SHE MEANS BUSINESS: From serving coffee to becoming head of Safaricom's M-PESA

This, she says, is something she is very proud of and has worked hard to find a balance between juggling her professional goals as well as family goals.

As we settle for the She Means Business interview, Esther’s down-to-earth personality shines through as she briefs her team about an upcoming event in the afternoon – the launch of a partnership between the telco and the National Basketball Association (NBA) Africa and she says how she has had to contain herself meeting big names from the association as the deal was being sealed, adding that she is a huge basketball fan and when the decision on whether the telco was going to partner on the project came up, she had to check in with other executives to make sure it was not just her love for the game that was making her drawn to the project, but rather that it was a good business decision.

On what it takes to get to the C-Suite, Esther speaks on the importance of putting in the work, adding that it took her 17 years to get to where she is now, having had a decades-long career in banking, before moving on to the telco.

She also speaks about the importance of meaningful networking, adding that some of the major roles she has landed have been through networking.

On the best financial advice she has received, Esther refers to advice her mother gave her as a teenager to save, then invest in an asset that will give passive income, rather than investing in depreciating assets such as vehicles.

Watch the full She Means Interview to learn more about what it takes to make it to the C-Suite.