Amolo Ng'weno

Amolo Ng'weno

CEO

Amolo is CEO of BFA Global. She is based in Nairobi but runs the company worldwide. Her recent areas of interest include the changing nature of work in developing countries with the growth of the digital economy; harnessing technology to provide micro-entrepreneurs with the financial and technical tools for growth; and how data analysis techniques can improve regulators’ interactions with customers, including for resolving disputes. Formerly, she was the Managing Director of Digital Divide Data Kenya, a social enterprise that provides data and research services to companies and governments, while hiring young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and supporting their higher education.

Prior to that, Amolo held a position as Deputy Director in the Financial Services for the Poor team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In that role, she worked to improve scale, range and impact of financial services available to the poor in developing countries. Prior to her work at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Amolo worked in Kenya, her native country, where she was the COO of the Trust for African Rock Art. She also co-founded Africa Online, East Africa’s first internet provider, which operated in eight countries before sale to Telkom South Africa. Amolo holds a BA in Psychology and Social Relations from Harvard University and a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) from Princeton University.

Publications by this author

When the best available human is an AI?
Artificial Intelligence |

When the best available human is an AI?

Developing country economies are characterized by shortages of skills that seem to be good for AI to fill: from...

By Amolo Ng'weno
Opinion: Is entrepreneurship training worthless?
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

Opinion: Is entrepreneurship training worthless?

Originally posted on the Devex Website,November,16,2022 In the development sector, we’ve spent decades training youth and women in entrepreneurship with...

By Amolo Ng'weno
The glass ceiling, even at home: How a report on poverty in Nigeria reveals an enduring gender gap in household headship
Gender Finance |

The glass ceiling, even at home: How a report on poverty in Nigeria reveals an enduring gender gap in household headship

Summary We are told by the Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics that female heads of household in Nigeria...

By Benjamin Mazzotta PhD
Taking action against violence, injustice and oppression at a global level

Taking action against violence, injustice and oppression at a global level

At BFA Global, our mission is to leverage innovation in finance, technology and data to create solutions for a...

By Amolo Ng'weno
Economic prospects for Kenya in the context of the COVID-19 crisis
Digital Financial Services |

Economic prospects for Kenya in the context of the COVID-19 crisis

Originally posted on the FSD Kenya Website, May 29, 2020  The infection rate of COVID-19 is as yet low...

By Amolo Ng'weno
If the coronavirus doesn’t kill you…
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

If the coronavirus doesn’t kill you…

Originally posted on the FSD Kenya Website, April 21, 2020  Kenyans’ reflections on security in the time of Covid-19...

By Julie Zollmann
“Our love has grown more”
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

“Our love has grown more”

Originally posted on the FSD Kenya Website, April 21, 2020  Coronavirus disruptions are giving some Kenyan women a reprieve...

By Julie Zollmann
Shamba bora (fertile farmland), Shamba la mawe (rocky farmland)
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

Shamba bora (fertile farmland), Shamba la mawe (rocky farmland)

Originally posted on the FSD Kenya Website, April 14, 2020  Urban and rural areas are coping with the coronavirus...

By Julie Zollmann
Dilemmas of distancing
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

Dilemmas of distancing

Originally posted on the FSD Kenya Website, April 9, 2020 Barriers to coronavirus prevention behaviour change in Kenya Like...

By Julie Zollmann
The costs of coping with Coronavirus
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

The costs of coping with Coronavirus

Originally posted on the FSD Kenya Website, April 8, 2020 Not only are Kenyans losing their incomes right now,...

By Julie Zollmann
The ultimate stress test for financial resilience
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

The ultimate stress test for financial resilience

Originally posted on the FSD Kenya Website, April 7, 2020 How coronavirus adaptations are straining Kenyans’ most robust financial...

By Julie Zollmann
When hustling fails: The impact of coronavirus mitigation efforts on ordinary people’s livelihoods
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

When hustling fails: The impact of coronavirus mitigation efforts on ordinary people’s livelihoods

Originally posted on the FSD Kenya Website, April 6, 2020 Unlike many Kenyans, Esther in rural Makueni is not...

By Julie Zollmann
Digital financial transfers can supercharge the response to COVID-19
Digital Financial Services |

Digital financial transfers can supercharge the response to COVID-19

As soon as the scale of the worldwide pandemic became apparent, the Kenya government swung into action with measures...

By Amolo Ng'weno
Digital pathways to inclusive growth: BFA Global’s next generation of work in livelihoods
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

Digital pathways to inclusive growth: BFA Global’s next generation of work in livelihoods

The new economy presents opportunities and risks for digital workers Our excitement about digital platforms is grounded in their...

By David Porteous PhD
Digital Platforms: Creating “Servant” Economies or a Step Toward Empowerment?
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

Digital Platforms: Creating “Servant” Economies or a Step Toward Empowerment?

Potential Benefits to “More than a Gig and Less than a Job” Employment in the Global South In his...

By David Porteous PhD
What will the rise of online shopping in Africa mean for jobs?
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

What will the rise of online shopping in Africa mean for jobs?

Originally posted on the World Economic Forum website, February 19, 2019 Around the world, the new technologies behind digital...

By David Porteous PhD
Beyond Marketing: Generating Trust to Sell Online
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

Beyond Marketing: Generating Trust to Sell Online

Small merchants need to create and maintain trust with customers to sell online, but they could use more help...

By Amolo Ng'weno
Uber and Taxify in Africa: Good Work or a Race to the Bottom?
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

Uber and Taxify in Africa: Good Work or a Race to the Bottom?

By Julie Zollmann
Can Africa Show How Gig Workers Get a Fair Share in the Digital Economy?
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

Can Africa Show How Gig Workers Get a Fair Share in the Digital Economy?

By Amolo Ng'weno
Let’s Be Real: The Informal Sector and the Gig Economy are the Future, and the Present, of Work in Africa
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

Let’s Be Real: The Informal Sector and the Gig Economy are the Future, and the Present, of Work in Africa

By Amolo Ng'weno
Njeri and the Superplatforms
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

Njeri and the Superplatforms

The promise of e-commerce for small business owners in Africa   Njeri is a 29-year-old single woman living in...

By Amolo Ng'weno