Prosperity Catalyst
Prosperity Catalyst is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that empowers women in Haiti and Iraq through skills training, mentoring, and entrepreneurial investment, supplemented by artisan product sales and disaster response programming delivered via a network of institutional and faith-based partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersCambridge, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Prosperity Catalyst does
Prosperity Catalyst is a Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that runs women economic empowerment programs in Haiti and Iraq. Its core model combines three pillars: skills training, mentoring, and small-scale entrepreneurial investment directed at women in underserved communities. The organization launched operations in Haiti and Iraq in 2013 with a $2,000,000 funding round and has since expanded its enterprise portfolio to include a beekeeping brand launched in 2017 alongside traditional artisan production.
The organization's commercial and delivery model rests on three revenue streams: individual donations, foundation and institutional grants (including the Ansara Family Fund, The Pollination Project, and UMCOR), and earned income from artisan product sales (reported at $157,000 in disclosed data). Distribution of artisan goods flows through curated partners such as Dandarah and Greater Good, while on-the-ground program delivery in Haiti and Iraq is supported by faith-based partners including the Iraqi Christian Council, Congregation de Notre Dame, and Friends of the Bridegroom. Operationally, the organization holds annual overhead under 10% and earned a GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency in 2019, with staff reported in the 11-50 employee band.
Programmatically, Prosperity Catalyst has evolved from direct enterprise startup funding to a broader portfolio that now includes emergency response — most visibly its COVID-19 food security and micro-enterprise response in 2020 and its Haiti earthquake disaster response in 2021 — alongside deeper in-country geographic expansion within Iraq to provinces including Erbil, Dohuk, Mosul, Dhi Qar, Muthana, and Hilla. Strategic momentum is therefore anchored in deepening presence in existing countries rather than adding new country markets.
Prosperity Catalyst firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Prosperity Catalyst
- Legal name
- Prosperity Catalyst Inc.
- Website
- https://prosperitycatalyst.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Prosperity Catalyst is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that empowers women in Haiti and Iraq through skills training, mentoring, and entrepreneurial investment, supplemented by artisan product sales and disaster response programming delivered via a network of institutional and faith-based partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Prosperity Catalyst industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Women's Economic Empowerment Services
- NAICS
- Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519), Business and Secretarial Schools (611410)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Marketing, Branding & Sales Skills (EDAMAHAG), Leadership, Management & Teamwork for Business (EDAMAHAI), Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM)
Keywords
Where Prosperity Catalyst is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Prosperity Catalyst business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute monetary donations at various levels to support women-led businesses. Donation options include specific kits (Artisan Kit $150, Apiary Kit $300, Business Kit $500) or general support. Donations processed via PayPal, stock donations, or check.
- Foundation and Institutional Grants: Receives funding from institutional partners and foundations including Ansara Family Fund, UMCOR, Week of Compassion, and Flora Family Foundation. Committed to financial transparency with annual independent audits.
- Artisan Product Sales (Marketplace): Facilitates sales of artisan products made by trained women entrepreneurs through market partners like Dandarah (Haitian products) and Greater Good (Iraqi/Akkadian Collection products). Sold $157,000 in artisan products in US market.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | One-time | Artisan Kit - $150 donation |
| Unit Pricing | One-time | Apiary Kit - $300 donation |
| Unit Pricing | One-time | Business Kit - $500 donation |
| Unit Pricing | One-time | Beekeeping specific donations |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels4 records
Prosperity Catalyst product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Prosperity Catalyst delivers vocational skills training (handicrafts, beekeeping, sewing, candle-making, jewelry-making), 1-on-1 mentoring, business management education, and seed entrepreneurial kits to women in Haiti and Iraq. The organization operates social enterprise hubs that link trained women artisans and beekeepers to international markets through market partners such as Dandarah (Haiti) and Greater Good (Iraq).
Product overview
Prosperity Catalyst operates as a non-profit social enterprise that economically and socially empowers women in Haiti and Iraq through a multi-component intervention model. The core offering consists of Artisan Skills Training (handicrafts including candle-making, jewelry, crochet, sewing) combined with 1-on-1 Mentoring and Business Management Training to build technical and entrepreneurial capabilities. Seed financial support is delivered through three distinct Investment Kits: the Artisan Kit ($150), Apiary Kit ($300), and Business Kit ($500). The Market Links / Enterprise Hub serves as the centralized platform connecting trained women to international markets through market partners like Dandarah (Haiti) and the Akkadian Collection (Iraq). The Beekeeping Program extends the model into agricultural value chains, with beekeepers supplying raw materials to artisan operations. A Constellation of Services provides supplementary legal, psychosocial, and gender-based violence support through local NGO partnerships. Together these components form an integrated pathway from skills acquisition through market access, enabling women-led businesses to achieve economic independence.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Catalyst Collections: Retail platform for Haitian artisan products (ceased making retail sales, artisans still produce products)
- Dandarah X Fanm Limye
- Akkadian Collection
Products and services
- Artisan Skills Training Program Vocational skills training teaching women in Haiti and Iraq handicraft techniques such as candle-making, jewelry-making, crochet, and sewing, capitalizing on local natural resources and traditional crafts.
- Beekeeping Program Agricultural training program teaching modern beekeeping methods to farmers (primarily women) in Haiti, generating income through production of beeswax for candles and pure natural honey; includes tree planting for ecosystem support.
- Business Management Training Training in business planning, financial management, and marketing to help women entrepreneurs develop sustainable business plans and improve practices for growth and scalability.
