Morris Maina is not a politician. Not yet, at least. But he has the political mien. The deportment. The expertise.
“Would you consider joining politics? Or, more accurately, government?” He laughs for a while and then says, “I have never thought about it.”
If it sounds like we are canvassing for him, we aren’t. TransUnion —one of Kenya’s top credit bureaus—boss knows his stuff, loves his shtick, and has credibility in the industry that needs no announcer. If it sounds like we are genuflecting—that we are.
“Where I get a bit concerned is when the government takes a lot of credit and puts off facilities that should go to private citizens. The cost of credit to individuals is pretty high,” he says, putting the government to task. He proffers sage wisdom for the rest of us: “Find your Italian shoe,” he says. “Find that thing that makes you stand out.”
And like a true politician, he boils down complex issues to simple, soothing soundbites. It’s what he has done throughout his career—previously as the head of internet and content at Safaricom, consumer and device business lead for Microsoft’s Anglo-African region, and later as Vice President for Sales at Copia Kenya. Morris holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, an MBA from the University of Nairobi, and an Advanced Management Program certification from Strathmore University.
Advancing in years and an empath at heart, he seems to have dropped from Shakespeare’s pen in King Lear—that he, Morris, understands what matters is empathy, not the comfort of empty platitudes nor the exercise of office, but the presence of those who genuinely care for us. That’s why he is headed home for the Christmas holiday celebrations.
Career, Philosophy, and Leadership
What does your day job look like? “It is about doing simple things that make a difference in people’s lives. At the moment, my picture of success is driving financial and credit inclusion that stimulates the social and economic status of the population.”
What have you learned about yourself running this business? “When I joined, I didn’t know too much about what happens from a bureau’s perspective. There is a misnomer from the wider society that what bureaus do is blacklist people, which really doesn’t happen. A bureau like us will have about 20 million records—and 70% of them have positive listings, good records that open doors from a credit access perspective, particularly in an environment of risk-based pricing.
“In terms of what I have learned, Kenyans’ appetite for credit to enable change in their lives is extremely high. Ninety percent of respondents believe getting credit or financial support changes their lives; however, with the same respondents, only about 45% believe they have easy or adequate access to credit.”
What is a major regulatory issue facing the fintech world, and what is your role in it? “Regulatory scrutiny is enhancing across all markets. Over 400 fintech companies have applied for licenses over the last two years, and probably only about 100 or less have been approved. That means operations have scaled down, and funding becomes impacted for those companies awaiting licensing. But it’s happening across the market from the UK to India, and this will continue because the moment you become established, then naturally the regulator has to increase scrutiny.
“I advise fintechs to consider regulatory compliance and robust business governance from Day Zero. In most cases, a fintech starts operating and then thinks about regulation when it gets in trouble.”
How has failure set you up for success? Do you have a “favourite failure” of yours? “I have realized this about failure, two things happen: Some people fail, and it becomes defining for them, negatively. One of the classic failures I got while working in the telecom space was when we were moving from voice to drive internet, which was my responsibility, especially in the MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) and business internet. I did not achieve 20% of the targets set for me within the first year. That was a classic failure.
“I learned that we had not thought through or anticipated that the market could shift when we were doing the strategy. It is my favorite failure because it gave me a reason that, at times, you have fantastic preparation and that you have done the groundwork; however, the market shifts when you are mid-strategy, which should tell you that your strategy should always be revolving and you should always do continuous scanning. We read this in theory, but at times we forget to exercise in real life.”
How did that redefine how you approach life? “Accepting failure is part of it. I am comfortable with my, and my team’s failure. Try and see what are the key lessons you have learned. In my personal life, I take failure as one of the expectations of people who are bold in what they want to achieve. But you need to fall fast, wake up fast, and learn fast.”
What is the best part about being a CEO? “Where I thrive is seeing my teams grow. In my CEO journey, I would have led for about 10 years and been CEO for four, and the great thing is not what you achieve but seeing people develop and do great stuff for the organization.”
