Board Members

Eva Muraya, is the Founder and CEO of Brand Strategy and Design (EA) Ltd. She holds over 20 years of diverse brand strategy development skills and experience, having managed the regional brand building programs for companies such as FedEx, The Standard Group, Block Hotels, Xerox and Vital Voices Global Partnership among others. She is however best known for her entrepreneurial success in building an award winning regional branded merchandise business, Color Creations Ltd, which was the first advertising and branding business awarded ISO 9001:2000 certification in East and Central Africa. Eva has been recognized both locally and internationally for her business innovation and leadership.

 

Brand Strategy & Design Ltd is a leading regional brand strategy development agency working in association with Yellowwood Future Architects, a market leader in the Brand Strategy industry in South Africa.

Eva Muraya co-founded the Kenya Association of Women Business Owners (KAWBO) which she currently serves as chairperson. KAWBO is a forum where women in business come together to discuss pertinent issues affecting women owned businesses in a dynamic marketplace.

 

Ms. Muraya is the current Chairperson of the board of the Zawadi Africa Education Program (www.zawadiafrica.org), designed to provide scholarships for needy, academically talented young women from Africa. These young women must demonstrate leadership skills and have a strong desire to pursue a premium or graded education in the United States.
Eva is a member of La Pietra Coalition which is a membership of NGO’s, foundations, corporations, governments, academic and international institutions, entrepreneurs and media, whose goal is to advance women economic empowerment.

 

Ms. Muraya’s business leadership has earned her a variety of awards and prestigious appointments. She was an award nominee at the Pan African Invent and Innovate Conference in Accra – Ghana in 2005, received Eve Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, MSK Warrior award, Goldman Sachs Fortune Global Leaders Award 2008, and The International Alliance for Women (TIAW) World of Difference 100 Award.
Eva is involved in various mentorship programs; Goldman Sachs – United States International University (USIU) program and the Greenhorn Mentorship Project – University of Nairobi/ School of Business.

 

Eva is the mother of two enterprising daughters, Stephanie and Zawadi Muraya. She is passionate about women’s economic empowerment, mentorship of youth, and also advocating and fund raising initiatives for children with special needs.

 

Ms. Muraya holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism and Marketing (Magna Cum Laude) from the United States International University (USIU) in Nairobi and a Diploma in Advanced Business Management from the IESE and Strathmore Graduate Business Schools. Additionally, she has diplomas in Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Sales and Management from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a certificate in Marketing from the Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK).

Betty-Ann heads the Finance Committee of KAWBO. With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from Ohio Wesleyan University, Betty-Ann has also got extensive management experience having been instrumental in the growth of the portfolio of Bawan Ltd, the family’s real estate development and company as well as experience in Tea, Coffee and Horticulture. Betty-Ann is an exemplary leader and entrepreneur which she demonstrated when she retired in 2003 as Group Managing Director of her family’s business to venture into her own private business in agriculture.

Eunice Nyala has over 20 years financial and leadership experience, having worked in Barclays Bank in Kenya and Barclays Africa office in London, UK. She is an Executive Coach, Etiquette Consultant & Leadership Development Trainer.

 

Eunice is the founder and Director of Etiquette Xllent Company Ltd, a corporate etiquette, business image and protocol training company with a list of clients mainly in the corporate sector. Her audience are empowered to achieve greater personal and professional success. She provides consultation services for Protocol International, a US based company that offers etiquette, protocol and civility workshops for today’s executives and tomorrow’s business leaders.

 

Eunice was previously Head of Workplace Banking, where she was responsible for institution banking for Private & Public Sectors including Government. Prior to this, she held a regional job at Barclaycard International as Head of Sales for Africa, with responsibilities for various countries in Africa. She sat in Consumer Banking board for Barclays Kenya. While based in London, Eunice was responsible for driving a behaviour change training initiative for Africa. This has remained a key point of reference for employees to date.

 

Eunice has been instrumental in driving organisational performance with an impressive track record of ‘Firsts’. This includes introduction of First Personal Banking in Barclays Kenya, Uganda and Seychelles; First most innovative integrated Card Acceptance for Merchant Services in Kenya, which was later rolled to other countries; First Corporate Wear for customer facing staff in Barclays Kenya; Championed the First Distant Learning program for Barclays Africa employees.

 

Eunice has experience in analysing business profitability models including financial forecasting, competitive analysis and spotting growth opportunities; developing & implementing marketing plans and strategies in line with overall business objectives; facilitating powerful presentations and training programs.

 

Eunice received her Master of Science in Marketing degree from University of Glamorgan, UK and holds a Professional Post Graduate diploma in Chartered Institute of Marketing. She is an accredited Executive Coach Practitioner from Academy of Executive Coaching, UK. She is a certified Leadership Development Trainer by BlessingWhite, UK,  on‘’Why Should Anyone Be Led By You’’.

