Dear Partner, The Kenya non-profit organizations' Working Group on the Financial Action Task Force in partnership with the Public Benefit Organizations Regulatory Authority (PBORA) invite you to the Launch of the "Talk To Your Regulator" (T2R) Initiative. The launch will be a hybrid half-day meeting that will take place on Monday, 19th May 2025 at Sarova Stanley Hotel, Nairobi from 8:00 am-2:00pm. The conference will bring together diverse civil society organisations, oversight and regulatory bodies, and representatives of financial institutions and development partners to share insights and debate critical issues related to oversight and regulation of terror financing risks in Kenya's non-profit sector. Discussions will focus on fostering an enabling environment for non-profit organisations by bridging the knowledge gaps in the regulatory framework, mitigating their misapplication and addressing adverse effects on the civic space. The timing of this conversation is crucial as the Public Benefits Organizations Act (PBO Act) 2013 comes into operation, and as the Government of Kenya works to address deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. Kenya was grey listed in 2024 following Mutual Evaluation by the East and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG). The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regional body found that Kenya lacks a clear strategy for prosecution of money laundering offenses, has not adequately investigated and prosecuted terror financing, and has an underdeveloped risk-based approach to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision. It further concluded that while Kenya has a large non-profit sector, it is largely unsupervised and unregulated, hence the risk of terror financing abuse remains unidentified. The Talk to Your Regulator (T2R) Initiative aims to foster stakeholder collaboration and dialogue to develop actionable strategies for ensuring risk-based approaches are taken in terror financing oversight and regulation of the NPO sector. With Kenya now on the FATF's grey list and subject to increased monitoring, there is impetus to review the interrelated factors that have led to an uncoordinated regulatory and supervision regime in the non-profit sector. Through the T2R, the NPO Working Group will work to ensure civil society voice and representation in efforts to revise the NPO regulatory framework. This collaborative approach will help ensure that oversight and regulation measures are effective in combating financial crimes, risk-based, and do not disrupt or discourage legitimate NPO activity. Please find attached the Launch agenda and concept note, which outlines the topics to be discussed and the objectives of the event. Please confirm physical attendance by responding to this email or register using this link if you wish to attend online https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/l9_8ejKFSPiOh5e3d3sA5g For any enquiries about the conference or the NPO Working Group, please reach out to [email protected] or [email protected] We look forward to your participation and collaboration. Best, Kimari Programme Manager, Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies