What Project Harar does

Project Harar is a UK-registered charity (Charity Number 1094272) founded in 2001 by Jonathan Crown, with a separately registered Ethiopian entity (Charity Number 2873) operating from Brighton and Addis Ababa respectively. The organisation provides free cleft lip and palate treatment to children in Ethiopia's most remote and disadvantaged rural areas, delivered through an outreach model in which programme coordinators travel to identify patients and refer them to a network of partner hospitals including Yekatit-12 Hospital in Addis Ababa, Gamby Hospital in Bahir Dar, Asosa General Hospital, Ethio Tebib Hospital, and Ambo General Hospital. Since 2001, Project Harar has treated 12,507 patients and trained 10,373 Ethiopian health and social workers, with annual throughput rising to 900 patients treated in 2025.

The charity's core service portfolio comprises the Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment Programme (surgery, transport, post-operative care), the 2025-launched Early Intervention Programme (midwife training for early identification and feeding support), the annual Complex Surgical Mission for Noma, tumours, and severe facial disfigurements, a Nutrition Support Programme using fortified milk and peanut butter to prepare underweight children for safe surgery, a community-based Speech Therapy Programme developed with Transforming Faces, a Health Worker Training Programme, and an Awareness and Outreach Programme that includes media partnerships such as the Oromia Broadcasting Network (OBN). Underlying infrastructure includes a Squarespace website, Donorfy donation processing accepting GBP/USD/EUR/CAD, the Big Give matched-funding platform, a YouTube channel for documentary content, and a remote outreach management system used to track patients across Ethiopia's regions.

Project Harar's revenue model is multi-stream charitable funding rather than commercial pricing: individual donations (single and monthly) through the website, Big Give matched funding campaigns (summer and Christmas challenges), grants from trusts and foundations including Comic Relief, DFID, and THET, corporate partnerships (DSP Explorer, AmazonSmile, Give as you Live, Brilliant Little Brands, John Lewis Advent of Change), and community fundraising events (Great Ethiopian Run, London to Brighton Cycle Ride, Brighton Marathon). A UK Board of Trustees, headed by CEO Jackie Riley, provides governance, while Amanuel Tafese serves as Executive Director and Country Head in Ethiopia. The organisation holds an MOU with the Ethiopian national government signed in 2018 and is a founding member of the Circle of Cleft global network alongside Smile Train, Transforming Faces, and Face Equality International.

Name

Project Harar

Legal name

Project Harar

Website

https://projectharar.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Project Harar is a UK-founded charity that delivers free cleft lip and palate treatment to children in Ethiopia's most remote rural areas via outreach-driven identification, partner-hospital surgery, midwife training, and post-operative care.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cleft lip and palate treatment services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) NGOs (HLAJAKAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Maternal, Infant & Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) Programs (BPADAJAC), Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG), Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH)

Keywords

• Cleft lip palate treatment
• Pediatric facial surgery
• International healthcare charity
• Community health outreach
• Maternal child nutrition

Headquarters

HQ city

Henfield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Project Harar raises funds primarily through individual donations via its website, using the Big Give platform for matched funding campaigns (Summer and Christmas challenges). Single and recurring monthly donations are accepted in GBP, USD, EUR, and CAD through the Donorfy platform.
2. Trusts and Foundations: Funding from charitable trusts and foundations including Comic Relief (£113,000 over 3 years for Afar programme), DFID (£200,000 over 3 years for Somali region), and THET (Partnerships for Global Health grant for virtual volunteering programme with Yekatit-12 Hospital).
3. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with corporate entities including DSP Explorer (team participation in Great Ethiopian Run), and AmazonSmile, Give as you Live, and Brilliant Little Brands (shopping donation schemes generating free funds for the charity).
4. Event Fundraising: Community fundraising events including the Great Ethiopian Run (in-person and virtual), London to Brighton Cycle Ride, Brighton Marathon, and the Big Give Christmas Challenge. Participants are encouraged to set up JustGiving fundraising pages.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Project Harar provides free cleft lip and palate treatment, complex facial surgery, nutritional support, early intervention, community-based speech therapy, and stigma reduction programmes for children and families in Ethiopia. The organisation identifies children in remote rural areas through a network of programme coordinators, funds transport, accommodation, surgery and post-operative care at partner hospitals, and trains local health workers in cleft identification and feeding support. Since founding in 2001 it has treated more than 12,500 patients and trained over 10,300 Ethiopian health workers.