Jane Kiragu is a Kenyan lawyer with extensive experience in human rights, gender and governance.  As an activist, Jane has previously worked as an Executive Director for various institutions including the Kangemi Women Empowerment Centre which she helped establish and the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA Kenya). She has also served on several boards including the National Council of Non-governmental organisations where she was the Vice Chairperson, the Urgent Action Fund- Africa and the Refugee Consortium of Kenya.  As a government technocrat, Jane served as the first Director of the National Anti-corruption Campaign Steering Committee.  In 2004, Jane was a member of the Task Force on the Establishment of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission.  In 2003, Jane was a Presidential appointee to the Kenya Law Reform Commission where she served as a Commissioner and established the vibrant committee on gender responsive law making.

Jane is currently the Managing Director of Satima Consultants Ltd a Kenyan based consultancy firm. She has extensive experience in human rights lobbying, research, training, facilitation, evaluations, operational management and legal work.   Over the last five years, Jane has undertaken a variety of assignments ranging from strategic visioning, institutional building, gender and human rights in the area of governance for national, regional and multilateral organizations including the United Nations (UN) and emerging institutions in Southern Sudan.

Jane has a Bachelor’s of Law (Hons) degree from the University of Bristol, UK, a Post graduate certificate, Human Rights Lawyering from Oxford University, UK and an MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Boston, USA.   She is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and serves on several regional and national boards of non-profit organisations.

Mercy Waithanji has been in the insurance industry for the last 10 years. Earlier she served in the education sector for over 15 years. She has served as a Board Member,  Kihome High School and has been a motivational speaker and trainer in various institutions and forums. She has experience in management of staff teams across a diverse spectrum of professionals and specialties in enterprise development, business advisory, sales and other support functions. Has also been involved in institutional start ups and growth strategies.

Mercy has been involved in leadership in Private-Public approached to development at the  national level. Participated in various private-public sector partnership forums, some organized by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance. Also participated in various peace initiatives, including the Speaker’s Round table Conference (held in December 2012) which were aimed at maintaining peace, before, during and after the general elections, and which yielded good results.

Mercy is currently serving in the boards of  Kenya Association of Women Business Owners, and Amani Foundation. She is also a founder of the  Incas Whole and Healthy Company. She also serves as a business consultant, professional business mentor and coach for various institutions.

Mercy is currently the Managing Director of Greatfort Insurance Agency and Healthy Purse Advisory Services. She has been involved in commercialization of products in various value chains and is currently involved in an initiative to empower women to take responsibility for their reproductive health.

Mercy has a Bachelor’s of Education (Hons) degree from Kenyatta University, a Post graduate certificate in Professional business mentor ship from Inoorero University and a Certificate of Proficiency in Insurance from the College of Insurance. 

 

 

 

Life for Kakenya Ntaiya was supposed to follow the traditional path. Engaged at age 5, she was to be circumcised by the time she was a teenager, an event that would mark the end of her education and the beginning of her preparations for marriage. But Kakenya had a different plan. First, she negotiated with her father: she would be circumcised only if she could also finish high school. He agreed. Then she negotiated with the village elders to do what no girl had ever done: leave her Maasai village of Enoosaen in south Kenya to go to college in the United States. She promised that she would use her education to benefit Enoosaen. The entire village collected money to pay for her journey.

Kakenya received a scholarship to Randolph-Macon Women’s College in Virginia. The girl who grew up without electricity wrote papers on international relations and political science on the computers in the university library. She went on to the University of Pittsburgh, where she received her Doctorate in Education in 2011. While completing her studies in the U.S., she married and had two children.

As an undergraduate, she became the first youth advisor to the United Nations Population Fund. In that capacity, she travelled around the world as a passionate advocate for girls’ education, which she sees as a crucial tool for fighting the practices of female genital mutilation and child marriage.

Kakenya is now fulfilling her promise to her community. As the founder and president of Kakenya Center for Excellence, a girls’ primary boarding school in Enoosaen, Kenya, Kakenya believes that education will empower and motivate young girls to become agents of change in their community and country. The Centre opened its doors in May 2009 and currently has 155 students in grades four through eight. It has become a beacon of hope to the girls and parents in Enoosaen.

Kakenya was honoured with a Vital Voices Global Leadership award in 2008 and as a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2010.  She was named one of Newsweek’s “150 Women Who Shake the World” in 2011 and counted among the Women Deliver 100: The Most Inspiring People Delivering for Girls and Women.  She was a featured speaker at TEDx Midatlantic Conference in 2012 and honoured as a CNN Hero in 2013.  Her story has been the subject of a Washington Post series, a BBC documentary, and many magazine articles.