It is beyond belief that 17 years have passed since we published the inaugural edition of Top 40 Under 40 Women.
This was one year following the March 2007 launch of Business Daily as Kenya’s foremost daily business paper.
We have indeed seen the magic that shining the light on young and progressive women—in whatever segment of the economy—can do.
Hundreds of the women who made it to this roll of honour in the past years have gone ahead to shape the agenda of the nation beyond boardrooms.
This includes the chief executive of MTN Uganda, Sylvia Mulinge, Deloitte East Africa CEO (Anne Muraya) and Koki Mutungi, the first female in Africa to be certified as a captain of the Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' plane.
With the paper turning 18 years, and an adult, a new shift beckoned in showcasing the innovation, ambition and success of the stellar women.
This year, the judges placed greater emphasis on women whose ideas, actions and work demonstrably impacted the nation.
A close look at this year’s profile reveals the stable rise of smart women who can stand on their own and make an impact in segments of the economy that are male-dominated and in advanced nations like the United Kingdom and the US.
It includes a procurement specialist turning agricultural waste into cheaper organic fertiliser and another changing how to access emergency medical services in low-income families through an Uber-style app for ordering ambulances.
In the diaspora, Kenyans are making a mark in the field of nuclear fusion and aerospace engineering.
As has been the tradition of the Top 40 Under 40 awards, the selection process kept the spirit of the survey of unearthing unknown gems across industries and resisting the appeal of repeating the best known.
It took the judges long hours to sift through more than 1,000 entries, interrogating at least 187 of them, probing their backgrounds, and comparing each with competing candidates to make the final list.
At the end of it, the final product tells us about the forces shaping Kenyans' lives.
