Ory Okolloh

Ory Okolloh (or Ory Okolloh Mwangi) is a Kenyan activist, lawyer, and blogger. She is a partner at Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, a pan-African investment firm based in Lagos, Nigeria, with offices in Nairobi.[1][2][3]

She previously served as the managing director at Omidyar Network,[4][5][6] and as the policy manager for Africa with Google.[7][8]

Education

Okolloh earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh, and graduated from Harvard Law School in 2005 with a Juris Doctor.[9][10]

Career

In 2006, Okolloh co-founded the parliamentary watchdog site Mzalendo (Swahili: "Patriot").[11][9][12] The site sought to increase government accountability by systematically recording bills, speeches, MPs, and standing orders.[11][13]

When Kenya was engulfed in violence following a disputed presidential election in 2007, Okolloh co-created Ushahidi (Swahili: "Witness"), a website and tool that collected and recorded eyewitness reports of violence using text messages and Google Maps.[9][14] The technology has since been adapted for expanded purposes (including monitoring elections and tracking pharmaceutical availability) and used in a number of other countries.[15][16][17]

Okolloh has a personal blog, Kenyan Pundit, which was featured on Global Voices Online.[18][14]

She has worked as a legal consultant for NGOs and has worked at Covington and Burling, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, and the World Bank.[19][10]

Okolloh was appointed to the board of Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company, the body that acts as a guardian of the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles in May 2015.[20] She retired from the company in December 2024, having served as the deputy chair in her last year.[21]

Okolloh has also served as an independent director at Safaricom since February 2023.[22][23][24] She departed from the position in July 2024.[25] She previously served on the board of Stanbic Bank Foundation Kenya, from April 2020 to July 2024,[26] and as a non-executive director of Stanbic Bank until December 2020, when she resigned.[27][28]

In February 2025, she was appointed to the board of GSMA Foundation.[29]

She was appointed to the Board of Kepple Group in Japan in May 2025, as an Outside Director.[30]

Ory is a member of the Africa Advisory Board of Harvard University's Centre For African Studies.[31]

Additionally, she is involved in the following organisations' boards:

Organisation Role Appointment date References
Van Leer Group Board trustee July 2020 [32][33]
East African Breweries Ltd Non-executive director October 2020 [34][35][36]
Deloitte Africa Non-executive director June 2021 [37]
Adecco Group Foundation Board member July 2021 [38][39]
GSMA Foundation Board member February 2025 [29][40]
Kepple Group Japan Outside Director May 2025 [41][30]

Awards

  • 2012, Forbes list "Africa's Most Successful Women"[42][43]
  • 2013, "Africa's Most Powerful Women In Technology"[44]
  • 2014, Time list "The 100 Most Influential People"[45][46][43]

