Leadership Team.

Farouk has over 12 years of operations and technology experience across Africa and Central Asia, having previously built and scaled a telco in Afghanistan and three telcos in East Africa. Farouk has worked across start-ups and mature organizations, driving strategy and operations; he holds a double major in Finance and Human Resources from the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), and Management certification from INSEAD.

Farouk thrives on the intersection of impact and building a commercially viable business model. His belief is that if we are commercially viable our impact can be far greater.

Farouk enjoys closing his rings on his apple watch with early morning 5am workouts! He often starts his day at 4:00am asking how we can open more opportunities for the underserved.

Omagwa started his career in the Automobile industry ( Stantech Motors and Scania EA) and gained 3 years’ experience in the industry before a hard shift to the telecommunication sector where he has been heavily involved in Safaricom Network roll, Maintenance and Optimization as General Manager in Linksoft Integrated Services EA for 9 years before Joining Mawingu.

As a Chief Operations Officer in Mawingu, Omagwa oversees the technical department (NOC, Field Operations, Site builds, transmission and Maintenance) which plays a big part in reducing the connectivity gap in Kenya. He leads a group of young, energetic, and dynamic team which has relentlessly connected customers and ensured network stability for our customers to enjoy their service.

If not talking about his team, power set ups,34 DBI dishes and towers you will find him talking to people, he loves socializing and his evening walk.

Salome has extensive experience confronting financial management challenges, having worked in telecommunication, renewable energy, and education companies for slightly over a decade. She has vast experience in finance, board governance, strategic management, and organisational development. Salome has served as a member of the Finance, strategy, and audit board committees, providing financial advice towards sustainable financing, governance leadership, and business model resilience to emerging risks. She has facilitated investor due diligence processes leading the companies she has worked for to secure significant debt and equity investment, including streamlining financial reporting and core financial management issues like tax compliance, risk management, audit, financial planning, and forecasting. Salome holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance and Accounting and a Master of Business Administration (Oil, Gas, and Energy management). She is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) of Kenya, a Certified Project, and Programs Management Professional (PMI). Away from work, she indulges in several activities like running, hiking and spending time with family and friends.

Alejandro started his career in the development sector, supporting low-income communities across Mexico, Colombia, and the USA. But driven by a desire to have a stronger impact on an organization, he ventured into supporting social enterprises in his home country of Colombia. Three continents, and seven years later, Alejandro has worked with startups across multiple sectors, helping them scale while finding their niche in their respective markets.

As Mawingu's CCO, Alejandro's main role is to help us achieve our mission of bridging the connectivity gap by growing our customer base. He will often visit markets with the sales team trying to figure out what makes our customers tick.

When not occupied thinking about how to connect more people, you will likely find him out on a trail run.

Joseph attained a master's in philosophy and history from Cambridge University, with an emphasis on Medieval history. After completing his studies, he took a year off to travel across the world to learn more about modern-day affairs. During his travels, he visited Kenya where he joined Mawingu, providing support in operations, before joining the CEO's office.

As Mawingu's Chief of Staff, Joseph's main role is to improve all internal processes with the use of data, to make the customer's experience more memorable.

On his free time, Joseph likes to play pool in the streets of Nanyuki, or to polish his Swahili and Latin.

Musa started his career as a technician on the telecommunication industry, where he handled installations and maintenance for radios and radiation detection systems across East Africa.

With time, Musa acquired more responsibilities, eventually managing country-wide technical teams while overseeing projects in the government and public sectors.

With extensive technical and hands-on knowledge in the telecommunication sector, Musa understands better than anyone else how to offer good quality internet to our customers.

As Head of Max, Musa’s main role is to help us achieve our mission of bridging the connectivity gap by growing our customer base. He will often be on the road, trying to find our next expansion markets, while reviewing daily sales numbers.

Charles is a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPA-K) with a Bachelor of Business Administration - Finance from Kenya Methodist University. He started his career as an Audit assistant before moving to the banking sector, where he was amongst the pioneers of agency banking. This role, which sought to bank the unbanked from the furthest villages in rural Kenya, led him to understand the wide gap that exists not only in the financial sector, but also in internet connectivity.
 
At Mawingu, Charles’ main role is to create meaningful impact in society by finding ways to reach more users with reliable and affordable internet (often in the form of hotspots). Often, you’ll meet Charles on the streets with customers on phones, educating them on how they can get maximum benefit from the internet.

Martha Watene joined the company in January 2020 and is actively involved in ensuring that the efficiency and effectiveness of the company’s operations are enhanced through the strategic use of IT.

Her experience spans IT operations, information systems assurance, risk management, and information systems audit. Based on a keen interest in innovating and improving IT processes, she has played key roles in the contribution towards the growth of Mawingu. 
Before joining Mawingu, Martha worked in several organizations as IT Systems Administrator, IT Team Lead and as a software developer, involved in designing, implementing, and supporting various application and web development projects. Martha always aims to cultivate teams to bear the same mantra she goes by, 'Be Solution-focused”.

Martha likes to cycle, and you will often find her trying out new recipes.

Elizabeth is a Human Resource Management Professional who has been instrumental in translating Mawingu’s business vision into strategic HR initiatives that drive performance, growth, and employee engagement. Prior to joining Mawingu, she has worked in in the NGO, Agritech, and service industries.

As Mawingu’s HR lead, Elizabeth provides leadership and support to the executive team in regard to human capital management, with a unique perspective and appreciation that people are every organization’s greatest asset. Elizabeth is keen on creating and enhancing a healthy, friendly, supportive, and exciting workplace culture, where all employees can add optimal value.

She spends her leisure time travelling and cycling.

Armed with years of sales experience in FMCG, Sammy ventured into IT sales in 2004. Since then, he has grown from a door-to-door sales executive to a bespoke solution designer in the ever-growing connectivity sector.

As our Head of Biz, Sammy's role is directly linked to opening opportunities for connectivity for our clients in the hospitality, conservation, agriculture, and government industries.

When not crisscrossing the country offering connectivity solutions, you will most likely find him cycling up mountain trails, quietly enjoying a John Grisham novel or pursuing his passion for cheese making.

Peter is a highly motivated individual with a progressive career of 7 years in telecommunication engineering and project management.

As Mawingu’s technical manager, Peter oversees technical projects including infrastructure roll outs for new expansion areas, maintenance of existing network infrastructure, as well as customer installations.

Peter is a family man at heart, cherishing his time at home with his close ones. When not on the field or at work, Peter can be found watching the Premier League, particularly following his favourite team, Arsenal (he claims to be Arsenal’s number one fan in Kenya).