Wairimu Kagondu joined The Rockefeller Foundation in 2010. As a senior program associate in the Africa regional office, she identifies and works with Foundation grantees and partners and supports the development and execution of current and emerging Foundation initiatives.
In her role, Wairimu oversees the Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya country portfolios of the Foundation’s Digital Jobs Africa initiative. Digital Jobs Africa aims to impact 1 million lives in six African countries by catalyzing sustainable, Information Communication Technology-enabled (ICT) employment opportunities, and skills training for high-potential but disadvantaged African youth; thereby generating social and economic opportunities for those employed, their families, and their communities.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Kagondu worked with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), where she served in the Protection Unit working both in the Nairobi office and at the Kakuma Refugee camp in the north of Kenya. In this capacity, she monitored refugee related court cases and addressed refugee protection concerns. Ms. Kagondu holds a bachelor of laws degree from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, a master’s in international law from the Washington College of Law, and is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya.