Justice & Empowerment Initiatives

What Justice & Empowerment Initiatives does

Justice & Empowerment Initiatives (JEI) is a non-profit organization founded in 2014 and registered both as a US 501(c)(3) (Newton, Massachusetts) and as a charitable organization in Nigeria. JEI employs 23 staff across offices in Lagos (headquarters at 310 Herbert Macaulay Way, Sabo-Yaba), Port Harcourt (Rivers State), and Cotonou (Benin). The organization is co-led by Megan Chapman and Andrew Maki and operates through a wholly-owned regional subsidiary, JEI-Bénin.

JEI's core function is legal empowerment for urban poor communities in West Africa. Its service portfolio comprises four integrated programs: community-based paralegal services (training and supporting a network of paralegals embedded in informal settlements, with 40+ active paralegals in Port Harcourt alone handling cases on forced eviction, police accountability, land grab, sexual and gender-based violence, and protection of informal livelihoods); Media4Change (a grassroots creative media program training community members in photo, video, and audio production); movement-building (supporting savings groups and inter-community exchanges across 80+ Lagos settlements under the Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation); and strategic advocacy and litigation (backstopping paralegal work through NHRC complaints, World Bank Inspection Panel filings, and high-profile court actions including the 2017 Lagos High Court ruling that waterfront evictions were unconstitutional). JEI also produces social-impact media, including the documentary series CoronaDiaries and the feature film "The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos," which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024 after development support from Sundance Institute's Stories for Change Fund.

JEI does not develop proprietary technology products and has no disclosed AI or automation capabilities. Its revenue model is donation- and grant-based, supplemented by Amazon Smile contributions; all services to urban poor communities are provided free of charge. The organizational model is community-driven: priorities and campaigns originate from the Federation and its member communities, with JEI supplying technical expertise in law, advocacy, urban planning, creative media, and community organizing. Strategic partnerships with Slum Dwellers International, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, ABA ROLI, the National Human Rights Commission, and Heartland Alliance extend JEI's reach beyond Nigeria and Benin.

Name

Justice & Empowerment Initiatives

Legal name

Justice & Empowerment Initiatives, Inc.

Website

https://justempower.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Justice & Empowerment Initiatives (JEI) is a US-registered 501(c)(3) and Nigerian non-profit founded in 2014 that trains community-based paralegals, produces grassroots creative media, and pursues strategic advocacy and litigation to empower urban poor communities facing forced eviction in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Cotonou.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Empowerment and Social Justice Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Defense & Legal Aid Services (BPAIAFAC), Transitional Justice, Accountability & Reparations (BPADAGAL), Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Legal Aid) (BPADADAH)

Keywords

• Community-based paralegals
• Legal empowerment services
• Urban poor advocacy
• Social impact media
• Pro-poor governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Lagos

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: JEI is funded through donations, grants, and charitable contributions. The organization is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States and as a charitable organization in Nigeria. Donations support community-led upgrading processes and free legal services for the poorest communities.
2. Amazon Smile: Donations can be made through Amazon Smile, where Amazon donates 0.5% of qualifying purchases to JEI.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Justice & Empowerment Initiatives (JEI) is a non-profit that trains and supports a network of community-based paralegals in urban poor communities across Nigeria and Benin, while also running the Media4Change grassroots media program, movement-building exchanges, and strategic advocacy and litigation. Services are delivered free of charge to the urban poor, with priorities set by the Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation and its member communities.

Product overview

Justice & Empowerment Initiatives (JEI) is a non-profit organization that offers a portfolio of integrated services focused on empowering poor and marginalized urban communities in Nigeria and Benin. The core offerings include community-based paralegal services, grassroots Media4Change creative media programs, movement-building and inter-community solidarity initiatives, and strategic advocacy and litigation support. JEI also produces social impact media including 'The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos' film and the 'CoronaDiaries' documentary series. The organization supports the Otodo Gbame Resettlement Campaign as part of its advocacy work against forced evictions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Media4Change: Grassroots creative media program producing photo, video, and audio content from urban poor communities
• The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos

Products and services

• Community-Based Paralegal Services JEI trains and supports a network of community-based paralegals in urban poor communities in Nigerian cities to provide free legal services and access to justice for the poor.
• Media4Change

