Cecilia Murugi Mwangi

The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Government of Kenya is leveraging financing from the World Bank to spearhead and manage the Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP). The KIEP endeavors to increase innovation and productivity in select private sector firms in Kenya. By strengthening the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem and increasing firm-level innovation and productivity, the project was envisaged to help deliver Kenya’s Vision 2030, which recognizes the challenges of slow structural transformation and low productivity in sectors that employ the majority of Kenyans.

www.kiep.go.ke

Responsibilities

1. Leading the monitoring and evaluation of Strengthening the Innovation Ecosystem Component, ensuring alignment with the project's strategic goals, including fostering a learning culture through regular evidence-based reporting and stakeholder engagement.

2. Developed annual work plans and budgets, designed comprehensive evaluation frameworks, and delivered timely technical and financial reports to inform high-level decision-making.

3. Engaged in relationship management with key partners such as the World Bank, State Agencies and Departments, Industry Associations, Contracted Management firms and the Private sector firms to advance innovation and productivity in Kenya to realize the project’s objectives.

4. Oversaw the implementation and completion of initiatives undertaken by the contracted Management Consultancy firms’ activities reviewing outputs against the Terms of Reference.

5. Reviewed lessons learnt as reported by consultancies and propose recommendations on design changes and updated the project operations manual.

6. Preparation and submission of technical reports for Industry- Academia Platform, International Acceleration Process and Administration of Ecosystem Intermediaries under Component One to guide project implementation.

7. Carry out research on relevant areas of concern under Industry- Academia Platform, International Acceleration Process and Administration of Ecosystem Intermediaries and share the findings with stakeholders

8. Technical monthly reporting for Industry- Academia Platform, International Acceleration Process and Administration of Ecosystem Intermediaries to guide project implementation.

Achievements

1. Successfully hosted policy roundtable forums to foster collaborative engagement among Government Agencies, Private Sector firms, and Entrepreneur Support Organizations. These forums aim to inform policymaking and promote a more conducive environment for ongoing support of Startups and SMEs.

2. Performance improvement grants totaling KES 800,000,000 have been successfully negotiated and contracts signed for 70 SMEs, and 95% of the funds disbursed.

3. Performance improvement grants totaling KES 369,306,351 have been successfully negotiated, with contracts signed for 13 Entrepreneur Support Organizations, and 100% of the funds disbursed.

4. Through the International Acceleration Process, 6 Kenyan start-ups secured investments totaling up to KES 72,000,000.

5. A grant of KES 50,000,000 was negotiated and signed towards supporting strengthening the Association of Startups and SME Enablers of Kenya (ASSEK), and 90% of the funds disbursed.

6. 1251 firms are benefitting from private sector initiatives under KIEP with 107 innovations developed 650 being women-led/run firms and 5% living with disabilities under KIEP.

7. 7618 youth have been trained on various on demand industry skills

8. 10 corporate entities in Kenya have been connected to tertiary institutions to enhance industry-academia linkages, facilitating research and development services conducted by 800 students. The sustainability of the Industry Academia linkages platform attracted partners like Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) who were exploring the opportunity of spurring innovation commercialization from the academia environment to industry.

9. 532 Students (238 females) drawn from 47 counties trained on skills of the future (Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Software Development , Animation & Visualization and Soft Skills& Entrepreneurship) and 89 linked to jobs. Disbursed KES 220,000 to eight public universities (Kenyatta University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Moi University, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Open University of Kenya, Kibabi University, Mama Ngina University College and Technical University of Mombasa) to carry out the training and strengthen their curriculum to respond to market needs.

In 2005, I had the privilege of representing Kenya in the Miss World Competition held in China. Following my title as Miss World Kenya 2005, I was appointed as the Anti-jigger brand ambassador for Ahadi Kenya Trust. This initiative focuses on reaching out to and positively impacting the lives of vulnerable children in our society who have been affected by jigger infestation, offering them support and transformation.

www.jigger-ahadi.org

Responsibilities

1. Conducting regional jigger awareness, sensitization, and outreach programs.

2. Mobilizing partnerships with relevant stakeholders.

3. Developing financial proposals to support jigger eradication initiatives.

4. Assisting the Ministry of Health in implementing jigger eradication policy in Kenya.

5. Chief coordinator for nationwide anti-jigger outreach campaigns.

Achievements

1. Identified and mapped 2.68 million individuals mostly children affected by jiggers in Kenya.

2. Over 1,200,000 children have directly benefited from treatment, prevention and rehabilitation activities.

3. Spearheaded the Policy guidelines for eradicating the jigger menace which was officially gazetted by the Ministry of Health.

4. The National Jigger Eradication Day is now gazetted to be observed every 3rd of March.

5. Established over 400 partnerships to support jigger eradication efforts in Kenya across private and public institutions.

6. Successfully rehabilitated and connected 250,000 recovered young patients to empowerment projects.

7. Distributed 10,000,000 pairs of shoes to affected regions as part of regional relief efforts.

8. Launched livelihood initiatives aimed at both commercial and subsistence purposes. These projects, including beekeeping, banana cultivation, rabbit rearing, and poultry farming, are designed to generate income and uplift the youth from the cycle of poverty.

