Jesse Muniu
Jesse Muniu is a Kenyan energy executive and entrepreneur redefining retail fuel distribution in East Africa. After 19 years managing downstream operations for names such as Kenol-Kobil, National Oil, Riva Petroleum, and Vivo Energy, he founded PetroPal in 2023 to digitise the forecourt experience. The Nairobi-based start-up bundles point-of-sale automation, IoT tank-monitoring, and a mobile wallet that rewards drivers with carbon-offset credits, already piloted at eight stations along the Northern Corridor and processing 2 million litres of fuel per month.
Prior to PetroPal, Muniu served five years as Managing Director of Lexo Energy. He tripled the network to 50 branded service stations across Kenya and Tanzania, introduced the region’s first frictionless “tap-and-go” payment lanes, and negotiated bulk-import agreements that saved franchisees an average of KSh 3 per litre. He earlier headed lubricants at Vivo Energy, where his marketing push lifted Shell Helix to the number-two spot in market share.
Muniu holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Management from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and has completed executive programmes at Stellenbosch Business School and Harvard Business School. A Fellow of the Energy Institute, he mentors start-ups through the Petroleum Institute of East Africa and sits on Kenya’s National Biofuels Steering Committee.