COUNTRY OF BIRTH

Kenya

INDUSTRY

Technology, Computing

TOP ACHIEVEMENTS

Dorcas Muthoni founded the software consulting company, OPENWORLD LTD, when she was 24 years old. OPENWORLD has been involved in the development of widely used web and cloud apps in Africa, including ARIS, OpenBusiness, and the Performance Management System for the Kenyan government. Muthoni also co-founded Linux Chix Africa, along with Ana Badimo. In 2004, their initiative evolved into AfChix, a regional organization that offers mentorship for women in computing in Africa. Throughout her career, Muthoni has sought to use technology to positively transform the lives of African society, governments, and businesses

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

Dorcas Muthoni graduated from the University of Nairobi with a degree in Computer Science. At the time, she helped build networks for universities and became one of the first women engineers to work with the Kenyan educational network. She has completed training in wireless networks, radio communications, and strategic technology planning.

EARLY CAREER

Dorcas Muthoni founded OPENWORLD LTD when she was 24 years old. The company has been involved in technological advancements in government and business. Later on, she founded Linux Chix Africa, which was rebranded in 2004 to become AfChix. The organization offers mentorship programs to African girls and women to encourage them to grow in the computing field. AfChix activities include organizing an annual Computing Career Conference and career development and role-modeling for women in technology. Over the past 10 years, AfChix has provided mentorship and career guidance programs to over 7000 high school girls in Kenya and Uganda.

ACHIEVEMENTS AT OPENWORLD LTD

OPENWORLD LTD has been instrumental in developing several web and cloud apps that are used by businesses and governments in Africa. These include ARIS, a reporting app used by all states in the African Union, OpenBusiness, a cloud-based business management tool for small-medium sized enterprises, and the Performance Management System for the Government of Kenya.

RECOGNITION

Dorcas Muthoni has been the recipient of many honors and awards due to her tiring work in using technology to positively advance businesses, governments, and individuals.

• In 2008, Muthoni received the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology's Change Agent award.
• In 2009, she was selected as a Women’s Forum Rising Talent.
• In 2013, she was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
• In 2012, she was inducted by the Internet Society into the Internet Hall of Fame.
• In 2017, she was granted an honorary degree from the Pompeu Fabra University in light of her mentoring young people, her promotion of engineering studies among girls in Africa, and her social commitment against poverty.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

• Dorcas Muthoni serves as a Director at Ushahidi, an open source software application
• She is a member of the council of the Free Software and the Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA).
• In 2018, Muthoni launched a new app, OpenBusiness, and pitched it at Lionesses of Africa’s Start-up Night! Africa event in Berlin