James Mworia: Meet founding CEO of Kenya’s National Infrastructure Fund

Dr James Mworia has been appointed the founding Chief Executive Officer of Kenya’s National Infrastructure Fund (NIF), the new institution established to change how the country finances large infrastructure projects.

The NIF Board announced Monday, September 7, that Mworia had secured the position through a competitive recruitment process, with his appointment taking effect immediately.

His appointment comes shortly after he joined the NIF Board as an independent director in July and puts one of Kenya's longest-serving investment executives at the centre of efforts to build the new state-backed investment institution.

Mworia's immediate task will be to build NIF from the ground up, including establishing its organisation, workforce, systems and institutional culture while putting in place governance, investment and risk-management frameworks.

The fund will also need to develop a pipeline of projects capable of attracting investment, mobilise co-investment capital and take priority projects through appraisal, structuring and execution.

The NIF was established under the National Infrastructure Fund Act, 2026, which President William Ruto assented to in March. Parliament passed the legislation as part of efforts to create an alternative, investment-led approach to financing major infrastructure projects.

Under Section 4 of the Act, the fund is mandated to accelerate national infrastructure development, mobilise private and other non-traditional sources of infrastructure finance and reduce reliance on public debt for commercially viable infrastructure.

Its areas of focus include transport and logistics, energy, ICT, water and agriculture.

Rather than relying primarily on government borrowing, NIF is intended to turn infrastructure needs into bankable projects and investable assets, attract domestic and international capital and ultimately recycle capital from successful investments into new projects.

Parliament's consideration of the legislation envisaged the fund mobilising nearly Sh5 trillion over a decade, with the broader objective of shifting infrastructure financing away from a debt-driven model.

Mworia arrives at NIF with more than 25 years of experience in investment management, enterprise development and capital allocation.

He has served as Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Centum Investment Company Plc for 17 years, where he built a reputation for investment origination, structuring, capital mobilisation, portfolio management and exits.

The NIF Board said his experience in building investment institutions and enterprises, mobilising third-party capital and bringing investments to market closely matches the fund's mandate.

During his Centum tenure, Mworia oversaw investments and developments across several sectors and was involved in major transactions and projects, including the development of Two Rivers in Nairobi and investments in financial services, manufacturing and other sectors.

After 17 years at the top, his departure marks the end of one of the longest CEO tenures among major Kenyan listed companies. Centum has since appointed Thomas Omondi-Achola as Acting Group CEO following Mworia's move to NIF.

The new role also places Mworia in a position where his private-sector investment experience will be applied to a national development mandate.

The NIF says its model will cover the entire investment lifecycle — from identifying national infrastructure priorities and turning them into bankable projects, through development and scaling, to eventual transition into long-term ownership or capital markets.

Successful exits would then allow capital to be recycled into other infrastructure projects.

The NIF Board said it expects Mworia's track record in institution-building, capital mobilisation and investment execution to help deliver critical infrastructure, deepen Kenya's capital markets, improve productivity and strengthen the country's competitiveness.

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 charter holder.