CAROLINE GATHII
Trade Finance and Risk Consultant – FirstIdea Consulting Limited
Caroline has twenty (20) years multi-sectoral and regional professional experience in governance, risk and financial management. Caroline has a master’s degree in Financial Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. She is an internationally Certified Risk Professional of the Institute of Risk Management in the United Kingdom. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA-K) and holds a Higher Diploma in Human Resource Management. She is a member of Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), Institute of Risk Management -UK, Association of Women Accountants of Kenya (AWAK), the Kenya Institute of Supplies Management, the Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT) and the Institute of Human Resource Management.
She is certified by the International Trade Centre (ITC) on using ITC intelligence tools on trade. She is a certified trainer a certification she received during her employment at KPMG East Africa. Her professional experience spans Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Malawi, Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan, Ghana and Tanzania.
Caroline has hands on experience in development of training materials. She is a trainer at the Strathmore University; where she trains in Financial Management, Risk Management, Grant Management, Governance and Procurement. Caroline has trained more than two hundred organisations (200) in areas of financial management, risk management, governance, planning including budgeting and basic financial management skills. She is a trainer with the Financial Strengthening Deepening Trust Fund (FSD) where she focuses on working with Financial Institutions to understand the Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) and tailor appropriate banking products for this market. She is a Certified Assessor with the Kenya Institute of Management where she assesses businesses for the Company of Year Award (COYA). She has hands-on experience in various sectors including, manufacturing and infrastructure, education, agribusiness, health, hospitality, county governments, development partners, Not-for-Profit, among others. She has trained and supported over two hundred (200) SMEs and financial institutions (SACCOs, MFIs and Banks).
Caroline is a Non-Executive Board Member at Faulu Bank, she also serves as the Independent Board Member in charge of Risk of the Africa Economic Research Consortium (AERC). Her role on the board is to provide expert advice in relation to enterprise management risks and internal control systems, accounting and grant management policies and practices, and internal and external audit functions. She is a Board Member at the Wetlands International Board. She is in-charge of Financial, Risk and Human Resources on the Board. Caroline is the current Board Advisor and the immediate Past President of Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT) Nairobi and the Chair of OWIT African Countries. Caroline has designed numerous capacity building programs, an export accelerator program. She has also designed two OWIT Trade Conferences in 2020 and 2021. Caroline has made presentations in numerous Conferences on various aspects of Trade including the AfCFTA. She understands matters that affect women in trade and can make comprehensive presentations on the same. Notable conferences that Caroline has been a speaker include: International Trade Center (ITC) Conference in 2020; AfCFTA Conference organized by UNECA in 2021; and OWIT International Virtual Conference in 2020 and 2021