It is now a special season as the curtains close in the year 2023. It has been a year graced by many occasions, valuable lessons, meaningful journeys, and substantial growth.
The first edition of this digital honorary recognition was in November 2018. Here is a compilation of the top 25 men in Kenya’s digital spaces for the year 2023.
Top 25 Men in Digital 2023:
1. Chris Otundo – CEO, Brighter Monday Kenya
Chris is currently the CEO of BrighterMonday Kenya a jobs website that connects qualified job seekers with employers.
He has been instrumental in supporting the development of skilled technology talent for the modern workplace. He is also involved in different industry thought leadership events where he champions digital upskilling and reskilling.
2. Kevin Mutiso – Chairman, Digital Finance Services Association
Kevin is a leading advocate of the growth and adoption of digital innovation in the financial sector as the Chairman of the Digital Financial Services Association.
The association advocates for the welfare of its members as they transform lives through financial access.
3. Tesh Mbaabu – CEO, MarketForce Technologies Inc.
Tesh is the Co-founder and CEO of MarketForce, a B2B Commerce platform that empowers over 200,000 neighbourhood merchants across 5 African markets to source, order and pay for inventory, access financing and earn more by reselling financial services in their communities.
4. David Nzioka – Secretary Digital and Innovation, State House Kenya
Nzioka is currently the Secretary of Digital and Innovations at Statehouse Kenya where he is tasked with leading the development and implementation of new digital strategies for the Presidential Communications Services.
He is also a member of the broadcasting and telecommunication sectoral reforms team overseeing policy and legislative reforms in the ICT sector.
The ICT reforms will identify key areas that need intervention, develop strategies and draft relevant bills and policies to drive the ICT sector forward.
5. Marvin Karagu – Co-Founder & CEO, Shop Zetu
Marvin is a Co-founder at Shopzetu a fashion technology company that provides an e-commerce marketplace, infrastructure and tools for fashion vendors to enable online fashion retail.
The online marketplace currently serves over 300 fashion and beauty brands and over 30,000 customers in Kenya.
He has been at the forefront championing the adoption of e-commerce, the use of innovative digital communication strategies and the creation of favourable industry policies.
He has led Shop Zetu to win some of the most coveted awards in the region.
6. Ephraim Njega – Consultant and Researcher
Ephraim is an astute consultant, researcher and trainer who has consistently used digital channels to inform, educate and engage his huge social media followers on current affairs.
He does in-depth research on current economic trends, relates them to local and geopolitics then presents an analysis of their current and future impact.
His social media posts have gone viral on several occasions and have been used as content for trending topics on mainstream media stations.
7. Jackson Kimeu – ICTO, Networks & Systems Infrastructure at KMTC
Jackson is the CTO at Kenya Medical Training College in charge of networks and systems infrastructure. He has led the KMTC ICT team to win some of the most prestigious awards in digital learning, digital transformation and simulations.
He is the CEO of Transure Tech Solutions a fully-fledged ICT consultancy firm with vast experience in providing cutting-edge consultancy services around new and emerging technology, Information Systems forensic auditing, Data protection & governance.
8. Mutembei Kariuki – Co-Founder & CEO Fastagger
Mutembei is a tech entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in start-ups, innovation, leadership, and social impact.
He is invested in the power of data, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and climate tech to create positive change for the world.
As the co-founder and CEO of Fastagger, he leads a team of experts and innovators who build ethical, privacy-preserving AI technologies to solve developmental challenges for a more sustainable future for humanity.
9. Victor Otieno Agolla – County Chief Officer, Digital Economy, Nairobi County
Victor is the County Chief Officer of digital economy and startups at Nairobi City County government where he leads the sector in developing and implementing support programs for startups as well as digitisation of SMEs.
He has been steadfast in hosting and coordinating Nairobi Startup stakeholders, positioning Nairobi as an African Startup market launchpad and establishing sub-county incubation and seed funding programs.
10. Duncan Mutuku – Founder, Kids Fun Spaces
Duncan is the Founder of Kids Fun Scapes a one-stop online platform that makes it easy for parents and families to discover kids-related products, services, activities, and events without a hustle.
The fast-growing unique platform has different categories like camping sites, swimming, dance, accessories etc.
