Hello!

My name is Akinyi Wavinya Ooko-Ombaka (she/her) — that’s right, two traditional names, two different tribes, confusion for many. I love how even at the humble age of 32, my name elicits questioning. Even more, I love that my name represents me fully — a mchuzi (mix/concoction) of a person influenced by vast experiences, dynamic cultures, and everything in between. I love that my name speaks loudly and unapologetically to who I am at my core, diverse, fierce and proudly Kenyan. It also helps that I was named after two incredible women in my family and that Wavinya (named after my grandma, the late Agnes Muimi) quite literally translates to powerful person.

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With sights strategically targeted to the motherland, I continue to navigate the professional space with a core focus on Kenya and pan-African companies building Africa for Africa. Up-to-date the wealth of my experience has been in the Nairobi tech space and cut across logistics, environmental justice, tertiary education, and gig work. With 7 years of experience working mainly with early-stage and growth startups, I continue to zero and hone in on areas I really care about - impact and transformation. 

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In my various professional capacities, I’ve setup companies from scratch, developed roadmaps and experiments to test product viability, expanded offerings to new markets, created and enforced organizational KPIs, recruited and built operational teams, incubated, trained and up-skilled workers, and so much more. Having done so through various sectors and fields from career-readiness programming for young creatives, to building systems to connect informal workers to gig work (e.g. cleaning, furniture, construction, installation etc) has enabled me to address complexity and inclusivity in very real and different ways. 

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I am currently taking a sabbatical to explore (more deeply) the areas I want to hone in on in my next adventure. Whatever the case, I know what I really care about — creating dignified and meaningful employment. For me, it’s more than just creating work opportunities. Dignity itself starts with naming and acknowledging the work itself and saying that wage work is real work. It means having access to capital, health and other welfare services, and career development. It’s more encompassing. I don’t know quite yet at what scale and extent I want to be involved e.g. implementation vs. policy, but I do know that young Africans in the informal sector pull my heart and nerve like none other. 

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When I’m not working, I love to spend my time in the great outdoors on long walks, long runs, mountaineering, camping, or hiking. Anything that allows my body to move like yoga and dance are a double yes. Fun fact — I’m the 6th woman to successfully attempt and conquer Batian, the highest peak on Mt. Kenya! I am also obsessed with food in all forms and can be frequently found cooking, baking and testing out new recipes on my friends and family. I truly am a foodie but also self-appointed closet critic. I believe in doing good and in the power of humanity but also think that humans have the capacity to be the worst — we are complicated like that sometimes. At the end of the day, and someday when I am dead, I hope that my work and words have had the power to influence those around me to be bold and make a difference in whatever small or big way they’re capable of.

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Welcome again to Akinyi Wavinya! A platform where I hope to share more of what I care about, what I love, what I question, and more. Welcome to me. Unedited and unscripted.

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Follow my professional story at linkedin.com/in/akinyiwavinya OR connect with me at akinyiwavinya@gmail.com.