* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Marsabit District, Kenya -- The BOMA Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit that trains and mentors women in running small businesses in Northern Kenya, announced a ${esc.dollar}{esc.dollar}1.9 million dollar grant today from the Department for International Development (DFID), the United Kingdom’s aid organization. DFID’s mission is to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty. The DFID grant to BOMA will support the launch of 1,338 women-owned businesses across Northern Kenya over the next three years. The grant also includes a significant governance component to strengthen drought risk-management networks across this rural, arid region.
“This grant is exciting for us and a testament to the urgency of our work,” said Kathleen Colson, CEO and Founder of The BOMA Project. Colson, along with BOMA, was recently recognized on the floor of the U.S. Senate for BOMA’s work with Kenyan women. “DFID’s support will enable us to educate more than 4,000 women in how to start their own businesses and mentor them to achieve success. In doing so we will lift more than 24,000 women and children out of extreme poverty by March 2015.”
Climate change is creating longer droughts every year in Northern Kenya and is endangering an entire culture that currently depends on raising livestock for basic survival. BOMA’s work, to develop alternative means of income for some of the poorest people in the world while building community resilience, is crucial.
“BOMA’s impact is very clear, which was why we were keen to join their effort,” said Lisa Phillips, Head of DFID Kenya. “That they can help to give women in Northern Kenya a chance to fulfill their potential as businesswomen is the sustainable approach we support. We also appreciate BOMA’s strength in monitoring and evaluating their work. Learning about what works is particularly important for all of us.”
About The BOMA Project
Since January 2009, BOMA has established 1,380 small businesses across Northern Kenya, changing the lives of nearly 5,000 women, who use the income to pay for food, school fees and medical care for more than 23,000 children.
For more information on The BOMA Project, go towww.bomaproject.org
