PhD in Agribusiness Management and Organisation, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands

Value chains, food safety, social inclusion, women empowerment, producer organizations and cooperatives

Mercy Mwambi is a social scientist passionate about improving gender equality, women empowerment, technology adoption, and food safety and security in developing countries. Mercy finalised her PhD project at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands in 2020. Her PhD was under the program “Local and International business collaboration for productivity and QUality Improvement in Dairy chains in South East Asia and East Africa (LIQUID)”. In this program, Mercy contributed to understanding inclusive business models and food safety in dairy chains. She assessed the business models of producer organizations in Kenya and analysed the factors of inclusion of the poor and vulnerable groups, particularly women, in membership and decision making processes in producer organizations, as well as the effect of household and woman membership in producer organizations on women empowerment and the adoption of food safety measures. Previously, Mercy worked as a junior scientist with The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya, under the East African Dairy Development project. In this role, Mercy gained experience in topics of innovative extension approaches and collective action through her work in Kenya and Uganda. Apart from her professional experience, Mercy is a project organizer at the Institute of New Economic Thinking under the Young Scholars Cooperatives Working Group. Mercy has a strong multicultural background obtained through working and participating in workshops and conferences internationally.