Dr Jacqueline Kitulu, a member of the Organisation of Women in International Trade (Owit-Nairobi Chapter), is testimony to the fact that networking is the heart of every enterprise. Owit gives women entrepreneurs all over the world an opportunity to interact and share their experiences.
As a member of the organisation, Kitulu apparently has applied well the knowledge she has gained interacting with her colleagues. This has earned her accolodes. She beat tens of applicants and won the prestigious Owit Woman of the Year Award 2010.
She bagged the award for her devotion to health education, social responsibility work and her passion for being the women’s voice in her field of practice. “Women must get equal education in school to be able to break the socio-cultural barrier. Our girls should not be discouraged from taking up what is perceived as men-only fields like medicine and engineering,” she says. “I remember when my class was graduating we were 10 females and 90 males. But today, I think there is a lot of empowerment and when I am coaching at the University of Nairobi, I see more girls taking up this profession .”
Jacqueline studied at the University of Nairobi after which she worked with the Nairobi Womens’ Hospital before moving into private practice. In 2004, she opened Jamko Health Clinic and Laboratory Services in Hurlingham, Nairobi. “I am a family doctor or a health practitioner as the West call it. I realised I needed to do more to reach more people and expand my business but also be a source of health information,” she says.
The mother of two boys is also the chairperson of the Kenya Medical Women’s Association, an NGO established in 1983 to champion for the health rights of the society, especially women, children, the disabled and elderly.
Owit vice chair Julia Kibore, who was representing the chairperson Rita Ndonye, believes in women’s abilities to scale the heights if they seize opportunities. “Owit is one such opportunity for women entrepreneurs. The organisation was started in the US by women who felt there was a need for them to share experiences and information,” says the founder and principle consultant of Marketing Solutions which focuses on the management of cooperate events. “It began like what you would call a chamahere in Kenya, but in a more structured format. And as it grew, these women realised the need for them to form proper chapters.” With time, she says, the concept spread to other countries.
In Africa there are three chapter— Kenya, South Africa and Egypt. The Kenyan chapter is called the Owit-Nairobi Chapter and is an affiliate of Owit International in the US which celebrated 20 years of existence in 2009.
With 400 members, women entrepreneurs in this organisation provide a rich ground for networking due to their diversity. “Our members have expertise in many fields and you find women who run electrical engineering firms, marketing solutions companies, graphic designs enterprises, clothing business, investment advisory firms, SME consultancy, Agri-business companies among others,” says Julia who also runs a boutique, Quanzza Clothing, at Prestige Plaza on Ngong Road in Nairobi.
Owit members are mostly women entrepreneurs but young women fresh from college attend the organisation’s monthly sessions. Aspiring women entrepreneurs are encouraged to learn through mentorship programmes. “We invite guests to facilitate the sessions. For instance, recently we had the director and founder of Excellent Image Fridah Owinga, who talked about the principles for personal success and Chris Hart of Nyumba Yangu on relationships, among other speakers,” says Julia.
Julia attributes Owit-Nairobi Chapter’s 10 years of success to consistency, organisational skills of both the board and members as well as commitment to good governance.
The organisation was awarded by ILO-Wedge (Women Entrepreneur Development and Gender Equity) Programme in 2010 due to their high governance standards. Owit ‘s key pillars are networking, information and linkages.
It is a double celebration for these women as they take pride in bagging two award of Owit Woman of The Year Award 2010 and Owit Chapter of The Year 2010.
Besides, their members have won Top 100 Mid-Sized Company, namely Joanne Mwangi (Professional Marketing Services), Ann N. Kinyanjui (First Choice) and Jennifer Barza (Top Image).
Such are the stories that have driven local banks to have tailor-made loans for women and Julia attributes this to the fact that: most SME businesses are run by women; women are the best payers of loans; and most of these loans do not require collateral, a merit that was used to lock out women. That she is a Fortune US Government Most Powerful Women 2011 Mentee is testimony to her business acumen.
With this year’s theme: Empowering women towards trade beyond our borders, Owit has been holding a series of activities for all women and men entrepreneurs to culminate with a dinner party today at Sankara in Westlands, Nairobi.
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