A man of many hats – a feature on one William Nanjero
William Nanjero’s goal in life is enjoying what he does even if it does not necessarily pay.
Nanjero is a man who wears many hats in the sporting, music and product development space.
His most famous job is being the general manager of Sol Generation, the record label of Kenya’s favourite boy band, Sauti Sol, which also houses famous local Afro-pop artistes Nviiri and Bensoul.
At the same time, he is the captain of the Kenya National Triathlon Team and also an accomplished Elite Sports Mental Health certified trainer.
Interestingly, Nanjero who pursued Business Mangement at United States International University (USIU-Africa) and Master’s in Business Management at Greenwich University (UK) is a Professional Product Development Advisor with an experience working for Fintech in firms such as Safaricom and Zoona (a Zambian based fin-tech company providing financial services) overall in areas of marketing, sales and distribution.
He has over 10 years corporate experience in technology, product development, financial inclusion, and distribution.
Nanjero contends that his passion in areas of tech, music and sports makes him enjoy his work even more.
“My passion is basically to impact industries, gain satisfaction and improve.
I love what I do and that is why all my projects, whether in music, tech or sports are important to me because in each, I can contribute something substantial,” says the digital finance practitioner as we start the interview.
When the subject of Sauti-Sol is mentioned, his eyes light-up. The popular boy band set up the record management company three years ago with an aim of building an artist infrastructure and so far, Nanjero has been the force behind the Sol-Generation brand.
“Sauti Sol and I go way back, we have been long-time buddies and when they approached me to run the show for their project, I eagerly accepted.
Helping brands grow
What we have done together is amazing and for the two years I have been in-charge, we have witnessed growth, especially with our dynamic Nviiri and Bensoul whose songs are on high-rotation.
It has been a team effort so far with wings of creative and operational sides working in tandem.
The plan is to build a system that will outlive the traditional pitches — we have taken a data-driven approach, which is proving useful.
Therefore, we share a vision with Sauti Sol in building a proper and sustainable brand,” he adds.
Nanjero considers himself an excellence-driven individual with a desire to help brands grow.
“Having a people- centred approach has produced a team that trusts the leadership, self manages and seeks excellence.
The end product is always exceeding expectation. Continuous improvement through mentorship, reading, exposure to the best in class individuals and rest is important,” offers Nanjero who was named the captain of triathlon team earlier this year.
Triathlon is an endurance sport that combines swimming, road cycling and distance running, performed in that order
Nanjero who has represented the country in Denmark and Spain in the World Cup in 2018 and 2019 in the Triathlon Championship is hopeful of leading the charge in the Commonwealth Games next year.
“We are at a development stage, but it is encouraging to see what we have done in the recent years.
We have a young talented squad that is exciting, so we look forward to a promising future. As the team leader, my work is to encourage them,” says Nanjero.
With all these engagements, one may wonder how he excels in them all. “All I do is balance and delegate roles when need be.
I have never failed to intiate or complete any work in my fields of interest,” he says.
At the moment, Nanjero is happy with his circle of friends and family who have grounded him.
“Family is the foundation of all greatness, so I am a happy family man. I cannot say I have achieved all my dreams, but what I know is that I am enjoying what I do.
So, for me, it is all about continuing with my journey towards success,” says the married father of two children.
