Isaac Awuondo holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance) degree from the University of Nairobi. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ACA) and member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (CPA K). Isaac has over 32 years’ experience in the finance and banking sectors spanning Europe and Eastern Africa and has previously worked with BDO Binder Hamlyn, Nation Media Group and Standard Chartered Bank in various senior executive roles. He is the Chairman of Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), the Council of Riara University, a Member of the Advisory Board of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and a Director of Bata Shoes Company Kenya Ltd and the Kenya Cultural Centre. He is also Chairman of the Kenya Conservatoire of Music, WWF Kenya, The Rhino Trust and a Trustee of Zawadi Africa Education Fund.

Mr. Awuondo will give a keynote speech at the Urban Mobility Summit - Nairobi

Cezanne Maherali is the Head of Policy for Uber East Africa. In this role, Cezanne leads government relations and supporting cities to move towards smart mobility in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Until recently, she was also leading policy engagement for Nigeria and Ghana.
Cezanne has been with Uber since April 2016 and previously worked as an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company based out of Kenya and South Africa. Prior to that, Cezanne worked in the Transactions and Performance Improvement departments of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Kenya. She has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in Canada and an MBA from INSEAD in France and Singapore. Cezanne is passionate about economic development and the ability of technology to deliver impact.

Stefanie Holzwarth is working in the Urban Mobility Unit at UN-Habitat, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. She is involved in providing knowledge, advocacy, and technical assistance to national governments and local authorities in the development and implementation of sustainable urban mobility strategies. In her work, she supports broad consultation processes of stakeholders to develop mobility strategies that are adapted to local needs, avails international expertise and best practices, and is also involved in capacity building, training events or city-to-city exchanges. Previously, she has worked with GIZ in Urban Development Projects in Cairo, Egypt and Cape Town, South Africa. Disregarding of the bike-unfriendliness of many big cities around the globe that she lived in, Stefanie has discovered her enthusiasm for cycling. Not only for commuting-to-office purposes – but also by joining Critical Mass Events to create awareness of the cyclists’ rights to shared urban roads.

Dr. Tonny K. Omwansa holds a PhD in Information Systems and is a faculty member at the School of Computing and Informatics, University of Nairobi. He is the co-author of the book “Money, Real Quick: Kenya’s Disruptive Mobile Money Innovation”. Besides teaching, he coordinates the innovation activities at the University of Nairobi, including running startups accelerator (TUMI Startup Accelerator and an upcoming CISCO Edge Accelerator), overseeing the annual Nairobi Innovation Week, which he founded in 2015 and designing innovation courses. He is also the founding Director of the C4DLab, the innovation and incubation lab of the University of Nairobi. Through Nairobi Innovation Week, over the last four years, Dr. Omwansa has mobilized over 50 local partners from private sector, government, development agencies and academia to enhance the local innovation ecosystem. The Nairobi Innovation Week was graced by the HE the President of the Republic of Kenya and has since then grown into a national pride with participation from several other countries.
As part of his focus on startup movement, Dr. Omwansa founded NIW.Startups in 2018 which pulls together hundreds of startups that compete and prepare to pitch at the close of the Nairobi Innovation Week. Other initiatives he has founded include the C4DLab, University of Nairobi Innovation Fellowship, TUMI Startup Accelerator and is considered as one of the most prolific scholars at the University of Nairobi.
Dr. Omwansa has conducted extensive research and consulting work on ICT, Innovation, financial inclusion, mobile transactions and information systems in various countries resulting in numerous products, publications and reports. His research interests are in the design, adoption and impact of innovative low-cost appropriate technologies in developing countries and how private sector, through startups contribute towards solutions in challenging societies in the region.

Dr. Tonny Omwansa will moderate the panel discussion: "The Evolving Startup Ecosystem in Kenya" at the Startup Ecosystem Forum

Constant Cap is a regular commentator on urban planning issues facing Nairobi and other African Cities through his blog African City Planner, through local dailies, international publications and on local media. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya he is passionate about the planning issues facing African Cities. He has a deep interest in sustainable and inclusive mobility, urban resilience and people driven urbanism. He is a Graduate Member of the Town and County Planners Association of Kenya. He has previously worked at the Strathmore University Advancement Office and as the Executive Director of Kilimani Project Foundation. Constant coordinates Naipolitans, a platform that brings together urban professionals and enthusiasts towards creating a better urban environment for all. He is currently an independent consultant working towards transforming the urban planning space in Kenya. His recent engagements have been through 'Sauti ya Nairobi,' a coalition that has been pushing for participation, accountability and transparency in the physical planning of the city. He is also conducting a research on the implementation of creative methodologies in sustainable and inclusive transport . He has a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Katie is an expert in sustainable infrastructure, technology, and strategy. She is currently a Director at Liquid Telecom, a pan-African digital infrastructure company.Most recently, Katie launched and led Apple’s Clean Energy Program, an ambitious program to transition Apple's product manufacturing worldwide to renewable energy. Prior to Apple, Katie spent 4 years working in India for Acumen, a leading impact investment fund. She launched Acumen’s Energy Portfolio in India, investing in off-grid energy companies, and she currently sits on Acumen's Advisory Council. Having spent six years living in Asia and Africa (India, China, Nepal, Uganda, Botswana), Katie has had a unique global viewpoint and a deep understanding of these markets. Katie received her MBA and an MS in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. She is a TED fellow and World Economic Forum "Young Global Leader."

