Goats for Girls

What Goats for Girls does

Goats for Girls is a registered Canadian charity (Charity Registration Number 75854 1536 RR0001) founded in 2012 by Jannine Koert, then 15 years old, after she learned that Malawian girls she had befriended in 2010 were being married at age 14. The organization designs and runs community development programs for vulnerable children, families, and rural communities in Southern Malawi (Chikwawa and the Lilongwe area), Nigeria, and Guinea-Bissau (the latter limited by political instability), reaching over 400 girls across four regions of Southern Malawi.

The core program is the Goat Pass-On Program, in which children aged 8–10 receive two goats, keep additional offspring to build a herd, and pass the first two kids on to another child; herds are eventually sold to fund secondary school fees. This sits inside a portfolio of eleven interlocking programs including Village Savings & Loans microfinance, Post-Secondary Sponsorship, Religious Instruction (Bible distribution and Reformed literature), a Village Grain Bank, shared Irrigation Farming, a community Maize Mill, Adult Literacy, Youth Empowerment (pig rearing and vocational training in baking, tailoring, mechanics, and carpentry), Water Projects (well-drilling), and reusable menstrual pad production. There is no proprietary technology platform; program delivery relies on community-level infrastructure and, in Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau, on local partner CBR Effata.

The revenue model is 100% charitable donations. Canadian donors contribute via cheque to a Courtland, Ontario mailing address, e-transfer to a Gmail address, or credit card through CanadaHelps.org, with Canadian tax receipts issued. There are no paid staff listed — governance rests with an eight-person volunteer board (Chairperson David Heikoop, Vice-Chair William Van Blyderveen, Secretary Andée Scholten, Treasurer Marcel Verhey, and board members Hannah Koert, Janita Klop, Petra Koert, and Nellie Visscher). Digital presence is limited to a Wix-hosted website and Facebook and Instagram accounts used for awareness and donor engagement.

Name

Goats for Girls

Legal name

Goats for Girls

Website

https://goats4girls.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Goats for Girls is a Canadian-registered charity that runs livestock pass-on, microfinance, education, food-security, and water programs for vulnerable children and rural communities in Malawi, Nigeria, and Guinea-Bissau, funded entirely by individual donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Community Development and Humanitarian Aid

NAICS

Goat Farming (112420), Goat Farming (11242), Sheep and Goat Farming (1124), Support Activities for Animal Production (1152)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFAEAFAB

Goat Farming (Meat Goats)

Agriculture & Food Production/Animal Production & Aquaculture/Sheep & Goat Farming

SECONDARYAFAEAFAE

Breeding Stock & Genetics (Rams/Bucks, Stud Services, AI/ET Programs)

Agriculture & Food Production/Animal Production & Aquaculture/Sheep & Goat Farming

SECONDARYAFAEAFAG

Grazing & Pasture-Based Operations (Range, Rotational Grazing)

Agriculture & Food Production/Animal Production & Aquaculture/Sheep & Goat Farming

SECONDARYAFAEANAB

Livestock & Farm Animal Veterinary Services

Agriculture & Food Production/Animal Production & Aquaculture/Animal Health & Veterinary Services

Keywords

• Community development programs
• Livestock pass-on charity
• Village savings microfinance
• Education sponsorship aid
• Food security initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Courtland

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: As a registered Canadian charity (Registration Number: 75854 1536 RR0001), Goats for Girls generates revenue entirely through charitable donations. They accept cheques, e-transfers, and credit card donations via CanadaHelps.org. They issue tax receipts for Canadian donations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Goats for Girls is a registered Canadian charity that operates a suite of community development programs for vulnerable children, families, and rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its flagship Goat Pass-On Program provides two goats to children aged 8-10, who pass on the first offspring to another child while raising additional goats to fund secondary school fees. The charity complements livestock distribution with microfinance (Village Savings & Loans), post-secondary education sponsorships, food security initiatives (village grain banks, irrigation, maize mill), adult literacy, vocational youth empowerment, water well projects, reusable menstrual pad production, and Bible distribution.

