Kenya President William Ruto has appointed Uganda’s Sheila Kyarisiima to the National Investment Council, making her the only non-Kenyan on the council.
“Humbled to be appointed to the National Investment Council of Kenya by H.E. Dr William Samoei Ruto, alongside diverse and distinguished leaders. Looking forward to working with all the council members to support Kenya’s investment agenda,” Kyarisiima said in a tweet.
Other members are; Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Paul Russo, M-Pesa Africa Managing Director Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Twiga Food CEO Peter Njonjo, and tycoon Humphrey Kariuki, Ahmed Farah, Karen Taylor, Sarah Ochieng, Eva Warigia, David Langat, Tom Mulwa, and Francis Njogu.
The team will advise the government on ways to increase investment and economic growth in Kenya; as well as promote cooperation between the public and private sectors in the formulation and implementation of government policies relating to the economy and investment.
The council members will serve for a period of three years effective November 30, 2022
About Sheila
Sheila is a partner at NISK Capital, a boutique corporate finance and transaction advisory firm covering the East African market.
The financial firm based in Nairobi, helps small and medium-sized enterprises raise capital and scale their businesses.
In her role, she has overseen the successful fundraising of close to $1 billion dollars for a variety of clients including blue chip firms and rapidly growing SMEs in the markets of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and DRC across sectors.
She also sits on the board of Mayfair-CIB Bank; and chairs the Board Credit Committee and the Board Audit Committee.
Kyarisiima holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPA-ID from Harvard Kennedy School, and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Brown University.
“I’m passionate about sustainable economic development, and I think that can be achieved through both the private and public sectors,” says Kyarisiima. “Enabling African businesses to access global markets and think strategically is where I want to play a role,” she was quoted by the Harvard Business School Alumni website.
She recently worked at Goldman as an analyst and an advisor for the Rwanda Development Board in Kigali.