Spark Microgrants announced successful closure of first philanthropic round securing $27MM to back ambitious 3-year strategy in Rwanda, Malawi and beyond.

During the resource mapping exercise, when villagers document and discuss access to public and shared resources, community members flagged a stubborn travel issue. Although Mwendo is close to a nearby road, it narrows before reaching the village. For residents of the village of 140 homes, this means they can’t transport goods by car and face constraints accessing markets. Cars traveling to and from Mwendo must stop at the nearest neighboring village, where goods are unloaded and carried more than two miles to the village.

Kigali, Rwanda — February 18, 2022

The Ministry of Local Government has appreciated the contribution of Spark Microgrants in Advancing Citizen Engagement (ACE) project. The appreciation was voiced by the Minister of State in charge of social affairs in Rwanda’s Ministry of Local Government, Assumpta Ingabire and the Director-General of Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA), Mrs. Claudine Nyinawagaga.

Last March, Spark's Ben Thomas sat down with Spark community members to hear how they felt their communities had changed since the beginning of their partnership.