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 bkimari@chrips.or.ke or  f.okado@muhuri.org

We look forward to your participation and collaboration.

Best,
Kimari
Programme Manager, Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies