118 scholars from the Equity Leadership Program comprising of Wings to Fly alumni beneficiaries as well as those who topped the 2019 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination in their respective sub counties; have received admission and full financial aid to 56 global universities. The fifty-six (56) institutions are situated across five continents in different countries including United States of America (USA), Canada, China, Singapore, Mauritius, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and India. This year’s admissions bring the total the number of scholars who have so far gained admission to global universities under the Equity Leaders Program to 754.
The global scholars will benefit from undergraduate scholarships from their host institutions valued at over USD 13,423,780 (Ksh 1,448,425,862) and are set to receive a token of between Ksh 100,000 to Ksh 200,000 from Equity Group to facilitate their preparation and travel to their host countries.
Of the 118, 20 scholars have been admitted to Ivy League Universities in the United States including Yale (4), Harvard (3), University of Pennsylvania (3), Princeton (1), Cornell (3), Dartmouth (2), Columbia (2) and Brown (2).
Commenting on the admissions, Equity Group Foundation Executive Chairman Dr. James Mwangi noted that there has been a significant growth in the number of ELP scholars admitted to various global universities on early admission. “Last year, 93 scholars had been admitted to global universities at a time like this, today, we are at 118 and counting with more scholars set to receive their admission letters within the next few weeks. In addition, 54 of these scholars have been admitted on full scholarships. We are grateful to the partnerships and collaborations we have with these global universities that offer our children an opportunity to study, have exposure to other top scholars from other countries and with different cultures thus creating global citizens.” said Dr. Mwangi.
ELP aims to empower young academically gifted scholars by supporting the students to apply for admission and full financial aid from universities around the world, as well as equipping them with leadership skills. This is done through a 6-9 months paid internship program, mentoring and coaching and for those looking to gain admission to global universities, admission into a College Counselling Program that runs for 3 months where they are guided on the admission process and how to manoeuvre through a new education system.
Other than mentorship and leadership development, ELP is keen on spurring personal and professional development, creativity and innovation and community engagement amongst the scholars thus moulding them into forward thinking young professionals with a heart for community give back.
“We are quite confident that these scholars will represent Kenya well and will continue putting us on the map as a country with great minds and capabilities with the ability to contribute to global agenda and purpose-led impact,” added Dr. Mwangi.
Locally, ELP scholars have come together in their universities to establish ELP Chapters, associations that allow them to regularly interact, brainstorm and find new ways of doing things within their line of careers and for the benefit of society.
Established in 1998, the program has so far benefitted 17,040 scholars and has produced professional thought leaders including Equity Bank Uganda Managing Director, Samuel Kirubi who was the first ELP scholar, Dr. Elizabeth Gitau–Maina, the outgoing CEO of the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) and the Medical Officer in charge Equity Afia Upperhill, Anthony Siloiy, Senior Software Engineer at Dell EMC, Vincent Mukiri, Managing Partner of Mukiri Global Advocates, Brian Mwiti, Senior Associate at Ethos Private Equity, Dr. Allan Makenzie, Associate Director, Global Sustainability and Government Affairs at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Ltd among many other ELP scholars.
