Alumni Profile Bryce Fort ‘90 Putting St. Patrick’s Values to Work in Africa

Bryce Fort ‘90 attended St. Patrick’s from Grade 3 to Grade 6 and graduated from Sidwell Friends in 1996. He then went on to Lehigh University to earn his bachelor of science degree, cum laude, in computer engineering with a minor in economics. He remembers St. Patrick’s as his favorite school with special fondness.  After college, Bryce worked for the Deutsche Bank AG European Healthcare Corporate Finance Group, focusing on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical devices industries. Bryce went on to co-found the District-based Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), a private equity firm that seeks to raise money from international sources to provide growth equity to rapidly developing companies in Africa. ECP invests in a wide array of industries, including restaurants, retail, telecommunications, and media. Since ECP’s founding 20 years ago, its funding has been directly responsible for creating 200,000 jobs in Africa.  Bryce is particularly proud that the number of jobs created far exceeds the results of traditional nonprofit development or impact investing. He is excited to help create prosperity for African people and their families through the for-profit, commercial sector.

Bryce and his family live in Nairobi, Kenya, to be close to the work that means so much to him. He and his wife Kelly have two children, Connor and Kaitlyn. Although leisure moments can be hard to come by outside of career and family time, he prefers to be active and pursues kitesurfing, mountain-biking, skiing, and tennis. The family’s adventurous spirit leads to a great deal of travel, and they have taken advantage of their Kenyan home base to explore Dubai, Thailand, Oman, and Tanzania. Bryce’s interest in photography comes in handy as they explore places of natural beauty, memories that he preserves on film. The Forts also enjoy waterskiing, paddle-boarding, and board games and highly recommend visiting the amazing beaches in Kenya!

Although a world away, Bryce recalls St. Patrick’s traditions such as the Christmas Pageant, Grate Patrol, Grade 6 Musical, St. Etienne School in Haiti, and Science Fair fondly. These activities instilled in Bryce and his classmates the values of being good citizens and contributing members of society, embracing diversity beyond their community or country, and being well-rounded in their interests from the arts to the sciences. These principles connect them in a particularly strong way through their personal experiences as students at St. Patrick’s to the present day as alumni who lead their adult lives consistently guided by them, which speaks to the timeless value of the Day School educational experience.

Bryce enjoys staying connected with St. Patrick’s through alumni communications; bumping into former classmates, parents, and teachers when he is in town; and occasionally driving down Whitehaven Parkway to see campus changes in person.  Like the rest of us, Bryce will always have a fondness for the St. Patrick’s that remains regardless of the passage of time. Despite being far from the school both in distance and years, he still feels a part of the community and continues to support the Annual Fund. 

Pull out quote “I find it truly remarkable that I graduated from St. Patrick’s 30 years ago, and yet the school’s mission and core values continue to be shared with current students with the same commitment as they were with my Class of 1990.” Bryce Fort ‘90

Bryce is impressed that St. Patrick’s continues to deliver on its mission through its commitment to diversity and to helping students develop integrity, empathy, and strong character in addition to promoting academic excellence. Time has proven to him personally how important and universal these values are, and they play out in his daily life as an expatriate supporting the incubation of business interests in the developing world.  He attributes St. Patrick’s consistent, lasting, and positive impact on its students and community to the diligence and creativity of teachers, administrators, and coaches; active engagement of parents; and also, importantly, the extended Day School community.