African Women Rising

What African Women Rising does

African Women Rising (AWR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2006 and registered under EIN 26-0140533. The organization is operationally headquartered in Gulu, Uganda, with a US administrative office in Santa Barbara, California, and maintains a field staff of approximately 200 in Uganda. AWR serves women and families in post-conflict northern Uganda and the South Sudanese refugee community at the Palabek Refugee Settlement, with cumulative reach of 25,000+ women across 79 villages.

AWR's programmatic model rests on four pillars delivered through community-based, in-person channels: microfinance (Village Savings and Loan Associations, with 350 active groups holding $1.8M in cumulative savings), regenerative agriculture (centered on a proprietary "Permagarden" methodology), adult literacy, and girls' education. The organization also operates a fee-based professional training business that sells its proprietary curricula — Training of Trainers at $3,525 per participant and Earthworks at $2,300 — to other humanitarian agencies, with alumni across 54 partner organizations. No digital platform, software product, or AI/ML-enabled system is disclosed across the program portfolio.

Revenue is generated principally through tax-deductible donations from individuals, foundations, and institutional funders (including USAID BHA), supplemented by modest training fee revenue from the ToT/Earthworks arm. Strategic infrastructure includes the 2022 launch of the Lok Neno demonstration farm, a multi-year tree planting initiative (150,000+ trees placed in 2024 against a 500,000 four-year target), and ongoing savings-group expansion. The organization is not a technology business; it is a field-intensive humanitarian NGO whose competitive position is grounded in proprietary methodology, local talent, and grassroots distribution rather than technology stack.

Name

African Women Rising

Legal name

African Women Rising

Website

https://africanwomenrising.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

African Women Rising is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating in northern Uganda and the Palabek Refugee Settlement, delivering microfinance, regenerative agriculture, adult literacy, and girls' education to 25,000+ women across 79 villages and monetizing a proprietary Permagarden methodology via fee-based training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Development Programs

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Community Food Services (624210), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery (EDADALAC), Refugee, Migration & Displacement Support (BPAGABAH), Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH), Climate, Environment & Natural Resource Management Aid Programs (BPADABAI), International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB)

Keywords

• Women empowerment programs
• Regenerative agriculture training
• Village savings microfinance
• Adult literacy education
• Girls education mentorship

Headquarters

HQ city

Gulu

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization (EIN 26-0140533), AWR's primary revenue comes from donations from individuals, foundations, and organizations. The website features a prominent donation portal with specific giving tiers (e.g., $35 for a goat, $55 for sanitary pad kits for 5 girls, $100 for one Permagarden with training, $250 for business skills training for 20 women, $500 for permagarden training for 10 women, $2,500 to run a literacy center for a year, $10,000 to support a school with mentors and supplies for 75 girls).
2. Professional Training Programs: AWR generates revenue through fee-based professional training programs for humanitarian and development practitioners. The two-week Resilience Design Training-of-Trainers certification course is priced at $3,525 (scholarships available). The six-day Rainwater Harvesting Earthworks Training is priced at $2,300 (scholarships available). These programs train staff from international NGOs, UN agencies, and government bodies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

African Women Rising delivers four integrated community programs in Northern Uganda: Microfinance (Village Savings and Loan groups), Regenerative Agriculture (Permagarden and field crop training), Adult Literacy (REFLECT-based functional literacy centers), and Girls Education (school-based mentorship, supplies, and sanitary pad kits). The organization also sells fee-based professional training (a two-week Resilience Design Training-of-Trainers at $3,525 and a six-day Rainwater Harvesting Earthworks Training at $2,300) to humanitarian and development practitioners, delivered at the 15-acre Lok Neno demonstration farm in Palabek Refugee Settlement. Programs are funded through individual donations, foundation grants, and training fees.

