Geoffrey Ouma Mak'Ouma grew up in Karachuonyo, Homa Bay County, moving between four primary schools as his family struggled to meet school fees.

His father died in 1995 and his mother the following year, leaving him orphaned; he left school and survived by fishing on Lake Victoria, earning about KSh 80 a day, and by selling firewood and sugarcane.

Relatives later helped him re‑enter education; after topping an exam at Rawinji Primary, he gained admission to a school in Kisii but could not afford the fees, so he attended Gogo Secondary in Homa Bay and later Joel Omino High in Kisumu.

Although his grades qualified him for the University of Nairobi, financial constraints forced him to work as a restaurant cashier, then move to Mombasa where he and his brother hawked sweets and socks before taking construction jobs.

A three‑year teaching stint at a community school steered him toward further study; he earned a computer‑science diploma from Kenya Polytechnic in 2007, a BSc in Business Information Technology in 2010, a Master’s in Strategic Management, and a PhD from Kisii University in 2015.

After a brief independent bid for the Nyali parliamentary seat in 2017, Mak'Ouma completed his doctorate and relocated to the United States in 2019.

In the US he observed many Kenyan newcomers struggling with technology, prompting him to start offering AI and data‑science training that grew into a business.

He founded NaviSmart AI, a startup that builds AI‑powered tools to simplify immigration processes, now serving at least 1,800 users, while he continues to lecture and train professionals in artificial intelligence, data analytics and data science.