What BOMA Project does

BOMA Project is a US-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 84-1671995), founded in 2005 and headquartered in Manchester, Vermont, with operational headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The organization implements the Rural Entrepreneur Access Program (REAP), a poverty graduation model that provides women living in drought-threatened arid lands of East Africa with seed funding, hands-on business and financial training, mentorship from local community mentors, savings group formation, and household-level nutrition and resilience education. REAP has been adapted into specialized verticals — REAP for Climate Resilience, REAP for Nutrition, REAP for Youth (ages 18-34), REAP for Refugees, and REAP for Government — allowing the core methodology to be tailored to distinct beneficiary segments.

The underlying platform is a field-delivery model rather than a technology product. There are no proprietary AI/ML systems, public APIs, or product integrations described in available data; the technology stack consists of program management and community-based mentorship infrastructure. Impact has been validated through UC Davis research documenting a 509% savings increase, 32% income increase, 81% business continuation rate, 20% increase in total business value, and a 3:1 community-level ROI. BOMA's cumulative reach includes 170,000+ participants, 50,000+ launched businesses, and over one million individuals impacted across Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

The business model is nonprofit grant-funded, not commercial. Revenue streams consist of donations and grants from foundations (notably IKEA Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mulago Foundation), strategic NGO partners (Mercy Corps), and government/donor agencies (Government of Kenya, UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, World Bank). Programs are delivered at no cost to participants. Distribution occurs through community-based mentorship, NGO partnerships, and government social protection channels, with a separate Technical Assistance Services offering for institutions adopting the methodology.

Name

BOMA Project

Legal name

BOMA

Website

https://bomaproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

BOMA Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit implementing the Rural Entrepreneur Access Program (REAP) poverty graduation model for women in drought-threatened arid lands of East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia), providing seed funding, business training, savings groups, and community mentorship to launch sustainable livelihoods.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development / Poverty Alleviation Programs

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate Adaptation & Resilience Programs (BPADALAD), Social & Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) for Nutrition (BPADAJAK), Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK), Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH)

Keywords

• Poverty graduation program
• Women's economic empowerment
• Microenterprise development
• Climate resilience training
• Nonprofit development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: BOMA Project operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through donations and grants from foundations, corporations, and individual donors. Major funders include IKEA Foundation, Mercy Corps, and government agencies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BOMA Project implements the Rural Entrepreneur Access Program (REAP), a poverty graduation model that equips women and other vulnerable populations in Africa's drylands with seed capital, hands-on business and financial training, mentorship from local community mentors, and savings group formation to launch sustainable microenterprises. Specialized REAP adaptations target climate resilience, nutrition, youth, refugees, and government adoption, complemented by Technical Assistance Services advising governments and NGOs on implementing the methodology.

