Fukunda Mbaru is the son of billionaire investment banker and former Nairobi County gubernatorial aspirant Jimnah Mbaru. He is a well-educated and travelled economist, having served in various capacities across Africa.
Despite his father being a revered player in Kenya’s business community and a member of the idolised ‘Rwathia Billionaires Club’, Fukunda is enjoying career success away from his father’s wing.
Here is his academic and career milestones as compiled and narrated by WoK.
Background & Education
In his 2004 book Transforming Africa: New Pathways to Development: Selected Speeches and Papers on Financial Reform and Development, Jimnah Mbaru reveals that he named his son after Takeo Fukunda, a Japanese Prime Minister in the 80s who he considers his role model.
“His strength of character and determination to achieve his objectives, irrespective of numerous obstacles placed on his way during his political career was a source of encouragement to me. I named my son after him,” the NSE honcho wrote.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Fukunda Mbaru holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick in the UK.
He also holds a Master of Science (MS) in Real Estate Investment from Bayes Business School, MS in Urban Planning from Columbia University, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Columbia Business School
Career
Fukunda Mbaru began his career as a Cross Divisional Investment Banking Analyst at his father’s Dyer & Blair Investment Bank in 2006. He held the role till 2007.
He joined Morgan Stanely in Johannesburg South Africa in 2008 and served as an Investment Banking Analyst for four months. He proceeded to Centum Investments in March 2009 where he served as an Analyst in the office of the Managing Director (Real Estate Division).
Fukunda Mbaru returned to Johannesburg in 2010 as an Investment Banking Analyst covering Sub-Saharan Africa at J.P. Morgan. He also covered Lagos, Nigeria.
He was later promoted to the role of Investment Banking Associate and served at J.P Morgan till his departure in 2014.
Fukunda joined Actis, a multi-billion-dollar investment firm with markets across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, in 2016, as an associate in the Johannesburg office. He was promoted to the position of principal, a role he held till 2020.
From 2015 to 2023, he served as a non-executive director at Occidental Insurance Company Limited (Kenya).
Between June and December 2023, Fukunda Mbaru, interned at the Brooklyn Museum – New York, an organization that aims to bring people together through art and experiences that inspire celebration, compassion, courage, and the will to act.
As a summer strategy associate, one of Fukunda’s key roles was to create a cross divisional capital project financing management strategy and model to evaluate and support future capital projects at the Brooklyn Museum.
He also worked on developing robust internal financial reporting dashboards for the museum’s leadership.