Aregash Asfaw will give the opening remarks at the Startup Ecosystem Forum

Currently working with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Development Cooperation, GIZ) as the Make-IT in Africa Tech Entrepreneurship Initiative Make-IT Coordinator- Kenya where supporting digital innovations for sustainable and inclusive development is the key objective of the project. Cecilia has been interested in technology and social innovation projects in healthcare. Her area of focus being Sub-Saharan Africa and West Africa. Through this period, she interacted with start-ups that were innovating various technologies to improve access to quality and affordable healthcare in Africa that she believes are continuing to create positive clinical health outcomes globally. Cecilia holds an MBA- Strategic Management and BSC Computer Technology. A fun fact is that Cecilia was Miss World Kenya and has taken part in various philanthropic activities most famous one being National anti-jiggers campaign.

Bitange Ndemo will conduct a keynote presentation: "Enhancing Kenya's Startup Ecosystem Competitiveness" at the Startup Ecosystem Forum

Jonas Tesfu will be a speaker in the panel discussion: "The Evolving Startup Ecosystem in Kenya" at the Startup Ecosystem Forum

Harry Hare will be a speaker in the panel discussion: "The Evolving Startup Ecosystem in Kenya" at the Startup Ecosystem Forum

Florence Kimata will give a presentation: "Government Priorities for the Startup Ecosystem - 2018/2019" at the Startup Ecosystem Forum

Bernard Chiira will be a speaker in the panel discussion: "The Evolving Startup Ecosystem in Kenya" at the Startup Ecosystem Forum

Robert is an instructor on innovation and technology at the Strathmore Institute, a Mentor and Coach at the iBizAfrica Incubator. With a professional background in Accounting and Business Administration, he is very passionate about coaching early stage startups in the LEAN Startup Methodology with an emphasis customer development and business model development Community.

Robert Yawe will be a speaker in the panel discussion: "Mentorship for Entrepreneurs" at the Startup Ecosystem Forum

Hervé Kubwimana will be a speaker in the Merck/Make-IT collaboration panel at the Startup Ecosystem Forum

Martin Kiilu will discuss the startup training framework: "Open Online Educational Material" at the Startup Ecosystem Forum

Bertil is responsible for business development at VC4Africa, working with partners to improve the services on the VC4A.com platform. He managed the 3-year ‘Inclusive Business Accelerator’ programme on the side of VC4A. Bertil studied journalism (Ba) and Political Science (Ma) and gained content and technical experience while working in the African startup and media space since 2006 in Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and other countries across the continent.

Bertil van Vugt will moderate the panel discussion: "Mentorship for Entrepreneurs" at the Startup Ecosystem Forum

Kathleen Bury is Mowgli Mentoring’s Chief Executive Officer and holds a BA Hons Business degree from the Nottingham Trent Business School, UK. She has undertaken a number of Executive Education programs in Columbia Business School, NYU, Wharton University and INSEAD Business School and trained as a Coach through Coaches Training Institute (CTI).
Having worked in the UK, Middle East, North Africa, Asia and East Africa, Kathleen has over 17 years of experience spanning profit and not for profit management, strategy development, project management, business development, consulting, research/market analysis, marketing/communications, knowledge management, process design, family business and start up/entrepreneurship. She is also an author of leadership and entrepreneurship focused articles within leading international magazines and online communities.
During her time working within and at the helm of Mowgli, Kathleen has led the team to double in size within, win 3 major awards for employment generation (impact), mentoring program quality and mentor network in the Arab Region, as well as expand into 8 new countries; enabling Mowgli to considerably increase its reach, impact and sustainability.
Prior to joining Mowgli, Kathleen rose from a Research Consultant to Director of Market Analysis with Contax Partners, a niche oil and gas consulting and business development company based in the UAE.
Kathleen is a founding member, current President and ex-Board Member of the Entrepreneur Organisation (EO) Kenya chapter, a member of the Global Philanthropists Circle, a public speaker, a mentor and mentee and a proud foster mom of 5 elephants through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya.

Kathleen Bury will be a speaker in the panel discussion: "Mentorship for Entrepreneurs" at the Startup Ecosystem Forum