Announcing the 2017 World Bank #Blog4Dev contest winners!

Hearty congratulations to Esther Nyawira Gitaka, Peter Safari Kagereki, and Linda Karimi Gitobu for emerging as the winners of the 2017 #Blog4Dev contest!

In this year’s contest, the youth were asked to share their ideas - in a 500-word blog - on whether “To farm or not to farm: What opportunities exist for the Kenyan youth to prosper in agriculture and agribusiness? Over 1,000 young Kenyans between the ages of 18 and 28 years submitted their blogs.

The participants performed extremely well, which made it difficult to select the usual two winners… so this year we had three! The winners will join me at the 2017 World Bank Spring Meetings taking place April 17-23, 2017, in Washington, D.C.

To choose the winners, the blogs were reviewed by a number of World Bank staff who then selected the top 13 bloggers. Each blogger then sat for a face to face interview. The three winners won in part, because we were impressed by their blog posts, but also because they would bring an unusual perspective and passion to the trip.

Their winning blogs have been uploaded onto the World Bank Group blog site Nasikiliza. After the Spring Meetings, the winners and five finalists will be invited for a conversation with senior government officials for an opportunity to share their ideas and stories.

About the winners:

1. Esther Nyawira Gitaka, 27, is a microbiology and biotechnology graduate of the University of Nairobi. She is passionate about social entrepreneurship, especially in agribusiness. Read her blog.
2. Peter Safari Kagereki, 25, has a Bachelor’s of Commerce from Chuka University. He is very passionate about farming, particularly rabbit farming. Read his blog.
3. Linda Karimi Gitobu, 18, is a first year student of Strathmore University. She is passionate about issues of sustainable growth in Kenya and globally. Read her blog.

Finalists:

• Marcellus Vincent; Isaac Nyutu; Teresia Kariuki; Vania Wambua and Akinyi Kisia

Again, on behalf of the entire staff from the World Bank Group country office in Kenya, congratulations!