Lukonga Lindunda
Technology and Innovation Advisor and Co-founder and ED in Lusaka, Zambia
Lukonga Lindunda is a startup ecosystem builder, Executive Director and co-founder of BongoHive, an award-winning innovation and technology hub based in Lusaka, Zambia that is changing the landscape of innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.
Lukonga is a Mandela Washington Fellow and has 11 years of experience working with entrepreneurs and development partners. He began his career providing technical assistance in educational projects and programmes by building sustainable and affordable ICT infrastructure and support systems with Education Development Center Inc. and VVOB vzw. In 2011, he founded BongoHive with three colleagues after noting a gap in the support young entrepreneurs needed to bring their innovative business ideas to life outside the usual corridors of innovation in Southern, Western, and Eastern Africa.
Since then, Lukonga has steered BongoHive to nearly 1300 Startups and MSMEs harnessing over $2 million in resources to support their growth since 2016. He also co-led the building, management, and roll out Africa’s first digital mapping of technology and innovation hubs in 2012. He has personally spearheaded public and private partnerships to leverage the ecosystem work BongoHive does by building partnerships with local and global firms.
Lukonga’s vision goes beyond the private sector and Zambia, having realized the interconnected path of the regions development and the complexity of creating a viable support network for entrepreneurial development.
BongoHive have been featured on global and regional media outlets such as CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, VoA, TechCrunch, ITWeb Africa, SABC, and many others. The hub has also received local awards such as Best Entrepreneurship and Innovation Company of 2018 from the Zambia, Economics Association of Zambia and Community Innovation Award 2016 form the ICT Society of Zambia. One high point of recognition was when BongoHive was chosen as the only non-development organization to be visited by the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry on his royal visit to Zambia in 2018.
Lukonga is also part of Boards and Committees at Zambia National Commercial Bank, Digital Paygo, Financial Sector Deepening Zambia and Client Care Solutions.