Thanks for this....<div><br></div><div>I would like to thank MJ for providing Kazi560 <a href="http://kazi560.co.ke/who-kazi-560">http://kazi560.co.ke/who-kazi-560</a> - which did not look sustainable at the time - an opportunity to become a successful business helping many Kenyan's find employment. At a meeting in his Safaricom House Boardroom, I was nervous that he would say 'no'. He did not say 'yes' either. He said 'maybe'. He challenged us to prove to him that an SMS job information service would become sustainable. </div>
<div><br></div><div>That was several years back when I was the Coordinator of the <i>Mobile Content to Change Lives</i> project at Oneworld International. I moved on to other projects since but I remain eternally greatful that we had the opportunity to prove Kazi560 would work. Kazi560 was an idea that came to my mind as I sat on a train from London to Nottingham in 2003 after studies in Kibera and other marginalized areas in Kenya. MJ (and Vodafone funders) provided an opportunity for us to turn this <i>train ride idea</i> into a resource for Kenyans.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Kazi560 was a rewarding pay-back after in 2000, the launch of the then <i>new</i> Safaricom resulted in destruction of an RDS Paging service we were meant to launch to compete with Capital pagers. Even the brochures from <i>Citizen Pagers</i> were ready. The success of my final year engineering project was overshadowed by MJ's successful launch of SMS. The country gained more from the new technology.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I will have fond memories of MJ's tenure. I wish him the greatest success in his future ventures.</div><div><br></div><div>Wainaina Mungai</div><div><br></div><div>Made in Kenya Network</div><div><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 9:58 AM, muriuki mureithi <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mureithi@summitstrategies.co.ke">mureithi@summitstrategies.co.ke</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Hi Listers </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">As you are aware , Michael
Joseph (MJ) leaves the office of CEO on 31<sup>st</sup> of this
month after a 10 year career at Safaricom. As is tradition, we at
KICTAnet bid our members welcome/ farewell and
certainly this list is the tool of choice
supplemented by a bash when feasible . this is what we
want to do starting now – from 10 hrs today the 10<sup>th</sup> day of
the 10<sup>th</sup> month of the 10 year of the new century we wish to
take just 10 days to reflect on the MJ’s 10 year safari ---- . As usual
we expect fair and candid thoughts from our hearts and mind and the daily
prompting questions will provide a structure for our discussion </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">we shall present your candid
views in style to MJ at a suitable time shortly after the closure
of the list discussion----</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">To kick-start discussion , first
let’s look back over your shoulder - just recall when he
landed in Nairobi in June 2000 and went to work on/at Safaricom. At 17k
customers , with barely 9 base stations , the operator was the smallest
and in the eyes of the potential consumer, an appendage of
the towering TKL of the day . that was then , it’s no more</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Symbol;color:#1F497D"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><span style="color:#1F497D">What still lingers
in your mind of MJ early days at Safaricom, his interaction with you ,
the customers , the media, the regulator , competition etc? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Symbol;color:#1F497D"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><span style="color:#1F497D">What factors
shaped MJ’s and Safaricom’s destiny – did
he create the opportunities or was he just smart enough to take advantage
of the situation? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Symbol;color:#1F497D"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><span style="color:#1F497D">In juggling
between competing technologies, customer expectation, staff demands,
government, market competition, what strikes you as MJ’s character that
produces the results we see </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Symbol;color:#1F497D"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><span style="color:#1F497D">What do you think he
could have done differently?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Symbol;color:#1F497D"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><span style="color:#1F497D">What actions
did MJ take then that are still inexplicable and you would
want MJ to explain now?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"> </span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">cheers </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Muriuki Mureithi </span></p>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"> </span></p>
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