Ms. Deborah Kangai serves as an Assistant Lecturer in Tourism Management, Environmental Studies and Resources Development, Chuka University. She is currently a PhD Candidate in Management and Organisational Sciences at the Doctoral School of Economics and Management, University of Sopron, Hungary. As certified career counsellor, I help students and young professionals identify their interests, strengths, personality traits and skill alignment with future ready career pathways.
Community Service
She is a Co-founder of AscentChange International (ACI), alongside Sebastian Odunga, PhD Candidate (Management and Organisational Sciences), at the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Hungary, and Dr. Peter Osiako, a Lecturer at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology. ACI is an International Not-for-Profit organization doing mentorship, empowerment, and leadership development among youth in Africa. At ACI, we design initiatives that provide young Africans with access to education, life skills, career readiness, mental health support and environmental awareness. Our programs include the Kenya Secondary School Mentorship Training Program (Designed for teachers and students); Data Wise Systematic Improvement Systems (Designed for school leaders); and the Youth Seminar Series (Targeting students and general youth ecosystem). Our programs have impacted over 600 students across secondary schools, colleges, and universities in Kenya and over 30 teachers trained on CBE pedagogies.
Forty Under 40 Africa Awards
Deborah is winner of the 2026 Forty Under 40 Africa Awards Education (Mentorship) Category, AscentChange International-Kenya.
The Forty Under 40 Africa Awards (founded by Richard Abbey Junior) is a prestigious award that identifies, honors and celebrates the continent’s most influential and accomplished young business leaders under the age of 40 from a wide range of industries including agribusiness, education, technology, hospitality, law, and governance. It recognizes and celebrates emerging leaders under the age of 40 who demonstrate or impact personally and/ or professionally through their exceptional leadership, and identify projects and individual achievements that have remarkable returns in the community. The 5th edition of this award took place in Accra, Ghana from 9th to 14th February, 2026.
Young individuals under the age of 40, from over 20 African countries participated in the competitions in their respective categories. Deborah was among the 37 candidates shortlisted from Kenya. Education Category had 5 candidates from 4 African countries).
Participation process
The participation process begins with nominations. Entrants are nominated – by an individual him/herself, a company or by a third party. (In the case of Deborah, she was nominated by a third party in the Education Category). Nominees are then shortlisted. After which the candidates undergo stages of evaluation in a pre-determined criteria (Includes voting/public participation – 20% of the total score) and evaluation by the Jury (80% of the total score). More information about the Award can be found at: https://fortyunder40africa.com/
