Across East Africa's technology landscape, IT executives are increasingly clear on what sustains long-term success. Geoffrey Gitagia, Kennedy Njenga and Rita Apell, who lead technology functions in healthcare, agribusiness and banking respectively, each point to the same foundation: people.
Rita Apell, CIO at Stanbic Bank Uganda, has spent over 20 years in banking technology and now leads a team of over 100. For her, team capability is inseparable from organisational performance.
"I pride myself in being able to build the right teams. I have never been the brightest person in the room, at least I do not see myself as that. But I try to ensure that my team members are getting the training they need and are growing," she says.
Rita is equally deliberate about succession planning, and she has carried that discipline into her first year at Stanbic. She sees it as one of the clearest markers of whether a leader has truly done their job.
"For all the roles I have left, for all the organisations, I have always ensured there is a successor. For me, that is success, being able to leave a role and there is someone you have groomed, and that person takes on the role," she explains.
Growing the next generation
Kennedy Njenga, head of IT at Del Monte Kenya, has 24 years in the industry and takes a similarly long view when it comes to developing those around him. He makes a point of offering guidance to new entrants from the very first meeting.
"I identify the trainees and employees coming in and I tell them, if you would like my mentorship, just let me know. I am not an expert in everything, but I will guide you in what I know and in the best way I can," Kennedy says.
When talented team members leave for other opportunities, he does not read it as failure. He sees the movement of people across the industry as a form of exchange that ultimately benefits everyone.
"It is like a game of musical chairs. I give you this person, this one comes to me also. So, I will also benefit from the knowledge they have gained from where they are coming from, and the person who was working with me will transfer the knowledge they gained to that other space they move into," he says.
Earning confidence over time
Geoffrey Gitagia, group IT manager at Avenue Healthcare, has been in the role for a decade and leads a team of eight. His steadiness today was built through a period he recalls as anything but steady.
"The first year was pure chaos, system issues, network issues, user issues, infrastructure issues, just all over the place. You learn what needs to be sorted out quickly, you put out one fire, then another fire, then another," Geoffrey says.
What followed was a gradual process of building credibility, with management and with the team itself. He describes that shift in confidence as the point at which the work began to feel sustainable.
"Once the team and the management start having confidence in you, that you actually know what you are doing and you are looking out for them, that you are not just trying to be the IT guy with the biggest budget deploying everything under the sun, you get some sense of calmness that you have done the best you can with the resources you have," he says.
