The People Behind Aspira
A team of seasoned financial services, banking, and governance leaders driving Aspira’s mission to make quality products accessible to every Kenyan — lipa baadaye.
Joseph Alaro
Joseph Alaro is a seasoned financial services executive with over 25 years of experience in corporate and investment banking, treasury, and institutional financial management. He has held senior roles at Stanbic Bank Kenya (Standard Bank Group), serving as Director of Stanbic Nominees Limited and as Corporate Trustee for Sanlam Kenya and African Alliance Kenya Collective Investment Schemes.
His tenure delivered 31% revenue growth in corporate banking, 650% growth in Global Markets revenues, and recognition as Best FX Provider in Kenya (Global Finance Awards, 2014–2016). Joseph is passionate about strengthening governance frameworks, building resilient institutions, and supporting executive teams in delivering long-term value.
He holds an MBA in Finance from USIU-Africa and a Board Leadership qualification from Duke University.
Ronald Kirui
Ronald Kirui is a business executive and board director with more than 30 years of international experience across property services, construction, real estate development, critical infrastructure, and technology in Kenya and the United Kingdom.
He currently serves as Managing Director of Magal Security Systems Kenya, one of East Africa's leading integrated security and infrastructure solution providers, and sits on the Board of the Association of Special Economic Zones (Kenya). Ronald brings broad expertise in corporate governance, strategic planning, infrastructure investment, and public-private partnerships, having advised governments, multinationals, and private investors across multiple sectors.
He holds a BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying from the University of Salford and a Postgraduate Diploma in Property Investment and Development from the University of Manchester.
Catherine Muthuuri
Catherine Muthuuri is a strategic leader with extensive experience in corporate and commercial banking, private sector development, and impact investments.
She has held senior roles at Standard Chartered Bank, Stanbic Bank Kenya, Bank of Africa Kenya, and CFC Stanbic Bank Kenya, building deep expertise in deal structuring, risk management, business development, and relationship management.
Catherine is recognised for aligning teams to purpose and strategy, with a customer-centrist approach that drives sustainable growth. She holds a Global Executive MBA from United States International University Africa and a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Administration from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.
Taku
Taku is a seasoned investment banker with 22 years' experience across global markets, trade finance, and debt. He is now focused on helping entrepreneur-led African families institutionalise their businesses and family wealth into durable, multi-generational platforms.
At Posha Capital, he serves as the build-and-run partner, enabling founders to concentrate on the core business while his team manages the rest: cradle-to-maturity capital mobilisation and the build-out of family-office infrastructure — governance, investment policy, risk, reporting, treasury/FX, and succession — designed to compound sustainable family wealth.
Previously, Taku held executive roles at Citi, RMB Morgan Stanley, and Rand Merchant Bank. He is passionate about ensuring African families have a genuine seat at the capital-raising table by translating international banking experience into bankable, self-liquidating credit that finances the real economy.
Kris Senanu
Kris Senanu is the Chairman of Blackrock Capital, Kenya, a boutique private equity firm heavily invested in the Africa tech sector. For two decades, he has offered insights into the telco and tech ecosystem as a corporate leader and venture capitalist. He cut his teeth as the youngest Managing Director of East Africa's first publicly listed tech firm at 35, building it from inception to a successful acquisition by the NTT group, and later supported Telkom Kenya's digital transformation.
Kris took on the role of Chief Enterprise Officer at Safaricom, where he helped establish the cloud, IoT and government digitisation business, making Safaricom Business the de facto digital transformation partner for the government of Kenya. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, with an MBA in Strategic Management from Warwick Business School. He is a Director of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems and chairs the boards of several fintechs in Kenya.
Lucy Makena
Lucy is the founder and managing partner of L.M Njeru Advocates. A competent Advocate of the High Court of Kenya known for her meticulous approach and comprehensive understanding of litigation and corporate law.
As the Managing Partner of L.M Njeru Advocates, a boutique firm based in Nairobi, Lucy leads a dedicated team in providing comprehensive legal services across diverse sectors, including oil and gas, financial services, private equity, and agriculture. Her firm caters to a broad clientele ranging from small and medium enterprises to corporates and County governments, with notable clients such as Kenya Pipeline Corporation, Mwanachi Credit Limited, Stawika Capital Limited, Blackrock Capital Limited, and the County of Nairobi and County Government of Tharaka Nithi.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Lucy is an avid reader with a penchant for fiction, and she enjoys immersing herself in different cultures through her travels to various countries. With her exceptional legal acumen and unwavering dedication, Lucy continues to set new standards of excellence in the legal profession, earning respect and admiration from peers and clients alike.
