Alumna Victoria Mwirichia (IR ’10) is a public policy practitioner working on education delivery in poor and marginalized areas. She was one of the 50 young policy leaders from 11 countries across the world that were selected to participate in the inaugural British Council Future Leaders Connect Program held in October 2017.
What do you do?
I am a public policy practitioner working on education delivery in poor and marginalised areas. I look at ways in which non-state actors can supplement the efforts of government in delivering quality education to underserved areas. I also consult on Africa-China policy.
Share briefly your journey after USIU-Africa?
After completing my Bachelor’s degree in International Relations in 2010, I joined a leading human security policy think tank in the region (The Institute for Security Studies – ISS) where I conducted research on the human security situation in the Eastern and Horn of Africa regions.
I then moved to join the private sector, working with an investment management and advisory firm. It was easier to make the transition from a human security work to investment because I joined the company as a
risk analyst focusing on risks and opportunities of investing in Somalia and Sudan. I later transitioned to working on investment projects, where I focused on agribusiness, low cost housing and financial services I Sub-Saharan Africa.
Working with investors in Africa triggered my interest in understanding the policy implications of Chinese investments in the continent. I then moved to work with a Sino-Africa policy think tank which I helped establish. My work here focused on creating and enabling opportunities for engagement between African entrepreneurs and Chinese companies based in Africa, and creating exchange opportunities for African and Chinese students to participate in internship exchange programs in China and Africa.
After 5 years of working, I decided to go back to school and pursue my Master’s. I enrolled at the University of Oxford
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