Day one of real impact in Kenya: Setting the scene for firsthand impact stories
Community development investing |
Stella Tai reflects on her travels to Kenya to gain a new perspective on Praxis’ real world impact
I’ve just returned from travel to my home country of Kenya to witness firsthand the transformational impact that community development work is doing there. As Stewardship Investing Impact and Analysis Manager for Praxis, I’ve come to understand a great deal about impact investing — but before this trip my understanding of this work often took place behind a computer screen, over the phone, or at a conference.
Through visits to four different impact sites in Kenya, I have gained a more nuanced – and personal – understanding of the work your investment dollars support:
The first organization that I visited, SunCulture, has already helped thousands of small farmers across Kenya boost their productivity by giving access to solar-powered technology such as water pumps and drip irrigation.
My second community development investing (CDI) site visit was to BioLite, a carbon-neutral company based in the U.S. which brought safe and reliable cookstoves that help people across East Africa cook food, light their homes and charge their devices.
On the third day, I visited Lendable, a company that provides access to emerging fintech companies. At Lendable, I met one of their clients, Watu Credit. Watu Credit has provided over 100,000 loans to Kenyans to buy motorbikes that they can then use for personal transportation or to serve as type of taxi.
The last organization I visited, Yehu, provides lines of credit to women, the illiterate and other marginalized groups in rural Kenya that do not have access to traditional banks.
My wish is for all our investors to not only know but feel the good their investment dollars are doing. And one way I can help with that is sharing an on-the-ground look at some community development investing projects in Kenya.
Follow along with my travels over the next several days to learn more about the real impacts that community development investing can make!
Discover how Praxis helps provide economic opportunity for disadvantaged individuals and communities around the world and learn more about our corporate initiatives to see how we make a difference.
