Founder KC Rottok Chesaina says the organisation is making great inroads into the region, meeting IT leaders and learning what they most want from their community.
IT executives in East Africa now have their own community, in which they'll be engaging through world-class events and media. CITO East Africa follows the huge success of the CFO East Africa community for finance executives across Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. It is part of the Africa-focused organisation Executive Communities and has a thriving sister organisation CIO South Africa.
Having already met with a number of IT leaders in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, CITO East Africa has learnt that executives in the IT space are just as keen to share knowledge, learn and grow as their finance counterparts in East Africa and their fellow IT leaders in the South.
“After the remarkable reception we have received from CFOs, we understand that other executive communities can benefit from this kind of engagement,” says KC Rottok Chesaina, co-founder of CFO East Africa and CITO East Africa. “And now, from the numerous IT leaders we have already spoken to, it’s clear that they feel that this is an idea whose time has come.”
CITO East Africa's umbrella organisation Executive Communities has been operating in South Africa for fourteen years, sharing the benefits of world-class engagement with hundreds of executives and partners. Its communities have become the pre-eminent platforms for executive networking and knowledge-sharing in the country.
“When people with the same job description come together, magic happens and everyone benefits – careers, companies and countries,” says Joël Roerig, MD of Executive Communities. “IT leaders especially are being looked at to guide their organisations into the future and with all the demands piled onto IT executives, the CITO East Africa community can play a pivotal role.”
Hearing from IT leaders
Executives communities exist for and by the executives themselves. KC and his team have embarked on an extensive meet-and-great campaign, chatting to IT leaders across East Africa about the power of communities, making sure the most relevant topics are on the agenda. The enthusiasm has been palpable.
“I think that there will be a great exchange of ideas between IT leaders from different industries. I will be interested to hear what others have done, and leverage these learnings,” said ABM Group IT head Dominic Kebenei.
Dan Wachira, group IT officer at HighChem, commented: “I am looking forward to the sharing of ideas between more learned and less experienced IT professionals. With some of the things we experience, we want someone to reach out to. So that aspect of the community is really enticing.”
And while many IT leaders were keen to share notes on technology, Isaac Mwangi, head of ICT at Unga, said: “For myself I am looking for a community that will not glorify the technology. For CIOs and CTOs, the I and the T have been overdone. I am interested in the C and the O – the C is leadership. How are we growing our people to be leaders, to transcend IT and contribute to the business. And the O is for officer, which speaks to how you run your operations – the administrative side. From the governance level, how do you make sure IT is properly positioned in the organisation?”
Whatever angle East Africa IT leaders are coming from, one thing is clear: They are hungry for all the CITO East Africa community has to offer!
“We look forward to seeing you all at our launch event on 3 December!” says KC. “And we can’t wait to see this new community go from strength to strength.”
