Juliana Rotich who serves as the Head of the Department-Fintech Solution (M-Pesa) at Safaricom has a new board role. On her LinkedIn page, Ms. Rotich wrote:
“I am honored to be appointed as a member of the AI and Ethics Board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Looking forward to serving with a global team of experts in the AI space.”
Ahead of the announcement Ms. Rotich resigned from her role on the Standard Group Board. On, the 19th of September the Standard Groups issued a notice to its shareholders and the general public.
“…the Board of Directors of The Standard Group PLC (“the Company”) wishes to notify its shareholders and the general public of the resignation of Ms. Juliana Rotich, as an Independent/ Non-Executive Director of the Company, with effect from 18th September 2023.
The Board takes this opportunity to thank Ms. Rotich for her commitment and invaluable contribution to the Company and wish her the best in her future endeavours.” Read part of the statement
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation seeks to define the role of AI as it relates to the foundation’s work. Due to this, the foundation has brought together an equity advisory committee drawn from outside experts who will share insights on program design, and ethical AI practice.
Ms. Rotich Career in Tech
Ms Rotich is a Kenyan who has spent her career of almost 2 decades in the ICT sector. She holds a (B.Sc.), in Computer Science from the University of Missouri-Kansas among other credentials
Notably, she co-founded Ushahidi, a web-based reporting system. The system utilizes crowdsourced data to formulate visual map information of crisis situations in real-time.
The platform was created after the disputed elections in Kenya in 2007. Unfortunately, the dispute led to violence in parts of the country.
Ushahidi helped to collect eyewitness reports of violence. The evidence was sent in by email and text message.