Product overview

Project Harar is a charity organization (not a software product company) providing healthcare services for cleft lip and palate treatment in Ethiopia. The organization operates a portfolio of interconnected healthcare programmes including: the core Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment Programme for surgical interventions, the Early Intervention Programme (launched 2025) for early identification through midwife training, the Complex Surgical Mission for Noma and complex facial conditions, Nutrition Support Programme for pre-surgical preparation, Speech Therapy Services for post-operative care, Awareness and Outreach Programme for community education, Health Worker Training for capacity building, and Stigma Reduction for Mothers support services. These programmes work together to provide comprehensive cleft care from identification through treatment and rehabilitation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment Programme Surgical treatment and comprehensive care for children born with cleft lip and palate, including outreach identification, transport, accommodation, surgery and post-operative support delivered free of charge across Ethiopia.
• Early Intervention Programme Training programme for midwives to identify cleft conditions at birth, provide feeding support to mothers, and refer babies for early surgical intervention; includes provision of fortified formula milk and specialist cleft feeding bottles.
• Complex Surgical Mission Annual surgical mission treating patients with complex facial conditions including Noma, tumours, and hyena attack survivors, delivered in partnership with local hospitals including Yekatit-12 Hospital Addis Ababa and Hilfsaktion Noma.e.V.
• Nutrition Support Programme Provides fortified milk powder, nutritional peanut butter, and dietary education to undernourished children with cleft conditions so they are strong enough to undergo safe surgery, and supports mothers with feeding techniques.
• Community-Based Speech Therapy Programme Trains community health workers to deliver speech therapy sessions using picture-based booklets with Amharic and Oromo phrases in the International Phonetic Alphabet, supporting post-operative rehabilitation of cleft patients in rural Ethiopia.
• Awareness and Outreach Programme Community outreach and mass media awareness campaigns that work with local health clinics, community leaders, and partners such as Oromia Broadcasting Network to provide information about cleft conditions, reduce social stigma, and mobilise families to access treatment.
• Health Worker Training Training of Ethiopian midwives, nurses, health extension workers and community health workers in cleft identification, feeding support, management and referral pathways, including a 55-midwife cohort in the April 2025 East Hararghe Zone pilot.
• Stigma Reduction for Mothers Programme Programmes addressing social stigma faced by mothers of children with cleft conditions, including breastfeeding support, dietary education, and community-level awareness to enable mothers to resume work, education and community participation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 12,507 patients treated for cleft lip, palate, and complex facial conditions since 2001
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

