James Ruigu

James Ruigu is a Nairobi community builder who connects young professionals and entrepreneurs in person. He is closely involved with Attic Chapter, a youth-led entrepreneurship and networking community in Kenya, and with LinkedIn Local Nairobi, a meetup series that brings the city's LinkedIn users together offline. His LinkedIn profile lists Startinev, the organiser behind LinkedIn Local Nairobi, as his current organisation.

His habit of organising people started early. At Alliance High School, from which he graduated in 2019, he led the school's AKAD Club and pioneered a student team called Ambassadors for Clean Content among Minors, working with the Kenya Film Classification Board to protect children from harmful online content. As a teenager he also represented young people on television panel discussions and at events such as the ZURI Awards 2020.

Ruigu went on to study Construction Management at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, where he served as a student representative in the Interactive Construction Management Student Organisation. Alongside his studies he holds an ALX financial analyst certification, runs a small honey business, supports his family's dairy and agribusiness work, and mentors younger students through AKAD Education Africa.