SPEAKERS

Erastus Njuki Ndugire is a political economist who has vast experience working with SMEs and innovative investment interests in cities and communities. He has special interest in the creation and deployment of sustainable urban investments through engagement with private sector entities.

Between 2006 and 2010, he worked with private medical practitioner SMEs from Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and Peru specializing in Radiology and was an investment analyst and programme manager with the Kinema Street group of SMEs in Kyoto, Japan.

After stints in both Ecuador and Japan, he helped set up an incubation hub @ilabAfrica – which is a Centre of Excellence in ICT Innovation and Development at Strathmore University. He also worked with innovators at the Ushahidi crowdsourcing platform, thereby helping setting up over 20 investment start-ups by young entrepreneurs in Africa.

In UN-Habitat, Erastus has led the team that conceptualised and established the Capital Advisory Platform in 2018 that has now evolved into the Cities Investment Facility. This Facility is a multi-stakeholder and partner-driven initiative focused on unlocking institutional and commercial capital to finance sustainable transformative and financeable development projects in cities and communities.

Erastus holds a Masters’ in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and is fluent in Arabic, English, Spanish and French.