The SHM Foundation
The SHM Foundation is a UK charitable foundation, founded in 2008, that operates Zumbido Health (a mobile-based peer support platform) and Ember Mental Health (a grant and mentorship programme for grassroots mental health initiatives) across 19 countries, serving vulnerable populations including people with HIV, refugees, and youth.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What The SHM Foundation does
The SHM Foundation is a UK-registered charitable foundation (registration number 1126568), founded in 2008 and headquartered in London, that designs, implements, and funds programmes targeting mental health and wellbeing, education and livelihoods, and access to the arts across 19 countries. Its flagship Zumbido Health model is a proprietary digital health methodology that uses mobile phones and text messaging to create time-bounded, closed peer support groups of 10-15 participants who share similar experiences; over 1 million text messages have been exchanged on the platform across implementations in Guatemala, Mexico, Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the UK. Its Ember Mental Health programme, co-run with the Mental Health Innovation Network (MHIN) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, mentors and funds grassroots mental health organisations in low-resource settings, having received more than 1,800 applications for its 2025-2026 cohort and selecting 15 partners. Sub-products include Khuluma (South African adolescents with HIV), Project Insaka (Zambian HIV-positive pregnant women, in partnership with Zambart and Rocket.Chat), Project Noor (UK refugee women, with Max Barney Foundation), and Zvatinoda! (Zimbabwe youth health, featured in JMIR Formative Research).
The foundation is funded entirely through grants, donations, and institutional partnerships — most notably ViiV Healthcare's Positive Action Challenges — and does not charge beneficiaries for its services. Its revenue model is therefore grant-funded programme delivery and philanthropic pass-through funding rather than commercial SaaS or fee-for-service. Since 2008, it has completed 79 projects and reached more than 250,000 people; it has 11-50 employees and operates through direct programme delivery, participatory co-design research (a methodology described as the 160 Characters approach for analysing text-message data), and downstream grant-making to community-based organisations. The organization is GDPR-compliant, governed as a UK charity, and has no disclosed parent company, M&A activity, or institutional investors.
The SHM Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The SHM Foundation
- Legal name
- The SHM Foundation
- Website
- https://shmfoundation.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The SHM Foundation is a UK charitable foundation, founded in 2008, that operates Zumbido Health (a mobile-based peer support platform) and Ember Mental Health (a grant and mentorship programme for grassroots mental health initiatives) across 19 countries, serving vulnerable populations including people with HIV, refugees, and youth.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The SHM Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital mental health and wellbeing services
- NAICS
- Social Assistance (624), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Child and Youth Services (62411)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) NGOs (HLAJAKAG), International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD), Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)
Keywords
Where The SHM Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
The SHM Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Foundation Funding and Grants: As a charitable foundation (registration number 1126568), The SHM Foundation operates through funding from donors, grants, and partnerships. They fund other organisations and projects through their programmes.
- Ember Partnership Funding: Ember Mental Health receives funding to mentor and fund grassroots mental health initiatives in low-resource settings, with support from partnerships with ViiV Healthcare through Positive Action Challenges.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
The SHM Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The SHM Foundation designs and implements mental health and wellbeing programmes, conducts participatory research, and funds other organisations and projects. Its flagship offerings are Zumbido Health, a mobile phone-based peer support model for socially isolated vulnerable populations, and Ember Mental Health, a grant and mentorship programme supporting grassroots mental health initiatives in low-resource settings.
Product overview
The SHM Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization offering a portfolio of digital health and social support programmes, alongside grant-making initiatives. The core offerings include Zumbido Health (a mobile-based peer support platform) and Ember Mental Health (a funding/mentorship programme for grassroots mental health innovation). These are complemented by programme-specific sub-products such as Khuluma (adolescent HIV support via text messaging), Project Insaka (Zambia maternal health support), and Project Noor (refugee employment support). The organization conducts participatory research and funds other organizations as part of its approach to driving positive social change in mental health, education, and the arts.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Zumbido Health: A digital health model using mobile phones to create social support groups for vulnerable, socially isolated groups. It is a time-bounded social support program wherein participants are placed in support groups of 10-15 peers who share similar experiences.
- Ember Mental Health
- Khuluma
- Project Noor
- Project Insaka
Products and services
- Zumbido Health A digital health model using mobile phones to create peer support groups for vulnerable, socially isolated populations. The platform places participants in closed text-based groups of 10-15 peers sharing similar experiences, addressing social isolation and stigma associated with chronic health conditions.
- Ember Mental Health A grant and mentorship programme that selects and supports community-based mental health organisations in low-resource settings through a competitive application process. Provides 12 months of structured mentorship, capacity building, and funding.
- Khuluma A psychosocial and peer-to-peer mHealth intervention using text messaging to facilitate support groups for adolescents living with HIV in South Africa.
- Project Noor A programme supporting Middle Eastern refugee women in the UK to overcome social isolation, promote mental wellbeing, and gain practical tools and skills to secure employment.
