Matia Mandela
Nairobi
Summary
Dynamic Team Leader with a proven track record at GFA Consulting, excelling in stakeholder engagement and entrepreneurial strategy. Successfully developed tailored financial products for health-focused SMEs, enhancing access to capital and fostering innovation. Skilled in data analysis and project management, driving impactful initiatives that empower local businesses in East Africa.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Team Leader
GFA Consulting
Kenya
05.2024 - Current
- Company Overview: Programme for Promotion of Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship Phase II in Kenya; German Co-operation Agency (GIZ)
- Review of the SME Policy and MSE Act
- Cordinate with the state department to drive the review process
- Identify and consult key stakeholders for inclusion in the review process
- Improve the capacity of governement agencies to provide financial services to health focussed SMEs and Start-Ups
- Review financial products offered to health Tech Start-ups and SMEs by government agencies
- Developed and adapted 4 financial products specifically targeting MSMEs, including solutions focused on factoring, internal process optimization, and cash flow lending, to enhance the offerings of government agencies and improve access to tailored financing options for small businesses working in the health value chain
- Develop a quality Standard for the provision of finacial services to Start-Ups and SMEs providing health tech services in Kenya
- Provision of BDS training to 350 SMEs using SME loop methodology
- Identify and train 350 SMEs on smart financing and planning
- Improve Access to innovative finance through co-creation of financial products with providers
- Mapping study of financial products available for SMEs in Kenya
- Develop a playbook on green financing for SMEs and Start-Ups
- General management
- Assemble and manage diverse and skilled team with relevant expertise in startups, MSMEs, policy analysis, and legal frameworks
- Assign roles and responsibilities to short term experts based on their skills and experience
- Manage project timelines, deadlines, and deliverables
- Programme for Promotion of Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship Phase II in Kenya; German Co-operation Agency (GIZ)
Key Expert - International Networking and Finance Expert
GFA Consulting
Ethiopia
01.2022 - 09.2024
- Company Overview: Design and implementation of Output 3 (capacity building of entrepreneurial intermediaries and ecosystem players) of the Private Sector Development for Ethiopia (PSDE) project; German Co-operation Agency (GIZ)
- Strengthen local and international collaboration
- Assessment of existing platforms of collaboration and needs for improvement and support
- Assessment of the need of EASE to create a platform to facilitate connections among its members and with other national and international ecosystem players
- Co-design and development/strengthening of the platform with the selected players and definition of the ownership to ensure sustainability
- Entrepreneurship knowledge, mentor, investor and valuation tool
- Develop an app or online database, offering start-ups and SGBs with a centralized repository to key resources and services
- Evaluation of existing platforms and determination on the need to develop a new platform or adapt an existing one
- Design or adaptation of a digital tool collection of material for integration
- Organisation and facilitation of investment readiness workshops
- Application of design thinking methodology to run a series of workshops on investment readiness
- Documentation of workshop findings and creation of outcome reports
- Creation of session guides and related artefacts
- Design and implementation of Output 3 (capacity building of entrepreneurial intermediaries and ecosystem players) of the Private Sector Development for Ethiopia (PSDE) project; German Co-operation Agency (GIZ)
Team Leader
Stantec
Zambia
05.2023 - 06.2024
- Company Overview: Review of The Zambia Start-Up Bill through Technical Assistance by the European Union (EU)
- Team Management and Coordination:
- Assemble and manage diverse and skilled team with relevant expertise in startups, MSMEs, policy analysis, and legal frameworks
- Assign roles and responsibilities to team members based on their skills and experience
- Facilitate effective communication and collaboration among team members
- Manage project timelines, deadlines, and deliverables
- Stakeholder Engagement:
- Identify and engage key stakeholders, including government officials, startups, MSMEs, investors, industry experts, and civil society organizations
- Facilitate open dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders
- Address concerns and build consensus among stakeholders
- Research and Analysis:
- Oversee the collection and analysis of data and information related to the Zambian startup and MSME ecosystem
- Ensure that the research is comprehensive and objective
- Policy Review and Analysis:
- Lead the review of the Zambia Startup Bill and MSME policy, identifying their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement
- Conduct a comparative analysis with similar legislation in other countries
- Review of The Zambia Start-Up Bill through Technical Assistance by the European Union (EU)
Team Leader
Luvent Consulting / African Development Bank
Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Senegal, Namibia
11.2019 - 05.2021
- Company Overview: Development of a platform strategy and an online interactive digital platform for innovation and entrepreneurship (The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, AFDB)
- Assessment of current platforms in Africa, mapping of African intermediaries / entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs);
- Development and design of the platform strategy for service delivery to strengthening health tech start-ups entrepreneurship and innovation support in Africa
