Former ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru has landed a new job with a South Africa-based firm.
The former ICT CS has been appointed the president of South Africa financial services start-up, JUMO, ahead of its expansion in Africa.
Having been founded in 2015, the company offers financial services to entrepreneurs and emerging businesses.
JUMO also offers credit, saving products and infrastructure for telcos, banks, fintech and e-commerce platforms.
While announcing Mucheru’s appointment, JUMO founder Andrew Watkins-Ball said the former CS is tasked with supporting the company’s growth and aid the company’s expansion in Africa.
“We are honoured to be able to welcome Joe to JUMO. He brings an invaluable perspective given his experience as an entrepreneur, Google executive and regulator,” Watkins-Ball said.
The company seeks to expand into Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin as well as introducing products in Ghana and Uganda.
Mucheru served as Kenya’s ICT cabinet secretary in former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s from 2015 to 2022.
He previously served at Google as head of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), being Google’s first SSA employee.
Before joining Google, Mucheru served at Wananchi Online, the parent company of internet service provider Zuku.
The former CS also sat in various board positions including at M-PESA Foundation Academy, Bit-Pesa and GiveDirectly.
JUMO has presence in Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Ivory Coast.
In an interview with Citizen TV in 2022, Mucheru hit out at people who celebrated their exit from the government.
The former CS said he was wondering why people celebrated and made a big deal out of their exit.
“Who does not love going home? What is the big deal with someone going to his or her home? Why would one dare think that going home is a bad feeling?
“We went home yes, many of us, and I am yet to receive a single phone distress call from any of my former workmates complaining that life went bad for them,” Mucheru said.
Mucheru said he would start looking around for options in January.
“Even Uhuru Kenyatta is doing fine and we have accepted that we are out of government. Weknow there is a new government but that does not mean we were wrong in our preferred choice who was defeated,” he said.
