Rowena Turinawe is an award-winning African technology and enterprise leader, Founding CEO, author, mentor and leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience spanning information technology, telecommunications, digital transformation, fintech, institutional transformation and business growth across multiple African markets.

She is the Founding Chief Executive Officer of RukaPay, a Bank of Uganda-regulated digital payments company building inclusive financial infrastructure for individuals, businesses and institutions. Her career has taken her from hands-on technology and infrastructure roles into increasingly complex leadership assignments at organisations including Roke Telkom, MTN Uganda, the National Information Technology Authority–Uganda (NITA-U), and Centenary Technology Services, before stepping into entrepreneurship and the responsibility of building and leading a regulated fintech company. 

Across these different seasons, Rowena has led technology operations, enterprise and institutional transformation, innovation, strategy and business growth. Her work placed her at the centre of Uganda’s public-sector digital transformation, and she later contributed to the development of the Uganda Digital Transformation Roadmap 2023–2028. She has also served on Uganda’s National BPO and Innovation Council under the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance and currently serves as Vice Chairperson of the CIO-CxO Digital Leadership Forum Advisory Council, contributing to conversations shaping technology, enterprise leadership and digital transformation in Uganda and across Africa.

Her work has earned her recognition among Africa’s 35 Most Influential Women in Technology, Young ICT Professional of the Year 2023, Africa’s Top 40 Women in Fintech, Honorary Woman in Tech 2025, and Uganda’s Top 40 Under 40 Women. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Makerere University and a Master’s degree in Information Systems and Change Management from the University of Manchester, alongside professional certifications in project management, change management, IT governance and service management.

Beyond executive leadership, Rowena is an author, mentor and coach committed to helping founders, professionals and emerging leaders navigate growth, change and increasingly complex leadership assignments. She is a two-time published author, having co-authored Digital Transformation: The Northstar You Need, a practical exploration of strategies for organisations navigating digital transformation, and is now preparing to launch her second book, Grateful for Year One: Nothing Wasted.