- Implementation of the platform outreach strategy targeting start-ups, investors, development partners and intermediaries / ESOs, incl
- Information workshops in Kenya, Ghana and Senegal;
- Assessment of the feasibility of a crowdfunding facility for early state entrepreneurs, start-ups;
- Platform training workshops for ESOs based in Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Senegal
- Planning and facilitation of 6 hackathons themed 'Bridging Finance Through Technology'
- Development of a platform strategy and an online interactive digital platform for innovation and entrepreneurship (The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, AFDB)
Country Director/ Investment Director (Consultancy)
Balloon Ventures
Kenya, UK, Uganda
02.2018 - 05.2021
- Company Overview: (UK based fund that seeks to address the challenges of SME and Start-ups growth in East Africa through tailored financing and corporate finance consultancy services)
- Design of an Impact Fund to facilitate innovative market linkages for start-ups and SMEs in East Africa
- Manage and deliver corporate engagement and outreach to built investment pipeline and support Start-up-Corporate linkage for portfolio growth, develop intermediary resources to facilitate commercial transactions between corporates & startups in the BV portfolio
- Entrepreneurship ecosystem consolidation initiatives in second tier towns
- Developed and adapted financial 12 products specifically targeting health focussed Start-ups and MSMEs, including solutions focused on factoring, internal process optimization, and cash flow lending, to support portfolio growth and address the specific financing needs of health tech startups and small businesses in East Africa
- Design and execute a community engagement strategy to support corporate sponsored entrepreneurship ecosystem building initiatives, Corporate value chain integration and collaborative innovation approaches to product development
- Seconded as STE in the GIZ Make-It in Africa Project (objective: increase business growth in agritech)
- Tasks Performed: training women entrepreneurs on financial planning and book keeping, design tech adoption curricular for use in Women–in-tech training
- Design and facilitation of pitching contests, hackathons and workshops on circularity, green financing, health and application of ESG
- (UK based fund that seeks to address the challenges of SME and Start-ups growth in East Africa through tailored financing and corporate finance consultancy services)
Chief Strategy Officer (Consultancy)
Seven Seas Technologies (SST)
Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia
06.2016 - 12.2017
- Company Overview: (Pan-African provider of integrated business and technology solutions to customers, spanning the Healthcare, Homeland Security and Social Services Spaces)
- Review of SST Ecosystem Engagement and Design of the SST Innovation Roadmap
- Responsible for assisting the CEO to redesign SSTs Startup Ecosystem engagement strategy
- Developed and executed Technology Adoption initiatives for SSTs Health Tech Afya Labs Incubatees
- Design and execute SST’s corporate internal innovation capability building roadmap
- Key tasks:
- 1
- Mapping of health focussed start-up landscape by industry, size, digital value chain integration & revenue potential
- 2
- Work with SST Executive Committee to design workflows, engagement frameworks and set up delivery teams for engagement with start-ups and SMEs in SSTs health value chain
- 3
- Improving financial ecosystems: develop financial and commercial templates and intermediary resources to facilitate transactions between SST and start-ups in its Corporate Value Chain (CVC)
- 4
- SST engagement and collaboration strategy, including entrepreneurship ecosystem building
- 5
- Building internal capacity for innovation by creation of an innovation policy, and committee
- 6
- Setting up the health focussed SST Innovation Lab aimed at consolidating corporate innovation capacity and pipeline creation for SSTs open innovation initiatives through hackathons, pitching competitions and investment clinics
- (Pan-African provider of integrated business and technology solutions to customers, spanning the Healthcare, Homeland Security and Social Services Spaces)
Director of Technology
Living Goods
Kenya, Uganda
02.2014 - 12.2015
- Design and Development of Mobile Delivery Tools (Digital Tools) for Ecosystem Development and Entrepreneurial Gender Mainstreaming in Kenya and Uganda
- Lead the Living Goods’ Health Technology Adoption and Innovation Capability strategy
- Management of Ecosystem Development and Entrepreneurial gender mainstreaming
- Key tasks:
- 1
- Work with LG Senior Management Team (SMT) to design workflows, engagement frameworks and set up delivery teams for collaboration with health tech start-ups and SMEs in LGs value chain
- 2
- Develop financial and commercial processes and intermediary resources to facilitate commercial transactions between LG and health tech start-ups
- 3
- Community engagement strategy to support LG sponsored entrepreneurship ecosystem building, focusing on female Community Health Workers (CHWs)
- 4
- Hire and manage a technical team to develop mobile health information management applications for field teams to provide treatments, undertake household registrations and monitor field activity
- 5
- Relationships with start-ups deploying SMS, IVR and other mobile technologies
Innovation and Enterprise lead
Equity Bank
Kenya
02.2013 - 01.2014
- Provide strategic level advisory on internal innovation capacity building at Equity Bank
- Design and delivery of the Equity Innovation Centre to catalyse start-up-corporate linkages
- Design of programmes for corporate outreach and collaboration in the start-up ecosystem
- Key tasks:
