James Mworia has been appointed the first chief executive of Kenya’s National Infrastructure Fund, putting the former Centum boss at the centre of the government’s plan to create a new way of financing major infrastructure projects.
The NIF board announced the appointment today Monday, September 7, saying Mworia was selected through a competitive recruitment process. His appointment took effect immediately.
The move comes less than two months after Mworia joined the fund’s inaugural board. Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi appointed him and five others to three-year terms on July 8.
Mworia now leaves the board role to take on the executive position as the fund begins building its operations, investment structures and pipeline of projects.
The board said it was confident his experience in investment and business leadership would help establish the institution.
“The Board is confident that Dr Mworia’s record of building institutions and enterprises, mobilising capital and bringing investments to market” will help the fund deliver its mandate, it said.
The National Infrastructure Fund was created under the National Infrastructure Fund Act, 2026. Its purpose is to provide another route for financing major projects, with an emphasis on attracting private capital and reducing dependence on public borrowing for commercially viable infrastructure.
The government has set an ambition for the fund to mobilise as much as Sh5 trillion for infrastructure investment. The model is intended to bring together public resources and private financing for projects in areas including transport, energy, ICT, water and agriculture.
The scale of that ambition means Mworia will have to build more than an investment vehicle. He will also be responsible for putting in place the institution, people and systems needed to assess projects and attract investors.
That work is already under way. The fund is recruiting senior officials, including a chief investment officer, chief engineer, chief financial and operating officer, chief legal and risk officer and a senior manager for strategic and financial communications.
Mworia brings more than two decades of experience in investment management and corporate leadership. He spent 17 years as chief executive and managing director of Centum Investment Company.
His appointment also places an experienced private-sector investment executive at the helm of an institution whose success will depend heavily on its ability to attract private money into public infrastructure.
The fund’s challenge will be to turn that ambition into viable projects while maintaining strong governance and protecting public resources. Its progress will be closely watched as Kenya seeks alternatives to traditional borrowing at a time of pressure on public finances.
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