Irene Kiwia is a champion for social economic development for Africa, whose career spans over 17 years in Media, Marketing, Communications, Technology and Development Programs that are focused on youth and women empowerment.
Professional Affiliations:
• Founder and CEO of Frontline Media Africa – A Tech driven Pan African Media and Communications Company.
• Founder and President of Twaa – An AI Learning and Mentoring platform for women and girls, from Africa to the World.
• Founder of eCobba – An AI driven FinTech company designed to integrate underserved financially excluded populations in Africa into the financial ecosystems through community savings and lending platforms.
• Director and Partner – Afya Rekod – an AI driven consumer-based health platform for Africa.
• Co-Founder – Ada Lab – An East African Tech hub designed to support impact driven solutions for Africa.
• Founder and President of The Women of Achievement – A Not for Profit organization that works to support women and girls achieve social and economic transformation in East Africa and beyond.
Irene takes a vision and makes it a reality through sound strategy development. She intuitively sees the threads of opportunity that wind through an organization, brings them together into a coherent whole, helps others extend their thinking, and drives implementation to impact advantage.

She is an inspirational leader who tells stories that inspire action while at the same time is grounded in the reality of resources that levers progress. Respected as a credible voice in decision making; a champion in finding strategic partners; and a visionary in how she perceives the future. Irene is a master at integrating innovation in all that she does and has earned a seat at the table wherever she serves. Currently, as CEO of Frontline Media (FM), a privately-held, Pan African media and communication company she founded 14 years ago, Irene is overseeing the expansion of the company in 25 countries to ultimately become one of the largest media groups on the continent.

As founder of FM, Irene led the business to evolve into a world class organization serving local and global companies across Africa. During this time, she drove the partnership of FM with Porter Novelli, a leading global communication company with presence in over 80 countries; a partnership which propelled Frontline into a credible market player in the media and communication industry in Africa. She also led successful transformational programs for women and girls in Tanzania through her organization The Women of Achievement, which she then transitioned to incorporate technology. Irene is now spearheading major impact tech platforms that integrates finance, trade, health, communication and capacity building aimed at empowering young people, women and girls in Africa who lack access and minimum resources to ultimate financial freedom.

Irene who is a mom of three, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from the University of Dar es Salaam, and an MBA in Marketing from the same institution..

Some of Irene’s accolades include:
§ 2010 Fortune/State Department Global Woman Leader
§ 2014 Global Health and Diplomacy Fellow
§ 2015 Woman of The Year Africa by Africa Reconnect
§ 2018 Obama Africa Leader
§ 2018 African Women Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) – Empowerment Award finalist
§ 2017 – 2020 – Women In Africa (WIA) Tanzanian Ambassador
§ 2019 – Invest To Impact Tanzanian Ambassador (An initiative by Findev Canada, OPIC, CDC Investment Works, Proparco and Mastercard Foundation)