Stephen Chege has been appointed as Vodacom Group Chief External Affairs Officer, reporting to Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub effective 15th November 2021.
Stephen Chege is set to 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 (CSI) and Sustainability.
The role covers the Vodacom Group markets including South Africa, Tanzania, DRC, Mozambique, Lesotho and Vodafone Ghana. He will also continue supporting Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC and Safaricom PLC.
Stephen Chege has been the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Safaricom PLC since 2015 having risen in the ranks from the time he joined in 2006 as In-House Counsel. He has had a distinguished and successful career guiding Safaricom’s position in the legal, competition, regulatory and reputation matters, developing industry policy, positioning Safaricom as a Purpose-led organisation and making a significant contribution to the success of Safaricom.
Stephen Chege holds a Bachelor of Laws, a Master of Laws in International Trade & Investment Law is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and Notary Public as well as a Certified Public Secretary.
Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa expressed his gratitude for his services in the telecommunication company and said he will in the meantime continue discharging his duties in Safaricom and wished him the best in his new opportunity.
Vodacom, a South African operator owns 35 per cent of Safaricom. Safaricom and Vodacom in 2019 formed a joint venture with Vodacom and acquired the intellectual property rights to M-Pesa from Britain’s Vodafone.
M-Pesa is currently offered by Vodacom majority-owned subsidiaries in Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Vodacom also owns an indirect stake in M-Pesa’s business in Kenya through its 35 per cent stake in Safaricom.
Vodafone holds a 5 per cent stake in Safaricom and has a market capitalisation of about Kes 1.8 trillion.
Read also; Safaricom’s Impact on Society Valued at Kes 664 Billion, Generating Over 1 Million Jobs.
