WEEMA International

What WEEMA International does

WEEMA International is a US-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2011 by Dr. Elizabeth McGovern (originally as Mudula Water, rebranded in 2013) that partners with rural communities in southwestern Ethiopia to deliver community-led development across five pillars: clean water and sanitation, education, women's empowerment, health systems, and food security. The organization implements 18 distinct projects through direct field operations, anchored by a US headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a regional office in Addis Ababa, and field offices in Mudula and Damboya in the Kembata-Tembaro zone. WEEMA's Ethiopia operations are 100% staffed by Ethiopians, the majority of whom are drawn from the communities served, and programs are delivered in coordination with Ethiopian government ministries and international technical partners including D-Tree International, IZUMI Foundation, Himalayan Cataract Project, and Hamlin Fistula Hospital.

The underlying technology stack is modest and operational rather than platform-scale. The proprietary elements are a Community-Led Development Framework and a Digital Health Mobile Application co-developed with D-Tree International that supports Health Extension Workers in diagnosing and treating childhood illnesses; the app has been used to assess more than 4,000 children. WEEMA does not sell products or services and operates a donation-and-grant revenue model funded through individual donors, corporate partnerships, foundations (notably IZUMI Foundation), and Clickandpledge-mediated online giving. Marketing is executed through content (website, blog, video library), an every-other-Wednesday email newsletter (WEEMA Wednesdays), and organic social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter @weemaintl).

WEEMA serves a defined beneficiary set in the Central Ethiopia Region, including rural smallholder farming households, women organized into approximately 2,000-strong Self-Help Groups, children with disabilities enrolled in nine schools, more than 250 beekeepers, and government Health Extension Workers. The organization's stated scaling ambition is to reach an area covering 3 million people, and it tracks outcomes through a public Data Dashboard and a PMERL (Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning) function. WEEMA holds 501(c)(3) status in the United States, has no parent company, no disclosed subsidiaries, and is governed by a founder-led board.

Name

WEEMA International

Legal name

WEEMA International, Inc.

Website

https://weema.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WEEMA International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2011 that partners with rural communities in southwestern Ethiopia to deliver community-led development across clean water, education, women's empowerment, health, and food security, implementing 18 projects through 100% Ethiopian field staff.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development / Community Development (Nonprofit)

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Community Food Services (62421)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA), Infrastructure, Housing & Community Development (BPAGABAL), Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH)

Keywords

• Clean water access
• Community development programs
• Women's economic empowerment
• Inclusive education services
• Rural health systems strengthening

Headquarters

HQ city

Acton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: WEEMA is a non-profit organization that raises funds through individual donations, corporate partnerships, and grants to fund community development projects in Ethiopia.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WEEMA International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that partners with rural communities in southwestern Ethiopia to deliver community-led development programs across 5 goals — ensuring clean water and sanitation, enhancing education (including inclusive education for students with disabilities), empowering women and marginalized people through Self-Help Groups, strengthening health systems (including a digital health mobile application co-developed with D-Tree International), and achieving food security through farmer and beekeeper support. Impact is delivered through 18 distinct projects implemented with Ethiopian government ministries, the Kale Hiwot Church, and other partners, reaching beneficiaries such as the 10,000 people served by the Koshinda Water project.

