Aaron Kirunda (born 16 June 1985) is a Ugandan

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, Startup company, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to ...

and

public figure A public figure is a person who has achieved fame, prominence or notoriety within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own. In the context of defamation actions (libel and ...

. He is the chairperson of the African Spelling Bee and he is the co-founder and

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of where he dedicates his work to empowering people to reach their full potential through education. runs the National

Spelling Bee A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of words as written in dictionaries, and recite ...

in Uganda, a catalytic program that reaches millions of pupils in primary schools, helping them improve their

literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

, develop 21st century

skills A skill is the learned or innate ability Abilities are powers an agent has to perform various Action (philosophy), actions. They include common abilities, like walking, and rare abilities, like performing a double backflip. Abilities are in ...

. enjuba also publishes children's books and conducts teacher training programs.

Background and education

Aaron was born in

Jinja District Jinja District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Jinja is the district's main municipal and commercial center. Location Jinja District is bordered by Kamuli District to the north, Luuka District to the east, Mayuge Di ...

and he attended Katira Primary School and Kasokoso Trading Centre Primary School before joining Kakira High School, for his O-Levels and Muljibhai Madhvani College, Wairaka for his A-Levels where he emerged the best student in Jinja District. In 2004, he got a government scholarship to

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

to study a Bachelor of Mass Communication. He graduated in 2008 with

Honors Honour (or honor in American English) is the quality of being honorable. Honor or Honour may also refer to: People * Honor (given name), a unisex given name, including a list of people with the name * Honour (surname), English-language surnam ...

. He spent most of his after school time engaging with

youths Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Youth ...

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

community activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

, especially for the Children in

Northern Uganda The Northern Region is one of four regions in Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts As of 2010, the Northern Region had 30 districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some co ...

during the LRA War, mostly through GuluWalk and others, empowering

entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

to produce quality products and designing communication materials for the Ugandan Government,

Rwandan Government Politically, Rwanda is a ''de facto'' one-party state ruled by the Rwandan Patriotic Front and its leader Paul Kagame since the end of the 1994 genocide against members of the Tutsi ethnic group. Although Rwanda is nominally democratic, elect ...

and

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

funded projects. In 2009, he worked with others to develop

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

programs for a university radio station to enable university students to make the most important decisions of their lives. He later moved to Kiwoko –

Nakaseke District Nakaseke District is a Districts of Uganda, district in Central Region, Uganda, Central Uganda. It is named after Nakaseke, the largest town in the district. However, the district headquarters are located at Butalangu. Location Nakaseke District ...

to start and manage Musana Fm, a community Radio station aimed at creating community transformation. While here, he designed radio programs that gave people hope and inspired several to start income generating activities, to go back to school, and take practical steps towards living better lives. He spearheaded planting of over 20,000 trees in the community as well as using the radio as a platform to engage and educate people on

financial inclusion Financial inclusion is the availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services. It refers to processes by which individuals and businesses can access appropriate, affordable, and timely financial products and services—which ...

, helping people learn to use of their mobile phones as a tool for not just money transfers but also savings. He later launched enjuba Credit, a financial service company that helps individuals access emergency funding and for high growth entrepreneurs to get funding and business growth support for their businesses. In 2013, he was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to study

social policy Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...

and business model innovation at the base of the pyramid at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. He also runs the in Uganda and is the Chairperson of the African Spelling Bee, a continent-wide annual spelling competition for children with the aim of improving literacy, unlocking children's imagination and developing key life skills such as confidence, teamwork, critical thinking and presentation. Aaron is a receiver of a Positive Inspiration Award from YALDA (Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa). He was recognized as one of the 101 Young African Leaders at the 5th African Business Leaders Forum. He is a winner of the Global Young Social Entrepreneurs Competition, 2007 and a finalist for Young Achievers Award, 2010. Aaron is also an MIT GSW Fellow, an LSE Programme for African Leadership Fellow, an Acumen East African Fellow for 2016 and was recently nominated for the New Vision 40 under 40 awards.

Community activism

Aaron has served in the following positions: * Secretary General of the United Nations Youth Association of Uganda (UNYU). * Regional Coordinator, Global Demos, Uganda. * Project Director, Empower, a community organisation that teaches ICT skills to impoverished young people. * Co-founder and Chief Executive, a social company that leverages innovative tools to empower people to reach their full potential through investing in High Growth Enterprises and empowering children improve their literacy and develop key life skills through a spelling bee.

References

External links

Website of
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirunda, Aaron 1985 births Living people Soga people Literacy advocates Makerere University alumni People from Jinja District Ugandan community activists Alumni of the London School of Economics