Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM)
Christopher Kirigua served as the Director General of the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) at the National Treasury and Economic Planning for four years, up to November 2024. A seasoned investment banker, Christopher worked in the private sector for over 20 years, prior to joining the public service in December 2020. Chris has served on the Board of Safaricom Plc., as well as the Board of the Communications Authority of Kenya.
In his banking career, Christopher held a number of senior leadership roles, including Africa Regional Head of Strategy, Africa Regional Head of Public Sector and Developmental Organizations where he focused on arranging financing solutions for sovereigns across the continent. His last posting before joining public service was Executive Director and Regional Head of Sustainable Finance for Africa and Middle East at Standard Chartered Bank where his mandate was to arrange green, blue and sustainable finance solutions for clients in all segments.
Christopher was co-chair of a strategic committee in the United Nations Global Investors for Sustainable Development. As co-chair, he placed focus on widening longer-term investments mainly in emerging markets, where it is needed most. He also chaired a government and private sector initiative that was focused on post-COVID-19 economic recovery strategies for the Country.
In his previous role as the Head of Public Private Partnerships at the National Treasury, Christopher led a team in mobilizing private capital to develop sustainable infrastructure in all sectors. His mandate supported the Government to effectively manage its limited fiscal space to enable the various State Departments to focus more on social investments and allow private sector to run with commercially viable projects.
Christopher successfully delivered policy reforms through the 2021 Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Act which repealed and replaced the 2013 PPP law. The new transformative law has enhanced private sector participation in public projects in Kenya and distinguishes Kenya as a global leader on PPP frameworks as it contains timelines on public sector delivery, eliminates bureaucracies on the approval processes without compromising governance and provides clear process maps for the delivery of PPP Projects.
As part of the PPP infrastructure transformation, Christopher built a great team that is solution-oriented to deliver projects in line with best practices in climate and environmental global standards.
Following his posting, Christopher is currently serving as the Deputy Head of Mission & National Treasury Chief Representative in Kenya’s Embassy in Washington D.C. In recognition of his service to the nation, Christopher holds various State commendations including the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) and Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW) by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya.
