Kenya

Wangeci Gathinji, Head of Wholesale at Safaricom, has been appointed as High Commissioner for Kenya. High Commissioner Gathinji represents Kenya in the Global Innovation and Technology Leaders Committee of the Grand Assembly of the World Business Angels Investment Forum.

Wangeci.Gathinji@wbaforum.org
Wangeci Gathinji is a telecommunications expert with 17 years’ experience in the industry, which covers the finance, commercial, and governance sectors. This has given her opportunities to work on interesting projects and dynamic partnerships. Among her key roles, she is the Head of Wholesale at Safaricom, where she oversees all international voice, data, and VAS business and which has extensive services in the East Africa region. Another of her principal roles is that of Safaricom Pension Trustee, making a contribution to a growing USD $100-million fund.

Kenya

Esther Passaris, Member of Parliament representing Nairobi County, Republic of Kenya, has been appointed as Senator at the Grand Assembly of the World Business Angels Investment Forum. Senator Passaris will represent Kenya in the Global Co-Founders Committee of the Grand Assembly.

Esther.Passaris@wbaforum.org
Honourable Esther M Passaris, OGW is a Member of Parliament representing Nairobi County; the capital city in the Republic of Kenya. She is an accomplished social entrepreneur, business and political leader. In the National Assembly, Hon. Passaris is an active member of the Committee on Health and the Special Funds Account Committee. She is also a founding member of the Kenya Parliamentary Caucus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) & Business. In 2002, Hon. Passaris established Adopt-A-Light Ltd; the pioneer lighting and outdoor advertising company through which she is credited with revolutionizing the outdoor advertising scene and successfully introducing the concept of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Kenya by implementing a multi-million US dollars project to install street poles in the city of Nairobi. In 2004, Hon Passaris was awarded the Eve Woman of the Year Award, Make a Difference Award and the Mayoral Achievement Award. In 2006, she was honored with the Mashiriki Innovations in Local Governance Award and National Human Settlement Award by UN-HABITAT, and was among a host of women entrepreneurs recognized in the report “Voices of Women Entrepreneurs”. In the same year, Adopt-A-Light won Company of the Year Awards (COYA) in recognition of its corporate citizenship management. Hon. Passaris holds a Bachelor Degree in International Business Administration from United States International University (Africa) and is a Vital Voices Fellow.