Mary Njeri Kinyanjui
Independent Scholar
Dr. Mary Njeri Kinyanjui, a distinguished scholar-activist, aims to decolonize development studies. A PhD graduate of Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, she has held academic positions at the Institute for Development Studies (University of Nairobi), Mount Holyoke College, and the Five College Women’s Study Center.
Her research redefines the "informal economy" by centering the lives of ordinary women and indigenous economic systems. As a leading expert on the Utu-Ubuntu economy, she challenges Western-centric development paradigms through concepts such as Fireside Knowledge and Utu Feminism. Her decolonial praxis is uniquely interdisciplinary, weaving together non-traditional methodologies—including folklore, pop music, gospel music, graffiti, and business names—to analyze the intersections of politics, economics, and social resilience.
She is a prolific author. Beyond academia, she is the founder of Beyond Knowledge Horizon, a community empowerment organization. She also produces content for Mary Njeri Media's YouTube channel for community resilience and transformative social change.
Talk Information:
Beyond Critique: The Utu-Ubuntu Business Model as a Transformative Framework for Decolonizing African Development
August 7, 2026 | 9:00 AM
Decolonization is beyond the critique of coloniality and colonization. Transformative frameworks for decolonizing development are required. African markets offer a decolonial strategy rooted in Utu (Humanity) and Ubuntu (co-sharing and solidarity). The African markets are a repository of indigenous knowledge that can help not only redefine African development but also global economic paradigms. The model operates as a social agent for change, utilizing kinship, radical courage and determination, resource pooling, and reciprocal trust to sustain resilient economic systems. It offers a sustainable path for African development that honors local histories, logic, and values and reclaims African identity from coloniality and colonialism. Integrating the Utu-Ubuntu ethos into broader developmental policies is essential for creating an inclusive economic future and for shifting the African gaze from Western-centric benchmarks to indigenous organizational structures based on Utu and Ubuntu.