Projects in 2020
Project Take Care Africa
Country: Sub-Sahara Afrika
Partner: PharmAccess
Status: Ongoing
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to an eighth of the world’s population, which bears a quarter of the world’s disease burden. They have only 2% of all doctors and 1% of the global healthcare budget at their disposal. To address these shortages and meet the need for healthcare information, PharmAccess is introducing Take Care Africa. This is an online platform for reliable information on health and care. Using a smartphone – two-thirds of the population is expected to have such a phone in 2025 – one can access relevant information about prevention, good health, diseases, medicines and local healthcare (comparable to thuisarts.nl). The aim is to enable local people to take better care of their own health and to be better informed when they unexpectedly fall ill. This project contributes to improving healthcare.
Project Digital Group Lending “Because all you need is a good team!”
Country: Kenia
Partner: Sevi
Status: Ongoing
Sevi consists of an enthusiastic team of believers, builders and impact creators. They create value for entrepreneurs so that they can achieve their dreams. In line with the global digitalisation trend in the financial sector, Sevi offers mobile financial services, based on which a digital trust score is created. When doing this, Sevi has a specific focus on savings and loan groups and is the first company to have successfully digitised and transformed the group loan process and the solidarity mechanism behind it. Sevi received a loan from the Achmea Foundation to further validate its model and prepare its operations for scaling up in Kenya and beyond. Ignace Konig (Manager Data Warehouse & Management at Zilveren Kruis) and his son Sappie are helping Sevi to set up a trust rating system. The aim is to significantly reduce the high interest rate for micro-credit (35-40%) based on better technology, data and models. Through the use of technology, this project will offer a tremendous boost to entrepreneurs in Africa in terms of access to financial resources.
"Sevi tremendously improves the groups hope as a mobile lending platform. The individual businesses of the groups are inspired through Sevi and the group is looking forward to bigger and better loans to expand on their business ventures." Isabel Atwol Omucheni - Waingo Women Empowerment
"I like that Sevi makes information about your loan easily accessible. Interest rates, loan terms and limits, are all outlined clearly in the app. I also like that early loan repayment attracts more trust points which in turn increases the loan amounts accessible for individual borrowing and group limits." Lorna Maureen Odwar - Money Group
Project Weathering the Storm “The World's First and Most Accurate Tropical Weather Forecast”
Country: Mali en Côte d'Ivoire
Partner: Ignitia
Status: Ongoing
Ignitia provides reliable tropical weather forecasts that enable farmers to make better decisions about their farming practices and thus improve yields and efficiency. The project aims to provide 175,000 small farmers in Mali and 75,000 farmers in Côte d’Ivoire with highly accurate weather forecasts by SMS. This will help them improve their livelihoods, food security and build resilience to climate change. Ignitia’s highly accurate forecasting enables farmers to sow, fertilise and harvest at optimal times. Thanks to these weather forecasts, they can also optimise the use of precious resources, such as water, pesticides and fertilisers. Through the use of smart technology, this project will bring about an enormous improvement in the field of agriculture.
What Farmers Say About Ignitia:
"About a year ago before I started using Iska Weather (the weather model of Ignitia), I had just lost all my capital when some heavy rains fell right after I had planted my seeds and fertilized. Since I started using Iska my harvest has increased so much because we always know what activity to do for the right weather. It has really helped me.” Charles, Brong-Ahafo Region, Ghana
“Bringing Commercial Farming to Everyone”
Country: Nairobi Partner: Apollo Agriculture Status: Ongoing
Apollo Agriculture is a Nairobi-based technology company. They want to help small-scale farmers maximise their profits. They offer funding opportunities to farmers who otherwise would not have access to them. Apollo bundles everything a farmer needs: financing, agricultural production, advice, insurance and market access. Satellite data and machine learning enable better credit decisions and automated operations keep costs low and processes scalable. Their core product is a customised bundle of high-quality seed and fertiliser on credit, as well as agronomic advice and insurance. Funding from the Achmea Foundation contributes to Apollo’s 5-year goal of doubling the income of 1 million small-scale farmers. This technology company is making a huge improvement in the field of agriculture.
Focus on inner beauty
Country: Netherlands Partner: Social entrepreneur Model for Models Status: Ongoing
As a model, founder Jessica has an eye for fashion, looks and beauty. She links this to themes such as self-presentation and self-assurance. Model for Models pays conscious attention to everyday positive physicality of women. The body is rarely naturally integrated into our activities at the office, at school or in the supermarket. This turns out to be crucial in a society in which only extreme positivity and negativity are usually discussed.
Model for Models focuses on the development of self-confidence and the self-image of girls and young women. The approach is cultural-creative. This means that the methods used in the workshops, coaching and programmes meet the human need to be meaningful, playful, creative and expressive.
“I am extremely happy and grateful that I was able to participate in the ImpactPlus growth programme. I have developed a lot as an entrepreneur in the past months (I have even more confidence and peace of mind) and, thanks to the programme, I have a growth plan with concrete steps, including a corporate video for Model for Models that I can actively and purposefully work on further.” Founder Jessica Gyasi of Model for Models
This company contributes to the self-reliance of young people.
Focus on work for people with disabilities
Country: Netherlands Partner: Social entrepreneur Onbeperkt aan de Slag Status: Ongoing
Onbeperkt aan de Slag works on an inclusive labour market and organises meetings between jobseekers and employers. Onbeperkt aan de Slag itself only employs people with an ‘occupational disability’.
Founder Saskia Rosmalen of Onbeperkt aan de Slag on the most important lesson of the ImpactPlus programme for her company: “Thinking about everything again. And describing better what you stand for. We are not a charity, contrary to what people think when it comes to inclusion and people with disabilities, but a company. And that is why it is very much needed.” Onbeperkt aan de Slag promotes inclusion in society.