Dr. Elizabeth Mary Okelo

Published February 27, 2015

KENYA

Founder, Kenya Women Finance Trust and Makini Schools (Financial services; Education)

Born Busia, Kenya. BA, Makerere University, Uganda; Diploma, Institute of Bankers, London; Diploma in Early Childhood Education, Froebel College, Dublin.

Interview Summary

Mary Okelo describes her experiences as a woman entering the world of bank management in the 1960s, her struggles to prove herself, and her efforts on behalf of other women in the industry. She also recounts the context of her decision to found a group of schools and the challenges of making the schools successful in the Kenyan environment.

[I]n Kenya… one person earning a salary supports at least 17 people. So you see, a good business is by default already supporting a wide section of the community it operates in.

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Additional Resources

Dr. Mary Okelo: Behind the success of Makini school (Part 1), Metropol TV Kenya
Dr. Mary Okelo: Behind the success of Makini school (Part 2), Metropol TV Kenya
Dr. Mary Okelo: First woman bank manager tells us her journey in the early banking sector (Part 1), Metropol TV Kenya
Dr. Mary Okelo: First woman bank manager tells us her journey in the early banking sector (Part 2), Metropol TV Kenya
Expanding Private Education in Kenya: Mary Okelo and Makini Schools [Columbia Business School case]
Strength of a Woman: Dr. Mary Okelo, Kenya CitizenTV, January 10, 2015
Elizabeth Mary Okelo - Lifetime Achievement Award, African Banker Awards 2014
Dr. Mary Okelo, the First Woman Bank Manager in Kenya [interview] August 14, 2013
"Private Education Pioneer Talks About Her Business Journey,"
How We Made It In Africa, July 30, 2013
Founding Director of Africa 2.0 Kenya
UnitedSucces Member Who Paved the Way for Kenyan Female Bank Bosses
"Mary Okelo: Makini Has Set Standards Bar High,"
Business Daily, August 25, 2011
"Makini Schools owner to earn a fortune from sale,"Business Today April 6, 2018
Video file of this interview available at Baker Library Historical Collections, histcollref+hbs.edu. Harvard ID holders can access the full-length video above.

Interview Citation Format

"Interview with Dr. Elizabeth Mary Okelo, interviewed by Henry McGee, February 27, 2015, Creating Emerging Markets Project, Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School, http://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/."

Video Clips by Topic and Full Length Video

Video duration:2:31
Dr. Elizabeth Mary Okelo on Gender (1)
Mary Okelo, who pursued a successful career as an executive of British-owned Barclays Bank In Kenya before founding the only women’s bank in Africa and the Makini schools system, explains how she was regarded as a “troublemaker” when, while a manager at Barclays Bank, she advocated for women employees to have greater professional participation at the bank.
Video duration:1:37
Dr. Elizabeth Mary Okelo on Gender (2)
Mary Okelo, who pursued a successful career as an executive of Barclays Bank In Kenya before founding the only women’s bank in Africa and the Makini schools system, describes how, while a manager at Barclays, she encouraged women, who lacked contractual rights, to make use of the bank's services by opening children’s accounts.
Video duration:2:34
Dr. Elizabeth Mary Okelo on Social Impact
Mary Okelo, who pursued a successful career as an executive of Barclays Bank In Kenya before founding the only women’s bank in Africa and the Makini schools system, explains how important it is for businesses to contribute to the larger society since they benefit from that society.