Nyanam Widows Rising
Nyanam Widows Rising is a Kisumu, Kenya-based nonprofit that delivers leadership, livelihoods, health, justice, and education programs to widows and their children in western Kenya through its proprietary Voice of Change curriculum and widow-led Leadership Circles, funded by donations and foundation grants.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersKisumu, Kenya
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Nyanam Widows Rising does
Nyanam Widows Rising (legal entity: Nyanam International, registered Kenyan NGO in 2019, with U.S. 501c3 fiscal sponsor Friends of Nyanam International) is a Kisumu-based nonprofit that designs and delivers integrated empowerment programs for widows in western Kenya. Its flagship intervention is Voice of Change (VoC), a proprietary, Bible-informed, three-year, 12-module participatory curriculum delivered by widows to widows through weekly or bi-weekly peer groups called Leadership Circles. Around this curriculum, Nyanam operates five interconnected program modules — Leadership Education, Sustainable Livelihoods, Health & Wellness, Justice & Land Rights, and Youth Education — plus a widows-led Savings and Credit Cooperative (Nyanam Widows SACCO) for post-graduation economic resilience.
The organization reaches beneficiaries through two channels: direct program delivery in Kisumu and Siaya counties (currently serving approximately 3,300 widows and 2,000 children across 164 Leadership Circles and 63 Youth Circles), and partner-led implementation under the Africa Widows Rising (AWR) brand launched in 2025, which targets 30,000 widows by 2030 through a 3-Year Partner Capacity Model. Nyanam also publishes annual reports, research outputs, and widow-story anthologies, and hosts annual International Widows Day events co-sponsored with the Kisumu County government and Ministry of Health.
Revenue mechanics are entirely donation- and grant-based. Nyanam accepts individual donations (via M-PESA, PayPal, Zelle, and TrustBridge Global through its KBFUS partnership) and institutional grants from a roster of 14+ named foundation and trust funders including Abundance Foundation, Blood Water, Coworkers, Dovetail, Pilot House, Praxis, Project Redwood, Crowell Trust, First Fruits Foundation, Imago Dei Fund, Murfield Foundation, and Woven Foundation. Standardized donation tiers ($30 kitchen garden, $100 irrigation pump or school fees, $400 land rights journey, $500 monthly circle follow-up, $900 circle gardens, $4,000 dignified housing, $4,500 VoC trainer cohort) define unit economics per program activity. The organization states that 100% of donations go directly to widows and communities, with a staff of 1-10 employees.
Nyanam Widows Rising firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Nyanam Widows Rising
- Legal name
- Nyanam International
- Website
- https://nyanam.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Nyanam Widows Rising is a Kisumu, Kenya-based nonprofit that delivers leadership, livelihoods, health, justice, and education programs to widows and their children in western Kenya through its proprietary Voice of Change curriculum and widow-led Leadership Circles, funded by donations and foundation grants.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Nyanam Widows Rising industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Widow Empowerment Nonprofit Services
- NAICS
- Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (62411)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Health, Health Promotion & Behavior Change (SBCC) (BPADAIAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) Partnerships (HLAJAOAG)
Keywords
Where Nyanam Widows Rising is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kisumu
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Nyanam Widows Rising business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donor Contributions: Individual and institutional donors contribute to Nyanam's programs. The organization states that 100% of donations go directly to widows and communities. U.S. donors give through TrustBridge (tax-deductible via KBFUS partnership), while Kenyan and international donors use M-PESA, PayPal, or Zelle.
- Foundation and Institutional Grants: Funding from foundation partners including Abundance Foundation, Blood Water, Coworkers, Dovetail, Pilot House, Praxis, Project Redwood, Crowell Trust, First Fruits Foundation, Imago Dei Fund, Murfield Foundation, Woven Foundation, and others. These partners fund specific program areas including Voice of Change implementation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Donation/ grant-funded | One-time | $4,500 sponsors Voice of Change training for 30 widows |
| Donation/ grant-funded | One-time | $500 for monthly leadership circle follow-up |
| Donation/ grant-funded | One-time | $400 supports land rights journey |
| Donation/ grant-funded | One-time | $30 for climate-adaptive kitchen garden |
| Donation/ grant-funded | One-time | $100 for irrigation pump support |
| Donation/ grant-funded | One-time | $900 for leadership circle gardens |
| Donation/ grant-funded | One-time | $4,000 for dignified housing |
| Donation/ grant-funded | One-time | $100 for school fees support |
| Donation/ grant-funded | One-time | $50 for dignity pack |
| Donation/ grant-funded | One-time | $4,500 for youth mentor training |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Nyanam Widows Rising product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Nyanam Widows Rising delivers the Voice of Change (VoC) curriculum — a 3-year, Bible-informed, widow-centric curriculum with 12 modules — through peer-led support groups called Leadership Circles. It also offers integrated programs in leadership education, sustainable livelihoods, health and wellness, justice and land rights, and youth education for widows' children, alongside the Nyanam Widows SACCO for post-graduation financial resilience.
