Our Team
We are African women who have founded businesses, run non-profits, built side hustles, and led ventures. We ask what keeps you up at night because we know what it takes to bring an idea to life.
Jo Opot
Founding Director
Jo grew up in Nairobi and started her career working for the United Nations in Kenya, Russia and the USA. She then joined StartingBloc, a social innovators fellowship program in New York, as the Director of Programs and subsequently became the Executive Director. Following this, Jo was the Global VP of Business Development at TerraCycle, where she grew the company’s partnerships from six countries to twenty-two markets. Prior to Gather, Jo was at Acumen, where she backed companies and leaders that were innovatively tackling poverty as Head of Business Development in San Francisco and then as Head of Leadership and Strategy in Nairobi.
Jo is a recipient of the Sundance Eco-Warrior Award and a Social Venture Network fellow and has been featured in the New York Times and Fast Company. She holds a BA in Political Science and French from Middlebury College and a Masters in Sustainability from the University of Cambridge. Some of her favorite moments are trail running with her husband, daughter and dog.
Street Cred
At 13 years, I ran a roadside food shack in Nairobi. I did everything from cleaning vegetables at 5.30am to balancing books and paying wages at 5.30pm. I have never worked so hard and earned so little. Each day, I struggled to differentiate my product and build customer loyalty and each night, I tried to figure out a new cost cutting measure. I’m humbled by every small business owner and entrepreneur I meet - knowing the audacity and resilience they carry with them every day.
What keeps me up at night?
Figuring out how women can own assets and create climate smart intergenerational wealth.
Shiru Mwangi
Chief Investment Officer
Shiru has 25 years of experience in global markets, corporate banking, private debt and equity . She was the Regional Director for Acumen Fund in East Africa, driving overall business strategy, overseeing investments by the East Africa portfolio team, and managing operations. Prior to joining Acumen, Shiru was the Head of Agriculture Debt Financing at responsAbility Investments AG, handling debt investments spread over commodity trading and processing companies across Africa. She also held the role of Regional Head of Global Markets in East Africa for Stanbic Bank in Kenya managing a multi-million dollar budget, and prior to that, as Executive Director Corporate and Investment Banking at Stanbic Bank, a subsidiary of Standard Bank of South Africa.
Shiru holds a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and has worked in New York, before transitioning back to work in Africa, for Citibank, initially in Tanzania, but also in Bahrain and Kenya, holding regional roles and board positions in East Africa. She has a Bachelor's degree in Biology and Spanish from Amherst College, in Massachusetts and spent a year abroad at the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, South America.
Street Cred
I transitioned out of banking to start a farm, growing mangoes in Makueni county, Kenya, for export. I was quickly humbled into realizing I had so much to learn, from the people, the land, the weather, and the demands of the market. With my team we built systems, we worked to understand what worked best, we implemented good agricultural practices, and acquired a decade-long buyer of our mangoes in the Middle East. Lessons in excellence from my past paid off and allowed me to focus on quality, and the consumer experience, and a desire to deliver a nutritious and healthy product to the market. I am still learning, and building from prior year lessons, and 13 years in, I can see the impact our work has had on the community in which we operate.
What keeps me up at night?
The need for continuous innovation, for growth, to understand the changing market, changing tastes, changing demographics, not only on my farm, but also for the companies we invest in. I desire to apply myself to learning and seeking knowledge, in order to anticipate the shift in market dynamics and walk alongside our companies as they pivot their business models to success.
Ivy Macharia
Head of Portfolio
Ivy has 10 years’ experience advising and investing in early stage ventures. She started her career at Shona in Uganda working with social enterprises raising funding. In this role, she supported the cohort to raise $1m of investment. She then transitioned to I-DEV International, a boutique consulting firm in Nairobi. There she conducted financial analysis, investment due diligence, and other strategy consulting to facilitate investment in early stage businesses across sub-Saharan Africa. She leveraged her experience in consulting and investment advisory to start her career as an investor.
