“THE GREATEST OAK WAS ONCE A LITTLE NUT THAT HELD ITS GROUND.”
Meet Nahashon Muchiri Maina – A Digital Marketer, an Electronic Waste Management Champion and an Artificial Intelligence Enthusiast.
“Many things inspire me but what inspires me the most is the desire to find out how far I can go and how good I can become in my field. Sure enough, I have already mastered digital marketing and it allows me to work on complex projects and have a real impact with my work but is this really the pinnacle? Can I not do even more? Can I not become even better in this and the tech field? What options will open up for me once I master Artificial Intelligence? Such questions, and a desire to find my own limits–if they exist, motivate me to keep learning and working on my skills. When it comes to computers, my interest was born out of curiosity in class six (6) and when I went to high school, I jumped through hoops to make it to a computer class. Nine (9) years later, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT); this was my home for four (4) years and it opened me to opportunities that were rare and only available to those who presented themselves for them. ” - Nahashon Muchiri Maina.
Muchiri graduated here at DeKUT in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and his story; the way he leads his life, his milestones thus far and his aspirations is indeed captured by the anonymous author who wrote that the greatest oak was once a little nut that held its ground. From having to repeat class eight (8) in order to try his luck at being selected to join a high school that offered computer studies to getting himself to that class by all means and later joining DeKUT that led him to a path of greater exploration of the world of computing, Muchiri has made and continues to make strides in digital marketing and electronic waste management as he explores artificial intelligence. More of his interesting high school story here. Muchiri’s story about his current engagements caught our attention when he and his team were featured in the Daily Nation on 23rd August, 2022 with the headline: “Homegrown firm facilitates safe disposal of e-waste” and a subsequent story on the same by KBC. Previously, WEEE Centre was featured by Tagesschau.de and by tv47 tech show.
Since he graduated, Muchiri has worked with several companies. His first formal employment was in Safaricom as Lenovo Smartphones brand ambassador for 2 years. At the end of the contract in 2016, he started working for musician Juliani at Juliani Digital Hub till the end of 2017 when his career took a turn and he joined Computer for Schools and WEEE Centre Kenya. “I joined these two organizations through the famous DLP (Digital Literacy Programme - a.k.a laptops za watoto)” - he expounds. Muchiri worked as a Regional ICT Officer mainly tasked with proper implementation of the program, coordinating repair and maintenance of the devices and taking care of the collection and disposal of broken tablets. His region was Mount Kenya covering Meru, Nyeri and Laikipia counties until early 2019.
In March 2019, this young man who had proven to be a great asset was selected for an eight (8) months exchange program between WEEE Centre and Vohitra Environment Madagascar to champion proper electronic waste management in Madagascar. The exchange was funded by NOREC - the Norwegian Agency for Exchange Cooperation. Upon completion of the exchange program, Muchiri was redeployed as a Regional ICT Officer for Tharaka Nithi, Embu, Murang’a and Kirinyaga counties until 2020 when Covid 19 hit the country. As things cooled down in late 2020, he was redeployed to WEEE/CFSK HQ as a Sourcing and Marketing Officer tasked with the business of sourcing electronic waste, training and formulation of proper electronic waste policies. He was also put in charge of the company's digital marketing and social media management tasks which he says he diligently fulfilled and still does to date. Muchiri says that there is so much potential in the world of e-waste management, digital marketing and artificial intelligence and considers the development of electronic waste management policies being implemented in Madagascar one of his greatest achievements.
Besides his formal employment, Muchiri is an online freelancer in the digital marketing space and a self-proclaimed champion for online jobs; especially with Ajira. He is the founder of one of the largest Ajira Fun Groups on Facebook.
