INVITATION TO LAUNCH OF ‘TALK TO YOUR REGULATOR’ INITIATIVE ON 19 MAY

On Fri, 16 May 2025, 19:11 Kimari via KICTANet, <
[email protected]> wrote:

> Dear Partner,
>
> The Kenya non-profit organizations’ Working Group on the Financial
> Action Task Force in partnership with the Public Benefit Organizations
> Regulatory Authority (PBORA) invite you to the Launch of the “Talk To
> Your Regulator” (T2R) Initiative.
>
> The launch will be a hybrid half-day meeting that will take place on
> Monday, 19th May 2025 at Sarova Stanley Hotel, Nairobi from 8:00
> am-2:00pm.
>
> The conference will bring together diverse civil society organisations,
> oversight and regulatory bodies, and representatives of financial
> institutions and development partners to share insights and debate
> critical issues related to oversight and regulation of terror financing
> risks in Kenya’s non-profit sector. Discussions will focus on fostering
> an enabling environment for non-profit organisations by bridging the
> knowledge gaps in the regulatory framework, mitigating their
> misapplication and addressing adverse effects on the civic space.
>
> The timing of this conversation is crucial as the Public Benefits
> Organizations Act (PBO Act) 2013 comes into operation, and as the
> Government of Kenya works to address deficiencies in its anti-money
> laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. Kenya
> was grey listed in 2024 following Mutual Evaluation by the East and
> Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG). The Financial
> Action Task Force (FATF) regional body found that Kenya lacks a clear
> strategy for prosecution of money laundering offenses, has not
> adequately investigated and prosecuted terror financing, and has an
> underdeveloped risk-based approach to anti-money laundering and
> countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision. It further
> concluded that while Kenya has a large non-profit sector, it is largely
> unsupervised and unregulated, hence the risk of terror financing abuse
> remains unidentified.
>
> The Talk to Your Regulator (T2R) Initiative aims to foster stakeholder
> collaboration and dialogue to develop actionable strategies for ensuring
> risk-based approaches are taken in terror financing oversight and
> regulation of the NPO sector. With Kenya now on the FATF’s grey list and
> subject to increased monitoring, there is impetus to review the
> interrelated factors that have led to an uncoordinated regulatory and
> supervision regime in the non-profit sector. Through the T2R, the NPO
> Working Group will work to ensure civil society voice and representation
> in efforts to revise the NPO regulatory framework. This collaborative
> approach will help ensure that oversight and regulation measures are
> effective in combating financial crimes, risk-based, and do not disrupt
> or discourage legitimate NPO activity.
>
> Please find attached the Launch agenda and concept note, which outlines
> the topics to be discussed and the objectives of the event.
>
> Please confirm physical attendance by responding to this email or
> register using this link if you wish to attend online
> us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/l9_8ejKFSPiOh5e3d3sA5g
>
> For any enquiries about the conference or the NPO Working Group, please
> reach out to [email protected] or [email protected]
>
> We look forward to your participation and collaboration.
>
> Best,
> Kimari
> Programme Manager, Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies
>