About Jamilla

Jamilla Okubo is a Kenyan financial consultant with more than 15 years of experience working across personal finance, consumer credit and financial services.

Born and raised in Kenya, Jamilla developed an interest in finance through seeing how differently individuals across the socio-economic spectrum and small businesses were affected by access to credit, banking services and financial information. She went on to study business and finance before beginning her career in the financial services sector.

During her career, Jamilla has worked with several financial institutions, including short term credit providers, small businesses and individual clients, with much of her work focused on consumer finance, responsible borrowing and financial planning. Her experience has given her particular insight into the challenges faced by households managing irregular income, unexpected expenses and short-term borrowing.

In her consulting work, Jamilla helps clients understand financial products and make more informed decisions about borrowing, budgeting and managing debt. She has also advised businesses on communicating financial information more clearly to consumers, particularly in areas where complicated terminology can make products unnecessarily difficult to understand.

Jamilla has a particular interest in Kenya’s rapidly evolving fintech landscape. The growth of mobile money, digital lending and smart credit has transformed access to financial services, but she believes greater access needs to be accompanied by better financial education and transparency, especially in schools, where a large proportion of her time is now devoted.

Outside her consulting work, Jamilla enjoys trail running with her two dogs, reading about African business and entrepreneurship, travelling across Africa and supporting initiatives that improve financial literacy among young adults and small-business owners.