Steve Njenga - Founder and CEO, MoFund Africa. Photo courtesy
Stephen Njenga, Founder and CEO of MoFund Africa, will be among the key speakers at the 9th East Africa Philanthropy Network (EAPN) Conference, taking place from June 11–13, 2025, in Kigali, Rwanda.
The conference brings together funders, civil society actors, and corporate partners to examine how philanthropy can better respond to the region’s changing political and economic context.
The 2025 theme, “Agile Philanthropy: Adapting to Economic, Social, and Political Shifts,” reflects a growing demand for locally grounded, flexible funding models that are responsive to African priorities.
Academic Training
Njenga holds an MBA from the United States International University – Africa, with a concentration in Global, Social, and Sustainable Enterprises.
He completed the program in 2022, gaining advanced training in strategy and impact-focused leadership.
He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Nutrition from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), a background that informed his early work in agribusiness and inclusive markets.
Career in Development and Systems Strengthening
Stephen Njenga has spent over 15 years working across East and Southern Africa in both the nonprofit and private sectors.
His focus has been on supporting organizations that serve low-income communities to grow, raise funding, and deliver results.
He served as Country Director at Light for the World from 2019 to 2023.
There, he led economic inclusion programs, developed operational strategies, managed budgets, and coordinated partnerships.
His work involved aligning the organization’s goals with the needs of people with disabilities and other marginalized groups.
Earlier, at BoP Innovation Center (Bopinc), he held roles as Inclusive Agribusiness Specialist and Marketing and Distribution Expert.
His work focused on helping companies reach underserved markets with inclusive products and services.
He supported the development of value chains, branding strategies, and market-entry plans for enterprises aiming to serve bottom-of-the-pyramid consumers.
Njenga also worked briefly in the agribusiness sector as a Business Development Manager at Silent Valley Creameries, where he introduced sales and production strategies that helped expand output and improve efficiency.
Current Role at MoFund Africa
In 2023, Njenga founded MoFund Africa, a Nairobi-based organization that supports African-founded NGOs and social enterprises.
The organization works with locally led initiatives to strengthen systems, build fundraising capacity, and enhance visibility to funders.
MoFund Africa also serves donors and corporates by curating a portfolio of high-impact African organizations.
It uses digital tools to improve how funders identify, assess, and engage with local partners across the continent.
The organization’s hybrid approach combines technical support, digital infrastructure, and convening power to shift funding and influence closer to communities.
Relevance to EAPN 2025: Funding Local, Shifting Influence
Stephen Njenga’s work reflects the core themes of the 2025 East Africa Philanthropy Network Conference.
As the sector moves toward more equitable, community-led approaches, there is growing urgency to shift funding closer to the ground.
With a background spanning nonprofit leadership and market systems development, Njenga brings practical insight into how African-led organizations can gain visibility, access capital, and build stronger partnerships.
At MoFund Africa, he works to address critical gaps, such as donor dependency, limited funding for homegrown initiatives, and weak transparency in grant processes.
His experience positions him to contribute meaningfully to discussions at EAPN 2025, especially around identifying credible local partners and using digital tools to streamline funding.
These insights are especially relevant to stakeholders looking to support African institutions in ways that are transparent, data-informed, and rooted in local priorities.
Njenga’s contribution aligns with a core aim of the conference: strengthening philanthropy that is designed, led, and driven by African actors.
About the EAPN Conference
The East Africa Philanthropy Network Conference is held every every and is one of the region’s key platforms for dialogue on the future of giving.
Participants include foundations, community organizations, philanthropic networks, and the private sector.
The 2025 gathering will explore strategies for strengthening local ownership of development processes, fostering trust between funders and communities, and advancing tools that support greater accountability and impact.
