I have come to strongly believe that opportunities and preparedness collide ever so often to create the thing people call LUCK!

In 2006, I was selected to represent Kenya on the Fortune/ State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership. The experience was exactly what I needed to turn my life around and help many other women and girls in my country.

I am slowly beginning to see why this opportunity came my way.  At the time, however, no one could ever have convinced me of all the great things have happened as a result.

The mentor assigned to me was Kathleen Vaughan of Wells Fargo who has an incredible ability to connect with everyone she meets and who I consider to be the greatest mentor on earth. My mentorship experience was high level, well coordinated and helped me achieve credibility. Going into the program, my theme was “Good To Great” – How do I move from good to great (taken from a book by Jim Collins who uses Wells Fargo in many of his examples).

The mentorship program lasted for one month and it is from here that Vital Voices kept me engaged. Since my involvement with Vital Voices, my mind has grown to be able to appreciate and understand how world economies work and how to leverage these economies with the aim of providing a platform and opportunity for women to thrive. I have been taught not only by high level experts in hotel conference rooms but also through practical on-site visits in the US, China, South Africa and Swaziland.

I have come to see myself squarely fit to help advance the economic development of women and this is what I am doing…

A Business Opportunity
My mentor Kathleen is also the founder of Bridge For Africa a not for profit organization that buys products from women in Africa and markets them all over the US. This was an open and effective door before me as Kathleen shared ways we could do business together and promote “TRADE NOT only AID” with the US to promote women’s economic empowerment in Africa.

On returning home, I put together a group of women who had no form of income, most of whom are HIV positive and living in the Nairobi slums.  Today, these women are making products that are sold in the United States with the  support of Bridge for Africa, Vital Voices, ExxonMobil and Fortune.

A Girls Mentorship Program
Since the mentorship program, I have conducted mentorship workshops in my alma mater with support from my peers in the graduating class of 91’. About 250 girls have benefited so far and currently 200 are taking the national exams with strategies from our team. We are proud to be associated with their outstanding performance.

Three other girl schools have reached out to us for mentorship and we are putting together a mentorship program that can be duplicated with a mentee/mentor model at the ratio of 25 to 1.

My Training Company – Edge Consult
In 2007, I left formal employment and stared a training company which is serving corporate training in East Africa. The bottom line of our training programs is Transformational Leadership – A leadership model that not only changes the leader but has generational impact of positive leadership.

This is growing in leaps and bounds as the credibility I received on the fortune program opens doors for business.

Recognition from Goldman Sachs

In recognition of the work I have done since the close of the 2006 mentorship, I was awarded the Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Award which is a great privilege to me and to my country.

Receiving an award amidst such powerful Dignitaries (Fortunes Most Powerful Women, Mr. Lloyd Blankfein CEO Goldman Sachs and Warren Buffet) has sent ripples in the media, drawing attention to the three initiatives mentioned above.

The award spells “MEGA” to me. I have been running the three projects mentioned above on a micro level. This award has sent me restructuring the businesses and repositioning them to do exactly what they are doing but in a “MEGA” way.

I am truly thankful to all of the wonderful organizations, companies and individuals who recognized the leadership potential in me, invested in me and kept pushing me to reach higher levels in life. I especially thank the Vital Voices team which travels extensively all over the world creating and raising other women like me, more importantly – keeping them engaged and locked in the process of creating change.

My promise is to keep paying it forward. I believe eventually, Africa will arise as an economic powerhouse and a continent where the voices of women are heard and implemented for the greater good.