Building Resilience in East African Economies

Waturi Matu is a seasoned professional with more than 17 years’ experience in Intermediation (Lobbying and Advocacy), SME development, business advisory services, project management, monitoring & evaluation and administration of grants and contracts.

She is currently the Senior Director Business Competitiveness at Trademark East Africa where she directs and monitors programmes that focus on; Private Sector Advocacy, Transport & Logistics, Export Capability and Women and Trade at the Regional and National level to enhance the competitiveness of sectors in Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa.

Waturi has previously served as Regional Program Manager for the African Women Agribusiness Network East Africa, a membership-based business support organisation that promotes women's small and medium enterprise growth through facilitation or direct provision of need-based services and through advocacy aimed at creating a better business environment for women in East Africa.

She has vast experience in the management of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and DFID grants and contracts, Project Management, SME development, business advisory services and Organizational Capacity Assessments.

Mama Keita is the director of the sub-regional office for East Africa of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, based in Kigali, Rwanda. She has worked in the field of development economics for over 20 years. Prior to her employment at ECA, which began in 2011 with a position of Economic Affairs Officer, Ms. Keita held positions as Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Guinea and Poverty Economist at the World Bank in Burkina Faso. She has also assumed various academic roles, notably as a lecturer in public economics and development economics in Canada and has conducted various research in the development field. She holds a Masters in Statistics and Applied Economics from ENSEA in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and a PhD. in economics from the University of Montreal, Canada.