Wang'ombe Kariuki

Wang'ombe Kariuki is a Senior Consultant at Bowmans in Nairobi, specialising in competition law, economic policy, and regulatory reform. He has over 30 years of experience in public service, having served as the first Director-General of the Competition Authority of Kenya from 2013 to 2023, where he was instrumental in developing and operationalising Kenya's modern competition law and enforcement regime.

Wang'ombe played a critical role in the development of the COMESA Competition Commission's regulatory capacity and currently serves as a Commissioner and Board Member guiding the operationalisation of the East African Competition Authority. He is the Founder Member and first Chairman of the African Competition Forum and has acted as a Policy Advisor to the World Bank Group on the World Development Report 2021. He has led enforcement actions resulting in substantial consumer savings across the construction, electricity, retail, and steel sectors, and increased financial inclusion by ordering the extinguishing of exclusive agreements in mobile money payments and reducing USSD charges by 90%.

Wang'ombe holds a BA (Economics & Business Studies) from Kenyatta University, a Certificate in Regulation from the London School of Economics, and has completed programmes in Economic Regulation and Competition at City University, London, and Anti-Monopoly Law and Policy at the Japan Fair Trade Commission. He is considered a Thought Leader in emerging competition regulation issues and has contributed to the International Competition Network's Steering Group Committee and the ICN Competition Agency Procedures Framework.