Arif Neky is the Senior Advisor for UN Strategic Partnerships at the Resident Coordinator’s Office and the National Coordinator of the SDG Partnership Platform in Kenya – co-created by the UN system and the Government of Kenya. He is also Chairman of the Task Force for the National Advisory Board (NAB) for Impact Finance in Kenya (Impact Investing Kenya) and Deputy Chairman of the East African Board of the Africa Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA). He is Deputy Chairman of the Finance, Trade & Investment Network FINTRINET and a Trustee of the Agriculture Sector Network ASNET of Kenya. He also represents the UN Resident Coordinator as his alternate on the UN Global Compact Network Kenya Board and is the Chairman of the Standing Board Committee on Programs.
He was the founding Coordinator of the first SDG Philanthropy Platform globally in Kenya, Founding Co-Chair of the EA Philanthropy Network and helped create the Kenya Philanthropy Forum. Arif is currently active in broadening the UN SDG Partnership Platform in Kenya to unlock significant private, philanthropic, intellectual and blended finance capital and collaborations to accelerate high priority SDG impacts. He has recently helped to expand its Multi Partner Trust Fund to support UN Kenya’s new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2022-2016 and beyond to 2023.
As the former Regional CEO of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) East Africa for over 13 years, Arif was directly responsible for a wide portfolio of programs in health, education, rural development and civil society enhancement across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Arif was previously the Regional Representative across Eastern Africa for the French & International Bank – Société Générale where his achievements included blended financing of selected development and infrastructure projects up to 250m French Francs per annum. He was also previously the Founder and CEO of the Microsoft certified Academy of Learning in Vancouver, Canada.