BILLIONAIRE KIRSH VISITS, BRINGS GOOD NEWS

MBABANE - Natie Kirsh, accompanied by his wife Frances and members of his family, spent the past week on a private visit in Eswatini.

During his visit, the billionaire renewed his love for the country, met old friends and visited beneficiaries of the Kirsh Foundation Eswatini. Nathan ‘Natie’ Kirsh is a billionaire and philanthropist. He heads the Kirsh Group, which holds a majority stake in New York cash and carry operation Jetro Holdings, owner of Restaurant Depot and Jetro Cash & Carry.
During his time in the kingdom, Kirsh met with Inhlanyelo Fund beneficiaries: Raymond Tsabedze, a wood sculptor at Ezulwini Crafts Market; Bhacaphi Maduna, owner of a clothing shop at KaBhelina; Marrienade Shabangu and Tivelele Bhembe, dressmakers at Mvutshini.

All beneficiaries expressed their gratitude to Kirsh and to Inhlanyelo Fund for giving them the loan capital to start their businesses. They are four examples of over 29 000 other emaSwati, over 70 per cent of them being females, who have been able to fulfil their dreams of owning their own businesses and providing for their families, thanks to the Kirsh family and Inhlanyelo Fund.

Donated

The Kirsh Foundation Eswatini (KFE) was established in 2020, as a Section 21 Association Not For Profit, after Kirsh donated all his business assets in Eswatini to KFE. The founding Articles of KFE state that all profits will be used exclusively for the benefit and welfare of emaSwati. Reflecting on that decision, Kirsh stated: “With substantial and successful business interests around the world, the time had come for me to focus on my legacy of philanthropy in Eswatini and to support the country, where I founded my earliest entry into business and where I raised my family: Eswatini, a place I will always call home,” he continued.

“These business assets in KFE will function as an endowment, with their profits providing ongoing funding for Inhlanyelo Fund and other charitable causes that will benefit emaSwati for generations to come”. The nation will recall that, during the COVID-19 crisis of 2020 to 2022, Kirsh and his family donated over E325 million towards PPE procurement, oxygen production and supply, and perhaps most critically, food support for hundreds of thousands of emaSwati from the start of the crisis until its end in 2022. Kirsh ended his visit with a strong statement of his and his wife’s emotional attachment to the kingdom and its people; and of his intention to return for a longer visit to Eswatini in the near future.

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