Nana Wanjau is a Kenyan philanthropist known for her work as president of the Rotary Club of Nairobi East and for her founding of the non-profit Power Woman International that works to help widows in Kenya.
Wanjau was born on October 26, 1979, to a Kenyan father and a Tanzanian mother. [1] At early age, she was raised by her grandmother in Bukoba, Tanzania. When her grandfather died, the community forced her grandmother to leave the community because of her grandmother's position as a widow. [2] After her high school years, Wanjau went to stay with her mother in Lusaka, Zambia. Her mother, a medical doctor, influenced her to enroll to medical college and study medicine. Wanjau attended the program for 1 year before dropping out of college. [1] Subsequently, she moved to Ivory Coast where her father was based, at the age of 21, her father’s work brought him back home, so Nana came to Kenya and settled. [1]
Wanjau initially worked in information technology, but then became a stay at home mom. [3] She became interested in charitable work after watching her mother run a medical clinic in Zambia. [4] She joined the Rotary Club in 2005, and served as president of Rotary Club of Nairobi East, Kenya for one year long, from 2015 until 2016. [5] [6] [7] In this period she worked to expand libraries in Korogocho, [8] and she joined a group of people who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for charity. [9]
In January 2023, she was appointed as chairperson at Commonwealth Business Women Africa, [10] and in this role she worked to increase digital literacy for girls. [11] In 2022 Wanjau talked about the organization's role in promoting gender equality for women in Africa. [12] As of 2023, she was chief gender officer at Pan African Chamber of Commerce. [13]
After completing her term as president of the Rotary Club, she started Power Women International, a non-profit that aides widows in Kenya. [4] [14] The organization helps widows remain in their communities through building houses and providing training, a need Wanjau recognized because her of experience as a young child and further developed in Wanjau's conversations with widows. [2]
She also founded Branding Beyond Borders (network for various professionals), and Saltaway Investments Ltd, a Kenyan real estate company. [15] [16]
Wanjau is the winner of 2019 East Africa Woman Leadership Award. [17] [18] [19]