. What we did not have a good grasp on, was the tech and the user experience. We were building an internal communication platform and our employees were comparing it with platforms like Facebook and Yammer. Comparing an internally built solution to one that has been tried and tested by millions, of course, there would be an expectation gap. That is where I failed. I did not manage my audience’s expectations. Nor was I humble enough to say, ‘No, I can’t do it.

Let’s get something from the market that is already there, that has been tried, tested and proven to deploy.’ Lessons learnt, fast forward, and we are now using Yammer. For any CIO out there, the courage to stop, or not to start something, is really what differentiates a good CIO from a great CIO. How do you get buy-in for projects? Rather, how did you get buy-in after that project failed?

If you get the small things right, you build credibility and trust.

My team and I have built this.

We make sure obvious things are delivered in full and on time.

We have the basics right. Next is to demonstrate why we want this particular project, how it enables our strategic leadership agenda and objectives for the year. If it meets these criteria, that’s the first gate. Next, is it fast enough? Is it bold? Does it deliver revenue targets, meets cost avoidance objectives or enhance productivity? With all these answered, yes, we then partner with the business and roll out. The trick is having 26 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

My team is entirely Millennial. They all don’t know Space:1999! Theirs is a different lens.

And they’ve never watched the first Star Wars movie…

You gamify work!

No trekkies. I ask if they know leprechauns, Ewoks? They don’t know what I’m talking about.

We gamify work. I remember this one time we signed up to complete 25 courses on LinkedIn. I did six hours in a week. Then this guy, (Peter), shows me he has done 150 hours! What it does is train them to learn at speed and scale.

Secretly, I am happy.

I bet!

How do you keep your people happy?

I have a team of 19. Really sharp. I look at them with admiration. And they are really driven to perform their best, to learn, and deliver on their ambition.

One really interesting thing with this team is, unlike me who will take a day or three to figure things out, they instead take the entire night. It makes me ask if they slept or had breakfast! Daddy mode comes in and I am like a parent.

It is interesting working with them. I am seeing a new way of thinking that is very courageous. Things that I have a mental block over and think can’t be done, they tell me there’s a way and will call up their friends. Yes, they have networks. They show these to me, and I am amazed. They blow my mind. I see how problems can be chunked and solved, as these minds think together like a hive. In my old-fashioned mind, it really is the process, which can be quite slow.

We have received back-to-back certification as a Top Employer since 2018. We retain talent by building a purposeful and inspiring place to work, through leadership that focuses on people. An environment that grows them and gives them three basic things:

That’s because you’re thinking alone and they’re a thinking body.

They see our consumers changing shape, looking more at products that enhance experiences and moments, products with a digital element. The Millennial wants to be at the precipice, where all this is happening. To be part of it.

Never.

And they’re not trekkies either?

Exactly. They are hive-based. For them, it is about immediate feedback. They ask if they can try doing things in a different way and can they implement it and if not, why not? The key word is ‘try.’

I have learnt to say yes.

Did they come that way or did you build them?

•

Autonomy: I let the team do what they feel is right – within corporate guardrails

•

The opportunity to share ideas: It leaves the person feeling recognised, which also feels rewarding because others are listening. I’ve had instances where my team has shared their ideas with Japan and Brazil, and it feels really good for them.

•

They are part of a community.

Where do Millennials see the industry coming to in two to five?

So, what do you do when you’re not working?

How does one fail at playing the guitar?

I haven’t put in the requisite 10,000 hours… I also cycle, doing 5km in the morning and 5km in the evening after work. Over the weekends I do 25km. I also meditate while listening to music.

What kind of music?

It depends. When I am in a very sour mood because I failed at something, I’ll play Two Chains, Migos, Dr Dre, Kendrick Lamar. When I am in a good mood, I am grateful, and listen to neo soul: Jill Scott, Angie Stone, Maxwell. When I feel the need to repent, nyimbo za dini it is.

Never heard anyone nail down their musical moods so succinctly! Thank you for that breakdown! Any other fun things you care to share?