Product overview

BOMA Project operates a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on its flagship Rural Entrepreneur Access Program (REAP), a poverty graduation model that provides women and families in Africa's drylands with seed funding, training, and mentorship to launch sustainable businesses. The core REAP program is extended through specialized adaptations including REAP for Climate Resilience, REAP for Nutrition, REAP for Youth, REAP for Refugees, and REAP for Government. Additionally, BOMA offers Technical Assistance Services to help government agencies and NGOs adopt the poverty graduation methodology. The organization functions as a nonprofit focused on economic inclusion rather than a technology platform, with no public API, AI capabilities, or product integrations identified.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rural Entrepreneur Access Program (REAP) BOMA's flagship poverty graduation program that equips individuals and groups with seed funding, hands-on business and financial management training, savings group formation, household health and nutrition education, and mentorship from local community mentors to launch sustainable microenterprises. It is delivered free of charge to participants in Africa's drylands and is built around a two-year mentorship, training, and seed capital model.
• REAP for Climate Resilience Adapted REAP model targeted at communities in Africa's drylands vulnerable to prolonged droughts and devastating floods, building a network of climate-conscious entrepreneurs committed to environmental protection and restoration alongside their economic empowerment.
• REAP for Nutrition Adapted REAP model that prioritizes nutrition of children and pregnant or breastfeeding women, engaging entire households (including men) in nutrition-centric education and interventions alongside livelihood and savings improvements.
• REAP for Youth Youth-adapted REAP model designed for young women and men ages 18-34, enrolling equal numbers of men and women with enhanced business training, coaching, and business development services delivered on a condensed 12-month timeline.
• REAP for Refugees Adapted REAP model that addresses the unique challenges faced by refugees, displaced persons, returnees, asylum seekers, and host communities living in extreme poverty, promoting economic and community integration, local representation, and advocacy within government spaces.
• REAP for Government Government partnership initiative that leverages existing national and local social protection programming, along with government resources, data, policy, and knowledge, to integrate and scale BOMA's poverty graduation model across public systems.
• Technical Assistance Services Advisory and technical support services offered to government agencies and other NGOs seeking to adopt or adapt BOMA's poverty graduation methodology, including guidance on implementation, integration with social protection systems, and impact measurement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 509% savings increase among program participants
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Mercy CorpscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMercy Corps is a key implementing partner for BOMA's poverty graduation programs. The partnership enables joint program delivery and knowledge sharing in the humanitarian and development space.
• Government of KenyacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Government of Kenya has partnered with BOMA to adopt the poverty graduation model as part of their social protection strategies for arid land communities. This partnership is key to scaling the approach across Kenya.
• World BankmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBOMA works closely with the World Bank, which is interested in the poverty graduation model as a scalable approach for addressing extreme poverty in dryland regions.
• UC DavisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUC Davis conducted research on BOMA's poverty graduation program, providing rigorous impact evidence including the 509% savings increase and 32% income increase metrics.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BRAC: BRAC pioneered the graduation approach to extreme poverty and runs large-scale programs combining livelihoods training, asset transfer, and mentorship across multiple countries in Africa and Asia. Comparable to BOMA in core methodology and target population, with a significantly larger global footprint.
• Trickle Up: Trickle Up operates a near-identical poverty graduation model providing seed capital, coaching, and savings support to extreme poor households, primarily women, in Africa and South Asia. It is the closest direct peer to BOMA in terms of methodology, target population, and graduation-style intervention.
• Opportunity International: Opportunity International provides microfinance, training, and savings services to women entrepreneurs in Africa and other developing regions. It is comparable to BOMA in targeting economically vulnerable women and combining financial services with capacity-building support.
• Heifer International: Heifer International implements livestock-and-agriculture-based poverty alleviation programs targeting rural women in Africa, with comparable asset-transfer-plus-training models. Like BOMA, it combines productive asset transfer with training and ongoing mentorship to graduate participants out of poverty.

Emerging players

• GiveDirectly: GiveDirectly delivers unconditional cash transfers to extreme-poor households in Kenya and other African countries, overlapping with BOMA on target geography and beneficiary profile. It represents a competing approach (cash-only vs. mentorship + capital) to alleviating extreme poverty in BOMA's operating regions.
• Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA): IPA conducts rigorous randomized evaluations of poverty alleviation programs, including studies on graduation approaches, in countries overlapping with BOMA's footprint. While not a direct implementer, IPA is closely comparable as an evidence-generation partner that shapes the broader graduation methodology market.
• Fondo de Mujeres del Sur / Women's World Banking: Women's World Banking is a global nonprofit focused on financial inclusion and economic empowerment of low-income women, with overlap to BOMA in target population and livelihoods focus. It represents an adjacent peer operating at the intersection of financial services and women's empowerment.

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps is both a BOMA partner and a peer operating across humanitarian relief, economic recovery, and resilience programming in East Africa and globally. Comparable in mission (livelihoods, resilience) and beneficiary base, though at much larger scale and across many more verticals.
• CARE International: CARE runs large-scale women's economic empowerment and food security programs across Africa, including graduation-style and Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) approaches similar to BOMA's savings groups. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping program design and target population.

Regional players

• Self-Help Africa: Self-Help Africa runs livelihoods, agriculture, and microenterprise programs for rural African households, with overlapping program design (asset transfer, training, savings groups) and shared focus on East African drylands and women beneficiaries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BOMAProject
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@BOMA_ngo
• Facebookfacebook.com/BOMA.ngo.africa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/boma-ngo
• Instagraminstagram.com/thebomaproject

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about BOMA Project