Friendship Bench
Friendship Bench is a Zimbabwe-registered nonprofit that delivers evidence-based community mental health interventions by training lay health workers—primarily grandmothers—to provide Problem-Solving Therapy on wooden benches in outdoor community settings across all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe and in eight additional countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersHarare, Zimbabwe
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Friendship Bench does
Friendship Bench is a Zimbabwe-registered nonprofit (Friendship Bench Trust, PVO 12/21) that delivers evidence-based community mental health interventions through a task-shifted model in which trained lay health workers—predominantly grandmothers and grandfathers, with dedicated youth facilitators—provide structured Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) on wooden benches in outdoor community settings and adjacent primary healthcare clinics. The intervention includes screening for depression and anxiety, structured cognitive-behavioral problem-solving therapy, and behavioral activation, anchored by a JAMA-published randomized clinical trial and supported by complementary offerings such as Circle Kubatana Tose peer support groups, a Youth Friendship Bench, a WhatsApp-based Open Line, an HCW Self-Care Resource library, and a Lived Experiences video library partnered with The Human Aspect. The organization's go-to-market is community-led and partner-driven: services are delivered free of charge to clients across all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe and have been replicated internationally to Malawi, Zanzibar, Vietnam, Kenya, Jordan, the USA, and the UK through a five-phase implementation partnership model. Revenue mechanics are nonprofit-donor funded, with institutional grants (including a 2021 Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation grant), individual donations via JustGiving, and technical assistance revenue from the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care following the October 2023 formal transition to government ownership. Routine program data flows into Zimbabwe's national DHIS2 platform, supporting visibility, accountability, and policy integration within the public health system.
Friendship Bench firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Friendship Bench
- Legal name
- Friendship Bench Trust
- Website
- https://friendshipbenchzimbabwe.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Friendship Bench is a Zimbabwe-registered nonprofit that delivers evidence-based community mental health interventions by training lay health workers—primarily grandmothers—to provide Problem-Solving Therapy on wooden benches in outdoor community settings across all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe and in eight additional countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Friendship Bench industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Mental Health Services
- NAICS
- Social Assistance (624)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Companionship & Social Engagement Visits (HSABAAAA)
Keywords
Where Friendship Bench is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Harare
- HQ country
- Zimbabwe
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices10 records
Markets served
Friendship Bench business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Funding: Friendship Bench operates as a non-profit organization primarily funded through donations from individuals, organizations, and institutional donors. The organization accepts donations through JustGiving platform, bank transfers to Zimbabwean Nostro accounts, and wire transfers to USA bank accounts.
- Government Partnership and Technical Assistance: Following the October 2023 formal transition to government ownership, Friendship Bench now provides technical assistance to Zimbabwe's public health system, supporting planning, capacity building, supervision, and quality assurance within government systems.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Mental Health Services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels11 records
Friendship Bench product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Friendship Bench provides community-based mental health care by training lay health workers (grandmothers, grandfathers, and youth facilitators) to deliver evidence-based Problem-Solving Therapy on wooden benches in outdoor community spaces, supported by WhatsApp-based talk therapy, peer support groups, and the Youth Friendship Bench program. All client services are free, anonymous, and confidential, with the organization now transitioning to government technical assistance under Zimbabwe's public health system.
Product overview
Friendship Bench is a community-based mental health organization providing evidence-based psychological interventions through a multi-product approach. The core offering is the Friendship Bench intervention, where trained lay health workers (grandmothers/grandfathers) deliver structured problem-solving therapy on wooden benches in outdoor community spaces. This core product is supported by multiple complementary services: WhatsApp Talk Therapy for remote digital delivery; Circle Kubatana Tose peer-led support groups; Youth Friendship Bench for adolescent mental health; Lived Experiences Library featuring video testimonials; HCW Self-Care Resources for healthcare worker wellness; and the Friendship Bench Friends community platform. The portfolio operates within Zimbabwe's national health system with government ownership transition ongoing since October 2023.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Circle Kubatana Tose: Peer-led support groups providing psychosocial support and income-generating projects for community members.
