Our Thesis
What we believe
Increasing incomes by creating high-productivity jobs is the only durable way to dramatically increase quality of life for people in Africa
The Problem
Why welfare in Africa matters
- By 2040, around 24% of the world's population will live in Africa.
- By 2040, nearly 80% of people in extreme poverty will be in Africa.
- Most of these people will lack access to basic sanitation, proper healthcare, and quality education.
- Every year, 10–12 million young Africans enter the workforce, but fewer than 3 million formal jobs are created.
The Solution
Why income is the key
Raising incomes is the only durable way to improve quality of life for the world's poor.
- Across countries, higher income per person is responsible for almost all of the difference in child mortality, life expectancy, education, and access to basic services.
- The only countries with less than 1% child mortality have incomes above $7,500 per person.
- People are consistently happier as incomes rise — at both a personal and national level.
Our Approach
Two proven pathways to higher incomes
Export manufacturing
- Jobs in value-added manufacturing provide steady, high-productivity employment for many workers.
- Exporting provides access to a huge global market, brings in foreign currency, and forces businesses to compete internationally. It has also been the path to prosperity for most high-income countries.
- The first companies to enter a new export market face high setup costs: training workers, building supply chains, and finding buyers. The fund helps pioneer businesses overcome these barriers.
- Export manufacturing jobs can increase a worker's productivity 5x compared to subsistence farming. These businesses employ thousands of workers, diffuse skills across the local economy and support large local supply chains.
Case Study
Tooku Garments
Tooku Garments in Tanzania make jeans and other clothing items for global brands such as Levi's. They employ 10,000 people in steady, well-paying, high-productivity jobs.
They also support upstream suppliers, train workers and bring foreign currency into the economy.
International labor mobility
- Moving from a low-income country to a high-income country can dramatically improve a worker's life prospects.
- Many of the world's rich countries have aging populations and worker shortages, while Africa has the world's fastest-growing population and a severe shortage of good jobs.
- Workers from Africa face difficulties in finding opportunities, accessing financing and learning languages. The fund backs organizations tackling these challenges.
- A typical African worker might earn ~$2k per year at home, compared to ~$50k per year in a high-income country, and is also likely to send thousands of dollars back home to their family.
Case Study
Malengo
Malengo provides student financing for hundreds of East Africans from low-income or refugee backgrounds to move to Germany for study or vocational training, leading to high-productivity employment opportunities.
A Ugandan graduate who moves to Germany increases their lifetime earnings from ~$200k to ~$2m — a 10x increase.
Our Mission
Catalyzing high-productivity jobs to end poverty in Africa
We want to catalyze organizations that can durably increase the incomes of millions of Africans.
Impact Model
Every investment is benchmarked against one core metric: cost per year of doubled income (IDY). The fund targets a maximum cost of $25 per IDY.
$1m is enough to double the lifetime income of more than 1,000 people in Africa