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Wangari Njathi

Assistant Professor of Integrated Marketing Communication
Communication, Seaver College
CCB 259

Biography

Wangari Njathi, (Ph.D.), is an accomplished data-driven digital marketer and Chartered Marketer with a rich history of more than 10 years of multidisciplinary industry experience in Africa in building sustainable brands in a multi-cultural international setting. Seamlessly blending academia and industry practice, she has held a variety of senior management and consulting positions in the Tech (mobile phone and IT) Industry, renewable energy, non-profit organizations, start-ups, media, public relations, marketing, and advertising. Her notable expertise is in Marketing Communications, Brand Strategy and Management, Digital Marketing, Communications Strategy, Business Development, Budgeting, Investor Relations and Account Development. 

At Pepperdine University, she is an Assistant Professor of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in the Communication Division at Seaver College. Her research focuses on platform cultural production, digital creator economies, Artificial Intelligence, Internet/platform policy and governance, FinTech, mobile communication, digital economy, and ICT4D from an emerging markets perspective. Wangari is also a fellow of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG). 

Her work has been presented and appeared at top peer-reviewed journals, publications, and conferences, including Information, Communication & Society, New Media & Society, Association of Internet Researchers Selected Papers of Internet Research, National Communication Association, IT4Change, Microsoft Race & Tech Workshop, Global Perspectives on Platforms and Cultural Production, Development Studies Association conference, RightsCon, Mozilla Festival, International Association for Media and Communication Research, International Association for Media and Communication Research, International Communication Association and Rowman & Littlefield. In addition, her research has also been featured in African popular media outlets, such as The Standard, The Cable, Daily Nation, and Business Daily. She is the founder and host of TechOver Africa, a podcast that interrogates the rising digital economy in Africa. 

Education

  • PhD in Communication, Rhetoric and Digital Media, North Carolina State University

  • MA in Corporate Communication, Daystar University

  • Diploma, Associate Chartered Marketer (ACIM- United Kingdom)

  • BA in Journalism and Public Relations, Daystar University

 

Publications, Accepted

  • Njathi, A. (2024).  The Glamourized Divide: Issues for Instagram Platform Economy for Influencers in Emerging Markets. Routledge Publishers. In Global South Creator Cultures. Routledge Publishers
  • Njathi, A. (2024).  Politics of Monetizing Content Creation in Africa. In De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Cultures. De Gruyter 
  • Njathi, A. (2023). The Demand for Whiteness; Performing Whiteness to Cash out in Nairobi’s Instagram Economy. In Post45 Contemporaries cluster about influencer aesthetics 
  • Berube, D. M., Whitley, B., Bogomoletc, K, Njathi, A., Cuchiara, M. and Jones, J. L. (2023). Agriculture and Nanotechnology: National Infrastructure Readiness in the United States. Springer: Environment Systems and Decisions. 

Books

  • Njathi, A. & Watkins, B., (2024). Digital Marketing, PR and Communication Trends in Africa. Edited Book Collection. Routledge Publishers 

Book Chapters

  • Njathi, A. W (2024). Earning a Living on Instagram in Kenya. In Caribou Digital & Jonathan Donner (Eds.), The Platform Livelihoods Project (pp. 202-218). Farnham, Surrey, UK: Caribou Digital Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.cariboudigital.net/2023/12/platform-livelihoods-book/
  • Njathi, A. W., & Lee, N. (2021). Social Media Influencers in Africa: An Analysis of Instagram Content and Brand Endorsements. In Research Perspectives on Social Media Influencers and their Followers (pp. 91–109). Lexington Books. 

Peer-Reviewed Articles

  • E4E, Obafemi, F, Njathi, A (2023). Africa's Digital Future; Data Protection Frameworks. Contributions to the online consultations on the Global Digital Compact. United Nations. Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology
  • Njathi, A., & Wambui, R. (2022). “A Digital Patriarchal Bargain: Violence Against Women in Kenya”. Feminist Perspectives on Social Media Governance. InternetLab and IT for Change. 
  • de Souza e Silva A, Glover-Rijkse R, Njathi A, de Cunto Bueno D. Playful mobilities in the Global South: A study of Pokémon Go play in Rio de Janeiro and Nairobi. New Media & Society. June 2021. doi:10.1177/14614448211016400 
  • de Souza e Silva, A., Glover-Rijkse, Njathi, A., & de Cunto Bueno, D. (2021). Exploring the Material Conditions of Location-based Gameplay in the Global South, Information, Communication & Society, DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2021.1909098 
  • Sayo, P., Njathi, A, Jerono P. Rotich and Mose, P., (2020) Kenyan International Student’s Experiential Reflections on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Kenya Studies Review 8(2), 111-122 
  • Njathi, A. (2019). The Effects of Mobile Lending Apps on Bottom of the Pyramid Consumers in Kenya: A Case of Tala FinTech Company. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies. 3(8), 112 – 126. 

