[dropcap]J[/dropcap]ulie Gichuru is an entrepreneur and media personality with a number of business ventures including the online retail fashion outlet Mimi and production company Arimus Media Ltd. To learn more, visit www.greatdebaterscontest.com and www.arimusmedia.co.ke.
Julie is currently working on growing local productions through Arimus Media Limited (AML). Some of the established programs produced by AML are current affairs television shows Africa Leadership Dialogues and Great
Debaters Contest and entertainment series Shinda Washinde.
Julie’s career in the media over the past 15 years has seen her work across the fields of broadcast, print and digital media.
In 2000-2002 Julie ran a lifestyle magazine called Quest. Moving on to broadcast she worked as a news presenter and hosted a hard-hitting radio talk show at Capital FM before moving on to television where she has created and hosted a record number of shows across media houses.
Julie worked with a team at Citizen TV to conceptualize and host the ground-breaking news show Sunday Live with
Julie Gichuru. This pioneer news and current affairs show launched in 2008 at Citizen TV, redefined the style and delivery of news in Kenya.
READ: Julie Gichuru appointed to Brand Kenya board
SEE ALSO: Julie Gichuru named among most influential Africans
In 2009, Julie conceptualized and hosted Fist to Five for Change, which facilitated reconciliation and healing for victims and perpetrators of post-election violence in Kenya. She has also pioneered an impressive number of television shows, from the first Kenyan investigative TV series, The Inside Story at KTN to various current affairs shows at NTV including political and current affairs programs Showdown, On the Spot, You the Jury and The People’s Voice, also included in this list is the celebrated post election peace specials Voices of Reason.
The Footprints Africa Foundation (FAF) was established by Anthony and Julie Gichuru to help empower and grow healthy, dignified and informed societies in the region. FAF supports the Great Debaters Contest and the Africa Leadership Dialogues, both platforms for discussion and exchange of ideas on African challenges and opportunities. These forums are now televised for impact across millions of households.
‘Above all we have a responsibility to nurture and grow the younger generation and our primary role is vested in the family unit,” she says.
FAF has also supported the Natembea Campaign launched by a youth group called the Gisma Group. This campaign
empowers people with health and hygiene information and delivers shoes to schools in highly disadvantaged areas. The Natembea Campaign has impacted positively on the lives of thousands of children across Kenya. FAF believes
in giving people a chance to make a mark, to leave a footprint of positivity on the world.
Julie is passionate about family, she is married to entrepreneur Anthony Gichuru. They have had 5 children. “Above all we have a responsibility to nurture and grow the younger generation and our primary role is vested in the family unit,” she says.
SEE: The story of former TV presenter Janet Mbugua
Julie is also passionate about maternal healthcare and is an ambassador of the AMREF Stand Up for African Mothers campaign which seeks to train over 15,000 midwives across East Africa.
Recognitions, Awards & Fellowships
- Martin Luther King Salute to Greatness 2008: Julie was the first African woman to receive the Martin Luther King Salute to Greatness for advocacy of non- violence following the 2007 election in Kenya.
Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative & Aspen Global Leadership Network 2008
Young Global Leader: Julie was declared a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in
2010.
Order of the Grand Warrior: She was awarded the Order of the Golden Warrior for her contribution towards nation building by President Mwai Kibaki in 2011. - Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Program: Julie was nominated as a Fellow of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Program otherwise known as Tutu’s Children in 2013.
- Top 20 Young Power Women in Africa: Julie was recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the top 20 Young Power
Women in Africa. - 60 Most Influential African Women in the World: Julie has also been recognized in the Women in Enterprise (WIE) list of 60 most influential African women in the world.
Julie Gichuru is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School and Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. In 2016 Julie was selected as a member of the UN Foundation Global Journalist Corps, joining a group of esteemed and high impact journalists across the globe.
