Women in Business: Perspectives on Entrepreneurship, Inclusion and Talent Development – Nov 2020

On Tuesday, 24th November Business Ireland Kenya hosted an engaging and motivating webinar themed ‘Women in Business – perspectives on entrepreneurship, inclusion and talent development. The session was an informative discussion with an excellent panel of speakers including H.E. Amb Fionnuala Quinlan – Ambassador of Ireland to Kenya, Ms. Ilanna Darcy – Former Acting CFO & Head of Investor Relations at Safaricom PLC and Ms. Frida Owinga – Partnerships Director at SME Founders Association.

Amb. Quinlan highlighted Ireland’s commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women through foreign policy and the work being spearheaded by the Embassy of Ireland in Kenya to support women-led enterprises through partnerships with various stakeholders including KEPSA and TradeMark East Africa.

Ms. Ilanna Darcy shared insight from her experience leading teams at Safaricom PLC emphasizing Safaricom’s policies on gender priority and the creation of strategies that enhance equality at the workplace. She noted the key lessons she would be taking along after her time in Kenya and shared her inspirational journey to motherhood and finding work-life balance over the years.

Ms. Owinga gave a presentation on SME Founders Association and the excellent work carried out to promote gender equality all the while partnering with their expansive networks to foster economic growth in the country. She noted that Kenyan youth had a wealth of immense talent and that entrepreneurs had the opportunity to partner with the association to enhance their businesses.

All panelists shared their optimism for Kenya’s future with hopes to see more creativity, growth in entrepreneurship and inclusivity across all sectors. Key takeaways from the session included urging all participants to actively develop work-life balance, take time to meet and build partnerships with new people as well as stopping to appreciate all that life had to offer as they worked to achieve their goals.