Product overview

WEEMA International is a non-profit community-led development organization, not a commercial product company. The organization operates development programs in rural Ethiopia focusing on clean water access, education enhancement, women's empowerment, health systems strengthening, and food security. Their work encompasses 18 distinct projects implemented through holistic, community-led approaches with local partners. Since this is an NGO rather than a technology product company, there are no commercial products, modules, or technology offerings to catalog.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Koshinda Water Project (Clean Water Access Program)
• Digital Health Mobile Application (Childhood Illness Diagnosis and Treatment)
• Women's Self-Help Groups (SHG) Program
• Inclusive Education Program for Students with Disabilities WEEMA's inclusive education program enrolls 483 students with disabilities across nine schools around Mudula, Keleta, Mazera, Buho, and surrounding villages. The program delivers resource centers, teacher training, sign language training, braille materials, and assistive devices, and is supported by WEEMA's inclusion advisor and partnerships such as EDDI.
• Beekeeping Cooperative Program Economic empowerment and food security program that provides beekeeping training, modern hives, honey and wax processing equipment, and supports cooperative formation. WEEMA has supported more than 250 local beekeepers, nearly half of them women, and also distributes menstrual hygiene products in partnership with Studio Samuel.
• Cataract Surgical Campaign Partnership (Himalayan Cataract Project) High-volume cataract surgical campaigns delivered in partnership with the Himalayan Cataract Project to cure blindness due to cataract in Central Ethiopia. WEEMA also refers women with pelvic organ prolapse and fistula to Hamlin Fistula Hospital — Yirgalem for free surgical treatment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000 people benefit from clean water access
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ethiopian Government MinistriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAll WEEMA projects are implemented in partnership with government ministries. This includes collaboration with education, health, and water ministries at local and regional levels.
• Kale Hiwot ChurchcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementation partner for water projects including the original Koshinda Spring water project (2012-2015).
• D-Tree InternationalcoreTechnology or IntegrationHealthcare nonprofit that co-designed a user-friendly mobile application for diagnosing and treating childhood illnesses with WEEMA, with additional funding from the IZUMI Foundation.
• Studio SamuelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for menstrual hygiene product distribution, including distribution of 400 reusable sanitary pads at Samura Primary and Middle School.
• Himalayan Cataract ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for high-volume cataract surgical campaigns to cure blindness due to cataract in Central Ethiopia.
• Hamlin Fistula Hospital - YirgalemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral hospital for free surgical treatment of women with pelvic organ prolapse and fistula.
• EDDI (Excellence in Development and Disability Inclusion)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network for disability inclusion that WEEMA is a member of, applying inclusion lens across programs, staffing, and decision-making.
• Movement for Community-Led DevelopmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal coalition of 64 organizations focused on community-led development best practices, of which WEEMA is an active member.
• InterActionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance membership providing standards alignment and funding for gender equality initiatives including PSEAH policy development.
• CCRDAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEthiopia-based civil society network organization supporting coordination among NGOs.
• CORHAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEthiopia-based coordination network for humanitarian and development actors.
• COSAPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEthiopia-based network supporting civil society organizations.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• charity: water: US-based nonprofit funding clean water access projects in developing countries including Ethiopia. Comparable as a story-driven, donor-funded NGO with a similar geographic focus on rural water infrastructure and a digital storytelling/donor-engagement marketing approach.
• WaterAid: International NGO focused on clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) with active Ethiopia country program. Highly comparable on the water-and-sanitation pillar, government-ministry partnership model, and rural community implementation approach.
• Water.org: Global nonprofit addressing water access and sanitation through market-based financing. Comparable on water-access mission in developing countries and donor-supported funding model, though its financial-services angle differs from WEEMA's grant-funded community-led approach.
• Engineers Without Borders USA: Community-driven engineering and development NGO partnering with rural communities on water, sanitation, and infrastructure projects. Comparable on the community-led implementation model, partnership with local communities to design solutions, and project-based rural footprint.
• Heifer International: Nonprofit working to end hunger and poverty through sustainable agriculture and livestock, including beekeeping. Comparable on rural livelihoods focus, smallholder farmer empowerment, women's economic empowerment, and community-led development methodology.
• One Acre Fund: Nonprofit social enterprise serving smallholder farmers in East Africa with inputs, training, and market access. Comparable on smallholder farmer support, food security, and rural Ethiopian/East African service area, though its market-based model differs from WEEMA's grant-funded model.
• Farm Africa: UK-based NGO focused on reducing poverty in eastern Africa through sustainable agriculture, market access, and food security. Comparable on the smallholder farmer support, beekeeping/livelihoods, food security, and Ethiopian/East African operational footprint.
• Self Help Africa: International development NGO working on rural livelihoods, agriculture, and enterprise in sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia. Comparable on rural economic empowerment, farmer cooperative formation, and women's SHG-style programming in overlapping geographies.

Broad incumbents

• CARE International: Large international humanitarian and development NGO with significant Ethiopia operations spanning water, education, health, and women's economic empowerment. Comparable across most of WEEMA's 5 goals but operates at substantially larger scale with broader geographic mandate.
• Partners In Health: Global health nonprofit delivering healthcare in resource-limited settings with a community-health-worker model. Comparable on the health systems strengthening pillar, government-ministry partnership approach, and rural community-based service delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/weemaintl
• Facebookfacebook.com/WEEMAintl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/weema-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about WEEMA International