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.
Looking for a particular Bridging Gaps employee's phone or email?
Janina Peter is the Founder and CEO of Bridging Gaps.
22 people are employed at Bridging Gaps.
Bridging Gaps is based in Berlin, Berlin.