Petroleum Engineer and Researcher
Program Manager
Extractives Baraza
Strathmore University
Laura Muniafu is a Petroleum Engineer and Researcher at the Extractives Baraza. She has worked in a variety of business environments and holds a wealth of experience in project management, stakeholder engagement, policy design etc.
She has participated in various fora and has an in-depth understanding of the oil and gas sector from both the technical and socio-economic aspects. Her presentations and publications include; Establishing A Holistic Environment Health and Safety (EHS) Strategy For Kenya’s Petroleum Value Chain, Local Content: How women can Plug into the Petroleum Value Chain, Oil Spill Response Preparedness, “Breaking Gender asset Barriers for East Africa’s Extractives Industry: Focus on Women Economic Empowerment through skills building, Entrepreneurship and Job Creation” etc.
She is passionate about the youth and has managed various projects that involve mainstreaming the youth in the extractives sector including Mining4i, Energy4i as part of the Youth in Extractives Programme which is aimed at youth empowerment and capacity building with the intention of incorporating young people in Africa into the extractives sector as agents for development through entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership and legal practice, among others.
Through her unique skillset she has trained a variety of non-technical teams on technical aspects of oil and gas to enable them understand the petroleum sector.
She has been nominated for the Power Gaga Awards for the Women in Energy Awards.
She is also the Founder of Kenyan Barrel a platform for creating awareness about the oil and gas sector.
She is passionate about local content and is always working to bridge the gender gaps within the energy and extractive sectors.