Our goal is to provide interest-free microloans and entrepreneurship support to 80 individuals in the global south to realize their climate-smart business ideas. Working with local partners, Bridging Gaps addresses the barriers that refugees and other marginalized communities face in accessing finance, and empowers participants to launch their creative business ideas. Our next project focuses on climate entrepreneurs, resourcing innovative climate-smart solutions at the grassroots level.
Our story begins in Bidibidi refugee settlement in Uganda, where we saw that people were forced to rely on aid, despite their entrepreneurial spirit and motivation to create their own livelihoods. Many refugees and marginalized groups can't access traditional finance, and microlending institutions can charge high interest rates. Displaced populations are on the frontlines of climate change: these communities have the expertise and potential to implement solutions, but lack resources to do so.
Bridging Gaps turns donations into interest-free microloans to entrepreneurs with dreams to start their own social business. Our model uses a unique pay-it-forward approach - once a participant is able to repay their loan, they pass it on to the next entrepreneur. This means that all our loans stay in the community - so donated dollars work even harder. Today, we are working with local partners to fund climate-smart projects and sustainable agricultural businesses.
We launched our first cohort of entrepreneurs in Uganda in 2022. Since then, we have partnered with 8 local NGOs, launched 86 new businesses, and trained 250 entrepreneurs! Each funded business represents a dream realized. This project will channel resources directly to 80 entrepreneurs, enabling them to launch and scale businesses that drive environmental sustainability. Donations also empower local communities, promoting resilience and sustainable development while driving climate action.
