Mary Maina

Mary Maina is a project management and development professional with more than a decade of experience designing, managing, and implementing complex, multi-stakeholder programs. She specializes in integrating women and youth empowerment into economic development, job creation, and entrepreneurship initiatives. Ms. Maina is one of the Technical Leads on the USAID-funded Hanga Akazi (Create Jobs) Activity, a program supporting Rwanda’s economic growth by increasing employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people and women across the food system.

Prior to joining RTI International in 2022, Ms. Maina co-founded Africa Cricket Foundation, where she designed programs that leveraged sports for development, economic empowerment, and mental wellness among adolescent boys and girls, athletes, and coaches. She also served as the Country Manager for Cricket Builds Hope, overseeing the implementation of sports-based empowerment programs focused on economic opportunities, leadership development, and entrepreneurship for women and youth. During that time, she also captained the Rwanda National Women’s Cricket Team.

Ms. Maina has held several leadership positions in both Rwandan and international organizations, including serving as an Executive Committee Member for the Commonwealth Youth Sports for Development and Peace, focusing on women and youth empowerment through sports. Additionally, she served in the Community Service Directorate for the Rotary Club of Kigali Golf and held key roles at AIESEC, where she led volunteerism and recruitment initiatives. She is highly skilled in program design, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, grant management, and partnership development.

Fluent in English, Swahili and Kinyarwanda, with strong proficiency in Kikuyu and Nyanja, Ms. Maina brings a dynamic, solutions-driven approach to program implementation, ensuring impactful and sustainable development outcomes.