In June 2017, the second cohort of young, ambitious and enthusiastic entrepreneurs graduated from the Keroche Foundation Young Entrepreneurs Mentorship Program at a colourful ceremony held at the prestigious Radisson Blu Hotel in Upper Hill, Nairobi. Five young women entrepreneurs were amongst those being recognized - Caroline Wanjiku, CEO Daproim Africa Limited; Jayne Awino Okoth, CEO Rapunzel Hair Affair & Porsh Hair; Catherine Mahugu, Co-founder of Soko & Founder of WaziData Limited; Judith Chebet Mosobo, CEO of Iris Interiors Limited; and Liz Kitua, CEO of Kidosho Apparel.
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Meet the five young women entrepreneurs who have been recognized for their business building activities in the second cohort to graduate from the program.
Caroline Wanjiku
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Caroline Wanjiku Kamanja, 30, is the Chief Executive Officer and Director at Daproim Africa Limited, a Business Processing and Outsourcing (BPO) Company in Kenya. She is passionate about entrepreneurship sensitization, development and growth in Africa through ICT innovations. With over 7 years of experience driving innovative research, marketing operations; customer relationship, organizational development and management, within the ICT sector, she has worked on profit and funded global projects delivering excellent services to her clients and improved livelihood to beneficiaries.
Daproim Africa Limited provides high quality and affordable volume data management solutions including digitization, data entry and analysis, research and virtual support to local and international public and private sector organizations including academic institutions and non-governmental organizations. The company currently employs 100 full time employees and 400 part time employees. Daproim Africa Limited’s mandate is to relieve organizations of the never ending IT back office work so companies can focus their energies on delivering quality on their core business products or services. Through her company, Caroline impacts the lives of youth (between ages 18-30) from disadvantaged communities giving them social and economic advancement opportunities through training, decent work and earning, coaching and mentorship. Through her leadership, the company was certified as a BCorp Company having met rigorous standards of social performance, accountability and transparency, named among Top 100 CIO companies in East Africa in 2015 for innovative use of IT among others.
Caroline’s mandate as the Chief Executive Officer is to oversee the overall smooth operation and performance of the company ensuring clients get value for money and the company grows beyond its strategic plan. Her core work is to build strategic partnerships, drive innovation and market the organization at a strategic level. Through her leadership, the company has successfully attracted Global organizations and funders including World Intellectual Property Organizations and Rockefeller Foundation among others. Her dream is to impact Africa and bring hope to disadvantaged youth in Africa through creating employment and career development within the ICT sector. She believes that her company can change Africa. Her plan for Daproim Africa is to build a company for Africa that affects the lives of 10,000 African youth by 2021 through strategic partnership, aggressive marketing and delivering passionate service.
Caroline holds a Master of Business Administration from University of Nairobi and another Master in Entrepreneurial Leadership and Development from Portland States University (USA), where she interacted with big names in the impact entrepreneurship sector. Her undergraduate degree is Bachelor of Commerce in Business Administration. She has also trained with Acumen, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and International Trade Centre (ITC) among others. Caroline is a member of various bodies including Kenya IT Outsourcing, Services, Young Women Social Entrepreneurs, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, International Trade Centre (ITC), among others. Caroline has participated in numerous awards including International Trade Centre international awards. Caroline lives in a world of possibilities and believes all is possible through hard work and passion. Her greatest value is integrity; thinking, saying and doing what she believes in. In her private time, she spares time to mentor upcoming women entrepreneurs in the ICT sector, speak at various events (was recently a speaker at the connected ICTA summit), and also spending time with friends and family mainly her adorable intelligent daughter, Amara Wanjiru.
