Citigroup’s legacy of innovation and achievement is nearly 200 years old. Over the years, it has succeeded because its leaders and its people take a long-term approach to their business. Citigroup in Kenya primarily targets Education, Health and Shelter with support also to environmental activities. From time to time we respond to national needs that arise in the country.

There is perhaps no greater example of our belief in building for the long term than the goals behind the grants we give and the relationships we cultivate with communities around the country.

We support the work of Junior Achievement Kenya whose scope of activities are in educating young people to value free enterprise, business and economic principles that will allow creation of wealth and improve the quality of their lives. Citigroup combines financial giving and employee participation and has helped Junior Achievement in Kenya reach 5,822 students in its programmes. Citigroup also provides volunteers for classroom and job shadow sessions.

For more than 15 years, Citigroup in Kenya has participated in AIESEC’s International Traineeship Exchange Programme (ITEP) which has offered opportunities to university students and fresh graduates to work with Citigroup worldwide. This gives them the opportunity to work and live in different cultures other than their home country. As a global company with a local focus, it is important that Citigroup continues to bring a diverse and multi-talented group of employees into the company. Citigroup supports AIESEC because the organization promotes values of cultural understanding and international co-operation which we stand for.

Citigroup has a long history of supporting Habitat for Humanity International in grants and volunteerism. In building Habitat for Humanity homes, teams of Citigroup employee volunteers partner with local Habitat for Humanity affiliates in building decent houses for needy communities in the rural areas of Kenya. We provide building materials and our employees participate in the construction of some of the houses. Since 1998, Citigroup has invested in zero-interest-rate mortgage programs that allow Habitat partner families around the world to pay zero interest on their mortgage loans. Citigroup is the largest single investor in this program.

In the area of Health we support the work of Operation Smile, an international organization that provides free reconstructive surgery to children born with facial deformities. Citigroup Kenya takes part in the Corporate Challenge which is an annual road race whose aim is to raise funds that are used to perform restorative surgery for cleft lip and palate deformities on Kenyan children free of charge. The surgeries offer immediate and life-changing results, restoring the children’s ability to eat and breathe properly thereby enabling them to live normal lives. With the desire to do more than just make a financial contribution to such a worthy cause, Citigroup staff take part in the road race annually.

Citigroup has joined a host of various international donors to enable Pathfinder Kenya undertake a comprehensive program of support for 56 orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS (OVC). The children are enrolled at vocational training centers in Mombasa and Thika that are affiliated with Pathfinder’s community-based HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (COPHIA) project. The site in Mombasa provides vocational training for 25 second-year and 5 first-year students whilst the programme in Thika caters for 26 OVCs. Orphan graduates of this program are apprenticed to local artisans e.g. carpenters, tailors, hairdressers and mechanics to gain on-the-job experience. The Citigroup/Pathfinder project facilitates linkages for program graduates with K-Rep, a microfinance institution.

In the area of environment we were one of the first financial services companies to sign UNEP’s Statement by Financial Institutions on the Environment and Sustainable Development, an action that speaks of our long-time participation in international environmental leadership initiatives. We contribute funds for purchase of cleaning materials to UNEP during World Environment Day.

Other ways through which we give to community:

Our officers lecture at the Kenyan School of Monetary Studies on Trade Finance and Treasury Products.

All the above mentioned community projects have Citibank's support on a continuous basis.

For more information contact Charles Macharia on Tel: +254 20 2711221 / 222248