I love podcasts. I’m listening to Martin Moore, The No Bullshit Leader. It’s awesome. There’s also Masters of Scale

by Reid Hoffman, and How We Built It by Guy Raz which I really enjoy. It looks at all the innovators globally and how they started. What is that golden thread?

Something that I got over the last two years is this. They had this belief they could do it. They had a network of people they could depend on. They also had one person who believed they could. They all failed, then they pivoted.

What about the books you read voraciously?

Right now, I have just finished Masters of Scale, Surprising Truths from the World's Most Successful Entrepreneurs

by Reid Hoffman. The next book I’m going to be reading is The Introvert Advantage: How Quiet People Can Thrive in an Extrovert World by Marti Olsen Laney. I’m an introvert. I want to know my superpowers. My team and I, we are all introverts. We need extroverts!

I wish you all the luck in the world finding extroverts in IT. If there are extroverts out there with a passion for IT, love change, want to make a difference and impact the Universe, look up BAT!

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

Keeping in mind the fact that Millennials don’t know Space:1999 or watched the first Star Wars, how big is your team?

It’s a balance. I train them to slow down, but they have also been training me to speed up. It’s a tango. I train them on First Principles Thinking. They train me on what’s happening now in the industry. We learn together. I challenge them to compete with others. And I’ll ask them how I the old geezer beat them at every opportunity where I can smell victory!

@CIOAFRICA

a regular cadence of progress. We get buy-in for meeting the mark and changing course where needed.

I play the guitar and fail miserably. www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

27

28 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

The largest pan-African network

@CIOAFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

of interconnected data centres

www.africadatacentres.com | enquiries@africadatacentres.com www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA Kenya | Lesotho | Nigeria | South Africa | Togo | Zimbabwe

29

>> THE BIG STORY

Eric M. K. Osiakwan Entrepreneur

Africa’s Creative Digital Economy

Could tech be the salvation that our digital economies need? If yes, how? If not, why not and how come? Eric does a deep dive into the future of African creatives.

30 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

On 12 January 2022, Warner Music Group (WMG) announced their majority acquisition of Africori – the first major acquisition of the year in the entertainment industry. Momentum has been building toward this as WMG first invested in Africori in April 2020 at the height of the pandemic, followed in December 2020, with Africori signing a global sub-publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music France.

In 2019, WMG signed a partnership deal with leading Nigerian record label, Chocolate City, and a licensing deal with Boomplay which raised $20 million.

That same year, French media giant, Canal+ acquired Nigerian production studio, ROK Film Studios from Video on Demand (VOD) company IROKO TV. In September 2018, Netflix acquired the global rights to Genevieve Nnaji’s comedy, Lionheart.

”Digitisation is bridging the gap between the creative economies of developing countries and world markets,” says Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). ”This is important because the transmission of cultural wealth can mobilize social change and provide jobs for young people.” According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), digital platforms are fueling the growth of performers, artists, musicians, and others by allowing them to reach global audiences. The Creative Africa Nexus Summit (CANEX) in November 2021 in South Africa, focused on Africa’s creative and cultural industries bringing together creativity and technology. Revenue from digital music streaming in Africa is expected to reach $500 million by 2025, up from only $100 million in 2017, according to the World Bank. Music streaming now accounts for more than half the revenue of the global music industry. Worldwide, online video subscriptions hit 1.1 billion in 2020, a 26 per cent rise from the previous year.

MUSIC: Africori is the largest digital music distribution and rights management company in Sub-Saharan Africa, servicing a wide range of African artists (about 7,000) and serving 850 clients from operations in Lagos, London and Johannesburg where it’s leading artist Master KG launched Jerusalema (feat. Nomcebo) which became a global smash during the pandemic.

