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Kendi Ashitiva Biography Kendi Ashitiva is the co-founder of Niskize Counseling Company. She has a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology and is a Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology from USIU-A. Her practice of close to a decade has been around intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships (how people relate to themselves and others). She has worked extensively with individuals of all ages to help them navigate through difficult seasons of their lives. Among her key areas of practice are interventions on traumatic experiences such as divorce, separation, romantic break ups, childhood trauma, death of a loved one, identity crisis among teens and adolescents, etc. She employs cutting-edge, tried-and-tested methodologies to help clients resolve conscious and unconscious pain and challenges. Kendi Ashitiva is frequently called upon by corporate organizations to offer regular talks and trainings on mental health. She is supervised by senior psychologist Dr. Frida Kameti of the African Mental Health Foundation. Participation in National Emergency Trauma Interventions ⮚ Kendi Ashitiva worked closely with the victims of the Garrisa terror attack that happened on the 2nd of April 2015. She worked with the survivors of the terror attack in conjunction with Kenyatta National Hospital Youth Center for 4 months conducting weekly group sessions. ⮚ In 2019 Kendi Ashitiva led a team of psychologists, as they took a company of 200 staff members through debriefing, group and individual sessions following the Dusit Terror Attack. These sessions run collectively for a period of one year and culminated with an anniversary in January 2020. Kendi is doing her doctoral dissertation on the impact of adverse childhood trauma (ACE’s) on the quality of marriages, a study of married couples in Nairobi County. She hopes to use the findings of her study to improve her practice with couples looking to get married or those who are already married to help increase their level of marital satisfaction. Among professionals and entrepreneurs, Kendi offers regular trainings and workshops at individual and corporate level to help professionals and those running their own businesses manage the pressure and realities of managing people, erratic cash flows, ruthless competition, changing global, regional and local markets etc. With the drastically changing micro and macro business conditions, business owners and professionals require regular psychosocial support so as to effectively mentally and emotionally weather the rough terrain of business. Kendi Ashitiva is a recipient of the I Change Nations Regional Voice of Change Award that she received in 2021 for her efforts in the provision of mental health services to minorities and segregated people. Kendi Ashitiva is married and has two children.

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As the Chief Medical Officer at BYON8, a digital health ecosystem provider, Mandela Kibiriti brings to the table over half a decade of experience encompassing software development, health innovation, and entrepreneurship, all while practising as a medical doctor in diverse settings, including Faith Based Organisations, as well as both the Public and Private sectors in Kenya. His journey into the realm of digital health commenced during his undergraduate medical training, where he began to identify practical applications in Medical Device Prototyping, Medical 3D printing, and the utilisation of Mobile-native and web apps, along with USSD technology, across a spectrum of health-related contexts.Presently, Mandela leads the charge in steering Data and Product Strategy initiatives aimed at enhancing the digital health ecosystem at BYON8. Through strategic collaborations with key partners such as Safaricom and Jubilee Health Insurance, the BYON8 health application has achieved an impressive milestone of 300 thousand downloads. With tens of thousands of active users each month in the Kenyan market, BYON8 offers compelling opportunities for collaboration with health sector providers, corporations, and payers, all with the shared vision of making healthcare a fundamental right rather than a privilege.At the core of Mandela's passion lies Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, and he envisions their transformative potential in healthcare. He envisions these technologies as powerful tools for driving,expanding, and sustaining proactive care efforts not only in Kenya but across the entire continent.

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Sam is a father to three boys, a tech enthusiast, and a software developer with over 21 years of experience in Africa's tech industry. He co-founded Nailab, an early accelerator program in Africa that has supported hundreds of startups, with over 1000+ founders in the network. It supports startups with technical and managerial training and has so far facilitated in helping them raise $100m+ in funding in the last 10 years. Previously, he has worked in the ISP/Telecommunication sector. As a two-time Y Combinator founder, he co-founded Kuhustle (YC F3), an African gig platform with 60K+ freelancers, and Kidato (YC W21), an online K12 school in Africa, with interactive online open learning for the entire family. He is passionate about Africa's future, especially how we can use tech to create globally competitive talent and products. He loves building products, investing in Startups, reading, and traveling.

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"June Odongo is the founder and CEO of Senga Technologies, a Nairobi-based logistics software and services startup. After 20 years in the United States, working in some of the world's leading firms, such as Compaq-Hewlett Packard, EMC (acquired by Dell), and Cisco Meraki, in various engineering and business leadership roles, June started Senga to help transform logistics across Africa with the aim of helping deepen citizens' access to goods, and to help improve the wealth of African nations through facilitating trade with each other. June holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and a Master's degree in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School."

