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1510 Main Street

Expected Completion: June 2026

0000 South Street

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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

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

Our Vision:

To be a leader in building affordable community-centred housing where diverse, connected, and thriving communities can flourish

Our Values:

Grit – We persevere with purpose.
Integrity – We do what’s right, always.
Equity – We create fairness and opportunity for all.
Community – We rise together through shared purpose.
Innovation – We build smarter, sustainable solutions.
Collaboration – We achieve more, together.
VALUES:
Grit – We persevere with purpose.
Integrity – We do what’s right, always.
Equity – We create fairness and opportunity for all.
Community – We rise together through shared purpose.
Innovation – We build smarter, sustainable solutions.
Collaboration – We achieve more, together.

Meet theTeam

Naomi Gichungu

Co-founder,
Board Chair & CEO

Naomi Gichungu

Co-founder,
Board Chair & CEO

Douglas Kimani

Co-founder,
Board Secretary & COO

Douglas Kimani

Co-founder,
Board Secretary & 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 Advisory,
Quantity Surveyor

Isaac Gwendo

Board Advisory,
Quantity Surveyor

Zipporah Mungai

Board Advisory
MS Finance & Chartered Insurer

Zipporah Mungai

Board Advisory
MS Finance & Chartered Insurer

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

Impact Investor

Naomi Gichungu is a Kenyan-Canadian impact investor living on Treaty 1 territory (Winnipeg). She serves as an Impact Director for the Winnipeg portfolio at The Northpine Foundation, where she invests in transformative organizations and companies that help lift people out of poverty.

Previously, Naomi was a Community Investment Manager at United Way Winnipeg, where she managed a diverse portfolio of agencies and granting programs. Her career also includes extensive experience in the settlement sector, supporting refugee families through resettlement and integration.

As Co-founder, Board Chair, and CEO of Inuka Community Inc., Naomi has guided the organization since its launch in 2021, stewarding its vision and execution alongside a dedicated team and community members.

She holds a BSc. in Environmental Education and a Master’s in Development Practice – Indigenous Development. Naomi enjoys volunteering on the Inuka board, is improving her French, and is passionate about impact investing.

Douglas Kimani

Co-founder, COO

Business Transformation Consultant

Douglas is a strategic transformation leader known for driving innovation and bold impact through confident decision-making and action-oriented leadership while consistently elevating the status quo, exceeding expectations, and delivering high-performance results.

He brings cross-sector experience across private and public sectors—including Federal and Provincial governments—with a focus on Healthcare, Financial Services, and Regulatory & Governance.

Douglas holds a Master’s degree in Technology, Innovation, and Operations and is certified in Digital Business Transformation, Organization Change Management, Healthcare Analytics and Artificial Intelligence.

He is a two-term board member at Westoba Credit Union, where he chaired the IT & Security and Governance Committees. He has also served in leadership roles at Focus Africa, a Canadian not-for-profit supporting HIV/AIDS widows and orphans.

He is the Co-founder, COO and board secretary of Inuka Community Inc

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 Development

Wambui is a seasoned professional with a background in banking, lending, and recruitment, built through a long career in the credit union sector. She holds a Master’s in Cooperative and Credit Union Management from St. Mary’s University, with earlier nonprofit experience in funding economics and research in Sub-Saharan Africa.

As a founding director of Inuka Community Inc., Wambui leads fund development and program design, applying her diverse expertise to support sustainable, community-led 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, specializing in risk management and commercial property inspections. He also holds a certificate in Fire Engineering.

Passionate about community development, George has led rural agricultural initiatives in Kenya, including commercial bamboo farming and sugar-beet cultivation for smallholder farmers.

He is a founding member of Inuka Community Inc. in Winnipeg, driven by the belief in harnessing collective resources to address housing and capital-building challenges.

Isaac Gwendo

Board Advisory

Quantity Surveyor

Isaac Gwendo is an Executive Vice President at Hanscomb Limited, where he has worked since 2002 in various leadership roles, including Director and Manager. He began his professional career in Kenya in 1988 as a Quantity Surveyor with Davson & Ward Quantity Surveyors before migrating to Canada in 2002 where he joined Hanscomb in Toronto before moving to Ottawa and ultimately Winnipeg.

An alumnus of Nairobi School, Isaac holds a Bachelor of Arts in Building Economics from the University of Nairobi.

In the community, Isaac has served in various capacities, including President, Kenyan Association of Manitoba, member of Manitoba Ethnocultural Advisory and Advocacy Council, member of the Board of Immanuel Fellowship Church, amongst others.

A long-time supporter of Inuka Community Inc., Isaac recently joined Board Advisory of Inuka bringing decades of experience in construction and project management to the team

Zipporah W. Mungai

Board Advisory

MS Finance & Chartered Insurer

Zipporah Mungai is a seasoned Finance and Insurance Executive with over 27 years of strategic leadership experience across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Has held senior roles including CEO of Corporate Insurance Company, Country Managing Director at CIC Africa Holdings Uganda, and Managing Director for UAP Insurance and UAP Properties in Uganda. She also served as Country CEO for Jubilee Insurance in Tanzania. She is passionate about strategy execution for change and growth. 

Zipporah holds MSc in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Bachelor of Commerce (Insurance) from the University of Nairobi, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Strathmore and IESE Business Schools. She is a Chartered Insurer (CII, UK), Associate Risk Manager (RMI, UK), and Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK). 

Now based in Winnipeg, she is on the Board Advisory of Inuka Community Inc. bringing in experience in management execution and has also been a Trustee of the Universities Fund Board in Kenya, UAP Financial Services Uganda, and UAP Holdings Risk & Governance Board.