about
Our Team
Kecia Rust
Executive Director and founder
Kecia Rust is the Executive Director and founder of the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF). She is a housing policy specialist and has worked with both public and private sector practitioners in promoting access to affordable housing and housing finance in Africa for the past 20 years. She was the Housing Finance Coordinator at the FinMark Trust from 2003-2014, from where CAHF was established. Over the span of her career, Kecia has consulted and undertaken research in affordable housing finance, residential property assets and property markets, rental and social housing, and the creation of sustainable human settlements, among other issues. Kecia participated in the Wharton School’s International Housing Finance Programme, U.S.A. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree with Distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, U.S.A., and a Masters of Management from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Thandiwe Dhlamini
AUHF PROGRAMME MANAGER
Thandiwe Dhlamini is the African Union for Housing Finance Programme Manager within CAHF. She holds a BA in History and Development Studies from Midlands States University in Zimbabwe. She has experience in project support, implementation and management which she has gained through working with Local and International Non- Governmental Organisations which focused on human rights, women’s rights, land grabs and tax campaigns, parental and family matters, Social Behaviour Change Communication and Capacity development of Social Services Practitioners. She is passionate about community development and curbing injustices and inequalities affecting the underprivileged. Thandiwe completed the Housing Finance Course for Sub-Saharan Africa at the University of Cape Town in 2018.
Beatrice Mwangi
RESEARCH MANAGER
Beatrice W. Mwangi is a housing finance and market systems specialist with over eight years of experience at the intersection of affordable housing, housing finance, real estate investment and urban development across Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa. She is a Research Manager at the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF), where she leads applied research and market-development initiatives that strengthen housing markets, expand access to finance and mobilise investment. Beatrice holds a Master’s in Project Management from Liverpool John Moores University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Urban Management Tools for Climate Change from IHS, Erasmus University Rotterdam. She is passionate about developing financial and market solutions that enable the development of decent, affordable and sustainable human settlements at scale.
Nasiphi Dumile
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
Nasiphi Dumile is the Communications Officer at CAHF since 2023. With a background in Marketing Management, she plays a key role in developing and implementing CAHF’s communication strategies, ensuring impactful engagement with stakeholders across the affordable housing sector. With nearly five years of experience in marketing, branding, and strategic communications, Nasiphi manages both the AUHF & CAHF’s digital presence, content creation, and media relations. She has successfully led initiatives to enhance audience engagement, grow CAHF’s francophone program, and strengthen the organization’s outreach through newsletters, social media, and publications. Her expertise extends to sponsorship engagement, event communications, and managing high-profile campaigns, including the Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook and the AUHF Annual Conference.
Aminata Baro
Research Manager
Aminata Baro is a young Senegalese-French Urban Planner based in Dakar, Senegal. Aminata is a Research Manager with the CAHF, where she undertakes monthly press reviews that provide an overview of the latest news on housing finance in Francophone Africa, and supports local or sub-regional studies and other research activities led by CAHF. She is passionate about housing and basic services issues, advocating through writing a variety of thought pieces on addressing housing deficits in Sub-Saharan Africa. After her bachelor’s degree in Humanities, Law, Economics and Management (Major in Political Science), obtained with the Université Paris Nanterre (France), she pursued a Master’s degree in Urban Planning with a focus on Cities of the Global South.
Interns
Kamau Ephy Irungu
Ephy works on housing finance and urban development issues in Kenya, with a particular interest in affordable housing, housing markets, and the policy and financial systems that shape cities. At the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF), he contributes to research and analysis on housing finance, urbanisation, and access to affordable housing across Africa. His experience includes housing policy, market research, and urban development, with a focus on the realities facing rapidly growing cities and informal settlements. He holds a law degree from the University of Nairobi and is currently pursuing the ACCA qualification at Strathmore Institute.
Associates
Allan Mutuma Gitonga
Allan is a real estate research and investment professional with 10 years of experience in affordable housing investments across East Africa. Prior to joining CAHF, Allan was in charge of Transactions, Strategy and Research at Centum Real Estate, East Africa’s largest real estate investment company. During his tenure at Centum Real Estate, he successful led several fundraising initiatives into affordable housing projects and private infrastructure projects. Allan holds an undergraduate degree in Financial Economics from Strathmore University (Kenya), a master’s degree in finance from Jomo Kenyatta University (Kenya). Allan completed the Housing Finance Course for Sub-Saharan Africa at the University of Cape Town in 2023. Allan is also the founder of BrownCap Developers Limited, an affordable housing developer, based in Nairobi, Kenya.
David Gardner
David is a public policy, development, and housing specialist with over twenty years of experience across Africa. His expertise spans developmental research, policy analysis, strategy and business planning, and housing finance market development. He works to build capacity in organisations and leadership through applied research, financial modelling, and implementable strategy development. His experience includes macroeconomic modelling, institutional strategy, and organisational design. He has supported executive teams and institutions to strengthen performance and deliver sustainable housing solutions. He holds a BSc in Town and Regional Planning from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Diploma in Management from Henley Management College. He also serves as a consultant to CAHF.
Michelle Muthoni Muchiri
Michelle is a civil and environmental engineer, IFC EDGE Expert, and housing data specialist whose work focuses on affordable housing delivery, green building practices, and infrastructure systems. Through CAHF’s Open Access Initiative, she works on developing structured housing data systems that support improved decision-making, efficiency, and scalability in affordable housing delivery across Kenya. Her experience includes construction cost optimisation, financial modelling, and the development of scalable affordable housing typologies and sanitation solutions. Michelle is a Graduate Engineer registered with the Engineers Board of Kenya and holds a BSc in Civil Engineering and a diploma in Project Management. She is also part of Harvard University’s Field School Program, focusing on climate resilience research in East Africa.