Who We Are

ygap Kenya Country Director

Carol Kimari

Carol leads on the strategic direction of the ygap Kenya office, manages the delivery of the ygap Kenya Program, and represents the program throughout the East Africa ecosystem. A serial entrepreneur, Carol has started several businesses across different sectors. An avid book lover, Carol started Grab a Book, a social enterprise that sets up libraries in slums, with an aim to bring reading and library services to thousands of Kenyan children. Carol is a former Stockbroker on the Kenyan Stock Exchange. With over ten years of experience as an entrepreneur, she brings a wealth of knowledge on East African social enterprise. Carol is an alumnus of the ygap Kenya program and an Unreasonable Institute fellow.

ygap Kenya Program Manager

Albert Kimani

Albert has over 10 years experience advising start-ups, SMEs and corporates across East Africa. A key component of his work has been to support organisations to grow their efficiency and effectiveness in their respective ecosystems. Predominantly, this has involved Albert helping enterprises understand their markets and their customers,helping enterprises refine their MVPs and their value propositions,and helping these ventures develop impact and performance tracking frameworks for continuous improvement. Albert holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Statistics & Computer Science and a Diploma in Business Studies. In addition, Albert is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Strategic Management.

ygap Kenya Impact Officer

Periz Odhiambo

Periz is responsible for the implementation of ygap Kenya’s impact strategy including supporting ygap Kenya’s portfolio venture’s to conceive, prepare and fine-tune their venture-specific impact strategies. Periz provides input through comprehensive data collection and proactively advises on all aspects of impact tracking to the portfolio ventures of the ygap Kenya program.In the first 4 years of her career, she has spent time in research roles tracking social change with leading development intervention programs. She holds a Bachelors of Arts, specializing in Economics and Sociology.

ygap Kenya Program Assistant

Andy Njoroge

Andy joined ygap Kenya as a volunteer in 2016 and has since become a critical member of ygap Kenya’s venture support and reporting team. Andy has over ten years experience in customer service and helps to keep ygap Kenya in constant communication with their various stakeholders all over the country.

ygap Kenya Business Development Officer

Mercy Munene

Mercy is a diligent and hardworking lady serving as ygap Kenya’s Business Development Officer. She has a passion for supporting African youth and women in  enterprising.She is an International Relations student at United States International University, Africa.Prior to joining ygap Kenya in 2021, she had and continues volunteering with the Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa as a core team member in Kenya, mobilising and sensitising young people to care for the environment. Her greatest drive is to see more African women entrepreneurs emerge at early ages.

ygap South Africa Country Director

Palesa Mabidilala

Palesa is the Country Director for ygap South Africa. The last ten years of Palesa’s career is a testament to her passion for entrepreneurship and expertise in the sector. After experience with both Deloitte and Ernst & Young (EY), Palesa headed up Entrepreneur Services at Endeavor, a global organisation accelerating high impact entrepreneurs. In addition, Palesa founded EnziAfrica, an entrepreneurship development organisation focused on assisting entrepreneurs to build sustainable enterprises.  Palesa holds a Bachelor of Commerce Information Systems Degree, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Enterprise Management both obtained from the University of Cape Town.

ygap South Africa Program Manager

Hazel Mkwanazi

Before joining ygap, Hazel worked on the USAID Government Capacity Building and Support Project with a focus on Social and Behaviour Change Programmes for the Department of Social Development. She has worked for several NGOs in environmental management, public health, food security and child protection. Hazel is passionate about inclusive and sustainable development that enhances the lives and livelihoods of communities. She holds a Master of Social Science and Postgraduate Diploma in Development Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Development Studies.

ygap South Africa Program Assistant

Natacia Gwebu

Natacia Gwebu is the Programme Assistant at ygap South Africa. Natacia joined ygap South Africa as an intern in 2019 and soon after became a permanent member of the team, providing administrative and research assistance. Over her career, Natacia has worked in administration roles in various industries including Mott MacDonald, a Management Consultancy company, Procet Freight, a logistics company and Save the Children, an international NGO. Natacia is very passionate about entrepreneurship, which led her to start her own entrepreneurial ventures including the Vegetables Agency, a food packaging company that served established clients such as Salsa, a large restaurant franchise company in South Africa. She also co-founded the Rapid Growth Events company which involves hosting a variety of events in her community. Natacia is currently studying a degree in Industrial Organisational Psychology at the University of South Africa.

yher Africa Regional Director

Katleho Tsoku

ygap Pacific Islands Regional Manager

Talei Goater

ygap Australia Country Manager

Marisha Nair

Head of Learning Design

Kaitlin Tait

Kaitlin has over a decade of international development experience including nearly two years in East Africa working with grassroots development organisations before she launched and grew the ygap model across Africa and the Asia Pacific. She has designed and delivered Acceleration programs and resources that have facilitated the growth of hundreds of social ventures and now leads all learning design and content development for ygap and ygap’s clients. Having led and contributed to various women’s entrepreneurship initiatives over her career, including creating ygap’s yher Accelerator program, she is extremely passionate about supporting and championing the next generation of women entrepreneurs and leaders.

