Former Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph has landed a role at giant money printer De La Rue. Joseph has been appointed to the board of De La Rue Kenya EPZ Limited, joining the company following changes in its ownership and governance structure.
He is among three new directors appointed to the board, alongside Andrew Pkemoi Lopokoiyot, an executive director at Wilson Airport-based aviation company Wilken Group, and Ugandan businessman Humphrey Arnold Munyamerere Nzeyi, the founder of Invicta Africa Limited.
Who is Michael Joseph and Why is He Notable?
Michael Joseph studied electrical engineering at the University of Cape Town, laying the foundation for a career in the telecommunications industry.
He has also been awarded an honorary doctorate by Africa Nazarene University in recognition of his contribution to business leadership and technology.
Michael Joseph joined Safaricom in 2000 as its founding Chief Executive Officer and led the company until 2010.
During his tenure, Safaricom grew from fewer than 18,000 subscribers to more than 17 million, while M-PESA was launched in 2007.
He returned as acting CEO in 2019 following the death of Bob Collymore and served until March 2020.
Later, Michael Joseph became chairman of the Safaricom board before stepping down from the board in August 2023, ending a 23-year association with the company.
Beyond Safaricom, he served as Chairman of Kenya Airways from October 2016 to June 2025.
He also chairs the M-PESA Foundation and the M-PESA Foundation Academy, and previously served as Vodafone’s Director of Mobile Money, where he helped expand M-PESA across Vodafone markets.
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Michael Jackson is widely recognized for helping build Safaricom into Kenya’s largest telecommunications company and for overseeing the launch and growth of M-PESA, which transformed mobile money services in Kenya and beyond.
Inside De La Rue’s Ownership Shake-Up
De La Rue’s presence in Kenya dates to 1966 through its predecessor companies, Thomas De La Rue & Company Limited and Bradbury & Wilkinson, which became part of Thomas De La Rue after an acquisition that year.
The company established its currency printing plant in Ruaraka, Nairobi, in October 1992, making it Kenya’s principal producer of banknotes. Over the next three decades, the facility printed successive generations of Kenyan currency, including the 2019 banknote series introduced after the 2010 Constitution.
In 2017, the National Treasury acquired a 40 percent stake in De La Rue Kenya EPZ Limited, creating a joint venture with the British security printing company. The government investment gave Kenya direct ownership in the company responsible for printing its currency.
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De La Rue also played a key role in the withdrawal and replacement of the old KSh1,000 note during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration, an exercise aimed at removing illicit cash from circulation.
The company’s long-running role as Kenya’s currency printer came to an end after the Kenya Kwanza administration selected a new supplier, ending De La Rue’s decades-long monopoly in printing the country’s banknotes.
Business Registration Service records dated May 25, 2026, showed Thomas De La Rue AG owned 60 percent of De La Rue Kenya EPZ Limited, while the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury held the remaining 40 percent on behalf of the Kenyan government.
However, updated CR-12 records dated July 28, 2026, reveal major changes in the company’s ownership and board structure.
The filings show that Thomas De La Rue AG transferred its entire 60 percent stake to Monarch Capital, a Mauritius-registered investment company incorporated on October 6, 2025.
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