Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company launched its corporate membership to the UN Global Compact Network Kenya (GCNK) on October 12^th, 2023 at the Company offices in Upperhill.

With this launch, KMRC joins the initiative’s other 23,000 members who include leading companies in 162 countries globally. These companies have aligned their business strategies and operations with the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact in the areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption and are committed to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This is one of KMRC’s initiatives to align its strategic plan with responsible housing finance tenets and therefore, serve the community wholesomely. The Company pledged to be cognizant of its decisions and investments, minding what these could potentially have on the society’s wellbeing.

Speaking during the launch, KMRC’s CEO Mr. Johnstone Oltetia noted the Company’s voluntary step to commit to the UN Global Compact ‘s Ten Principles to fulfil its ambition to be transparent and accountable for its actions.

"We believe accountability is an important business practice, and we want to be held accountable. Today’s launch is an important milestone for our Company and we look forward to building on this partnership as we continue to explore opportunities for more of such collaborations,” said Mr. Oltetia.

KMRC plays an important role in promoting development of affordable housing, mainly from the demand side, albeit with a lot of input on the demand side, especially with regards to enhancing linkages between all stakeholders. KMRC incorporated sustainability into its strategic plan (2020-24) during the plan’s medium term review. This was in view of the rising need for corporates to conduct business responsibly and make strategic decisions that focus on more than just profits (bottom-line) also measure their environmental and social impact.

GCNK Executive Director- Ms. Judy Njino reiterated the importance of such an initiative to corporates and commended KMRC on its efforts to support sustainable business practices, noting that KMRC was founded on the principles of sustainability.

The UN Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to get businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. The Kenya Network was first launched in Kenya in 2005 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with some leading business organizations and has continued to grow membership and active participation. The strategic objective of GCNK is to spearhead and catalyze actions aimed at promoting good business practices by building capacity and awareness of ethics, integrity and Corporate Social Responsibility in furtherance of the UN Global Compact’s 10 principles.