Career hits and misses: What 2024 taught us about growth, failure and the future
One of Ms Ndenya's career hits in 2024 was graduating her international Masters in Environment, Development & Sustainability from Chulalongkorn University.
As we set our sights on 2025, it's time to hit the reset button and shift gears in our careers. Reflecting on our 2024 wins and setbacks isn't just about looking back—it's about unlocking lessons that can catapult us to new heights.
Waihiga Muturi, Creator of Opportunities at Let's Create Africa
For Mr Muturi, his 2024 career hits were Let's Create Africa partnering with over 67 new organisations empowering underserved communities across Africa amplifying their own voices on their issues, changes and implementation work they are doing and empowering them both financially and socially.
Another hit was dismantling stereotypical narratives surrounding African development. "I spoke on engagements, workshops, and made media appearances which sparked conversations about fostering a more equitable and human-centred approach to progress."
Also, Mr Muturi trained and mentored emerging social entrepreneurs. He says, "Witnessing their passion translate into actionable solutions for gender equality, climate change, and grassroots advocacy fills me with immense hope."
However, his career misses for 2024 were not saying No when he was overstretched. "As a result, I compromised on the quality of projects but in 2025, I'm learning how to prioritise and delegate effectively."
Ms Nelly Ndenya, is a Sustainability and Climate Finance expert.
Additionally, securing funding for some initiatives was tougher than he had anticipated. "I also lost a good project deal because of blindly trusting a partner accused of fraud. Now, I'm doing my due diligence," he adds.
Nelly Ndenya, Sustainability and Climate Finance expert
One of Ms Ndenya's career hits in 2024 was graduating her international Masters in Environment, Development & Sustainability from Chulalongkorn University.
She also recommended, published and presented seven sustainable living policies for foreigners in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) using the United Nations Environmental Programme Sustainable University Framework, at the International Conference on Green Sustainable Innovation 2024 (ICGSI) held in Bangkok, Thailand.
"I also obtained a certification in Climate Finance by the CFA institute. I was a judge for the Young African Leadership Initiative (Yali) Regional Leadership East Africa Cohort 60 Design Challenge where I evaluated nine promising innovators from nine countries across Africa," she adds.
Ms Ndenya was also part of an exclusive Futures Lab seminar, ‘Exploring the Role of Indigenous and Local Knowledge, Values and Actions toward a Just and Sustainable Future’ hosted by Chulalongkorn University and UNESCO Chair on Resource Governance and Futures Literacy.
She shares that insights from the discussion were incorporated in the 'Pact for the Future' which was deliberated and endorsed at the UN 'Summit of the Future,' held at the United Nations in New York City from September 22-23, 2024.
Waihiga Muturi is a Creator of Opportunities at Let's Create Africa.
Photo credit: Pool
Additionally, Ms Ndenya represented Chulalongkorn University Graduate School in the Inter-Doctoral Seminar on Sustainable Solutions for a Better Future, held at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT).
While she had her wins, Ms Ndenya shares her career miss was not finding a job in Kenya after coming back. "My prospects are in Carbon Markets, Climate Action, Finance, Projects and Policy, or Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) fields. I'm currently doing a specialised training program meon ESG and Carbon Trading at Cambridge University and I'll be done by February."
Additionally, in the new year, Ms Ndenya plans on kicking off her consultancy firm that deals with Climate Finance, Sustainability Branding, ESG, and Scholarships.
"I intend on beginning campus and high school tours that will advocate for sustainability careers and scholarships (where to find, how to apply, documents needed among others)," she says.
Nelson Komba, a Communications, Alumni and Mentorship Manager at Generation Kenya
In 2024, one of Mr Komba's hits was launching Generation Kenya's website. "I got a huge opportunity to work with our global team to ensure that content is developed and its search engine optimisation (SEO) friendly. This exercise just opened a new door for me and the possibilities that are around user experience (UX) design in web design," he shares.
Additionally, Mr Komba says he got the opportunity to produce a short documentary focusing the lives of single deaf women who are empowered through the Generation Kenya training programme.
However, one of Mr Komba's misses was not growing the Generation Kenya's podcast. He says, "I missed the opportunity to produce more episodes, interact with our audience better and overall attract more listeners."
Also, Mr Komba shares that, even in terms of personal branding, he missed attaining his career goals. He had planned to increase his LinkedIn followers from 15,000 to 50,000 but only managed to hit 19,000.
Nelson Komba is a Communications, Alumni, and Mentorship Manager at Generation Kenya.
Photo credit: Pool
However, all is not lost. He says, "In 2025, I hope to find my niche a bit better on LinkedIn so as l can increase my followers based on the content that I create."
Mr Komba had also planned to increase his knowledge in strategy and planning, but the books he selected and the audio summaries seemed a bit superficial. This year, he shares, he will be more intentional about timeboxing his reading.
