NAIROBI, Kenya – The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has appointed Geoffrey Monari as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective March 13, 2025.
Announcing the appointment on Thursday, HELB board chairperson Ekwee Ethuro expressed confidence in Monari’s leadership, citing his extensive experience in higher education financing.
“The Board is confident that Monari’s vast experience, leadership acumen, and deep understanding of the higher education financing landscape will provide the vision and leadership necessary to propel HELB to new heights,” Ethuro said in a statement.
Monari, who brings over 15 years of experience in senior management, will take over from interim CEO Mary Wachira Muchie.
Muchie has been holding the position since the departure of Charles Ringera, who completed his tenure at the end of 2023 after serving for over a decade.
Monari’s appointment comes at a time when university and college students have voiced growing frustrations over delayed loan disbursements, a key issue that has plagued the board in recent months.
President William Ruto, speaking in Dagoretti South on Wednesday, acknowledged the financial hurdles facing HELB and assured students that the government was actively working on solutions.
He stated that he had directed the Head of Public Service to expedite interventions, even joking that students should call him directly if their funds had not been credited by Friday.
Beyond resolving these immediate concerns, Monari will also be expected to oversee institutional restructuring, fintech optimisation, customer-focused leadership, human capital development, and corporate governance—a mandate outlined in the job advertisement when applications closed on December 17, 2024.
Monari is no stranger to HELB. Before his latest appointment, he served as the Chief Operations Officer at the board from 2016 to 2020, where he played a key role in strengthening debt management, student lending, and resource mobilisation.
Since 2020, he has been the founding CEO of the Universities Fund, an entity responsible for coordinating public university financing in Kenya.
His return to HELB positions him to leverage his experience in both student loan management and university funding to address the pressing financial concerns within the sector.
Monari holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
He has also undertaken executive leadership training, including the Senior Management Leadership Programme and the ongoing Global CEO Africa Programme at Strathmore Business School.
