Michael Ngigi

Managing Partner, ThinkPlace Africa

Michael Ngigi is a Kenyan business leader, entrepreneur, and innovation practitioner with over 20 years of experience working across strategy, design, entrepreneurship, and social impact in Africa. Over the last decade, Michael has collaborated with governments, NGOs, development organizations, and the private sector to address complex challenges by design interventions that improve people’s lives. His work spans financial inclusion, global health, youth economic empowerment, climate resilience, education and organizational transformation. 

Michael has led multi-country innovation, research, and strategy initiatives across Africa, helping organizations better understand the people they serve and translate insights into practical, sustainable action. He is known for brokering high stakes conversations between diverse stakeholders, facilitating collaboration, and supporting teams to navigate complexity and deliver meaningful impact, through human-centered design and systems thinking approaches. 

His thought leadership includes a thought provoking piece he co-authored titled,“What’s Next in Design for Global Health? How Design and Global Health Must Adapt for a Preferable Future,” published in Global Health: Science and Practice. Beyond ThinkPlace Africa, he serves on the advisory boards of Design for Health and HCDExchange and has been a judge for Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards. A graduate of Harvard Business School’s Program for Leadership Development EMBA, Michael is passionate about helping people and organizations build the confidence, capability, and agency to drive positive change.