Connie Kekihembo
Chief Executive Officer
Architect of Structured Pathways to Capital
Connie Kekihembo is a distinguished African development leader and capital mobilization strategist with over 20 years of experience designing institutions that unlock sustainable financing for underserved entrepreneurs.
As Chief Executive Officer of Pamoja Resource Mobilisation Forum, she leads a bold systems-level initiative to redesign how capital flows to women entrepreneurs in Uganda and across Africa.
Pamoja is built on a simple conviction:
The financing gap facing women entrepreneurs is not a demand problem. It is a systems design problem.
Connie's leadership focuses on solving that design challenge.
From Advocacy to Capital Architecture
Over two decades, Connie has mobilized more than USD 100 million in development financing through partnerships with UN Women, the African Development Bank, USAID, DANIDA, NORAD, TradeMark Africa, and the World Bank.
As former CEO of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited (UWEAL), she led one of East Africa's largest women enterprise institutions, impacting over 6.3 million entrepreneurs. Her work spanned policy reform, trade integration, digital inclusion, and institutional governance.
USD 100M+
Development financing mobilized
6.3M+
Entrepreneurs impacted
20+ Years
Development leadership experience
Today at Pamoja, she is moving beyond programmatic empowerment to build structured capital infrastructure.
Designing the Pamoja Model
Under Connie's leadership, Pamoja is pioneering an ecosystem-based approach that starts with productivity — not loans.
Assets
Income
Data
Creditworthiness
Capital
Instead of asking women entrepreneurs to prove bankability upfront, Pamoja builds the pathway that makes them bankable.
The strategy is anchored in three integrated pillars:
1. Access to Capital
Structured asset-financing programs and investor matchmaking platforms that reduce perceived lending risk through verified performance data.
2. Enabling Environment
Formalization support, governance strengthening, financial literacy, and market integration to ensure businesses can absorb and scale capital sustainably.
3. Network & Opportunity Creation
District-level entrepreneur chapters, tiered growth clusters, capital forums, and blended finance partnerships that create trusted pathways for capital deployment.
Building Capital Infrastructure at Scale
Through Pamoja's 5-year strategic vision, Connie is leading the development of:
Organized national women entrepreneur networks
Digitally verifiable credit profiles
Portfolio-based investment aggregation
Blended finance and risk-sharing mechanisms
A scalable Women Capital Access Infrastructure
The goal is not isolated loans — but a self-reinforcing inclusion cycle that lowers risk, increases productivity, and attracts sustainable private capital.
Leadership Philosophy
Connie believes that sustainable economic inclusion requires:
Systems before subsidies
Building durable infrastructure that outlives donor cycles
Productivity before debt
Ensuring businesses generate income before accessing loans
Data before capital
Creating verified performance records that reduce lending risk
Networks before scale
Building trusted communities that enable collective growth
Her work centers on building durable institutions that outlive donor cycles and attract long-term capital participation.
Recognition
Her leadership has been recognized continentally, including:
African Women Awards
100 Most Influential People in Africa
Nalubale Medal
Government of Uganda
UN Women & COMESA
Leadership Recognition in Gender and Trade
Her Mission at Pamoja
To shift capital closer to women entrepreneurs — by building the systems that make them investable.
Collective Power. Sustainable Impact.