Citizen TV's Yvonne Okwara Appointed Board Chair

Citizen TV news anchor Yvonne Okwara has been unveiled as the new Chair of the Advisory Council at Enactus Kenya.

In a series of short statements on Twitter on Monday, April 3, the Business Editor expressed her gratitude for taking up the leadership of the Enactus Kenya advisory council.

She was reacting to a post by Enactus where she welcomed leaders from the private sector to join the organization, adding that she is excited to work with faculty members and students to build innovations and sustainable social enterprises.

"Young people have the passion, drive and talent. I am excited to work with the Enactus, faculty members and students to build their innovations and high-impact sustainable social enterprises to market. I welcome leaders from the private sector to join us in this noble venture," the poster Enactus shared stated.

An announcement of Yvonne Okwara's appointment to Enactus Kenya board chair on April 3, 2023. /TWITTER.ENACTUS KENYA

“I'm deeply honoured to take leadership of the advisory council at Enactus Kenya. Very excited to lead the team after 4 years of being part of the council! Look forward to reinvigorating our activities

"Indeed, the impact that Enactus has had in upskilling youth and providing space for their innovative ideas is immense. I'm glad to continue this great work from council member since 2017 to Chair of the same!" she replied.

Enactus Kenya is run by The Inter Region Economic Network (IREN),  a leading think tank providing strategic insights and policy solutions tailored to spur prosperity in Africa through organized enterprises. It analyzes and gives suggestions on public policy innovation with the aim of promoting prosperity and wealth creation in Africa.

IREN also targets, grows and supports investor-ready business enterprises in the African continent as well as offer consultancy services through a multi-disciplinary approach to grow intra-country development corporation and investment opportunities in Africa

"We run Enactus Kenya, an international organization that connects student, academic and business leaders through entrepreneurial-based projects that empower people to transform opportunities into real, sustainable progress for themselves and their communities. Our curriculum is integrated into all the leading universities in Kenya where we deploy entrepreneurial action to propel sustainable human progress.

"Enactus Kenya operates in over 30 Universities with over 2,800 students and boasts more than 4,500 Alumni. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology is the reining champion of the Enactus Kenya National Competition," IREN explains on its website.

Okwara boasts of over 13 years of experience in radio and television and has moderated several local and international panels comprising Melinda Gates, Former US Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Chairman of Monetary Authority of Singapore, Governor Central Bank of Kenya Dr Patrick Njoroge, Former IMF Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe, Bishop TD Jakes, as well as former AfDB President Donald Kaberuka.

In 2017, she moderated the Presidential Debates in Kenya and the 2022 presidential debates version which featured President William Ruto alone.

She previously held stints at KTN News, K24, Hot 96, defunct QFM and NTV. She left KTN News in May 2018 for a role at Citizen TV.

“If you are passionate about something, then study, not necessarily in that field. For me, I graduated with a degree in Microbiology at JKUAT and Science is my passion. Going to school is all about being educated,” she disclosed in a past interview about why she joined the media industry despite having a degree in Microbiology.

Okwara was in 2021 featured in the book LeadHers: Life Lessons from African Women, in partnership with Facebook that celebrated 19 leading women from across the continent.

She is a media consultant for Kenya’s National Defence College and sits on the ENACTUS Business Advisory Council.

She is also a board member at CBM Kenya, a development organisation that works to improve the lives of persons with disability, and chairs the Advisory Board of Africa Uncensored, an independent media house set up by Kenya’s finest investigative journalists and run by John Allan-Namu. Okwara is a Bloomberg Africa Leadership Initiative Media Fellow.

Other than being a news anchor, she is also an experienced voice-over artist, moderator, broadcast producer, content creator and news strategist.