new banner (1)

Meet The Power of Local Challenge Winners!

xx

In The Power of Local Challenge, we sought out small business ecosystem builders - organizations, programs, or initiatives that provide small businesses with diverse and equitable opportunities like resources, tools, networking, etc.  

Out of 24 finalists, our judges panel chose one Grand Prize Winner – ABALOBI ICTs for small-scale fishers. The team behind this initiative is taking home $60,000 USD to support their incredible work.

The judges panel also chose 10 winners who will each be awarded $15,000 USD. These projects are innovating around issues like lack of market access for favela entrepreneurs in Brazil to structural barriers facing social and climate entrepreneurs in Central Africa. A hearty congratulations to these winners! 

 

Power of Local Winners

A diverse group of young adults pose infront of a mountain on a sunny day with a clear blue sky. The Ocean Hub Africa Logo is superimposed above the mountain's peak.

Oceanhub Community of Practice

African Hub for Ocean Impact NPC (AHOI) proposes to expand and sustain a thriving Community of Practice for Blue Economy Entrepreneurial Support Organ...

A man and three boys stand at the doors of a shop with several bags of animal health products outside. The text across the bottom of the image reads "Rural Animal Health Business Project".

Rural Animal Health Business

The Rural Animal Health Project empowers small agro-veterinary (agrovet) businesses—veterinary retail stores in rural communities—with animal health b...

Four men sit in a cobbler shop, two of the men at the edge of the photo are working on pieces for constructing shoes. The two men at the center are speaking with eachother while using their mobile phones.

Somo Africa

Somo Africa empowers marginalized entrepreneurs to build financial literacy, access financing, and connect with investors and networks through compreh...

A group gathers in a courtyard, one man stands holding a book in front of a flip chart that reads "Idea Refinement". The seated group faces away from the camera and towards the speaker, almost entirely wearing orange shirts that read "Lacac Pe Lony".

Academy for Social

Resilience from Within's Academy for Social Transformation (AST) empowers Northern Ugandan women and youth to co-design sustainable businesses address...

Green text reads "Kuzola #HackingTheFuture"

Ukuzola

Ukuzola is the first startup house in Central Africa that removes financial barriers for social and climate entrepreneurs by offering a co-living spac...

A group of people pose for the camera. A logo for SRC is superimposed on the photo with text that reads "Waste to Worth"

Waste to Worth Indonesia (W2WI

Sustainability for Resource Collectors empowers waste collectors to transition from informal labor to recognized micro-entrepreneurs, by equipping the...

An image collage with people participating in a expo event. Text on the image reads "Expo Favela Innovation"

Expo Favela Innovation

Expo Favela bridges favelas with leading companies and markets, empowering entrepreneurs and showcasing their creativity, innovation, and transformati...

A graphic collage with several black africans seated in a room. A "G" set on its side frames a woman at the center of the photo. A logo in the top left reads "Bridging Gaps".

Bridging Gaps: Pay-it-forward

Bridging Gaps is an award-winning German-Ugandan non-profit that empowers aspiring entrepreneurs from marginalized communities through a systemic solu...

Three women stand in a makeshift sheltered chicken coop, standing among seemingly hundreds of chickens.

Doorstep Flexiflow Prosperity

We transform rural livelihoods by bringing flexible, cashflow-matched credit with no need of immovable collateral and financial education directly to ...

Text reads "Reduce Post-harvest losses! Empowering farmers with cutting-edge, eco-friendly cold storage solutions to maximize freshness, reduce waste, and enhance income."

FreshBox | Solar-Powered

We install community-owned solar-powered cold storage units in rural Kenya to reduce post-harvest losses, increase farmers' income, and serve as educa...

Power of Local Grand Prize Winner

The ABALOBI logo, a graphic image of a mobile device, the screen shows four overlapping hands with open palms each with a simple illustration of a fish.

ABALOBI ICTs for small-scale

ABALOBI is a fisher-led, community-driven platform that empowers small-scale fishers through technology, ma...