This is an interview I had with Kris Senanu in June 2021 when he joined Safaricom as their Chief Enterprise Business Officer. Kris and I go way back to 1994 when we got to know each other as students at the United States International University Africa or USIU-Africa as undergraduates. Kris and I also ended up living in the same apartment block at the time when I was unable to get accommodation on campus. As events would have it, we became fast friends all those years ago.

Kris and I also ended up both working together in Kenya's nascent Internet back in the late 1990s when he joined Swift Global and I worked at both Form-Net Africa and Africa Online - the largest Internet companies in Kenya at the time which effectively made us frenemies! That being said, in the last two decades Kris joined Access Kenya, and then Internet Solutions Kenya before he went to Telkom Kenya and finally ended up at Safaricom in probably his most ambitious role to date.

Kris and I discussed the motivations behind him joining Safaricom and what he hoped to achieve there not just for Safaricom and himself but also for the entire technology services industry. Indeed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Safaricom changed its strategic direction from being a telecommunications business to becoming a technology services business meaning it intends to evolve dramatically going forward to serve all customers small and large with a myriad of offerings. Kris is very much a key aspect of these transitions for Safaricom. I hope you enjoy the conversation on this podcast!