Ory Okolloh

Ory Okolloh
CitizenshipKenya
EducationUniversity of Pittsburgh Harvard Law School
OccupationsActivist, Lawyer, and Blogger
Organization(s)Covington and Burling

Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company Safaricom

GSMA Foundation

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] Ory was named 100 most influential People in 2014. [1].

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. Retrieved 2009-09-11.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  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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