Top Venture Philanthropist to Launch KCB Partnership Forum

Jacqueline Novogratz, the founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, a non profit venture fund, will be the guest speaker at the launch of Friends of KCB Foundation partnership programme in Nairobi this Friday.  
 KCB Group Chairman, Mr.  Peter W. Muthoka said that Ms. Novogratz, a renowned philanthropist with immense experience in transforming lives through entrepreneurial innovation, would be a great inspiration to the particiapnts. 
“The KCB Foundation is honoured by her presence and would benefit immensely from her knowledge and expertise,” said Mr. Muthoka.

The KCB Foundation is hosting top players in the corporate social responsibility arena this Friday to launch a partnership programme that would enable members share resources, competencies and ideas in community social investment.
“It is imperative that organisations, businesses and individuals come together to be able to create the right level of social impact in our community activities,” said Susan Omanga, chairman of the KCB Foundation.

KCB Foundation was launched in 2007 to carry out CSR activities for the KCB Group across the region and has spent in excess of KShs300 million supporting needy causes in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Southern Sudan.
“The partnership programme enables us to pool resources and channel them more effectively to joint programmes or contribute resources to our partners who are better able to run with implementation,” added Omanga.
 

Friends of the KCB Foundation partnership programme   targets public and private organisations, local and international and non-governmental organizations businesses and individuals who participate in community development.   

Ms. Novogratz has experience in transforming lives through entrepreneurial innovations   in her work with entrepreneurs in Kenya, Tanzania, Pakistan and India.  
The Acumen Fund manages nearly $40million in investments in South East Asia and East Africa, all focused on delivering affordable health care, water, housing and energy to the poor in Kenya, Pakistan and India.      

“Her skills in using a business-like approach to improve the lives of the poor redefine the way we should operate in order to help our communities in a more sustainable manner,” said Mrs. Omanga.
 

The event will take place at the new Crowne Plaza Hotel at Upper Hill in Nairobi, where Ms. Novogratz’s latest publication “The Blue Sweater” will be on sale.