Veronicah Matali

Biography

Veronicah Ndinda Matali

Intellectual property strategist/consultant

Veronicah is the founder of Veronicah intellectual property consultants ,incorporated in 2009 to exploit a clear gap in the Kenyan market. It was set up as a consultancy firm in IP law and service provider with focus on brand protection management, anti-counterfeiting [criminal/civil enforcement strategies ], supply chain integrity , anti-illicit trade and market research on parallel trade.

In the anti-counterfeiting arena, Veronicah has vast experience in-

•        Developing, coordinating and running anti-counterfeiting programs on contractual basis on behalf of multi-national organizations  to safeguard consumers and brands good will against the risks posed by counterfeits and other illicit trade schemes.

•        Developed anti-counterfeiting strategies that led to notable results such as raids, seizure and destruction of seized counterfeit goods worth millions of shillings by the Government officials or court officers .Repeatedly Veronica's efforts have resulted in counterfeiters being incarcerated.

•        Case management of criminal counterfeiting proceedings in all levels of courts in Kenya. Its Veronicah’s firm understanding of Anti-counterfeiting laws in Kenya and court trials of criminal Intellectual property infringement cases and what it takes to effectively secure conviction of counterfeiters that enable her to develop and pursue successful anti-counterfeiting strategies to achieve her clients goals and objectives.

 •        Strategic targeting of major sources and distributors of infringing products . with assistance of hired and managed undercover investigators she has managed to identify and collect evidence of infringing activities against our clients’ brands.

•        Based on her strategies, brands have increased the value of their brands as well as revenue from sales of genuine products in the market. One great success before covid period hit the Kenyan economy, she developed an anti-counterfeiting program for a multinational organization from scratch and  the multi-million-dollar organization sales increased to 300% within a period of 24 months.

•         Multi-jurisdictional seizures of infringing products. Veronicah was proactively involved in coordinating Kenya Law Enforcement Agency to seize   a container in situ containing counterfeits goods that were deceptively similar to her client’s genuine products. During the interrogation procedure the importer in question confessed to Kenyan Law Enforcement Agency information that would assist in tracing the manufacturer and veronicah managed to gather information and evidence shared with the brand owner . Based on that intel the brand owner was able unearth an international syndicate operating in China after identical infringing products as those Veronicah with the aid of Law Enforcement Agency seized in Kenya were seized by Chinese customs in China .The importer of the counterfeit goods in this case was found guilty and currently serving 3 years jail term.

•        Runs various international and local test purchase programs [including online purchases] for many international brands, she gathers evidence that is used in both criminal and civil litigation in different jurisdictions by brand owners.

•        She provides her clients with Law Enforcement liaison support in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda ,which includes organizing and conducting brand identification training on behalf of her multi -national clients.

•        Constantly gathering intelligence and evidence from market surveys and online  ,grey market ,diversion and leaks from supply chains so that the appropriate decisions and actions can be taken by our clients.

•        Has testified in courts of laws in Kenya and other jurisdictions virtually on behalf of brand owners be it criminal or civil case as an expert or state witness.

Veronicah has law degree with Hons and completed her Master’s In Business Administration Specializing in Strategic Management and currently pursuing Certification as a fraud Examiner [CFE Kasneb].Equipped with skills and knowledge on Business Management and experience ,she is in a position to develop cost –effective Anti-counterfeiting for different organizations . 

She is Responsive ,accountable and results oriented