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Lizz Ntonjira
Global Communication Director at AMREF, Author #YOUTHCAN
Lizz Ntonjira: A Beacon of Youth Empowerment and Communication Expertise
Lizz Ntonjira stands at the intersection of youth advocacy, strategic communications, and public affairs. As the author of the 2020 bestselling book #YOUTHCAN, an inspiring anthology featuring powerful stories from young people throughout Africa, Lizz not only sheds light on the triumphs and challenges faced by today’s youth but also motivates countless others to break through barriers in their lives. With an unwavering commitment to empowerment and positive change, Lizz continues to inspire individuals and communities across the continent.
With over 15 years of robust experience in strategic communications, Lizz has crafted a diverse and impressive professional background across several sectors, including public, private, and international development. Her work has revolved around enhancing brand development, managing projects, facilitating crises, and supporting youth advocacy across Africa. Every role she has held reflects her dedication to fostering a better understanding of policy frameworks and effective communication strategies.
Professional Background
Lizz’s career is a remarkable tapestry of communication expertise and strategic engagement. She is currently serving as the Global Communications Director at AMREF, where she plays a pivotal role in leading communication initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes in African communities. Prior to this role, Lizz demonstrated her strategic acumen as the Communication Manager for Central, East, and West Africa at IBM, where her leadership contributed significantly to regional outreach and engagement.
Additionally, at IBM, she served as the External Relations Leader for East Africa, shaping communication strategies that fostered mutually beneficial partnerships. Lizz's tenure at the Tax Justice Network - Africa as the Communications, Campaigns & Outreach Manager further solidified her reputation as a proactive advocate for fiscal fairness across the continent, amplifying the voices of marginalized communities.
Expanding her influence, she was the Policy Facilitation & Learning Specialist at USAID, where she engaged in critical discussions surrounding policy development and implementation in East and Southern Africa. As the Public Relations, Communications & External Affairs Manager at the Competition Authority of Kenya, Lizz utilized her skills in media management and stakeholder engagement to effectively communicate the authority's vision and objectives.
In addition to her work in communications, Lizz has built a robust background in journalism. She previously worked as an NTV News Anchor and Reporter for Nation Media Group, as well as a News Anchor, Reporter and Producer at K24 TV (Mediamax Network Ltd). Her journalistic experience has greatly informed her approach to strategic communication, enabling her to create impactful narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.
Education and Achievements
Lizz Ntonjira’s educational journey reflects her commitment to continual learning and development in her fields of expertise. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management from Strathmore Business School (SBS), equipping her with critical insights into public sector governance. Additionally, she pursued a Diploma in German at the Goethe Institute of Nairobi in Kenya, which showcase her commitment to embracing new languages and cultures.
Her academic achievements include an Associate's Degree in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, providing her with foundational knowledge in effective communication practices. She further expanded her credentials by studying Public Management as a Fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University and delving into Competition Policy at Strathmore Business School.
Moreover, she earned an LLB in Law from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, empowering her with a comprehensive understanding of the legal frameworks that often intersect with public policy and governance.
Notable Achievements
Lizz's career has been marked by significant milestones that underline her expertise and leadership in her respective fields. Her book, #YOUTHCAN, has resonated deeply with audiences, solidifying her role as a thought leader in youth advocacy and empowerment. By highlighting the stories of young individuals breaking boundaries and effecting change, Lizz has inspired a new generation of leaders across Africa.
In addition to publishing impactful literature, Lizz's professional accomplishments speak volumes about her dedication and ability to drive change. She has earned recognition for her strategic communication skills, making her a sought-after expert in media management and outreach. Her background in journalism continues to enhance her capacity to craft compelling narratives that engage and inform the public, making her a formidable force in advocacy and communication.
Aside from her direct roles, Lizz’s influence spreads further through various speaking engagements and panels where she shares her insights on the critical role of youth in the 21st century, the importance of effective communication strategies, and the need for responsive governance. In a world that is increasingly interconnected, Lizz Ntonjira’s vision and commitment to youth advocacy and strategic communications stand as a testament to the power of storytelling and communication in realizing social change.
Achievements
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.