What have you become better at saying no to? “I have become better at saying no to getting involved in emotional stuff that is not in my purview. For a very long time, I was a yes-man. I would feel woiyee, and do things, just because. Now I have learned to say no when you don't have to and to be comfortable with a no.”
What inspired that shift? “When I look back, I see the mistakes I have made in social interactions. It is shocking when you say no, especially as Africans, because we are naturally nice people. I worked at Microsoft managing business across cultural diversities in 14 countries for five years, and I learned Kenyans are nice people, and most of the time, they accept things, even when those things are not aligned with what they believe in, just to please the other person. You don't have to do it.
“I also engage with a lot of older successful people, and that does not necessarily mean materially, but there is an old man in my village whom I like to sit with, who has lived long, probably over 90 years. Some time back, my machine had injured one of my workers badly, and I had given a lift to some old lady as I went to see my worker in the hospital. She was staring at me, and she could see I was bothered before telling me that there is nothing that has never been experienced. That is wisdom. Life is a marathon, not a sprint, that guides my choices.”
Are you a head or a heart person? “I am a good mix of both. I have gone through a lot of leadership reviews and assessments and I come out as a pretty empathetic person. Empathy has quite a bit of heart in it. I have also learned to be pretty analytical and statistical because my job demands that. Initially, I was a heart person, but from practice I am a head person—but if I were to choose one, I would pick the heart side.”
Why? Because of your daughters (he has three)? “Haha! They say that sustainably competitive businesses do one thing better than the others: to touch the heart of their customers. They say if you touch your customer’s heart you can forget about competition because they [customers] will stick with you and forgive you. I love the heart, but by itself, you can’t be successful. You have to put your mind to matter intentionally.”
Mind to matter. What does that mean?“This is a clear differentiation that you will see in your life. Most of the time, people decide without really applying their minds to the content of what they need to make the decision on. If you spend a bit more time applying your mind before making a decision, you’d more often than not make the right decision.”
Fatherhood and Personal Life
What’s your fatherhood philosophy? “I have not been able to divorce my fatherhood philosophy from my personal philosophy, which is continuous learning. The moment you do that, you realize you become agile in whoever you engage with. I am inclined to markers beyond our natural self in terms of having discipline and focus on that bigger being—I’m a practicing Christian, and that is part of my philosophy.”
You are the only man in your house. What is that like? “I am very lucky; I am spoiled because I have my three daughters to show for the 28 years of marriage. They spoil me, but they also stretch me to do things I would not ordinarily do, like a bit of baking and cooking. I also pull them to a few things they would not by default do, like farming. I love old vintage cars, and all my daughters drive. It's a give-and-take.”
What kind of man do you hope to be? “I am already a man, [Laughs]. The key thing is authenticity. I admire that and have natural empathy. If I can have those two things, then I will have done the job that I wish to be as a man, but I also want to be a fantastic husband and a great father.”
Of the three roles that you play—a father, husband, and CEO—which one do you find easier? “Father. There are no expectations. All these other roles, especially the CEO job, you may enjoy it, but some checkboxes need to be ticked. I find the fatherhood role natural and a core responsibility more than any other to drive success.”
Money, Credit, and the Fintech Landscape
If we compare our culture to Americans with a lot of credit card usage—how does Kenya’s credit card appetite compare and contrast? “Kenya is unique, and one of the things that made a difference is mobile money, which makes our credit consumption different. Credit card penetration in South Africa, where probably over 50% of the citizens have one, and across the developed world is also quite high—ditto mortgage. When you come to Kenya, 96% of credit accounts are digital, so credit card accounts in an adult population of 29 million will probably be less than 100,000. Credit cards enable you to conveniently transact, but you can do that with your phone in Kenya, largely because of mobile money penetration.”
Do Kenyans pay back their loans? “Kenyans don’t have a debt problem at the individual level. Nonetheless, there is an opportunity and gap in financial literacy and how the lenders across board—digital lenders, banks, private and public players—can capitalize on in advising people what to do with the credit they take.