- Project Insaka The 8th iteration of the Zumbido model, providing mobile-based peer support groups for HIV positive pregnant women and new mothers in Zambia via Rocket.Chat, in partnership with Zambart.
- Marakwet Education Project Education initiative under The SHM Foundation's work in education and livelihoods, supporting communities in the Marakwet region.
Quantifiable outcome
- Increased self-reported medical adherence
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use The SHM Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The SHM Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
The SHM Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Max Barney FoundationcorePartnership for Project Noor's pilot in 2021-2022, supporting refugee women from the Middle East in the UK to overcome social isolation and find employment.
- ZambartcoreResearch collaboration between University of Zambia's School of Medicine and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Partnership for Project Insaka supporting HIV positive pregnant women and new mothers in Zambia.
- Rocket.ChatsupportingTechnology platform provider used for Project Insaka, enabling participants to access digital mobile phone technology for peer support groups.
- Mental Health Innovation Network (MHIN)coreCollaboration between SHM Foundation and MHIN at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to mentor and fund grassroots mental health initiatives. MHIN is a global community of mental health innovators working to improve mental health outcomes in low-resource settings.
- FilmparksupportingCollaboration to produce the Khuluma documentary film, a 6-minute documentary shown at the International HIV/AIDS Conference 2016 in Durban.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The SHM Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BasicNeeds: UK-headquartered mental health and development organization working with people with mental health conditions and epilepsy in low- and middle-income countries. Directly comparable to SHM's Ember programme and global mental health focus on vulnerable populations.
- Sangath: India-based nonprofit delivering mental health interventions through task-shifting and community platforms, with strong research output. Comparable to SHM's evidence-based, community-led model for adolescent and adult mental health in LMICs.
- StrongMinds: US-based nonprofit scaling evidence-based mental health treatment in sub-Saharan Africa, primarily through group talk therapy. Highly comparable model to SHM's Zumbido peer-support approach targeting mental health in low-resource settings.
- Grand Challenges Canada: Canadian government-funded platform that funds bold ideas to tackle global health challenges, including mental health innovation in LMICs. Comparable as a grantmaking model that supports grassroots mental health innovation, similar to SHM's Ember programme.
- Movember Foundation: Global charity funding men's mental health programmes and suicide prevention research. Comparable as a mental-health-focused grantmaking organization that funds peer-led and community-based interventions, though operating at a larger scale.
- Mental Health Innovation Network (MHIN): Global community of mental health innovators hosted at LSHTM. Co-develops the Ember programme with SHM Foundation, making it a directly collaborative peer with overlapping mission, network, and funder relationships.
Emerging players
- Praekelt.org: South Africa-based nonprofit building mobile-technology health and wellbeing platforms for vulnerable populations in Africa. Directly comparable as a digital health peer using mobile-first interventions in low-resource African settings, overlapping with SHM's Zumbido/Rocket.Chat work.
Broad incumbents
- Wellcome Trust: UK-based major philanthropic foundation funding global mental health research and innovation, including in LMICs. A much larger incumbent in the same funding ecosystem where SHM operates as an implementer and grantmaker.
- Comic Relief: UK-based major charity funding mental health, poverty, and social justice programmes. Comparable as a UK-headquartered grantmaking foundation supporting community-led mental health and social inclusion projects.
Others
- UNICEF Mental Health & Psychosocial Support: UN agency delivering mental health and psychosocial support programmes for adolescents, mothers, and refugees globally. Comparable as a system-level funder/operator in the same target populations (ALWH, refugee women, pregnant women) SHM serves.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The SHM Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceThe SHM Foundation compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
The SHM Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The SHM Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
The SHM Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The SHM Foundation 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 The SHM Foundation
What does The SHM Foundation do?
The SHM Foundation designs and implements mental health and wellbeing programmes, conducts participatory research, and funds other organisations and projects. Its flagship offerings are Zumbido Health, a mobile phone-based peer support model for socially isolated vulnerable populations, and Ember Mental Health, a grant and mentorship programme supporting grassroots mental health initiatives in low-resource settings.
Is The SHM Foundation a public or private company?
The SHM Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The SHM Foundation founded?
The SHM Foundation was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The SHM Foundation based?
The SHM Foundation is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The SHM Foundation make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Foundation Funding and Grants are the primary driver. The others are ember Partnership Funding.
Who are The SHM Foundation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BasicNeeds, Sangath, StrongMinds, Grand Challenges Canada, Movember Foundation and Mental Health Innovation Network (MHIN). Praekelt.org is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Wellcome Trust and Comic Relief. UNICEF Mental Health & Psychosocial Support is listed as an others.
Does The SHM Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for The SHM Foundation.
What industry is The SHM Foundation in?
The SHM Foundation's product category is Digital mental health and wellbeing services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGACAD, Mental Health & Crisis Support Services, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations. Its NAICS code is 624 and its SIC code is 8300.