It is with deep regret that we announce the death of Kai Uwe Wulff. Kai, 51, the first CEO of the revolutionary Kenya Data Networks aka (KDN), was one of the pioneers who helped set up high-speed data networks. KDN, a member of the Sameer Investment Group of Companies, is a full service, data communications carrier licensed by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) in January 2003 as a Public Data Network Operator.
CIO East Africa spoke with one of KDNs founders over the great loss of Kai. “We met at work. Kai was like my elder brother,” said David Owino. “We rolled out the wireless network, built a lot of fibre and changed a lot of things. When we came in, landlords were not aware of KDN. They thought that it was only Telkom Kenya who laid down cables. We rolled out to connect buildings and customers with fibre optic cable. We were the first to do Mombasa to Ntororo.” Funded by Naushad Merali, Owino says that “It was a very new concept. Investors were very sceptical, and the business model wasn’t very clear to many people.”