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1510 Main Street

Expected Completion: June 2026

0000 South Street

Coming Soon....

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About Us

I Am Because We Are

Inuka is a Black-led, community-rooted nonprofit creating sustainable, affordable housing for low- to moderate-income households in Winnipeg. “Inuka” means “to rise” in Swahili, and we believe in rising together—through housing, community ownership, and shared opportunity.

Guided by the African philosophy of Ubuntu—“I am because we are”—Inuka was born during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021, when community members came together virtually to explore solutions to urgent challenges. Beyond the urgent need for stable, affordable housing, we saw an opportunity to offer more than just rental housing: pathways to financial stability, homeownership, and generational wealth.

Our Mission

As we prepare to welcome residents in our first project at 1510 Main Street in Winnipeg, the mission we set out to achieve is clearer than ever

To create thriving, diverse communities
where everyone has a stable place to live, grow, and thrive
in affordable and sustainable housing.

To create thriving, diverse communities where everyone has a stable place to live, grow, and thrive in affordable and sustainable housing.

Meet theTeam

Naomi Gichungu

Co-founder,
CEO

Naomi Gichungu

Co-founder,
CEO

Douglas Kimani

Co-founder,
COO

Douglas Kimani

Co-founder,
COO

Phyllis Nyokabi

Co-founder,
Accounting & Finance

Phyllis Nyokabi

Co-founder,
Accounting & Finance

Wambui Wamae

Co-founder,
Human Resources

Wambui Wamae

Co-founder,
Human Resources

George Ndungu

Co-founder,
Project Management

George Ndungu

Co-founder,
Project Management

Isaac Gwendo

Board member,
Quantity Surveyor

Isaac Gwendo

MA Cooperative Dev.

Zipporah Mungai

Board member,
Finance Services

Zipporah Mungai

Board member,
Finance Services

Inuka Community is located on Treaty 1 Territory, the ancestral and current land of the Anishinaabe, Cree and Dakota peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation.

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Contact Us

  • PO Box 21118, Winnipeg R3R 3R2 Manitoba

© 2025 Inuka Community Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2025 Inuka Community Inc.
All rights reserved.

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Caroline (Naomi) Gichungu

Co-founder, CEO

Social Finance, MA Intl. Development

Naomi is a Kenyan who moved to Canada ten years ago and lives on Treaty 1 territory – Winnipeg. She is the Impact Director – Winnipeg at The Northpine Foundation, where she invests in social impact ventures in Winnipeg.

Most recently, she was a Community Investment Manager at United Way Winnipeg, where she managed a portfolio of 21 United Way-funded agencies, a capital grant, and an organizational effectiveness grant. Previously, Naomi worked in the settlement sector supporting refugee families in their resettlement process in Canada. 

Naomi has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Education and a Masters in Development Practice – Indigenous Development. She spends her time volunteering on non-profit boards, improving her French language skills and learning about impact investing. Naomi is a co-founder of Inuka Community Inc. and has held the board chair and CEO roles within Inuka.

Douglas Kimani

Co-founder, COO

Innovation & Operations

Douglas is a maverick leader whose distinct value is his ability to innovate with new and creative ideas to deliver bold impacts. He does this by leading through confident decision-making and forward-moving action to elevate the status quo, exceed expectations, and push for success in performance, results, and Impact.

He is a digital and business transformation consultant with experience across private and public sectors (Federal and Provincial Governments), focusing on Healthcare, Financial Services, Regulation & Governance.

Douglas has a Master’s degree specializing in Technology, Innovation, and Operations from the University of Winnipeg. He also has certifications in Digital Business Transformation, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), Project Management, Organizational Change Management, Information Technology Infrastructure Library and Healthcare Analytics: AI, Big Data & Digital Transformation, Digital and Sustainability Maturity Index.

He is also a two-term board member at Westoba Credit Union, where he served as Chair of the IT and security, Governance Committees.  Douglas was a volunteer President and Vice President, and board member at Focus Africa, a not-for-profit Canadian-based organization that supports HIV-Aids widows and orphans in Africa.

