In the words of Scottish-American industrialist, business magnate, and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organisational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.“
At GrowthAfrica we believe that as the need for change arises, so does the need for a growth-mindset. Our growth and development as an organisation is occurring in different stages to cater for the needs of our entrepreneurs in Africa and other stakeholders. This growth-mindset helps us enjoy challenges, strive to learn and consistently have the potential to develop new skills with our entrepreneurs.
Meet our new talent who are committed to help us grow as a team and serve our stakeholders in full capacity
CJ Jones was appointed Chief of Staff .
She brings in a wealth of more than 30 years of working experience across different sectors in Kenya, Zambia and Australia. She has a track record in building top quality multi-cultural teams through focused, group orientated natural leadership skills. She has the ability to motivate teams through rewarded performance management and organisational transparency. She was most recently working with ACRE Africa as a CEO. Before that, she was the Kenya Country Director and Senior Regional Manager at GAIN(The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition).
She is an experienced strategic thinker with a well-developed analytical and corporate skill set combined with team leadership qualities. She is motivated by a desire to achieve the highest quality standards and on-time, on-budget solution driven responses. She has extensive experience working with start-ups and acquisitions requiring detailed due diligence.
CJ holds a PhD in Finance and Industrial Administration from Wollongong University, Australia. She also holds a MA from Sydney University, Australia.
She enjoys interacting with people, food/cooking, art, and travel. She is also very passionate about Africa.
Mike Otieno was appointed Senior Growth Catalyst.
Mike joins us from his own business, Anza Strategy Ltd, where he was co-Founder & Strategy Director. His most recent role was as a Strategy Consultant at The Palladium Group. He has also previously worked in various roles with McKinsey & Company’s social iniatiative and Evidence Action. His career spans over 6 years of solid leadership experience in strategic partnerships and communication, strategy design and execution and a strong entrepreneurial mind-set. He is also passionate about mentoring and coaching business leaders.
He holds a Bachelor of Business Management from the Moi University Kabianga, Kenya.
His hobbies include playing basketball & chess, tutoring kids, organizing events, and reading.
Lillian Marenya was appointed Head of Catalytic support.
She will be supporting GrowthAfrica in achieving its goal of driving economic development of Africa through entrepreneurs.
Lillian is a result oriented and decisive management executive with more than 15 years of experience in building and accelerating SME ventures both regionally and internationally through strategic advice, technical support and investments.
She has worked in various roles with profit and nonprofit organizations including: UNHCR, ILO, USAID and others. She was most recently working with ENABLIS EAST AFRICA as a Country Director.
Lillian holds a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship Development from the JKUAT, Kenya. She also holds a Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Zoology-Physiology from the University of Nairobi.
She enjoys reading, watching documentaries, travelling, building friendships and communing with nature
Donald Byamugisha our Consultant in Uganda.
Donald has been leading the Business Development department at BITEPH Strategic Consulting. The work at BITEPH was focused on incubating start-ups in the Biosciences field including Technology Innovation, Clean Energy, Agro-Processing and Agri-Business. Before that, he was a Project Coordinator working with AgroGenetic Technologies in coordination with the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa.
He holds a Master of Science in Biotechnology from Georgetown University, USA and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry with Management Studies(Hons) from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. He also has a Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship Research from Athgo International and is currently attending the Leadership and Management for Impact program at the Amani Institute.
Donald is a sports fanatic (plays and watches basketball), enjoys culture, art (mostly
