Kin Kariisa is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Next Media, the holding company for NBS, NBS Sport, Next Radio, Sanyuka Television, Salam Television, Nile Post, Next Com, Next Productions Limited, NileCom and Afro Mobile. NBS is Uganda’s leading current affairs TV station today.

Born August 24 1976 (age 45) in Kafunjo Parish, Ruhaama Subcounty in Ntungamo District, Kin Kariisa is a Ugandan businessman, media proprietor and philanthropist.

Kariisa holds a Bachelor of Science in Statistics from Makerere University, a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology – HUST in China, and an Honorary Doctorate in Exemplary Community Service from the United Graduate College and Seminary International, and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.

Kariisa did his PhD research project in Computer Security and Identity Management at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands. He previously served as a lecturer in e-Government and Information Security at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and Radboud University.

Kariisa has also done post-graduate courses in Strategic Business Management, Strategic Leadership, Leadership Communication and Strategies for Leading Successful Change Initiatives at Harvard University, Boston, USA.

Background;

Kin Kariisa’s father, Hajji Kariisa, died in 1978 when young Kariisa was only two years old. His mother died in 2010 when Kariisa was a fairly-established businessman.

Kariisa attended several primary schools in Ruhaama before joining Gombe Secondary School in Mpigi for his O Level. He emerged as his school’s best student and Uganda’s finest in mathematics in the 1994 Finals.

For A Level, Kariisa attended Kibuli Secondary School, where he did Physics, Economics and Mathematics (PEM), excelling as Uganda’s best student in Economics in the Finals.

Kariisa then attended Makerere University for his Bachelor of Science in Statistics, which effectively introduced him to computing and ICT.

While at Makerere University, Kariisa founded his first firm, Kin Systems. From his University Hall room, the entrepreneurial Kariisa would help fellow students with questionnaires and statistical analysis, earning him a lot of money.

Through his newly-founded Kin Systems, Kariisa executed some projects, among which were with State House Uganda. Over time, then-Principal Private Secretary, Amelia Kyambadde, introduced him to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who appointed him a Special Presidential Assistant on Information Technology.

In 2004, Kariisa married Julie Kariisa (Juliet Janat Tumusiime), and the couple has three children.

In 2008, Kariisa fully acquired NBS from its founder, Nathan Igeme Nabeeta, becoming the company’s CEO – he has since grown the entity from just one TV station to 10 multimedia companies under the Next Media umbrella.

Kin Kariisa currently serves as Chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters – NAB, an umbrella industry association for all Television, Radio and Online broadcasters in Uganda.

In 2012, he was appointed Director of Ecobank Uganda Limited, one of the largest banks in Africa, for seven years before he was appointed Chairman Board of Directors of the “Pan African Bank” in 2019, a role he served until May 2022, when he retired from it.

Kariisa is the Chairman Board of Directors for Nile Hotel International Ltd, the Government enterprise that owns the Kampala Serena Hotel.

Kariisa is also the Chairman Board of Directors for Soliton Telmec, East Africa’s leading telecommunication technology company supporting the basic and complex infrastructure required to enable electronic communications across the nation, including data centre, fibre optic lines and the related routing and transmission.

When Kariisa is not attending to his businesses, he is playing golf at Kampala Golf Club or attending to his family.