Janina Peter: Transforming Global North Donations to Global South Microloans
Janina: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! Our story starts with Malish James, a refugee in Uganda’s Bidibidi Refugee Settlement. In my day job, I work for the UN, through which I connected with Malish. He shared many stories about his life, and one particular challenge stuck with me—while refugees in the community receive food aid from international organizations, they struggle to afford other commodities, such as new clothes for their children. So in many cases, instead of eating the food, they sell it to supply other basic needs. Together with Malish, we created a solution: Many refugees have ideas for starting their own businesses. However, most of them don’t have access to funding. This is where Bridging Gaps comes in. We transform donations from the Global North to community microloans in the Global South, so refugees in Bidibidi can start their own businesses.