References

  1. ^ Njanja, Annie (2024-04-09). "Pan-African VC Verod-Kepple closes its first fund at $60M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  2. ^ Kene-Okafor, Tage (2023-04-12). "Backed by Japanese investors, Verod-Kepple's fund will invest in Series A and B startups across Africa". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  3. ^ Jackson, Tom (2024-04-12). "Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures closes pan-African venture fund at $60m". Disrupt Africa. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  4. ^ "Group launches initiative for global policy reform to lower Internet access cost". Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  5. ^ Mohammed, Omar (2015-06-09). "Why aren't more wealthy Africans backing the continent's start-ups?". Quartz - Africa. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  6. ^ Kozlowska, Hanna (2015-04-06). "#147notjustanumber aims to name all those slain in Kenya attack". Quartz. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  7. ^ "Ms. Ory A, Okolloh". www.stanbicbank.co.ke. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  8. ^ week, Stay up to date on the editors' picks of the (2020-12-20). "Ory Okolloh exits Google for Omidyar Network". Business Daily. Retrieved 2025-01-22. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ a b c Bahree, Megha (2008-11-13). "Citizen Voices". Forbes.
  10. ^ a b Okolloh, Ory. "About". Kenyan Pundit. Archived from the original on 2009-10-21. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
  11. ^ a b Bengali, Shashank (2007-06-21). "Native voices blog out of Africa". McClatchy Newspapers. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
  12. ^ "The Most Influential Women in Technology 2011 – Ory Okolloh". Fast Company. 2011-01-10. Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  13. ^ Heavens, Andrew (2007-03-14). "The web watchdog biting Kenya's MPs". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
  14. ^ a b Nyabola, Nanjala (2021-03-08). "In Nairobi, Female Coders Are Flipping the Silicon Valley Trope on Its Head". Vogue. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  15. ^ Jay (2008-01-09). "How to Use the Web To Show the Truth". The History of the Web. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  16. ^ Halliday, Josh (2010-08-16). "Ushahidi: giving citizens the power to put news on the map". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  17. ^ Newsweek (2010-03-03). "'Ushahidi' Technology Saves Lives in Haiti and Chile". Newsweek. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  18. ^ Boyd, Clark (2005-04-06). "Global voices speak through blogs". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
  19. ^ Kantai, Wallace (2009-07-19). "Kenyan gives platform for airing post-poll atrocities". Business Daily. Nation Media Group. Archived from the original on 2019-03-23. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
  20. ^ "Ory Okolloh joins Reuters Board of Directors". Innovation Village. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  21. ^ "Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company appoints Aidan Eyakuze to its Board of Directors". www.thomsonreuters.com. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  22. ^ Kagonye, Fred (2023-02-27). "Safaricom appoints new board directors". Standard Media. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  23. ^ week, Stay up to date on the editors' picks of the (2023-02-27). "Safaricom replaces Bitange Ndemo in new board changes". Business Daily. Retrieved 2025-01-22. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  24. ^ Augustine, Abraham (2023-03-02). "Ushahidi's Ory Okolloh joins Safaricom board". TechCabal. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  25. ^ "Major Changes in Safaricom's Board of Directors: Ory Okolloh and Francesco Bianco Exit - Techish Kenya". 2024-07-29. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  26. ^ Mbabazi, Eunniah (2020-12-10). "Ory Okolloh Resigns from Stanbic Board WEF 9th Dec". Kenyan Wall Street - Business, Markets & Finance Insights. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  27. ^ Khusoko (2020-12-09). "Stanbic Bank's Non-Executive Director Ory Okolloh Resigns". Khusoko - East African Markets. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  28. ^ week, Stay up to date on the editors' picks of the (2020-09-19). "Omidyar MD Ory Okolloh joins Stanbic board". Business Daily. Retrieved 2025-01-22. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  29. ^ a b Lukhanyu, Milcah (2025-02-13). "Ory Okolloh Joins GSMA Foundation Board". Khusoko - East African Markets. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
  30. ^ a b Bwire, Ronald (2025-05-01). "Japan's Kepple Group Appoints Ory Okolloh as Outide Director". TechMoran. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  31. ^ "Africa Advisory Board". africa.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  32. ^ "Ory Okolloh". Van Leer Foundation. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  33. ^ Ecofin, Agence. "Ory Okolloh, la Kenyane qui soutient les entrepreneurs impactant en Afrique via le venture capital". Agence Ecofin (in French). Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  34. ^ "Ory Okolloh | EABL". www.eabl.com. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  35. ^ Mbabazi, Eunniah (2020-10-22). "EABL Appoints Ms Ory Okolloh as Non-Executive Director". Kenyan Wall Street - Business, Markets & Finance Insights. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  36. ^ "Kenya: East African Breweries says it has put strategies to achieve gender balance by 2025". Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  37. ^ "Africa Board | About Deloitte Africa| Deloitte Africa". www.deloitte.com. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  38. ^ "Who We Are". www.adeccogroup.com. Archived from the original on 2024-06-27. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  39. ^ "Innovation Foundation". www.fundraiso.ch. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  40. ^ [email protected] (2025-02-05). "GSMA Foundation Board welcomes new members". Newsroom. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
  41. ^ "ケップルグループの社外取締役にOry Okolloh氏、田中 渓氏、社外監査役にEric Marcks氏が就任". 株式会社ケップル コーポレートサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  42. ^ Nsehe, Mfonobong (2012-06-01). "Africa's Most Successful Women: Ory Okolloh". Forbes.
  43. ^ a b "Binyavanga, Ory Okolloh named Time's most influential people". Nation. 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  44. ^ "Africa's Most Powerful Women In Technology - 2013". African Leadership Magazine. 2023-08-14.
  45. ^ Dyson, Esther (2014-04-24). "Ory Okolloh". Time.
  46. ^ "Meet the Black Women on Time's Most Influential List". BET. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
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