Nelly Chemutai: How Nandi Woman Went From Cleaning Hotels To Landing A Senior Position At Global Pharmaceutical Giant Sanofi
In this story
From cleaning hotel rooms in Sweden to landing a lucrative job at one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Nelly Chemutai has seen it all.
Nelly, who is in her early 30s, works as a Senior Quality Assurance Specialist in Research and Development at Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical multinational whose headquarters are based in Paris.
But how did she get there? This is her journey as told by WoK;
Background
Chemutai hails from and grew up in Nandi County. From a young age, her father encouraged her and her siblings to think outside the box and explore opportunities outside Kenya.
After completing her high school education, she joined Multimedia University of Kenya to pursue a degree in communications.
In 2016, she relocated to Denmark to pursue a Master’s degree in Tourism Management at Aalborg University. She was just 23 at the time.
When she was just about to graduate, Chemutai began applying for internship opportunities in several European countries.
Her efforts paid off when she landed a job at the Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2017.
Between January 2018 and January 2020, she worked several contract jobs that involved administrative and consular services.
During her time in Sweden, she enrolled in a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship at Uppsala University, which she completed in 2019.
From there, she enrolled in another Master of Business Administration at the Quantic School of Business and Technology in the United States.
Returning to Kenya to Become a CEO
In 2020, Chemutai’s embassy contract expired, and she had to return to Kenya.
In Kenya, she landed a job as the CEO of Famobile, an e-commerce startup whose services involved delivering groceries to customers in Nairobi’s affluent neighbourhoods.
The business was hoping to take advantage of the increased demand for home deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
However, after about 8 months, the company began facing financial difficulties, and Chemutai had to quit.
Talking about the experience in an interview with Business Daily, she said the company’s failure was not her fault.
“I can’t say I failed at my role at the startup, but I wasn’t thriving,” she said.
She therefore decided to return to Sweden, in search of greener pastures.
Cleaning Hotels and Working at Sanofi
Back in Sweden, Chemutai landed several jobs, including as a waitress, bakery employee, and hotel cleaner as she looked for better opportunities.
Luckily, she applied and was accepted for the United States Diversity Visa programme, which allowed her to move to America.
She settled in Minnesota and began looking for jobs in earnest.
Her efforts paid off, and she landed a job as a compliance specialist at Boston Scientific, an American medical technology company.
The role opened doors for another role at a major biotechnology and pharmaceutical research hub located in Boston, Massachusetts.
In March 2022, she joined Sanofi as a compliance specialist in its commercial division.
After working for a while, she was promoted to a permanent position as a quality auditor in Sanofi’s research and development department.
In June 2025, she was appointed as Sanofi’s Senior Quality Specialist in Research and Development.
Her job involves reviewing compliance procedures, supporting quality audits, and ensuring that pharmaceutical research activities follow the proper regulations.
Travelling to All Seven Continents
Away from her corporate job, Chemutai has travelled extensively.
She has travelled to Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, Antarctica, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean.
In 2024, she founded a nonprofit organization called Textiles Advancing Impact 4 Education, which provides educational opportunities for disadvantaged children in rural Africa.
Her future plans involve pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration and expanding her nonprofit’s activities to support more children in rural Kenya.
