Kenya’s Twiga Foods Appoints Ex-Jumia CEO Charles Ballard as New CEO

Kenyan Agritech B2B platform that connects farmers and retailers, Twiga Foods, has announced the appointment of former Jumia CEO Charles Ballard to serve as CEO of the company.

Ballard’s appointment comes after Twiga Foods founder Peter Njonjo resigned from his position in January this year.

Notably, Ballard is joining Twiga from e-commerce giant Jumia where he has been the chief executive since April 2023. He joined Jumia in 2019, first as head of performance and planning before rising to chief operating officer in 2021. He also worked in several leadership roles in Kenya including COO and head of performance and planning.

With a career spanning over 15 years, of which nine were in the Kenyan market, Ballard brings a wealth of experience in e-commerce, retail, and financial services.

Hein Pretorius, chairman of Twiga’s board of directors, commended his appointment saying Ballard’s deep understanding of the Kenyan e-commerce and retail landscape, operational grip, entrepreneurial drive, and passion make him the ideal leader to steer Twiga into its next phase of growth.

Also speaking on his appointment, Ballard expressed gratitude, stating that he is honored to lead such a talented team at Twiga Foods during this pivotal time.

In his words,

“With our unique value proposition, we are ideally positioned to seize key market opportunities. I am deeply committed to developing our team and fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence that will drive us into our next phase of growth.”

The appointment of Ballard is poised to bolster Twiga Foods’ ambition to continue to deliver on its mission to transform food supply chains in Kenya and Africa at large.