Betway appoints Kenya Country Manager

Ms. Wanja Gikonyo Betway Kenya Country Manager

Leading international bookmaker Betway, has announced the appointment of their new Country Manager for Kenya, Wanja Gikonyo.

Ms. Gikonyo will take the lead with the responsibility of setting up and driving Betway’s sports betting operations throughout Kenya as well as ensuring the growth of the company as a whole.

Her experience in such roles is well founded. Prior to taking up her new position, Ms. Gikonyo worked for mobile aggregation and content services company, Integrat where she worked as Country Manager for Kenya since 2008.

With over 15 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry at a managerial level, she is well suited to the task at hand. Her prior appointments include positions in AccessKenya as Business Development and Regional Affairs Manager, Adwest Communications Limited as Marketing Manager and Denwa Communications Pty (SA) as Program Manager VOIP.

Commenting on the appointment, Betway global CEO Richard Akitt is quoted in saying, “Wanja brings valuable know-how to Betway and will be an asset to the management team. Her vast experience will be invaluable as we look to continue investing in the development of a vibrant and responsible betting industry in Kenya.”

She studied at University of Maryland, College Park, MD Robert H. Smith School of Business and received an MBA in International Finance. She also holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA.

On her new position Ms. Gikonyo had this to say, “I am excited to be taking on this role; it presents a good opportunity for me to contribute to the uplifting of sport in Kenya. From my position I can have a positive social impact all the way down to grassroots levels, all while providing an exciting platform to customers across the country to bet for their favorite sports leagues and teams from anywhere, at any time.

Sports betting has become a very popular activity in Kenya. This can be attributed to the rise of mobile networks and the increasing access to technology that people now have, allowing them to bet online.

According to Kenya Economic Survey 2016 the number of licensed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) increased by 24.9 per cent from 177 in 2014 to 221 in 2015. Estimated internet users also expanded by 35.9 per cent to 35.6 million users over the same period. Total wireless internet subscriptions increased by 45.4 per cent to 23.8 million with the terrestrial mobile data subscribers having the largest share.