WDS – Kagonya Awori

Kagonya Awori

Dr. Kagonya Awori is an Applied Scientist at Microsoft Africa Research Institute (MARI). She has over 10 years experience in User Experience Research and Design having worked across the globe in countries including Kenya, United Kingdom, and Australia, with companies such as iHub Kenya, Microsoft Research, National Australia Bank and Safaricom PLC. At MARI, Kagonya leads the research on the Future of Work in Africa.

She holds a dual Masters in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University (USA), a Bachelors in Business Information Technology from Strathmore University (Kenya), and a PhD in Computer Engineering from the University of Melbourne (Australia).

Kagonya is passionate about creating knowledge on/for people and businesses in Africa, and building AI solutions for them that can be scaled globally. In her free time, Kagonya greatly enjoys travelling, swimming, occasional hiking and mentoring young women.