Keynote Speaker
Private Capital Conference
Uncharted Routes to Success
Dr. James Mwangi
Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Equity Group Holdings Plc.
Dr. James Mwangi is one of Africa’s most renowned thought leaders, a disruptive entrepreneur and philanthropist. As a champion of sustainable socio-economic transformation, James believes that individuals and societies have the potential to solve their socio-economic challenges sustainably if they are given the opportunity and access to resources.
Raised by a hard-working widowed mother, Grace, among seven siblings, James witnessed at an early age the daily struggles in his family and community to eke a livelihood. This inspired him to better his circumstances and be the first in his village to attend university. He became determined to strive for inclusion, providing access to opportunities and empowering those around him to transform their lives. With this purpose in mind, James left a lucrative job in a leading bank in 1991 to join Equity Building Society, a technically insolvent financial institution ranked 66 out of 66, which had been threatened with closure by the regulator. He was driven by the vision of Equity to advocate for formal financial access to the 96% of the Kenyan population that was excluded and condemned as unbankable.