Douglas is a co-founder of Inuka Community Inc. and has held the board member and COO roles within Inuka.

Phyllis Nyokabi Gitonga

Co-founder, Accounting & Finance

BSc Mathematics

Nyokabi is a financial analyst with over 20 years in cost accounting. She has consulted for both SMEs and large manufacturing businesses in setting up process costing structures. Nyokabi was Head of Costing Department of a large tire manufacturing company in Kenya.

Nyokabi holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics, and is a practicing accountant pursuing the CPA designation. She is a co-founder of Inuka Community Inc. and has held the board treasurer position since 2021.

Wambui (Alice) Wamae

Co-founder, Human Resources

MA Cooperative Dev.

Wambui is a seasoned professional with a strong background in banking, lending, and recruitment, developed through a long-standing career in the credit union sector. She holds a Master’s Degree in the Management of Cooperatives and Credit Unions from St. Mary’s University, which deepened her commitment to community development through cooperative principles. Her early work in the nonprofit sector focused on funding economics and research in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a founding director of Inuka Community Inc., she leads fund development and program design, leveraging her diverse expertise to support sustainable, community-driven solutions.

George Gitonga Ndungu

Co-founder, Project Management

BA Economics

George is an economist with over 20 years of experience in property and casualty insurance fields and a specialist in risk management and risk inspection for commercial property and manufacturing plants.

George is passionate for community development and has pioneered several rural agricultural development projects including a commercial bamboo farming program and sugar-beet cultivation for small-scale holder farmers in Kenya. He is a founder member for Inuka Community Inc. in Winnipeg, Manitoba out of recognition of the community’s potential to pool financial & intellectual resources to build capital and alleviate housing challenges. 

George holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a certificate in Fire Engineering

Isaac Gwendo

Board member, Quantity Surveyor

Board member, Quantity Surveyor

Isaac Gwendo has worked at Hanscomb Limited since 2002. Isaac’s roles at the company include Executive Vice President, Director, and Manager. Isaac started as a Quantity Surveyor and held that position until 2009. Prior to working at Hanscomb Limited, he worked at Davson & Ward as a Quantity Surveyor from 1988 to 2002.

Isaac Gwendo attended Nairobi School from 1982 to 1983, where they completed his A-Level studies. Isaac then enrolled at the University of Nairobi from 1985 to 1988, where they pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Building Economics.

Isaac is a member of Inuka Community Inc. and has been supporting the Inuka founding team since it’s inception. Isaac has recently joined the board and will be leading the team as the secretary.

Zipporah W. Mungai

Board member, Finance Services

MA, Chartered Insurer

Zipporah has vast finance experience having served in leadership positions in the Finance and Insurance Sector. She is the former Chief Executive Officer of Composite lnsurance Company. She has also held the position of Country Managing Director of CIC Africa Holdings Uganda for a period of four years. Before joining CIC Insurance, Zipporah worked with UAP Uganda as the Managing Director for UAP Insurance, UAP Properties, and a Director of UAP Financial Services. Prior to her assignment at UAP, she was the Country CEO for Jubilee Insurance Tanzania Zipporah has exposure of over 23 years’ financial services experience in the Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania markets, managing Country Business Score Cards.

Zipporah W. Mungai has served in various volunteer roles including an appointment to the Trustee of the Universities Fund Board in Kenya. Most recently, Zipporah moved permanently to Winnipeg and has joined Inuka Community Inc. as the board chair. 

Zipporah has a Master of Science in Finance, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (USA), a Bachelor of Commerce (Insurance) University of Nairobi, and a Post Graduate -Advanced Management Program (AMP) Strathmore – Nairobi & IESE Business School Spain. She is a Chartered Insurer from Chartered Insurance Institute, London, UK, an Associate Risk Manager from Risk Management Institute, London, UK., and Associate from Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London UK.