Peer Reviews

  • CRDM Symposium Proposals Review. CRDM Symposium 2019 - Dialog 2.0: Social Movements, Online Communication, and Transformation 
  • 2022 Ebony Harlem Awards Nominee, Graduate student. North Carolina State University 
  • 2022 Chancellor’s Creating Community Nominee. North Carolina State University 
  • 2020 Outstanding Graduate Teacher. Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching.  North Carolina State University 
  • Top Student (2nd runners-up) Emerging Scholar Award, 12th Kenya Scholars and Studies Association. Atlanta, United States
  • 2019 - 22 Several Travel Awards, CRDM Program. North Carolina State University 
  • 2018 - 19 Graduate Fellowship, NC State University 
  • 2018-2022 Graduate Student Support Plan (GSSP) Graduate Student Support Plan (GSSP), NC State University

Conference Proceedings and Presentations

  • Njathi, A. (2024). “A stab at Afro-pessimism by Nairobi Digital Content Creators”. Everyday Forms of Digital Activism and Resistance: An International Symposium. Annenberg School for Communication. Center on Digital Culture and Society. Pennsylvania State University. April, 2024
  • Njathi, A., Fischbach, S. (2024). AI in the Integrated Marketing Communication Classroom: Practical Application of User-Driven Marketing Campaigns. Marketing Educators Conference, Reno, Nevada, April 2024
  • Fischbach, S., & Njathi, A., (2024). AI in the Integrated Marketing Communication Classroom: Practical Application of User-Driven Marketing Campaigns. AMA International Collegiate Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 2024
  • Njathi, A., & Wambui, R. (2023). “A Digital Patriarchal Bargain: Violence Against Women in Kenya”. User Safety and Accessibility in Platform and Product Development. RightsCon Costa Rica (June 5-8, 2023) 
  • Njathi, A. (2023). “A stab at Afro-pessimism by Nairobi Digital Content Creators”. The Power of Community: Afro-Diasporic Worldbuilding and a Sustainable Futurity.”Black Research Symposium. NC State University. March, 2023
  • Njathi., A (2023). "A Digital Patriarchal Bargain: Violence Against Women in Kenya,” Breaking Barriers: Agents of Change. Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Pennsylvania State University.  February, 2023
  • Njathi, A, & Wamanji, E, Twitter Activism and Crisis Management: A Case Study of KFC Kenya Franchise and Cytonn. NCA 108th Annual Convention Renewal and Transformation, New Orleans, US. November, 2022 
  • Njathi, A. (2022). Platforms & Tech and Platform Labor. Microsoft Race & Tech Workshop. The intersection of Race, Caste, Indigeneity, and Technology. A Microsoft Race and Tech Research Virtual Workshop, Microsoft August 3rd -4th, 2022 
  • Njathi, A. (2022) “The Glitz and Glamour Platform Economy: Issues for Instagram Monetization for Influencers in Emerging Markets”. Global Perspectives on Platforms and Cultural Production conference, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 31st-July 1st, 2022 
  • Njathi, A; Wambui, R. “The Overlooked Gender Bias on African digital platforms; A feminist Inquiry” Virtual Roundtable, Feminist Perspectives on Social Media Governance. InternetLab and IT for Change’s roundtable on Feminist Perspectives on Social Media Governance. IT for Change. Virtual, April 2022 
  • Njathi, A; Wambui, R. “Unconventional African Women Creatives In Internet Spaces”. Mozfest. Mozilla Festival. Virtual Discussion. March 10th, 2022 
  • Anna Klyueva, Prisca Ngondo, Njathi, Anne, and Katerina Tsetsura “The Landscape of Public Relations Practice and Research in Africa” panel presentation at NCA 107th Annual Convention Renewal and Transformation, Seattle, WA, US. Nov. 2021 
  • Njathi, A., (2021). Stretching Digital Colonialism from the North to the South; A Case Study of the Transnational Movement of the Tech Giants into Kenya. International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), Virtual. June 
  • Njathi, A., & Acheampong, T.Y. (2021). The growing presence of Chinese digital firms in key economic sectors of global south nations: A comparative study of Huawei’s impacts in Ghana and Kenya. UK Development Studies Association conference, University of East Anglia, UK. Virtual. June-July 
  • Njathi, A., (2021). Technological Utopianism; The Technocratic Approach to Technology for African Development; A case study of Kenya. Pondering African Futures Conference. The University of Pittsburgh. Virtual. May 
  • de Souza e Silva, A., Glover-Rijkse, Njathi, A., & de Cunto Bueno, D. (2021). Exploring the Material Conditions of Location-based Gameplay in the Global South. International Communication Association (ICA) conference, Mobile Communication Interest Group. Virtual. May. 
  • Adebayo, A., Njathi, A., Githinji, K., & Adbikoye, E. (2021). The proliferation of Covid-19 Infodemics: Crafty Health Advice and Fake Cure in Africa. The 6th Biennial D.C. Health Communication Conference (DCHC). Virtual. April 
  • Njathi, A., (2021). Digital Credit Apps in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria: A Comparative Study of Internet Use, Adoption and Financial Inclusion of Low-Income Households. PackPics, a Graduate Research Showcase. Graduate Student Association (GSA). North Carolina State University. Virtual. April 
  • de Souza e Silva, A. Glover-Rijkse, Njathi, A., and de Cunto Bueno, D. “Playful Mobilities in the Global South: A comparative study of Pokemon Go play between Rio de Janeiro and Nairobi. For the #AoiR2020 virtual conference, Dublin, Ireland. 2020 
  • Top Student (2nd runners up) – Njathi, A. (2019). The Effects of Mobile Lending Apps on Bottom of the Pyramid Consumers in Kenya: A Case of Tala FinTech Company. Kenya Scholars and Studies Association. Atlanta, Georgia. September 2019 
  • Panelist: Immigrant student's challenges, opportunities, and challenges in the USA. Kenya Scholars and Studies Association. Atlanta, Georgia. September 2019
  • Njathi, A. (2019). M-lending in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria: A Comparative Study of Internet Use, Adoption and Financial Inclusion of Low-Income Households. The 4th Annual AROCSA Conference.
  • African Scholars PhD Seminar. The 4th Annual AROCSA Conference. Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya. July 2019 

