Ezrah in East and Southern Africa

In mid-January, I embarked on a 7-week journey across West, East, and Southern Africa with the trustee of Ezrah Charitable Trust, to visit some of our existing partners and learn what is working well (or not) within each country's economy to help guide our future charitable giving. I would like to express gratitude for the countless non-profits, tech startups, and individuals who made our "learning tour" so incredibly enriching, and are creating tremendous social, environmental, and economic impact across the continent. This second article in the series is a shoutout to those who we met in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia, with special gratitude to Antonio Ruiz-Giménez, Jr. and Kathryn Llewellyn from Keep a Child Alive for organising our collective time in Malawi and Tanzania.

KENYA

• AkiraChix provides the most promising young women in Africa, with technology skills to compete economically and bridge the gender gap in tech.
• EIDU brings world-class learning content and training to low- and middle-income countries, brings together the global education community, and empowers governments to improve their education systems.
• Equity Group Foundation transforms the lives and livelihoods of people socially and economically by availing modern, inclusive financial services that maximize their opportunities.
• Gatsby Africa partners with others to catalyse and demonstrate sector transformation in East Africa (aquaculture, commercial forestry, livestock, textiles & apparel, and water.
• Partners in Food Solutions strengthens food security, improves nutrition and increases economic development across Africa by expanding and increasing the competitiveness of the food processing sector.
• SeamlessHR - Africa’s Leading HR & Payroll Software
• Andrew Youn from One Acre Fund , Benjamin Piper from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , Brooks Washington from Roha Group Inc (special shoutout for making intros to so many great people!), Carole Wamuyu Wainaina from Aspire Africa, Elizabeth Kiss and Frewyeni K. from Rhodes Trust , Hetal Patel from Mercy Corps Ventures , Lyndsay Holley Handler from Delta40 Venture Studio, Paul Breloff from Shortlist Futures , Ted Pantone from Turaco, William Asiko from The Rockefeller Foundation

TANZANIA

• Accelerate Women accelerates women in leadership and economic development.
• ASAS Group - a conglomerate of transport, dairy, and real estate companies across Tanzania.
• Doris Mollel Foundation caters to the needs of premature babies in Tanzania. Special shoutout to Doris Mollel for being such an amazing host for our entire time in Dar!
• Magilatech Global develops software solutions to help organisations streamline their business operations, reduce costs, and enable process automation.
• SELFINA offers micro-credit through micro-leasing with particular attention to widows and young girls in Tanzania.
• tibalabs manufactures medical equipment such as a phototherapy incubator for premature babies.
• Warioba Ventures provides African founders with capital, corporate networks, technical expertise, market knowledge and mentorship.

MALAWI

• Imagine Worldwide empowers children around the globe to build the literacy and numeracy skills needed to achieve their full potential.
• Salama Africa provides creative learning opportunities to out-of-school children in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp
• Small Farm Cities Africa builds affordable, job-creating agricultural communities in Malawi.
• TideRise hires, trains and employs educated young adults in Malawi to handle operational and procedural work for companies all over the globe.
• Lord Jack McConnell of the McConnell International Foundation, Sean Kampondeni , Executive Assistant to the President, and Vera Kamtukule , the Minister of Tourism

ZAMBIA

• BongoHive Technology and Innovation Hub helps entrepreneurs build high-growth ventures that address critical problems in underserved markets, runs an innovative workspace for entrepreneurs and startups, and develops new products and services.
• Mafisa helps traditional cattle-raising communities in Zambia to thrive, free of poverty and resilient to climate change.
• Akufuna Muyunda , Farai-Sylvia Liwewe and Sipho Mwanza of Catalyst Now , Bryan McCoy developer of affordable housing in Lilongwe, Monica Musonda of Java Foods , and Jito Kayumba , Special Advisor to the President.

It is difficult to synthesize the countless things I experienced and learned across all 8 of the very different countries we visited, but one thing I can say for certain is how impressed and inspired I am by the resourcefulness and innovative problem-solving we saw in every single person and organisation we met!