Belinda Odera is a distinguished commercial law practitioner and award-winning general counsel, recognised in the Legal 500 GC Powerlist East Africa 2024. With over 15 years of leadership experience across financial services, telecommunications, FMCG, and renewable energy sectors in Africa, she has built a reputation as a trusted legal and strategic advisor to boards, senior executives, and regulators.

Currently serving as general counsel at Serengeti Energy, Belinda leads the group’s legal function, providing strategic counsel on governance, risk management, mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring and regulatory compliance. She has been instrumental in driving the company’s corporate restructuring, leading high-value acquisitions, and establishing robust governance and enterprise risk frameworks in alignment with European Development Finance Institution standards.

Previously, as project lawyer at Industrial Promotion Services, the infrastructure and industrial development arm of the Aga Khan Fund for economic development, Belinda successfully managed complex cross-border transactions across eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Her achievements include leading negotiations for multi-jurisdictional acquisitions in the telecommunications and ICT infrastructure sectors, responsibility for all legal aspects of development of a USD650m hydropower project spanning Rwanda, DRC, and Burundi, and guiding strategic divestitures and corporate reorganisations.

Her earlier tenure as head of legal and compliance at the Nairobi Securities Exchange saw her champion regulatory reforms that introduced Kenya’s derivatives market and the M Akiba retail bond. She played a pivotal role in shaping Kenya’s Capital Markets Master Plan and driving innovations in financial instruments such as REITs, ETFs, and Green Bonds. Belinda began her career in private practice at Mboya Wangong’u & Waiyaki Advocates and gained early international experience as a legal projects analyst at Coca-Cola Africa in the UK, where she managed intellectual property protection and franchise agreements for 56 countries across the African market.

A member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK and the Law Society of Kenya, Belinda holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB Hons.) from the University of Sheffield and a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law. She is widely respected for her ability to navigate complex legal and regulatory environments, structure transformative transactions, and embed strong governance practices that drive sustainable growth.