Naisenya Mungai: Safaricom’s Trailblazing Ndorobo Female Engineer

Naisenya Mungai, why the use of the African name?

I choose to only use my African name because I identify as African. Very, very, proud African. Young, talented, and black is how I describe myself.

How important are your roots?

I come from a small village called Suguta Marmar. Coming from Samburu County has defined everything that I do. From my first job in Safaricom to now as the first Ndorobo female engineer. I understand the power of representation, I understand the power of mentorship.

For me, why I do what I do is because it’s bigger than me. I want to give people platforms. I want to enable guys and create avenues for them to interact with industry leaders, and to see the possibilities that are there in life, something that I didn’t have when growing up.

What did you study and how does it tie in with what you do now?

I studied electrical and telecommunications engineering at Moi University.

When Safaricom started the transition to become a technology company, they founded the Safaricom Digital Academy, and I was part of the first cohort in 2018. After an 8 months boot camp I upskilled to being a software engineer. Eventually becoming the lead Android developer for the Fibre to the home installer application.

Because I can code, I understand how developers think, I have the people skills, it is a marriage made in heaven for my previous role as Digital Delivery Lead and current role as Technical Tribe Lead.

What exactly do you do at Safaricom?

My concern now as the Technical Tribe Lead, Digital Transformation, is how do we create world class digital experience for our customers? How do we build a digital-first Safaricom? How do we go paperless? How do we fully transition to a purpose-led tech company by 2025?

How long have you been at Safaricom and what do you attribute your fast rise to?

Started as an intern in November 2015. I work hard, I believe in hard work. I put in hours, up to 20-hour workdays. For six months I doubled as a network planning and optimization engineer and at the same time was the lead Android developer which had never been done before.

I also stand on the shoulders of giants. I have had managers and coaches who believed in my capability and who asked me to do things I did not even know I could do. From my coach, Elizabeth Nguli, who is now at Vodafone – she was our Head of Digital Engineering. To my director, George Njuguna (Director, Information Technology).

Highlights of your Safaricom journey so far…

I have been given an opportunity at Safaricom to do things on a world stage that I would never have gotten anywhere else. I am so grateful because I’ve built skills that I didn’t know I could, that I never even dreamt about.

When I was asked to build an engineering community, I didn’t know what an engineering community was. I didn’t even know how to build one. But from zero we are now a five thousand strong Safaricom Engineering Community and growing.

When I was told Safaricom needs to have an engineering summit. I didn’t have a name; I didn’t even know how to put together a summit. For Decode 1.0, I researched, did a concept note and then I was told, cool, now make it happen. I learnt on the go. I was so shocked when people believed in my concept and gave me money.

The theme for Decode 2.0 was ‘Igniting Africa’s Renaissance’. Tell us about that.

Igniting Africa’s digital renaissance is about putting our stamp on the world map. That Africa is the tech frontier and as Kenya we are not just shipping coffee and tea. We are also rich and diverse in talent, tech talent to be specific. Kenya is the home of innovation, the home of M-PESA.

What was the difference between Decode 1.0 and Decode 2.0 and what can we look out for in Decode 3.0?

Decode 1.0 we were showcasing Safaricom as the home of digital talent, showing our engineering progress, practices. We wanted the world to see Safaricom as a tech company.

Decode 2.0 we are now saying, Safaricom is a tech company that is a partner of choice for enterprises and the government, and it has solutions that it is selling.

Decode 3.0 is going to be a tech extravaganza.

The first three days will have the industry stakeholder engagements, panels, etc. Then last two days will have an engineering takeover specifically for tech enthusiasts which will have live demos, immersions, hackathons. Possibly we shall even have certifications for participants.

We are used to STEM, and now there is STEAM. What’s the thinking behind STEAM?

STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEAM adds the Arts.

Creatives have a role to play in Safaricom’s tech-co transformation. We need people who can be hosts in our podcast series, we need photographers, we need UI/UX designers who are essentially graphic designers, but with a tech background. So, there are all these opportunities where we are now adding the arts and it’s beautiful to see.

 And there is now a realization that techies need to have soft skills.

For the Safaricom engineering community, we are doing co-creation of the tech curriculum with Kenyan universities, and we are insisting on soft skills, because that is what will be the differentiator of a good engineer, a good dev. You need to understand the implication of the technology or the innovations that you’re bringing into the market. You need to be able to communicate whatever solutions you’re building into something customers can understand or businesses can buy.

How does your typical day look like…

Let me give you an overview of my 2023 so far.

I worked on the Decode 2.0 concept note in January. After which there were a million and one meetings and changes. Then I had to do the pitching to internal and external partners.

Because I am the vision bearer for Decode, I had to deal with all the summit’s nitty-gritties (her boss spoke of her sending emails at 2am, 4am).

At the same time, I am doing my day-to-day job.

Plus, I am building the Safaricom engineering community. So doing campus tours across the country where I am also the MC.

So, overall, a lot of hard work but I truly believe that when you put in the work, people notice.

What ignites your passion at work?

If you ask me to come up with a concept for something that has never been done, I get so excited, I come alive, because you are allowing me to use my creativity and imagination.

I also love doing things for the devs and when I meet them in the corridor and they are like, ‘Thank you for the headphones, thank you for MacBooks’ or such simple things as a hoodie. Just putting a smile on their faces.

Your passion points away from work?

Because my work involves a lot of talking and I’m an introvert I like to recharge by going for walks in Karura. I also hike but I haven’t hiked in a while, because this year has been especially intense at work.

You mentioned before that you used to stammer. Now you were hosting a panel in front of a thousand people. How did that change happen?

Recently I was speaking at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) conference and one of my classmates from high school was there. When I came off the stage, she told me, ‘I cannot believe you have given a speech in public, and you have not stammered. I can’t believe it’s the same person who used to be given chalk to go write the answer on the black board because you would stammer for 10 minutes before you articulated yourself.’

I don’t know when the change happened. To be honest. I don’t know. I never went for speech therapy. I can only say it is God’s grace.

Something people do not know about you.

Do not know if I should say this now but, oh well…I want to be a president of Kenya one day. I have always wanted to have an impact on a global scale.

I am into sci-fi and the more the ridiculous it is, the better because I really want to be lied to when I’m watching a movie. If I had the choice to become a vampire or a werewolf, I would want to become a vampire.

Finally, one piece of advice, a parting shot?

Do it afraid. Do it when your voice is shaking. Do it when you don’t even know where the strength will come from. Do it big. Go for it and let no one tell you what you can do or what you cannot do.