- Led the process of designing and implementation of the Equity Innovation Centre to catalyse start-up-corporate linkages in the digital space with focus on education, health and agriculture sectors
- Lead in the planning and inception of the Stanford Institute of Innovation for Developing Economies (SEED) in Nairobi: a 20 million USD flagship entrepreneur and SME capacity building venture of Stanford University in East Africa with Equity Bank as financial services partner
- Lead in the design and implementation of the UNWOMEN economic empowerment programme for Sub-Saharan Africa
- The programme is designed to foster the economic empowerment of women through financial literacy, business training and capital provision to women led start-ups and MSMEs in agriculture
- Equity Bank (partner bank) gained over 4,000 new accounts
- Work with Equity Bank Strategic Business Units (SBUs) to design workflows, engagement frameworks and form delivery teams for collaboration with start-ups and SMEs
- Support financial ecosystem: processes and advise to facilitate financing of start-ups
- Design and implementation of Equity Bank sponsored entrepreneurship hackathons across Kenya
Management Consultant (Innovation and Enterprise)
Infodev – Worldbank
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Botswana, South Africa, Malawi, Ghana
03.2005 - 08.2013
- Company Overview: InfoDev, a global program within the World Bank Group, which works at the junction of innovation, technology & entrepreneurship to foster inclusive growth, job creation & poverty reduction
- Open innovation approaches for start-up incubation and digital ecosystem aggregation
- Applied open innovation approaches to the development and adaptation of financial products for health tech Startups and MSMEs, including solutions for factoring, internal process optimization, and cash flow lending, to foster collaboration between startups, policy makers, and financial institutions
- Design, set-up and operationalization of a physical incubation space to foster Start-up-Corporate linkages and build Innovation capacity within the digital economy
- Outreach programmes to identify and back corporate driven ecosystem support initiatives
- Selected projects:
- Provided business development and operational leadership for mLab East Africa, the largest technology start-ups incubator in Africa: provided incubation services for Health Tech, Edutech and Agritech Start-Ups
- Program management for the inaugural Nokia Incubation Facility based in Nairobi that enabled health tech start-ups and entrepreneurs to align their enterprises along Nokia’s strategy for Africa
- Design and implementation of hackathons, pitching competitions, workshops and conferences across project countries
- Designed and implemented of the global Virtual Incubation Pilot Program for start-ups
- Seconded as advisor to Microsoft, Apple and Google’s product development and innovation teams development of Africa market entry and ecosystem linkages strategies
- Development of business models for health focussed incubators: pitching competition, sale of advertising space in the incubator, mentorship and training programs, sponsorship for themed events, acceleration services, membership fees, start-up advisory
- Achieved through collaborative partnerships with corporates, e.g
- Safaricom, Intel, Facebook, Samsung, Nokia
- InfoDev, a global program within the World Bank Group, which works at the junction of innovation, technology & entrepreneurship to foster inclusive growth, job creation & poverty reduction
Education
Masters in Business Administration -
03.2025
Master - Business Organizational Development
University Of Suffolk
Nairobi01.2015
Bachelor - Electronic and Computer Engineering
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
Nairobi01.2004
Skills
- Data analysis
- Stakeholder engagement
- Entrepreneurial strategy
- Policy development
- Business development
- Project management
- Strategic planning
- Cross-functional team leadership
Personal Information
- Date of Birth: 05/01/80
- Nationality: Kenyan
Languages
- English, 1, 1, 1
- Swahili, 1, 1, 1
- Kikuyu, 1, 1, 1
- Luhya, 1, 1, 1
- French, 5, 5, 5
Specific Experience
- East Africa, 01/01/05, 12/31/08
- West Africa, 01/01/08, 12/31/10
- South Africa, 01/01/11, 12/31/13
Key Qualifications
- More than 15 years of professional experience in SME development and Start-up financing (private sector).
- More than 9 years in the field of project management, policy and programmes design with special focus on start-ups and young enterprises.
- Developed and adapted financial products specifically targeting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
- Over 10 years of leadership/management experience as Director, Team Leader and Manager related to innovation in entrepreneurial ecosystem and start-up promotion.
- Extensive experience in incubation of health tech start-ups in Africa across 10 countries.
- Strong experience in research, data analytics and mapping skills in various projects in Africa.
Timeline
Team Leader
GFA Consulting
05.2024 - Current
Team Leader
Stantec
05.2023 - 06.2024
Key Expert - International Networking and Finance Expert
GFA Consulting
01.2022 - 09.2024
Team Leader
Luvent Consulting / African Development Bank
11.2019 - 05.2021
Country Director/ Investment Director (Consultancy)
Balloon Ventures
02.2018 - 05.2021
Chief Strategy Officer (Consultancy)
Seven Seas Technologies (SST)
06.2016 - 12.2017
Director of Technology
Living Goods
02.2014 - 12.2015
Innovation and Enterprise lead
Equity Bank
02.2013 - 01.2014
Management Consultant (Innovation and Enterprise)
Infodev – Worldbank
03.2005 - 08.2013
Masters in Business Administration -
Master - Business Organizational Development
University Of Suffolk
Bachelor - Electronic and Computer Engineering
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
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