This archive report was first published on 27 October 2021.
Wednesday, October 27, 2021, marked a significant development in the telecommunications industry as Vodacom Group announced the appointment of Safaricom's chief corporate affairs officer Stephen Chege as its group chief external affairs officer.
Chege, a University of Nairobi-trained lawyer, has risen through the ranks at Safaricom since joining as in-house counsel in 2006. He has held the position of chief corporate affairs officer since 2015.
According to Safaricom chief executive officer Peter Ndegwa, Chege has had a distinguished and successful career guiding Safaricom's position in legal, competition, regulatory, and reputational matters, developing industry policy, and positioning Safaricom as a purpose-led organization.
Chege's appointment will take effect mid-next month, and he will report to the chief executive of Vodacom Group Shameel Joosub. Vodacom, a South African operator, owns 35 percent of Safaricom.
The announcement was made by Safaricom chief executive officer Peter Ndegwa in a memo to Safaricom staff seen by the Business Daily.
"Steve will take up the role at Vodacom headquarters in Johannesburg and will be responsible for group regulatory, external, and corporate affairs, public policy, communication strategy, media relationships, group corporate social investment, and sustainability," said Mr. Ndegwa in the internal announcement.
As part of the joint venture between Safaricom and Vodacom, the two companies formed in 2019 and acquired the intellectual property rights to M-Pesa from Britain's Vodafone. Apart from developing new products based on the M-Pesa platform, Safaricom and Vodacom also want to launch into other African markets.
