In recent years, the technology industry has seen an increasing number of women breaking barriers and making significant contributions.
These women have not only demonstrated prowess in other sectors of the economy but also played a significant role in driving innovation and shaping the future of technology.
In this article, WoK looks at the top ten most influential women in tech.
Rose Muturi
Rose Muturi is the managing director of Branch International, a fintech company offering mobile loans from Ksh 500 to Ksh 300,000.
With over 15 years of experience, she has worked with among other companies Chase Bank, Trans Union, Tala and HF Group.
Muturi holds a bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Computer Science from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture.
She also holds a Technology, and Executive Business Administration and Management from Strathmore University.
Wendy Oluoch
Wendy Oluoch is the CEO of Jenga School.
Jenga School is a computer sciences professional development institution that seeks to unleash Africa’s genius to help solve global problems
She served as the Head of Growth and Marketing at the institution for a period of 5 months before her appointment as the CEO.
Webdy holds an MBA in Strategic Management and a Bachelor in International Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Finance from USIU.
Betty Mwangi
Betty Mwangi is the CEO of e-commerce platform, Jumia.
With over 20 years experience in telecommunications, insurance and pharmaceutical sectors, she has worked with Britam Group PLC, Safaricom M-PESA and AFSAT communications.
Mwangi holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology from the University of Manchester.
She also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Leicester.
Catherine Muraga
Catherine Muraga is the managing director (MD) of Microsoft Africa Development Centre.
She studied Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science in campus, and started her career as a network engineer for an internet service provider (ISP).
Muraga was named the new MD of Microsoft Africa Development Centre in April 2022.
Faith Gitonga
Faith Gitonga was recently recruited as the Kenyan managing director (MD) of Cellulant, a Pan-African payment technology company.
She kicked off her career at SBM Bank as a banker before moving to Sidian Bank, and she has also had stints at Oracle, and served on the board of TechnoServe.
Gitonga holds executive MBA’s in Leading effective decision making and Leading innovative change from Yale University and the University of California respectively.
She also holds a Master’s in Psychology-corporate and a certification in leadership, project management, and management development from Gordon Institute of Business Science and Strathmore Business School.
Eva Ngigi
Eva Ngigi is the Country Manager for Visa, an American payment service provider.
She is a financial services expert with over 15 years’ experience in the banking industry and has served in various roles at several banking institutions.
They include CfC Stanbic and Co-operative Bank of Kenya, with her most recent role being Project Lead at SC Ventures by Standard Chartered.
She holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Nairobi and a post-graduate diploma in digital business from EMERITUS.
Ngigi also holds a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing management from Moi University.
Kendi Ntwiga
Kendi Nderitu Ntwiga is the global head of misrepresentation for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
She has worked in among other companies Microsoft as the country director and Check Point Software Technologies as general manager.
Kendi has studied Computer science and has a degree in International Business Management.
She is also a Santander African Women Foundation Fellow, having studied entrepreneurial leadership at the Babson College, USA.
Hilda Moraa
Hilda Moraa is the founder and CEO of Pezesha, a financial enabler that empowers the SMEs by connecting them with access to affordable financial services.
The tech lady previously worked at CocaCola Company and i-Hub where she led innovation and research.
Moraa holds a Business Information Technology degree from Strathmore University.
Sally Kimeu
Sally Kimeu is the Country Leader and Regional Manager at Cisco, East Africa.
She has served in her current position for over three years.
Before her current appointment, she served as Cisco’s Strategic Business Manager for the United Nations in both East and Southern Africa and Egypt.
Sally has previously worked for two ISP Organisations as an Enterprise Sales Manager, and also volunteered as a UN WFP Extended School Feeding Programme Volunteer.
She holds a master of public policy management and bachelor’s degree in Management of Information systems from Strathmore University and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Moi University.
Juliana Rotich
Juliana Rotich heads the fintech unit for giant telecommunications company, Safaricom PLC.
She is the cofounder of Ushahidi, an open-source software for collecting and mapping information and i-Hub, a collective tech space in Nairobi.
Rotich also cofounded BRC Inc, a company that seeks to solve the lack of internet access due to blackouts.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