”The creative economy is recognised now as a tool of sustainable development,” says Marisa Henderson, Chief of the Creative Economy Program at UNCTAD. UNCTAD defines this ”creative economy” aka ”orange economy” as the sum of all the parts of the creative industries, including trade, labour, and production. They

According to Yoel Kenan, founder and CEO of Africori ”African music is inspiring creatives from around the world”. Alfonso Perez Soto, EVP, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Warner Music, said ”I’m delighted that we’ll be working together with Africori – and Yoel Kenan in particular – as they’ve www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

31

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

Africa’s creative digital economy, which includes music, film, art, fashion, cultural artifacts, apps and games is not only creating wealth for the creators but also contributes to the gross domestic product, exports and boosting development outcomes according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

@CIOAFRICA

That same year, Black Panther became a global success as the first African themed and predominantly black cast movie, grossing an estimated $13.5 billion at the global box office.

On 19 January 19, Carry1st, a South African publisher of social games and interactive content across Africa raised a $20 million Series A extension led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). These brought significant attention to Africa’s creative digital economy - the subject of this essay.

have tracked trade in creative goods and services for close to 20 years and consistently found that the growth rate of creative economy exports outpaces that of other industries. Africa’s cultural goods sector is estimated to employ about half a million people and generate $4.2 billion in revenue.

>> THE BIG STORY and movie studios, including Disney and the Cape Town Film Studios are investing heavily in African productions.

Disney Animations has partnered with Ugandan based Kugali to bring an Africa-themed animated sci-fi series, Iwaju, to the Disney Plus service in 2023.

Iroko TV announced last year that it was going to list on the London Stock Exchange to raise capital to compete with these global players entering the African market. Africa’s Streaming Video-On-Demand (SVOD) users is estimated to reach 13 million by 2025 according to projections by Digital TV Research.

According to PWC, Nigeria’s film industry, Nollywood is the largest private employer in Africa is one of the fastest growing creative industries in the world. Nollywood has the potential to become Nigeria’s greatest export with a compound annual growth rate of 19.3 per cent from 2018 to 2023. SouthBox Entertainment based in Atlanta, USA whose founder Jon Gosier lived in Uganda at some point - was inspired to invest in Defiant Entertainment’s Rise a film on terror group, Boko Haram.

Southbox has financed one feature film with a theatrical-release and three feature films with streaming-releases to date.

been pioneers, fighting for the interests of artists and the music industry in Africa. We can harness the power of our global network to take their great African music to a truly global audience.”

Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Head of Music for Sub-Saharan Africa, believes that the African music industry is at a tipping point. ”We have artists already signing with the biggest labels in substantial deals, because everyone can see quite 32 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

clearly that demand is high, and the world is ready for African pop music.”

Sauti Sol, the pop band from Kenya, has gained international attention.

FILM: Africa’s creative digital economy is gaining global attention also in the film/streaming sector. At the height of the pandemic, Netflix released its first two original African TV-series, Queen Soto and Blood and Water. Streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon

SouthBox Entertainment is working with some local partners to launch an initiative called the Africa Media Trust Fund to direct investment towards more African film and television productions.

South African entertainment company MultiChoice has been launching new TV channels in Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, Angola and Mozambique in the last 18 months as part of its hyperlocal African strategy which it says combines local content acquisition, production, and the development of local content through international production partnerships.

In Senegal, the Kourtrajme collective has opened a film school to train talented African script writers.

OTHERS: In May 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria, in partnership with the Banker’s Committee, announced a N22

For example, their Take Back The Mic series makes for discovery of new creatives through the eyes of the audience that like and share their musical, film or graphics content.

According to Bill Sonneborn, Senior Director, Disruptive Technology and Funds at IFC, ”Creator tech can help solve issues of access and inclusion. When artists can develop local and global audience with corresponding monetization, they become part of a sector that offers direct and indirect employment opportunities and is worthy of investment.”

According to him, new technologies like Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) can help enforce copyright and thwart piracy, helping artists get paid for their work, while Mobile Money (MoMo) platforms make it easier for consumers anywhere in Africa to pay for film, music, and art.

