Dr. Shenal Shah

Nationally sought after Functional Medicine Expert, who is the founder of the FIRST Functional and Integrative Medicine Clinic in Kenya and the larger East Africa, not just the first female – but the first physician overall. Her University education is exceptionally high including Cardiff University in the UK and Harvard Medical School in the USA. She has also previously won the prestigious Glaxo Wellcome Trust grant in UK.
Despite having opportunities overseas, money was not the founding factor for her decision to move to Kenya and start a clinic. It was led by a deeper calling to create a new model and innovate patient care within the industry – especially in Kenya where there is a lot to be desired when it comes to healthcare.
Being a minority in her field especially and as a woman in a developing country she has faced enormous challenges, including a lack of education and awareness from the greater population. This did not deter her determination and she is now successfully running a multi-doctor clinic in Nairobi. She started out in a humble office in the garden of her parents’ house and within a year grew the clinic to a 5 room facility. Within another year it has grown into a 14 room clinic that is buzzing with activity. This success has not gone unnoticed and she has appeared in the media several times and has been privileged to be invited at various organisations to give health and wellness talks. Her passion has also led to having meetings with the Ministry of Health of Kenya to ensure the benefits of Integrative and Functional medicine can become more accessible in the future to a larger population. She was also recognised at the International Congress for Integrative Health for speaking impromptu and coming up with health solutions for developing nations with various leading stakeholders in the Industry including the World Health Organisation.
As her role has evolved to being a new mother, her ambition is to provide the next generation with better healthcare at large with a strong focus on women and children.
(If you require any more information please e-mail me and let me know. As your annual conference is in Egypt I would be honoured to be a part of it as a representation of East Africa)