The BOMA Project, Inc.

BOMA’s Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP) is an innovative poverty graduation program that builds the resiliency of women living in extreme poverty in the drylands of Africa, so they can survive drought and adapt to a changing climate. Through a sequence of interventions, REAP helps groups of three women—the poorest and most vulnerable—to start a small business in their rural communities. With a sustainable income that’s not tied to the drought-threatened livestock industry, women can feed their families, pay for school fees and medical care, and build up savings for long-term stability.

Over the course of two years, the REAP interventions include two asset transfers of cash (seed capital to launch and grow the business), training in basic business skills and financial literacy, regular coaching by a local BOMA Village Mentor, and the introduction of mentored savings associations that meet monthly for deposits, withdrawals, loan requests and additional training.

REAP helps women to build a pathway out of extreme poverty by addressing three related elements that contribute to the cycle of aid dependency in the drylands of Africa: low incomes, inconsistent cash flows and inadequate financial services for the rural poor. Profits from each REAP business provide a new and diversified income, while BOMA savings associations help women to manage cash flow (for daily needs), plan for future expenses (such as school fees and medical care), and respond to shocks (such as drought or family emergencies). Meanwhile, interest-bearing loans offered by BOMA savings associations are often the first—and only—source of cash and credit in the community, serving as an informal village bank. With the scale-up of BOMA’s mobile banking program in 2016, selected participants will have an individual mobile bank account, connected to a shared BOMA savings group account. Participants will also be able to purchase goods, receive money and access loans from any location by using their phones – a huge step forward for women in storing and transferring money safely and securely and achieving financial inclusion.

BOMA is unique primarily for the population we target and the region where we work. BOMA is a recognized pioneer in developing a poverty graduation program that is specifically tailored for women living in extreme poverty in the drylands of Africa—remote and rural regions with low population densities, little to no infrastructure or employment opportunities, and a longstanding sole reliance on livestock for food and income. BOMA is also unique for its commitment to local leadership: Our full-time, paid Village Mentors live in the villages where we work, and our business groups, savings associations and skills-training methodologies respect cultural norms while fostering adaptation. Our work is also distinguished by an ongoing commitment to rigorous monitoring and evaluation to track our outcomes, continually improve our program, and prove its long-term impact as a sustainable, scalable poverty graduation model for ultra-poor women across the African drylands.

BOMA is one of only four nonprofits worldwide to pass a rigorous "impact audit" conducted by ImpactMatters, led by Yale economist Dean Karlan. . Founded with the goal of helping donors identify nonprofits that offer the best return on charitable dollars, the audit assesses nonprofits in four key areas: cost-effectiveness, transparency, knowledge sharing, and "theory of change” (how well the organization accomplishes its mission). BOMA was selected after completing a comprehensive six-month audit with Karlan’s team, which examined BOMA’s program design, data collection and analysis, financial management, and overall effectiveness.