Press Kit
Press kit.
Everything you need to write about or introduce James, in one place. For media enquiries, email hello@jamesngugi.com.
Short bio
James Ngugi is a Pan-African technology entrepreneur and the founder and CTO of Attallah, the holding company behind Deadan Group. He builds software used in more than 10 African countries, from small shops to large institutions, and chairs the Kabete Volleyball Team in his community. He builds by two rules: make things people will actually use, and do work that means something.
Long bio
Born in Lari, Kiambu County, James grew up in Kibera, where he lived through most of his school years and into his master's. His mother paid for him to study at the Kenya National Library, and on those walks he discovered the iHub in its early days, the exposure that led him to choose Computer Science over Law. University classmates nicknamed him Dean for the way he made hard subjects clear. He took a First Class Honours degree at the University of Eldoret and an MSc at Strathmore University on a Safaricom Academy scholarship. As founder and CTO of Attallah, the holding company behind Deadan Group, he builds software for both ends of the economy, now used in more than 10 African countries: dPOS for small shops, HimaHR for organisations managing more than 25,000 employees, Salami for payments, and Votrack for transparent elections. In 2016 his team won Twitter's first hackathon in Africa with ReportTaka and represented the continent at AngelHack's Global Demo Day in San Francisco. He is an Emerging Leaders Foundation fellow.
At a glance
Fast facts.
- Full nameJames Ngugi Wangari
- RoleFounder and CTO, Attallah (holding company behind Deadan Group)
- Based inNairobi, Kenya
- ReachSolutions used in more than 10 African countries
- FromBorn in Lari, Kiambu County; raised in Kibera, Nairobi
- FocusSMEs, the digital economy, youth and governance
- LanguagesEnglish, Kiswahili, Kikuyu
- EducationMSc, Strathmore University; BSc First Class Honours, University of Eldoret
Photography
Approved headshots.
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