Ariana Issaias
Partner | Nairobi
Contact
T: +254 20 503 1600
E: ariana.issaias@bowmanslaw.com
Overview
Ariana Issaias is a Director in our Nairobi office and a member of the IP & Technology team.
Ariana’s practice areas and experience cover commercial and consumer intellectual property advice, data protection and technology background and regularly advises clients across all of these practice areas. She has a wealth of experience advising clients on both demand and supply side on a range of commercial agreements including supply of goods/services, e-commerce payment services and platform integration, fintech (including payment services, digital lending, digital banking, cryptoassets and block chain), software licensing and distribution, cloud services, agency and distribution, franchising, licensing, IP exploitation and brand enforcement, and confidentiality.
She assists clients with regulatory and enforcement advice and has worked extensively with clients in business and product transfers and dealing with the applicable registries to record and complete such transfers. Her specialist knowledge of distribution and licensing frameworks and IP exploitation, both intragroup and external, in technology, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, financial services, hospitality, retail, media, agricultural and service sectors is notable.
Ariana has been spearheading the firm’s emerging technologies thought leadership practice and has been at the fore of the developments of data protection and privacy and artificial intelligence in Kenya. She has considerable experience in advising both local and international clients. She has written and spoken extensively on topical issues around this area for local and international clients.
Experience
Ariana has advised:
- Jack Ma Foundation in connection with the roll-out of its flagship philanthropic programme in Africa focusing on supporting entrepreneurs across the continent. She has been involved in all aspects of the roll-out including platform documentation, media distribution agreements, partner agreements, sponsor arrangements, intellectual property protection, and data privacy advice since inception in 2019;
- Microsoft (MEA) on cloud security, AI regulation financial services and data protection regulation;
- Google on data privacy, cloud regulation and financial services regulation;
- Ilara Health, a medical technology company providing AI and tech-powered diagnostic equipment to peri-urban healthcare providers in relation to their data protection and privacy compliance requirements;
- Oxygen Hub LLC in relation to the roll-out of its transformative medical oxygen infrastructure franchise across SSA.
- A national retailer in data breach mitigation strategy, including incident advisory, data subject notification and regulator engagement.
- Advising a technology company in connection with the roll out of its cybersecurity product and understanding permissible access requests to data by governmental entities.
- Assisting Knight Frank Kenya with their data protection compliance, including provision of training and feedback sessions.
- Contract advisory to IX Africa, a leading data center and colocation facility.
- Advising a hotel owner in connection with its hotel management and franchise negotiations with the LUX hotel group.
Awards
- African Legal Awards recognized Ariana for Private Practice Rising Star in 2024.
- Chambers and Partners ranked Ariana in Band 3 for her work in Fintech (Kenya) in 2024.
- Ariana was recognised as an IP Rising Star by IP Stars (2024/2025).
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Qualifications
- LLB 2:1 (Hons) from the Manchester University.
- LPC Distinction BPP from the School of Law in London.
INSIGHTS
Overview
Ariana Issaias is a Director in our Nairobi office and a member of the IP & Technology team.
Ariana’s practice areas and experience cover commercial and consumer intellectual property advice, data protection and technology background and regularly advises clients across all of these practice areas. She has a wealth of experience advising clients on both demand and supply side on a range of commercial agreements including supply of goods/services, e-commerce payment services and platform integration, fintech (including payment services, digital lending, digital banking, cryptoassets and block chain), software licensing and distribution, cloud services, agency and distribution, franchising, licensing, IP exploitation and brand enforcement, and confidentiality.
She assists clients with regulatory and enforcement advice and has worked extensively with clients in business and product transfers and dealing with the applicable registries to record and complete such transfers. Her specialist knowledge of distribution and licensing frameworks and IP exploitation, both intragroup and external, in technology, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, financial services, hospitality, retail, media, agricultural and service sectors is notable.
Ariana has been spearheading the firm’s emerging technologies thought leadership practice and has been at the fore of the developments of data protection and privacy and artificial intelligence in Kenya. She has considerable experience in advising both local and international clients. She has written and spoken extensively on topical issues around this area for local and international clients.
Experience
Ariana has advised:
- Jack Ma Foundation in connection with the roll-out of its flagship philanthropic programme in Africa focusing on supporting entrepreneurs across the continent. She has been involved in all aspects of the roll-out including platform documentation, media distribution agreements, partner agreements, sponsor arrangements, intellectual property protection, and data privacy advice since inception in 2019;
- Microsoft (MEA) on cloud security, AI regulation financial services and data protection regulation;
- Google on data privacy, cloud regulation and financial services regulation;
- Ilara Health, a medical technology company providing AI and tech-powered diagnostic equipment to peri-urban healthcare providers in relation to their data protection and privacy compliance requirements;
- Oxygen Hub LLC in relation to the roll-out of its transformative medical oxygen infrastructure franchise across SSA.
- A national retailer in data breach mitigation strategy, including incident advisory, data subject notification and regulator engagement.
- Advising a technology company in connection with the roll out of its cybersecurity product and understanding permissible access requests to data by governmental entities.
- Assisting Knight Frank Kenya with their data protection compliance, including provision of training and feedback sessions.
- Contract advisory to IX Africa, a leading data center and colocation facility.
- Advising a hotel owner in connection with its hotel management and franchise negotiations with the LUX hotel group.
Awards
- African Legal Awards recognized Ariana for Private Practice Rising Star in 2024.
- Chambers and Partners ranked Ariana in Band 3 for her work in Fintech (Kenya) in 2024.
- Ariana was recognised as an IP Rising Star by IP Stars (2024/2025).
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