Wandia Gichuru, 48, is the co-founder and managing director of Vivo Activewear, a chain of seven retail clothing stores operating in shopping malls in Nairobi and Mombasa.
She holds an economics degree from the University of Western Ontario and Masters degree from the University of Cape Town.
Wandia has spent over 15 years as international development adviser and held positions with the UK government, the UN, the World Bank, and Citibank in several different countries. She joined the Department for International Development (DFID) in London after her World Bank job.
Her company, Vivo started importing fitness and dance clothing from South Africa, Thailand and China and the UK in 2011. Vivo currently has 7 stores (with a 8th store planned in 2016) and now designs and manufactures most of its products in Kenya.
She started her company with a partner at a cost of US $70,000 (about Sh 7.2 million).