Name: Wamweru Muthara, Gladys

Education: MA in Education and Development in Early Childhood, University of Haifa, Israel; Bachelor of Commerce, Finance, University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Role: Founding Director, Nawirisha Childcare Services Ltd.
Expertise: Child Development, Childcare Development, Women & Girls Empowerment.

Wamweru has over 12 years professional experience in development and financial sectors, having worked in East and West African countries. She has held technical leadership and advisory roles, co-designing and implementing innovative projects targeting children, youth and women.

Wamweru is the Founding Director of Nawirisha, with a vision to pioneer ‘Community-led & Market-based Approaches’ for tackling the childcare policy, coordination, workforce development needs within the ‘informal childcare system’ of urban settlements - by putting communities, especially, women in the lead of solution design and implementation. To global and decision-making platforms, Wamweru brings a fresh perspective on ‘What Truly Matters’ for childcare frontline soldiers and thoughts for how these may be achieved through a bottom-up approach and gender lens.

As an alumnus of the ECDAN Knowledge Fellowship 2025 and the World Forum Foundation’s Global Leaders for Young Children Program (2022), Wamweru is committed to continue collaborating with women informal childcare providers and their communities in building innovative solutions, documenting and sharing this knowledge to influence childcare policy and investment.

This dedication has been shaped through her previous work with local and international development organizations like ActionAid International, in Ghana and Kenya, advancing the rights of women, children and girls. In addition, Wamweru served as a Global Champion for Change at UN Women’s Empower Women and led various successful youth-focused initiatives at TAP Africa. As a result, she was recognized through multiple awards, including VSO’s Impact Beyond Volunteering Award in 2018 and the Volunteer of the Year Award, East and Southern Africa in 2019 by United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and partners.