Background
Njeri Rionge has come a long way and left her mark in Kenya’s ICT field. This is such that the historical annals of this industry cannot be written without a mention of her contribution to it.
Leadership
“Focused”, “driven”, “passionate”, “determined”,” upbeat”…are amongst the mélange of adjectives that those who have known her use to describe her. It is this character that has powered the human engines behind Wananchi Online Ltd., established in March 2000 and today amongst Kenya’s top ISPs and the only one that has ISO 9001: 2000 certification.The proliferation of ICT in Africa is a factor of crucial importance to Ms Rionge. Of Africa’s 668 million people, by 2001, only 5.3 million people were internet users. Conscious of what ICT can do to Africans from all walks of life; she is determined to help Africa claim its place in the global ICT schema. An endorsement of her leadership skills recently came from the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). In 2003, she became a board member of the organization, the first woman to do so in Africa and an honor to her country.
Communication
Many who have heard her speak rarely forget. No doubt, her ability to express herself in a succinct yet powerfully convincing and passionate manner probably contributed to the successful sales records that have marked her ICT career. While employed at Interconnect where she worked for 3 years, she grew sales to the tune of 500%, 23 times the corporate target. Njeri’s rich experiences and insights to life in the ICT sector and beyond are a reservoir that really ought to be shared. She has readily given several motivational and inspirational talks at various institutions. The talks have been warmly received and for many listeners, have marked a turning point in their lives.
Management
The ICT industry is known for its dynamism. It is a real “you snooze you loose” type of enterprise. It has often been said that the most crucial resource a business has are its people. One of Ms. Rionge’s passions is PI (Predictive Index), a system used as a human resource tool to monitor staff competencies. A task ceases to be just another item on a checklist or job description. It is broken down into its composite units to determine actual due processes (Key Performance Indicators) and its eventual fruition (Key Result Areas).

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