• EVENTS AND CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT • AUDIO VISUAL AND EVENTS GEAR • BRANDED PROMOTION GIFTS & APPAREL • EXPO BOOTH BUILDING & CUSTOM BUILDS

OFFICIAL AV & EXPO PARTNERS CONTACT: TEL: +254 786 188 400 EMAIL: BRANDING@EVENTS-SOLUTIONS.CO.KE WWW.EVENTS-SOLUTIONS.CO.KE

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

The Mastercard Foundation has partnered with Kisua, a leading African fashion brand to create Ananse an e-commerce platform that connects African designers with local and international consumers by simplifying inventory, payments and logistics using technology. Casting Africa, a platform launched by Ghanaian entrepreneur and industry professional, Kwasi Bosiako Antwi is helping identify talent from around the continent through initiatives like their monologue challenge. AMP Global Technologies’ interactive content and fans engagement technology allows content creators to engage with their audience.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES:

@CIOAFRICA

billion fund for entrepreneurs and investors in the creative and IT sectors. This was followed in January 2020 by Afreximbank – the African Export-Import Bank’s announcement of a $500 million credit facility to support African cultural and creative products. Towards the end of 2021, Annan Capital Partners, a Luxembourgbased impact fund manager announced their €100 million Impact Fund for African Creatives (IFFAC) at the Paris Fashion Week. Meanwhile, Kenya based HEVA Fund dedicated to creatives has been investing about a million dollars since 2015 in 40 businesses and directly supported over 8,000 creative practitioners. It’s founder George Gachara said African governments must nurture the creative sector. The Black Star International Film Festival by Juliet Asante and the Chale Wote Arts Festival by Mantse Aryeequaye exhibit the Ghanaian creative sector annually in August.

33

>> THINKING ALOUD

Michael Michie

A solution in search of a problem

If the shoe doesn’t fit, CBDCs should not be wearing it.

In the classic tale of Cinderella and her glass slipper, the prince searched for the young woman whose foot would fit in the glass slipper. Many a foot was squeezed in, but they all failed. In the Brothers Grimm version which came out in their fairytale compendium of 1812, Cinderella’s cousins did more than try to squeeze their feet into the slipper. One of them cut off her big toe, the other, a bit of her heel. Naturally, the blood all over the floor was a dead giveaway.

This fairytale, be it Disney or the Brothers Grimm version, is likely a prediction on how Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) will possibly have some challenges. Hopefully, no toes or heels will be lost in the process.

80+ countries contributing about 90 per cent of the global economy, the race for the future of money is on. CBDCs are not racing alone. There are also cryptocurrencies.

CBDCs could also prevent the purchase and investing into cryptocurrencies as the various controlling bodies can simply ban such transactions. Unlike the current monetary system where there are various ways to access cryptocurrencies, despite central bank warnings, or bans in various jurisdictions. This shows a lack of diversification of wealth that could prove harmful should there be challenges with a CBDC.

CBDCs are seen as the natural progression of (non)fiat currencies. Leveraging on technology, CBDCs can be designed uniquely as to be very different from another CBDC. However, they all have common features that make them what they are regardless of the packaging. In their simplest form, CBDCs can be defined as an electronic asset that serves the function of physical legal tender.

Cryptocurrencies are not alone on the potential short end stick. Should CBDCs become the norm, payment service providers, card issuers and other financial institutions will have to compete against CBDCs low transaction costs. An example is Western Union which would reportedly lose about $400 million a year from El Salvador when it adopted bitcoin as its currency. A CBDC would have a similar effect on other third parties as well.

While cryptocurrencies seek to be decentralised and not controlled by a single governing entity, CBDCs have a single control and are centralised. They both try to fit into the same slipper, albeit with different approaches. The benefits of CBDCs include financial inclusion; central banks can finally play a more direct role in helping improve financial inclusion in the regions they operate in.

CBDCs will automatically become critical infrastructure due to their centralised nature. They will then require a lot of protection and would also invite a lot of cyber-attacks which could have catastrophic consequences to the targeted economies. Ideally, if not properly secured, CBDCs attacks could have worse repercussions than those witnessed in the 2009 financial crisis.

Transparency in business is another benefit CBDCs provide to their respective markets. Tax evasion, money laundering and illicit or illegal activities will be easily identifiable and stopped.

