Micro-Enterprise Program

O ur micro-enterprise program is designed to build our partners' long-term capacity by developing sustainable income streams. We use micro-enterprise as a tool to grow financial independence by providing small grants to encourage and support business ventures run by Africans caring for orphans. Micro-enterprise is a crucial means of empowering people to escape from poverty and reduce their dependence on aid.

"We believe that by offering a hand-up instead of a hand-out we can change people's lives while maintaining dignity and encouraging entrepreneurial talent." - Catherine Evans, Founder

We work alongside partners to select appropriate micro-enterprise initiatives, drawing on their knowledge of what businesses work best in their environment. We then provide a start-up grant, enabling our partners to invest in the initial outlay for the business. By providing advice and support we aim to nurture our partners' entrepreneurial skills as the business grows. Once the business is generating profits, a proportion of these are used to support the orphans in our partners' care and the rest is reinvested in the business.

We have funded a variety of businesses and always welcome ideas for new ventures. Many of our partners are based in rural locations and micro-enterprise initiatives to date have focused on raising livestock (goat farming and poultry farming), selling maize and milling corn or rice. Our partner in Nairobi, Kenya, uses their expertise in tailoring to make and sell school uniforms.