Mariam Ibrahim

Where I am based: Nairobi, Kenya

What I do: I have been DI’s Growth & Partnerships Lead since September 2022, following two years as the Head of East Africa Operations during a period of strategy transition. During that time, I led the transition to DI’s new strategy in Africa. This included supporting an operational review; leading on the development of our global, three-year transformative objective on our work on culture of data use; and supporting the development of our three-year objective on partnerships. In my current role, I oversee DI’s partnerships and resource mobilisation activities in Africa, ensuring that partnership strategies are clearly defined and that our activities are demand-led and developed with partners. I am passionate about inclusive data ecosystems, particularly ensuring that the needs and experiences of women and girls are included in policy choices by strengthening gender-responsive foundational data ecosystems. Day to day, I work with colleagues and partners to develop new ideas and concepts and I also ensure that DI’s Partnership Framework is implemented and embedded within programmes to ensure a standardised approach to partnerships.

Previous experience: I joined DI in November 2011, contributing to the setup of the office and related systems in Nairobi in 2012. I then moved onto managing over 50 initiatives across priority areas in the organisation including data use; climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction; resilience; and budget tracking in pro-poor sectors such as health and social protection. Prior to joining DI, I worked in the banking industry where I garnered experience in finance, corporate affairs, customer service, and administration.