Corruption can be reduced through CBDCs. Killing payment monopolies is another advantage CBDCs have that could significantly reduce the cost of transactions. CBDCs cross three Ts that are seen as their fundamental purpose; tracking, tracing and taxing. With CBDCs, tax collection will improve significantly and for highly unfairly taxed jurisdictions, it will prove very aggressive and diminish the returns of businesses and individuals.

The ideal start for CBDCs would be to treat it as cash, at least in the beginning, to allow for the widespread use and adoption. Once we are there, CBDCs can then implement their Ts to ensure visibility of all transactions at any level.

With more than 80 countries exploring CBDCs and these 34 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

While CBDCs may offer trust, something commonly associated with physical currencies, they can easily become restrictive to how people can spend them. It would also mean the death of privacy while spending. All transactions would be known to the respective central bank who could go as far as declining your transaction without explanation, your entire spending habits exposed.

A decentralised CBDC would only go as far as limiting the potential threat of successful cyber-attacks, but would do little to improve on privacy and reduce the manipulation that has been at the centre of all financial crisis and recessions.

Sacrificing a toe and part of the heel is not the fairytale future of money anyone would dream of. But that’s the offer with CBDCs. Maybe if the glass slipper is a red bottom we might be tempted to that future.

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

35

@CIOAFRICA @CIOAFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO @CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

ARTICLE by

CAROL ODERO

ARE YOU BURNT OUT?

When American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger coined the term ‘burnout,’ in the 1970s, chances are he had not foreseen it grow beyond the medical or rather ‘helping’ professions. Now, there isn’t an industry in existence untouched by burnout.

There was this one time when I went to work as usual, arriving at my parking slot at 6.45 am. It was easy to get creative work done when it was just me and the cleaner who we shall call Nyangi. For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to step out of the car that day. I took my partner at the time a full hour to talk me off the ledge. For seven more months I was unable to can. Yet, I stayed on, pushing myself, detachedly watching myself snap back at colleagues, and once – okay maybe twice - directed my ire towards the CEO. Everyone stayed out of my way. Except for two very brave souls who came to take my temperature.

Every year, McKinsey & Company release a Women in the Workplace study, which is officially one of the largest studies on the state of women in corporate America since 2015. Leanin.

36 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

Org and McKinsey pair up engaging hundreds of women in the workplace.

Their 2021 report came out stating clearly how women are burnt out because they went into nurturing mode thanks to the pandemic. ”Despite this added stress and exhaustion, women are rising to the moment as stronger leaders and taking on the extra work that comes with this: compared with men at the same level, women are doing more to support their teams and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. They are also more likely to be allies to women of color. Yet this critical work is going unrecognized and unrewarded by most companies, and that has concerning implications.”

The study adds that ”Companies risk losing the very leaders they need right now, and it’s hard to imagine organisations navigating the pandemic and building inclusive workplaces if this

work isn’t truly prioritised.”

The report, aside from detailing the circumstances women leaders are finding themselves under, sees a clear path forward. And it is very simple.

Companies need to take bold steps to address burnout. Along with this, they need to reward women in leadership for going the extra mile for ”driving progress” as well as ”doing the deep cultural work required to create a workplace where all women feel valued.”

COVID has taken its toll. It is two years now, and no one can visual the world of work ever being the same again. It has also compelled women leaders to spread their wings and knuckle down as the pandemic continues to take a toll on employees, and especially women. ”Women are even more burned out now than they were a year ago, and burnout is escalating much faster among

>> HERNOVATION

Women leaders are rising to meet this moment and as a result, taking up the kind of work that uniquely comes with the pandemic.

Their skillset now includes supporting people on their teams, something that the study discovered men in similar positions are not doing. Some of these skills include helping team members navigate work–life challenges, making sure their workloads are manageable, and basically checking in on their teams’ overall well-being.

One other thing women are doing is giving 100 per cent more sponsorship opportunities than their male counterparts. This is fascinating because more men are in positions of leadership, and it has always been presumed most of the sponsors would ultimately be men. Women are also all about diversity and inclusivity, bringing to the table the underserved communities.

This is not a legitimate part of their job. Neither is it quantifiable when it comes to performance appraisals.

