NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 22 – Crown Agents, a British provider of cross-border payments, has opened new offices in Nairobi.
The opening of new offices in Nairobi is set to put Kenyan experts in charge of parts of the firm’s global operations.
This follows the 2021 appointment of David Mureithi to the Crown Agents’ Global Board of Directors.
“Crown Agents exist to enable governments and society in resolving some of the most onerous barriers to development. To do that most effectively, we need strategic and programmatic leadership that understands the causes, and the specific circumstances, that we face across the developing world,” said Mureithi.
To accommodate its increased staff, Crown Agents Kenya is now moving to larger offices in the Green House on Ngong Road.
Crown Agents Country Director Loise Kinyanjui added; “we now have part of the company’s global strategy being driven by those who have lived, studied and worked in Africa, working alongside country-level staff engaged in detailed procurement and logistics challenges.”
The development organisation is currently working closely with the Governments of Kenya and Jersey to reinvest three million pounds of looted funds hidden in Jersey into the Kenyan health sector.
Through the Framework for the Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime in Kenya (FRACCK), an asset recovery programme signed by the Governments of Kenya, Jersey, the UK and Switzerland, Crown Agents Kenya is leading in the procurement of medical equipment and the training of health workers, with the aim of providing enhanced health service delivery as part of the universal healthcare initiative.
Crown Agents has had offices in Kenya since 1965 supporting the Government of Kenya in delivering programmes in procurement reform, health and government staff training. However, in the last year, it has tripled its staff in Nairobi, appointing Kenyan experts to manage parts of its global strategy and programmes. Crown Agents is now managing global recruitment from Nairobi, as well as its global fund management strategy.
This follows Crown Agents Kenya taking a leading role in tackling Neglected Tropical Diseases by facilitating the administration of 8.5 million treatments against Schistosomiasis (Schisto) and Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH) across the world.
The treatments were funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Children’s Investment Foundation (CIFF) as part of their effort to eradicate NTDs globally.
Last year, Crown Agents Kenya collaborated with philanthropists and the Irish and Japanese Governments to deliver over 4.5 million pieces of assorted PPE, ventilators, oxygen concentrators and other medical equipment to hospitals around the country to support Kenya’s fight against COVID-19.
