Andela has today announced the appointment of Wambui Kinya as its Chief Strategy Officer. With over eighteen years’ experience in digital, mobile marketing and technology consulting, Kinya will spearhead Andela’s partnership strategy in Africa and ramp up the company’s efforts to recruit technical leadership across the continent. This follows Andela’s $24 million Series B funding, announced last month, led by Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative with participation from GV, formerly Google Ventures.
“As Andela launches into the third quarter with incredible momentum, we are thrilled to welcome Wambui to the team,” says Christina Sass, co-founder and COO of Andela. “She is uniquely positioned to help Andela recruit senior technical talent as well as develop relationships with top companies in Africa, and she will be central to Andela’s growth strategy across the continent in the coming years.”
Kinya was formerly Group Managing Director, Pan Africa and South America, for global technology consulting firm ThoughtWorks, where she was responsible for the strategic evolution of the business. She has since transitioned to a consultative role in order to continue building the open source and health service ecosystems in Africa, both areas of great personal passion. Kinya brings immense experience to the Andela team, having worked in North America, Europe and Africa for companies including Praekelt Consulting, IBM Global Business Services and Digitas (Publicis Groupe).
A long-time advocate for women in technology, Kinya will help drive Andela’s mission to promote and empower female software developers. Currently, women make up 34% of the Andela Nairobi fellowship and the company has launched initiatives that include all-female bootcamps and free educational events in an effort to recruit more women into the program.
“Wambui is the embodiment of what is possible for extraordinary women pursuing career paths in technology,” says Sass. “Given Andela’s company-wide goal of advancing and promoting women in tech, this is a huge step forward for us.”
Kinya will be based out of Andela’s Nairobi headquarters with frequent visits to Andela Lagos and Andela NYC.