Kenya
Dr. Elizabeth Mary Okelo
- Founder, Kenya Women Finance Trust and Makini Schools (Financial services; Education)
Born Busia, Kenya. BA, Makerere University, Uganda; Diploma, Institute of Bankers, London; Diploma in Early Childhood Education, Froebel College, Dublin.
“[I]n Kenya… one person earning a salary supports at least 17 people. So you see, a good business is by default already supporting a wide section of the community it operates in.”
Summary
Mary Okelo describes her experiences as a woman entering the world of bank management in the 1960s, her struggles to prove herself, and her efforts on behalf of other women in the industry. She also recounts the context of her decision to found a group of schools and the challenges of making the schools successful in the Kenyan environment.
Video Clips by Topic
Gender (1)
Mary Okelo, who pursued a successful career as an executive of British-owned Barclays Bank In Kenya before founding the only women’s bank in Africa and the Makini schools system, explains how she was regarded as a “troublemaker” when, while a manager at Barclays Bank, she advocated for women employees to have greater professional participation at the bank.
Gender (2)
Mary Okelo, who pursued a successful career as an executive of Barclays Bank In Kenya before founding the only women’s bank in Africa and the Makini schools system, describes how, while a manager at Barclays, she encouraged women, who lacked contractual rights, to make use of the bank's services by opening children’s accounts.
Social Impact
Mary Okelo, who pursued a successful career as an executive of Barclays Bank In Kenya before founding the only women’s bank in Africa and the Makini schools system, explains how important it is for businesses to contribute to the larger society since they benefit from that society.
Keywords:
Social Impact, Kenya
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
- Expanding Private Education in Kenya: Mary Okelo and Makini Schools [Columbia Business School case]
- Strength of a Woman: Dr. Mary Okelo, Kenya CitizenTV, January 10, 2015
- Elizabeth Mary Okelo - Lifetime Achievement Award, African Banker Awards 2014
- Dr. Mary Okelo, the First Woman Bank Manager in Kenya [interview] August 14, 2013
- "Private Education Pioneer Talks About Her Business Journey," How We Made It In Africa, July 30, 2013
- Founding Director of Africa 2.0 Kenya
- UnitedSucces Member Who Paved the Way for Kenyan Female Bank Bosses
- "Mary Okelo: Makini Has Set Standards Bar High," Business Daily, August 25, 2011
- "Makini Schools owner to earn a fortune from sale," Business Today April 6, 2018
- Video file of this interview available at Baker Library Historical Collections, histcollref+hbs.edu. Harvard ID holders can access the full-length video above.
Interview Citation Format
"Interview with Dr. Elizabeth Mary Okelo, interviewed by Henry McGee, February 27, 2015, Creating Emerging Markets Project, Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School, http://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/."