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Caroline is a Co-Founder and Managing Director, at Digital Village Africa; a Tech company that provides AI, Machine learning, and data optimization solutions. She is a recognized social entrepreneur in Kenya and has a proven record in leading and transforming social enterprise businesses. Her focus has been on the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) space. She has 15 years of corporate leadership, strategic management, and innovative technology experience. She has worked for Global Tech companies including, Digital Divide Data (DDD), StepWise Inc., and Daproim Africa Limited. Caroline is also on the Board of Directors of B-Lab Africa. Through her business initiatives, she has worked with over 300 corporate clients and several donors ensuring thousands of underserved youths are trained in relevant skills needed for the formal job market. She has offered employment to over 10,000 young men and women of Africa. She believes in using Businesses as a Force for Good. Caroline holds two MBA degrees in Strategic Management from the University of Nairobi and in Entrepreneurial Leadership from Portland States University. She is a graduate of the Stanford Seed program from the Stanford Institute of Innovation in Developing Economies. She has trained with Alibaba Business School and UNCTAD as an e-commerce fellow. She took part in the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and the International Trade Centre (ITC) program.

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Stephen Gugu is a Co-founder and Director at ViKtoria Ventures the manager of Viktoria Business Angels Network (VBAN) a sector agnostic angel network out of Kenya focused on commercially viable early stage investments from East Africa which are post traction. Through VBAN and Viktoria Stephen has made several investments and assisted angel investors in Kenya access and make investments. He has consulted widely for early-stage innovative businesses training over 400 entrepreneurs, carried out valuations and assisted them in fundraising and deal structuring. Stephen Gugu is also a founder and Directo at InVhestia Africa Limited a financial advisory firm based in Kenya and working with entrepreneurs, investors, governments and development finance institutions across Africa. Under InVhestia he has handled numerous assignments in financial advisory including fundraising, mergers and acquisitions, financial modelling build, audit and training. He is a Venture partner with Consonance Investment Managers a focused early-stage and growth investing platform that helps entrepreneurs build leading companies across Sub-Saharan Africa. Stephen is an adjunct faculty member in Entrepreneurial Finance at Strathmore Business School. He has been teaching finance and entrepreneurship related courses for the past 10 years. In this capacity Stephen acts as the academic director for the private equity and venture capital program in the business school. He sits on the board of several companies and startups. His education background consists of an MBA from Vlerick Business School in Belgium an undergraduate degree in Law from the University of Nairobi and several professional courses in Finance and Accounting During his spare time, he enjoys travelling and interacting with different world cultures. He maintains that to travel is not only to discover but most importantly to learn!

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Eston Kimani is a technology entrepreneur based in Nairobi, Kenya. He co-founded first company, Africa's Talking Ltd in 2010 which provides an API Platform for software developers to build applications that utilize telco infrastructure across Africa. His second company DukaConnect built an Artificial Intelligence powered Point of Sale system for Fast Moving Consumer Goods specifically focused on small shops in Nairobi. DukaConnect was recently acquired by MasterCard. He is currently building ChatSasa, an instant messaging platform that makes it easy for businesses to utilize instant messaging to communicate with their customers. Eston is passionate about the power of entrepreneurship to transform Africa and is passionate about sharing his experiences in entrepreneurship as a way to solve problems and create wealth in Africa. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Starehe Boys Centre.

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Bitange Ndemo is a global technocrat and currently serving as Kenya’s Ambassador to Belgium. Previously, I was the Permanent Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Information and Communication.

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Ken Njoroge is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cellulant Corporation, a Nairobi-based digital payments service provider, and self-identifies as a mobile commerce evangelist.

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Zena S. Msonde, is the esteemed Co-founder and CEO of Hashtech Tanzania Limited. Her career began in the fast-paced world of telecommunications, where she honed her skills in navigating the complexities of network technologies and customer dynamics. Now, as the driving force behind Hashtech, Zena is applying her telecom legacy to spearhead initiatives that redefine the transportation landscape in Tanzania. Her leadership is characterized by a commitment to innovation, a keen understanding of market trends, and an unwavering focus on delivering cutting-edge solutions. Zena stands as a testament to the seamless fusion of telecom expertise and tech innovation. Her leadership inspires her team to reach new heights, and her strategic vision propels Tanzania Transportation Industry towards a future defined by technological excellence and positive societal

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Alexander Odhiambo an entrepreneur for 10+ years Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Solutech Limited Africa’s preferred sales automation company serving over 90 local and multinational FMCGs companies and distributors Across 10 countries in Africa. Leads a team of 40 in Nairobi. Recognized as one of the top 40 under-40 Men in 2022 UoN Alumni School of Computing 2013 and Stanford Seed class of 2023 Previous businesses: Fast food restaurants and Farming