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United Nations Refugee Agency's Refugee-Led Innovation Fund Winner

Why We Do This

Our story starts with Malish James, a South Sudanese refugee in Uganda's Bidibidi Refugee Settlement. Exploring the challenges in Bidibidi with Malish and his community, we discovered a problem we wanted to solve: international organizations are cutting food rations, and refugees struggle to afford other essential items like clothes for their children, so they often sell or exchange the little food aid they receive.


Globally, 1.4 billion adults lack banking services, making them ineligible for conventional loans. Almost half of these people worldwide live in Sub-Saharan Africa, concentrated in conflict-affected and rural areas where poverty is the hardest to eradicate.

Our journey

To address aspiring unbanked entrepreneurs, 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, and established our first community loan groups in Bidibidi. Since starting in 2022, we have developed our digital platform to secure donations from the Global North, which are then transformed into microloans in the Global South. As businesses thrive, loans are paid forward to new entrepreneurs in the same community, creating a sustainable ripple effect of new initiatives and independent local financial structures.

What sets us apart

Bridging Gaps mitigates recipient indebtedness by providing interest-free microloans and allowing for business restarts in crises. Our focus on "shifting the power" empowers communities, establishing their financial structures and fostering self-sufficiency through the pay-it-forward model.

 

We foster close relationships with our loan recipients through entrepreneurship training, business incubation, coaching, and long-term mentorship. The strong support of local partner organizations further increases our success rate due to existing relationships and trust within the local communities.

Our Vision for
the Future

We want to see a world in which everyone has the means to create the life they dream of.

 

Beyond immediate economic benefits, our approach ensures long-term livelihoods. Each business, following our social business approach, contributes to the community's well-being. This way, we not only create new local financial structures but also empower the next generation of social entrepreneurs.

These are our

Core Values

Innovation

At Bridging Gaps, we take immense pride in our innovative and unique approach, cherishing it's adaptability that allows us the freedom for boundless creativity.

Trust

We promote trust through transparency towards all our partners and by maintaining personal relationships.

Optimism

As an entrepreneur from the world's poorest communities, optimism is vital. That’s why it's a key element at Bridging Gaps, where doing good is easy and fun.

Shifting the Power

Co-founded and co-led with the initial refugee community, Bridging Gaps prioritizes inclusive decision-making and community-led projects for empowering and sustaining supported communities.

Connection

We build connections between the Global North and the Global South, striving to nurture enduring relationships for everyone involved.

Compassion

In our diverse team, we prioritize care and compassion for each other, our partners, and microloan recipients, fostering an inclusive and respectful environment.

Founders

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Janina Peter

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

🇩🇪 Germany

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Malish James

Founder & Chief Impact Officer

🇸🇸 South Sudan

Our Volunteer Team

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Maria Medvedeva

Head of Localization

🇷🇺​ Germany

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Sruthi Sreekumar

Head of Fundraising

🇮🇳​ India

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Nadine Ilschner

Head of Operations

🇩🇪 Germany

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Miaoyu (Lesley) Hu

Head of Marketing

🇨🇳​ China

Chiara Moslow

Head of Institutional Partnerships and Strategy

🇺🇸 United States

Bridging Gaps Team - Aida

Aida Letaru

Facilitator

🇺🇬 Uganda

Danielle Marques

Diversity, Inclusion & Localization Advisor

🇧🇷 Brazil

Bridging Gaps Team - Andreas

Andreas Kästner

Operations

🇩🇪 Germany

Art Director & Brand Designer

🇩🇪 Germany

Anne Thürnau

Art Director & Illustrator

🇩🇪 Germany

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Raghda Ali

Localization

🇸🇩​ Sudan

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Ralitsa Dimitrova

HR & Team Happiness

🇧🇬​ Bulgaria

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Csenge Burján

Finance

🇭🇺 Hungary

Fundraising

🇮🇩 Indonesia

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Christine Kasoka

Operations & Strategy

🇿🇲 Zambia​

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Chan Hsuan Hung

Marketing

🇹🇼​ Taiwan

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Rubikha Kamalarajah

Tech Advisor

🇮🇹 Italy

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Nikoletta Skamnaki

Fundraising

​🇬🇷​ Greece

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Niccolò Guidantoni 

Marketing

​🇮🇹​ Italy

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Rupsa Ghosh

Fundraising

🇮🇳 India

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Yesha Oza

Fundraising

🇮🇳 India

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Jennifer Mullen

Marketing

​🇬🇧​ United Kingdom

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Alexander Wright

Fundraising

🇦🇺 Australia

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Emily Colquhoun

Localization

🇬🇧​ United Kingdom

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Chelsea Hall

Localization

​🇺🇸​ United States

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Prince Addo Ansah

Localization

​🇬🇭​ Ghana

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Sylvia Agani

Localization

​​​🇰🇪​​ Kenya

Ambassadors

Open Positions

Legal Operations

Volunteer position (unpaid)

🇩🇪 Germany

  • You have a background in law, administration or a related field? 
We are looking for someone to navigate us through the German legal jungle, support our ongoing processes, annual administrative and legal requirements, support internal processes like contracts with partners or volunteers, support design and structure of other legal documents, an HR handbook, donation receipts, and other processes as needed.
     
  • Opportunity to grow into the role of COO based on successful completion of the first assignment.
     
  • Ideally you will bring some experience within the German non-profit sector.
     
  • Volunteer 5-10 hours per week

Fundraising

Volunteer position (unpaid)

🌍​ Global

  • We are looking for someone to support us in finding and applying for grants, identifying and managing high level individual donors and company donors, and supporting our overall fundraising strategy.
     
  • Volunteer 5-10 hours per week

Finance Manager

Volunteer position (unpaid)

🌍​ Global

  • We are looking for someone to join us as a Financial Manager, plan and carry out our annual budget, manage our team of fundraisers and partnerships managers, and support in the creation of budgets for grants and funders.
     
  • Opportunity to grow into the role of CFO based on successful completion of the first assignment.
     
  • Volunteer 10-15 hours per week
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