NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 10 – QNET has appointed Jared Thwaits as Regional General Manager for East and Southern Africa as the direct-selling company seeks to strengthen its operations in Kenya and other markets in the region.
Thwaits will oversee the company’s strategy and operations across East and Southern Africa, with a focus on growth, customer experience, distributor education, compliance and stakeholder engagement.
The appointment comes as Kenya’s entrepreneurial landscape continues to shift amid growing use of digital commerce, mobile technology and social media.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the informal sector accounted for more than 80 percent of employment in Kenya in 2025, highlighting the role of entrepreneurship and alternative income-generating activities in the economy.
Thwaits said QNET’s expansion in Kenya would be accompanied by greater emphasis on consumer education, transparency and responsible business practices.
“Kenya has one of Africa’s most dynamic entrepreneurial populations and a highly developed digital economy. This creates enormous potential, but growth must be accompanied by responsibility, transparency and education,” Thwaits said.
“The future of direct selling in Kenya must be built around real products, informed consumers, well-trained distributors and ethical business practices.”
QNET operates through a direct-selling model that combines e-commerce with independent distributors who sell the company’s lifestyle and wellness products.
The company said it plans to strengthen digital tools and services available to customers and distributors, while exploring the use of data and artificial intelligence to improve customer experience, education and business efficiency.
“Today, a Kenyan entrepreneur can discover a customer through social media, communicate through WhatsApp, receive a digital payment and manage significant parts of their business from a smartphone,” Thwaits said.
“That is fundamentally changing entrepreneurship. Direct selling is evolving alongside this environment, and our responsibility is to ensure that technology is accompanied by better education, stronger compliance and greater accountability.”
Thwaits’ appointment is part of a wider restructuring of QNET’s global leadership team.
The team includes Mattias Mildenborn as Chief Executive Officer, Elena Khoo as Chief Marketing Officer, Peter Luk as Chief Financial Officer and Ben Bredenkamp as Group Chief Information Officer.
The new leadership team will oversee areas including sales, marketing, finance and technology as QNET seeks to modernise its operations and strengthen support for its Independent Distributors.
Kuna Senathirajah, Group Managing Director of QI Group, QNET’s parent company, said the appointments bring together executives with experience in direct selling, consumer marketing, finance and technology.
“Our ambition is to create a QNET that understands the expectations of the next generation, delivers exceptional products and experiences, and equips our Independent Distributors with the knowledge, technology and support they need to build responsible and sustainable businesses,” Senathirajah said.
