Jennifer Riria
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Jennifer Riria, is a Kenyan
businesswoman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...
,
corporate executive Corporate titles or business titles are given to corporate officers to show what duties and responsibilities they have in the organization. Such titles are used by publicly and privately held for-profit corporations, cooperatives, non-profit or ...
,
banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
, and
academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
who serves as the group
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of Kenya Women Holding Group, a microfinance, banking and insurance group serving nearly one million mostly rural
Kenyan women The history of the evolution of the traits of women in Kenya can be divided into Women within Swahili culture, Women in British Kenya, and Kenyan Women post-Independence. The condition and status of the female population in Kenya has faced many ...
.


Background and education

Riria was born in Kenya. She was the fourth-born in a family with 10 children. She attended a primary school every day, about , from home, traveling barefoot. She was admitted to Precious Blood High School, an
all-girls Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
administered by the
religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...
of the Sisters of the Precious Blood, located in
Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
, Kenya's capital and largest city. At the end of high school, Riria became pregnant. After giving birth, she went on to study at the
University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in ...
on a scholarship. She graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in Education. She then earned a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree in Education Administration from the
University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Later, Riria obtained a
Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
in Women's Education and Development, from
Kenyatta University Kenyatta University (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Nairobi County, Kenya. It acquired the status of university in 1985, being the third university after University of Nairobi (1970) and Moi University (1984). As of ...
.


Career

Following her first degree, Riria taught at Kabete Technical Institute for six months followed by one year a
State House Girls High School
In 1979, after her second degree, she returned to her native Kenya and registered for her Doctorate degree at the Kenyatta University. She also began lecturing, part-time at the same university. In 1991, she joined Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT), a microfinance financial institution, founded in 1982. As at 1991, when Riria arrived KWFT was in bad shape, understaffed, and losing money. Riria worked as CEO, janitor, accountant, loan officer and receptionist. Her efforts began to bear fruit and the institution stabilized. In 2010, the institution was split into
Kenya Women Microfinance Bank Kenya Women Microfinance Bank, formerly Kenya Women Finance Trust or KWFT, is a deposit-taking microfinance bank in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. Overview KWFT is a medium-tier financial services provider in Kenya. ...
and ''Kenya Women Holding Limited''. The
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
then re-branded to Echo Network Africa Limited, in February 2018. Riria is the incumbent CEO of the holding company.


Other considerations

Dr. Jennifer Riria was the winner of the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Award, or Kenya in 2014. She is also serves as chairwoman of Women's World Banking, a global microfinance network consisting of over 53 MFIs from 30 countries. Riria is a supporter and promoter of the ''Educate the Net 235 Girls'' programme. The initiative supports needy girls in their education. She has served on the boards of Kenyan and international organizations, including at the
Nairobi Stock Exchange The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...
, being the first female to serve in that capacity. She has also served on the boards of ''Jitegemee Trust Limited'', a microfinance company,
National Bank of Kenya National Bank of Kenya (NBK), also known as National Bank, is a commercial bank in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank, and national banking regulator. Effectiv ...
, and
Kenya Post Office Savings Bank Kenya Post Office Savings Bank, often referred to as Postbank, is a Savings Bank in Kenya. Unlike other commercial banks in Kenya that are licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya, PostBank is regulated by the ''Kenya Post Office Sav ...
. Jennifer Riria is the author of two books; an autobiography and ''A History of Higher Education in Kenya''. Both books were launched in June 2014.


See also


References


External links


The trouble with Kenyan universities
As at 5 June 2014.
Meet the Boss: Jennifer Riria, CEO, Kenya Women Holding
*https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-nkuene-riria-44996a6a?originalSubdomain=ke {{DEFAULTSORT:Riria, Jennifer Living people 1950s births University of Dar es Salaam alumni Alumni of the University of Leeds Kenyatta University alumni 21st-century Kenyan businesswomen 21st-century Kenyan businesspeople 20th-century Kenyan businesswomen 20th-century Kenyan businesspeople Kenyan business executives Academic staff of Kenyatta University