WANGECI GITATA-KIRIGA – VICE CHAIRPERSON

Areas of Expertise
Global Supply Chain & Certification
Market Systems Development
Sustainability & Climate Action
SME Development
Gender Lens Programming & Investment

Wangeci Gitata-Kiriga is a lawyer by training and a women’s champion at heart. She has focused her energy over the last 10 years on rural livelihoods and improvement through certification and trade across Africa. Eight were as part of the senior leadership of Fairtrade in Africa. Growing up in a coffee farming community has rooted Wangeci’s interest in agriculture as well as experience in the vulnerability of farmers. This disadvantaged position of farmers is the narrative that she is working very hard to change and is partnering with different organisations to do so.

A market systems development expert, Wangeci has seen first-hand the difference that fair pricing and inclusive business models can have on farming communities and supply chains. A former representative on the Fair Trade Advocacy Organisation board based in Brussels and a board representative of Common Cause Georgia, Wangeci believes in using her voice to improve representation at the table.

Working with smallholder farmers across 33 countries in Africa and the Middle East called for innovative ways to connect with and deliver services to certified groups. Leveraging on mobile technology platforms, partnering with practitioners of climate action and collaborating for results led Wangeci to continue working in the sustainability space in her consulting.

Inspired by the late Nobel Laureate, Prof Wangari Maathai, who believed that like the humming bird, we can all play our part, no matter how small, Wangeci is currently an advisory board member of Peperuka Foundation, New Faces New Voices Champion, Girls 4 Girls mentor and founder of Kijani Group, where she is leveraging her experience in agricultural trade to contribute to the progress of agri-based households, the Kenya Big Four Agenda and the SDGs.