Bridging Gaps

Our story starts with Malish James, a South Sudanese refugee in Uganda's Bidibidi refugee settlement. His community faced a critical issue: international organizations are cutting food rations, and refugees struggle to afford food and other essential items like clothes for their children. To address this, we introduced a groundbreaking new business model: the first-ever pay-it-forward community microloan, merging charity and microfinance. With Malish as our co-founder, we identified potential entrepreneurs, conducted a co-created pilot workshop, and established community loan groups. A digital platform was developed to secure donations from Germany and Europe, which were then transformed into microloans. Unlike traditional repayable microloans, our model is based on a pay-it-forward approach. As businesses thrive, loans are passed on to new entrepreneurs in the same community, creating a sustainable ripple effect of new initiatives and long-term, new independent financial structures. Donors receive continuous updates on the impactful stories of the entrepreneurs they support through our digital platform, fostering a sense of connection and engagement with the community. Join us in scaling this innovative approach by funding an entrepreneur, becoming a partner or joining us as an ambassador.