Byron Osiro
during the
launch of his
book “From
Red to Green”,
in Nairobi
/HANDOUT

Back in High School, Byron
Osiro had a dream of pursuing a degree in medicine. His career path, however, changed under his former headmaster at Bugema Adentist Secondary School in Uganda, Mugumya Mesusera, whom he credits for seeing what he had not recognized in himself.

His course of life shifted to pursuing a career in Computer Science. What
seemed like a detour turned out to be destiny in motion, as he says in his
recently launched book, “From Red to Green”, the journey of
a diligent and intelligent sales leader. 

From earning a Sh1,430 salary to landing multi-million dollar deals, he now works for a Fortune 500
company, which is among the top global tech firms. Red to Green extends beyond sales to encompass
relationships, finances and mental health, emphasising moving from being stuck
to a state of clarity—mastering the sales journey through value-based
relationships. Osiro spoke to the
Star on his personal journey, the tech environment in Kenya, the region and the
future.

What stands out in your book?

First, we have
to start this with a clear disclaimer that the views represented here are mine
and not representative of any organisations I represent or work for out here. I
have been able to consistently over-achieve my sales targets, growing revenues
for the companies I have worked for in sales teams, for close to two decades
now.

This is evidenced by the top honours I have qualified for, like Oracle
Corporation’s President’s Club/ Club Excellence, or Million Dollar Club,
honours that are given to folks who achieve over 200 per cent of their annual sales
targets in the respective fiscal years.

 Beyond the numbers, though, is the fact that I close business through
creating valuable and meaningful relationships consistently, with different
personas across these organisations, selling value rather than products or
features. I have embraced leadership along the way, often being designated
sales manager soon after taking on a new sales executive role.

God has also
been at the centre of my sales success. I would not have achieved the little that
I have without his divine providence. I talk about the destiny helpers He has
consistently planted in my path in the book.

What was your first role in tech and
how has the industry changed since then?

I was an
intern at an IT Reseller/ Partner in Kampala, Uganda, back in 2002-03. The
company was called Integrated Computers and Electronics Ltd. A client came and
bought computers, a network printer and a switch and asked that we go install a
LAN (Local Area Network) at his home for his research team. When we got on-site,
the senior staff were not able to do it.

The boss gave me the crimping tool and
asked me to sort it out. I did it and confirmed that all was well by printing
the test page on the network printer. This got me on the payroll immediately,
just weeks in on the internship, as an IT Support Technician.

So my career did
not start from sales but from IT support roles, given my computer science background.
Back then, we did not have AI to enable machines and computers to perform tasks
that typically require human intelligence as we do now.

You had to have been
trained formerly or at least studied systems to know how to troubleshoot and
resolve various system issues. The Internet was also delivered through very slow
speed, dial-up systems as opposed to the current high-speed 4G and 5G fiber
optic connections.

In general, hardware specifications for hard disks, memory
chips/ dimms and other computer parts have evolved drastically to support the
faster computing needs that consumers currently demand.

How does your educational background
contribute to your work today?

I am a
computer scientist, having earned a Diploma in Computer Science and a Bachelor’s
Degree in IT and Computing at Kyambogo University in Kampala, Uganda, between
2002 and 2007.

I also attempted the Cisco CCNA Certification during that period. I, however, transitioned to IT sales roles where I use my IT background to position
solutions that impact how organisations operate or drive their businesses, to
reduce cost and optimise efficiency in their operations, to innovate and stay
ahead of their competition.

My IT background makes it easier to understand
different technological concepts like network and security, database systems and
ways to optimise the same. However, the IT world is very diverse and systems
change daily.

I am now in an area where I am selling cloud ERP systems, a total
shift from what I studied back in university. So one has to keep unlearning and
relearning to keep abreast with the changes in the technology world.

Back in
High school when I did my A-Levels, my subject combination was Physics,
Chemistry, Biology and Subsidiary Mathematics as I had intended to be a medical
doctor. Chemistry Paper 2 was a very bad reaction on me that I am still yet to
recover from and hence ditching medical aspirations and opting for the
Technology world. No regrets, though.

How would you describe the current
state of the tech market in Kenya?

Very innovative
and mostly driven by fintechs and mobile money operators. Mobile lending has
become very popular, with many players getting licensed by the Central Bank of
Kenya to get their piece of the pie from the eager borrowers in the country.


We all know about M-Pesa, which has been globally recognised as a leading,
innovative solution from Kenya. Tech startups are raising millions of dollars
to further launch new disruptive solutions in digital banking, Agri-tech,
insure-tech, ride-hailing companies,s, to mention but a few. Kenya’s E-commerce
space is growing rapidly, with projections that this could hit Sh500 billion by
2027. All these innovations, however, must be supported by a solid infrastructure
backbone with fiber optic connectivity at the center of the action.

What technologies or solutions are
currently driving demand among Kenyan businesses?

