Episode 121: Interview with Kevin Starr, the founder of the Mulago Foundation--which funds high-impact organizations working on alleviating poverty

The Sustainability Agenda

In this episode, we welcome veteran investor Kevin Starr to the podcast to discuss the work of the Mulago Foundation, which funds high-impact organizations working on alleviating poverty. Kevin explains how Mulago’s focus has inevitably extended over time to take into account climate and the environment--the focus of Mulago's Henry Arnhold Fellows Program. Kevin’s main focus at Mulago is on lasting change at scale and he explains how he thinks about scaling-- and the importance of structuring investments to make sure that profit and impact are aligned. In this wide ranging, Kevin shares his perspective on the state of social entrepreneurship today, the reality of impact investment, and his evolving thoughts on measuring impact.

Kevin is the founder of the Mulago Foundation, which funds early stage social entrepreneurs devoted to maximum impact at scale in developing countries. Kevin set up the Reiner Arnhold Fellows Program in 2003 to apply Mulago’s principles and tools to help social entrepreneurs turn good ideas into lasting change at scale-- and in 2016, the Henry Arnhold Fellows Program to add a focus on environmental solutions. Kevin was the primary instigator of Big Bang Philanthropy, a group of funders that work together to direct more money to those best at fighting poverty. This is an edited version of an interview from the Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs podcast.