Our Programs

Seven Pathways to Community Resilience

Cash transfers are the foundation we're piloting first in Laikipia, Kenya — the other six pathways are the model we're building toward as the pilot proves out.

Cash Transfers Financial Inclusion Livelihoods Climate Justice Market Linkages Community Governance Kundi Platform
Program 1

Unconditional Cash Transfers

We provide direct cash to families and individuals with no strings attached. No conditions. No prescriptions. Full trust in community members to determine their own priorities.

Research consistently shows unconditional cash transfers are among the most effective forms of economic development. Recipients invest in health, education, business, and housing — making choices that compound over time.

  • Monthly transfers ranging from $25–$150 per household
  • 6–24 month program cycles with ongoing evaluation
  • Mobile money delivery for security and accessibility
  • Community-selected recipients through participatory processes
  • No income reporting or spending restrictions
"When you give people cash directly, you give them the respect to make their own decisions."
— Paul Niehaus, GiveDirectly Co-founder
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Community members in a cash transfer programme, East Africa
Program 2

Financial Literacy & Inclusion

Over 400 million Africans remain unbanked. We bridge that gap with practical financial literacy programs, mobile money onboarding, savings group facilitation, and access to inclusive financial products.

Our programs don't just teach theory — they connect communities to real financial services and savings infrastructure they can use immediately.

  • Mobile money setup and digital financial skills
  • Community savings circles (VSLAs) and cooperatives
  • Basic budgeting, credit, and investment literacy
  • Connection to microfinance and formal banking
  • Women-focused financial access programs
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Mobile money and financial services, Africa
Program 3

Livelihood Diversification

The Kenya CT-OVC evaluation found cash-transfer households doubled their savings and cut child labour by 42% once income wasn't tied to a single, fragile source. That's the case for pairing our $40/month transfer with a second pathway, not replacing it.

This is a pathway we're building toward once the Laikipia cash-transfer pilot is running: small business support and agricultural diversification, so a bad harvest or a slow month in one income stream doesn't mean a bad month overall.

  • Small business start-up grants and mentorship
  • Agricultural diversification and input support
  • Vocational and skills training aligned with local economies
  • Peer learning networks and community enterprise hubs
  • Pathways from subsistence to sustained income growth
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OotuFund community livelihood programme members gathered in Laikipia, Kenya
Program 4

Climate Justice & Resilience

Laikipia's pastoral communities are on the front lines of a climate crisis they did not create — recurring drought is already the reason cash, not livestock, needs to be the fallback households can count on.

This pathway builds on that: practical adaptation support layered on top of the $40/month transfer, plus advocacy for the climate finance that reaches communities like Laikipia's directly.

  • Climate-adaptive farming techniques and water harvesting
  • Clean energy access (solar, biogas) for households
  • Disaster preparedness and community early warning systems
  • Advocacy for equitable climate finance
  • Environmental restoration and tree-planting initiatives
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Climate resilience and clean energy, Africa
Program 5

Market Linkages

A $40/month transfer can seed a stall or a herd — but if the nearest buyer sets the price, that capital stalls too. This pathway is about the second half of the equation: fair prices and reliable buyers, not just starting capital.

We're scoping this alongside the cash-transfer pilot so Laikipia producers aren't left to negotiate alone once they have something to sell.

  • Connecting farmers and producers to local and regional markets
  • Supporting agricultural, trade, and microenterprise value chains
  • Improving access to buyers and fair, transparent pricing
  • Strengthening market participation and commercial resilience
  • Enabling income growth that goes beyond subsistence
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Community market and trade activities, Africa
Program 6

Community Governance

Every household in the Laikipia pilot is enrolled through Free, Prior and Informed Consent, tracked in Kundi — not a paper form that's easy to lose or falsify. As we add pathways beyond cash, the same principle holds: decisions stay with the community, not a program office.

  • Participatory planning and community-led needs assessments
  • Local leadership training in governance and accountability
  • Inclusive structures that centre women, youth, and marginalized groups
  • Community ownership of resources, data, and program outcomes
  • Transparency mechanisms that build trust and reduce elite capture
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Community governance and participatory decision-making, Africa
Program 7 — Innovation

Kundi: The Platform

Kundi is OotuFund's proprietary digital platform — named after the Swahili word for "group" or "community" — built to manage the full lifecycle of cash transfer programmes, from the moment a community member is enrolled to the second a transfer lands on their phone. Where most organisations stitch together separate tools for data collection, payments, and reporting, Kundi unifies all of these into a single, accountable system designed specifically for the Kenyan and East African context.

  • Full lifecycle management from beneficiary registration to M-Pesa disbursement
  • Secure beneficiary registry with SMS transfer confirmation on every payment
  • FPIC, consent management, and structured programme activity documentation
  • Role-based dashboards for funders, researchers, and community partners
  • Unbroken audit trail from donor to individual recipient
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Support the Work That Works

Right now, your donation funds one thing: $40/month, unconditional, direct to a Laikipia household's M-Pesa account. The other six pathways get built as the pilot proves out.

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