QNET has appointed Jared Thwaits as its Regional General Manager for East and Southern Africa, with Kenya included in his area of responsibility.
Thwaits will oversee the company's operations and strategy across the region, focusing on consumer protection, distributor education, compliance, customer experience and digital transformation.
QNET, which operates through a direct-selling model, said it plans to strengthen education for customers and Independent Distributors in Kenya while promoting 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,” said Thwaits.
He said the company's approach will focus on improving understanding of legitimate direct selling and raising standards across the sector.
“The future of direct selling in Kenya must be built around real products, informed consumers, well-trained distributors and ethical business practices,” Thwaits said.
“We want to contribute to an environment where people clearly understand what legitimate direct selling is, what it is not, and what they should expect from companies and individuals operating within the industry.”
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the informal sector accounted for more than 80 per cent of employment in Kenya in 2025.
QNET said the growth of digital platforms is changing how independent entrepreneurs interact with customers, with mobile payments, social media, e-commerce and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp enabling businesses to market products, communicate with customers and receive payments using smartphones.
“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.”
QNET combines e-commerce with direct selling, allowing customers to purchase its lifestyle and wellness products online while Independent Distributors can build sales businesses around the company's products.
The company said it plans to strengthen its digital tools and services for customers and distributors and explore the use of data and artificial intelligence to improve customer experience, education and operational efficiency.
Thwaits' appointment is part of a wider restructuring of QNET's global leadership. The new leadership 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.
Kuna Senathirajah, group managing director of QI Group, QNET's parent company, said the changes were intended to bring new expertise to the business.
“We are bringing together leaders with deep industry knowledge, strong consumer experience and proven transformation capabilities to bring fresh perspectives to the business and help shape its next chapter,” he said.
Senathirajah said the company wants to equip its Independent Distributors with the knowledge, technology and support required to build sustainable businesses.
QNET said it also plans to invest in wellness and personal-care products, digital tools, distributor training and onboarding, compliance systems and customer support.
Thwaits said Kenya would remain an important part of the company's regional plans.
“We want to build for the long term in Kenya,” he said.
“That means listening to consumers, supporting and educating our Independent Distributors, engaging openly with stakeholders and continually raising our standards.”
QNET said it will continue investing in education, distributor support, compliance, digital capabilities and product development as it expands its presence in Kenya and the wider East and Southern African markets.
QNET is a global lifestyle and wellness company.