Kids Fun Scape is a reflection of the modern digital marketplaces where a platform is created to allow the vendors (Supply Side) to publish their offerings and buyers (Demand side) to access them to complete a purchase.
11. Brian Abel – Head of Growth at Welcome Tomorrow
Brian recently joined Welcome Tomorrow as the Head of Growth. Welcome Tomorrow builds sustainable online growth strategies for brands by encompassing deep analytics, consumer-driven creatives and automated media campaign management.
As the Head of Growth at Welcome Tomorrow, he works with a dynamic team of skilled professionals in crafting and executing strategic initiatives to deliver sustainable compounding growth for clients.
12. Paul Kavavu – Interim General Manager at Safaricom Mpesa
Paul is in charge of day-to-day operations and strategic direction of the Safaricom MPESA Mobile Financial Services PLC Ethiopian subsidiary.
Before occupying his current position, he worked at Safaricom PLC as the Chief Digital Financial Services Officer spearheading the expansion of Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC.
Paul has worked for Safaricom PLC for more than 16 years where he held several positions including Head of MPESA New Ventures and Emerging businesses in charge of expansions and new products.
13. John Paul Okwiri – CEO, Konza Technopolis
John is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA), he has played a critical role in transforming the organization into a leading centre of excellence for innovation and technology, focusing on advancing Kenya’s knowledge economy.
With over 20 years of experience in procurement and supply chain management, he has provided critical leadership in the procurement and implementation of several large-scale projects at Konza Technopolis, including successfully delivering Konza Phase 1 Horizontal Infrastructure and establishing the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
He was also instrumental in mobilizing resources to construct a tier 3 National Data Center, transforming Kenya’s cloud infrastructure and data centre services.
Kenya’s Top 25 Women in Digital 2023 Edition
14. Eric Muli – Founder & Group CEO, Lipa Later Group
Eric is the founder of Lipa Later a fast-growing financing venture operating in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria and Ghana, serving over 350,000+ merchants and 400K+ users.
Lipa Later was founded to empower African businesses to do more by enabling e-commerce, financial inclusion, and shopping on a centralized and fully integrated platform.
Lipa later secured US$3.4 million from privately-placed debt issuance to support its expansion and operations. Eric began his career as a Project Manager at Better Business Bureau in 2010 where he created social media strategy and later joined K-Rep Bank as a Corporate Finance Intern.
He also worked at Leadership Forum as a Research Analyst and Growth Hub as a Recruitment and Networks Coordinator.
15. John Muchiri – Merchant Sales & Solutions – Senior Director at Visa
At Visa, John is in charge of short- and long-term merchant acquisition strategy, revenue growth and development of strategic partnerships that enhance co-creation for business growth.
Visa is a digital payments company that facilitates transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories.
John supports SMEs and organizations to integrate e-commerce and fintech in their everyday operations. He regularly speaks at different events and conferences that empower participants with current digital skills and knowledge.
16. Nicodemus Maingi – Founding Director, HP Lab Strathmore University
Maingi is the Founding Director of the HP-Strathmore Research Laboratory (HP Lab) where he oversees the design, development and delivery of ICT4D projects.
He has created strategic partnerships that deliver digital skills to students through mentorship and practical application. He has worked closely with the Government of Kenya (GOK) and international donors such as USAID and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to conceptualise solutions that improve health practices and the quality of life for millions across Africa and Asia.
He successfully delivered the Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) tool whose use has resulted in reduced infant mortality and improved care for Infants Living with HIV/AIDS.
He has also worked as an advisor to the Nairobi and Mombasa counties on ICT strategy adoption, risk analysis and organizational technology readiness, in support of the digital transformation agenda.
17. Dennis Maina – Managing Partner, Suss Digital
Dennis is the Managing Director at Suss Digital a full-stack Demand Side Platform (DSP) that specializes in delivering impactful adverts across the open internet.
The company is known for its creative and unique ads, including Mobile and Web Display ads, Click-to-Deposit and other interactive ad formats. His work in advertisement and digital marketing has seen Suss win some of the most coveted awards in the region.
He previously worked as a Data Media Specialist at Betsafe a subsidiary of Betsson Group – an international sports betting brand where he grew the customer base by 1000X at an efficient CPA across all customer acquisition channels and aided consideration from 3% to 11%.
