The Team

Melissa has close to 20 years’ cumulative experience in the financial services and MSME sectors. She has worked with financiers and other players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, mainly in Kenya, to develop relevant capacity solutions for the enterprises. Part of this work has involved appraising businesses seeking funding or other support to grow their businesses and training business owner-managers to equip them with the tools to run their businesses. Her s cope of consulting assignments has covered the private sector, government and public-private initiatives supported by development agencies. Melissa is a B. Com and MBA graduate. She is also currently pursuing a PhD in Business and Management, arising from her interest in research that informs and supports the creation and growth of stable enterprises in developing and emerging economies.

Kennon has 20 years of progressive experience spanning different sectors including ICT, hospitality, financial service. He has successfully handled strategic matters in finance, operations and ICT making significant contributions in supporting businesses identify value drivers for their strategies, following through to achieve their organizational objectives, enhancing profitability, improving efficiency and optimizing stakeholder returns. He is also active in the startup space as a budding angel investor and business mentor, having invested in startups in food processing, ICT and an education startup funded by Y-combinator. Kennon is an MBA graduate and also holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Accounting option). Professionally, he is a Fellow Member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and also holds a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) qualification.

Irene has over 20 years’ cumulative experience in this field gained from working with renowned organizations and clients in the public and private sector at senior level, and with training and consultancy experience spanning over 15 years. Her competencies include organizational audits, leadership and corporate transformation strategies, strategic and business planning, change management, human resource planning, conducting baseline surveys, customer service management strategies, corporate governance, pre-retirement planning, performance management, financial planning and management, and teambuilding. Irene holds an MBA (Human Resource and Organization Development) and is a trained finance professional.

Susan has over 15 years’ experience in Human Resources management, labour law advisory, and governance. She has provided advisory and training services for multinationals, NGOs, FMCG and Government, with her experience spanning Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle east and India. Specific skills and experience include recruitment, talent management, Job evaluation and Job descriptions, performance management, HR policy and procedures review, employee benefits management, career pathing, organizational development/ restructuring and change management. Susan holds an MBA (HR), a B. Ed and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB). She is also a CPS (Kenya), a Certified Competence Mapping Expert (CCME, India) and Full Member of Institute of Human Resources Management (IHRM) of Kenya.

Gacoki has been involved in developing markets in the agriculture and renewable energy sectors.She is keen on strengthening private sector leadership for value chain actors that provide markets and services for primary producers. Gacoki has also worked with various county and regional governments in Africa, in partnership with development partners, to strengthen sector planning and investment development. Gacoki holds a Masters degree in Strategic Marketing and is a BCom (Marketing) graduate.