Dr. Tonny K. Omwansa is the current CEO of Kenya National Innovation Agency and member of ISACA, IEEE, the Board of Trustees of Kenya National Research Fund and the National Commission of Science, Technology, and Innovation. He has been involved in the technology start-up ecosystem in Africa for the past 10 years, founding and running various entrepreneurship programs and accelerators, across different sectors including fintech and mobility. These include the University of Nairobi’s C4DLab, the TUMI Start-up Accelerator, the CISCO Edge Accelerator, the Africa Mobility Initiative (AMI) and the Nairobi Innovation Week (NIW) Start-up program. He has also been a mentor and member of jury of other start-up programs (e.g. the Zambezi and PIVOT competitions). He has been a faculty member at Strathmore University and the University of Nairobi.
Dr. Omwansa created the Nairobi Innovation week, mobilizing over 50 partners from the public and private sector and academia to enhance the local innovation ecosystem. Dr. Omwansa is interested in the design, adoption, and impact of innovative low-cost, and appropriate technologies in developing countries. He has been conducting extensive research and consultancy projects for the past 15 years on technology, innovation, financial inclusion, and mobile transactions, for various clients ranging from government institutions, international donors to multinationals (Kenyan government, Mastercard Foundation, Microsoft, World Bank, USAID, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GSMA, Rockefeller Foundation). He, therefore, produced numerous products, reports, and publications, including a book: “Money, Real Quick: Kenya’s Disruptive Mobile Money Innovation” in 2012.