Product overview
Nyanam Widows Rising operates as a unified nonprofit organization offering integrated empowerment programs for widows rather than a software platform. The core intervention is Voice of Change (VoC), a Bible-informed 3-year curriculum delivered through Leadership Circles. This is supported by four interconnected program modules: Leadership Education, Sustainable Livelihoods, Health & Wellness, and Justice & Land Rights. A fifth program, Youth Education, extends support to widows' children. Nyanam Widows SACCO provides post-graduation financial resilience, while Africa Widows Rising (AWR) serves as a sub-brand for scaling VoC through partner organizations. The organization also hosts annual International Widows Day celebrations in Kenya.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Voice of Change (VoC): A widow-centric Bible-informed widowhood curriculum that empowers widows to create meaningful change in their lives. Created to be delivered by widows through widow group settings called Leadership Circles.
- Nyanam Widows SACCO
Companies that use Nyanam Widows Rising
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Nyanam Widows Rising technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature3 records
Nyanam Widows Rising partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Mothers UnioncoreImplementing partner for Voice of Change curriculum, working with widows in community settings. Mothers Union has global reach in supporting marriage, family and faith.
- UkarimucoreImplementing partner providing Voice of Change program delivery in local communities.
- Kisumu County Department of Social DevelopmentcoreGovernment partner for International Widows Day 2024 and 2025 celebrations, providing implementation support and legitimacy.
- Ministry of Health, Kisumu West Sub-CountycoreGovernment health partner providing preventative reproductive health services at International Widows Day celebrations.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Nyanam Widows Rising competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Landesa: Global land rights organization helping secure land tenure for women and rural poor. Comparable in the land rights advocacy component of Nyanam's Justice & Land Rights program and similar donor-funded social enterprise model.
- WomenLift Health: Global nonprofit advancing women in health leadership. Comparable in women's leadership development focus and its Leadership Education program, though vertical-focus on health sector leaders.
- Solar Sister: Provides economic empowerment to women through clean energy entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa. Comparable in women-led economic empowerment, peer network model, and rural African last-mile distribution.
Regional players
- mothers2mothers: Africa-based nonprofit employing women living with HIV as peer mentors to deliver health services. Comparable in peer-led service model, African footprint, integrated health and economic empowerment, and donor-funded nonprofit structure.
- Shining Hope for Community Organization (SHOFCO): Kenya-based CBO that integrates education, health, and economic empowerment for low-income urban communities, operating in similar geographies to Nyanam with a comparable integrated community services model. Both are founder-led, donor-funded, and serve marginalized Kenyan populations.
Broad incumbents
- CARE International: Major international humanitarian organization with extensive women's empowerment, livelihoods, and justice programming in Kenya. Comparable in the integrated service model, Africa footprint, and target population segments.
- Grameen Foundation: Global nonprofit focused on poverty alleviation through microfinance and women's economic empowerment. Comparable in the microbusiness training and SACCO formation model used by Nyanam's Sustainable Livelihoods program.
- African Women's Development Fund (AWDF): Pan-African grantmaking foundation supporting women's rights organizations across Africa. Comparable as a funder of similar African women's empowerment NGOs and could be a potential grantee/partner for Nyanam.
Direct peers
- Women for Women International: Operates a year-long social and economic empowerment program for women survivors of war and conflict in Africa and other regions. Comparable in target population (marginalized women), training-based curriculum, and peer-support group structure.
- The Loomba Foundation: Global NGO dedicated specifically to empowering widows and their children through education, livelihood, and advocacy programs. Most directly comparable to Nyanam in target population, mission, and service delivery model, though operating at global scale versus Nyanam's Kenya focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Nyanam Widows Rising social profiles
Digital presenceNyanam Widows Rising financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Nyanam Widows Rising leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Nyanam Widows Rising funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Nyanam Widows Rising 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 Nyanam Widows Rising
What does Nyanam Widows Rising do?
Nyanam Widows Rising delivers the Voice of Change (VoC) curriculum — a 3-year, Bible-informed, widow-centric curriculum with 12 modules — through peer-led support groups called Leadership Circles. It also offers integrated programs in leadership education, sustainable livelihoods, health and wellness, justice and land rights, and youth education for widows' children, alongside the Nyanam Widows SACCO for post-graduation financial resilience.
Is Nyanam Widows Rising a public or private company?
Nyanam Widows Rising is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Nyanam Widows Rising founded?
Nyanam Widows Rising was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Nyanam Widows Rising based?
Nyanam Widows Rising is headquartered in Kisumu, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does Nyanam Widows Rising make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donor Contributions are the primary driver. The others are foundation and Institutional Grants.
Who are Nyanam Widows Rising's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Landesa, WomenLift Health and Solar Sister. Regional players are mothers2mothers and Shining Hope for Community Organization (SHOFCO). Broad incumbents are CARE International, Grameen Foundation and African Women's Development Fund (AWDF). Direct peers are Women for Women International and The Loomba Foundation.
Does Nyanam Widows Rising have an API?
No public API is recorded for Nyanam Widows Rising.
What industry is Nyanam Widows Rising in?
Nyanam Widows Rising's product category is Widow Empowerment Nonprofit Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAIAL, Community Health, Health Promotion & Behavior Change (SBCC), with a secondary code of BPAGADAK, Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits. Its NAICS code is 624190 and its SIC code is 8300.