Bob fit in the shoes of a giant, and kept the pace
What you need to know:
- I was there at the Carnivore grounds, when Michael Joseph took over Safaricom from Telkom Kenya and re-launched it as a separate and autonomous enterprise early this century.
- Many analysts quietly thought that this was the beginning of the end of Safaricom - particularly because Bob was the exact opposite of MJ in several aspects.
- But the fact that Safaricom continued and perhaps accelerated in its trajectory for more subscribers, more financial inclusions, more bandwidth, more integration into the Kenyan fabric goes to show that perhaps, despite the differences they both knew how to run Safaricom.
- Rest in peace Bob. You have clearly run your race and kept the faith. And like your predecessor, you have left very big shoes for your successor.
This week’s article was not supposed to be about the CEO of Safaricom, Bob Collymore who passed away this morning. But it is hard to ignore the shocking reality that comes along with the passing on of such a great icon within the ICT sector.
I do not intend to eulogise Bob, since I am least qualified to do so. Unlike so many others, I do not have the bragging rights to claim to have known him personally.
Other than the occasional meet ups at various ICT events and conferences across the country, my view of Bob was what the rest of Kenyans knew – a tall guy with an easy smile, running the most profitable company in East and Central Africa.
MICHAEL JOSEPH
I will therefore look at Bob’s life from the perspective of an external pundit looking at Safaricom, the company he took over from an equally established name in the ICT sector, one Michael Joseph.
I was there at the Carnivore grounds, when Michael Joseph took over Safaricom from Telkom Kenya and re-launched it as a separate and autonomous enterprise early this century.
Within ten years, Michael Joseph, or MJ as he became known within the industry, had moved Safaricom from some exclusive nondescript department of Telkom Kenyan into a huge enterprise with international reputation – thanks to its flagship product, M-Pesa.
And quite unlike the typical African politicians and CEOs, MJ suddenly retired, when big money started flocking in.
Bob Collymore was then thrown at the helm of the then larger than life shoes of MJ.
EXACT OPPOSITE
Many analysts quietly thought that this was the beginning of the end of Safaricom - particularly because Bob was the exact opposite of MJ in several aspects.
Where MJ was white, Bob was black. Where MJ had engineering degrees, Bob had none. Where MJ looked aggressive and ruthless, Bob had an easy smile and a very laid back disposition.
But the fact that Safaricom continued and perhaps accelerated in its trajectory for more subscribers, more financial inclusions, more bandwidth, more integration into the Kenyan fabric goes to show that perhaps, despite the differences they both knew how to run Safaricom.
It was during Bob’s reign that M-Pesa got so entrenched in the lives of Kenyans such that any downtime would cause serious social problems.
From not being able to pay for government services, school fees, taxis, utilities, shopping, rent, barbers, you name it, using mobile money, M-Pesa has deliberately curved itself into these processes.
Under his watch, Safaricom has quietly but surely moved into the fixed data services as contrasted to their mobile data services, with the latest statistics showing that they now have 30 percent of the market, with leader Wananchi online (Zuku) not too far ahead with 38 percent market share.
Finally, Bob instituted the innovation culture at Safaricom by formally engaging and challenging youths in tertiary institutions to develop solutions that have a local dimension in an effort to transform lives.
Rest in peace Bob. You have clearly run your race and kept the faith. And like your predecessor, you have left very big shoes for your successor.
Mr Walubengo is a lecturer at Multimedia University of Kenya, Faculty of Computing and IT.
Email: [email protected], Twitter: @Jwalu
