At the 8th FITSPA Annual Fintech Conference (#FAFC2026), Ken Njoroge, Co-Founder of Cellulant, career entrepreneur, investor and CEO of PANI Africa, shared a candid account of building, scaling and navigating the difficult moments that shape businesses.
Having co-founded Cellulant in 2003, Ken led the company through three major transformations: from a mobile content business to a banking technology platform, and eventually into a pan-African payments infrastructure operating across 35 markets, serving 62 banks and 400 corporates. The company attracted US$125 million from European and American investors, becoming one of Africa’s enduring technology businesses.
But for Ken, the story of scaling is not simply about reaching more markets, raising capital or growing revenue. It is fundamentally about people, resilience, leadership, execution and building organisations that can withstand uncertainty.
Building Through Difficult Moments
Ken reflected on the 2016 collapse of Chase Bank Kenya, Cellulant’s primary banking partner at the time. The crisis placed the business under considerable pressure, forcing its leadership to make difficult decisions. Rather than lay off staff, the executive team chose to go eight months without salaries as they worked to keep the company afloat.
It was a defining moment that tested the leadership team's commitment to its people and the values on which the business had been built.
He also shared the story of delivering Ecobank’s pan-African digital platform across 35 markets in just 84 days, against an initial timeline of nine months.
For Ken, execution requires urgency and a willingness to challenge conventional timelines.
“Any project that doesn’t deliver in 90 days becomes doubtful,” he said.
Leadership Starts With People
Beyond strategy and execution, Ken emphasised that scaling begins with the people leading the business. Leadership, he explained, is a daily commitment to becoming a better human being, living by the values one professes and holding everyone to those same standards without exception.
“Scaling an African business is not simply about expanding into more markets, raising capital or growing revenue. It is about building people, creating resilient organisations, living by your values and making difficult decisions when circumstances demand it. Ultimately, businesses grow through ordinary people who do extraordinary things.”
“The business doesn’t go where you don’t go first,” he observed.
He challenged leaders to recognise that building a business is also about building people, creating an environment where teams can take ownership and understanding when it is time for a founder to step aside.
This perspective was shaped by some of Cellulant’s most difficult experiences, including the 2019 DusitD2 terror attack in Nairobi, which claimed the lives of six of its employees. In the aftermath, colleagues organised themselves, supported one another, put disaster recovery measures in place and kept the business moving.
For Ken, the organisation's ability to navigate such a tragedy demonstrated the importance of people, solidarity and resilience.
Scaling With Purpose
Reflecting on Cellulant’s expansion, Ken noted that growing across Africa requires deliberate choices. Businesses must understand the markets they enter, the regulatory environments they operate in and the resources required to establish a sustainable presence.
He encouraged fintechs to be strategic about regional expansion rather than pursue market presence for its own sake. With licensing requirements becoming increasingly demanding, businesses must be deliberate about where they invest their time, capital and capacity.
His experience building Cellulant, from its early beginnings to a payments infrastructure operating across 35 markets, offered a practical perspective on the importance of disciplined expansion.
Mobilising African Capital for African Businesses
Ken also turned attention to the financing gap facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa. While capital exists on the continent, he argued that more needs to be done to channel institutional capital towards businesses that need it.
He pointed to gaps in reliable SME data, risk assessment capacity, mentorship and incentives that limit the flow of financing to smaller businesses.
“Africa doesn’t have a capital problem. We need to create that capital pool for our continent,” he said.
For the fintech sector, this presents an opportunity to develop solutions that improve access to information, strengthen risk assessment and connect capital to businesses capable of driving economic growth.
The People Behind the Numbers
Ken’s reflections brought the conversation back to a central lesson: scaling is not just about the numbers, markets or capital raised. It is about the people who make the journey possible and the leadership required to guide them through uncertainty.
His message was a reminder that building enduring African businesses requires difficult decisions, strong values, disciplined execution and the courage to keep building, even when the circumstances are challenging.
As he put it, successful organisations are built by “ordinary people who do extraordinary things.”
At #FAFC2026, Ken Njoroge challenged entrepreneurs and fintech leaders to think beyond growth and focus on building resilient organisations, developing people and creating businesses that can stand the test of time.
