CIF Secretariat

Erastus is a political economist who has vast experience working with SMEs and innovative start-ups. 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 software developer 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 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 to set up over 20 start-ups by young entrepreneurs in Africa.

In UN-Habitat, Erastus has been part of the team that conceptualized and established the Capital Advisory Platform in 2018 that has now evolved into the Cities Investment Facility.

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

Donah is a communications and finance professional having obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Finance specialization and currently undertaking a Master of Communications at United States International University (USIU) Africa. With over five years of professional experience, she has previously worked as a freelance writer, Relationship Officer at Guaranty Trust Bank Kenya and financial advisor at Prudential Life Assurance. She joined UN-Habitat in May 2023 as a sustainable finance intern before transitioning to Communications and Design Officer. Leveraging her joint finance and communications expertise, she is keen on advancing CIF’s mission of enhancing sustainable development in cities and is excited to support the sourcing and promotion of projects that positively impact communities.