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

• Hilfsaktion Noma.e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025In 2025, Project Harar carried out a complex surgical mission in partnership with Hilfsaktion Noma.e.V. The mission sought to provide surgery for survivors of Noma, a gangrenous disease of the face. 12 patients were successfully treated for Noma and other facial disfigurements.
• Circle of CleftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Harar is one of the founding members of the Circle of Cleft, a worldwide network of cleft professionals and cleft charity leaders promoting Comprehensive Cleft Care (CCC) in resource-constrained contexts. The network provides access to specialised medical treatments, surgical interventions, and ongoing rehabilitation services.
• Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Northern IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Harar maintains a close relationship with the Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, benefiting from their expertise and collaborative efforts. Through this partnership, Project Harar accesses a network of skilled craniofacial surgeons, researchers, and healthcare professionals who contribute to providing comprehensive care to individuals with facial disfigurements in Ethiopia.
• Face Equality InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Harar is a proud member of Face Equality International, an alliance of over 30 NGOs, charities and support groups mobilising globally for the campaign for face equality. The alliance aims to create critical mass and solidarity for people with facial differences and disfigurements.
• Smile TraincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmile Train has been a long-term and much-valued partner of Project Harar. All surgeons who operate on patients identified by Project Harar work in Smile Train accredited hospitals and have received training from Smile Train.
• Transforming FacescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransforming Faces works across the world to give children access to cleft lip and palate surgery and comprehensive cleft care. Project Harar worked in partnership with them on a programme for community-based speech therapy delivery to patients in rural parts of Ethiopia.
• Yekatit-12 Hospital, Addis AbabacoreTechnology or IntegrationProject Harar has collaborated for many years with Yekatit-12 Hospital, one of the leading public hospitals in Addis Ababa and a key partner in providing cleft surgery. Each year during the 2-week complex surgical mission, UK, international and Ethiopian medical staff work together at Yekatit-12 to provide surgery to patients with complex facial conditions. The hospital is also the site of the THET-funded virtual volunteering training programme.
• Healing The Children Northeast, United StatesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealing The Children Northeast facilitated the international referral and treatment of Negalem (Seenaa), a 5-year-old patient with a complex facial tumour. They funded travel to New York and covered daily care costs for Seenaa and her father during treatment in the United States.
• VBINY (Louis W. Abramson), New York, United StatesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr O and Dr Waner of VBINY in New York agreed to treat Negalem (Seenaa) pro bono. The treatment was coordinated with guidance from Professor McGurk after discussions with many medical institutions.
• Lennox Hill Hospital and Northwell Health, United StatesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the international medical referral network that contributed to Negalem's treatment journey from Ethiopia to the United States.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ReSurge International: US-based nonprofit providing reconstructive surgery (including cleft) and surgical training in low-income countries. Directly comparable to Project Harar in the niche of volunteer-driven reconstructive surgery paired with local capacity-building.
• Operation Smile: Global nonprofit providing free cleft lip and palate surgery in low- and middle-income countries, including medical missions and local surgeon training. Directly comparable to Project Harar in mission (cleft surgery in developing countries), volunteer-driven delivery model and partnership approach with local hospitals.
• Transforming Faces: Canada-based charity delivering comprehensive cleft care (surgery, speech therapy, dental, psychosocial) in low-resource settings. Active Project Harar partner for community-based speech therapy delivery, making it a directly comparable peer in the comprehensive-cleft-care niche.
• Smile Train: The world's largest cleft-focused charity, funding free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care in 90+ countries including Ethiopia. Smile Train is both a long-term partner of Project Harar (all surgeons operating on Project Harar-identified patients work in Smile Train-accredited hospitals) and a direct comparable for programme design, training models and donor engagement in the global cleft NGO space.
• CURE International: US-based nonprofit operating paediatric specialty hospitals (including cleft and reconstructive surgery) in low- and middle-income countries, with a strong training component. Directly comparable in combining curative surgery with long-term local capacity-building, though CURE typically owns its hospital infrastructure.
• Interplast: US- and Germany-based nonprofits (Interplast, Interplast-Germany) sending volunteer surgical teams to perform cleft and reconstructive surgery in developing countries. Closely comparable to Project Harar in volunteer-mission model, geographic focus and training emphasis.
• Hilfsaktion Noma.e.V. German nonprofit focused on Noma (gangrenous facial disease) and other complex facial disfigurements, with active surgical missions in Ethiopia. Partnered with Project Harar on the 2025 complex surgical mission treating 12 Noma patients, directly comparable in addressing severe facial conditions beyond standard cleft cases.

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Ships: Large international charity operating hospital ships delivering free surgery and medical capacity-building across sub-Saharan Africa. Operates at greater scale and broader surgical scope than Project Harar, but overlapping in mission of providing surgery access to under-served African populations.
• Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): Large international medical humanitarian organisation operating in Ethiopia and other low-income settings. Broader mandate (emergency medicine, infectious disease, surgery) but relevant benchmark for NGO healthcare delivery scale, funding structure and field operations in similar geographies.

Emerging players

• Facing the World: UK-based charity providing complex craniofacial surgery to children from developing countries, including international referral and surgical training components. Comparable to Project Harar in mission and UK base, but distinct in focusing on international patient referral rather than in-country delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7265394830275448832
• Facebookfacebook.com/reel/538388402414637
• Instagraminstagram.com/reel/DCo6T7CNJnP

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Project Harar