Mrs. Mary Mungai
Commissioner for Co-operative Development

Mrs. Mary Mungai was appointed as the first lady Commissioner for Co-operative Development in the State Department for Co-operatives, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Co-operative on 7th December 2016. She holds a Masters degree in Agricultural Economics with a bias in Agribusiness from Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana, USA. Her first degree is in Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Nairobi.

Mrs. Mungai’s first appointment was in the Ministry of Agriculture where she worked in various capacities as extension Co-ordinator in Kiambu County and Deputy Principal in AHITI-Kabete among others. She later joined the Ministry for Co-operative Development and Marketing in May 2005 as a Senior Assistant Commissioner and risen through the ranks to become the Commissioner. She has previously headed various divisions namely Projects, Marketing and New Ventures and Finance and Banking division. Some of the deliverables to her are credit in steering the development of Agribusiness Information Portal, Prudential Standard Software, Coopworks software, Sharia Compliant policy, and the on-going proposed Co-operative Share trading platform. She has also represented the Principal Secretary in various National Steering Committee meetings and Evaluation Missions notably projects funded by IFAD, World Bank, GTZ, SIDA, FAO and European Union and as a Director in CIC, KALRO and Certified Public Service Board.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Commissioner for Co-operative Development is the Head of the Technical Departments and the Chief Advisor on issues relating to Co-operative Legislation and related statutes, their interpretation, application and implications.

The officer is answerable to the Principal Secretary responsible for Co-operative Development and Marketing Function for executing the following duties:- effective co-ordination of activities of the co-operative technical services; overseeing formulation and implementation of policies and strategies related to the co-operative sector; setting long-term goals for the development of co-operative movement; developing linkages with development partners and other relevant stakeholders within the co-operative sector nationally, regionally and internationally; identifying and acting on impediments and constraints to the implementation of policies and programmes; securing and managing financial support for development plans; and designing well prioritized and competitive programmes.