Equity Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) James Mwangi has been named to Devex’s 2026 Power 50 list of the world’s most influential figures.
Devex is a media platform for the global development community and provides insider journalism, business intelligence, and funding opportunities for professionals in international development, health, and humanitarian aid.
According to Devex, the list highlights individuals transforming development amid major shifts in foreign assistance, as traditional donors retrench and attention shifts to development finance, philanthropy, and the private sector.
The Power 50 list is designed to track the people who influence policies, people, and purse strings in what it describes as a ‘fast emerging post-aid era’.
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Equity CEO Named Among the Top 50 Development Influencers
Devex cited Mwangi’s role in expanding Equity from a Kenyan lender into a regional banking group with more than 22.2 million customers, as well as his push for private-sector-led growth.
The platform pointed to Equity’s work, including:
- Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises
- Digital transformation agenda
- Efforts linked to climate-related projects
- Digital public infrastructure.
Mwangi has been praised for his leadership role as a prominent voice.
“Through Equity’s Africa recovery and resilience plan, Mwangi has been a prominent voice on the idea that Africa’s development trajectory will increasingly be shaped by local capital formation, stronger value chains and scaled private enterprise, at a moment when donor funding is under pressure,” read the statement.
Other Global Leaders Listed by Devex
The CEO was also listed among the top leaders and heads of state of multilateral banks, major donors, and frontiers in technology firms. They include:
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John Mahama – President, Republic of Ghana
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Sidi Ould Tah – President, African Development Bank
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Nadia Calviño – President, European Investment Bank
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Anna Bjerde – Managing Director of Operations, World Bank
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Rebeca Grynspan – Secretary-General, UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
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Peter Sands – Executive Director, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
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Anna Makanju – Vice President, Global Impact, OpenAI
Also Read: Meet Kenya’s Billionaire and Filthy Rich Banker James Mwangi
The list also includes senior figures in the reshaped US foreign assistance architecture and development finance, including:
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Benjamin Black – Chief Executive Officer, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
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Jeremy Lewin – Senior Official and Undersecretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom, U.S. Department of State
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Alexander Berger – Cofounder and CEO, Coefficient Giving
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Doreen Bogdan-Martin – Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union
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Keller Rinaudo Cliffton – Cofounder and CEO, Zipline
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Binaifer Nowrojee – President, Open Society Foundations
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Muhammad Ali Pate – Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare
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