Dr Kelly Oluoch, 39

CEO

Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC)

Kelly is a man of action and results.

Under his leadership, KMTC has successfully negotiated with the Treasury and Parliamentary Committee on Health for students to receive Higher Education Loans Board funding to finance their studies.

Before this, needy students were dropping out of the school that operates 72 campuses in Kenya and hosts some 54,000 learners.

The student loan scheme has since received 10,000 new applicants, 6,740 of who are continuing students.

Dr Oluoch has steered the institution to get accreditation by the Kenya National Qualification Authority so its courses are recognised locally and internationally, which works to assure potential employers.

As part of making KMTC a recognisable brand globally, he is spearheading the search for foreign markets for its trainees with the initial cohort of 19 students having left for the UK in June this year.

He also led a process that resolved perennial challenges in the indexing and accreditation of students by the Nursing Council of Kenya who serves as the regulatory authority.

Having joined the KMTC in 2007 as a lecturer, the avid reader has risen through the ranks to be confirmed the CEO in April 2022. Before the appointment, he had served in the same post in acting capacity from August 2020.

Persistence, consistency and being purpose driven are virtues that have helped him stay focused aside from learning at the feet of mentors, some of who are members of the KMTC board.

Leadership, he believes is about collaboration rather than unhealthy competition and requires continuous learning to be able to adapt and survive in a dynamic environment.

He has a management coach as an additional person to provide continuous learning.

His morning routine involves reading and hitting the gym which he says makes him alert throughout the day.

Lynet Igadwah