- Youth Friendship Bench
- Open Line
- Inuka
Products and services
- Friendship Bench Community Intervention Evidence-based community mental health program in which trained lay health workers (grandmothers and grandfathers) deliver structured problem-solving therapy to clients on wooden benches in outdoor community spaces across Zimbabwe.
- Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) Brief, evidence-based cognitive-behavioral intervention teaching clients sequential steps to actively solve problems, increase resilience, and improve functioning, delivered by trained community health workers.
- Circle Kubatana Tose (CKT) Peer-led support groups combining psychosocial support with income-generating projects such as chicken poultry, providing ongoing emotional support and community connection to members.
- Youth Friendship Bench Mental health intervention specifically designed for adolescents and young people, addressing youth-specific mental health challenges through dedicated facilitators trained in the PST approach.
- WhatsApp Open Line / Talk Therapy Online one-to-one mental health treatment delivered via WhatsApp by trained Friendship Bench mental health supporters, including screening for depression and anxiety, problem-solving talk therapy, and behavioral activation support, available in English, Shona, and Ndebele.
- Lived Experiences Library Video interview library featuring impactful stories of lived experiences from Zimbabwe, created in partnership with The Human Aspect (THA), for use in delivery agent training, awareness campaigns, peer support groups, and one-to-one sessions.
- Grandmother (Gogo) Counselors Trained lay health workers, primarily grandmothers, who deliver talk therapy on the Friendship Bench, serve as trusted community members, and create safe spaces for clients to share their stories and receive support.
- HCW Self-Care Resources Self-care tools and resources designed for healthcare workers, including mindfulness journaling guides and grounding/meditation exercises in English, Shona, and Ndebele languages, created in partnership with OPHID and Mental Health Cafe.
- Friendship Bench Friends Community platform providing resources to individuals who want to create mindful, resilient, and empowered communities, including tools to break mental health barriers, overcome stigma, and encourage health-seeking behaviors.
Quantifiable outcome
- 78% reduction in depression and suicide ideation
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Friendship Bench
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Friendship Bench technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature4 records
Friendship Bench partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.
- Elders Council for Social EntrepreneurssupportingPartnership to offer a 'Friendship Bench for Social Entrepreneurs' at the Ashoka Changemaker Summit 2024 in Hamburg, Germany. Combines skills and goals of both organizations with Elders offering support to conference participants.
- Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child CarecoreFormalized government ownership transition in October 2023, with Friendship Bench providing structured technical assistance for planning, capacity building, supervision, and quality assurance within Zimbabwe's public health system. A province-by-province handover approach ensures sustainability and local ownership.
- Zimbabwe Ministry of Local GovernmentcoreStrategic collaboration with Ministry of Local Government for community-level implementation and integration of the Friendship Bench within broader primary health care and disease-specific platforms.
- InukasupportingDigital platform partnership creating a co-branded WhatsApp API for digital mental health service delivery. Inuka licenses the platform for free to reach young and urban populations with evidence-based, affordable mental health support.
- The Human Aspect (THA)supportingPartnership to integrate THA's Life Experience Library of video interviews into Friendship Bench services including delivery agent training, awareness campaigns, peer support groups, and one-to-one sessions.
- World Health OrganizationcoreCollaboration during Mental Health Week 2024 and ongoing strategic partnership for global mental health initiatives and implementation frameworks.
- Pamumvuri Private Voluntary OrganizationsupportingPartner in Mental Health Week 2024 activities, supporting community mental health awareness and service delivery initiatives.
- The Centre for Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Research Zimbabwe (CeSHHAR Zimbabwe)supportingPartner in Mental Health Week 2024 activities, integrating mental health support with HIV research and treatment programs.
- Academic InstitutionssupportingCollaboration with academic institutions for research, implementation science frameworks (CFIR, RE-AIM), and evaluation of program delivery under routine conditions.
- DHIS2 National PlatformcoreIntegration of routine data collection and reporting into Zimbabwe's national DHIS2 platform, improving visibility, accountability, and data-driven decision making.