Product overview

African Women Rising operates as a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of integrated development programs focused on empowering women affected by war in Northern Uganda. The core programs include Microfinance (savings groups and financial literacy), Regenerative Agriculture (permagardens and field crop training), Adult Literacy (REFLECT-based education), Girls Education (mentorship and material support), and specialized training programs in Regenerative Agriculture and Rainwater Harvesting Earthworks. These programs work synergistically through the organization's graduation model approach, where participants can enroll in multiple programs simultaneously to achieve greater impact. The organization also maintains the Lok Neno Research, Training and Demonstration Farm as a regional hub for demonstrations and training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Microfinance Program Provides women with financial literacy training, savings group support, and access to microfinance capital through the Village Savings and Loan methodology. Self-managed groups of 15-30 people meet weekly to deposit savings, take out loans, and learn business skills; AWR provides $250 seed grants to groups that have demonstrated sustainability, enabling members to access $20-75 USD loans at a collectively-determined interest rate. Designed for women in Northern Uganda seeking to escape extreme poverty through financial inclusion.
• Regenerative Agriculture Program Teaches regenerative agricultural techniques including permagarden creation, field crop management, water harvesting, soil health improvement, and biodiversity enhancement to help smallholder farmers increase crop yields and achieve year-round food security. The Permagarden approach stores rainwater deep in the soil using earthworks, enabling deeper-rooted perennial and biennial plants to yield food year-round, especially in the dry season. Designed for smallholder farmers and refugees in Northern Uganda with small plot sizes.
• Adult Literacy Program Provides functional adult literacy education using the REFLECT (Regenerated Freirean Literacy through Empowering Community Techniques) methodology, combining Paulo Freire's theories with participatory approaches. Students create their own learning materials generated from discussions of local problems, embedding literacy within practical community context. Centers serve as strong community hubs where women identify and solve social issues. AWR is the largest provider of adult literacy in Northern Uganda, operating 50+ centers. Designed for adults in Northern Uganda who missed formal schooling due to conflict.
• Girls Education Program Supports girls' primary school completion and transition to secondary school through academic mentorship, home visits, provision of textbooks and supplies, reusable sanitary pads, field trips, and after-school programs in the Acholi sub-region of Uganda. 45 mentors spend four days per week in classrooms providing tutoring and homework support, with a fifth day for home visits, reaching 2,500+ girls at 17 schools. Designed for school-age girls in the conflict-affected Acholi region of Northern Uganda.
• Resilience Design Training-of-Trainers Certification A two-week Resilience Design Training-of-Trainers certification course in regenerative agriculture, priced at $3,525 per participant. The program teaches permaculture design science, agroecological principles, and the Resilience Design Toolkit for implementation in humanitarian and development contexts. Includes training instruction, materials, certification, accommodation, full board, and travel from accommodation to training site. Limited scholarships are available. Designed for program management and field staff at humanitarian and development organizations.
• Rainwater Harvesting Earthworks Training A six-day training on using the Resilience Design Framework for hydrological stabilization and ecological revitalization through earthworks, priced at $2,300 per participant. Participants learn to design and implement multiple types of rainwater harvesting structures (earthen dams, bioswales) using tools like laser levels and A-Frames, and how to link and manage them for maximum hydrological benefit to turn floods into food. Includes training instruction, materials, certification, accommodation, full board, and travel from accommodation to training site. Limited scholarships available for local participation. Designed for humanitarian and development practitioners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 241% average savings increase for women participating for three years
• +12 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• USAID SCALE Technical ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022AWR's facilitators Warren Brush and Thomas Cole are members of USAID's SCALE technical program funded through BHA, where they co-developed the Resilience Design Framework and Permagarden Approach. SCALE has supported implementation across 25+ countries with 54+ organizations.
• Government of UgandacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022In 2022, the Ugandan government awarded AWR the opportunity to develop a 15-acre model farm (Lok Neno) at the heart of Palabek Refugee Settlement next to the UN headquarters. The government also supports AWR's graduation model as evidenced in a USAID graduation model report.
• Danish Refugee Council (DRC)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2022Andrew Ebic from the Danish Refugee Council co-facilitates the Rainwater Harvesting Earthworks Training. DRC works on environmental resilience initiatives under the Uganda Refugee Resilience Initiative (URRI) in partnership with AWR.
• International Humanitarian and Development NGOsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 202254 agencies from 16 countries have been trained through the Resilience Design ToT, including: Save the Children, International Rescue Committee (IRC), CARE International, Caritas, Compassion International, Danish Church Aid, Mercy Corps, and Action Against Hunger. These NGOs serve as both training participants and potential replication partners.
• Quail Springs PermacultureminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Warren Brush, AWR's lead trainer, is co-founder of Quail Springs Permaculture. This connection links AWR to a global network of regenerative agriculture practitioners and training programs.
• TrocaireminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Trocaire partnered with AWR to produce the 'Groundswell' documentary film showcasing transformative agricultural work in Palabek Refugee Settlement. The film won the Golden Globe Prize for Documentary at Cannes Film Festival.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Save the Children: Save the Children is a major international NGO operating in Northern Uganda and other conflict-affected regions on education, child protection, and livelihoods. It is comparable to AWR on girls' education, literacy, and humanitarian programming, and is also a documented AWR training participant.
• CARE International: CARE International is a global humanitarian organization focused on poverty alleviation, women's empowerment, food security, and livelihoods. It runs comparable savings-group, agriculture, and education programs in Africa, and is a documented AWR training alumni.
• Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps is a large global humanitarian and development organization working on food security, livelihoods, and resilience in conflict-affected regions, including Uganda. It is a comparable organization in mission and a documented AWR training alumni, but operates at far broader geographic scale and budget.
• BRAC: BRAC is one of the world's largest development NGOs running integrated livelihoods, microfinance, education, and women's empowerment programs across multiple countries, including graduation-style approaches. It is comparable to AWR as a fellow nonprofit implementing a synergistic microfinance + agriculture + education model for women in poverty, though at vastly greater geographic and financial scale.

Peers

• International Rescue Committee (IRC):

Direct peers

• Heifer International: Heifer International is a nonprofit focused on ending hunger and poverty through sustainable agriculture, livestock distribution, and women's empowerment in low-income communities. It is directly comparable to AWR's regenerative agriculture, women's livelihoods, and rural development mission, with similar livestock-transfer (e.g., goats) and savings-group mechanisms.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/africanwomenrisingorg
• Instagraminstagram.com/africanwomenrisingorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/africanwomenrisingorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about African Women Rising