Open Institute Appoints New Board of Directors

The Open Institute has appointed five members on its board of directors

“The Open Institute team is delighted to announce the appointment of five outstanding individuals to our Board of Directors. These notable additions bring a wealth of experience, knowledge, and drive to our mission of advocating Responsive Government and Active Citizenship throughout Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Al Kags, our founder trustee and executive director.

Those appointed include;

1. Davis Adieno is our new Chairman of the Board. Davis is the Programmes Director at the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data. He is a seasoned advocate for transparency and citizen engagement, with a 20-plus-year career that spans the National Taxpayers Association, Civicus and Development Initiatives.
2. Geri Karuri-Sebina is a scholar-practitioner based in Johannesburg working in the intersection between people, place and technological change. She is an Associate Professor in Digital Governance at the Wits School of Governance, coordinating the establishment of the new Tayarisha Centre and hosting the African Civic Tech Innovation Network. She is also a Principal at The School of International Futures (SOIF), an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town’s African Centre for Cities, an Associate of the South African Cities Network, and a global faculty member with Singularity University on the future of cities and governance.
3. Brian Longwe has been building technology-driven networks that connect Africans to each other and the rest of the world for over 26 years. Over this period, he has co-founded and run Internet Service Providers in Kenya, Uganda and Malawi. He also has facilitated the establishment of internet exchange points in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, DR Congo, Rwanda, and others, as well as participated in the formation of critical institutions such as KICTANET, AfriNIC, KeNIC, AfTLD and others. Brian has vast experience in ICT public policy, regulations, and Public-Private Partnerships. He has served in various capacities in regional and continental initiatives that address the policy, legal and regulatory challenges of intra-African connectivity and African internet development in general. Brian is currently co-founder and CEO of Converged Technology Networks, a broadband internet service provider in Malawi.
4. Nivi Sharma is an expert in innovation, impact, and scale-up strategies in ascending markets. She is currently the CEO of Bridges to Prosperity, the global leader in rural infrastructure development, which uses technology for needs assessment, impact assessment, and engineering to aid rural infrastructure investments. Previously, she was the Chief Operating Officer of BRCK, a connectivity company that provides free public Wi-Fi. Nivi has dedicated her career to access; for children, youth, and adults. Where opportunities can be leveraged to help young people build, serve and lead, she is passionate about figuring out how. In 2011, she co-founded eLimu, the first company to digitise the Kenyan Primary School curriculum content for revision and literacy. Nivi is driven by learning, development, access, and impact. She serves on the boards of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya and Software Technologies Ltd.
5. Shikoh Gitau, CEO, Qhala. Shikoh is the CEO at Qhala Ltd, a Digital Innovation company that catalyzes digital transformation capabilities for organizations across Africa. Additionally; she is also the Co-founder and Managing Partner at Q-Ventures, a human capital fund working with subject matter experts across the continent. Q-venture boasts a portfolio of 12 ventures in early stages with a bias towards women first time founders. Shikoh has over 15 years of experience in Venture Building, Research, Design, Implementation, and Management of Digital Technologies. She has established expertise in both African and Emerging Markets specialized in solving problems in Agriculture, Education, Health, Payments, Retail and Renewable energies. Shikoh has served on our Board of Advisors for the past 10 years alongside Muchiri Nyaggah and Ambassador Prof. Bitange Ndemo, who will continue to serve on our Advisory Council.

“On behalf of the Open Institute, we heartily welcome our new Board Members and eagerly anticipate collaborating to foster positive transformation in the region,” said Al Kags, our founder trustee and executive director.

He said for the past 10 years, since its inception, the Open Institute has been governed by the Trustees and an Advisory Board that was led by Amb. Professor Bitange Ndemo, Dr. Shikoh Gitau and LDRI Executive Director, Muchiri Nyaggah.

“We give our heartfelt thanks to them for their careful guidance and deep commitment to our mission over the past decade. As we transition the Advisory Board to an Advisory Council of eminent personalities, we are grateful to Prof Ndemo and our brother Muchiri for staying on as trusted advisors,” said Jay Bhalla, Founder and Finance Director.

Al Kags discloded that they shall soon be announcing the new Advisory Council.