Mr. Benard Chitunga is the Senior Officer- Partnerships, Donors and Special Projects at the African Development Bank Group Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) a key flagship whose mandate is to dent the existing USD 42 Billion access to finance gap for Women led and owned SMEs in Africa.
Mr. Chitunga leads partnerships and donors on the AFAWA Risk share mechanism implemented by the Africa Guarantee Fund, Gender Equality Trust Fund Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiatives. These are largest mobilized resources and efforts on the continent in unlocking private sector financing to Women led and owned SMEs in Africa. Mr. Chitunga is the secretariat to the two funds at the African Development Bank Group.
Mr. Chitunga holds an MBA from Monarch Business School and is a graduate of the European Commission/European University Institute Africa Postgraduate Leadership Programme. He is a member of the Board of Stewards of African Women Entrepreneurship Cooperative.
He is also a board member at inABLE.org, a nonprofit organization based in Nairobi, Kenya and Washington, D.C that provides disadvantaged African youths access to essential educational resources through its computer-labs-for-the-Blind program and inclusive digital accessibility advocacy. He is also the President and Chairperson of the Association of Kenyans Living in Cote d’Ivoire.