Mary Muthoni: I wish I had quit my first job sooner

Mary Muthoni - National director, board of Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairperson, Women in Business Kenya

Mary Muthoni is the first-ever elected female national Director on the board of Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, she speaks to Standard Digital on her career.

Education: Ngiriambu Primary School, Kabare Girls High School. Degree in Bachelor of Education from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, (CUEA) and Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) with a bias in Management and Marketing.

Experience: The first-ever elected female national Director on the board of Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) representing the Central Kenya region. Director at the African Women in Business Alliance.

Kenyan representative at the UNCTAD’s High Level Gender & Trade Experts and Stakeholders Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. I am the founder and Chairperson of the Board for St. Petroc Premier School – a leading KCPE results in Embu County. I sit on several boards of management in public and private sector. Teacher, for over 10 years. Brainchild of the pioneer Women In Business Kenya (WIB-Kenya) Awards.

Awards/Recognition: First Awardee for the Devolution Warrior Award by the Council of Governors in Promoting Women Empowerment in Delivery of Public Services in Kenya (march 2017),

Nominated by the British Council as a Representative of the Sub-Saharan Africa (with Lead Music Group – Sauti Sol) in London (Corn Wall), United Kingdom.(2011)

Awarded patron of the Year for the research club (2008)

Awarded for diligent student seadership service by the student seadership council in college.

First Job/First Salary: My first job was a Computer for a salary of Sh5,000 per month.

Best Job/Worst Job: My interaction with youth and women in the push to empower them economically through entrepreneurship has been very fulfilling.

First/current hood; Zimmerman/ Mbaazi Avenue.

Worst Mistake: Choosing the wrong business partner with whom I invested a colossal amount of money in a
partnership business that went under with a huge fraction of my contribution.

Missed Opportunity: Failure to quit my first job earlier in order to take up other challenging opportunities.

One thing you can’t give away: Resilience and passion to realse my goals.

Most embarrassing moment:
I couldn’t deliver my speech at the conference for Women in Business because of a faulty air conditioner

One unforgettable person:
My teacher of English, Mrs Njeru.

Best advice I’ve received:
No matter what effort you make in life, my mantra and advice remains, “nothing replaces
hardwork”.