Google Country Director for East Africa Agnes Gathaiya has left the giant search firm after 4 plus years at the firm where she was in charge of Google Search, Maps, YouTube, Gmail, and Drive in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ethiopia.
She was also in charge of Google for Education and Google My Business and programs like the Hustle Academy and Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, among others.
“After 4+ incredible years at Google as the Country Director for East Africa, the time has come for me to bid farewell and embark on a new chapter in my life,” Agnes wrote on her LinkedIn. “My journey at Google has been a profound experience, filled with learning, growth, and impactful contributions. Working alongside a talented and inspiring group of Googlers dedicated to transforming the continent through digitization has been an absolute honor.”
After Loreto Convent, Gathaiya went to Bryn Mawr College in the United States for her Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Economics. She then worked at Deloitte for 13 years, then she joined SAP as a Public Sector Director in East Africa. Within a year, she saw company sales increase by 250 percent and later launched the Skills for Africa program to change lives of millions of youth and create job on the continent.
After SAP, she worked as General Manager at Chase Bank (now SBM Bank) and later joined Safaricom as Head of Enterprise Sales for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In 2018, she joined Pesalink to pioneer real-time payment solutions for the banking sector.
“I am immensely grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and proud of the accomplishments we’ve achieved as a region fully supported by amazing colleagues worldwide,” she added. “We drove 8X commercial growth, enhanced Google’s brand and reputation in the market, and fostered a culture of camaraderie, trust, and well-being within our rapidly growing team. A heartfelt thank you to the leadership at Google and the entire team for the cherished memories, opportunities, and shared successes.”
Gathaiya also co-founded Hernovation, a mentorship and coaching platform targeted at helping more women and girls get into the technology sector.