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Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is recognizing Nuru International CEO Jake Harriman as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2015 at its Builders + Innovators Summit in Santa Barbara, California from October 14-16, 2015.

Goldman Sachs selected Jake Harriman as one of 100 entrepreneurs from multiple industries to be honored at the two-day event. Jake graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy and served seven and a half years in the Marine Corps as a Platoon Commander in both the Infantry and a special operations unit called Force Recon. During his military career, Jake led four operational deployments, including two combat tours in Iraq and disaster relief operations in Indonesia and Sri Lanka after the Asian tsunami. Jake was awarded the Bronze Star for actions in combat during his second tour in Iraq. From his experiences, Jake came to believe that the “War on Terror” wouldn’t be won on the battlefield alone: the contributing causes of terrorism—disenfranchisement, lack of education and extreme poverty—must also be eradicated. Jake left his career in the Marine Corps and enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) to build Nuru International, an organization focused on ending extreme poverty in remote, rural areas. Jake graduated with an MBA in June 2008 and led a team to launch Nuru Kenya later that year. Since 2009, Nuru Kenya and Nuru Ethiopia have enabled over 85,000 people to lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

“We are honored to recognize Jake Harriman as one of the most intriguing entrepreneurs of 2015,” said David Solomon, co-head of investment banking at Goldman Sachs. “This is an exciting time for entrepreneurs. This is the fourth year that we’ve hosted the Builders + Innovators Summit and continue to be amazed by what happens when a diverse group of seasoned and emerging business leaders — the builders and innovators – come together to discuss how to drive innovation, create jobs, and build enduring organizations.”

For more than 145 years, Goldman Sachs has been advising and financing entrepreneurs as they launch and grow their businesses. In addition to honoring 100 entrepreneurs, the summit consists of general sessions and clinics led by Goldman Sachs experts, seasoned entrepreneurs, academics and business leaders as well as resident scholars.

About Nuru International

Nuru International is a U.S.-based social venture on a mission to end extreme poverty in remote, rural areas. It establishes sustainable community development projects, such as Nuru Kenya and Nuru Ethiopia, to deliver high touch, holistic programming – in Agriculture, Financial  Inclusion, Healthcare and Education – to engage all household members in building resilience and ending intergenerational poverty.

Since 2009, Nuru has partnered with farmer households to consistently increase crop yields, food security and income. Nuru farmer yields have increased 56 percent more on average than farmers’ yields in the comparison group. In addition, Nuru farmer households have shown a 12 to 14 percent increase in the adoption of healthy behaviors relative to the comparison group since 2013. Moreover, children in grades 2-5 who receive Nuru Outreach have demonstrated a 6 percent increase in literacy proficiency over time in comparison with non-Nuru students. Nuru believes that with access to opportunity and meaningful choices, families can and will graduate from surviving today to planning for tomorrow.

For more information, visit NuruInternational.org, like facebook.com/nuruinternational, follow @IAmNuru on Twitter and contact:

Kim Do
Strategic Communications Director
kim.do[at]nuruinternational[dot]org
949-667-0796, x904

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