Al Kags is a marketing and communications expert, serial entrepreneur and consummate champion of government openness through data. His life embodies ‘big picture thinking’ and living for a higher purpose.
Al is the co-founder and the CEO of the Open Institute, an African organisation that works with governments and civil society organisations to promote open government and citizen engagement.
Primarily, Al works across sub-Saharan Africa but contributes to global open government movements. He sits on the Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD).
He has served asa member of the Global Open Data Working Group and the Global Open Data Initiative and was the co-chair of the Kenya OGP Working Group, chair of the Kenya Open Data Taskforce and the Kenya Open Government Initiative.
As a serial entrepreneur, he has founded and grown several successful businesses and he continues to invest his time and money in businesses that have a social impact.
Al is a Mandela Washington Fellow (2014) and was recognised as a New Generation African Leader (2013) – African Leadership Network among other recognitions. He was last year named in ‘Top 40 under 40 Kenyan Men’ by leading publication ‘Business Daily.’
Enjoy this episode about the difficult but necessary relationship between the private and public sectors.