Ndunge Kiiti

About

Ndunge Kiiti is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Global Development, with over 30+ years in the international development field. In the last three years, she has served as a Visiting Associate Professor and the Director of the Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams (SMART) Program at Cornell University in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Johnson College of Business. She also serves as an Adjunct Faculty at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Global Health, in Atlanta, GA. Prior to returning to Cornell in 2015, Ndunge was a Professor of International Development at Houghton College, in Houghton, NY where her work spanned across Africa and Latin America.    

Ndunge’s work involves research, teaching, and service in communication, education, health, entrepreneurship, and development. Her collaborative research projects have highlighted the use of mobile money technology by women’s micro-credit groups and the ‘Jua Kali’ or informal business sector in Kenya. In collaboration with Cornell's Institute for African Development (IAD), Ndunge has carried out research on the use and impact of mobile money technology among smallholder farmers in Rwanda and Ethiopia. She has served on the boards of MAP International, a global health organization (Brunswick/Atlanta, GA), the CORE Group (Washington, DC) and Jericho Road Community Health Center (Buffalo, NY). Ndunge has a PhD in Communication from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, which included a one-year study in International Health at the John’s Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.

Teaching

Cornell Courses

• Research and Strategy in Emerging Markets (Co-taught in the Spring, 2018-2021)
• Immigrants and Refugees—Changing the Entrepreneurial Landscape in America (Spring, 2021)
• Pre-Engagement with Social Enterprises in Emerging Markets (Fall, 2018-2020)

External Courses

• Houghton College: Introduction to Global Issues, Communication for Development, Grant Writing, Issues in Development, Introduction to Public Health, and Foundations of Community Health Development (taught in Ecuador & Bolivia, Latin America)
• Guest Lectures: Program Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University; Emerging Markets, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University; Leaders in Emerging Markets, SC Johnson School of Business

Leadership, Outreach, and Service

• Director, Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams (SMART) Program, Emerging Markets Program (EMP), Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, College of Business, Cornell University, 2018-2019 (Leader for student teams working with entrepreneurs in Rwanda, Ghana, Zambia, Uganda, Botswana, and Kenya, 2016-2021)
• Leadership Council on Combating Racism, and Promoting Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging, College of Business
• Faculty Fellow for Inclusive Excellence, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, College of Business, Cornell University
• Engaged College Advisory Committee (ECAC), College of Business

Selected Collaborative Research Projects and Grants

• Agribusiness Strategy in Emerging Markets: The Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams (SMART).  Grant awarded by USDA/NIFA, Washington, DC., 2020.
• Strengthening the Poultry Value Chain in Eastern Kenya: Food Safety While Impacting Livelihoods, Research Grant awarded by Institute for African Development, Cornell University, 2019.
• Engaged Curriculum Grant, Engaged Cornell, Ithaca, NY., 2018-2020
• Mobile Money Technology among Smallholder Farmers in Rwanda and Ethiopia.  Research Grant awarded by the Institute for African Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY., 2016-2020. Included the IAD Annual Symposium: ‘Mobile Money, Financial Inclusion and Development in Africa’ on May 21-22, 2017, bringing together experts and practitioners from top global and academic institutions.  The Symposium also integrated five research presentations by Cornell students.
• The Impact of M-Shwari as a Financial Inclusion Banking Product in Urban and Rural Areas of Kenya.  Research Grant awarded by the Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) at the University of California, Irvine, 2014-2015.
• ​​​​​​​The Use of Mobile Money Services and Platforms among the Visually Impaired in Kenya: Any Impact on Poverty Reduction?  Research Grant awarded by the Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) at the University of California, Irvine, 2012.
• ​​​​​​​Mobile Money Services and Poverty Reduction: A Study of 21 Women’s Groups in the Rural Region of Eastern Kenya. Research Grant awarded by the Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) at the University of California, Irvine, 2011. 

Awards

• L.A. Potts Success Stories Award (focus on SMART Program), 77th Annual Professional Agricultural Workers Conference, Tuskegee University, AL, 2019
• Mobile Money Research displayed at British Museum, London, UK (April-September, 2013)
• Excellence in Teaching Award, 2011
• Outstanding Teaching Award, 2001

Selected Publications​​​​​​​

• Kiiti, N., Mutinda, J.  (2018). The Use of Mobile Money Technology among Vulnerable Populations in Kenya: Opportunities and Challenges for Poverty Reduction.  Book Chapter in Money at the Margins: Global Perspectives on Technology, Inclusion & Design, IMTFI, University of California-Irvine.
• Kiiti, N., Hennink, M.  (2017). Reflections on Collecting and Disseminating Research Data: A Journey Through Kenya.  Journal of Development Communication, 28, 1-2. Advance Online Publication.  http://ojs.journals.unisel.edu.my/index.php/jdc.
• Kulb, C., Hennink, M., Kiiti, N., Mutinda, J.  (2016). How Does Microcredit Lead to Empowerment? A Case Study of the Vinya Wa Aka Group in Kenya.  Journal of International Development, 28, 5, 715-732.
• Mabaya, E., Kiiti, N. (2016).  A Closer Look at the “New Era” Inclusive Agricultural and Rural Development.  African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Agriculture, 16(1): Commentary, ISSN 1684 5374.
• Kiiti, N. (2015).  Strategic Communication for African Agribusiness SMEs.  Book Chapter in From Principles to Best Practices: A “Making Markets Matter” Guide to Managing African Agribusiness, edited by Ralph Christy, Mohammad Karaan, Ed Mabaya & Krisztina Tihanyi, Market Matters, Inc.
• Kiiti, N.  (2014). Local, National and Global Implications of the USPHS Syphilis Study for Women.  Journal of Healthcare, Science and Humanities, 4, 1, 44-55.
• Hennink, M., Kulb, C., Kiiti, N.  (2013). Vinya wa Aka: An Expanded Microcredit Model for Community Development.  Journal of Development in Practice. 23, 8, 1029-1041.
• Hennink, M., Kiiti, N., Pillinger, M., Jayakaran, R.  (2012). Defining Empowerment: Perspectives from International Development Organizations, Journal of Development in Practice, 22, 2, 202-215.
• Kiiti, N.  (2007). Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Campaigns for Better Health in Africa: The Role of Indigenous Knowledge.  In the book, Healthcare Services in Africa: Overcoming Challenges, Improving Outcomes, edited by Chinua Akukwe, London: Adonis & Abbey Publishers.
• Kiiti, N. (2005).  Indigenous Knowledge: An Effective Communication and Education Resource for Addressing HIV/AIDS among Young People in Eastern Kenya.  Journal of Development Communication, 16, 1, 40-50.
• Kiiti, N., Oehrig, J., Boswell, C.  (2005). Faith Communities as Partners in Holistic Health.   In the book, Attacking Poverty in the Developing World, edited by Judith Dean, Julie Schaffner & Stephen Smith, World Vision Press.
• Kiiti, N., Amalemba, W.  (2003). Guiding Hands and the Power of the Video Camera: A Story from Kenya.  In the book Participatory Video: Images that Transform and Empower by Shirley White, Sage Publications.
• Eke, A., Peersman, G., Semaan, S., Hylton, K., Kiiti, N., Sweat, M. (2001). Acquisition and Review of Non-U.S.-Based HIV Risk Reduction Intervention Studies.  Journal of AIDS, 30, Supplement 1.
• Kiiti, N., Nielsen, E. (1999). The Advocate and the Facilitator: What’s the Difference?  In the book, The Art of Facilitating Participation: Releasing the Power of Grassroots Communication, edited by Shirley White, New Delhi: Sage Publications.