NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Nairobi, Kenya, August 15, 2012 – Acumen Fund, a pioneering nonprofit global venture firm addressing poverty across Africa and in South Asia, today announced Duncan Onyango as the new Director of Acumen Fund East Africa. Mr. Onyango joins from Rift Valley Railways having served as Group Chief Finance Officer. He replaces Biju Mohandas who is leaving Acumen after five years of leading Acumen’s local office and building the portfolio to its current size of $29 million in cumulative investments. Mr. Mohandas will play an informal role through this transition.

“We are delighted to have Duncan join us to lead our East Africa work through its next phase of growth,” said Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen Fund. “He has informally served as an advisor to our team over the years and knows us well. This intimate knowledge of our work, coupled with his extensive experience will truly help further our mission of supporting enterprises and leaders focused on poverty alleviation.”

Mr. Onyango has extensive experience in strategic and business planning as well as working with small businesses and entrepreneurs. He spent the first ten years of his career with Abbey National, a major international bank in London, gaining cross-functional business experience in both the retail and corporate arms, including serving as the bank’s Head of Training & Management Development for the Wealth Management Division. Mr. Onyango then transitioned into consulting at Strategic Workforce Limited in London, before returning to East Africa where he founded Quantum Africa in 2006, working with many small businesses and entrepreneurs. He holds an honors degree in Computing and Retail Management from Oxford.