TUMI STARTUP ACCELERATOR ANNOUNCES A TEAM OF ADVISORS
- George Masila
- February 20, 2019
- TUMI
- 0 Comments
TUMI Startup Accelerator has announced a team of advisors to the mobility accelerator based at C4D Lab. The team of 8 including the Director of C4D Lab, Dr. Tonny Omwansa will give its expertise advice to the accelerator and the startups. The team comprises of well experienced experts ranging from mobility industry, innovators, sustainable infrastructure technology experts and policy developers.
MEET THE TUMI STARTUP ACCELERATOR ADVISERS.
Daniel Ernesto Moser is the Management Head of the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI). As such he is leading the strategic development and the planning of activities of the initiative. Daniel is an accomplished urban mobility and transport specialist with over 7 years of international experience. He has strong public and private sector experience and through his work has collaborated closely with non-governmental organisations and world leading research institutions. His special interests lies at the intersection of urban mobility, strategic infrastructure implementation and technology.
Maina is a transport expert with experience across Africa, where he has worked closely with government agencies, development partners and urban sector experts to tackle challenges of accessibility, sustainability and social exclusion in cities through policy reform,capacity building, infrastructure planning and implementation. He is currently a senior consultant at Atkins where he is part of the advisory team that helps clients to successfully deliver their big infrastructure and energy ambitions by combining deep business acumen with engineering expertise to provide seamless, end-to-end advisory services.
He has a deep interest in tech-innovations around mobility and their potential to foster equitable and sustainable cities.
Stefanie Holzwarth is working in the Urban Mobility Unit at UN-Habitat, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. She is involved in providing knowledge, advocacy, and technical assistance to National governments and local authorities in the development and implementation of sustainable urban mobility strategies. In her work, she supports broad consultation processes of stakeholders to develop mobility strategies that are adapted to local needs, avails international expertise and best practices, and is also involved in capacity building, training events or city-to-city exchanges. Previously, she has worked with GIZ in Urban Development Projects in Cairo, Egypt and Cape Town, South Africa. Disregarding of the bike-unfriendliness of many big cities around the globe that she lived in, Stefanie has discovered her enthusiasm for cycling. Not only for commuting-to-office purposes – but also by joining Critical Mass Events to create awareness of the cyclists’ rights to shared urban roads.
Constant Cap is a regular commentator on urban planning issues facing Nairobi and other African Cities through his blog African City Planner, through local dailies, international publications and on local media. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya he is passionate about the planning issues facing African Cities. He has a deep interest in sustainable and inclusive mobility, urban resilience and people driven urbanism. He is a Graduate Member of the Town and County Planners Association of Kenya. He has previously worked at the Strathmore University Advancement Office and as the Executive Director of Kilimani Project Foundation. Constant coordinates Naipolitans, a platform that brings together urban professionals and enthusiasts towards creating a better urban environment for all. He is currently an independent consultant working towards transforming the urban planning space in Kenya. His recent engagements have been through ‘Sauti ya Nairobi,’ a coalition that has been pushing for participation, accountability and transparency in the physical planning of the city. He is also conducting a research on the implementation of creative methodologies in sustainable and inclusive transport . He has a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
Katie is an expert in sustainable infrastructure, technology, and strategy. She is currently a Director at Liquid Telecom, a pan-African digital infrastructure company.Most recently, Katie launched and led Apple’s Clean Energy Program, an ambitious program to transition Apple’s product manufacturing worldwide to renewable energy. Prior to Apple, Katie spent 4 years working in India for Acumen, a leading impact investment fund. She launched Acumen’s Energy Portfolio in India, investing in off-grid energy companies, and she currently sits on Acumen’s Advisory Council. Having spent six years living in Asia and Africa (India, China, Nepal, Uganda, Botswana), Katie has had a unique global viewpoint and a deep understanding of these markets. Katie received her MBA and an MS in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. She is a TED fellow and World Economic Forum “Young Global Leader.”
Dr. Tonny K. Omwansa holds a PhD in Information Systems and is a faculty member at the School of Computing and Informatics, University of Nairobi. He is the co-author of the book “Money, Real Quick: Kenya’s Disruptive Mobile Money Innovation”.
Besides teaching, he coordinates the innovation activities at the University of Nairobi, including running startups accelerator (TUMI Startup Accelerator and an upcoming CISCO Edge Accelerator), overseeing the annual Nairobi Innovation Week, which he founded in 2015 and designing innovation courses. He is also the founding Director of the C4DLab, the innovation and incubation lab of the University of Nairobi.
Through Nairobi Innovation Week, over the last four years, Dr. Omwansa has mobilized over 50 local partners from private sector, government, development agencies and academia to enhance the local innovation ecosystem. The Nairobi Innovation Week was graced by the HE the President of the Republic of Kenya and has since then grown into a national pride with participation from several other countries.
As part of his focus on startup movement, Dr. Omwansa founded NIW.Startups in 2018 which pulls together hundreds of startups that compete and prepare to pitch at the close of the Nairobi Innovation Week. Other initiatives he has founded include the C4DLab, University of Nairobi Innovation Fellowship, TUMI Startup Accelerator and is considered as one of the most prolific scholars at the University of Nairobi.
Dr. Omwansa has conducted extensive research and consulting work on ICT, Innovation, financial inclusion, mobile transactions and information systems in various countries resulting in numerous products, publications and reports. His research interests are in the design, adoption and impact of innovative low-cost appropriate technologies in developing countries and how private sector, through startups contribute towards solutions in challenging societies in the region.
Cezanne Maherali is the Head of Policy for Uber East Africa. In this role, Cezanne leads government relations and supporting cities to move towards smart mobility in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Until recently, she was also leading policy engagement for Nigeria and Ghana.
Cezanne has been with Uber since April 2016 and previously worked as an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company based out of Kenya and South Africa. Prior to that, Cezanne worked in the Transactions and Performance Improvement departments of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Kenya.
She has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in Canada and an MBA from INSEAD in France and Singapore. Cezanne is passionate about economic development and the ability of technology to deliver impact.
David is the General Manager East Africa and India Ocean Islands, Cisco. He is an experienced, result oriented business leader with over 15 years’ experience in IT and Telecom industry and has over the last decade engaged with local and global enterprises in both public and private sectors.
With a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Nairobi and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the United States International University, David has led highly successful projects across the region that have transformed businesses and government operations. As a sales manager and territory leader, David has achieved a consistent, proven track record in delivering results and meeting sales targets.
David has a strong technology background, the understanding of business outcomes and aligning relevant solutions to solve business challenges and considers these as important elements of success. He is passionate about using technology to solve business problems, motivating and empowering teams to deliver results and engaging with customers and business partners to build relations that deliver mutual business.
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