As the world commemorates International Women’s Day, Maudhui House got a chance to interact with Rose Osemo, an accomplished legal mind who has kept discipline and neatly balanced career and family to claim a front seat in the global corporate space. Osemo currently heads the legal department at asset financier Watu Credit:— 

Who is Rose Osemo?

I’m a seasoned legal practitioner with 15 years of experience. My bias is in international trade and investments with a minor in intellectual property. I have managed to hone my skills, especially in the area of advising corporates and assisting corporates in the area of framing.

I have worked for four pertinent organizations. Through it all, I have worked in the leadership space, being a mirror to my peers and being a mentor to those who are below me in terms of practice. But above all, I am a mother. I am a wife and I am a daughter. I'm a sibling.   I'm a friend.

What inspired you to into corporate and commercial law?

Through and through in school, I thought I would make it in the medical space. Yes. Shock on me. When I was allowed to join law school, I remember my first semester was filled with a lot of uncertainty, and a lot of struggle within me. But I fell in love with law in my first year, second semester.  I saw how accommodating and dynamic law was, giving me a chance to think and to be myself and to present new ways of solving problems and creating regulation.

When I got to fourth year, I had already decided that I wanted to go the business way. I want to bring in a change in shaping business and business units within Kenya. So that is how, after finishing undergrad, I immediately joined my master's program in the same university, specializing in international trade and investments.

What has your career path been like?

I have worked with Kenya Data Networks, now Liquid Telecom. That is where I became who I am now.  That is where I learned what the corporate space is; the staircases that I needed to take to grow ranks.

Although I started as a junior legal officer, by the time I was leaving Kenya Data Networks, I was the head of corporate legal affairs.  I worked also with Nestle, a fast-moving consumer goods company where I was handling 21 countries within Africa, heading the legal units. Nestle helped me understand the global picture better hence by the time I was coming to Watu Credit, I was super ready for the world.

How did the two, the experience at Liquid Telecom and Nestle, prepare you for whatever you are currently doing at Watu Credit?

In both entities, I started the legal departments. That helped me come and start at Watu.  Having moved from technology to consumer goods, the challenges were different, but the foundation was the same. At the end of the day, the shareholders need results.

You are technically a woman in tech. That seems to be evolving every minute due to the changing innovation. How is this panning out for you?

Being a woman in this financial services space is a place where you can easily be deemed or rendered silent. You will just see things growing. So if you don't grow with FinTech, then you easily become irrelevant, for lack of a better word.  Even when I was joining Watu, I knew that financial services, and especially asset financing, was an area that is not regulated in Kenya and hence littered with challenges and success. I had to decide whether to be part of the challenge or part of the success. I chose the latter.

So I develop policies and look at legal risk to ensure that solutions are found. I move with technology to make sure that I am part of the growth.

What will you tell a young lawyer getting into corporate and commercial law today?

There is no space for being a victim and the world does not owe him or her any favors. They are enough. They are sufficient for the battle that lies ahead.

They should also take the opportunity or the opportunity to move to the next person who has their hands open. It is just about learning and learning and relearning every day.

In 2023, data protection was a big thing. Last year we saw AI coming up. What are some of the most significant legal trends in the business you should be expecting in 2025?

I see us moving towards ADR, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and honing it, making noise about it.  This is because we have seen the challenges that litigation comes with. We have seen the joys of attempting to resolve disputes through alternative methods.

Companies are tired of banning bridges. That is why we are building policies because we want to build bridges, not break them.

What are some of the legal innovations that excite you?

Lawyers and technology were for a long time not friends. They didn't know each other. But we can see that now there is a lot of adoption of technology in our day-to-day areas of research and contract review. Today, 60 percent of our court matters virtually.

So what role do you think corporate governance plays in shaping ethical business?

In corporate governance, we look at the element of accountability. For a business to be ethical, transparency and accountability is key. I appreciate the role that ESG has and the regulatory push that it has brought into organizations for transparency and especially for ownership. Things that were being done wrong previously are now being corrected and attitudes are also changing because of the benefits that accountability brings into place through the arm of corporate governance. 

How can businesses ensure that their legal assessments are forward-looking and proactive rather than reactive?

Businesses are preparing today for the successes that are envisioned tomorrow. By that, I mean that a business, while preparing its strategies, must have a 360-degree view and attitude. They should also not think in a box, but throw the box away so that they have an all-rounded approach to the business.

They should tackle every challenge so that by the time they reach success, they have covered all elements of risk.

What lessons from your personal or professional journey that has shaped your leadership style?

Leadership does not come without responsibility. While at KDN, I realized that I can either be the routine paper pusher or change my focus and decide to be the business partner.

What will you tell your young self now that you've gone through all this?

The journey and destination is mine. Then I will make decisions based on people's successes, not what I can do. And I am just successful in my own right.

The world is marking the International Women's Day. Do you think that we are getting there in terms of equity, especially in the legal profession?

I'm glad to say that we are not where we were five years ago.  Each year I take my time to look at the challenges that I experienced when I joined the legal profession. I was the only lady amongst 17 men. But when we graduated, we were just six men and one lady. There was always that statement ‘’will you do it? Why are you here?

In the workplace, I have seen women now asserting themselves. Women are now aware. Of course, there will be that person who will still try to execute or display some bias. The woman is now talking. So, yes, we are growing. I appreciate this year’s theme because it has thought of the girl who is yet to become a woman so that by the time she is a woman, she can speak up.

What was that one lady you were looking up to, especially in the legal profession?

That must be my lecturer Pamela Ager. She took me through the course Professional Ethics. She took her time to hold my hand and taught me how to articulate issues. She taught me you can speak three words, but a thousand words will have been heard. This is somebody I will never forget.

How are you reciprocating this to the young professions?

I do this through my day-to-day engagement with my team.  I have three ladies on my team. I have friends, who look up to me, who are in law school, who have just graduated, who are new in the legal profession. When they reach out, I should be available. When they are facing burnout, I call them. A cup of coffee, a silent moment, a word or two, and a hug is always sufficient.

If you could change one policy to ensure gender inclusivity in the corporate leadership, what would it be?

I would get a policy on mental health for the woman. A policy that would get the woman into loving herself, knowing herself, taking time out. I would love every organization to have a policy that speaks to women in terms of mental health.

How do you juggle career and family?

I'm big on boundaries. I define my work hours and disconnect after work. I prioritize tasks. I am the person who works with calendars.

If it were not on my calendar, I would respectfully say no. I also know when to take a break. If I don't, it then would mean that I would not be complete. I will not be enough for my children and my spouse.