10 Kenyans in Africa Youth Awards  100 Most Influential Young Africans

Adelle Onyango – Founder, The Adelle Onyango Initiative (Kenya)

Adelle Onyango is a Kenyan media personality who has gained international recognition for her efforts to empower Kenyan women and youth. She was named as one of OkayAfrica’s 100 extraordinary African women for 2018; as well as one of BBC’s 100 inspirational and innovative women in the world for 2017.

Adelle is the founder of The Adelle Onyango Initiative, an advocacy organization that works to educate the public on issues facing vulnerable populations; specifically, women and youth, while also providing solutions for reducing the barriers to empowerment and economic inclusion so that women and youth can thrive.

*****

Beatrice Chepkoech – Runner 

Beatrice Chepkoech Sitonik, Kenya’s distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She is the current world record holder in that event running 8:44.32 in 2018. With that time she became the first woman to break 8:50 and 8:45.

*****

Darshan Chandaria – CEO, Chandaria Industries (Kenya)

Darshan Chandaria holds an undergraduate Business Management degree from Cardiff University in the UK. He is the Group CEO & a Shareholder of Chandaria Group.

He was voted the 2018 Most Influential Young Kenyan in a ranking poll by Avance Media.

*****

Elizabeth Ntonjira – Senior Corporate Communications Manager, Amref Health Africa

Elizabeth (Lizz) Ntonjira is currently the Senior Corporate Communications Manager, Amref Health Africa. She is a strategic communications specialist and has a vast experience managing and overseeing, external relations, stakeholder engagement, digital innovation, integrated communications & public relations, marketing, media relations and journalism practice, public policy and business strategy; experience she has gained within a number of roles in the public, private and international development sectors spanning over 10 years.

She was awarded the 2018 International Woman in Tech in the prestigious Women4Africa Awards. She was also awarded the IBM Smart Communicator Award for World Class Media Relations and exemplary communications work in Middle East and Africa in June, 2018. She was voted Leader of the Year in the 2018 Africa Youth Awards. 

*****

Elizabeth Wanjiru Wathuti – Founder, Green Generation Initiative 

Elizabeth is a 24-years-old conservationist and climate activist from Kenya. She planted her first tree at the age of 7 years old and now is the founder of Green Generation Initiative (GGI).

She is a youth council member of the International Reserva: The Youth Land Trust and a board member of the Elephant Neighbors Center which is a grassroot organization that enhances capacity of communities living with wildlife.  She is also one of the regional finalists for Africa for the UN Young Champions of the Earth 2019 due to the impact that her organization which nurtures young people to be conscious of the environment while promoting green projects has had.

*****

Larry Madowo – Journalist (Kenya)

Larry Madowo was the lead for BBC News Africa’s new Business Unit and a Global Contributing Columnist for the Washington Post.

He was previously a reporter, anchor and editor with NTV Kenya, CNBC Africa and KTN Kenya. He also wrote a column for the Daily Nation and hosted a radio show on Nation FM. He has reported from over 40 countries and interviewed some of the world’s most prominent business, political and cultural icons. He was named among the 2018 100 Most Influential Young Kenyans.

*****

Natalie Robi Tingo – Founder, Msichana Empowerment Kuria 

Natalie is a multi-talented social entrepreneur, economist and human rights activist with several awards and recognitions to her name. She believes that every girl should grow free from violence. She works in the same village where she was born, raised, and discriminated against for being ‘uncut’.

Stephen Sang – Governor, Nandi County 

Stephen Sang is a Kenyan lawyer and politician who currently serves as the second Governor of Nandi County in Kenya. He previously served as Senator for Nandi County from 2013 to 2017.

Hon. Stephen Kipyego Araap Sang is the Chairman of the Governors’ Intergovernmental Relations Committee and the second Governor of Nandi County. On August 8, 2017 Stephen Sang was elected as the youngest Governor in Kenya at 32, since the adoption of the devolved system in 2010. He is the second Governor for Nandi County. At Senate, Governor Sang served as the Chairperson of the Sessional Committee on Delegated Legislation, Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and a representative of Kenyan Parliament in the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU).