Grace is the Deputy Program Director at Mercy Corps AgriFin supporting the Program Director with programming and management of the portfolio. Grace has 12 years’ experience in the financial inclusion and international development sectors. Grace joined AgriFin from the GSMA Innovation Fund where she supported innovative start-ups and SMEs using mobile centric innovative solutions to achieve sustainable growth and improved socio-economic impact across Africa and Asia Pacific.
She has also worked at KPMG East Africa’s International Development Advisory Services unit where she managed among others the Mastercard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity whose objective was to provide financial access to unbanked and under-banked communities of rural sub-Saharan Africa. Grace was also the programme coordinator for a youth programme in Kenya, funded by the Government, and supported by the World Bank that provided training and funding for 750 young entrepreneurs across the country.
Prior to joining KPMG, Grace gained extensive experience as a technical advisor with one of the leading boutique financial inclusion consulting firms, MSC Consulting. Grace led and executed technical assistance assignments to financial service providers for delivery of market-led products and services. She has worked with banks, telcos, micro-finance Institutions, Savings and Credit Co-operative Unions (SACCOs) and donor agencies in Africa and Asia to develop and customize products and channels of delivery, optimize operational efficiencies, reengineer processes, manage risks, design, and deliver training. She has also been a micro-finance consultant for one of the leading commercial banks in Kenya where her major tasks including growing the business for the bank targeting customers at the base of the pyramid.
Grace also sits on the board of the African Women in Fintech and Payments (AWFP) network – Kenya chapter, as a founding board member.