- DoctoratePhD in Economics — University of Nairobi (2000)
- Master'sMSc Health Management, Economics, Planning & Policy — University of Leeds
- ExecutiveStrategic Management & Policy Analysis — Harvard University
- National HonourMoran of the Burning Spear (MBS) — Republic of Kenya, 2009
A career at the intersection of scholarship and service.
“Education and sound institutions remain the most powerful instruments for transforming societies.”
Professor Rachel K. Gesami is a distinguished African economist whose career spans more than forty years of scholarship, leadership, and public service. Her work bridges academia, government, and international institutions, positioning her among the leading voices in development economics and policy dialogue across the continent.
From her early contributions in Kenya’s public health sector, to her leadership at the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C., to her distinguished academic career shaping universities and research institutions across Africa, Professor Gesami has consistently demonstrated intellectual leadership and moral clarity.
Her scholarship has addressed critical themes in development economics, including healthcare financing, poverty reduction, financial governance, and institutional reform. She has supervised more than thirty master’s theses and several doctoral dissertations, with many of her former students now holding leadership positions in universities, governments, and international institutions.
At R&J Steytler, Professor Gesami leads the firm’s East Africa operations, bringing decades of institutional knowledge and a deep network across ministries of finance, central banks, and development partners to bear on strategic mandates across the region.