SA Business, AURA Expands into East Africa With New Kenyan Office, GM

AURA, South Africa’s leading security and medical response platform, has announced its imminent expansion into Kenya which will be led by its new General Manager, Hilary Itela.

Partnering with KK Security, owned by GardaWorld, Aura will offer its emergency and medical response services in Nairobi and Mombasa.

Warren Myers, CEO, AURA says that the intention is to address the fragmented and idle response capacity in Kenya while also democratising access to critical services by making them more widely available and more affordable than ever before.

With over 15 years’ experience in various management roles in East and Central Africa, Itela brings with him a wealth of specialist expertise within various verticals including security, e-commerce, logistics, pharmaceuticals, FMCG and renewable energy.

In addition to working closely with Kenyan partners to build a large and effective response network, Itela will be responsible for growing the AURA business footprint across the region to ensure that smart security solutions are available to all.

“I look forward to shaping a business that will contribute to the safety and security of the community and create employment opportunities that positively impact the economies in which we operate,” he says.

Commenting on AURA’s East African expansion and Hilary Itela’s appointment as General Manager, Myers says, “We are excited to have someone of Itela’s calibre join our team as we explore the many unique opportunities within the East African market. Kenya has a strong, but fragmented private security and emergency medical industry. It provides an ideal opportunity for AURA to create an effective and efficient response network. Similar to South Africa, Kenya is plagued by significant crime issues, in particular, road safety, street crime, home invasions, burglaries and carjackings.

“With a high smartphone penetration rate, we are able to provide our users with affordable and accessible on-demand security and medical response and help keep people in those areas safe.” 

In 2021, AURA will be focusing on further global expansion in territories with similar inefficiencies to South Africa.