Flora Mutahi becomes first woman to head Kepsa board
Melvins Tea founder and CEO Flora Mutahi who has been appointed Kepsa's first female board chairperson.
What you need to know:
- Flora Mutahi became the first woman to hold the position in the association (KAM) that had been in existence for 57 years.
- Ms Mutahi is the founder of Melvin Marsh International, a food processing company dealing in flavoured teas, salt and brown rice that has been in existence for 26 years.
Ms Flora Mutahi has beat the odds for the second time to become the first female board chairperson of a key private sector body in Kenya.
In 2016, she was appointed chairperson of Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) board of directors, serving for two years.
She became the first woman to hold the position in the association that had been in existence for 57 years.
During her tenure, KAM launched a Women in Manufacturing program, which offers trainings and mentorship for women industrialists in Kenya and links them to bigger markets.
It also connects budding entrepreneurs with seasoned women industrialists who mentor them.
Now, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) has appointed her its first female board chairperson.
“My appointment as the first ever female chair is a testimony to Kepsa taking a giant step in the right direction of entrenching inclusivity and meritocracy in our leadership," she said in a Thursday statement announcing the appointment of new board of directors.
Global business leader
“We should continue with this drive and include not just women but also youth, persons living with disabilities, and MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) owners and leader,”she added.
Ms Mutahi is the founder of Melvin Marsh International, a food processing company dealing in flavoured teas, salt and brown rice that has been in existence for 26 years.
She is also a global business leader. In 2018, she was been appointed to the board of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, chaired by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The board members lead in advocating for responsible and sustainable business practices.
In an earlier interview with nation.africa, Ms Mutahi said collaborations are integral to promoting sales and enabling women become successful entrepreneurs.
“Let’s say I’m making honey, I need to ask myself, who buys honey? Maybe it’s the supermarkets but I cannot be listed because it’s difficult. Then I’ll go to the butcheries and groceries; collaborate and put my products there,” she says.
“What is needed is visibility, persuasion and availability; if you meet all those factors, sales will happen.”
She will serve for a period of two years and her leadership will be influential in pushing for favourable business environment for the more than one million businesses that Kepsa represents.
She will lead a 16-member board constituting of four women and 12 men.
Nation Media Group chief executive officer Mr Stephen Gitagama is among the newly appointed directors.
