NAIROBI, Kenya – Centum Investment Company Group Chief Executive Officer Dr James Mworia has been appointed the founding Chief Executive Officer of Kenya’s National Infrastructure Fund.
The NIF Board announced that Mworia’s appointment followed a competitive recruitment process and will take effect on September 7, 2026.
Mworia has served as Centum’s Group CEO and Managing Director for 17 years and has more than 25 years of professional experience in investment management, enterprise development and capital allocation.
The board said his experience in building investment institutions, mobilising capital and bringing viable enterprises to market would support the fund’s mandate.
Under Section 4 of the National Infrastructure Fund Act, 2026, the fund is mandated to accelerate national infrastructure development, attract private and non-traditional financing and reduce reliance on public debt to fund commercially viable projects.
It will focus on infrastructure needs in transport and logistics, energy, information and communications technology, water and agriculture.
The fund is also expected to convert identified infrastructure needs into financeable projects and investable assets capable of attracting long-term domestic and international investors.
As founding CEO, Mworia will oversee the establishment of the fund’s organisational structure, staff, systems, governance, investment and risk-management frameworks.
His initial responsibilities will also include developing a pipeline of investable projects, mobilising co-investment capital and advancing priority projects through appraisal, structuring and execution.
“NIF will pursue this mandate with commercial discipline, professionalism, integrity, transparency and accountability,” the board said.
During his tenure at Centum, Mworia helped grow shareholders’ funds to approximately 11 times their opening value without raising additional equity at the holding-company level, according to the board.
He has also served on the boards of the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation.
Mworia holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi and is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. He is also a certified public accountant, chartered global management accountant and CFA charterholder.
The board said his record would help the fund deliver infrastructure, deepen Kenya’s capital markets, improve productivity and strengthen the country’s competitiveness.
