As much as the women are still stepping up on the tech ladder, let’s look at the top fifteen most successful Kenyan Women who are making it in the tech space today. These are women who are involved in tech-related innovations that are helping society become better, knowing fully well that the tech industry is a really wide one.

Ory Okolloh

Ory Okolloh is a renowned Kenyan activist. She is a lawyer and a blogger. Although she studied political science at the University, it has only helped her expand her sphere of influence, rather than limit her. She was previously Google’s policy manager for Africa and is the co-founder of Usahidi, and Mzalendo. Mzalendo is a website that rates the performance of Kenya’s members of Parliament.

An interesting thing to note about her is that she turned down a job at a US Law firm to rather pay attention to new technologies in Africa.

Judith Owigar

Judith is one lady who solely utilizes technology as a tool of empowerment for young women. She is loud on revolution for African women, and technology through Akirachix which she co-founded. She is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Juakali workers. Juakali workers is an enterprise that seeks to link up verified skilled manual workers to match clients who need the services they offer.

Juliana Rotich

Juliana Rotich was a co-founder of Usahidi, alongside Ory Okolloh. Usahidi is a non-profit tech company that gathers and maps data from reports generated by users. Holding a bachelor’s degree in computer science, and being an MIT Media Lab Fellow, she hasn’t stopped in her upward movement through the tech space, as she currently heads the Fintech department at Safaricom PLC as an IT professional. She co-founded other tech brands as well.

Martha Chumo

Martha Chumo is a young Kenyan lady with expertise in the area of Web and Mobile Apps development. She is the founder of Nairobi Developer School, a school whose main objective is ensuring that youths are empowered through computer programming, and entrepreneurial skills. Martha herself was on the verge of applying for medical school when she came in contact with coding at a tech internship and has since then gotten interested, and hooked. She has had various obstacles getting into the tech world but has remained undeterred.

Catherine Muraga

45-year-old Catherine who just became the Managing Director at Microsoft’s Africa Development Centre, Nairobi two months ago is an information technology expert. Previously, she has served in the role of the Engineering head at Stanbic Bank South Sudan and Stanbic Bank Kenya. She has also worked at East African breweries limited, Sidian Bank, and Kenya Airways. Worthy of note is her over 15 years of experience in various business sectors, from banking to aviation, and manufacturing.

Jihan Abass

Jihan Abass is one force to reckon with in the area of digital insurance, with a solid background in finance. She worked for a couple of years, before her transition into building her own company, Lami. Jihan Abass is the CEO and founder of Lami Technologies, a digital insurance company that ensures the increased spread of insurance in the world, among businesses, companies, and people.

Sally Kimeu

Sally holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management of Information Systems, and a Master’s degree in Public Policy Management, and currently serves as Cisco’s regional manager for East Africa’s operations.

Hilda Moraa

The name Hilda Moraa certainly has to be mentioned when rolling out the top 15 most successful Kenyan women in tech. As a lady who started out studying Electrical engineering, and then Business and Information Technology, she put her love for business to great use by starting up her first business which entailed providing students with printing, and computer services, because at the time it was too expensive for students to own personal computers. From there on, she has evolved, gotten deep into tech, and is currently a Fintech entrepreneur. She is one of the founders of WezaTele, a brand that became the first tech startup acquired by another business in 2015. In 2016, Forbes named her one of the 30 most promising young African entrepreneurs. 

She is the founder, and also the CEO of Pezesha. Pezesha is a brand that serves as a marketplace that provides easy accessibility to loans and financial services in Africa.

Jessica Colaco

Jessica is the current VP of Growth at Brave; a tech startup related to human relations that helps managers pick the right kinds of people for a project. It’s by far a good planning app needed for workspaces and healthy teams.

Kendi Nderitu 

We cannot but applaud the step-up of Kenyan women into the tech space, and we look forward to more from other countries, as well. Kendi has a bachelor’s degree in International Business management. Having worked previously at Oracle, HP, and Intel, she has a wide array of experience in tech management. Currently, she is the head of misrepresentation for Meta, globally. As we know Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are owned by Meta.

Eva Ngigi

Eva is a professional in finance-related services, and over the years has worked in various capacities at various banks in Kenya. She is Visa’s country manager and is keen on enforcing growth strategies as well.

Betty Mwangi

The face behind the CEO of Jumia, Kenya. Jumia is one of the top-ranking e-commerce platforms where a lot of buying and selling takes place, and with Betty in charge in Kenya, she aims at increasing the brand’s corporate growth. She has worked previously as a director in the telecommunications, pharmaceutical, and insurance industries.

Agnes Gathaiya

Agnes holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a master’s degree in Business Administration. She has gathered over 20 years’ worth of experience in commercial leadership, and strategy development in business development, and sales. She currently serves as Google’s country director for East Africa and spearheads its innovations, regional operations, and growth in the area.

Rose Muturi

Rose who holds bachelor’s degrees in Statistics & Computer Science, as well as Executive Business Administration, and Management is an experienced hand in digital finance service and technology. With a wealth of experience in banks, and groups, it’s no surprise that she is currently the Managing Director at Branch International, a Fintech brand that gives loans to customers in a more organized and structured setting.

Sharon Karuga Kinyanjui

The next person on our list of most successful Kenyan women in tech is Sharon Karuga Kinyanjui. More in the Fintech space, Sharon, loving everything that relates to finance, and holding a master’s degree in Business Administration has worked in various multinational corporations in managerial capacities. She is currently the Regional head, at WorldRemit in East and Central Africa. WorldRemit is a digital financial brand that offers international money transfer and remittance services.

 Your Turn!

Everyone we’ve highlighted today is in their 20s to 40s, and certainly, there are more. Therefore you should note that there is no age that is too early or too late to start. You too can be in the list of the most successful Kenyan women in tech.

Did you also notice the transitions? From various fields, and for some, their background profession helped them do something better in the tech world. So if you are still wondering how to start, Heelsandtech is the way to start. We have courses in the area of sales, business analysis, and data analysis that will help smoothen your transition ride. Click here to start.