Ivy worked at Acumen in their Nairobi office where she was part of driving the investment strategy in East Africa, focusing on businesses tackling the energy access challenge in Africa. She invested in and managed relationships with 3 portfolio companies where she also sat on the boards as an Observer. Prior to joining Gather, she worked at Enza Capital, an pan-African VC fund with $60m AUM. At Enza she led investments into 6 companies, managed relationships with over 10 portfolio companies and designed the firm’s portfolio management strategy.
Ivy holds a Bachelors in Business Science (BBS) Degree in Actuarial Science from Strathmore University in Nairobi. She enjoys traveling with her husband and singing along to made up tunes with her daughter.
Street Cred
I spent most of my holidays in university managing my mum’s retail shop where we sold dry cereals and household essentials. I learned the importance of great customer service especially at the end of a long day; how to multi-tasking between serving customers and keeping good records; and how to price products. Every day was a balancing act between making sure we can maintain our already thin margins and ensuring that our prices were competitive. Unfortunately after 4 years or so, my mum had to close down the shop because the margins were simply unsustainable. Years later, when I would sit across from founders of much more established businesses, I would marvel at how similar the challenges that they faced were to my experience at a small retail shop in Kamulu.
What keeps me up at night?
How can I move capital efficiently to the most impactful businesses that are transforming the lives of women and girls.
Miriam Atuya
Portfolio Senior Associate
Miriam brings 8 years of strategic advisory and investment expertise across African private and public sectors, in both anglophone and francophone markets. Her experience includes roles with Open Capital Advisors, AlphaMundi, Amethis, and CrossBoundary, where she managed high-impact transactions and portfolios in diverse industries like renewable energy, agriculture, consumer goods, and water and sanitation. Before Gather, Miriam closed 9 investments worth $10M and oversaw $50M in portfolio companies across African markets.
Miriam has a background in Economics and French Studies from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) and an MBA from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Miriam is passionate about building scalable solutions that drive economic opportunity and resilience across the continent.
Street Cred
At 18, I took a gap year to join the business development team of a sanitation company serving Nairobi’s urban slums. My role was to assist with the pricing strategy and build the sales pipeline. This experience taught me two invaluable lessons: first, the importance of immersing myself in local context - speaking Sheng then, the local slang, helped me adapt quickly and win stakeholder buy-in; and second, the power of co-creation and humble collaboration, realizing that meaningful solutions emerge from within the community, not outside it. I saw firsthand how investing in women multiplies impact: my first sale was to a woman, and women became the biggest drivers of uptake and business growth. I saw them reinvest profits, expand their businesses, and improve their livelihoods.
What keeps me up at night?
To see a world where access to basic needs (food, shelter, clothing, clean water, healthcare, electricity, and education) is non-negotiable and more so for women and girls who too often bear the brunt when these essentials are out of reach.
Carryl Masibo
Systems & Projects Lead
Carryl has over 7 years of management consulting and strategy experience across Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, having worked with leading organizations including KPMG, Business Sweden, and BURN Manufacturing.
She began her career at KPMG in the Strategy and Deal Advisory team, where she provided strategic and transaction support on multi-million-dollar infrastructure and banking projects across East Africa. She later joined BURN Manufacturing, leveraging her strategy expertise to develop the business case and expansion strategy for the company’s electric product suite. At Business Sweden, Carryl led the successful delivery of over 5 projects in the energy and technology sectors, with a collective deal value exceeding $50 million.
Carryl holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the African Leadership University in Mauritius, during which she worked with organizations such as the Graça Machel Trust and Goldman Sachs. She is also a recipient of the Queen’s Young Leaders Award for impact. Outside of work, Carryl enjoys staying active and outdoors - running, hiking, playing tennis, and lifting weights.
Street Cred
At 17, I volunteered with the Africa Cancer Foundation, helping organize cancer screening drives across Kenya. I did a bit of everything, from marketing and community outreach to setting up tents on screening days. That experience grounded me in the realities of execution and taught me that meaningful impact starts with showing up and doing the work.
What keeps me up at night?
How to drive greater efficiency within our investment systems, not just for the sake of speed, but to ensure that women and girls start experiencing the benefits of capital and innovation sooner.