Former Kenya Association of Manufacturers CEO Phyllis Wakiaga has been selected for a prestigious Eisenhower Fellowships
The 2022 Global Fellows Program, which attracted more than 1,000 applications from around the world brings together innovative leaders from across geographies and sectors to tackle big challenges and improve the world.
Wakiaga will undertake an intensive leadership development course, which will culminate in a six-week sojourn to the United States where she will engage with industry leaders in her field.
The programme is now on its 69th year and is named for America’s 34th President Dwight Eisenhower.
Each Fellow travels on a customized itinerary designed to serve their project goals. Typically, Fellows visit eight to 10 U.S. cities and meet with dozens of experts in their fields.
“We are proud to welcome these dynamic leaders to the U.S. to exchange ideas and enhance mutual understanding leading to positive impact in their countries,” EF President George de Lama said.
Since the founding of EF in 1953, more than 230 emerging African leaders have participated in the Fellowship program.
EF selected the diverse mix of 2022 Global Fellows following a competitive application process and based on their track records of effective leadership, their potential for greater influence in their professional fields and their commitment to foster understanding through dialogue.
“We are very proud that Phyllis Wakiaga was successful in her application to the Fellowship,” Nuru Mugambi, Eisenhower Fellowships Kenya Chairperson said.
“She has demonstrated time and again her ability to forge partnerships that underpin sustainable economic development in Kenya and across Africa. We hope to provide her the platform to reinforce her capacity and scale her impact.”
Wakiaga served for six years as the chairperson of the United Nations Global Compact Network Kenya and was this month appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to chair the Kenya Roads Board.
Until June 2022, Wakiaga served as the CEO at the KAM, where she was instrumental in influencing the development of the country’s industrialization strategy.
Wakiaga currently serves as an Advisor to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, where she will drive a Continental public-private initiative that will steer global investment programmes across several sectors that underpin Africa’s economic transformation.
Commenting on her Fellowship selection, Wakiaga said: "The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do."
She added that her Eisenhower project will work on unlocking global financing to ensure the full participation of women in productive sectors that leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) opportunities.
Since 1953, more than 2,400 mid-career leaders from 115 countries have benefitted from the unique experience of an Eisenhower Fellowship.
The fully sponsored program combines a mixture of virtual and in-person sessions and networking meetings. All Eisenhower Fellows pledge a lifelong engagement with EF to advance its mission of creating a world more peaceful, prosperous and just.
