Kaara Wainaina

Experience

• 

  Nation Media Group

  Jun 2006 - Sept 2011

  Senior Economic Affairs Reporter

  Covered Prime Time Business& Finance News for NTV, the broadcasting arm of Nation Media Group. The role included interviews of policy makers, industry captains and knowledge partners and think tanks on regional economies. My accomplishments include being named the CNN Multi-Choice African Business Journalist of the Year in 2010.

• 

  Kenya Electricity Generating Company, KenGen

  Oct 2011 - Dec 2013

  Ag. Chief Communication Officer

  Managed Communication and Stakeholder and Investor Management for the energy utility. My accomplishments included managing comms around the $1b Olkaria 280 MW project, supporting successful Involuntary Resettlement Action Plan in Olkaria, Planning Shareholder AGMs, profiling the organisation in global media and planning events for global VVIPs visiting the plant.

• 

  PPP Unit, National Treasury, Government of Kenya

  Jan 2014 - Dec 2018

  Head of External Affairs

  Built the External Affairs division from scratch that was responsible for introducing and championing PPPs in Kenya, Capacity Building, Media& Stakeholder Management, Public Affairs on Infrastructure Projects, Internal Communication, Donor Relations&Public Relations. My accomplishments include training more than two hundred public officials on PPPs and developing communication strategies for 1st Mover PPP projects in transport sector.

• 

  Seal Communication Consulting

  Jan 2019 - Dec 2019

  Partner

  Provided strategic leadership in the boutique Strategic Communication Consultancy and led in project origination, strategy development, quality control, client relations, communication and media training for C Suite and mentoring younger staff members.

• 

  TradeMark East Africa

  Jan 2020 - Aug 2023

  Managed corporate communication and stakeholder engagement function that included Strategy& Reporting, C Suite Communication, Content Development& Dissemination, Media Relations and Management. Managed communication plans, stakeholder engagement and media relations for our trade facilitation programmes in Burundi, DRC, Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan, while supporting donor relations and impact reporting across the organisation.

  • Senior Communications Manager

    Feb 2022 - Aug 2023

  • Communications Manager

    Jan 2020 - Feb 2022
• 

  FSD Africa

  Aug 2023 - now

  Fortunate to lead a team of talented communication specialists and consultants to tell the FSD Africa story and why green finance matters for Africa, ensure effective asymmetrical two way communication with our esteemed stakeholders, lead advocacy and thought leadership work and originate mutually beneficial partnerships with like minded actors. Leading efforts to create& implement FSD Africa's vision for engagement and partnerships with a focus on the new growth areas for FSD Africa; Carbon Markets, Nature and Innovative Climate Finance. These priorities reflects the organisation's increased focus of a greener financial sector in the continent, which will result in increased flow of investments in green finance that will redefine and power a new sustainable economic development agenda in Africa.

  • Ag. Director Strategic Communications& Engagement.

    Jul 2024 - now

  • Senior Manager, Advocacy, Campaigns& Partnerships

    Aug 2023 - now