Catherine Mahugu is a software engineer by profession, and a change-maker by passion. With a love of all things binary and a keen eye for design, Catherine has been involved in various ICT for Development projects. In these projects, she has applied design thinking for social innovation. She is a certified human-centered design expert, a skill acquired at Stanford University -Hasso Plattner – d.School (California, USA)

She is a proven leader who inspires with enthusiasm. She is passionate about helping teams unlock their leadership potential and talents to not only achieve their goals but to exceed them. She focuses on motivating and igniting vision to the high performing team and leaders

Catherine is an award-winning serial social entrepreneur.

Currently, she is the founder of  Chiswara . An agri-tech & online platform, that offers an equitable coffee experience for our farmers & consumers. We connect local coffee producers directly with our global consumers. Our farmer-focused approach & direct trade framework stimulates inclusive economic growth. Chiswara was born after  Catherine witnessed Alibaba’s Rural Taobao initiative. The tech titan is helping to raise living standards in the Chinese countryside by providing e-commerce access for millions of residents. Partners committed to the company’s growth and impact include Alibaba, UNCTAD, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Egyptian Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation (MIIC).

She founded Wazidata  . A Design-led Innovation company, solving intricate and complex challenges with a focus on people. Our work helps shape better experiences, products, brands, & organisations. We build empathy through in-depth, qualitative research. A firm advancing human experience by creating innovative offerings using Design Thinking methods. Wazidata conducts human-centred design Workshops and need-specific services in entrepreneurship and ICT for development for our clients.  Some of the clients include Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Convergence partners, FH1360, Quicksand and Safaricom.

Catherine Mahugu is also the founder of Soko . Soko is an innovation in fashion & technology; an ethical fashion brand that expands access to economic opportunity for artisans in emerging economies, disrupting the traditional export supply chain and revolutionizing the way money & goods are exchanged between developing world artisans & global consumers.

Catherine has an extensive background and experience in strategic planning, operations leadership, and management. She is a certified Global trade specialist through the International Trade Centre. At Soko, she has effectively overseen the end to end operational execution and delivery of products to over 450 international retailers, several large brands such as Nordstrom, Fossil, QVC, TJMaxx, Edun, Esprit, Anthropologie and global e-commerce consumers. Notable press that has featured Soko products include Vogue and Glamour magazine. Iconic women and celebrities such as Michelle Obama, Lupita Nyongo, Nicole Kidman, Oprah Winfrey and Emma Watson have been styled with Soko ‘s jewellery. By driving and supporting the technology innovation at Soko, she has contributed to transforming the traditional global supply chain. Soko purchases have generated over $1 Million to date in revenue to the artisan network in Kenya. With an artisan community based in Kenya and Ethiopia ,Soko has sold 250,000+ products worldwide and in the process changing the fashion industry for good.

Her impressive contribution through her career has become a point of reference in international case studies and successful experiences to follow.

Catherine has been recognized as:-

* INC Magazine’s Female Founder 100  2019.

* Harambean  2019.

* Queen’s Young Leaders advisory mentor 2018.

* Safaricom eCommerce blaze mentor 2018

* Vanity Fair’s Women of Colour diversifying entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley and beyond 2018

* Women Super Achiever Award 2017.

* One of Forbes top 30 under 30 Globally 2016.

* Most Influential Woman in Business and Government(Continental Winner)-Africa 2016.

* One of Forbes Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs In Africa 2015.

* BBC’s top 30 under 30 2015.

* BBC’s top 100 women 2015.

* Kenya’s top 5 Female Entrepreneurs under 40 .

* Top 5 upcoming tech women in Kenya to watch.

* World bank’s top 11 inspirational women

* A Leader of Tomorrow at the St.Gallen’s 44th Symposium in Switzerland 2014

Catherine is an UNCTAD & Alibaba eFounder fellow, International Telecom Union (ITU) Innovators fellow, the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs, a World Bank Fellow through infoDev and an Ashoka-American Express Emerging innovator fellow.

An in-demand speaker, Catherine’s practical experiences, creative use of multimedia and her enthusiastic and passionate delivery, have proven to be a winning formula for tens of thousands of conference attendees including the Economist 2016 conference and Harvard 2017 conference.

She was recently featured in Forbes Magazine -June Issue 2015 and Jan issue 2016 as one of the top 30 under 30 (2015 and 2016 ) and highlighted as top 100 women by BBC. She has also been featured by  CNN, CNBC, Marie Claire, South Africa Airways in-flight magazine, World bank and other mainstream media. However, it is not these accolades that define her, but rather the impact that she has through her work.