NIC Bank appoints Jonathan Somen to its board

What you need to know:

  • Mr Somen runs Eldama Technologies, a cloud services firm which he founded in 2016 with his wife Petra.
  • He and his brother, David, are some of the most successful investors in the local tech industry.
  • The bank has also tapped former British American Tobacco (BAT) finance director Philip Lopokoiyit.

NIC Bank has appointed tech entrepreneur Jonathan Somen to its board as a non-executive director, effective February 8.

Mr Somen runs Eldama Technologies, a cloud services firm which he founded in 2016 with his wife Petra.

He and his brother, David, are some of the most successful investors in the local tech industry.

They are best known for co-founding Access Kenya, a company which was previously listed on the Nairobi bourse and was sold in 2013 to Dimension data.

The bank has also tapped former British American Tobacco (BAT) finance director Philip Lopokoiyit.

A certified public accountant with a Master’s degree from Warwick Business School,  Mr Lokopoiyit quit BAT in May 2017 after seven years at the firm.

'Pursue other interests'

At the time, BAT said that Mr Lopokoiyit was leaving to pursue “other interests and opportunities outside the group”.

Also joining the NIC Bank board is Wakini Ndegwa, a member of a family that owns at least 25 per cent stake in the mid-tier lender.

According to NIC, Ms Ndegwa brings with her experience working in “various capacities in the banking, environmental and property sectors”.

Other members of the Ndegwa family on the board of NIC Bank are Andrew and James.

The family’s patriarch, former CBK governor Philip Ndegwa, first bought into the company in the 1990s.

NIC Bank’s profits after tax fell a marginal 1.3 per cent to Sh3.32 billion in the nine months to September 2017, on account of a 16.7 per cent cut in interest income.