“I noticed that Kenyans take credit for consumption, such as buying food for the day. Ideally, that should not be the case, although there are certain exceptions. Most likely, you won’t pay back because of the consumption factor. There is no credit problem but a credit utilization problem. At a personal level, I get concerned when the government at the local market takes a lot of credit and puts off facilities that would go to private citizens. That becomes an issue because the cost of credit to individuals is pretty high and probably not as available and affordable as it should be.”
Is there an opportunity in the fintech world that few are paying attention to? “Yes, in digital lending, because many fintechs operate in this market. To get ease of entry, most fintechs do microservice—a typical solution that is being offered by traditional banks, which they [fintechs] unbundle for cost efficiency and affordability, which is why you can get a digital loan without going to the bank physically.
“The biggest opportunity comes after the unbundled service: What do you do with that consumer beyond that digital loan? Layering additional services continuously on your core offering then makes a difference. Secondly, differentiation. There are more than 100 fintechs offering the same solution. I had a boss who used to tell me about finding your ‘Italian shoe.’ You could go to a street in Nairobi that sells shoes, and the next shop sells Italian shoes. They may look the same, but you’d pay four times as much to buy the Italian shoe because of the perceived differentiation.”
Are we conservatives in our borrowing? “Kenyans have a high demand for credit. It is the lenders who are actually more conservative because they need to look at their impairment since provisions for nonperforming loans have been increasing. That is where we come in as a bureau, providing sophisticated credit assessment tools, including comprehensive credit reports, scoring models, and advanced data analytics. These solutions enable lenders to make more informed decisions about credit extension while managing their risk exposure effectively.”
Innovation, Privacy, and the Future
What do you foresee as the major considerations when it comes to data privacy? “Data privacy and security are fundamental to our industry's success. At TransUnion, trust-building is our core mission, ensuring accurate and secure marketplace representation of your data. Kenya's regulatory environment has matured significantly regarding data handling protocols. As licensed data processors and controllers, we don't just tick compliance boxes—it's embedded in our identity and mission of ‘information for good.’”
What can TransUnion do better? “Our mantra is continuous learning. We have lined up in Q1 2025 solutions on core credit to improve and enable our customers to make much more prudent decisions. We are bringing solutions to fraud to enable our clients to onboard customers in a seamless risk-free manner. We do better through continuous engagement.”
Do you have political ambitions? “Haha! I spend a lot of time with governments because of the space I find myself in. I am not sure I am cut out for government, and I won’t tell you why haha!”
Money, Purpose, and Legacy
What is one of the best investment decisions you ever made? “Early in my career, when I was newly married, around 2002, we got personal financial training from a gentleman called Manyara. He would tell us the value of investing in the stock market and mutual trust. I bought my first 100 shares of Total Kenya then, and I kept on doing it. I have also inculcated the same to my firstborn daughter, a psychologist.
“I consider that my best investment because I bought my first home in 2007, five years after I started investing in the stock market. Now that I am 52, and looking back over the 20 years I have worked, if I had listened to the gentleman much more and kept saving Sh100 without waiting for it to be Sh100,000, I would be much more financially secure.”
How has your relationship with money changed over the years? “The level of excitement with money has gone down. When I get money, I think about saving rather than spending. Not that I am stingy, but I am more comfortable with it—I can stay with Sh1 million and think about what to do with it. Early on, I would not sleep very well when I had money on me [Chuckles]. When they said to keep something for a rainy day, they knew what they were saying.”
What lesson did you learn about money that keeps surprising you? “It is never enough. If I compare what I earn now and what I earned five years ago, there is a big change, but for some reason, money is never enough. What is within your control is what you do with that money.”
What advice do you wish you heard when young that you can pass on? “Life is a marathon. That has been my mantra for a long time. People want achievement within a short time. But solid achievement starts coming in the late 40s, in my experience. People in their early 20s want to do so many things, but I would say, don't rush it.”
What does the boy growing up in Nyeri tell the CEO sitting in your position now? “You've done well. You've been flexible in your choices, and you've taken opportunities... but you have remained humble and authentic. If the boy says that, I will know that growing up was worth the trouble.”
By Eddie Ashioya