Make-IT in Africa is a program aimed to create an environment in which the full potential of African digital innovation can unfold – with all ecosystem stakeholders. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implemented this project on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

https://www.make-it.africa

Responsibilities

1. Financial planning, cost estimation, budgeting and monitoring of partnership projects.

2. Managing partnerships and collaborations establishing and nurturing effective working relationships among various stakeholders supporting digital innovation. These stakeholders include corporate companies such as AIRBUS, IBM, Merck, SAP, and the German Chamber of Commerce, as well as government bodies from both Germany and Kenya, international development organizations, and tech accelerators and enablers.

3. Coordinating the implementation of partnership projects with the private sector for SME development.

4. Monitoring and evaluation of the project to provide on-time, high quality reports.

5. Develop communication publications and communications tools, including brochures, document lessons learned, case studies and annual reports .

6. Champion project compliance guided by GIZ requirements and project concept/ guidelines.

Achievements

1. Supported 30 digital entrepreneurs and tech startups in East Africa launched to market .

2. Raised over €1,000,000 Euro in investments and grants over a period of 1 year for early-stage startups.

3. Successfully ran Africa4Future a joint accelerator initiative between Airbus' BizLab and GIZ's Make-IT in Africa, designed to support African startups in the aerospace industry. 8 African entrepreneurs (3 from Kenya) showcased and pitched their innovations at Airbus in Toulouse, France.

4. Partnership collaboration with KFW Kenya, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) German Chamber of Commerce Kenya

5. Successful absorption of a pilot budget of over € 570,000 leading to project extension and spin-offs drawn from ecosystem feedback, lessons learnt and recommendations (Centre for Entrepreneurship , Digital Transformation Centre (DTC), SPARK) and regional expansion to Kigali, Rwanda.

6. Accelerated the inclusivity of women in digital entrepreneurship by showcasing their talent through STEM forums and mentorship programs ‘Women in STEM ‘ masterclasses series.

Access.mobile International is a venture-backed digital health start-up company committed to improving access to quality healthcare in emerging markets. Based in Denver - Colorado, Nairobi, Kampala, Tanzania and a few test markets in West Africa. Leverages mobile- and cloud-based technology tech solutions to address local problems with software that meets global standards of excellence.

www.accessmobileinc.com

Responsibilities

1. Company set-up and manage operations in Kenya/Uganda/Tanzania.

2. Drive customer success outcomes, including continual value creation for existing users of the Company products and services.

3. Lead upselling strategies for existing customers, in collaboration with the sales team.

4. Manage customer lifecycle, including client retention strategies.

5. Manage the user support team and other customer engagement.

6. Escalate feedback from the users to the relevant departments.

7. Drive the consistent utilization of customer relationship management and user support tools within the customer success team

8. Support the Company’s data team in understanding product user trends through quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis

9. Advocate for customers’ perspectives within the Company on products, services and new areas of value creation.

Achievements

1. Consistently met service level agreements and introduced contract addendums for clients as required.

2. Introduced updated training protocols and contributed to the development of a comprehensive knowledge base for the help desk.

3. Played a key role in handling problem escalation and resolution to uphold strong client relationships.

4. Collaborated with Sales and Operations teams to guarantee accurate invoicing and billing for clients.

5. Monitored customer satisfaction metrics and ensured timely resolution of tickets to maintain high satisfaction ratings.

Responsibilities

• To provide administrative, logistical, communication and operational program support for the USAID funded TB Project.

Achievements

1. Provided timely logistical and administrative support for organizing special events, quarterly meetings, and activities related to the TB program.

2. Maintained and updated diary/calendar of events, including training sessions and pertinent meetings, and ensured widespread dissemination.

3. Facilitated travel logistics support for both office and field officers.

4. Oversaw the management of CHS vehicles as well as all vehicles supported by the Ministry of Health project.

5. Enforced organizational travel and safety regulations to ensure compliance among all staff members.

6. Ensured meticulous information management, including thorough documentation of meetings, workshops, and conferences.

Responsibilities

1. Provided 24/7 remote monitoring and support for over 200 VSAT users across Africa as part of helpdesk assistance.

2. Managed a team of six helpdesk associates, overseeing Tier 1 and Tier 2 support operations.

3. Delivered Tier 3 support to assist all helpdesk associates as needed.

4. Conducted diagnosis, troubleshooting, and resolution of software, hardware, and connectivity issues.

5. Implemented upselling of services and solutions to enhance customer experience.

6. Successfully secured VSAT contracts with non-governmental organizations such as IRC, IOM, Across Sudan, WFP, SOS, and AMREF in South Sudan/Uganda, ensuring remote connectivity for their stations across various regions of Africa.

Responsibilities

• During my initial internship in the telecommunications sector, I offered comprehensive support to Telkom Kenya personnel at their call center, both onsite and remotely via their LAN. This position significantly enhanced my communication skills as it involved assisting staff members nationwide.
• I also Offered network support, involving the setup of an NT server domain and the company's mail server, with proficiency in TCP/IP; Conducted end-user training sessions to enhance compute literacy and software proficiency; Implemented additions and upgrades to enhance system functionality; Generated status reports to apprise department managers of IT issue progress and solution implementation.