IDinsight welcomes Charlene Migwe as East and Southern Africa Lead

January 22, 2026 – IDinsight announces the appointment of Charlene Migwe as Deputy Regional Director, East and Southern Africa, starting January 2026. Building on the organization’s strong position as an evidence-to-policy champion in the region, Charlene will drive growth into emerging sectors, including AI-for-good, Digital Public Infrastructure, and digital transformation.

For over 15 years, Charlene Migwe has led macro-level adoption and application of digitally enabled solutions across Africa, partnering with organizations like Mastercard Foundation, Gates Foundation, The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, Hewlett Foundation and others. She is a digital transformation and data expert who has leveraged her experience to impact the digital economy, AI, data governance, digital public infrastructure and digital agriculture sectors. Having delivered impactful programs in over 15 African countries (including Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Ethiopia and Somalia), she brings a deep understanding of local contexts and a nuanced appreciation for inclusive, people-centred digital transformation. 

Most recently, she was the director of the Caribou -Mastercard Foundation research partnership, delivering evidence and advisory support to the Foundation and its partners on artificial intelligence, digital skills, the digital economy and financial inclusion. Before that, she was the East and Southern Africa Regional Lead for Development Gateway (an IREX Venture) where she led program design and delivery, and partnerships development.

Interest in emerging technologies such as AI continues to grow among policymakers and social sector leaders in East and Southern Africa. While there is strong enthusiasm about their potential for transformative social impact, real change will depend on whether these technologies are designed and adopted in context-responsive ways. IDinsight’s proven ability to translate data into action for social impact, combined with the team’s deep curiosity and culture of innovation, gives me confidence in the organisation’s ability to deliver meaningful, lasting impact for communities in this region.

 

 – Charlene Migwe, Deputy Regional Director, East and Southern Africa

I’m thrilled to welcome Charlene Migwe at such an exciting moment for the team. The region has built a strong evidence-to-policy foundation, and this leadership transition positions us to go even further. With deep experience in inclusive digital transformation, Charlene brings exactly the perspective we need as we push the frontiers of social sector innovation, supporting changemakers to fully harness emerging technologies, and collaborating with governments to build digital systems that improve lives and create new opportunities for people across this region.

 

– Becca Gong Sharp, CEO, IDinsight