TransCentury Group CEO, Ngángá Njiinu was feted among the 25 most influential CEOs who will impact business in 2023. Njiinu was featured in the list at number 15 in this third edition of the executive’s awards series by Business Monthly, and East African business publication by The Knowledge Warehouse.
The magazine has been tracking the performance of C-suite executives in East Africa, including the perception in the public space of emotional intelligence, financial performance, environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and ethical business practice.
Njiinu is passionate about the infrastructure’s development and enhancement story and has led TransCentury in clarifying its infrastructure focus, understanding the sector and developing strategies that are aligned with the enormous opportunities that the value chain presents. Through this clarity, TransCentury is positioned to own infrastructure assets, build infrastructure, supply products to infrastructure assets, and manage and maintain these assets.
With this strategic approach, TransCentury offers the right solution for each challenge. The firm also allows consumers to find opportunities in every cycle of infrastructure development. A good example is when you may not need to build more roads to build capacity, but instead, manage and maintain what you have efficiently.
Njiinu has led TransCentury by implementing a vigorous reversion strategy, identifying four key areas of focus: debt reprofiling, delivering robust commercial opportunities, creative fundraising and execution of order book. This plan has led to the reduction of TransCentury’s debt by US$ 55 million and the restructuring of the US$ 52 million debt.
What’s more, the Group has undergone an organisational redesign, including strengthening the corporate governance structures and streamlining the business systems and controls in line with its current strategic direction. The Group is currently in the process of raising Kshs 2.063 billion through a rights issue that started trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange on 29th December 2022 and is expected to close on 23rd January 2023. The funds raised will be applied towards recapitalizing the business, reducing debt and unlocking working capital for TC’s underlying businesses.
Paul Muigai of East African Cables, a subsidiary of TransCentury Group plc, was also featured in the list for his role in turning around the cable’s manufacturer. Other prominent names in the list include Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa, Airtel Kenya CEO Ashis Malhotra, Eabl CEO Jane Karuku and Jeddidah Thotho, former CEO Bata Shoe Kenya.
15 out of the 25 CEOs in this year’s list are women and Dr Hannington Gaya, the publisher of Business Monthly says they are not just filing a gender quota in the rankings.
“In this issue, 15 of the 25 are female CEOs, not because they are men or women, but because of their differentiated impeccable and unique performances, as well as the confidence they are building in the business landscape and the trust bestowed on them by these organisations,” he writes.
