Lydia Murimi gained most of her fifteen-year work experience from the private sector, in senior marketing and business development roles with leading multi-nationals. Throughout her career she has been involved in building compelling and sustainable value propositions, and in developing & implementing brand & corporate strategic plans. More recently, she has been engaged as a Consultant in Private Sector Development, charged with managing existing portfolios of MSMEs in diverse sectors, which includes patient capital + grant funding management, and in addition, supporting these businesses with advisory services and technical assistance. She has also been involved in the identification and development of Public-Private Partnerships.
As an Account Director at Lowe Scanad Advertising Agency for 5 years, Lydia managed the SmithKline Beecham [E & C. Africa], Shell & BP, PSI, Unilever [Africa & M. East], CFC Bank & Uchumi Supermarkets accounts. At Colgate-Palmolive, as the Brand Manager for the Personal Care Category, she was responsible for the development and delivery of the Category strategic marketing plans for 3 years.
At Castle Brewing, as the Head of Marketing, Lydia developed & managed the marketing team of nineteen and oversaw the 8-brand portfolio, from 2000 to 2002. For three years as a Marketing Manager with SABMiller Africa Division, Lydia was responsible for managing and safeguarding the 20% commercial shareholding of SABMiller in Kenya Breweries Ltd [Diageo], and she formed part of the SABMiller Africa Marketing Leadership Team.
For the past couple of years, she has been engaged as a Business & Private Sector Development Consultant by a number of development agencies. Her role as a Public-Private Partnership Developer for the Academy for Educational Development [AED] included, making assessments and subsequent recommendations for various potential private and civic partners for two USAID-sponsored multi-million US$ health-related projects.
Lydia served as a Private Sector Advisor to the USAID-funded ROADS Project at Family Health International [FHI], where she was tasked with the creation of new business opportunities, & the scale-up of existing successful economic activities, for MSMEs owned by HIV/AIDS vulnerable women & youth, along the Northern Transport Corridor.
Recently, Lydia worked at the United Nations Development Program [UNDP] as the Business Broker on the Growing Sustainable Business [GSB] initiative, charged with business support to SMEs that had both a strong business case & a sustainable developmental impact. She also doubled up as the focal point for the UN Global Compact ‘the largest CSR program in the world’, and successfully launched the Global Compact Kenya Network which formed the platform for a historic Partnership between the Kenya Government & the Private Sector.
Currently, Lydia manages the Grassroots Business Initiative [GBI- East Africa] at the International Finance Corporation [IFC], part of the World Bank Group, where she is responsible for business advisory, technical assistance and portfolio management of various MSME projects including youth entrepreneurship, micro-leasing, franchise healthcare, apiculture & crafts. She remains interested in contributing to the development of the private sector through the provision of services that would assist them develop a much stronger & more sustainable competitive advantage in suitable markets across the region.
Lydia has an MBA in Business Strategy, Applied Industrial Economics & Public Sector Management from the University of Leicester [UK] and an Advanced Diploma in Marketing from the London Chamber of Commerce & Industry [LCCI]. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing [CIM] and the Public Relations Society of Kenya.