About

Sam Gichuru is a software engineer and tutor at Kidato, a live online academic and after-school classes platform for children aged 4 to 18. With over 16 years of experience in the tech industry, Sam is also the founder and CEO of Nailab, Kenya's leading business incubator, accelerator, and seed fund, and Kuhustle, a freelance gig work platform for Africa with over 50,000 users. Sam's entrepreneurial spirit has been recognized by H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta, who mentioned Nailab in the 2015 State of the Nation address. Nailab is also Africa's Jack Ma Foundation partner for the $10 Million Netprenuer Prize. Sam has also served as an advisor for the Alibaba E-founder 1 & 3 Program, vice-chair for the first Kenyan National innovation Forum, and panelist at SeedStars Morocco 2016, Economist - Innovation Summit Africa 2018, and Global Entrepreneurship Summit Nairobi (GES 2015). Sam's passion for mentorship has led him to support several startups through Nailab, including Kuhustle (YFC 2016), Wezatele (Acquired by AFB), Kejahunt (2015 Vision 2030 ICT award winners), Paykind (500 Startups alumni), Cladlight, Sokotext (2015 Index awards finalists), and Eneza Education (Kenya's fastest-growing mobile learning company). Sam is a Rotarian with a background in telecommunications, having worked for Internet Service Providers, Wananchi Online (Now Zuku) Sahannet & Insight technologies. He holds a degree in IT from Strathmore University and a diploma in Community Development from Daystar University. With a tech stack that includes software engineering and mobile development, Sam is a strong proponent of mentorship for young entrepreneurs, viewing them as a critical interface between job creation and poverty eradication in emerging markets.