Invited Talks

  • Speaker (2021). Emerging Trends in Digital Marketing. Invitex -A Tech and Marketing Summit. Nairobi. Virtual. 
  • Moderator: Panel Discussion: Technology enabling financial inclusion for African Women In Tech (Kenya) Conference. Michael Joseph Centre, Nairobi Kenya. July 2019 
  • Guest Lecturer: Writing for social media and social media etiquette. COM 668X (Writing for Media), Daystar University. March 2018 
  • Panel Guest Speaker: wPOWER Partnership on Women’s Entrepreneurship in Renewables; Two moderated discussions featuring gender inclusion in the energy sector. December 2017 
  • AYURI Grant, $1500, with Katherine Delong, to work on a study that focuses on the Creator Economy in Los Angeles, California. Pepperdine University 
  • 2022 Platforms & Tech and Platform Labor. Microsoft Race & Tech Workshop
  • 2021 Conference grant, UK Development Studies Association (DSA) Conference
  • 2021 Fellowship, African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG)
  • 2020 COVID 19 education grant, Institute of International Education’s Emergency Student Fund (ESF)
       
  • Njathi, A., & Wambui, R. (2022, March). We Must Assess Place of Women Creatives in the Digital Space. Standard Newspaper, 18. 
  • Njathi, A. (2022, January). Kenya’s Hammer Blow to Loan Apps Long Overdue. Business Daily Newspaper, 18. 
  • Njathi, A., & Ede, T. (2021, November). Does Africa really need the internet? The Cable, Nigeria. 
  • Njathi, A. (2021, February). Why I'm keen on deconstructing Africa’s influencer marketing. Daily Nation Newspaper, Kenya.
  • Njathi, A. (Podcast Founder & Host). Series of interviews with experts and scholars on Africa’s digital economy, technological uptake, and all things tech. TechOver Africa. 

Courses

  • Direct and Digital Marketing
  • Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) 
  • Media Worldwide 
  • Introduction to Intercultural Communication