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.
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.
Our Team
Aida Letaru
Facilitator
🇺🇬 Uganda
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Ambassadors
Ambassadors
Charlene Mwangi
Ambassador
🇰🇪 Kenya
Katharina Korte
Ambassador
🇩🇪 Germany
Open Positions
Legal Operations
Volunteer position (unpaid)
🇩🇪 Germany
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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.
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Opportunity to grow into the role of COO based on successful completion of the first assignment.
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Ideally you will bring some experience within the German non-profit sector.
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Volunteer 5-10 hours per week
Finance Manager
Volunteer position (unpaid)
🌍 Global
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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.
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Opportunity to grow into the role of CFO based on successful completion of the first assignment.
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Volunteer 10-15 hours per week
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.