What do we mean by one million lives?
Since 2008, we’ve run 47 programs across the Pacific Islands, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Australia, supporting 541 impact ventures, who have provided 1,295,411 people with an opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty or disadvantage. That’s over a million people who have a better chance to improve their lives and the lives of their families through better access to things like health care, education, and regular employment, resulting in an overall reduction in poverty and moving towards a brighter future.
A moment of reflection on reaching one million lives
There have been a great many people involved in the journey to one million lives, from the Co-Founders that set the ambitious target, to the staff across our five office locations, the program mentors and facilitators, the partners that make running programs possible, and of course the incredible entrepreneurs that put their collective 541 ventures forward to be part of ygap’s programs.
We recently reached out to ask for reflection on the one million lives milestone from two different perspectives; those of the leaders of our In-Country Program Teams that run ygap’s accelerators and support the ventures that come through, and the three ygap Co-Founders that are still involved as board members or staff today. Their words are captured below.
How did we get here?
ygap’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer, Hedda Ngan, talks about the finer points of data collection and delves into ygap’s unique approach to impact measurement.
Hear from the entrepreneurs
This short video is a compilation of pitches from some of the entrepreneurs that have completed a ygap program, where they have one minute to talk about their venture. This is just a snapshot of the 541 stories of impact that have gone on to touch each of those 1,295,411 lives.
Entrepreneurs in the spotlight
We’re thrilled to share the stories of some of our incredible alumni ventures and their founders who have been working hard to take their ideas from the seeds of early-stage impact focused businesses and grow them to projects for formidable change in their communities and beyond.
Angaza Elimu joins UNICEF’s Innovation Fund Investments in Skills and Connectivity
Shah Chowdry is the recipient of the 2020 Diana Award, created in memory of Princess Diana.
Two ygap alumni selected for the 2020 cohort of the prestigious Echoing Green Fellowship.
yher Pacific Islands venture, Mama’s Mushrooms awarded $25,000 Growth Grant from ygap.
Join us for the next million lives
ygap has been able to reach this incredible milestone thanks to the generous support of our community. Help ygap reach our next million lives by supporting us at the link below.
