A week later and it's still difficult to know what to say. The entrepreneurship ecosystem in Kenya and the region has lost giants.
Ashford Kuria, Denis Mwaniki, Jeremiah Mbaria, John Ndiritu, Kelvin Gitonga, and Wilfred Kareithi were all part of a Kenyan startup success story at Cellulant. It seems particularly cruel for Cellulant to start 2019 this way considering their stellar 2018. Jason Spindler was a tireless advocate of entrepreneurs across the region and I-DEV staff have supported Village Capital by serving as mentors countless times for our investment readiness programs. Luke Potter helped transform sectors in East Africa through his work with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Friends and colleagues Abdalla Dahir and Feisal Ahmed of Adam Smith International were working to restore peace and stability in Somalia.
14Riverside/dusitD2 is a place we know well at Village Capital. We held our last investor forum at dusitD2 and we have hosted and attended countless events at Mettā. We mourn dusitD2 staff Beatrice Mutua, Bernadette Konjalo, Erickson Mogaka, Trufosa Nyaboke, Dedricks Lemisi, and Zachary Nyamabwaga and we are grateful that our Mettā colleagues are physically safe and sound.
We must also mention Japhet Ndunguja Nuru of the National Police Service who lost his life saving others. We are grateful to the police, army, first responders, medical workers, and therapists who helped last Tuesday and in the days that followed. We also must remember those who were victims but whose names have not yet been released.
Our community is heartbroken but we remain resolved to both continue our mission of supporting entrepreneurs and to remember the impact of those we've lost.