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.