Digital
payments come top in my view. Many SMEs are adopting digital payments, reducing
complexity in payments for their customers. Digital lending has become very popular.
Cloud computing comes second as businesses shift from traditional on-prem
infrastructure to SaaS models to reduce their Capex and move to Opex models,
reducing their annual spend on technology that drives the businesses.

Given the
growth in adoption of data-driven solutions and the adoption of cloud computing
and digital payments mentioned above, Cybersecurity has become more critical to
protect SMEs and Enterprises from exposure to cyber-attacks. A lot still
needs to be done here, though, as security is a concept that must be applied
consistently at different layers, like network, application, database, and not
forgetting the users themselves.

How do Kenyan customers differ from
those in other markets you have worked with?

Kenyans are
ahead of their peers in adopting mobile payment platforms, with M-Pesa known as a
global leader and as the rail for digital payments. Paybills and Till numbers
are fairly new concepts to most of Kenya’s neighbour’s while in Kenya, these
have become the modus operandi.

There is also faster adoption of technology as
a business driver in Kenya than in its peers in the region, primarily because of
strong policies for the digital economy, significant investments made in
digital infrastructure, a strong middle class and a young tech-savvy population
providing a ready market for digital goods and services.

Kenyan customers have a
stronger buying power, given that Kenya has the largest GDP in the region,
roughly 1.5 times larger than Tanzania’s and more than double the
size of Uganda’s economy. This makes technology more affordable in Kenya
than in the neighbouring countries and hence the faster adoption.

How do you navigate price sensitivity
while selling premium tech products?

This is very
personal from one salesman to another. It is important for customers to know
upfront the price ranges for the solutions they intend to purchase. That way, they budget correctly.  Secondly, some
solutions may have a high upfront cost but have lasting value in the long term
and should therefore not be judged based on initial cost. I basically show
customers their TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), and their ROI (Return On
Investment), clearly articulating the benefits and when the same are to be
derived.

What are the biggest challenges tech
salespeople face in Kenya today?

First is
competition. There are many players offering customers too many options for the
solutions required in the tech space in Kenya. Second is long procurement
cycles. Some of these can last as long as 24 months.

This puts the salesperson
in a tough situation as one is required to close substantial deals quarterly to
meet their set targets. Third is budget constraints and price sensitivity. Many
businesses are cautious with technology spending and may prefer to go for
cheaper local alternatives. Then demand to sign local contracts. Many local
businesses require tech players to sign local contracts guided by local laws, yet many multinationals do not sign these and always insist on customers
signing the multinational’s contracts, which are protected by international
laws.

This causes further delays in closing deals as companies negotiate to
find common ground and eventually yield to sign the multinational’s
contract. One common one is being ghosted by clients, either when making initial
cold calls or when the deal is ready to be booked and phones or emails go
silent or unanswered.

How do economic factors such as
inflation, exchange rates, or local procurement policies affect tech sales?

Allow me to
answer this by citing the example of Safaricom’s Ethiopia subsidiary. Because
Ethiopia still lacks sufficient or adequate forex reserves and also because the
Ethiopian Birr was sharply devalued, the group company in Kenya is hit by forex
losses when it translates its earnings to Kenyan Shillings since it consolidates
the Ethiopian business into the group. This impacts their overall group
revenues as a tech company.

As mentioned earlier, some local procurement
policies do not allow customers to sign contracts not guided by local laws.
This limits opportunities for multinationals like the ones I have worked for to
participate directly in some tenders where they are otherwise fully qualified
to participate in. To mitigate this, the companies sign agreements with local
partners that act as an extension to their business but that can then sign the
local contracts.

Which sectors are leading in tech
adoption and which ones are lagging?

BFSI–Banking
and Financial Services and Insurance sector is clearly ahead. ICT and
Telecommunications and Cloud systems are also at the top end with Kenya positioning
itself as a regional Tech hub with strong growth in data centres, cloud
infrastructure and broadband connectivity.

Agri-Tech has also come up strong
with farmers adopting farming applications and digitising supply chains. Many
SMEs are, however, still relying on basic tools like Excel for basic accounting.
We also have not seen much digitisation in the manufacturing sector. This
presents a huge opportunity for market players.

What global or regional trends are
influencing local customer preferences?

AI is here
with us and has a great influence when customers are adopting digital
systems. I have already mentioned cloud computing. This helps customers to
reduce cost, innovate faster and use insights and more data-driven solutions to
predict business outcomes.

Cybersecurity is central to everything to mitigate cyber-attacks
and losses associated with them. High-speed connectivity: There is a
growing demand for 5G in Kenya to enable more data-intensive applications in
AI, IoT and edge computing. We cannot close this section without mentioning
Cryptocurrency.

Kenya has recently enacted a cryptocurrency/ Digital assets law
called the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Act, passed by Parliament in
2025. At the same time, President Donald Trump has signed the GENIUS Act into
law, a piece of legislation that is intended to pave the way for the US to lead
the global digital currency revolution.