Vodafone’s director of mobile money Michael Joseph has received the Leadership in Technology Management Award from PICMET. The award recognizes his work in developing Vodafone M-Pesa, the mobile money transfer and payment service that has transformed the lives of millions of people in emerging markets. Receiving the Award at PICMET’s 2014 conference in Kanazawa, Japan, he said it was an honour and a humbling experience to be recognised by PICMET and its members. “When I went to Kenya to become the CEO of Safaricom I wanted to change people’s lives for the better. I was determined that we would be an innovative company by design – the now world-famous M-Pesa product was the result of that thinking.” M-Pesa has grown to be a business success for Safaricom posting KSh26.6 billion in revenue for the financial year 2013/14 which was a 21.6 percent growth compared to the previous reporting period. An average of KSh101.3 billion was transacted between the period April 2013 and March 2014. The service has also proved as a source of income for many households, with 81,025 agents spread across the country. PICMET, short for Portland International Centre for Management of Engineering and Technology, generates and disseminates knowledge on technology management to around 17,000 technology management specialists in academia, industry and government throughout the world. The PICMET Leadership in Technology Management Award, which was established in 1991, recognises and honours individuals who have provided leadership in managing technology by establishing a vision, providing a strategic direction, and facilitating the implementation strategies for that vision.
