Patrick Karanja

Patrick M Karanja was a program associate based at the Foundation’s Africa Regional Office in Nairobi. Reporting to the Managing Director, he supported Digital Jobs Africa (DJA), an initiative that sought to catalyze new and sustainable employment opportunities for young people in Africa. His role provided the vital link between the work, the partners, and the Foundation. He also provided key support to the developing work on energy in Africa.

Prior to joining The Rockefeller Foundation, he was the Regional Business Engagement Manager at World Vision’s Eastern African Regional Office, responsible for the development and effective implementation of strategies to drive effectiveness of offices across 9 countries Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan. With a diverse staff and a very dynamic environment, he also led ICT4D interventions that utilized the ubiquitous nature of technology to complement development outcomes in health (use of mobile phones to support Maternal Child Health) and in economic opportunities. In this latter role, he successfully initiated and spearheaded an Impact Sourcing center in Ghana under the support of World Vision Ghana.

He has extensive experience in the BPO sector, having been a Business Development and Process Improvement Manager at Horizon Contact Centers. During his time there, it grew up to a 300 staff count in under 2 years making it the largest BPO Company in Kenya at the time. He also worked I&M Bank Ltd, a large tier Bank in East Africa immediately after an evolving role in Kencall EPZ Ltd, the first successful outsourcing Contact Center in Kenya. Mr. Karanja earned a bachelor’s degree in education with a minor in business studies from Kenyatta University and a certificate in web design and management from Strathmore College. He is also a fellow of the first cohort of The Rockefeller Foundation Social Innovation.