- Entrepreneurial Investment Kits Seed financial investments provided as physical kits in three tiers — Artisan Kit ($150), Apiary Kit ($300), and Business Kit ($500) — supplying tools, materials, and equipment (e.g., beehives, sewing tools, laptops) to launch or expand a small business.
- Market Links / Enterprise Hub Social enterprise hub serving as a link between women-led artisan networks and international markets, facilitating sales relationships, aggregating products, and building supply chain networks including raw material suppliers, artisans, and buyers.
Quantifiable outcome
- 150% average increase in monthly revenue for small business owners in Iraq program
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Prosperity Catalyst
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Prosperity Catalyst technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
Prosperity Catalyst partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- DandarahcoreCanadian marketplace partner selling Haitian artisan products made in partnership with Fanm Limye (local Haiti affiliate). Shop for gifts and goods created by Haitian artisans. Also offers large wholesale orders.
- Greater GoodcoreMarketplace selling unique Iraqi artisan products made under the Akkadian Collection name. Links Iraqi artisans to international buyers and markets.
- Fanm Limye (Women Illuminated)coreLocal affiliate organization in Haiti since 2013. Operates enterprise hub for artisan businesses, purchases beeswax from beekeepers ($1,280+ monthly), and manages local operations. Name means 'Women Illuminated' in Haitian Creole.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Prosperity Catalyst competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Root Capital: Root Capital is a nonprofit agricultural impact investor that lends to rural small and growing businesses, including artisan and beekeeping cooperatives in Latin America and Africa. It is comparable to Prosperity Catalyst on the artisan/agricultural cooperative focus and market-linkage model.
- SERRV International: SERRV is a nonprofit fair-trade organization that partners with artisan and farmer cooperatives in developing countries to sell handcrafts in international markets. It overlaps with Prosperity Catalyst's artisan training, market-access thesis, and Dandarah/Greater Good distribution model.
- Whole Planet Foundation: Whole Planet Foundation funds microlending for women entrepreneurs in developing countries, particularly those in supply-chain communities served by Whole Foods Market. Comparable on women-focused micro-entrepreneurship funding, though narrower in training and market-access scope.
- Heifer International: Heifer International is a nonprofit that provides livestock, agricultural inputs, and training to smallholder farmers — many women — in distressed regions. It is directly comparable to Prosperity Catalyst's beekeeping/honey value chain and broader model of pairing physical capital transfers (animals, hives, kits) with training and market access.
- TechnoServe: TechnoServe works with enterprising women and men in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. It overlaps directly with Prosperity Catalyst's artisan training, business plan support, and market-linkage interventions, though at significantly larger scale and broader sector scope.
Broad incumbents
- Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps operates humanitarian and economic development programs in fragile states including Haiti and Iraq. It is comparable to Prosperity Catalyst on geography, target populations (women, IDPs), and the blend of livelihoods training with emergency response.
- BRAC: BRAC is one of the largest international development NGOs, operating programs targeting women's economic empowerment, microenterprise, and skills training across multiple developing countries. It is comparable in mission and integrated-program design but far larger and more diversified geographically.
- Kiva: Kiva is a global nonprofit crowdfunding platform providing microloans and capital to underserved entrepreneurs, most of them women. It is comparable to Prosperity Catalyst on the women-focused micro-entrepreneurship mission, but operates at vastly greater scale via a digital lending model rather than direct in-country vocational training.
- Acumen: Acumen is a nonprofit impact investor that funds early-stage enterprises serving low-income customers in East Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. It is comparable through its women-entrepreneurship focus and blended capital model, but uses investment rather than direct training delivery.
Regional players
- Migrant Clinicians Network (women's livelihoods programs): While primarily a health-focused migrant support organization, MCN and similar Caribbean NGOs operate in Haiti and overlap with Prosperity Catalyst's vulnerable-women beneficiary cohort and livelihoods programming. They are a weaker but adjacent peer operating in the same Haiti geography.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Prosperity Catalyst social profiles
Digital presenceProsperity Catalyst financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Prosperity Catalyst leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Prosperity Catalyst subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Prosperity Catalyst funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Prosperity Catalyst M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Prosperity Catalyst
What does Prosperity Catalyst do?
Prosperity Catalyst delivers vocational skills training (handicrafts, beekeeping, sewing, candle-making, jewelry-making), 1-on-1 mentoring, business management education, and seed entrepreneurial kits to women in Haiti and Iraq. The organization operates social enterprise hubs that link trained women artisans and beekeepers to international markets through market partners such as Dandarah (Haiti) and Greater Good (Iraq).
Is Prosperity Catalyst a public or private company?
Prosperity Catalyst is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Prosperity Catalyst founded?
Prosperity Catalyst was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Prosperity Catalyst based?
Prosperity Catalyst is headquartered in Cambridge, United States, in the North America region.
How does Prosperity Catalyst make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are foundation and Institutional Grants and artisan Product Sales (Marketplace).
Who are Prosperity Catalyst's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Root Capital, SERRV International, Whole Planet Foundation, Heifer International and TechnoServe. Broad incumbents are Mercy Corps, BRAC, Kiva and Acumen. Migrant Clinicians Network (women's livelihoods programs) is listed as a regional player.
Does Prosperity Catalyst have an API?
No public API is recorded for Prosperity Catalyst.
What industry is Prosperity Catalyst in?
Prosperity Catalyst's product category is Women's Economic Empowerment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMAHAA, Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics, with a secondary code of EDAMAHAG, Marketing, Branding & Sales Skills. Its NAICS code is 6115 and its SIC code is 8200.