Quantifiable outcome

• 40+ active paralegals handling diverse cases in Port Harcourt
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement FederationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary organizational partner. JEI supports the Federation to empower poor and marginalized individuals and communities. The Federation and its member communities identify needs and set priorities that direct all aspects of JEI's work. The Federation comprises hundreds of savings groups in over 80 settlements across Lagos.
• Slum Dwellers International (SDI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network of slum dweller federations spanning 36 countries. LVQ is part of an ongoing multi-pronged campaign by SDI and its affiliates to end forced evictions and build inclusive cities. SDI has over four decades of experience co-creating eviction alternatives.
• Human Rights WatchmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint report co-produced: 'Between Hunger and the Virus: The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on People Living in Poverty in Lagos, Nigeria' (July 2021).
• Amnesty InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint press statements on forced evictions including Badia East community. Co-produced report 'If You Love Your Life, Move Out!' on forced eviction in Badia East, Lagos State.
• Sundance InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLVQ film launched in 2017 through story-development grant from Sundance Institute's 'Stories for Change' Fund. Supported the co-creative production model.
• World BankminorOthersAdvocacy target regarding World Bank Environmental & Social Framework (Safeguard Policies) and World Bank-funded projects affecting Lagos slums. JEI supported residents to participate in consultation processes.
• National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJEI built coalition of NGOs to support communities filing complaints of forced evictions before the NHRC. Supporting multiple cases including Eagle Island, Abonnema Wharf, Njemanze, and others.
• Heartland AlliancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Heartland Alliance and American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) to train paralegal trainers from 7 Nigerian NGOs.
• American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with ABA ROLI to train paralegal trainers from 7 Nigerian NGOs, supporting development of a network of paralegals.
• Rural and Urban Development Initiative (RUDI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with RUDI to train first class of 20 paralegals nominated from over a dozen informal settlements in 3 different local government areas in Lagos.
• Northwestern University Access to HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to develop health education curriculum for training Federation members as Community Health Educators to improve health knowledge in informal settlements.
• Indian Community of LagosminorOthersDonated food supplies (5,100 packs of rice) that were distributed across 79 communities during COVID-19 pandemic response.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Amnesty International: Named partner that has co-produced reports and joint press statements with JEI on forced evictions in Lagos. Amnesty's global human rights mandate and Nigeria section overlap with JEI's work on forced eviction, SGBV, and police accountability, but operates at much greater scale and breadth.
• Human Rights Watch: Joint-report partner with JEI on 'Between Hunger and the Virus' (Lagos COVID-19 impact report). HRW's global research and advocacy mandate overlaps with JEI on forced eviction, economic rights, and police accountability, but operates as a broader international incumbent.
• Open Society Justice Initiative: Funds and litigates strategic human rights and access-to-justice cases globally, including in West Africa. Overlaps with JEI's strategic-litigation and paralegal-empowerment model, but at significantly larger scale and geographic breadth.
• Habitat for Humanity International: Global housing and shelter NGO that participates in UN Habitat / World Urban Forum alongside JEI. Comparable in advocacy for adequate housing and tenure security, but focuses on housing construction/finance rather than legal empowerment and community paralegals.
• Avocats Sans Frontières (Lawyers Without Borders): International NGO delivering legal aid, access to justice, and legal empowerment in Africa and other developing regions. Highly comparable in mission and beneficiary population to JEI, but operates across multiple African countries with a larger footprint.

Emerging players

• SPARC (Society for Promotion of Area Resource Centers): Indian community-led NGO that pioneered the savings-group + community-led upgrading model now used by JEI and the NSIS Federation. Comparable in mission and methodology, but operates in a different geography (South Asia) and is a closely linked SDI-affiliated network.

Direct peers

• Slum Dwellers International (SDI): JEI's named strategic partner; a 36-country network of slum/shack dweller federations. SDI pursues the same pro-poor urban governance, community-led upgrading, and inclusive-cities mandate through federated community organizations, overlapping heavily with JEI's Federation-driven model.
• Namati: Global network that trains and supports community-based paralegals to deliver justice services at the grassroots level. Operates with a similar community-empowerment + legal-aid model in multiple developing countries and is the closest direct peer to JEI's paralegal program.
• ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI): Named partner that has co-trained paralegal trainers from 7 Nigerian NGOs with JEI. ABA ROLI runs overseas legal-empowerment and access-to-justice programs in similar geographies, making it a direct operational peer even though it is a larger U.S.-based institutional player.
• Heartland Alliance: Named partner that co-trained paralegals with JEI and ABA ROLI. Heartland Alliance delivers human rights, legal aid, and social services to marginalized populations and is a direct peer in the community-based paralegal/access-to-justice space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/justempower
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/justice-&-empowerment-initiatives

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Justice & Empowerment Initiatives