Former gospel artist and presenter Esther Mwende Macharia was born in Ukunda Mombasa County.
Running one of the biggest radio shows on Radio Maisha, she is known as one of the most renowned radio presenters in Kenya.
Mwende Macharia (born 12th September 1986) is a Kenyan radio presenter on Radio Maisha, the 2nd most listened to a radio station in Kenya, and she hosts a show known as “Konnect”. She is known to be bold, sassy and passionate about radio. Radio Maisha pulls in a large audience and with Mwende’s natural charisma the show Konnect has become one of the most popular shows in the country. She is also a TV presenter on KTN. She has previously hosted a gospel show Tukuza between 2011 – 2013. Mwende launched her TV talk show in September on KTN. The show gives her the ability to host live TV events and her most recent being Pepea na Finje campaign 2018 and the 2bonge show on KTN 2017.
Early Life and Education
Mwende Macharia was born in and grew up in Ukunda, Kwale County. She went to Mwakigwena primary school located in Ukunda Diani and Matuga Girls Secondary School. She later attended Patana Institute for her Diploma in Journalism studies, later on, she enrolled for a degree in Electronic Media at Daystar University but never quite finished.
Mwende Macharia Career
Mwende began her journalism career in 2007 as an intern at Baraka Fm in Mombasa. She later left the mainstream media to be an MC where she was deemed one of the best MC’s in Mombasa.
In 2009 she made her debut on the radio where she worked at Seikh Fm which is owned by Tony Msalame. Mwende is a renowned vibrant, energetic and engaging event Host/MC for both corporate and social events. Her mastery finesse in event hosting did not go untapped.
In 2016 she was the official MC for the Always Keeping Girls in School campaign courtesy of P&G. She has worked with Blaze Kenya (Safaricom) as the on-ground voice for the youth in Nakuru, Mombasa, and Nairobi. She has also worked with Turkish Airlines where she hosted the 2nd anniversary of the Turkish Airlines Agency Awards at Sarova Hotel.
Mwende is a social media influencer in Kenya with a total reach of approximately 451,400 followers, across various online platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
She hosts her own Youtube Channel named Esther Mwende Macharia and also liaises with Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Multi-choice, Xiaomi Phones, P&G Kenya, Turkish Airlines, Blaze, Fastjet, Safaricom and Fuzu, CocaCola, Emirates Shoe Collection through these platforms.
Mwende is a zealous self-empowerment speaker who currently works in her capacity as the Founder of The Champs Foundation, an organization that is involved in creating awareness on matters of self-empowerment to the youth 15-24 years. She is running a campaign dubbed Najijua Najiamini in which she organizes visits to institutions (both high school and colleges) and even corporate companies to give talks on self-empowerment.
Her talk targets matter Self Esteem, Self-awareness, Self-confidence, Self-development among others. Some of the institutions that have benefited from this program include, Mount Kenya University, Machakos Girls, Multi Media University, Mwakigwena Primary school in Diani, Matuga Girls high school Kwale County, Ruai Girls, Nairobi School of Business Studies, Noonkopir Girls, Zetech College, and Pitch Face Marketing.
ALSO, READ: Dennis Okari Biography, Age, Divorce, Child, Career, Facts
Motherhood
Mwende Macharia is a single mother to Champion Blessing.
15 Things to Know About Mwende Macharia
Esther Mwende Macharia is one of the most bankable media personalities in the country today. Besides hosting one of the most popular radio shows, Mwenda also boasts bags of experience on television.
She shared her story with Nation:
- In your own words, who is Mwende Macharia?
A bold, ambitious, interesting, fun and sassy media personality. - What’s one thing that people don’t know about you?
That I am very kind-hearted. - How did you kick off in the media industry?
I was a volunteer at a rehabilitation center called Teens Watch while in college in Diani. I would also get Emceeing gigs then, and this made me realize that I could do well on TV or radio. I started doing voiceovers while I was on my internship, and I finally got my first job on Sheki FM in May of 2009. - How would you describe your journey since then?
Very progressive, but not without challenges. I have had to put in a lot of work and time. - Tell us more about Champs Foundation.
It is very close to my heart because it is born out of one of my passions. I speak to almost 1.5 million young people every day through my show, and I realized that there is a gap. Many of them desire to succeed, but don’t know how to harness it from within them. We started pushing a campaign called ‘Najijua, Najiamini’ to make the youth more self-aware and self-identified. With that comes self-development, where we visit different schools to talk about. The foundation’s idea came in 2012, but we finally started in 2015 at my former primary and high school back in Diani. - What of Mwende’s Protégé?
It’s an idea that came around as I was looking for a publicist last July. I thought about having an intern who would come and learn about the media industry from my nine years of experience. We spread the word, had applications sent and narrowed down to an intern every three months. I felt it was good to share my experience with young people, and this should be done in other industries as well. Emily Mbai, a radio and TV personality, is Mwende’s first protégé. - Did you ever imagine you would be where you are today?
I always knew I would be great, but not to what magnitude. (Laughs). I love my hometown Diani and never planned on leaving. I was quite scared when I got a job in Nairobi just after working there for a year. But I reminded myself of my dreams and never wasted any time. I grew with it. - Who would you say are the greatest influences in your life?
My dad. Most of what you see in me, like my boldness, he made sure to instill in me. Other media personalities that I grew up watching have influenced me as well: Tyra Banks, Oprah Winfrey, and Caroline Mutoko. - Greatest career achievements?
It has to be the fact that I host one of the most listened to show on afternoon radio in Kenya. We have many radio stations in Kenya at the moment, and being able to get to be the first is not easy. - If you weren’t a media personality today, what would you be?
Nothing else honestly. (Laughs). This has been my dream while growing up. I think I was born for this. - Where do you see yourself in five years?
I want to see my brand having grown out into the continent, and maybe even the world. Yes, I am just a media personality, but I am also purposeful. I believe that God has called me to empower young people through media. I would love to work with organizations and to reach out to people in the same way. - What’s a day in your life like?
I have to be up early to personally ensure that my son gets into the school bus. I then go into my room, pray and read something. I eat breakfast after and head to work to prepare for the show. Currently, we are planning on a TV show, so we have meetings with the producer right after the radio show. The protégé has to accompany me to all these meetings. I then head home to spend time with my son if I have no events to attend in the evening. - How do you prepare for a show?
My co-host and I have to be informed of all trending issues to do with the youth on that particular day. We also have to confirm guests for the show, as well as go to different sites. - How would you describe your experience so far?
It has been amazing and very enlightening. I have been able to learn a lot, as well as create content. It has been eye-opening and mind-opening to bigger things in the industry which I never knew existed. - What do you hope for after the mentorship?
To have grown my skill set, confidence, network, and be a different and better presenter than I was. I want to take my career to the next level. I have already started working on a project with Standard Digital which will be launching soon.
