Joan Chahenza

Joan Chahenza is a distinguished Kenyan energy finance professional with over a decade of experience in renewable energy project structuring and financing. She currently serves as the Director of Energy Access Financial Advisory at the Africa Minigrid Developers Association. Previously, she was the Chief Financial Analyst at KenGen, Kenya’s leading electricity generation company, where she played a pivotal role in structuring and negotiating power purchase agreements for renewable energy projects exceeding $1 billion. Chahenza holds a Master of Science in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Nairobi and is pursuing a second Master’s in Energy Policy at the University of Sussex. She is certified in Climate and Renewable Energy Finance by the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and is a Certified Public Accountant. Her leadership and expertise have earned her recognition as a 2021 Africa Power and Energy Elite and a 2020 Future Energy Leader by the World Energy Council. Chahenza is also a fellow of the Open Africa 2020 program and a mentor for the Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition. Her work focuses on mobilizing private sector investments to expand access to electricity and digital connectivity for health facilities across sub-Saharan Africa.