Barbara Mutabazi

Founder & CEO - Nsimbi Impact

Barbara Birungi Mutabazi is a fintech and women’s entrepreneurship leader with over 15 years of experience driving innovation and financial inclusion in East Africa. She is the founder and CEO of Nsimbi Impact, an AI-powered lending platform providing flexible, unsecured capital to women-led MSMEs, particularly in last-mile and underserved markets.

Barbara’s track record includes founding Hive Colab, Uganda’s first technology hub, which has supported over 1,100 startups, and Women in Technology Uganda (WITU), which has trained more than 10,000 women in business and digital skills. She has managed investment portfolios for the International Trade Centre, Village Capital, and Spring Accelerator, and raised more than $10 million for women- and youth-led ventures.

An MIT MBA graduate, Barbara combines deep grassroots knowledge with strategic fund management expertise, AI and machine learning proficiency, and a proven ability to scale high-impact initiatives. She co-developed Uganda’s official Digital & Financial Literacy Toolkit with UNCDF, now adopted by the Bank of Uganda, and has advised governments, DFIs, and global development partners on inclusive finance strategies.

Barbara’s work has been featured on global stages, including the United Nations, and she continues to champion gender-lens investing, AI-driven credit scoring, and the creation of Africa’s first women-owned digital bank.