From Vision to Scale: Mulago's Kevin Starr shares his blueprint for transformative social impact

The Sustainability Agenda

What does it take for an impact-first organization to achieve meaningful, large-scale change? In this insightful episode, Kevin Starr, CEO of the Mulago Foundation, shares decades of experience on scaling solutions that address the world’s toughest challenges.

Kevin explains Mulago’s distinctive approach to scaling… their “Doer and Payer at Scale” framework, and their rigorous criteria for assessing ideas with transformative potential. He also delves into the critical importance of a clear, focused mission to avoid the common pitfalls of “mission drift.”

Drawing on real-world examples—such as the transformation of community health workers in Mali—Kevin illustrates how thoughtful partnerships, evidence-based strategies, and a relentless focus on outcomes can enable organizations to turn their vision into sustained impact. He also challenges funders to step up, emphasizing the need for greater accountability and alignment with measurable results.

This episode is essential listening for anyone passionate about social change, offering practical guidance on how to transform promising ideas into global-scale solutions.

Kevin has run the Mulago Foundation since 1993-they fund early stage social entrepreneurs devoted to maximum impact at scale in the place with the poorest people. Kevin set up the Rainer Arnhold Fellows Program in 2003 to apply Mulago’s principles and tools to help social entrepreneurs turn good ideas into lasting change at scale– and in 2016, the Henry Arnhold Fellows Program to add a focus on environmental solutions.