They encounter other responsibilities not identified as critical, yet they collectively constitute leadership, going beyond management - such as supporting employee resource groups and recruiting employees from underrepresented groups.

In Burnout: The Secret To Unlocking The Stress Cycle, Dr Emily Nagoski and Dr Amelia Nagoski, inspired by the latter’s real-life experience say ”For men, burnout tends to manifest

Interestingly, senior-level women are twice as likely as senior-level men to dedicate time to these tasks at least weekly. Throughout the pandemic, women senior leaders have done 60 per cent more to provide emotional support to employees than their male counterparts. A focus businesses desperately needed during these last two years of added pressure and strain.

I got in touch with an HR practitioner, Charles Adhola and has a brief chat about burnout.

The McKinsey study on Women in the Workplace 2021 discovered that women in leadership are burnt out primarily because they do what are traditionally considered feminine tasks such as nurturing their teams and making sure they are ok. Are these skills something that male leaders can be taught?

No. Male leaders often have no domestic obligations limiting their capacity to deliver at their workplace.

These are responsibilities taken up by their spouses. Female employees take their nurturing demeanour to the workplace. This means even where they can put their staff to task over performance gaps, they choose to absorb the pressures themselves.

Is it possible to prevent burnout before it happens? How? Yes, it is possible. Commit to what you can realistically achieve. Negotiate reasonable demands. Distribute accountability reasonably inside your teams and learn to monitor their progress and work life. Set limits on your availability to work and working hours and let it be known when it is

your time for personal life.

Once you are burnt out, what is the next step?

Get help. There are instances where society celebrates overwork and, by extension, burn out to the extent that it cannot sense the burn out. See a counsellor. Taking a break from work and renegotiating expectations is a good thing. Ask for new capacity (new staff, different set of skills and retraining staff). There are many leaders who are getting burnt out because they are very passionate about certain specific tasks that they are reluctant to delegate. It is important to learn to deliver through others – spread the work across in the team and deliver more.

HOW TO ADDRESS EMPLOYEE BURNOUT Burnout cannot be ‘fixed’ with self-care.

Taking time off does not help much. It’s like stemming a bursting dam with a finger. Neither, by the way, will getting a new job.

•

Organisations need to enforce policies ensuring work is only performed to the extent that employee wellbeing is heeded.

•

It is important to build the capacity of leaders to understand the need for employee wellbeing and introduce recognition schemes for employee wellness.

•

As an employee, you need to establish and state your work limits and negotiate for reasonable expectations.

•

Have a support system pick you up and help create integration.

•

Sleep more – by regulating your sleep-wake cycle.

•

Negotiate for some measure of autonomy in your job.

•

Take a little time each day to do something that delights you and focus on something outside of work. Basically, cultivate actual hobbies and make time for recreation.

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

There is something called the burnout gap between men and women, and it has almost doubled.

as depersonalisation in particular, and for women, burnout manifests as emotional exhaustion,” adding ”anyone can experience burnout.

But your specific way of experiencing it is probably going to be different, depending on who you are.” Burnout, the twin sisters share, “happens in instances where you need to care and invest; where there are ongoing demands that are unmeetable expectations and unceasing demands.”

@CIOAFRICA

women than among men. One in three women says that they have considered downshifting their career or leaving the workforce this year, compared with one in four who said this a few months into the pandemic. Additionally, four in ten women have considered leaving their company or switching jobs—and high employee turnover in recent months suggests that many of them are following through.”

37

>>CIO SOCIAL POLLS

WE ASKED: “Low-code” and “no-code” software doesn’t require a qualified programmer to write code. This means non-programmers can do most of the work, which saves money and gets over the problem of skilled developers being in short supply. It also means it’s much quicker and easier to make changes later on, making the business more agile in its response to market developments.

Do you think Low-Code/No-Code is the end of the professional software developer?

