On the 1st of April, as many stayed vigilant to avoid April Fool’s pranks, Florence Nyokabi began life as Safaricom’s new Chief Human Resources Officer. Nyokabi joins the company from Standard Chartered Bank, where she was the Managing Director of Human Resources for Nigeria and West Africa, covering 6 countries.
She is an accomplished HR Leader with over 25 years of progressive experience leading HR in local and global entities spanning multiple countries across Africa. Before Standard Chartered Bank, she had served at various levels as HR for KTN, NCBA Group, and KPMG.
Florence Nyokabi graduated with Honours in Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.), from the University of Nairobi (UoN). She later pursued a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Human Resources from the same university. Additionally, she holds a Higher Diploma in HR Management from Kenya Institute of Management (KIM)
In November 2021, Nyokabi was named the HR Personality of the Year – Africa. Previously in 2012, she was named by the Business Daily among the Top 40 Under 40 Women in Kenya. Lastly, in December 2009, she was awarded the “Most Valuable Professional” award, in recognition of her role in inculcating the People Agenda at KPMG.
Nyokabi takes over from Paul Kasimu, who has transitioned to the role of HR Transformation and Change Advisor. At Safaricom, she will be responsible for a workforce of about 5,500 permanent employees. Another 900 members of the staff are working under Safaricom Ethiopia. Further, she joins a tech organization that is working to continually promote diversity and gender balance. Today Safaricom’s workforce stands at 51% male and 49% female.
The telco has women in senior management making up 40% of the total. Currently, 24% of the technology division is staffed by women. Of the female staff, 29% of women working in technology divisions occupy leadership positions. Another 3.0% of Safaricom’s staff are persons with disabilities (PwDs).
