Strategic Communications & Culture Innovation Leader
Founder of Culture Signals | Creator of Culture Capital, 5Cs & Culture Compass
I help organizations speak to culture, not just audiences.
Because in an era shaped by digital identity, fragmented trust, and shifting youth norms, culture is the strongest strategy.I bring 11+ years of experience in:- Strategic Communications
- Digital Influence & Storytelling
- Youth Insights
- Behaviour Change Communications
- Ecosystem & Partnerships Strategy
- Culture Innovation ResearchIf you want your brand, program or initiative to connect deeply with young people, I’m the person you call.I'm the founder of Culture Signals Lab, a culture innovation studio based in Nairobi, working globally.With 11+ years of experience in digital storytelling, community engagement, and public-interest communications across East Africa, I bring a grounded, data-driven, human-centered approach to transforming how organizations connect with the people they serve.
Meet Stella Njogo
Strategic Communications Leader.
Culture Innovator. Ecosystem Builder.
I design communications systems, cultural narratives, and influence strategies that help mission-driven organizations create real, measurable impact especially with Africa’s young majority.My work is anchored in one belief:
Culture is the operating system of transformation.And if we want to change systems, we must design with culture at the centre.For the past decade, I’ve worked across Kenya’s & Africa's most important social innovation spaces, spanning climate and food systems, to digital culture, youth development, and media.At Shujaaz Inc, I helped lead:- The Unseen Heroes climate storytelling film and report (TED Countdown)
- The Young & Kenyan insight campaign
- Youth ecosystem convenings across Kenya
- Narrative strategy for youth impact programs
- Behaviour change storytelling in multiple sectors
- Partnerships with climate & innovation organizationsI’ve taught digital culture & creative strategy to thousands through AWEC, Digify Africa, and other training platforms.Through my studio, Culture Signals, I’m now building tools for the next generation of leaders and organizations to build 'Culture Capital', the new currency of identity, influence, and soft power in the digital age.My frameworks, the 5Cs of Cultural Leadership, Culture Compass and Culture Capital, help creators, teams and impact organizations shift from communication to cultural design.If you want to build a brand, program or ecosystem that resonates with real people, let’s create something powerful together.
Creative Sidequests
In 2018, I won an award for an experimental podcast I started as a personal audio diary. At my core, I am an artist who also loves creating impact in business and policy.My highlight as an artist so far has been a month-long residency in Italy in 2022. It was part of the EU-funded ArtXchange program where I collaborated with other African artists to stage an installation on art for social change.
My approach and Signature Framework:
The Culture Compass™I designed the Culture Compass to map culture into three interconnected spheres that help build inclusive brands, programs and technologies.
All three spheres have to be present and work together to create inclusion. They include:1. Institutional / Legacy Systems – catering to our formal structures, governance, and historical knowledge.
2. Communal / Collective Systems – honouring our shared values, collective memory, and social bonds.
3. Individual Agency Systems – enabling our personal identities, stories, and ability to act.When all three are integrated, we build futures where people, technology, and systems thrive together.
Helping Organizations Build Culture-Smart Communications & Movements
I support organisations, programs and teams to design narratives, partnerships and influence strategies rooted in cultural intelligence, so their work can reach, move and mobilise people meaningfully.I work across:
- Youth livelihoods
- Climate & food systems
- Economic Justice & Inequality
- Governance & civic participation
- Digital safety & AI literacy
- Gender & SRHR
- Creative economy & culture1. Strategic Communications Leadership
(Consulting or In-house)
Perfect for organisations looking to strengthen:
- Brand communications
- Digital communications
- Program storytelling
- Youth engagement
- Multi-country campaigns
- Internal alignment
- Ecosystem influence2. Cultural Intelligence & Research
I lead and translate research on:
-Youth identity & digital behavior
- Cultural shifts shaping Africa’s future
- Generational insights
- Communication gaps & opportunities
- Culture-led influence & soft power3. Partnerships & Ecosystem Engagement
I design influence networks and ecosystem strategies that help organizations:
- Build partnerships grounded in culture
- Convene diverse actors & coalitions
- Strengthen multi-sector collaborations
- Communicate value to donors, funders & partners
- Create youth-centered partnership models
- Activate communities in meaningful ways
Speaking and Facilitating
Hire or invite me to speak at your next gathering, summit or panel on Movement Building, Climate, AI futures and the Creator Economy.Topics include:
- Culture Capital & Personal Branding for leadership
- Youth culture, identity & the digital world
- Culture-led climate & food systems storytelling
- Strategic communications for social impact
- Partnership strategy & ecosystem thinking
- Narrative power & influence in Africa
- The 5Cs of Cultural Leadership
General Inquiries
Let’s build culture-smart communications & movements.
I'm excited to hear from you and collaborate.
artist profile
Stella Njogo is a multidisciplinary artist working across writing, sound, and media.
Her practice explores the intersections of culture, identity, and collective memory, often through experimental formats that move between the digital and the analog.Selected Projects2016 – 2018 | Creative Blogging
Initiated a body of writing on pop and digital culture through a Medium publication, which has since evolved into Culture Signals Lab.2018 | Kalongolongo Life
Developed an exploratory podcast named after the Kenyan childhood role-play game. The audio diary series, composed of 5–10 minute episodes, was awarded Best Use of Podcast at the 2018 DMA Awards in Kenya.2022 | Santuri Music Producer Programme
Selected for Santuri’s music production programme, producing an original soundscape presented at the cohort showcase.
Listen to it here.
2022 | ArtXchange Residency, Italy
The residency was about knowledge exchange and exploring art as a tool for social change.
I produced an installation (I am Not an Actor) -pictured below, that highlighted how we change when we engage in digital spaces. An accidentally intentional self-evolution in the internet culture.
It featured the installation, a silent film on loop(Silence on Set), and a live performance piece at the Open Studio Day with other African artists.
2024 – Present | Cultural Blogging
Resumed publishing cultural essays on Medium, reflecting on the role of Kenyan Gen Z movements in shaping civic and cultural discourse.2025 | Digital Creator
Developing a YouTube-based review show examining how media shapes culture through contemporary African perspectives.Artistic StatementThrough her work, Stella Njogo investigates how culture is lived, contested, and re-imagined in everyday life.
Her practice aims to document emerging shifts while proposing new modes of storytelling across platforms and generations.