Equity Group Foundation International CEO – US member
Lauren Hendricks is the CEO and Co-Founder of KEIPhone. The mission of KEIPhone is to provide women in developing markets with smartphones, paid for through an innovative advertising-based revenue model. KEIPhone has launched in Uganda and plans to spread to the rest of East Africa.
She previously served as the CEO of Equity Group Foundation International, the US arm of Equity Group Foundation. Equity Group Foundation is the non-profit implementing foundation established by Equity Group to advance it’s social mission.
Lauren Hendricks was the Executive Vice President of Grameen Foundation. A global expert in international development and financial inclusion, she works to engage technology and private sector to address the critical challenges of our time. She has partnered with banks, microfinance institutions, mobile network operators, and others in the private sector to adapt products and services to meet the needs of the poor, and to ensure that participants benefitted from new, digital financial services.
She was previously Executive Director for the Access Africa initiative at CARE, where she led the development of financial inclusion programs and innovative solutions to reach the poorest people in Africa. Lauren also served as Director of the Economic Development Unit for CARE USA, where she provided strategic direction and technical leadership for more than 100 active microfinance and enterprise development programs in 54 countries.
Lauren has a long history engaging capital markets to address poverty, and currently serves on the Board of Directors and Investment Committee for Grameen Capital India, a capital management firm investing in social businesses in India. She also serves on the board of the Fair Trade Access Fund, a specialized investment providing investments in agricultural initiatives in Latin America and Africa.