Ram Raju, Chairman and CEO of , has long been an impassioned supporter of both AV俱乐部 and local entrepreneurship. Last month, he benefitted both when he presented a cheque for $60,000 to the Faculty of Management鈥檚 .
Raju has a longstanding relationship with AV俱乐部 and with the Rowe School of Business in particular. He earned three degrees at AV俱乐部, including his MBA at the Rowe School. At last month鈥檚 Startup Weekend, an event hosted by the Newman Centre that brings together entrepreneurs from the university and the wider Nova Scotia community, Raju served as a panel judge for teams pitching their business ideas. He also presented his donation to AV俱乐部 president Richard Florizone, who thanked him and commended his contributions to AV俱乐部 and to entrepreneurship in Halifax.
This is not the first time Raju has supported entrepreneurship endeavours at the Newman Centre; in 2012, he donated $50,000 to the Centre.
Raju鈥檚 gift, the Kivuto Solutions Entrepreneurship Fund, will support the Newman Centre鈥檚 and initiatives. The stated purpose of the gift is to provide funding for 鈥減assionate and energetic students who will build a better world by contributing solutions to societal challenges and in the process create companies and jobs to drive the Canadian economy forward.鈥� The gift鈥檚 focus will be on funding for team-based entrepreneurship programs, and will provide needed financial support to students who want to work on entrepreneurial projects outside the classroom.
Raju鈥檚 gift will be distributed to the Newman Centre over the course of the next three years.