Product overview

Goats for Girls is a registered charity that operates a portfolio of interconnected community development programs focused on empowering vulnerable children, families, and communities in Malawi and Nigeria. The core offering is the Goat Pass-On Program, which provides goats to children aged 8-10 who must pass on offspring to another child, creating a sustainable cycle of support. This integrates with the Village Savings and Loans program where participants pool savings to access microloans. Additional programs include Post-Secondary Sponsorship for education beyond secondary school, Religious Instruction through Bible distribution, Village Grain Bank for food security, Irrigation Farming with shared pumps, Adult Literacy classes, Youth Empowerment through pig rearing and vocational training, Maize Mill for agricultural value-addition, Water Projects through well-drilling, and Reusable Menstrual Pad Production training. The organization operates across Southern Malawi (Chikwawa and Lilongwe areas) and Nigeria, with limited activities in Guinea-Bissau.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Goat Pass-On Program A sustainable livestock program where vulnerable children (girls and boys) aged 8-10 receive 2 goats; recipients pass the first 2 kids to another child while keeping additional offspring to grow a herd, with goats eventually sold to fund secondary school fees.
• Village Savings and Loans (VS&L) A microfinance model in which groups of 10-20 individuals pool savings to allow members to take small-scale loans for businesses or emergencies, with interest divided among members at year-end.
• Post-Secondary Sponsorship A combination of grants and loans provided to Goats for Girls beneficiaries who graduate from secondary school and are accepted to post-secondary education, with the loan portion repayable in money or time worked for the project.
• Religious Instruction (Bible and Reformed literature distribution) Program that distributes Bibles to youth in goat pass-on programs and adults, including translation, publication, and distribution of children's Bible stories and materials explaining Reformed doctrines.
• Village Grain Bank A community grain bank that distributes maize during the lean season, with maize collected back from beneficiaries with interest after harvest and stored for the next lean season.
• Irrigation Farming Provision of petrol-powered irrigation pumps shared among groups of farmers, enabling larger dry-season farming, higher crop yields, and off-season sales at better prices.
• Adult Literacy Program Sponsored adult literacy classes that enable beneficiaries to read labels, signs, instruction manuals, and the Bible.
• Youth Empowerment Program Development of pig rearing facilities and vocational training classes in baking, tailoring, mechanics, and carpentry for young people in Nigeria and Malawi.
• Maize Mill Program Interest-free loans to set up a community maize mill enabling community members to grind maize into flour for nsima (Malawi's staple food), and to grind soy, cassava, sweet potato, and ground nuts into flour for sale.
• Water Projects (Well Drilling) Well-drilling projects in Nigeria and Malawi that improve access to clean water in rural areas, reducing water-borne illness and freeing women's time.
• Reusable Menstrual Pad Production Training Training program for parents in reusable menstrual pad production to support health and continued education for girls in beneficiary communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 400 girls participating across 4 regions in Southern Malawi
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CBR EffatacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018CBR Effata is a local partner organization in Nigeria that Goats for Girls works with to help girls with AIDS, other physical handicaps, or orphan status. The partnership expanded to include Guinea-Bissau. CBR Effata provides local implementation support, community connections, and program delivery for Goats for Girls' goat pass-on program and youth empowerment initiatives.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Oxfam: Oxfam is a global confederation focused on poverty, food security and rural livelihoods, with longstanding programs in Malawi and Nigeria. Comparable on rural poverty alleviation but operates across many more sectors and geographies.
• Plan International: Plan International is a large NGO focused on girls' empowerment and child rights, with significant programming in Malawi and Nigeria. Comparable on 'girls in Sub-Saharan Africa' mandate but at a broader, less livestock-centric scope.
• ChildFund International: ChildFund International sponsors vulnerable children and runs community development programs in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Malawi and Nigeria. Comparable on beneficiary type and Sponsorship-style fundraising, though not livestock-specific.
• CARE International: CARE International runs women's empowerment and poverty programs in Malawi and Nigeria, including some livestock and food-security components. Comparable on women's and community-focused development in the same operating countries.
• Compassion International: Compassion International runs a large child-sponsorship and development program in Malawi, Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa. Comparable on target beneficiary (vulnerable children) and African geographies but with a much larger institutional footprint.
• World Vision: World Vision is a large child-sponsorship and community-development NGO with longstanding programs in Malawi, Nigeria and many other low-income countries. Comparable on geography and beneficiary profile but operates at vastly greater scale and scope.

Direct peers

• Samaritan's Purse: Samaritan's Purse runs a 'Gift Catalog' offering donors the chance to fund goats, chickens and other livestock for families in developing countries, with on-the-ground delivery partners across Sub-Saharan Africa. Directly comparable donor-facing goat-gift model and Africa footprint.
• Send a Cow: Send a Cow sends livestock and trains smallholder farmers in sustainable agriculture across Sub-Saharan Africa, including goat-rearing and related pass-on/herd-building programs. Highly comparable on target geography, beneficiary profile and agricultural-input model.
• Heifer International: Heifer International is the canonical practitioner of the livestock pass-on model that Goats for Girls mirrors, including goats, sheep and other ruminants passed on to families in Africa and other developing regions. Its 'Pass on the Gift' mechanic and community development framework make it the closest functional analogue.
• Farm Africa: Farm Africa works with smallholder farmers in East and Southern Africa on livestock (including goats), sustainable agriculture and inclusive market access. Overlaps directly on goats, rural Malawian/regional programming and community-based delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/goats4girls
• Instagraminstagram.com/goatsforgirlsxml

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Goats for Girls