Head of Program Design

Celia Boyd

Celia has over a decade of experience in international development, with 8 years focused on women’s economic empowerment through entrepreneurship in South-East Asia. As a co-founder and previous Managing Director of SHE, Cambodia’s first and leading incubator-accelerator for women entrepreneurs, Celia led the launch and growth of SHE from 3 volunteers to 35 staff across 5 provinces of Cambodia, and thousands of women entrepreneurs supported to scale their enterprises. Celia is passionate about bridging the gender gap in business, and designing innovative solutions that are inclusive and accessible for all entrepreneurs to thrive and create impact. She has built several businesses herself, and consulted for national and international governments, impact investors and aid agencies on a variety of gender, impact measurement and entrepreneurship projects across Cambodia, Australia, Myanmar, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, and more.

Operations Manager

Sean O’Hara

Sean is a Melbourne-based operations specialist who has worked in both high growth startups (Car Next Door) and not for profits (Good Cycles). He has experience in building and scaling operations through creating and refining processes, people management and data-driven problem solving. He is dedicated to working in small for-purpose organisations that create positive change in the world, with a particular passion for international development and environmental issues.
Sean is a born and bred Melbournian who laps up everything happening in the cultural capital. You will catch him riding his bike between footy games, theatre productions and music gigs before heading home to cook up a storm

Senior Graphic Designer

Taryn Yat

Taryn is the graphic designer for Polished Man and looks after all things design and creative. Her experience ranges from print publications, branding and marketing to digital design and websites. In her spare time, Taryn enjoys photography, crafty projects and chasing after her twin girls.

Communications Coordinator

Eva Mackinley

For the last 15 years Eva has worked in campaigning for social change across a range of areas including youth empowerment, environmental education and locally-led development, through the mediums of digital campaigning and strategic communications. Eva is a General Sir John Monash Scholar and a Rotary Peace Fellow, and is undertaking a Masters in International Relations and Security Studies.

Head of Philanthropy

Sarah Hornby

Sarah gets a buzz from connecting passionate people with the difference they can make. She has a keen interest in sustainable approaches to development and over 14 years experience in philanthropy and relationship management. She holds a Bachelor of Communications and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Development. When she’s not working, she’s hanging out with her husband and kids, reading, cooking and listening to true-crime podcasts.

Philanthropy Manager

Jessica Zammit

Jessica brings over 15 years of expertise spanning not-for-profits (at both a strategic and grassroots level) government and stakeholder relations, with a passion for collaboration. In her spare time, she is busy chasing an active bub, squeezing in some cooking (slow is best) and thinking about the next travel destination (too many to count).

Campaigns Manager

Kat Crowley

Kat has over 10 years’ of experience in fundraising & events in the Not-For-Profit Sector, has worked for a number of charitable organisations and on some of Australia’s leading fundraising campaigns. She is a Member of the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA) and is on the Victorian FIA State Committee. She has a passion for fundraising and making an impact as well as mental wellbeing and social responsibility. Kat is a lover of vintage inspired clothing and dogs and is often spotted enjoying high tea with her flock of fabulously vintage dressed friends in Melbourne.

Polished Man Digital Communications & Ambassador Manager

Nikki Mathison

Polished Man Partnerships Manager

Meneka Mendis

Meneka has over 9 years’ of partnership relations, account management, and campaign management experience within the Sports industry, Not-for-profit, Government and Corporate sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters in Marketing, and has a passion for creating synergies and collaborating with people. Meneka is a self-confessed coffeeholic, and even ran her own café in Adelaide. In her down time, she enjoys going for hikes with her husband and daughter. She is a sports fanatic and plays both Rugby Union and Water Polo.

Chief Executive Officer

Mark Harwood

Having joined ygap in March 2020 as the CEO, Mark is responsible for overseeing the organisation’s overall direction and ensuring strategic alignment towards its mission. Mark started his career as a management consultant with Accenture working across multiple continents supporting both Government and private sector clients for six years before pivoting to the for-purpose sector with World Vision where he led the Social Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (SEED) unit. Mark is extremely passionate about the role of entrepreneurship in helping to achieve both equitable and sustainable outcomes and is proud to work alongside his ygap colleagues to ensure entrepreneurship is more inclusive, in and of itself, as are the outcomes being achieved. When not at work, Mark loves to get creative with his two young children or taking them out on family bike rides on his preferred form of transport – an electric cargo bike.

Director of Strategy and Operations

Audrey Jean-Baptiste

Audrey is ygap’s Director of Strategy and Operations. She leads the design, development and operationalisation of ygap’s impact strategy. This involves working with our experienced global team to strengthen our existing programs as well as grow ygap’s reach in both existing and new markets through innovative, collaborative programs. She is passionate about creating the right conditions for all entrepreneurs to reach their full potential, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, age, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin or disability. Her work focuses on levering entrepreneurship to build sustainable, scalable and just solutions to systemic social and environmental problems. As part of that, she strongly believes that we need the world’s diversity to be equitably represented in those building these solutions, as well as in those who support and fund those solutions to be built – for all to benefit. Through her career to date, Audrey has supported hundreds of entrepreneurs around the world in growing their early stage ventures. Her work now focusses on strengthening the support available to entrepreneurs, as well as addressing barriers that they face when trying to access markets and finance. She’s a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor on a number of initiatives and holds qualifications in user experience design and neuroscience based coaching, as well as degrees in Economics, Management and Psychology.