Kenya is a country well known worldwide for athletics, especially in running events across different distances, up to the marathon level. During this UCI 2025 Cycling competition taking place in Rwanda, we met a team from this country that came to watch this worldly competition in cycling. It is a newly formed team, but clearly has a bright future. We approached the founder of the team and managed to have a conversation with him, so that he could tell us what motivated him to start the team, as well as share the goals and dreams he wishes to achieve together with his team.
Could you please first of all introduce yourself and tell us what has brought you here?
My name is Brian Karoney, I am the CEO of Enovepay, it’s a people’s company in Nairobi Kenya. We have a cycling team that we came here with to the UCI. We came with a team that’s newly formed to gain inspiration, see what other people out there in the world are doing. So far, it’s been a good journey.
I have two questions for you, Brian. The first one, why did you choose to fund that team of cyclists? And why did you take the decision of bringing them here to Kigali?
The story is very personal to me. A few years ago, my wife was sick. She had a disease where she needed blood donations. And the people who were able to donate to her were mostly cyclists because they were very healthy and their veins could stay open for long. So when she died, I felt that I needed to come back to that community of cycling and give back for the time that they gave me with my wife.
And why did you decide to bring your team here to Kigali?
Two things, actually. We wanted to come and meet international sponsors and see what networks we could build. And also, the team is very young. We wanted to inspire them. So by coming to see their heroes, to see Remco, to see Pogacar. So this team when they will go back, they’ll be very motivated.
For creating a team after the death of your wife, what is your target with your team?
So our target in the next one year is to be able to make this team a pro cycling team, to get them into UCI accredited tournaments, to also make them be able to earn a living from the team.
Is there any sponsorship that you are getting maybe from the NGOs or the government? How is it?
So at the moment, I’m sponsoring the team from my organization, which is a company that’s based in Nairobi. But of course, we are looking to involve other sponsors and other partners to also boost their effort.
I want you to tell us, what are the challenges of having this activity in Kenya or in Africa? What are the challenges?
So the biggest challenge is lack of sponsorship. So you find cyclists end up doing it as a hobby. They’re not able to do it professionally. These guys are very talented, but they don’t have the right tools behind them to be able to participate in UCI level tournaments.
And what’s the target age?
So we look at cyclists from around 16 years, so that we nurture them through the youth stage, then on to the pro. So 16 to 32. So far we have five riders and one coach. And one coach, that’s it.
Do you intend to include females in your race?
Yes, we do intend to include females. There’s a race coming up in Nairobi, called the Grand Nairobi Race, which we are also partnering with. We’re adding three additional females to the team.
Are there some more challenges? How do you think the company will grow?
Well, I think first, you need to build a cycling culture in Africa, so that they might be a lot of fans. I can see behind me there’s quite a number of fans. So we need to build that culture. So from there now, investors, corporates will come in, government will bring in support. But we need to build that culture by appreciating cycling first.
That’s the question I was going to ask. While you come here as CEO of the project of cycling, what have you learned from Rwanda? What are you going to go with as a package so that the company can do this because you’re interested in this and that?
I think the first thing I’ve learned is that Rwandans are very organized. So I think that’s the first takeaway for us. For us to be able to organize such an event, we need to be very organized. We need to make the right partnerships. I’ve seen Rwanda has brought in people from the private sector. We have people from international companies that have come through. First, we need to create a lot of cooperation. So I think when we go back to Nairobi, our goal will be now to reach out to partners who can come and support us, who can work with us. Government, corporates, we need to bring everyone together in an organized way the way Rwanda has done it.
So far, we’ve really enjoyed our time here in Rwanda. And I think we need to give credit to the fans. They’ve really shown up in the numbers. If you walk across all the raced routes, you’ll find there’s thousands of fans who have gathered alongside, cheering on the riders. I think that really builds the atmosphere for the competition.
Any good news that you are going with Back to Kenya?
Yes. So the good news would be that we’ve been able to secure a good sponsorship from one of the international organizations that came through here. So that will help us empower our team. So over the next year, as we continue to build from the grassroots, we have support of at least one international organization.
As you know, this is the first UCI tournament here in Africa. Is there, as a CEO in Kenya, is there any dream that Kenya can host?
Yes. And I’m going to be the first people to champion for that. I will make sure that the corporate community, the government, over the next 10 years, I’m sure we’ll be able to achieve it. And your team will participate? Yes, our team will participate.
When you see this team, you see energy and passion in them, and they need support with all means. Let’s hope that with the Kenyan athletics that we normally know, now we are going to see the cyclists from that country of athletics. We congratulate Mr Brian for dedication, and good spirit of building cyclist in Kenya. We wish him and the team good luck.
Titi Léopold
