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

How can Africa’s digital revolution live up to its potential?
Digital Financial Services |

How can Africa’s digital revolution live up to its potential?

I’ve been fortunate to be involved in products and services that aimed to change the very fabric of African...

By Amolo Ng'weno
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