Catherine Irura, Kenya
My name is Catherine Irura and I am a MEG 9 alumni. I was a recipient of the DAAD scholarship for students pursuing postgraduate courses of relevance to developing countries. I joined MEG in 2013, as a Bachelor of Law graduate admitted to the bar in Kenya, with internship experiences in human rights and environmental law.
MEG has had a tremendous impact in my career and the skills and exposure from MEG have been very relevant to my day-to-day work and sector-level responsibilities. The multi-disciplinary nature of MEG, which is one of its key strengths, has given me leverage in my career. There is a certain versatility and skill set that equips students for problem-solving at different levels, that are good for project management. Employers are keen on hiring staff with multiple skill sets, and MEG has a good balance of both technical skills and soft skills, and the benefit of learning in a multi-cultural environment.
The interest and enthusiasm of our professors in our learning journey was apparent and it had an impact in how we showed up in class. I felt like my professors were passionate about their work and teaching us, and at a personal level I felt like they were invested in my success and personal growth. This was evident not only by their concern for students to focus on our studies, but also encouraging us to have a vision of meaningful work after MEG. The internship program we had, enabled me to work at the IUCN Environmental Law Centre and live in the city of Bonn. This work experience was important since my masters thesis topic was related to international water law and governance, and it opened future career opportunities for me.
During MEG we had tutors and learning assistants to support us with challenging group assignments and monitor our progress with our learning journey. There was a continuous learning culture/influence and work ethic that I picked up from MEG, that has sustained me in my career, and helped me to continue diversifying my skills. During MEG we had opportunities to visit CIM, GIZ, DEG/KfW offices, and various workshops I attended and enrolled with the CIM returning professional program.
After graduating from MEG, I joined SOWITEC Kenya as a Project Manager/Compliance Officer, immediately after MEG, through the CIM returning professionals program. As a Project Manager, Compliance Officer and Advocate, I led land securing for MW scale wind and solar projects, in different communities, with different local governance structures. I now have 7 years’ experience developing renewable energy (wind, solar and green hydrogen) projects in Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe, that will ultimately facilitate access to clean energy, enabling these markets to achieve low-carbon development while enhancing their energy security. I currently serve as the Managing Director of SOWITEC Kenya Limited.
The lessons from MEG on different governance models, environmental policy analysis and environmental conflict resolution have been quite instrumental in my day-to-day work. I still remember the ‘windy farm case’ we had in our environmental conflict resolution module – as it became a reality when securing land especially for wind projects. I also
obtained GIS skills from one of our mandatory electives in MEG, which was quite challenging given my legal background. I however, later found myself using google earth to map important features my projects and learning how to collect data using a Garmin during field work. My work also entails doing environmental social governance due diligence and compliance monitoring for Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The lessons we learned in MEG on mapping stakeholders positions, interests and needs, multi-level governance, policy narratives have been important in my line of work. There has been a distinct difference in my approach in negotiating transactions with landowners and investors, interacting with governmental/non-governmental stakeholders, beyond the knowledge that I have as a legal practitioner. The outcomes have been different and learning how to manage key stakeholder relationships came up frequently in the case study examples we had. It’s helped me a lot with the managerial and sector level roles that I currently hold.
There were lessons we had in the environmental law module on the different types of regulatory governance regulation, and self-regulation, co-regulation, and we looked at forest governance as a framework for environmental law making. It’s really shaped my thinking and approach with respect to the energy sector reforms we need in Kenya. Kenya is taking active steps to become a major hub and destination of choice for investment in green hydrogen projects, particularly green fertiliser and green fuels pilot projects, given the immense potential for use of renewables, in green hydrogen production. I serve as the Green Hydrogen sub sector board lead at the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA). The Green Hydrogen subsector brings together private sector players to work together with policy makers to create an enabling environment for green hydrogen investments. We are currently working with German development partners (GIZ/KfW/DEG), the EU Technical Assistance Facility and the Ministry of Energy and other governmental stakeholders to develop a Green Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap for Kenya.
I also registered the Electricity Sector Association of Kenya (ESAK), where I currently serve as Secretary. ESAK is a business member organization that brings private sector stakeholders to encourage sustainable development of the electricity sector through collaboration, advocacy and data driven solutions. We conduct collaborative advocacy to influence decision makers at a national level to address the main barriers in the Kenyan market i.e. gaps and practices in the legal regulatory and institutional framework. We are also lobbying for supporting market reflective frameworks for energy investments/projects.
I am very grateful for having been part of MEG 9, and for the DAAD scholarship that enabled me to get the opportunity to pursue MEG. The knowledge, skills and experienced gained through MEG set me up for a rewarding career and leadership in the energy sector. The resources offered by the EPOS-program will continue to be instrumental to enrich learning experiences for MEG students, and the transformative outcomes MEG has in raising leaders who can ‘shape complex futures’.