38 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO @CIOAFRICA

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

39

EAST AFRICA | WEST AFRICA | NORTH AFRICA | SOUTH AFRICA

HYBRID EVENT - NAIROBI

21st April 2022 40 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIOAFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

The CIO Africa Highlights SURVEYS · OVERVIEWS · TECHNOLOGY · EXPENDITURE · PROJECTIONS

GET YOUR COPY TODAY! FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: MARKETING@CIOAFRICA.CO @CIOAFRICA

@CIOAFRICA

Megatrends Report Highlights 2021

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

Compiled by Insight Wells Research, this year’s edition of CIO Africa highlights a case of the three A’s - namely adaptation, analysis and adoption. Throughout the CIO100 Africa submissions, we witness companies not only brace for the pandemic’s impact, but also adopt new ways of doing things as a business survival strategy with IT taking centre stage as a key enabler to business profitability.

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

41

>> HARD TALK

ROBERT YAWE CEO, Synaptech Solutions

To CIOs; did we skip a stage?

As some of you might be aware, a while back, I decided to supplement my articles with corresponding podcast episodes as I felt that the target audience for print, whether physical or digital, was shrinking due to the same technology we celebrate as shortening attention span.

The most recent podcast was based on an article carried in Vol 4 Issue 5 titled Techie till I die in which I lamented the fact that most techies are forced to move to administrative positions such as CIO where their performance would usually be below par.

You see, research over the past couple of years has shown those ascending to the post of CIO are coming across from other disciplines such as finance, and more recently, even marketing. What this suggests is that for those coming up, the technology route is likely to meet a glass ceiling.

Before the post of CIO became a free for all, a number of organisations had attempted to promote the Head of IT to the CIO position and in many cases, the experiment did not end well. Based on that, the path to the CIO position on the Ex-Co was blown wide open for anyone to ascent to, but less those from the technology department.

The same situation does not happen in other disciplines. The head of legal must be a law graduate. The head of finance must have a finance qualification. The head of HR will definitely have a HR qualification. But, it is only the CIO who today does not require any specific prerequisite qualifications.

Thus, my question, did we skip a step in coming up with the 42 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

CIO title? Or maybe we should have wrestled the CTO position from those others? For those aging geeks - we all know what happened at one of the leading local telcos when that was attempted.

So, if the post of CIO is open season, then what happens to that specialist techie whose pay is rising rapidly past the salary grade for the position they hold? In many cases, what we see is early retirement as if they did their implementations right. Then, outages are rare, making them invisible to the organisation.

This happens mainly because the organisation does not know how to keep the techies occupied due to those change management processes and others that make it difficult to make any new implementations. If an organisation has an effect HR, or whatever new acronym they go by nowadays, they should be able to note this and advise the organisation on what to do with the techies apart from laying them off because they have become too expensive.

My call is that we consider a parallel path to the CIO position for those who don’t want to become managers, and play office politics while watching the bottom line. Instead, want to explore keeping the organisation at the leading edge of new technologies.

Now, since I am writing in a magazine called CIO Africa, this is definitely a Trojan horse moment. I leave the rest to the team to decide.

Business | Technology | Leadership Leverage the CIO East Africa digital services to build stronger business relationships with the most valued customers and prospects.

Partner zone

Weekly newsletter

Thought leadership, Product Demos, Customer Engagement

Engaging content Marketing where your customers come for content

Reach over 10,000 Curated readers who receive our newsletter every week

Social media marketing

ONLINE ADVERTISING

Reach over 100k users through our social media platforms

Place your banners adverts where they will be seen. We drive more than 3 Million page views

CUSTOM RING-BACK TONES Let potential customers hear your messaging when calling their friends, family or colleagues

Seize the opportunity to position your brand, products and services on the CIO East Africa portal.

@CIOAFRICA

WEBINAR

@CIO_AFRICA | WWW.CIOAFRICA.CO

Push your digital marketing with the right tools and partner

marketing@cioafrica.co www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

43

PARTNER WITH US FOR A SEAMLESS VIRTUAL & HYBRID EXPERIENCE To partner with us, please contact: Tel: +254 (0) 701 627 097 studio@cioafrica.co

@ONAIRSTUDIOS 44 www.cioafrica.co | MARCH 2022 | CIO AFRICA

@CIOAFRICA

@CIO_AFRICA