- AshokasupportingPresence at Ashoka Changemaker Summit 2024 in Hamburg, Germany, for networking, partnership development, and visibility among global social entrepreneurs.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Friendship Bench competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Living Goods: Africa-focused nonprofit supporting government community-health-worker programs through training, supervision and digital tools. Comparable on the model of empowering community health workers with technology and structured supervision, but applied to general primary health rather than mental health.
- Last Mile Health: Community-health-worker organization operating across Liberia and broader Africa with government partnership models and rigorous training programs. Comparable on the trained CHW workforce and ministry-of-health technical-assistance model, though focused on primary care rather than mental health.
- Muso: Mali-based global health nonprofit using community health workers for active case-finding, maternal/child care and mental-health screening. Comparable on the lay-health-worker delivery model and rigorous RCT evidence base, though focused primarily on West Africa and broader primary care.
Direct peers
- StrongMinds: US-headquartered nonprofit delivering community-based group talk-therapy for depression in sub-Saharan Africa (Uganda, Zambia). Directly comparable to Friendship Bench in target population, geography focus, lay-counselor delivery model and free-to-client mental-health intervention.
- Sangath: India-based mental-health research and implementation organization that pioneered task-shifting of psychological interventions to non-specialist health workers. Directly comparable because both operate evidence-based, lay-worker-delivered psychological therapy targeting depression in low-resource settings.
Broad incumbents
- Fountain House: New York-based nonprofit operating the 'clubhouse' model of community-based psychosocial rehabilitation and peer support for people with mental illness. Comparable as a founder/blueprint of peer-led community support for mental-health recovery that informs CKT-style peer-support programs.
- Partners in Health: Global health nonprofit delivering community-based care in low-resource settings with strong government partnerships and task-shifting models. Comparable because both pair rigorous research, embedded government delivery and large trained community-health-worker cadres (e.g., PIH's accompagnateur model) to serve vulnerable patients.
- CBM Global Disability Inclusion: International disability-and-mental-health NGO working through community-based rehabilitation and inclusive development in low-resource settings. Comparable as a broader incumbent addressing mental-health needs of vulnerable populations including persons with disabilities in Africa and Asia.
- BasicNeeds: UK-based international NGO working on mental health and epilepsy across Africa and Asia via community models. Comparable as an established incumbent offering community psychosocial support at scale, overlapping FB's vulnerable-population focus though broader in scope.
Regional players
- Africa Mental Health Foundation: Kenya-based nonprofit/University of Nairobi affiliate conducting community mental-health research, training and service delivery in East Africa. Comparable as a regional peer addressing similar depression/anxiety burden with community-based, non-clinical models in a neighboring geography.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Friendship Bench social profiles
Digital presenceFriendship Bench compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Friendship Bench financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Friendship Bench leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Friendship Bench funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Friendship Bench 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 Friendship Bench
What does Friendship Bench do?
Friendship Bench provides community-based mental health care by training lay health workers (grandmothers, grandfathers, and youth facilitators) to deliver evidence-based Problem-Solving Therapy on wooden benches in outdoor community spaces, supported by WhatsApp-based talk therapy, peer support groups, and the Youth Friendship Bench program. All client services are free, anonymous, and confidential, with the organization now transitioning to government technical assistance under Zimbabwe's public health system.
Is Friendship Bench a public or private company?
Friendship Bench is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Friendship Bench founded?
Friendship Bench was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Friendship Bench based?
Friendship Bench is headquartered in Harare, Zimbabwe, in the Africa region.
How does Friendship Bench make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Charitable Funding is the primary driver. The others are government Partnership and Technical Assistance.
Who are Friendship Bench's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Living Goods, Last Mile Health and Muso. Direct peers are StrongMinds and Sangath. Broad incumbents are Fountain House, Partners in Health, CBM Global Disability Inclusion and BasicNeeds. Africa Mental Health Foundation is listed as a regional player.
Does Friendship Bench have an API?
No public API is recorded for Friendship Bench.
What industry is Friendship Bench in?
Friendship Bench's product category is Community Mental Health Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSABAAAA, Companionship & Social Engagement Visits. Its NAICS code is 624 and its SIC code is 8300.