healthymagination Mother and Child Programme Announces the Graduation of its First Group of Social Entrepreneurs Addressing Maternal & Child Health in Sub-Saharan Africa Today, the GE healthymagination Mother and Child Programme will graduate 14 social entrepreneurs who completed training and mentorship aimed at improving and accelerating maternal and/or child health outcomes in Africa NAIROBI, Kenya, February 23, 2017/APO/ -- Today, the GE (www.GE.com) healthymagination Mother and Child Programme will graduate 14 social entrepreneurs who completed training and mentorship aimed at improving and accelerating maternal and/or child health outcomes in Africa.  After a rigorous evaluation process, the social enterprises were selected to be in the first cohort of the healthymagination Mother and Child Programme. Throughout the programme, finalists attended a three-day, in-person workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, followed by a six-month online accelerator program that included weekly, in-depth mentoring from Silicon Valley-based executives and local GE business leaders. The program was designed to help the social entrepreneurs acquire business fundamentals, improve their strategic thought processes and articulate a business plan that demonstrates impact, growth and long-term financial sustainability. “GE believes there is much for social enterprises and large businesses to learn from each other. As the center of the ecosystem, social entrepreneurs are key to building Africa’s sustainable future,” said Robert Wells, Executive Director of healthymagination. “The GE and Miller Center collaboration takes an innovative and highly practical approach to combatting this challenge, by providing social entrepreneurs with the skills and resources they need to expand the positive impact of their interventions.” This accelerator and mentorship programme culminates today in a “Premier Pitch” event taking place in Nairobi during which the 14 finalists will present their respective enterprises to an audience of potential investors and supporters. “We are thrilled to graduate our first cohort of social entrepreneurs. This group of people are helping solve some of Africa’s biggest health challenges through their initiatives aimed at improving mother and child care. This is another great example of the strong entrepreneurial spirit in Africa”, said Jay Ireland, President & CEO, GE Africa. “Addressing the global health challenges of women and children living in sub-standard conditions or facing high-risk pregnancies demands all the determination, diligence and creative solutions we can muster,” said Thane Kreiner, Ph.D., executive director of Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. “Now the first cohort of social entrepreneurs is emerging, ready to begin making a tangible difference in maternal and child health by leveraging GE’s healthcare expertise and the business-building skills imparted by Miller Center’s Silicon Valley mentors.” Below are the 14 social enterprises that have completed the healthymagination Mother and Child Programme: For more information on the programme, kindly visit www.SCU-Social-Entrepreneurship.org/mother-and-child. Distributed by APO on behalf of GE.About GE: GE (NYSE: GE) (www.GE.com) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the “GE Store,” through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry.   About GE’s healthymagination commitment: GE’s healthymagination commitment is about better health for more people. We continuously develop and invest in innovations that deliver high-quality, more affordable healthcare to more people around the world. For more information about our healthymagination commitment, visit www.GEsustainability.com. About Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship: Founded in 1997, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is one of three Centers of Distinction at Santa Clara University in California. Miller Center accelerates global, innovation-based entrepreneurship in service to humanity. Its strategic focus is on poverty eradication through its three areas of work: The Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI), Impact Capital, and Education and Action Research. To learn more about Miller Center or any of its social entrepreneurship programs, visit www.SCU.edu/MillerCenter. About Santa Clara University: Santa Clara University (www.SCU.edu), a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry and theology; and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.’s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.SCU.edu.