Trust In Local Leaders

Progress in global development will require that local communities own the ideas that transform life as it is, improving health, education, and economic opportunity. World Connect creates opportunities for local leadership to grow with absolute trust in our selected partners and direct investment in local innovation. We have seen power shift quickly for the 1.5 million people in the 1,850 communities we have invested in worldwide.

$7M Invested
70% first time leaders
1.5M lives impacted
42 countries
1,850 communities

Changemaker Profiles

World Connect's investment gave me my own confidence and the confidence of my community to be the leader I knew I was.

Marisol Peñaloza,
Ecuador
World Connect Project Leader

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The difference between World Connect and other organizations is that they put trust in people.

Alain Tenta, Malawi
World Connect Project Leader

With $8,533 from World Connect, Alain and his organization, Salama Africa, built a creative arts center for youth in Dzaleka Refugee Camp.

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I never would have dreamed that World Connect and what they do, they have done in my area.

Chief Theresa Kachindamoto,
Dedza District, Malawi

With 3 World Connect grants, Chief Kachindamoto’s District built a nursery school, established a maternity ward, and reforested a degraded area.

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What was remarkable about my grant was that it came from people who were willing to take a risk and believe in my abilities to provide solutions to relieve my community’s suffering.

Elvis Ndansi, Cameroon
World Connect Project Leader
Obama Foundation Scholar

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The World Connect Difference

  • Trust In Local Leaders

    The transformational ideas and energy to make progress in development exists at the local level worldwide. Our global trust network sources the leaders and our tools enable quick action with sustaining health, education, and economic impact for communities of the Global South.

  • Direct & Quick Investment

    Funding brings change and the quick movement of resources creates momentum. To date, World Connect has invested more than $8 million in 1,800+ communities across 42 countries. 95% of funded communities achieve their project goals, 82% of projects sustain, and the majority of invested funds are spent locally.

  • Accountability

    We track 400+ indicators across our 1,800+ investments using a custom built database. We know that 53% of the projects we invest in are women-led, 50% youth-led, and less than 1% of invested funds are misused. 100% of communities we invest in match our funding with their own cash investments.

  • Scale

    Direct investments and quick action lead to confidence that spreads. World Connect's investments multiply action within and across communities. 15% of the communities we fund see compound impact - ripple effects that go far beyond our investment. For every dollar that World Connect invests, our partner communities invest $0.33 of their own resources and leverage an additional $0.31 from other sources.

Connect With Us

New ideas, new investors and new donors are always welcome at World Connect. We are a community of doers and donors, a place where social impact investors and local changemakers meet as allies.

Learn more about investing and donating.

Tell us more about your interests and let us help you get connected.