18. Dennies Wairey – Strategic Account Manager Sub-Saharan Africa, Meta
Dennis is a Strategic Account Manager at Meta responsible for the support of businesses and startups in Sub-Saharan Africa to grow locally, regionally & globally using Meta Solutions (Facebook, Instagram & WhatsApp).
Before the recent promotion to this role, he was the Sub-Saharan Africa Partner Manager at Meta where he worked with independent agencies helping them and their clients grow their businesses using Meta Solutions.
He previously worked at Safaricom PLC as a Digital Media Specialist where he grew Safaricom’s customer care chatbot Zuri’s total user base 10X to 1M+ users in under 2 years using advanced digital media strategies.
He was also part of the #Eliud159 campaign – one of the most celebrated and awarded digital marketing Campaigns.
19. Charles Washika – Director ICT & Innovation, Co-op Bank of Kenya
Charles is responsible for Co-Operative Bank’s Strategic technological direction and championing the innovative use of information and technology to meet the Bank’s Strategic objectives.
He is a decorated ICT professional in the financial sector where he has won prestigious awards and influenced the growth of the industry through innovative and impactful industry thought leadership pieces.
He previously worked at Craft Silicon as the Head of projects managing the inception, development and implementation of innovative products and solutions.
20. Caleb Magwaro Ochenge – Director, New Business & Key Accounts, IndaHash
Caleb has recently joined IndaHash an influencer marketing platform that connects brands with social media creators that has a global network of over 1 million users across 113 countries.
He leads the team in the development and onboarding of new business, revenue growth and creating projects that deliver high business performance.
Before joining IndaHash, he led the expansion and establishment of Wowzi in Uganda where he worked as a Country Manager.
Wowzi, the influencer Marketing platform established its presence in Uganda in mid-2023 and gave Caleb the mandate to set up an office, and a team and develop strategic partnerships to generate revenue.
21. Dan Aceda – Founder & CEO, SemaBox Africa
Dan is the Founder of SemaBox Africa a podcasting studio that works with different artists to produce and distribute content across the world.
Dan is an artist who has tried singing, playing instruments and producing music before joining the world of podcasting. SemaBox idea was born during the COVID-19 pandemic after his music career was adversely affected by the pandemic.
Dan has recorded more than 350 episodes and worked with different creators producing their content through podcasting, the new digital content distribution medium.
22. Steve Biko Wafula – CEO, SOKO Directory Investment
Steve Biko Wafula Popularly known as ‘SokoAnalyst’ is a digital media practitioner and business news publisher who has used his social media channels and other digital platforms to inform and educate the public.
SokoAnalyst has built the Soko directory to become a go-to platform for investment opportunities, financial and economic trends and analysis.
His vibrant social media channels have a huge following that engages the online community on current affairs. He also creates and executes digital marketing strategies for different brands.
23. Abel Mutua – Content Creator
Abel popularly known as ‘Mkurugenzi’ by his online fans is a content creator, businessman and Creative Director at Phil-it Productions Ltd.
He has embraced different roles throughout his career as an artist, storyteller and astute entertainer. He capitalizes on digital channels to generate content that easily connects with the online community.
He has a huge following on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and other channels that enable him to creatively tell stories and distribute his content.
24. Andrew Mboya (Tom Daktari) – Content Creator
Andrew who goes by the moniker Tom Daktari is one of the fastest-rising content creators in the region. His short skits and humorous videos are repeatedly shared and reshared in different social media channels.
Brands have also embraced his unique and authentic influencer marketing approach where he co-creates brand endorsements and campaigns.
He has also travelled to different countries to entertain his online fans through different offline events. After completing high school, his elder brother helped him set up an egg hawking business popularly known as ‘Mayai Pasua’ in Nairobi.
25. James Smart – Managing Director, Newsroom, Nation Africa
James is a champion of digital innovation and the adoption of technology by media houses to transform and invigorate electronic media production.
He has been instrumental in the establishment and growth of the NMG podcast. He also participates in digital skills development through youth groups including K-youth which he founded in 2010 to empower youth living in urban slums with media skills and journalism training.
He has a creative way of fusing digital to television shows and programs he conceptualizes. while at KTN, he produced #KTNLIVEWIRE, a program designed to act as a platform for in-depth current affairs discussions with an audience through phone-ins, live texts, and tweets.